Chapter 43: Purpose & Peace

 

    I'd say the hardest part of this Ironman training at this point is sitting down each week and writing this blog. I love it just like I love the other parts, but I'm not a writer by nature. If I hadn't made a commitment to blogging this whole journey, I'd be out! Just kidding.  Maybe.  I do only have 7 weeks left though.  It truly is easier to do the training each day than sit at the table each week for a couple of hours. Just not my thing!  But I have peace heading into the last 7 weeks of training.  It's been a pretty heavy week--both in my training with respect to the time and distances, and in our world.  Peace.  Just trying to take a breath.

Weekly Stats:

• Swim (3x)
• 3.69 miles (6,500 yards)
• 2:08:54
• Bike (1x)
• 85.77 miles
• 4:31:52
• Run (3x)
• 21.78 miles
• 3:46:06
• Yoga (3x)
• 1:17:05
• Other (5x)
• 256 floors climbed (9/11 Stairclimb)
• 2:15:33
• TOTALS:
• 15 Activities
• 111.24 miles
• 13:59:30

Training Notes:

    My weeks are gathering speed.  And distances.  I have 5 more weeks of hard training, then 2 weeks of tapering before Florida.  And I'm tired.  And I'm still doing everything else that I've been a part of--church, school events, family plans, and whatever else comes my way.  But those are the things that are keeping me sane.  If ALL I had was my training, I think I'd be starting to get burned out.  But I really am trying to prioritize a balance of life and Ironman. I've been doing OK with it, but it is getting harder.  7 more weeks.  7 more weeks.  7 more weeks.  It's all going to be worth it.

   

    This week was the 24th anniversary of 9/11 so we focused on that during the school week. The highlight of the week is doing a stairclimb in memory of the 343 firefighters who died on that Tuesday morning almost a quarter of a century ago.  Each student climbs for their own fallen FDNY member, and with that, I climb with my students.  I climb for a purpose.  I climb in honor and memory of FDNY firefighter Gerard Nevins, from Rescue 1.  Gerard died with the other 10 members of his unit.  This year I completed 256 stories of stairs over 2 days. I didn't push as hard as I have in the past years as I still had a long swim and a long run after those two days of climbing stairs in fire gear.  But when you have a purpose, it makes the climbing better, if it doesn't make it easier. No lie though, I thought about how hard my workout was going to be with tight calves and tired legs.  Rylan climbed with me on Wednesday as well....

    On Wednesday after doing 165 stories, I had a 3,800 yard swim.  I really thought that
halfway through the swim my calves would completely cramp up.  On the contrary, I think it actually helped my legs.  I felt strong on the swim, although tired.  Then on Thursday, after another 91 stories I knew I had to do a 2 hour, 15 minute run. I really wasn't looking forward to that.  But I finished at school, went home and hit the road.  I'm glad it was just a slow low-HR run.  The first 20 minutes or so my legs were wondering why I hated them so much.  But then they loosened up and I just kept going.  I kept thinking about my purpose on the stairclimb, climbing in memory or Gerard, and also my purpose for my long run:  to cross that finish line in Florida.  Both kept me going.

   

    On Saturday I faced a 4-1/2 hour bike ride followed by a 30-minute run off the bike (OTB).  I followed last week's route to Lawrence, KS (I actually will probably use that for all my long rides) but went further than last week.  With little wind, I rode faster than last week, and still was able to stop at my newest favorite stagecoach stop--The Latty's--for some front porch time, refill of water/nutrition bottles and a short bathroom break. That by far is the furthest I've ever biked (almost 86 miles) and longest I've been on the bike.  I know I'll be just fine come November 1st.  I feel great on the bike, and I know the run will be the challenge.  Not because of sore legs, but just being tired.  It did get hot on me on the way back home, but I did my 30-minute run after and didn't have any cramping or leg issues.  That's a big positive takeaway!  

I'm in the back of the line with the axe. 

    Since I did my long run on Thursday and long bike on Saturday, Sunday was a bonus rest day.  I was honored to present the Colors at the Kansas City Chiefs' home opener during the National Anthem on Sunday afternoon.  Love being on this team, and although the Chiefs lost (again), it's a great experience to be at the 50-yard line surrounded by NFL players, 70,000 fans, and a B-2 Stealth bomber flying over your head.  And....club level seats as part of the deal.  Glad I could take Ethan this year.  Next time it'll be Rylan's turn, sorry you worked this year, buddy!  An unexpected bonus cool thing was Clark Hunt, the Chiefs' owner, coming in to say hello and thank us for being there.  No.  Thank YOU for allowing us the opportunity.  Classy move to swing by, Mr. Hunt!  

Daily Life:

    

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.    

Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

    As I contemplated the 9/11 anniversary, the tragedies that occurred in our country and the evil that showed its face time and time again in just a few days,  I really thought about my purpose in this life.  And where I get my Peace from.  I surely don't get either from social media.  My opinion is that we ALL should take a step back from social media because all that is doing to feeding our anxiety, worry, stress, and anger.  If I didn't have a group of triathletes that I love interacting with and are encouraging and being bright spots to my weeks, I'd drop it in a heartbeat for a while.  I'll probably go radio silent on social media for a bit after November.  Just to reset and recharge in a healthy way. I really do stay away from just scrolling.  I've learned nothing good comes from that!  

    With the school shooting, the bus stabbing, and the shooting of Charlie Kirk, I really felt the angst around me in the world. As a human being, we all have our beliefs in our faith, in politics and in the world around us.  But here is where I landed.  I only get my Peace from Jesus.  The world is full of evil. I can't fix that (and I'm definitely a "here's what you need to do" kind of guy).  It all comes down to sin.  Sin is what caused the school shooting, caused the stabbing on the bus, and caused the shooting of Charlie Kirk. No matter where you land on gun control, Republicans vs Democrats, right vs left, or whatever, it ALL is because we are sinful human beings.  We are all separated from God due to our sinful nature.  It started in the Garden of Eden, and continues today.  I heard on a podcast today that the shift in people's thought processes have changed from "should I or shouldn't I do this" to "can I do this"?  If we can get away with it, if it feels right, or we get validated by the world that it's OK, then people are going to do more and more evil. I'm a pretty simple man.  I don't claim to understand why things are happening, but I do know that the only thing that will fix it is Jesus.  A personal relationship with Him, not just lip service.  For those that claim they know Jesus but are constantly arguing, debating, and dividing on social media, please seek HIM out first.  Only HE can heal. Only HE can give you the Peace.  And only HE can give you purpose in life as you try to find where you fit in this upside-down world.  I'm still figuring that out, but on my bike ride on Saturday, I had peace.  God is still in control and sits on the throne.  That comforts me, while I can still be upset and sad about the things going on around me. I'm not immune to that just because I have peace in Christ.  I'm more than willing to flesh this out some more if anyone wants to talk about it. I am definitely not a pastor, a theologian, or an expert by any means.  But I'm willing to talk--but not debate on social media. Find your peace, and find your purpose.  You know where mine comes from.

Final Thoughts:

    On Sunday, the Ironman World Championship Race (men's) was held in Nice, France.  Numerous guys from the Everyday Ironman Podcast raced there and it was a whole new level following them on an extremely difficult course.  Solid work Tony Carveth, Shane Forsyth, Darryl Dalton, Jason Korbel and Dane Jobe!  I might have got a little misty-eyed as they all crossed as I've been talking and communicating with a few of them about their journey.  They can all claim forever that they are World Championship finishers.  I probably won't get the chance to do the World Championship (it's going back to Kona, Hawaii full-time), but I can do my thing in Florida in less than 7 weeks.  Those guys gave some extra inspiration over the weekend.  Nice work, gentlemen!  

    

    Thanks, as always, for following my journey.  I have some ideas for race week that I'm working on right now. Stay tuned.  Until then,

Show Up, Keep Fit, Stay THE Course (Jesus), and Keep Moving Forward

CPC

9/15/25

Olathe, KS

  4,007,590 seconds until Ironman Florida