Carrying the Torch

My friend and fellow triathlete Walter was just diagnosed with a torn Meniscus. He is scheduled to go under the knife for the repair sometime during early June. This means he is out for IMLP this July. I can imagine how crushing this must feel. Suddenly, you can no longer train and you find yourself with all this time on your hands. You don’t know what to do with yourself and you start to feel lost. You start thinking how you can maintain your fitness level if running and for the most part, biking is out of the equation. Do you really just want to go to the pool all of the time? It’s a terrible situation to be in, albeit no where near the worst thing in the world.

Walter knows how I have been struggling this year with my training. He said it’s up to me to carry the torch into Ironman Lake Placid in July. I will keep his words in mind, train with purpose and get as fit as possible for the big day. This year will definitely be different; from my training and racing strategy to the fact that my wife has decided that she and the kids will stay home this time around.

I didn’t get into an argument with her about not going. I know she can’t stand the Ironman environment and I just as soon not have to deal with it. It wasn’t worth the energy or the pain in trying to get her to go. I will miss my children while I am gone and most of all running down the finishers shoot with them. At least I won’t be worrying about finding them as I make the final turn to the finish.

On the bright side my father said he would go up with me. It will just be the two of us. We have never been on a trip alone together and it should be an earnest father-son bonding experience. I am very much looking forward to it. I will have no pressure to do anything except get ready for the race and I’ll have someone that will help me do so. The only thing I have to do now is break the news to my children that they are not going this year. I can’t bring myself to do it.