Privilege

Remember how I said last week that a 20 hour training week felt so easy... no soreness.... just darn awesome? I should be careful of things like that. This morning I kind of felt like Mic Jagger getting out of bed. Although nothing in particular hurt, I was moving slow and my head.... well that's moving even slower.

I have full blown Ironman brain. Oh Lord.

I also have full blown Ironman fever. For the next 6 weeks every other word that comes out of my mouth will be Ironman and you'd better believe in 2009 when I am not doing an Ironman I will say..... geez all these people do is talk about the stupid Ironman. Might as well call myself out on the carpet now.

I do have Ironman FEVER. The one where you mean to sleep in until 7am.... because for me 7am is considered a sleep in day, but you wake up at 4 and then 5 and then 6. Curt traveled up to Canada this morning for a little father's day race. So there's no reason to get up and get at it. My workouts come later on and well, I am supposed to be sleeping.

But the birds are chirping and the sun is shining (at 6:30 am no less) and the world is calling me. I opened the door and the air is still warm and still muggy and that's the way I love it. We wait all year for these few months. I won't waste it on air conditioning.

My bike is in the garage covered with grime and carbo pro and while he's begging for a bath he's begging for a ride.

However this morning I do have one person on my mind. Her name is Amy and she lives in Buffalo. She's a Neuropsychologist who is graduating from Law School. She's a single Mom and she's fierce. She's been busting her ass for the better part of a year as she prepares for Ironman Lake Placid.

She crashed her bike and broke her femur. Your femur... thigh bone... is the hardest bone in the body to break because it is actually flexible. Amy broke it. It's a 2 year recovery for her. Her Ironman dream came to a literal crashing halt and I am aching this morning.

There are lessons in these types of things and right now I can't see it. She can't see it but it is there. On July 20th I will be racing with her in my heart and her name on my hand.

Getting to the starting line of an Ironman is not something I take for granted. It's preparation + privilege + a lot of luck. A lot of luck. Luck is when you come home from a bike ride.... period. How many near misses have I had? How many near crashes have I had?

Perhaps that's why I am up so early with the morning., Because I am thinking of Amy. Thinking of a dream. Understanding my own privileges, and abilities.

It's a privilege and an honor to be moving slow and to have the brain of Iron. One that we must never take for granted.