Not Just a Training Camp ... A Community

I'll tell you a story from earlier this year. In July, I was in Lake Placid, New York for the 10th anniversary edition of the Ford Ironman Lake Placid. I am a back-of-the-pack guy at the longer distances, so I have gotten into the habit of carrying my BlackBerry device with me during these races (before the race, the mobile goes into my swim-to-bike bag; after the swim, I get my bag in T1 and from there it goes from the bag to a pocket on my shorts or jersey). This way, I can text my wife and let her know I am OK during the race, check the sports scores, etc. It's a long day, and since I'm just trying to finish, a few extra minutes in each transition to stay connected is worth it (to me anyway). This worked well enough in Arizona this April (although it is also bone dry there, which makes a difference as you will see in a minute).

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Well, you may have heard that they had near-legendary conditions at IMLP this year; three inches of rain on the day. It started at 7:30 am, during the swim. It rained hard, and it rained all day ... it didn't really stop until about almost 7:00 pm. For some slower folks (like me), it didn't stop there, either. After a short break, the rain came on again for another hour and a half, finally ending about 9:00 pm.

Coming into T1, our swim-to-bike bags were outside on the transition racks. Even though the bags (which have a drawstring that does not seal up completely at the top) had collected some water at that point, my BlackBerry was still working. From T1, I was able to email my wife and a couple of friends with the news that I had swum a slower-than-expected (but-its-OK-'cause-I'm-just-here-to-finish) 1:11.

T2 -- different story. Needless to say, my BlackBerry, even though it was double-wrapped inside plastic sandwich bags, did not survive the rain. When I got back to T2, it was basically DOA.

Normally, this wouldn't be a big deal. However, my oldest daughter had traveled with me to this race (she was there with me in Tempe earlier this year as well), and we both very much wanted things to work out so that we could cross the finish line together. The plan was for me to write a short email to my wife (who had stayed home with our other 3 girls) and she would relay to my brother-in-law, who was with me in Lake Placid. He and our host would bring Sarah down to the finish area at the time I approximated.

No phone. No chance of getting the word to Sarah ... maybe I could find a pay phone somewhere on the run course and call collect ... have to be in town, though ... do they even have pay phones anymore? This was my beginning thought process to formulate a "Plan B" for contacting Sarah.

Until I ran out of the changing tent and onto the run course. I went about 5 strides and heard "Hey, Stan!" Looked over, and there was a good friend, Scott Perschke, up from Pennsylvania with his dad to watch the race and then get in line for on-site registration the next morning for the 2009 race. I came over to the barrier, exchanged a high five and popped the question: "Brother, can you spare a cell phone?" Scott generously let me call my wife back in Virginia. I dialed, told her I'd finish between 11:15 pm and 11:45 pm, and she called her brother from there. Gave the phone back to Scott, said thanks and good-bye to him and his dad, and off to try and finish the run before midnight.

Several hours later ... I crossed the line with Sarah, who was waiting for me.

I mention all this because I know Scott from having attended each of the first three editions of the International Christian Triathlon Network annual camp and retreat in Arizona. If you are a believing endurance athlete (or even just an endurance athlete), this is a must-attend event. Each year, the workouts, coaching, speakers and fellowship have been incredible, and those lucky enough to be regular attendees all agree that coming back to Arizona in January for this event is like being at a family reunion. That connection certainly made my day a memorable one in Lake Placid. (Thanks, Scott.)

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I encourage you to consider attending, so that your 2009 will get off to a great start spiritually and athletically, and you can also get plugged into the same great group of people.

Finish strong (and see you in Tucson in January!),

Stan

Like Riding in a Dust Tornado Inside of an Oven ...

... that is how I would describe participating in the April 2008 edition of Ironman Arizona. I finished, and am fired up that I did, but it was a tough, tough day. One cool thing that happened was that I got to run the last couple of miles into the finish with Pastor Scott Bennefield of Albuquerque, New Mexico (he is Body Life Pastor at Hoffmantown Church there). We had also gone for a long run together at January's ICTN camp/retreat in Scottsdale, so this was sort of a bookend to that earlier run. Speaking of tough ... Pastor Scott passed a kidney stone on the third bike lap and still managed to get across the line. Unreal!

There were some pretty scary stats flying around in the wake of the extreme weather, like this info from the official Ironman website, posted just prior to the midnight deadline:

"A tough day in Arizona
RACETIME: 16:27
If you are wondering how tough things were out on the course today, all you have to do is check out the number of DNF's at today's race.Of the 2035 athletes who started the swim, 2033 finished in time to start the bike.Of those, 1,874 managed to get through the hot and windy bike course.1,830 of those started the run.With just under 40 minutes to go, 1,574 of those athletes have finished.The high attrition rate is no-doubt due to the extreme heat we experienced here today, coupled with the high winds."

So, I felt pretty lucky to get across the line with my oldest daughter, Sarah.

The best part of the weekend was seeing old friends in Arizona. This is fourth year in a row I've been able to go to Arizona for the race, either to work in the expo for Tri4Christ/FCA Endurance and help with IronPrayer, or to do the race (which I finished in 2006 as well).

I don't have any illusions of grandeur about my IM skill set, but I feel fortunate that I was able to use lessons of perseverance and faith from our annual ICTN camps, the IronPrayer events, and also the inspiration of friends who have been brave enough to share their stories, as tools to help me finish. And, I am especially proud to be able to count men and women like Scott, Linc/Jen, Bob/Jan, Dan, Brian/Jill, JR/Wendy, Chris A., Tom, Kirk, Shelper, Don, Phil/Sandy, Troy/Robin, Dan C., Mike B., Heather/Todd, Jamie/Courtney, Jason, Bill/Gina, Marty/Alona, Mike, AJ, DR, Matt and so many others as friends in Christ, life, and tris. I know I am blessed to be able to compete. And I know that blessing is even more profound when I get to experience it in the company of so many special people.

When Chrissy and I got married 11 years ago, we prayed for some special friends to come into our lives ... When we consider the gifts God has given us since then in the friendships at our "home" and our "tri" church families, it is very humbling and very special to us.

I love tris, but I love the people I've met through triathlon even more. Thanks for the support and the friendship - it is much more than another reason not to quit a race. It is the reason we are alive - to practice the friendship and adventure we will share together with Christ in the place and time to come.

Proud to be your friend. Finish strong,

Stan

To the Westward ...

Posted from British Airways lounge @ Heathrow Airport, London, England - waiting for a connection to Frankfurt.

Last week was the 3rd Annual ICTN (International Christian Triathlon Network) camp and retreat in Phoenix. Once again, this gathering of pro and age group athletes, coaches, and pastors who share a love for endurance athletics and Christ was an amazing event. God continues to do some amazing things in our community, and it is just cool to be along for the ride.

On my way out to Phoenix, it happened that I was listening to a CD of the soundtrack from Ken Burns' PBS documentary on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The CD has some excerpts from the journals of the expedition. The journals were written by seven members of the Corps of Discovery, including Lewis and Clark.

A couple of the journal entries and letters really caught my interest, as they were an interesting accompaniament to the anticipation I felt heading out (west!) to Arizona for the camp, and the poignancy that always seems to frame the wrap-up of the camp and the travel home.

From a letter by Sgt. John Ordway, on April 8, 1804:

"Honored Parents,

I am now on an expedition to the Westward with Captain Lewis and Captain Clark through the interior parts of North America. We are to ascend the Missouri River with a boat as far as it is navigable and then go by land to the western ocean if nothing prevents. I will write next winter, if I have the chance."

I love this letter. "To the Westward" evokes everything that is still exciting to an East Coaster about heading toward the setting sun, even if the mode of travel is a lot more pedestrian than the modes employed by the Corps of Discovery. "Honored Parents" is a great way to open a letter; reminding that author of the Biblical charge to honor his father and mother, but also conveying and bestowing that honor on his parents when they were to open up the letter and read it. How about "if nothing prevents" or the fact that Ordway planned to "write next winter, if I have the chance." There were real and substantial hazards, many of them as yet unknown when the expedition left St. Louis, waiting for these men. And yet, they went ahead, with full confidence in their leaders and, one assumes, extra helpings of both anticipation and courage.

The bookend to Ordway's entry on Day 1 of the expedition, is the entry he penned upon the group's return to St. Louis on September 23, 1806, two and one-half years later:

"about 12 oClock we arived in Site of St Louis fired three Rounds as we approached the the Town and landed oppocit the center of the Town, the people gathred on the Shore and Hizzared three cheers. we unloaded the canoes and carried the baggage all up to a store house in Town drew out the canoes then the party all considerable much rejoiced that we have the Expedition Completed and now we look for boarding in Town and wait for our Settlement and then we entend to return to our native homes to See our parents once more as we have been so long from them."

To me, this is also a stirring and rich entry. Finishing a long race, like a marathon or a triathlon, is definitely a cause for celebration or relief (or both, sometimes). One can only imagine the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction -- as well as celebration and relief -- that was felt by each member of the Corps of Expedition upon its return to St. Louis. Pick the appropriate multiplier, and that feeling on a higher level is probably a good image of what it will be like when we make it home to be with our Lord. But you also can't help but wonder if there wasn't a sort of emotional letdown a few hours or days after their return. For over 2 years, they were out there on the forefront of what was known about the great western expanse of the continent, much of it obtained in the Louisiana Purchase ... and then, they were home, cleaning out their boats, repairing and stowing their gear, and saying their goodbyes as they moved on to other assignments or jobs. They had to have pangs of regret that there was not another adventure to share together ... we know that Merriwether Lewis died in violent circumstances just a few years after the expedition's end, in 1809. President Jefferson suspected his death was a suicide, although the Lewis family always maintained otherwise. If Jefferson was right, could the melancholy or emotional letdown of coming back to civilization after a lengthy period in the wilds have been a contributing factor ...?

When I got back from Phoenix, I experienced an emotional letdown, although obviously to a different degree and without a severe depression of the kind that Lewis is said to have suffered. But, it can be hard to be "on the mountaintop" and in the presence of Christ and sharing in that with some much-loved fellow travelers, and then come back down to the relatively mundane routine of tasks and meetings ... Thankfully, the joy of getting home to see my wife and girls was a great countermeasure to that letdown, and I suspect that is another area of similarity to what Ordway experienced, which he hinted at in his comments about intending to see his parents, from whom he had been separated for so long.

One final note. There are any number of Biblical texts we could take to describe what is involved in taking that mountaintop feeling away from the camp and back to share with our friends and family members. However, since I was so immersed in the Lewis and Clark story, I found, instead, that this quote from Jefferson compelling and useful to complete the metaphor:

"The work we are now doing is, I trust, done for posterity, in such a way that they need not repeat it. We shall delineate with correctness the great patterns of this country. Those who come after us will fill up the canvas we begin."

Amen. God has undertaken a mighty work with this camp and the network of like-minded athletes that is growing within endurance sports. To a certain degree, we are just stewards, trying to stay out of the way as He leads us and the camp and the network in a particular and transformative direction ... and we act as stewards in the hope that what is growing at this time and in this group can be successfully handed on to those who will come after us.

Finish strong,
Stan