Turkeys Trotting

It has been a tradition in my family for many many years to run the annual YMCA Dallas Turkey Trot every Thanksgiving morning. It's actually my favorite running event in Dallas, and was also one of my first. With everyone spread out across the country, this is the one event of the year that everyone has always been in Dallas for. And that has meant that it's the one time of the year that my entire family goes and competes at the same event at the same time, whether we are prepared for the 8 miles or not. Thankfully, tomorrow will be no exception.

As I've mentioned before, everyone in my immediate family is a runner. My dad has been running since running wasn't cool. Mom started several years ago and hasn't slowed down yet. My sister is a former Texas High School State Champion in the two mile and runner up in the mile. My wife runs, her sister runs, my sister's husband runs, and even the little ones begged to run the three mile event this year.

So tomorrow we will all toe the line once again and remember the things that we are all thankful for. For me, this year I am most thankful for my dad's ability to run. Even though he is having to settle with "only" doing the three mile event this year, that's three more miles than the doctor recently told him he would ever be able to run again. He has a ways to go before he can run another marathon, or even as fast as he would like to run 3 miles. But for now, just finishing three miles is his own personal marathon.

Never underestimate your ability to influence others around you to run/bike/swim/whatever. And you never know how far it will go. My dad ran. So my sister ran. So I ran. So my wife ran, and her sister ran. And my sister's husband ran. And finally, my mom ran (and to this day is the most dedicated of all of us!). Eventually, all of dad's grandchildren will likely run as well. I don't know where the chain will stop. But there's no doubt where it began. Thank you, dad, for always inspiring us to reach beyond our potential, and to go further than any of us thought was possible. You are truly an inspiration. And thank you, especially, for teaching us to run.

Be thankful this week for your ability to train and race. And think about that the next time you don't feel like training or racing. Seeing my dad deal with an injury that the doctors can't seem to fix has made me really think about the fact that someday I won't be able to do this anymore. People often ask me why I do Ironman events. Why do I swim, bike, and run as much as I do? Why do I put myself though that?

Because someday I won't be able to. But today is not that day. Today, I can run. Today, I can hurt and keep moving. Today, I can push myself beyond my comfort level. And for that, I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Making a Mountain out of a Mole Hill

Finally off the Flagyl, and the metal taste is slowly leaving my mouth! That means, I'm starting to train hard again. Well, sort of. Now my son is sick, so I've missed a few workouts taking care of him. Priorities . . .

We went to Arkansas this past weekend to Mount Nebo, just outside of Dardanelle. My family--actually, the Carter family (Carter is my paternal grandmother’s maiden name)--has been going to Mount Nebo for a LONG time (over 60 years?). It’s a state park on top of what Arkansans call a "mountain." I still have family members that live up there, and my dad, who turned 62 on Sunday--Happy Birthday Daddy John! (that’s his grandpa name, which was also his grandpa’s name)--has been going there since he was a small boy. And so have I. But it wasn’t until this trip that I decided to tackle the climb up the mountain on a road bike. And, therefore, it wasn't until this trip that I actually decided to give in and start calling it a "mountain" instead of a "mole hill." It only rises about 1800 feet above sea level, but anything with that type of a climb is a mountain in my book. It’s only a 2.5 mile climb, but as the sign in the picture above indicates, it’s the most difficult 2.5 miles most of us will ever see on a bicycle!

To give you an idea, the last 4 miles or so of the climb up Loveland Pass (which was the steepest part of the Triple Bypass) took me 26 minutes. But this 2.5 mile climb took me just under 20 minutes, and I averaged more than 100 watts (that’s A LOT) more than I did on the Loveland climb. There are 12 switchbacks (I think. It's hard to count when you're working that hard), which is a lot for that short of a climb. In other words, it was the most difficult 19+ minutes I have ever spent on a bike! I cut my “climbing teeth” in and around Boulder, Colorado, on climbs like the ones here. Noticeably absent are any 18% grades. Regardless, it was only 20 minutes of a two hour ride. My first two hour ride after the illness.

No running or swimming this weekend. I planned on a long run on Sunday morning, but John and Krisha were both sick the last night so we decided to head back to Texas early in case there were any issues on the road. There weren't, and we made it home safe.

So now I have 10 days until the 5430 Long Course in Boulder. I haven't felt this unprepared for a race in quite some time. It's not an "A" race, but the plan was to go into it a little tired. Right now I'm not tired at all, and really feel under prepared. Hopefully, I can pull it all together and not embarass myself in front of everyone. This will be the first race that Lindsay has actually been to, and it will be Ryan's first triathlon, so those two things ought to motivate me to dig deep. I just need to get some quality training in this next week so that I don't feel too rusty.

One final note . . . The “Carter Family” (and the Waters, Brooks, and countless other Families) lost one of its most cherished members this past year. Alan Waters was way too young to leave us when he did. The last time I saw him was two years ago on Mount Nebo. He was very interested in my running and cycling, and I even caught him out there running one morning after we had talked about my racing the night before. I'm not sure he ever knew it, but from a very young age, I looked up to him. He was always my favorite and seemed more like a big brother to me than an older cousin. After talking with everyone this weekend, it appears that he was everyone's favorite. And for good reason. You were an exceptional person, Alan. We miss you. Even more than we ever thought was possible.

CapTex Update

The whole family went to Austin this weekend for the CapTexTri. Last year it was rained out, so we were hoping for better weather in 2008. Sure enough, we were not disappointed. I did the Olympic distance race while Krisha and my dad did the sprint.

I was a little disappointed in my results. I got way off course on the swim and ended up taking 29 minutes to get to T1. That's about the slowest I have ever done an Olympic distance swim. Not the start I was looking for! My wave started about an hour after the first one went off. And since the bike course was four 10k loops, the theme for the bike was "ON YOUR LEFT!" I think I shouted that about once every minute for the entire ride. Still, I averaged 23.7mph, so I wasn't too disappointed with the result considering how crowded it was.

The sun came out for the run. I got passed by someone in my age group early on the run. I decided to go with him, but he slowly pulled away after about a half mile or so. No worries, you never know what's going to happen. I ended up catching him on the second loop of the run, and after having learned my lesson at the PlayTri Half in April, I went by him hard and never looked back. As expected, he didn't challenge me. I was feeling pretty strong at that point so I think I could have held him off anyway. Regardless, because of my ridiculously slow swim, I finished in 2:20:35, which put me in a distant 10th in my age group. Not my best day, but that wasn't the A race of the season, so I'm just moving on. Not dwelling on my miserable swim. Or my lackluster effort on the run. Really, I'm not . . . .

Krisha and Dad had good days. Krisha had a breakthrough in the swim. And my dad finished another race, which with his limited training, is quite remarkable for a 62 year old stud! Way to go Dad! Mom had the most difficult job of all -- keeping my son, John, entertained while mommy and daddy raced.

Team Tri-ProSoap made a good showing as well. Mark Saroni finished 2nd overall in the sprint race as he prepares for the 2008 Sprint World Championships in Vancouver next week. Chase Ingraham was 20th overall in the Olympic with a time of 2:18:07, and Travis Wolther was the first big man to cross the finish of the Olympic, with a time of 2:27:28.

Overall, I like this race. It's pretty crowded, but it's a fun, fast course, in a great city.