Ironman Maryland

He's been training for a year. Over the past few months he'd get up at 5 to get a workout in, coming back to the house around 7:30, then leaving a half hour later for work. On the weekends he'd be gone from 6-2ish either riding his bike or running.

Gatorade and Cliff Bars and Gu are now called nutrition in our house. We have near empty bottles of Tri Glide laying around the bathroom. Aleks' arms have an impressively dark tan line from his biking jersey. Even more impressive are his smooth, muscled legs thanks to a waxing session we had the other night.

He's had sleepless nights. Nervous stomach issues. He's been doing positive visualizations of the race day.

The past two weeks I've spent getting ready to be gone this weekend; canceling lessons, preemptively making up lessons, getting a sub for my church gig. My mom is flying in today, which means she also cleared out her busy work schedule.

I cleaned my car, mowed the front and back yards, made sure the towels and bed sheets are clean. I washed our laundry and did menu planning for the weekend. I also made sure to clip the girls' fingernails and toenails before I head out of town.

Check. Check. Check.

This Ironman thing is an entity on its own. To see my husband finish the race just seems surreal. It consists of a 2. 4 mile swim, 112 mile bicycle ride, and a 26.2 run. I can hardly believe my husband is attempting this: the man who couldn't ride his bike for 8 miles without throwing up when we were in grad school. (We did live in a hilly area...)

Not only am I impressed by his fitness, but more so the discipline he's shown over the past year. All this training has not been easy. I know that there were many many times he would have rather dealt with whiny, over-tired kids than go for a run. It's taken an emotional toll on him and the family as well. He has told me that he knows how is training has affected the family and that he feels guilty for the sacrifices we've all had to make this year.

That guilt is unnecessary. The girls and I could not be prouder of the work he's done to get to this place. It has been a wonderful thing for our kids to see. And while it has made things harder for me, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love seeing my husband set goals and work hard to meet those goals. I will never resent the journey we've been on this year.

Yesterday Aleks headed to the airport to fly to Maryland. An hour before the flight he called me saying that the race had been cancelled due to the approaching hurricane.

It was cancelled.

Not happening.

Money, time, single parent weekends, flashed before my eyes.

Training. Money. Time.

Cancelled.

It just kind of leaves a person speechless.

So, here we are, picking up the pieces of our weekend, trying to recoup as best we can. Figuring out what the next step is.

Aleks said in the history or Ironman races, only 2 others have been cancelled. I'm sure the race directors are reeling much more than we are. And it was the right choice to make. There is no need to put anyone in unnecessary danger.

The race might be rescheduled for later in October. Or they might open up other spots in different Ironman races.

Nothing definite has been decided.

Mentally Aleks and I are both done. We were ready to complete this thing and get back to "normal" life.

He's not sure what he's going to do just yet. I'd love to see him do the race and feel a sense of closure after all of his hard work. We'll see.

Saturday is his birthday. That day was also the day of the race. It's going to look a lot different than we had planned.

I plan to celebrate. We're going to celebrate the man that Aleks is and for how he contributes and completes this family. And we're going to celebrate all the training that he's done this past year. We may have to hold off on the medal and tattoo, but I cannot believe that this past year has been in vain.

There is just as much value in the journey as in the finish.

Maybe I'll have to get him a medal anyway.