After finishing my first official week of Ironman training, I am already realizing that this is more about a journey than an actual goal race. It is about learning how to wake up every morning, getting the kids lunches made, having them dressed and out the door to school on time, tackling the multi-hour workout or workouts of the day, the grocery shopping, the laundry, answering e-mails, wrestling with feelings of guilt about having to prioritize training over PTO meetings and volunteering, picking the kids up, homework, making dinner, bath and bedtime routines. And this is merely the 1st week...
Is it possible to maintain balance, a healthy family relationship, and train for a beast such as an Ironman? This is a question I have asked myself every day long before I took the first step. It is a question that I fear the answer to after seeing so many athletes consumed with the sport, as its mistress, making training and racing come before their faith, family, morals and values. Perhaps it is not possible, but I have to believe there can be a balance of faith and family as part of the journey. If a person surrounds him or herself with people who not only believe in them and want to help them in this journey, but also remind them of what is most important along the way, I think they will remain healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually. One day, the race will be over, training days long behind, and let's face it, for most of us, we will have spent more time and money than we ever dreamed of actually making in this sport. It is what we have after the race that is most important.
I am already overwhelmed with the support and offers to help by others who believe in me and this journey, who understand that it is more than a self-centered, individualistic goal and that it is really about so much more. I can swim the miles, log hours on the bike trainer, and pound the pavement on tired, weary legs, but I can't do it on my own. It takes a team to get to this start line, to believe in me when I am weak, to believe in our children and our dream.
I am so honored to have these amazing people on my team:
Peak Racing Team and Tony Hammett:
Tony approached me with the offer to sponsor our Miles for Smiles team and offered to coach me. Tony and I met a few years ago after both being sponsored by Team Aquaphor, an Active Ambassador team. We have stayed in touch over the past few years and he has watched our little Miles for Smiles dream grow. Tony formed his Peak Racing Team last year, following his own dream to run a team, coach, direct races, and inspire youth. He has a giving heart, loves others and believes in them. While his team is still in its infancy, it is full of energy and growing. I am encouraged by his positive attitude, his belief in my potential, and his understanding of why I do what I do and dream as I dream. I look forward to seeing our Miles for Smiles and Peak Racing Team relationship grow. There are so many possibilities and ideas brewing for the future for both teams with working together. After all, Together Everyone Achieves More! http://peakracingteam.com/
Zone 5 Events -Mountain Madness 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon:
Bill Monahan, another former Team Aquaphor teammate and fun-loving friend, is a co-founder of Zone 5 Events. Bill is putting on the Mountain Madness Triathlon for its 3rd year in Ellijay, Georgia at Carters Lake. Bill generously has made Miles for Smiles be a charity beneficiary of his triathlon. It is not a large race, nowhere close to a PR course, but will teach anyone who attempts it about digging deep, not quitting, and earning so much more when they cross the finish line than the medal that is placed around their neck. In other words... it is the perfect type of race for me -a mixture of the atmosphere of XTERRA and the philosophy of "Living More", the camaraderie of an adventure race where competitors help each other along the way, yet the gut-wrenching relentless push to the finish line of triathlon. http://zone5events.com/event/mountain-madness/
Tri4Gold - Peachtree International (PIT) and SuperSprint Triathlons:
Kim Bramblett, race director of the Peachtree International and SuperSprint Triathlon commented a few weeks ago after I posted on Facebook an article about how real and close to a cure we are for Angelman Syndrome, that she wished she had tons of money that she could donate to help cure Angelman Syndrome, but since she doesn't, she would like to offer us an entry to the PIT to raffle off. I am so excited about seeing how many raffle tickets we can sell for a chance to win an entry into this fun, local, esteemed race! I have a hunch the amount we raise might not be a ton, but it will be more than we both ever imagined! Who wants a chance to take on the PIT? You will be a winner before you even enter the water! http://www.tri4gold.org/
Anne Port:
Yes, Anne gets her own section here as it is well-deserved. Anne is my sounding board. She listens to all of my ideas, my concerns, frustrations and doubts. She celebrates my joys and accomplishments with more enthusiasm than I deserve. She is my swimming partner -and for those who don't know me, swimming is not my favorite thing to do (thank goodness it is the first leg of the triathlon so I can get it over with and move on to more "fun" adventures in a race)- so Anne patiently sits poolside with me, often up to at least a half hour, before I convince myself to take the plunge and start the workout. Anne also loves to reward our completed workouts with a tasty post-swim Starbucks treat! I truly don't know what I would do without Anne in my life. She is a big sister, cheerleader, and dreamer (like myself) all in one.
Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST):
Honestly, my work is easy compared to the amazing team of Angelman Parents and supporters who have spent countless hours forming an organization that is truly revolutionizing the way researchers approach science and focus not merely on "research for the sake of research" but rather on "research to cure children with a neuro-genetic disorder". The amazing minds who are studying Angelman Syndrome know our children and know and understand the daily challenges our children face. Our children help fuel their passion to work arduously for pennies compared to scientists studying much more "lucrative" conditions such as Autism, Cancer, or Parkinson's. If it wasn't for people like Paula Evans, Maiddy Dunigan, Meagan Cross and Becky Burdine (and these are only 4 superstars on the FAST Board) who have given every extra ounce of energy and time they have to fight to make our dream come true, I would never have set my own goals or believed with every cell in my body that my child will one day talk, run, play and laugh with her typical peers.
My friends and family, including so many Angelman parents who have set their own goals and crossed their own finish lines:
There are days -and will be many more- where I just don't want to get out of bed in the morning. Some days I wake up and think the past almost 6 years have been an exhausting dream, and then I hear Hayden crying in the next room, look at the clock and see that it is only 4am, and realize that it is not a dream, it is the reality of my life. How I long to be "normal" and have "typical" children. In the life before Hayden (Dave and I refer to ourselves as having 2 lives, the pre-Hayden years and post-Hayden ones), Dave and I were active and adventurous. We would go on long hikes- even with Hailey in tow, go camping spontaneously, run when we felt like it, mountain biked, and just played. We might enter one or two races in a year, but never set large goals or trained much specifically. After receiving Hayden's diagnosis and forming Team Miles for Smiles, I began to set bigger goals to help raise money and awareness of AS. While I am grateful for my success and trusting of God for all the doors and opportunities He has given me, I am tired and my body begs me to slow down. Some days I want to with every aching joint of my being, but then I remind myself of all the people who are also living with hope because of what I am doing. I have met so many amazing people over the past few years who have loved on us, believed in us, and helped us reach the ultimate finish line. I hold these people, my fellow Angelman parents, my dear friends at the Joseph Sams School where Hayden attends who themselves are trying to make "normal" out of a crazy, turned around, upside down life they too have been given, my own beautiful daughters, and most of all, my loving husband, close to my heart. I see them in my mind as I train, I repeat their encouraging words in my head over the lonely miles, I allow them to pick me up when I am down and remind me that one day soon the dream will be a reality.
My team is growing every day and I am truly thankful and blessed. The finish line will be beyond amazing, but the journey along the way... well, that will be the story to write about...
Is it possible to maintain balance, a healthy family relationship, and train for a beast such as an Ironman? This is a question I have asked myself every day long before I took the first step. It is a question that I fear the answer to after seeing so many athletes consumed with the sport, as its mistress, making training and racing come before their faith, family, morals and values. Perhaps it is not possible, but I have to believe there can be a balance of faith and family as part of the journey. If a person surrounds him or herself with people who not only believe in them and want to help them in this journey, but also remind them of what is most important along the way, I think they will remain healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually. One day, the race will be over, training days long behind, and let's face it, for most of us, we will have spent more time and money than we ever dreamed of actually making in this sport. It is what we have after the race that is most important.
I am already overwhelmed with the support and offers to help by others who believe in me and this journey, who understand that it is more than a self-centered, individualistic goal and that it is really about so much more. I can swim the miles, log hours on the bike trainer, and pound the pavement on tired, weary legs, but I can't do it on my own. It takes a team to get to this start line, to believe in me when I am weak, to believe in our children and our dream.
I am so honored to have these amazing people on my team:
Peak Racing Team and Tony Hammett:
Tony approached me with the offer to sponsor our Miles for Smiles team and offered to coach me. Tony and I met a few years ago after both being sponsored by Team Aquaphor, an Active Ambassador team. We have stayed in touch over the past few years and he has watched our little Miles for Smiles dream grow. Tony formed his Peak Racing Team last year, following his own dream to run a team, coach, direct races, and inspire youth. He has a giving heart, loves others and believes in them. While his team is still in its infancy, it is full of energy and growing. I am encouraged by his positive attitude, his belief in my potential, and his understanding of why I do what I do and dream as I dream. I look forward to seeing our Miles for Smiles and Peak Racing Team relationship grow. There are so many possibilities and ideas brewing for the future for both teams with working together. After all, Together Everyone Achieves More! http://peakracingteam.com/
Zone 5 Events -Mountain Madness 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon:
Tri4Gold - Peachtree International (PIT) and SuperSprint Triathlons:
Kim Bramblett, race director of the Peachtree International and SuperSprint Triathlon commented a few weeks ago after I posted on Facebook an article about how real and close to a cure we are for Angelman Syndrome, that she wished she had tons of money that she could donate to help cure Angelman Syndrome, but since she doesn't, she would like to offer us an entry to the PIT to raffle off. I am so excited about seeing how many raffle tickets we can sell for a chance to win an entry into this fun, local, esteemed race! I have a hunch the amount we raise might not be a ton, but it will be more than we both ever imagined! Who wants a chance to take on the PIT? You will be a winner before you even enter the water! http://www.tri4gold.org/
Anne Port:
Yes, Anne gets her own section here as it is well-deserved. Anne is my sounding board. She listens to all of my ideas, my concerns, frustrations and doubts. She celebrates my joys and accomplishments with more enthusiasm than I deserve. She is my swimming partner -and for those who don't know me, swimming is not my favorite thing to do (thank goodness it is the first leg of the triathlon so I can get it over with and move on to more "fun" adventures in a race)- so Anne patiently sits poolside with me, often up to at least a half hour, before I convince myself to take the plunge and start the workout. Anne also loves to reward our completed workouts with a tasty post-swim Starbucks treat! I truly don't know what I would do without Anne in my life. She is a big sister, cheerleader, and dreamer (like myself) all in one.
Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST):
Honestly, my work is easy compared to the amazing team of Angelman Parents and supporters who have spent countless hours forming an organization that is truly revolutionizing the way researchers approach science and focus not merely on "research for the sake of research" but rather on "research to cure children with a neuro-genetic disorder". The amazing minds who are studying Angelman Syndrome know our children and know and understand the daily challenges our children face. Our children help fuel their passion to work arduously for pennies compared to scientists studying much more "lucrative" conditions such as Autism, Cancer, or Parkinson's. If it wasn't for people like Paula Evans, Maiddy Dunigan, Meagan Cross and Becky Burdine (and these are only 4 superstars on the FAST Board) who have given every extra ounce of energy and time they have to fight to make our dream come true, I would never have set my own goals or believed with every cell in my body that my child will one day talk, run, play and laugh with her typical peers.
My friends and family, including so many Angelman parents who have set their own goals and crossed their own finish lines:
There are days -and will be many more- where I just don't want to get out of bed in the morning. Some days I wake up and think the past almost 6 years have been an exhausting dream, and then I hear Hayden crying in the next room, look at the clock and see that it is only 4am, and realize that it is not a dream, it is the reality of my life. How I long to be "normal" and have "typical" children. In the life before Hayden (Dave and I refer to ourselves as having 2 lives, the pre-Hayden years and post-Hayden ones), Dave and I were active and adventurous. We would go on long hikes- even with Hailey in tow, go camping spontaneously, run when we felt like it, mountain biked, and just played. We might enter one or two races in a year, but never set large goals or trained much specifically. After receiving Hayden's diagnosis and forming Team Miles for Smiles, I began to set bigger goals to help raise money and awareness of AS. While I am grateful for my success and trusting of God for all the doors and opportunities He has given me, I am tired and my body begs me to slow down. Some days I want to with every aching joint of my being, but then I remind myself of all the people who are also living with hope because of what I am doing. I have met so many amazing people over the past few years who have loved on us, believed in us, and helped us reach the ultimate finish line. I hold these people, my fellow Angelman parents, my dear friends at the Joseph Sams School where Hayden attends who themselves are trying to make "normal" out of a crazy, turned around, upside down life they too have been given, my own beautiful daughters, and most of all, my loving husband, close to my heart. I see them in my mind as I train, I repeat their encouraging words in my head over the lonely miles, I allow them to pick me up when I am down and remind me that one day soon the dream will be a reality.
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| The Dunigan and McCurdy families celebrating after the Disney Marathon 1.13.14 |
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