Views from my run back home

I made the trip back to the homeland last week - Imperial, Nebraska. There were some discussions about what it would be like to live there again, the things you would have to go without, the lifestyle you could have, the economy to support a business (in my case personal training). There are obvious things that would make my triathlon goals difficult by living there, things like the lack of a swimming pool. But there are also some very appealing aspects to the life one could have living there, like the ability to truly live in simplicity.

The other thing that you don't get anywhere except in a western sky is the grand open skies. Here are two photos I got at the end of my morning run:





I wish that Nikki could have went with me to see where I spent my early years (she has not been there since we got married). There was a Trace Adkins song on today that made me think about her and my backgrounds and our relationship - Ladies Love Country Boys, (lyrics here).

I remember growing up dreaming about getting out of the small towns and country setting thinking it wasn't good enough for me. Now when I am able to make it back, I realize that I missed out on a lot of great learning experiences. Maybe I will make it a place to live again someday? But not too soon I bet.


Music Video Codes

Running and the celebration of life.

If you've been here lately you know that I put in an application for a chance to run the North Pole Marathon. (You can read my entire application here). Here is one statement I made in my application,

The one thing that I have found in those moments that I have questioned myself and who I was is that there was one constant - running.

There was one specific moment in my life that I felt that running really allowed me to appreciate who I was and celebrate life:

Flying Pig Marathon 2003

In May of 2003 I participated in my 4th marathon - The Flying Pig Marathon. There were many reasons to be positive about the race because my training had never been more consistent. I was regularly running with the Todd's Road Stumblers which helped me get in a lot of miles incorporating hill training. The other areas of my life were also operating smoothly, specifically my spiritual life. I had been spending as much time on my spiritual life as I had on my running. The great thing that I found is that when my mind, emotions and spirit were calmed down - my running was even more beneficial. Runs were not only about putting in miles.

Skip ahead to mile 25.....

After running the first 18 miles with three other runners I met on the course I had to move on, so I started running by myself. Not long after that, I started running with a couple friends (Beth and Eric Atnip). I ran with them until mile 25, which by that time I was in a lot of pain. My hips really hurt, my quads were cramping - the typical marathon feelings. As I was running the last 1.2 miles I was struggling, trying to find anything that would help me pick my pace up to push through the finish (and make sure I didn't collapse and not make the 3:10 Boston cut-off).

Then I had a really deep inspirational feeling come upon me. I began to have a flow of images and thoughts related to my grandfather, Raymond. There were pictures of him that my grandmother showed me that keep repeating themselves. One of those pictures was my grandfather on a horse with the horse raising up Lone Ranger style. The only difference is that the horse wasn't on two hind legs, but one (according to my mother who said you had to pull the photo out of the frame to see it). The second picture was of him and his brothers working in the fields at a young age (my grandmother thought maybe 20). The amazing thing about the work they were doing was that they were doing the harvest by hand. They had a horse lead trailer to put the wheat on, but the cutting and binding was manual.

With those photos replaying in my mind, I continued to have this overwhelming sense that even though he hadn't been around since 1993, he was with me in that moment. In fact I started to get so emotional that began to cry and almost began to worry that I was going to hyperventilate.

I know that many people that have pushed the endurance performance envelope know that things can get a little funny towards the end of the race. Low blood sugar, dehydration, whatever reason, the end of a race can cause all kinds of things to happen.

In response to the last 1.2 miles at the Flying Pig, I choose to believe that grandpa was there to help me. To make me understand what it means to push through, to take in the family tradition of hard workers.... because he wanted to see me succeed.

Today I learned that grandma has passed on and will be able to see grandpa once again. While I learned lessons of hard work and the cowboy spirit from my grandfather, I will not forget the lessons of faith that I've learned by watching my grandmother over the past 14 years.

I'll see you both on my next run.

Into Thin Air - Book Review and Thoughts

When I came to page 95 of Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster I saw this quote:

"Unlike your routine life, where mistakes can usually be recouped and some kind of compromise patched up, your actions, for however brief a period, are deadly serious." by A. Alvarez, The Savage God: A Study of Suicide

That quote got me thinking at that time so I took out a piece of paper and put down some notes. Here were my thoughts then:

You can't make excuses in extreme sports because mistakes take lives. Maybe this is one of my attractions to endurance sports because it allows me to go up against others and myself. Then at the end of the day - the excuses I have don't matter. The mistakes that I've made in a race can only be traced back to my own training decisions or race execution. There is no one above or below me on an organizational chart that I can shift the blame to.

In the business world this happens all the time and drives me crazy. What is even worse is that at times results and rewards in the business world don't reflect the aptitude of a person's past. Just look at Bob Nardelli, the recently departed CEO of Home Depot, he did little for shareholders yet he leaves his job cashing in. I don't believe we would see Nardelli performing well in the endurance sports arena.

There are incredibly more risks associated with climbing Everest than competing in a triathlon but racing a triathlon at the least creates an environment where an athlete's mistakes are immediately realized. The is no way to hide behind words and you definately don't get rewarded for doing nothing prior to the event.

One of the biggest lures of endurance sports is that it creates as level of a playing field as there is.... therefore, there are no excuses.

My final thoughts on Into Thin Air

Those were my feelings at that point in the book, but as the book went on I began to wonder if I was right. To say that the book becomes one of the saddest and intense books I've read is an understatement. The scene on Everest has all the drama of a modern day sitcom; the wealthy lady with all her toys and bags, the hippies, the dreamers, the outlaws, the rivalries and even some sex scandals. It is amazing to think that all these things could go on while a climb is taking place or getting ready to take place. My perception leading into this book was that everyone would be so focused upon getting to the summit that their own abilities to climb and helping their teammates with their own climb would be the only concern. I was wrong.

The one thing that this book did discuss some but I would like to read more about are the Sherpas. Those people have a story that shows to me that all things are not really equal in climbing expeditions. The sherpas are hired help and they help people achieve their dreams of getting to the top of the world. Even if it means they drag a climber up there by a rope. Amazing.

As I finished this book, I could really feel the heaviness that Krakauer has in response to the climb. He even talks about how he hadn't come to terms with the lost lives at that point. The ending of the chapters and the letters he shares in the epilogue are very real reactions and show the varied responses that individuals had to the book.

There has not been a day in my life that I've thought about climbing Everest. The closest thing that I've done would be hiking up Pikes Peak - hardly an experience that would allow me to understand the sport of mountaineering. After reading about their situations on Everest and having to make decisions like walking by another climber that is near death in order to maintain your own life - I'm pretty sure the thought of climbing Everest won't be on my goal sheet anytime soon.

If you are interested in reading a compelling and tragic story, a story that is well written and emotional - then I'd suggest you read this book. You won't be dissapointed!