This Mess is a Place....
This is an open journal, a two way street perhaps, that details what happening in my lane.... In 2007 I began endurance training after loosing my brother (Adam) to cancer. Life has brought me through so many peaks and valley's, and these are musings of that journey.
New fundraiser page!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Time Machine
Sunday, June 12, 2011
What Running Taught Me About Life
This is a copy of a speech I gave at the Minneapolis Marathon Pasta Party for Team In Training June 4 2011
Many, many of us run for similar reasons…we all have stories to tell…and those stories are often times painful in the TNT family….but those stories that we have… are part of our lives..they are important because it is those stories that make us who we are today.
I was invited here tonight because I have a story to tell and I am honored to share it with you in hopes…that it encourages you…to challenge yourself a little more tomorrow during the race. More importantly, that my words tonight might challenge you a little more the days after that…and each moment after that. If there is one thing that all of us runners can understand…is that a race is not just about race day. It is about training, discipline, commitment and mental toughness. If you are sitting here tonight…and you are racing tomorrow…and you don’t feel that you are good at one of those things…no worries….you have all day tomorrow to get better at it.
I joined TNT the summer of 07 after the loss of my brother Adam to Cancer on November 10th of 2006. I will never forget the feeling that I had the moment that he drew has last breath. I just wanted to run. It was a rather bizarre and intense feeling because I was not a runner. Running was a fantastically boring sport to me. But in the intensity of the moment…my emotion caused me burst out of his house…and all I wanted to do was run forever. I took about three strides and collapsed by a tree and sobbed…it was a moment that never seems too far away and it will be five years ago this November.
I wish I could stand here and tell you the story of his life because he was a fantastic man. He was 11 months 353 days older than me. A newly married man, and an even newer father. We lived the story book lives as neighbors on the Crow River in Dayton, MN. We both were in the construction trades and we were always working on house projects together.
Our houses, the neighbors house, a friends house, it didn’t matter we just loved to work on things…often together. Life was grand until that day cancer entered our lives. Not too say that the nine months that he lived with cancer were not joyful from time to time…but it no doubt changes things. I would love to have the time…to share with you details about hi…and his life…and the adventures we lived…but I have so many other places to go in tonight’s talk..that I have to move on to another chapter.
Just three years prior we went through a similar loss when our close friend and pastor died from cancer on his 33 birthday. His life was so amazing to me. He was a magnetic person that loved to serve others. I connected strongly to Dan Roelofs and it was fantastically sad to see his life end…yet he taught me so many things about life…and as he died, he intentionally used his experience with cancer to teach everyone around him about life. When Dan left us March of 2003… I prayed that I would never have to go thru that experience again but if I did that I would remember the things that I learned as we experienced life to its end with Dan.
As you know, it was only three years later that Adam life was cut short…but I sadly…we knew how we would get through it.
Many of us here tonight have lived through…or are currently living in the shadow of cancer…and as you all well know there is nothing anyone can say to make things better. But tonight I want to encourage you with some simple things that my experience has taught me.
At that point of extreme loss with my brother Adam I was at a clear crossroad in my life.
I had a choice - To continue to live in the shadow of that cancer and his death. Or I could choose to honor my brother’s life and reflect his goodness in each moment going forward.
That is never an easy choice when you are broken. And at times that brokenness seems to come out of nowhere. There is an amazing hole that is left by someone that dies that can never be filled. Time can sometimes be a healer but there are still times that emptiness comes out of nowhere that can overwhelm you like it all just happened.
There is a phrase that I was blessed with as I prepared to speak at my brother’s funeral…You see, he was never one to desire the limelight and he despised the fact that his death would cause anyone pain, yet that was inevitable. There was a common thread between Dan and my brother. They just wanted everyone to be happy.
It is and odd situation when you are caring for someone on their deathbed and their only concern…is for you and your own well being. That is an amazingly unselfish thing! If I could only remember half of the jokes they told as their days grew shorter. Only wanting everyone around to smile and be happy.
It was clear to me as I mourned Adams loss and prepared some words for his funeral. His death was going to change me as a person…and I had a choice.
I could choose to allow the sadness to keep hold and cause me to be bitter.
Or I could honor his wish for me to be happy…thus I would choose for his death to make me better. A concept that I still cannot fully understand, but I knew in my heart …what was…and is the right decision. So the phrase has stuck with me.
“BE BETTER NOT BITTER.” It is a choice I have made not just every day but every moment.
Loosing someone close is a fantastically sad and painful thing. It is a game changer. But consider this for a moment. For one moment…would that person you lost feel good about the fact that your life changed for the worse because of them. Because of something that no one could control. NOT FOR ONE MOMENT. I cannot fully understand how this is accomplished on your own. I fully rely on God above to give me that strength because when Dan and Adam were living in the shadows of cancer…their only hope and strength with in Him. That is how they lived and that is how they died...relying on His grace and power because they knew that they could not do it alone.
I know that that GRACE AND LOVE will more than suffice for me too. Beyond that I fully know and trust that it is my duty to reflect their greatness in my life now that they are gone. Regardless of your circumstance you can never be to good at that….and that is not the important thing…that important thing is if you try…because it is not all about me it is about us….it is about them…it is about everyone I come in contact with from this moment forward and the attitude that I portray.
Always ask the question….IS IT POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE.
Be positive.
These are ideas that I knew to be true in my head but when I joined TNT in the summer of 07…but I was still in a bit of a fog. I was brought up more of a pessimist that an optimist and being a competitive person that causes a ton of challenges in the endurance world.
My first coach for my first event was and is a passionate TNT supporter. I am so thankful for the positive influence she had on my life. A wonderful person… but to me she came across a bit crazy. She was always preaching “positive energy” everything is “positive” “everything is good.” Those were not concepts that I identified with at all…nor was I in much of a positive mood…but as time went on I knew I needed to trust her theory. I had no Idea about endurance sports and my only option was to buy into to her philosophy. I began to pay attention to my attitude and the attitude of others around me. I saw how I was able to finish ahead of far superior athletes simply because of the attitude I had with anything that happened training or racing. I quickly realized that the concept had much more value in life than it did in racing and training.
For example: Did anyone here experience less than perfect weather conditions during you training?
Now if you allowed that bad weather to dampen your spirit and keep you from giving your best performance that day… what did you gain? On the other hand, if you looked at that weather and told yourself, “Race day may be a bad weather day, I should be prepared for that...most people are not crazy enough to be out here…I will have an advantage in this experience…and for nothing less…this is what today gave me….so I will enjoy what I have and give it my fullest effort and encourage everyone around me.” How different would that experience be? Your attitude allows yu to engage your mind and body to be stronger….although I can remember many, many uncomfortable training days…that could not be classified as fun but rather something that I could be proud of for being consistent and committed. I can say that those days did make me stronger as a person and as a racer. I can say that Dan and Adam would be proud of me…and I know they would give anything to experience just one more day regardless of the weather.
In any of my life challenges I remember the seriousness of Adams pain…the reality of his situation..and the smile on his face….the jokes that he told.
Life is full of challenge…enjoy it! Embrace it.
Training is important…the details are important. Anything you do…be it big or small is worth doing to the best of your ability…The attitude you carry as you do anything is important…do it all with joy…regardless of how you feel…regardless of the weather…life is full of joy if you allow it…it is a treasure…you are never alone.
I do not like racing alone..that Is one of the many reasons that I love TNT…Running a marathon is not easy…why do it alone…Life is not easy…why do it alone.
Tomorrow will be hard…good! There will be tremendous struggle…good…you are ready for it…you have been inspired all season.
Run with Joy tomorrow…through the pain and through the struggle…allow the positive things you know flood your mind as you run. Plan exactly what you will think about in different sections of the race. Allow those experiences and memories to inspire your run…and inspire those around you. INSPIRE THE TEAM!
And when you are done…be proud of what you did….not just on race day…but all season long. Look forward to the next challenge in life and inspire others with a positive attitude because after you survive tomorrow…you can do anything!
If you come up short…be positive…never in any circumstance…feel the affect of negativity…it is a waste of time…learn you lesson…keep you head high a… know your race is long …there is no time to hang you head…there are too many good things to do…so many races to run.
You are proud of an amazing group of people that inspire people in the shadows of cancer…do your best…inspire everyone around you…be patient…be strong…and do it with a smile…because you are amazing! What you have done this season..is amazing! What you will do tomorrow…will be amazing!
God belss you tomorrow as you run….but more importantly be a blessing all the moments after that. Life is so worth giving it your all!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
GO TEAM!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Hot Summer
What a summer it has been! Another TNT season has passed and we are head long into summer.
My lifetime race July 10 was great this year. The 2010 Triathlon teams raised $280,000 for the Leukemia, Lymphoma, Society!
It was an honor to serve as a "Team Captain" this season as we guided along many new athletes to the world of triathlon. I have so many highlights to the year, just like every season. I will share a couple that really stick with me. Racing with survivors of cancer really touches me. It inspires me to keep up the fight and get others to join. This season we trained and raced with eight survivors. Matt Haley a good friend from past marathon teams crossed over to the Tri world and had an exceptional race. Matt was in stage four cancer just two years ago and the new therapies backed by LLS have his cancer in remission. Josh Bertleson, our honored teammate, was working overtime this season as we watched him race Ironman Utah (st.george). After his triumphant finish at Ironman he came back to race with "team" at Lifetime in the sprint division and metaled in his age group. Josh is another person that has directly benefited from LLS backed treatments. Those are just two of the many stories that I was close to this season.
The other point of major inspiration this season was the Wilk family. Darrell Wilk had lost his wife just this past Dec when their family decided they would fundraise and race in her memory. Darrell, his son David, his daughter Jeanine and her husband Mike Roddy all trained and fundraised in the wake of tremendous loss this season. They all inspired the team to amazing heights this season and finished with incredible finishes on race day. I count myself lucky to have gotten to know the Wilk family and pray their continued healing.
Personally my race was one of my favorites for the listed reasons above. Numbers wise is not at all where I had trained to be, but you get what you get race day and I chose to love it! The swim was to warm for wet suits so that means slower swim times. That being said I loved the swim and was extremely happy with my swimming efforts. The bike felt great as I put out the strongest most consistent bike I could. It was a solid bike on a beautiful day. The run I found complications that allowed me to enjoy the course a while longer than I would have hoped. I had been experiencing some signs of a chest infection earlier in the week but was not concerned. Race day brought me a more restricted airway as I attempted to push as hard as I could on the final event. My body was ready but my airway would not let me push as hard as I wanted. Four weeks later and the chest infection still lingers.
Even though race day did not match my exceptions in terms of race time, I can say that it was my favorite season yet. I put very little stock in race time, it is the overall experience and the quality of training during the season that is the key. My season was amazing with incredible people striving to put more cancer survivors in the race.
With the season over I look forward to sleeping in Saturdays and not having to drive around town for training's, but I always do really miss group workouts.
The next race we need to finish is "Job Search 2010" it has been a challenging season in the job search field as my continued efforts to secure full time employment continues to elude me. The things I have (and continue) to learn about endurance training have come in handy as the search is now into its eighth month.
If there is a connection out there that may yield an opportunity out there for me I would appreciate any contact you would have.
We are very mobile in terms of being able to pick up and move. My background would translate well into most any field.
Thank you all for all the prayers and support over the last four years. Eight races and thousands of miles of training has been wonderful for me and my family.
"The miracle isn't that I finished...The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
-John "The Penguin" Bingham
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Happy Fathers Day!
Hard to believe summer is now in full swing. So many things to do so little time to do it all with. Not a bad problem to have. As training ramps up for me I am reminded even more, of the value and the necessity of perspective.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Season Opener!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Garage Sale!
What an exciting time of the year. Summer! The tri season starts this Sunday in Buffalo and I can't believe where the time has gone. Up-dating the blog has been difficult this season to keep up but I will promise to be regular from here on because it is going to be non stop action from here out!