Chapter 36: Everyday Gratitude

     

    One quarter of the way through Ironman Florida training plan.  5 weeks done out of 20. It was a hot and rainy week and it's only going to get hotter this week.  But I'm thankful that I get to do this sport.  There are those that can't do this sport and those this week that passed away due to this sport.  So I don't take it for granted.  I'm out there doing the best I can with what God has given me and trying to enjoy each and every moment.

Weekly Stats:

• Swim (3x)
• 3.12 miles (5,500 yards)
• 1:52:48
• Bike (3x)
• 66.55 miles
• 4:01:04
• Run (3x)
• 18.22 miles
• 3:15:03
• Yoga (4x)
  
• 1:34:09
• Strength (2x)
• 38:45
• TOTALS:
• 15 workouts
• 87.90 miles
• 11:21:49

Training Notes:

    

    Five weeks down and I'm getting up in my times again.  I have 5 weeks left of my build-up phase before getting into the training specific phase again.  My summer-not-so-routine schedule makes it feel as if I'm not doing a lot of time.  I've been able to swim in the afternoon at the outdoor pool so instead of having to be at the Community Center at 5:15AM, I can go right after work or even right after dinner.  But once I see the weekly times in their entirety, I know I'm still putting in quite a bit of time and miles.  This week was over 11 hours, and I'll build up to approximately 16 hours for my maximum.  And this was only the beginner plan for the full Ironman.  The next level up would have started at 9 hours and topped out around 20 or so.  I'm still on track to be able to finish the race strong, and I'm starting to map out some preliminary goal times.

        This week I rode my last courses on my ROUVY app (for my bike) as I'm switching over to Zwift.  ROUVY was deleting several of my go-to courses as they're clearing space off their servers since they bought out FulGaz and will be adding Ironman courses.  ROUVY was an augmented reality platform with real videos of real courses and then they add other computerized riders.  Loved the reality, but honestly didn't watch the routes as I rode since Netflix is on too!  

    So I'm switching over to Zwift, which is more of a video game style, but still has the automatic resistance changes through my smart trainer.  And a lot more people (especially those in my Everyday Ironman group rides) ride Zwift, so now I'll be in the cool kid club.  Still, it'll take some time to figure out all the nuances of a new system. Kind of like going from Android to iPhone.  But I did my first ride on Saturday (I did a free trial back in March of 2024, but didn't ride a lot of miles then).  There's nothing like riding around a volcano, through an underwater aquarium and a snowy mountain landscape, then through an Italian village all in one ride. And all with Stranger Things 2 going on in front of me!

     

    I completed my long Sunday run before church on the 9-mile loop that was my go-to route back before triathlon and I was just training for marathons.  Hit the old Indian Creek trail, but wasn't sure what it would look like since we had the most rain and flash flooding since 1993 in the KC Metro area on Wednesday night. The city did a great job clearing the paved trail off but there were obvious signs that the creek was raging that night!  Bent over brush, water on the opposite side of the path from the creek (which is normally about 20' below the banks) and even a mile marker that was pulled out of the ground and pushed about 20 yards before lodging itself on a tree.  Colonel Khaki is still walking the trails (ask me about him if you see me!) and ran across a huge doe.  I've put many miles on that trail and it was good to run my old-school route.  

    Wrapped up with a couple of strength sessions and four Yoga sessions.  It's been great having Julie doing the yoga with me, as well as jumping in the pool and swimming some laps. I'll make a triathlete out of her yet!  Just kidding, that's NOT going to happen.  I did record another podcast episode for the Everyday Ironman Podcast with a race recap from my 70.3 Eagleman.  Always fun to talk to Mike and Ashley....thanks for having me on again. The episode will air in the next couple of weeks--I'll be sure to put it out there when it does!

Daily Life:

    

    Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.

I Timothy 4:4 (NLT)

    I know that I'll probably repeat themes throughout the 52 weeks that I'm planning on
writing this blog. I'm sure I already have, but they are things that keep coming back to me.  This week I focused on gratitude.  Being thankful for what I have in my life, where I am, and who I have with me.  And thankful that I'm able to do this sport of triathlon.  This past weekend, two participants died in two different races.  One in 70.3 Muncie (Indiana) and one in 70.3 Swasnea (Wales).  Both had some sort of issue in the water and were pulled out of the race by safety members.  I saw a quote last week that resonated with those recent tragedies at these races.  "Time is the only currency you keep spending without knowing your balance." I'm grateful every day that I wake up and get to do what I want. It may not be the very first thing I think about (kind of take waking up for granted), but I've been very aware of it as I swim, bike or run.  I could be doing this sport -and life--until I'm 90 (or longer), or tomorrow could be my last day.  I can't dwell or even think about that, but what I can do is take every day as it comes, be grateful for the goods (and bads) in my life and just keep moving forward.  I've learned to enjoy each day of training, even if it's not the top of my "fun" list for the day. Each day is it's own race, and I do the best I can. 

  

    If I dwell on the bad days, the circumstances that cause pain or disappointment, or worry about the future, I'll be missing the present.  What's right here in front of me.  This Ironman journey has centered me in a lot of ways.  It has given me structure, a stated purpose and definitive goal, and has made me ponder what is good in my life.  I've been blessed.  I can't point to many things that almost ruined or derailed my life. Not that I've been immune to trials and struggles, but I believe that my grounding in God's plan and my faith in His goodness and love have helped me in those times and I knew that those were just bumps in the road. That those did not define me or my life, and I just had to keep showing up, keep fit in my faith, stay THE course of God's plan and direction, and keep moving forward.  Then the difficult present becomes the past, and the future is still being formed. But in the meantime, I want to live each day to the fullest, stay healthy, and take care of the body God has given me.  A friend from the Everyday Ironman Podcast group has a mantra:  "Die young as late as possible".  Love that, Broccoli Rob. I'm stealing the quote since I don't see any copyright on it!  I want to live a life of gratitude while living it the fullest for as long as I can.

Final Thoughts:

    Our Olathe West Triathlon Club officially won the club challenge after a recount since some points were missed (we tied actually, but I think they didn't want to retract the original "win" for the other club) AND we took the KS high school USAT state triathlon championship too.  Proud of those young men and women as they put in some seriously great times and races last Sunday!  

    16 weeks to go until the hardest physical (and mental too) challenge of my life.  I still can't wrap my head around the total distance if I think about it too much, but I'm taking each day one at a time.  I'm seeing the results, and have my goals I'm striving towards. I have a couple more weeks before I do a sprint distance race at Kill Creek Park.  Of course, with the finish I had at Shawnee Mission Triathlon, now my thought is, "can I pull another podium finish off?"  I'm not focusing on that, however.  I'm shooting for a PR again, and I know that is way within the realm of what is possible.  Anything else will just be a bonus!  Then it will be back to a hard routine with early mornings, hopefully earlier bedtimes, and more gains as I hit the final stretch to Florida.  As I sign off, this is my mantra....

Show up, Keep Fit, Stay THE Course, 

and Keep Moving Forward 

    Thanks for following along. I appreciate all of you. Family, friends, Everyday Ironman Podcast folks.  You all are a huge part of my journey, and it has made all the difference this time around in my training!

CPC

7/20/25

Olathe, KS

8,941,807 seconds until Ironman Florida