A good friend suggested I started this blog yesterday so I coul document my training. At first it seemed like a good idea but once I started writting I just felt that this was more than just a place to document my training. I decided I will post here a little bit more than my training. I decided I wanted to share my experience and my journey. I want to document what doing an IronMan for a specific reason really means. If I am doing this to help raise awareness and to pitch in the fight against this desease, I thought, why not share my story. So folks that is what I have finally decided to do. I will give meaning to this journey by documenting not only my training but by documenting 20 years of emotions, and thoughts. I want everyone to understand how Cancer destroys your life but if you survive like me, you get a second chance to tell your story so that others will have hope and also look forward to surviving. Coach K asked me this morning if I had to do this in a public way. I know he was referring to many of the facebook and social networking consecuences where it is know customary to share almost your whole life with whoever wants you as a friend. I know he did not meant anything by it and I am sure he was joking with me but little did he know that yes, This is my story!!!!
Today was my first formal training. Last night Coach K finally answered the call and accepted to train me with a little twist in that he will also be doing the event alonside us. I slept well with no worries after all there is still a year ahead. I showed up to the pool and was ready for "whatever". My goal was simple, just do as your told and finish the first practice. I have been swiming for a few months now so I new it was not going to be that bad but you never know. Water is not a problem for me I feel very confortable when in the water regerdless of it being open water, lakes, rivers, or in this case the pool. Even before I jumped in I had my mind set in that this work out was going to be more of a mental test than a phisical one. I needed to prove my self that I still had the same attitude and mental readiness I had 20 years ago when I was doing some serious military training. Back then, the body did not matter, it became only an instrument of what you needed to do. It was all mind over matter. I always remember what we used to say to each other when all you could think of was quiting. "Just Keep going, that SOB has to sleep at some point". I applied that concept today. I knew Coach K only had an hour with us so that would pretty much be the extent of my suffering. I did my best to train as hard as I could. We did a lot of drills which I hate, but lets just say I have done some of them before and I know them pretty well. I needed to define how I would tackle this journey and I am pretty confident I found the answer. I won't question my coach I would do what I am told. I am here voluntarily so I will concentrate on doing everything I an assigned to do, as good and as precise as I can. I felt sloopy but I know I will get better as I get stronger which by the way I felt today. Very strong that is. My reveiling moment came when the coach made us do a drill that involved swiming underwater for as long as we could. He was trying to make a point to the group, but to me it came as moment of truth. The Navy seals perform this same excersice with a little twist. They are not allowed to surface for air until they have crossed the length of the pool or simply pass out. Passing out is failing, but surfacing for air is veiwed as a lack of comitment. The excersice has its purpose. It shows the new trainees that they can indeed acomplish things that in the beginning they felt were imposible. Crossing the pool is just a taste of acomplishment and it teaches that the body will take you further as long as you learn to push it to new limits. I stayed back for a few moments and just convinced myself that I needed to push as far as I could. I set a goal which turned out to be my doughter Gabriela who at the time was the farthest down the pool. I took a breath and promised myself I would not surface until I have passed her, NO MATTER WHAT. I pushed off the side and then cheated a little bit with the floor but at the end I surfaced beyond her mark. I felt very good, obviously not phisically because I was very close to passing out, but mentally. Seeing all those people behind me felt pretty good. I was not the furthest, a couple of others went just a little bit further, but to me it was not about winning or loosing. The Ironman is an individual achievement and that is exactly what I found today in that drill. An individual achievement. I acomplished what I had put my mind to do and that was a huge step for me. I could feel the fire in my head, I felt that I still had the mental readiness I would need for this, so all that is left is getting my body in shape. I am sure coach K will take care of that.
I am on my way to the cardiologist to see if I can rid of the cardio blocker which will make my training easier. We will see what happens.
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