Category: Ironman

This is pretty great.  A few days ago I wrote a post called “366 Marathons in a Year?” and put one snarky line in there about how “they may have tried to sneak in a couple 25 milers” along the way.  Less than an hour later I found this comment waiting in my inbox:

Hi Mike,
Thanks for featuring us on your blog.
To clarify, we ran a marathon every day for 366 days, no days off. Every day we ran at least 42.2 km (official marathon distance), some days we ran further, so our average for every day was no less than 43.12 km for 366 consecutive marathons.
We were sponsored by Garmin and recorded the running data on the Garmin watch and on the Garmin GPS devices on our two support vehicles.You can’t cheat on the Garmin! So, no, there were no 25 milers happening 
We documented the daily runs on the Garmin and Strava sites and posted the data in our daily Facebook blogs. We have written a book entitled ‘Running Out of Time’ based on the Run, which is available on our website, http://www.RawVeganPath.comand we are currently making a documentary which will be submitted to the Cannes Film Festival in April/May 2015 with the intention of distributing to cinemas worldwide. Please do not hesitate to contact us through our website http://www.RawVeganPath.com if you would like further information. Together, we can make a difference – one step at a time… Janette

This doesn’t quite top the response I got from Dr. Oz, but it’s in the ballpark.

I am genuinely in awe of Janette and Alan’s accomplishment.  It’s one of those deals almost too big to fathom.  I emailed her back and assured her that I was just having fun with the story.  I would actually love to do an interview with them on here . . . if they’re up for it.  (Hint).

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It wasn’t that long ago when I was dying to get my first race shirt.  Nearly three years later, I fear they may wind up being my demise.

My Couch to 5k program came with tech shirts (see photo from this post) and I was jacked!  I thought it was the coolest thing since I wore a leopard print bandanna to the Indy 500.

Soon after that 5k, I started running with the East Nasties and for some reason, their “hand out the shirt process” was very secretive.  I kept asking and they’d say something like, “Ya just never know!”

Then I helped coach the next Couch to 5K for East Nasty and one of the promises was a shirt.  But I missed the night they handed them out and was literally crushed when Cyrus told me they didn’t have any left.  But, by some stroke of luck, they found an extra and I thought I was the coolest piece of cheese on the shelf!

And speaking of shelves, mine are overflowing with crap.  Mostly race tech shirts I can’t get rid of to save my life.

I’ve been suffering from the Winter Blues lately and my typical remedy is to clear out the clutter.  So, with genuine intent, I stormed into my bedroom and scoweled at that shelf.  I was determined clean the slate, but I stood and stared at that that tech-shirt-overflow for 10 solid minutes.  I was frozen in time and more confused than the morning I took my college ACTs with a hangover.

For 10 minutes, I stayed in a perfectly executed tree pose.  I gazed at those shirts and thought, why can’t I get rid of you?  Why does the “Shamrock 5K” have such a grip on my psyche?  What is it about the “Moosic City Dairy Dash” that makes cling to those utters for life?

It’s perplexing.

So, now, I am in a different room writing about it and those shirts are resting unscathed on their cozy little shelves.  All waiting to laugh in my face when I saunter by with tense and frustrated eyes.

I realize this is not very impressive coming from a guy who claims to be practicing Zen and meditating every night.  Holding onto possessions like this is senseless and certainly no way to find enlightenment.  And how can I not understand that when I hold up this bright orange Rev 3 shirt that is eerily reminiscent of something I would get at Mapco?

This will certainly not go down as my night of awakening.

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1.  We will be slowly migrating the Twitter account over to @CrushingIron so please follow us there to get all Crushing Iron updates.

2.  We’re looking for guest bloggers, so please email Mike ([email protected]) if you would like to re-post one of your favorite articles or write something new for the exposure on Crushing Iron (there could be a free t-shirt in it for you).

3.  We’re working on setting up an online store so you can order some of the awesome Crushing Iron t-shirts that have been floating around at many Ironman events.

4.  We’re about to up the ante on training videos, so keep an eye out for more visual treats.

Thanks for a great year and all the positive feedback!

Over the weekend I attended an AA meeting in support of a friend.  Before the meeting started, I was having a conversation with a lady who was marveling about doing an Ironman.

“It’s just crazy, I don’t know how you do it!”

On many levels, I agree with her.  It is a overwhelming to think about as a whole.

But, I didn’t tackle the 140.6 miles the day I signed up, I slowly built confidence day after day.

A 5K turned into a 10K into a half marathon, etc . . . and I was surrounded by people just like me doing the same thing.  It made these feats more manageable, and more importantly, believable.

Everything about Ironman loses its mystery over time.  In my case, after about a year, I just did it.

Coincidently, my friend was at this AA meeting to receive his one-year chip.  One year of listening, learning, and doing the work.

He made it!  Well, he made it to that day . . . but it doesn’t mean it’s over.

After the meeting it dawned on me that most things in life, including Ironman and AA, are about convincing yourself you can do something, and that’s always easier when you are surrounded by people on the same mission.  It’s that support, that big picture focus, and visual reinforcement that keep us on track.

AA works because they are always around by people accomplishing the things everyone wants.  It’s a road map and constant reminder that anything is possible.  “Quit drinking forever?!?,” impossible.  Quit drinking today, “Sure, I can do that.”

But we forget if we’re not around people going through the same thing.  We go into our heads and rationalize the easy way out.

I’m also pretty sure this is why religion thrives.  We’re all in this together . . . we just need to be reminded.

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I just wanted to run.  An easy 5 or 6 miles on the trails at Shelby Bottoms.

It’s become my new favorite thing.  Running wild in nature.  Being one with the earth, wind, and the eery sounds I hear in the woods.

Lately there have been tons of deer in the park and for some reason they never want to hang around and chat.  Each time their exit is filled with grace and power that leaves me in awe.

So, I took off and tried letting go of my mind, but couldn’t stop thinking about this Bill Cosby business.  It had me a little fired up for some reason.  I think mainly because, “If not Bill Cosby, who can you trust?”

But, I think on a deeper level, I was frustrated with the fact that I was frustrated about this.  I mean, is anyone really surprised?

Not me.  It seems as natural as the sun blinding my eyes.

The real question is, “When are we going to realize that we are still basically animals?”  How else can we explain the unmatchable feeling we get running through nature?  It’s the epitome of highs (well, maybe after sex, and of course that’s an animalistic activity as well and we know what that did for Mr. Cosby).

Manners and social graces wear us down.  We have to let that animal roam.  We just want to be free.

In no way am I defending Cosby’s actions, I’m just trying to figure out what the hell’s going on in this world.  It’s almost like we should start expecting these things instead of being surprised.  Like they say, the first step is admitting there’s a problem.

Maybe that would make us more compassionate creatures.  Maybe we would understand that humans are flawed and no amount of rules, regulations, or no trespassing signs is going to change that.

I think all of this is what draws me to running.  You’re alone with nature and don’t need anything but your body.  It’s a perfect escape and I see wrong with that.

But it’s hard to run with Bill Cosby on your mind, so I turned further inside and started thinking about cookies.

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