....Comeback?

What is a comeback? The truth is I have no idea. I have started to write a new post a billion times in the last year or so, but the reality is that I have not been sure that I have anything left to say that might inspire others to be healthier.

Hell, we as a family have been struggling, or maybe the best word is surviving. It seems that ever sense I was in the hospital for rhabdo I have not been right. I have come to believe that this entire struggle has been divine intervention, and it slowed me down to learn to recenter or regroup for the struggles that were to come. Since it has been a long time since we all have talked let's recap a little:

 - I am terminally short and around 12 years ago I was way out of shape and fat.

- My great neighbor (Jurgen) told me I was fat and too young to be that way.

- I decided to try my hand at a sprint triathlon and started training right before my first daughter was born.

 - That first year began a journey that helped me lose weight and get fit. Over the course of a few years and some bad advice from my training and travel partner (Jerred) I got healthier and have traveled the country racing.

 - This lifestyle became a purpose to help others the day my Dad died in January of 2009.

 -  I started this blog to show others that normal people have to learn to fight for your health no matter your background.

 - I push myself more and more to the point that I wasn't "healthy, " and I ignored many of the signs my body was telling me to rest.

 - I went through a workout with some friends and put myself in the hospital with rhabdo, and for the first time in a very long time I had no other choice but to rest.

Now that we are all somewhat caught up. Let's talk about what's been going on since the last post. I battled extreme fatigue for more than a year, and when I finally felt good enough to workout, even a little, it would put me down for a few days. Then a rare eye issue that I have battled for more than ten years became unmanageable. The simplest way to describe the issue is that my eyes get so inflamed the cornea will swell making my vision go blurry in one eye or both, and not to mention I look like I haven't slept in a week and have been drinking.

Now I rarely have talked about my job or my family on here to mainly respect their privacy, but our reality is that the last few years we have dealt with an unknown medical issue with one of our girls. So between my own issues, our family issues, and stress from my job we have felt like many days we are just surviving. As much as I have wanted to write about a comeback it just hasn't materialized the way that I thought that it would. I just knew that I would just wake up one day, and we would be right back to where we were at before. That's not how life goes.

The reality is that we all have season's and some season's last longer then other's, and some season's change you forever. Many of those times you have to also realize that you can't always tough it out and fight on your own. We all will need help.

The only thing that I can now guarantee is that we will all go through good times, and we will all go through bad times. When you can you have to make the time to improve yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually. When the time comes that you have to fight you want to be in the best position to fight.

So go out there and fight!

Keebler

P.S. If you are still out there let me know. As you can see from the results page I am back to running in organized races again. You notice I didn't say racing. Besides my family a lot of me getting back to some level of physical and mental fitness is because of Nicole Adams with http://cnsathlete.com. She not only has helped me get my head straight (as much as that is possible), but she is getting me back on the road to feeling like an athlete again.

Next Up:
I am scared to death to tell you that I am running next weekend in the Mayor's Marathon here in Lubbock. This is a goal that is beyond my abilities and reach right now, but I am so excited to have it here in Lubbock that I had to try. Preparing for this is what has finally relit by passion for inspiring others. I'll update soon I promise!

Embracing Your Struggles

I have been wanting to update the blog for a very long time, but I really wanted the next blog post after TIR to be about how everything was great again. Even leading up to TIR, and after, I knew that I was still not where I needed to be. Everything since being in the hospital has seemed forced, but more on that a little later. One thing I have felt horrible about was not doing any update on the race, and I feel like I disrespected our team in not updating anything. So we will start there before getting into the topic at hand.

The Texas Independence Relay was such a unique experience for us, and something that will always stay with Susan and I. It's not just about running multiple legs over 2 days, but it is more about doing it with a great group of people. None of us knew everyone before getting in the vans together at Brad and Kristi's, but by the end of the race we were all old friends.

I really was very apprehensive on my ability to run, and maybe even complete what the team needed me to complete. It seems like a hundred years ago that I was in the hospital with rhabdo, but it has now been over a year. At the time of the race I had been "recovered" for about 6-7 months, and it had already been a rocky recovery. I knew I was going into the relay not at the training I had wanted to be at, but there was no way I was going to let the team down.

There are so many things that are so hard to describe about this race, but I will try to give it some context. Starting off with a literal canon blast, and then if you aren't running then you are cheering and supporting the person that runs. It was easy to keep up the energy through the first day, but the real struggle would come for all of us to keep that same energy through the middle of the night. That struggle was easily met, and even on very little sleep everyone met the challenge. Even when the beautiful traffic of Houston snarled our race plan. Just like life you either melt down or you adjust and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

This race was unlike anything I have done, and it really showed me the true nature of how to deal with struggles. I have always drawn so many parallels between racing and life, and this race was the perfect example that I didn't realize until now. In life, as in racing, you either are the one struggling or not struggling. The difference is in making the conscience choice of helping others even if you are or are not struggling.

We could not have been more proud to have been a part of this team, no matter how interesting the smell was for the van ride back to the Metroplex. :)

One of the hardest things I have struggled with, since being in the hospital, is that I feel ridiculous talking about my health issues. None of us would have very far to look in our circle of friends to find someone that is in a "worse" condition than you. This might be physical, spiritual, mental, or all of the above. So who am I to sit here and talk about my issues when I know so many others that are in worse situations.

The reality is that we are all going though some struggles, and some of those struggles are going to be worse then others. We would love to say that we are all strong enough to battle things more than others, but we really aren't made to be that way. We are made to stand together with each other and help the other fight. Sometimes we are the one being encouraged and other times we are the ones that are being encouraged.

I have come to believe this last year that being healthier is not just about the current fight, but more about preparing ourselves for the fights to come. So to highlight what I mean by this here a few bullet points from the last year:

Caused myself to develop Rhabdo and then had a nice hospital stay.

Then I was constantly sick and had no immunity.

I had extreme fatigue for months and months to the point that I barely could make it through the day. This still effects me some days when I have pushed myself too far.

Started visiting a functional medicine doctor, and became well versed in adrenal fatigue, sleep, and the effects of stress on my body.

Raced TIR against the advice of my doc, and I felt really good running!

Tried to believe that I was back to my normal fitness.

Couldn't decide to if I was still having effects from the Rhabdo or was it just in my head?

Decided that I needed some professional help. So enter Dr. Nicole Adams to help answer that question.

Needing some consistency I asked Nicole to coach me.

Then the old issue of irregular heart rate came back.

I got to carry a heart monitor around for a month, and everything turned out that it didn't happen often enough to worry at this point.

Then my "normal" eye issues flare up again, but this time much worse. The short version is that my eyes sometimes are very red for no reason, occasionally my vision will fluctuate, and they are usually very painful.

Found out my eye issue is so rare that maybe 3-4 people in the world have it

Decided to try an experimental eye treatment using a form of stem cell therapy. Didn't work!

Now trying several different types of therapy and specialists for my eyes. Including getting back on allergy shots and trying acupuncture for the first time. So far I have been very impressed and responding well to the treatment.

The one thing that I have had to get used to is wearing my glasses 98% of the time. I only wear my contacts for workouts, and the way things have been going that isn 't every day.

The reality is that this eye issue is a symptom of something else. Some inflammatory disorder that is causing issues that manifest itself through my eyes. The key is going to be finding what are the triggers, and dealing with those.

There is so much more that could be written about the last several months, but I feel horrible talking about something that is such an aggravation when others are going through so much more. I think that when we struggle it is really hard to put it all into words how it makes us feel, and sometimes it feels like we are trying to repair cracks in our souls.

My fitness was one of the things that was helping repair the cracks in my soul that were made the day my Dad died. I think that the reality is that training was a way to temporarily fill those cracks, and when I had that taken away I realized how I was propping up my whole well being by training harder and going farther. Many times I felt that as long as I could stay fit there wasn't anything that I could not push through.

Once you start developing cracks in your soul, and you don't stop and take the time to repair them. When those repairs are left to themselves then no matter how well you do the healthy things in life you will still keep struggling.

Thinking of my Dad (a welder) a thought came to mind that my overall health is very much like the process of welding:
Welding: A filler material is often added to a joint to form a pool of molten material (the weld pool) that cools to form a joint that can be as strong, or even stronger, than the base material.

Taking the time to repair those cracks will over time make you stronger in all parts of your life.

Whether or not you reading this believe in having a soul there are parts of us over the years that get chipped away and they are made rough. At those times you have to decide do you want to give yourself the best chance at finding out what comes next, or in some extreme cases how do I survive the next day. Your health has to be part of the solution, but it isn't the whole solution.

No matter how good you are, or how good you eat, how much you work out, you will come to a time when it nothing seems to jive no matter how hard you try. We all have cracks and broken pieces that make us up, but it has to be us that decides if we are going to let those define us.

No matter how much I have wanted to keep things as authentic as possible here there is always a part of you in writing that you keep backfire yourself.  I have enough close friends that know what things have been like over the last year or so, and some of those people are going through struggles much worse then mine. This journey started with me losing weight and becoming healthier for my family, then I somewhat became a competitive athlete, and then the loss of my Father started me on a journey of helping others fight for their health.

No matter what struggle you are going through don't ignore it because with our world of knowing everything about everyone you think that it is insignificant. Just recognize that sometimes you are the one that helps and sometimes you have to be the one that needs help. Be open to both ways that things can flow. In the worst of times embrace your struggles, because your will be stronger on the other side.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Keebler

Your Pace or Mine - Texas Independence Relay 2016 - 200 miles of Fun!

During my last post, I was discussing my up and down health the last few months.  I also mentioned that Susan and I had been asked to run in a relay race called the Texas Independence Relay. We were asked to join the team by our friends Brad and Kristi Clyburne. Brad has talked to me about this race for many years, but I was always focused on triathlons and never could fit it into the schedule. Well this year it worked for both Susan and I to be part of the TIR challenge. I have tried to describe what this relay is to many people, but couldn't do it justice, so below is a description from the TIR website.

The Challenge

The Texas Independence Relay is composed of 40 relay legs of various lengths, totaling over 200 miles. The course starts in Gonzales, where the spark of the Texas Revolution took place, and it finishes at the San Jacinto Monument, where Texas Independence was won! To tackle this formidable task, your team will have of up to 12 members (your choice!), and you’ll have an exceptional time furthering good friendships and making new ones! You’ll encourage each other along the way while you visit the small cities of Gonzales, Shiner, Moulton, Flatonia, Schulenburg, Weimar, Borden, Columbus, Altair, Eagle Lake, Wallis, Orchard, Simonton, and Fulshear. Then, you’ll make your way through the paramount city of Houston, experiencing it in a way you never have before! Racing on a team with your friends in this unique format over an incomparable span of Texas steeped with momentous history all amounts to a GREAT time that you’ll fondly remember for... well.. the rest of your life! This all takes place over Saturday and Sunday, April 2-3, and don’t forget the Texas Independence Party (the TIP!) on Friday, April 1! Come and take it… if you have what it takes!

Your Epic Texas Journey

Gonzales is a wonderfully welcoming town, rich with history and attractive to tourists looking to escape the big city! Your entire team will run a small loop together around downtown, marking the commencement of your journey. You’ll enjoy picturesque rolling hills replete with blooming Texas wildflowers on perfect relay roads as you journey over rural dirt roads - even passing Sam Houston’s Tree! After leaving Gonzales, you’ll get a taste of smaller Texas towns with exceptionally large hearts! Shiner, Moulton, Flatonia, Schulenburg, and Weimar, you’ll appreciate each town’s individual flavor, but you will also note that they all possess a distinct relaxing quality. By the time your team reaches Columbus, the sun will be retiring for the day.

Eagle Lake, Wallis, Orchard, Simonton, and Fulshear will be sleeping communities as you pass through (though at least a few will stay up to curiously observe your unrelenting journey through the night). Pressing on tirelessly toward the finish, you and your team will follow the beacons of flashing lights (other runners).

When you begin to make your way through Cinco Ranch on the west side of Houston, you’ll notice early indicators that a new day is being gifted to us! You’ll also become aware that you’re crossing the threshold between country and city. Between here and downtown, you’ll traverse paths that wind through pleasing parks (George Bush Park, Terry Hershey Park, Memorial Park, and the Buffalo Bayou). You’ll admire stately homes in well-preserved neighborhoods, and then, you’ll stride through Houston’s very downtown, passing right by reflective sky scrapers and the Toyota Center!

After exiting downtown, you’ll head south to Houston's museum district and Hermann Park, even passing beneath Sam Houston's impressive statue that points the way to the finish! You'll continue to navigate east on the Brays Bayou Path followed by quiet neighborhoods. Finally, your epic Texas journey culminates with a momentous celebratory finish in La Porte at the San Jacinto Battleground and Monument!

Here is also a nice description from our esteemed crew chief, Brad: Our team, Your Pace or Mine?, consists of 12 runners from Fort Worth, Aledo & Lubbock.  Several of the runners have completed several half marathons, marathons, ultramarathons, & triathlons, while others will enter the TIR with a race resume of a few 5 & 10K races.  Eight of the 12 runners are running along with their spouse, therefore we split the vans into male and female.  The thought process here was two-fold privacy and ...self preservation, but the ultimate goal is just to have some fun. 

Susan and I have both been having our struggles with training, but today we realized that we are very excited to meet up with a great group of folks and just have a weird sort of fun. So tomorrow we are going to head off early to meet the group in Aledo then all drive to Gonzales, TX. Then Saturday morning we will go off at 7:20am, and we should finish around 3:00pm on Sunday in Houston. So if you pray put one out there for our group this weekend. We'll see you soon!

If you want to follow our unusual weekend go to the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/wesley.everett.50

https://www.instagram.com/runkeeblerrun/

https://twitter.com/wdeverett

Keep Fighting,
Keebler

Giving Up the Ghost

I saved the title for this post more than a month ago with the intent of telling all of you that it was time to give up the ghost. Some of you that haven't heard this phrase before this is how wiktionary defines it:

give up the ghost ‎(third-person singular simple present gives up the ghost, present participle giving up the ghost, simple past gave up the ghost, past participle given up the ghost)

1. (intransitive, idiomatic) To cease clinging to life; to die.  [quotations ▼]
2. (intransitive, idiomatic, figuratively) To quit; to cease functioning.

   My old computer finally gave up the ghost the other day.

3. (intransitive, with of) To cede a commitment to or identification with.  [quotations ▼]

As many of you know this blog started during a time that I was having some of heart related issues with my training. When I visited my cardiologist one day I decided to document not only my issues, but also the fact that I was fighting something that had affected my family for years. Something that even factoring in genetics could be improved with lifestyle, and that even a terminally short, formally fat guy named Keebler could be fit and healthy.

While all along hoping that I could inspire others to quit accepting the fallacy that if we aren't sick we are healthy. I have always believed that too many things have fallen in place for this not to be a path that God has put me on, and if any thing I said or have written here has helped one person then it has been all worth it.

Then along the way I think that I started to believe that if I didn't keep surpassing my last goal, race distance, or whatever other stupid way to measure ourselves then I was giving others a reason to quit. I know that it sounds slightly koo koo, or maybe a lot koo koo.

Now I am sure all of this has been a form of therapy for me to try to come to grips with the loss of my Dad unexpectedly from heart issues. I still hate that he wasn't able to be here to see my kids and my sister's son grow up. I still hate that I can see pain in my Mom's eyes even after 7 years.The reality is that many times after going through something life altering you have to accept a new kind of normal. You have to learn to fight in a different way.

That acceptance of that new normal can either be a starting off point to something greater, or it can be  an anchor. Now since I was in the hospital in May I have started to write about what was going on several times, but since I kept waiting until the message was what I thought you would expect to be written. You know we all love that come back story, but when you are dealing with something as finicky as a human body you can't force the outcome.  I am slowly starting to learn that sometimes the fight has to change even if the reason doesn't change.

Slight excerpt from what training has been like for the last few months:

Released to train again:
Start slow and take it easy

Feeling good and starting to test myself on a few intervals, and they feel great.
I am even running at paces I haven't done before!

Feeling sick and energy levels suck! Take a day off.

Better time to start back. Runs feeling good.

Sick and I can barely keep my eyes open. I am so tired! Writing this sentence has made me tired.

Take time off to recover.

Feeling good again. Time to start again.

Energy levels are down again.

Sick again! Time to rest.

I think that you are getting the point!

Now those of you that know the usual training levels I have done over the years this is no where near that, but I did go by all the regular standards of building back exercise levels very slowly. I have really been striving to not get injured or have any other setbacks.

Still this same pattern has gone on since I was in the hospital, and being brutally honest I have barely had the energy to get through most days. When you feel like that there is very little left to be good in the other parts of your life. So I know I haven't been the best husband or the best Dad, and none of this matters if those parts of my life can't be met.

During this time I am looking around my circle of friends, and like many of you, I don't have to look far for some people going through some real serious shit in their lives. So my first thought is I can't write and bitch about putting my body through hell, and then come on here and grip when it won't do what I want it to anymore. That is when my first time I started to ask the question, maybe it's time to give up the ghost? Is it?

Well nearly at the same time that these thoughts were going through my mind a few other things happened.

First, my friend Jerred asked me to meet with an engineer from Texas Tech, Luciano Castillo, who was developing some devices for the healthcare industry and they needed someone that had completely gone from one side of the health scale to the other to be part of their team. That first meeting started to light a fire that I believed had burned out. Not to mention I have been able to join a group of folks that are so inspiring, because of all of the things they are trying to do to help people. More on this in another post.

Second, I started working with a doctor to help work on my immunity and exhaustion. During one of those meetings after telling him that maybe I needed to quit writing and that maybe my passion to help others had run it's course. He said, "Maybe this season that you are in is God's way of showing others they can't quit working on their own health."

Finally, I was contacted by a couple of old friends, Gary Schwantz and Jennifer Sedia, who wanted to meet. That meeting turned into another very inspiring talk on what we do to inspire and motivate people to be healthier.

I am forgetting many other instances that have happened over the last few months. The main reason is that I was trying to focus on how crappy things were for me. Then feeling bad because I have friends that are in their own bad situations, and I really don't feel that I should even be bitching. Expect the difference is that for who I was nine years ago to who I am now is that I know what good should feel like.

Not all things have been exhausted and bad the last few months. I actually have had some fantastic runs with friends and some really nice beers. All of these years I have only trained by myself, and really needed that time for reflection and prayer. Now I have started to run with my friend Jerred, and I really have come to appreciate running with no purpose than to hang out. Some days we talk about heavy stuff, and other times are just for talking complete nonsense.

The good weeks are starting to last a little longer every time. Right now I am in one of the down phases, but instead of training through it I am just trying to get healthy. The good has been good enough that Susan and I are even going to race with a team in Texas Independence Relay, but more on that in another post. I might not be what I think that I should be for that, but I am really trying to be smart and find that balance again.

I was used to always trending up, and instead I have gone through some pretty severe ups and downs. That is life! We all have our issues and troubles. Trying to compare those will never do any of us any good. We need to try to be there when we can for each other.  As long as we can do good in the world, and I am not talking about huge things. Just simple things things like trying to smile at someone when you walk by them in the hall, maybe trying to actually listen to someone without looking at your phone, asking for help and trying not to handle it all, or just stopping our loud lives  and listening to what God might be trying to say to you.

This week I have been listening to Joy Week on the Bobby Bones show, and for those that don't listen  it is real simple. It is just a week that they try to put as much joy as they can out the world. With hope that it will slowly blank out all the bad shit that permeates everything else. As long as their is this kind of fight going on, we all should keep fighting in our own way.   My way of fighting might be a little different, but it's not over yet.

So put a smile on your face and don't even think about giving up the ghost!


In the spirit of pimpinjoy,
Keebler

I am inspired by many people and things daily, but for awhile now I have heard some good preaching through J.J. Grey. Even if you don't hear the same message that I do keep searching for what will inspire you.

EVERY MINUTE - J.J. Grey
I tried so hard to be the person
everybody thought I was
I pushed myself and everyone
almost over the edge
This mirrored light that sends back
everything that you send out
The grace you give, given back
loving every minute you live

Every Minute - J.J. Grey Video

The Up Side of Down

These last few months have been interesting, and by interesting I mean a struggle. First I must confess that I haven't done all of the things that I should to help myself heal up. Part of this is because we went on vacation and I finally was feeling good. So I tried to keep faking that I was bouncing right back, and I knew that I wasn't.

St. Petersburg, Florida

I thought I was starting to feel good enough to really think about training again. Not just working out but actually training. Then I started to learn that this was a fleeting feeling. One minute I feel like the guy that can wake up and go run for 6-10 miles without thinking about it then the next moment I feel like I can barely move I am so tired.

Regardless, since I developed this extreme case of Rhabdo from a workout I did on Memorial Day I have been finally released from my doctors care. The last 2 rounds of blood work checking my CK levels have been in the normal range, and that is with me starting to run again. Since I have had constant fatigue he did check a few other things this last round, and found that I was severely deficient in vitamin D. So with a little supplementation I am feeling a little better, but it is still evident my recovery is going to be very slow.

I haven't really wanted to update any of you, because this hasn't been the only struggle going on. It actually has seemed like it has been one thing after another for over a year now. As usual when I struggle I look around and can see so many other people that are going through "real" struggles, and I feel ridiculous talking about what really are such small things.

If I really wanted to bare my soul this feeling has been going on for quite some time. I have been pushing every part of my life to the limits for a long time, and if it wasn't for this rhabdo I probably wouldn't have ever taken a true step back from the edge.

The edge is really where I found the title for this post, because you have to be on the "Down side of Up" to really know the "Upside of Down." The "down side of up" can look many different ways to many different people. It can be an addiction, grief, pain, sickness, or any of the many other things that makes us not be able to see outside of our own existence. We become consumed with ourselves even if we don't realize it.

I was burned out from life. I could talk all day about balance to people, but I wasn't doing it. I was just trying to survive near the break point. Then your kid gets sick, then you get another deadline at work, then you get sick, and on and on.....

I knew that I wasn't being the best husband, best Dad, or best anything but I didn't know how to get things back in order. Then everything just stopped. A week in the hospital has a way of doing that for you. I had to quit trying to control everything, and quit feeling like I was failing at everything.

A close friend of mine that worries more about my soul than I think I do gave me a copy of The Gospel of Mark study book by William Barclay. These were part of what Mr. Barclay wrote to help decipher Mark 5:14-17. These words were printed in 1955, but for me they have been as relevant now as I am sure they were then.

There is great deal of talk about what life owes us. Life owes us precisely nothing; the debt is all the other way around. It is we who owe life all that we have to give. We are followers of one who gave up the glory of Heaven for the narrowness of earth, who gave up the joy of God for the pain of the cross. It is human not to want to have our comfort disturbed; it is divine to be willing to be disturbed that others may have more.

William Barclay

Since my Dad died I have had a version in my head of what he wanted me to be, and I probably will never measure up to that version. The thing is that when I slowed down I realized that the man he wanted me to be was just someone that was always trying to be better. Someone that was putting out as much good in the world as he could. Fortunately, he and I both married women that live lives that are perfect examples of this.

I had to realize that my worth didn't matter how far I ran, how much I made, how many people that I tried to inspire.

Now I can't tell you when the exact moment happened that I realized that I was on the "Upside of Down," but I do know that one day I was comforted with the fact that I was on a long slow road for my recovery. I hadn't felt like fighting for sometime, and I sure couldn't encourage anyone else to fight for their health.

Slowly, I remembered how much I loved to fight. I remembered how much I loved to encourage others to fight. I forgot that inspiration comes from everywhere in our world we just have to be open to seeing it, and even more comes from us putting more good out there.

I really don't know if any of you are still out there reading, and that some Google robots aren't the ones adding to my numbers. If any of you are still out there then please stick around. Who knows if this road to recovery will have me on a start line again, or if I will ever be at the fitness I was before. I promise that as long as one of you are checking in then I know that there is still a fight to fight.

There are still people wanting to fight to be healthier.

Life owes us nothing, but as long as we are breathing we owe life everything. Go be healthy and smile at someone. You will either scare them or make their day. Either way it will make one or both of you happy :)

Yours,
Keebler

P.S. Sadly, my first training partner passed away since I started writing this post. He will be always be more to me than a dog, he was my friend. See you when I get to the happy hunting ground, old friend!

One of the little Keeblers and Gilmore a few years ago

Another Mile Down the Road

The last we got to catch up things were a little rough for Anna, but we started were eating in a way that would help her feel better. We are slowing adopting the Paleo lifestyle. The first thing out of our diet has been anything processed.  This has thankfully helped Anna tremendously. We finally feel like we have our little girl back. This lifestyle does require a little more meal prep and planning, but we will do whatever to make sure she stays well. Not only that, it has forced all of us to eat much healthier.

Even Anna's arm healed up in time for her to play her last few softball games. Which she was very excited about after being laid up for weeks.

You would think that the reality would be that we would be in a good place for a few days but that wasn't meant to happen for us. Our youngest ended up with a bad stomach pain, and we ended up going to the ER with her. Afraid that for whatever reason we were going down the same road with her, but instead it ended up being extreme constipation. Damn you cheese sticks!

Then to make things worse Allie decided to fall out of box in the garage and badly sprained her ankle. We aren't exactly sure why she was in the box to begin with, or why the lights were off in the garage, something to do with hide -n-seek in the dark. Who knows, we never get the full story from her or Anna! After her complaining for a few days and the swelling didn't go down, we went for X-Rays, lucky it was just a bad sprain, nothing broken. Luckily, because of all of the rain she didn't miss any softball games and after about 2 weeks she was much better. 

After we got over the constipation issue, and in the middle of the ankle issue, Anna ended up with a respiratory infection that kept her out of school for a few more days. She was on breathing treatments around the clock for 2 full days. She finally got over this and both girls finished school on high notes! We even found out that Anna passed the STARR test and did a lot better than average. This is really saying something considering she missed 23 days of school!!  

So for the last 2 months is has been a guess every week on which girl was going to have an issue. As parents we were just happy for a day that everybody felt good and nothing happened. 

Over Memorial Day weekend, we were finally in a place to have some friends over to celebrate our close friends birthday. During our visit he mentioned that I should come with him on Memorial Day and try this crossfit workout called The Murph. Since I was not training for anything specific I thought why not do something different. Not to mention it would be a good challenge for me.

The Murph is a crossfit workout that is done on Memorial Day done in honor of Lt. Michael Patrick Murphy a Navy Seal that gave his life for us in Afghanistan. It was his favorite workout that he called body armor and after his death it was changed to The Murph. It consists of:

A mile run

100 Pullups

200 Pushups

300 Squats

Finished with a mile run

I might mention that at this point Susan did say to me I was going to get hurt, because well she is usually right. Just don't tell her I said that! 

Anyway being the athlete I am I knew I could make it through, but since I don't do much upper body I knew I would be sore. Just not this bad. The other problem with being an endurance athlete coming into this workout is that the part that most of us have that says you should stop I have learned to suppress. This it turns out was a bad thing, because what I didn't say at the start of this post is that I started writing this it from my hospital room. 

That's right we were in the hospital again, but at least it is not one of my kids! Since Monday(Memorial Day) I have developed a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis, or rhabdo. It is an excessive breakdown of muscle tissue that is from a release of a damaging protein into my blood. If left untreated will damage or shutdown your kidneys.

I have pushed myself through so many challenges, and I have been sore before but this was a completely different level of sore. I was obviously fit enough to complete it, but my upper body was not conditioned enough for this kind of workout. I am sure that all of the other weird Keebler blood issues contributed to this level of damage along with the statins that I took for years. Either way I was so sore the night after the workout that it physically woke me up, but I still didn't think anything was real serious. Then Wednesday morning I noticed blood in my urine. 

As usual I tried to blow this off as well, but since we were going to go out of town over the weekend Susan convinced me that a doc visit was a good idea. Even though I still had blood in my urine my doc didn't think it was that bad, but he wouldn't know until he got back some blood results. Then he  called me while I was at lunch on Thursday said that I wouldn't be going back to work or leaving town, and instead I would be going to the ER right then. He was also very impressed, because he had never seen levels as high as mine. This has turned out to be a theme with the medical professionals during my stay in the hospital.

Most people's CK levels range from 55-170, mine would only register as >100,000. They weren't even sure how high they were past 100,000, because their test wouldn't measure above 100,000. They typically have seen damage to the kidneys around 6,000. I have been blessed with the fact that I still don't have any damage to my kidneys. Since Thursday I have been a bit of a spectacle, because of the levels of my ck readings. The funny thing is that my nurse last night told me that when he was in Dallas he did see it twice, but it was from severe trauma in an accident, or someone going though extreme cocaine overdose. Nice!

Situations like this always make me feel so special :)

The first few days here my levels didn't really drop much, and when they did they would go right back up the next test. Finally over the last 24 hours they started to drop. At the end of the day yesterday they were 40,000, but my last blood work yesterday came back at 46,000. Then yesterday's was back down to 27,105. This was close enough for us to go home, but I still have away to go before it is back to normal.

I won't lie the up and down is very frustrating, but at least the trend is down. The other problem has been that the pain I had from the workout is very slowing going away. It really has been unlike any thing that I have ever had to recover from in the past. They don't really know why things are going so slow, but they are feeling confident that I am going to make a full recovery. It is just going to be a very slow recovery. 

A couple of positive things have come from this experience. As part of my blood work they ran a lipid panel, and for the first time without medication my total cholesterol was 186. It has never been below 200 without meds, and I can only contribute it to the change in diet. These results gave both of us so much joy,  because we finally feel like we have control over something that is genetic and for the longest time we didn't think we would ever be able to control it. 

The second positive that has come from this little hospital stay is that Susan and I went to see the memorial for my Dad in the Cath Lab waiting room.  A couple of ladies were sitting under it, and we each shared our stories. Her husband has been through so many things like my Dad, and she said that getting to meet us gave her hope. That was really the whole  reason for Dad's memorial. It was for people to have a story to turn to to give them hope and fight. God puts us in some interesting places to help others.

Some people will look at my example and say that it might be another example to NOT workout. Yes I pushed myself beyond a limit that I should have know was there, but that doesn't mean I should not try to be as fit as possible. It was a reminder to build up to what I want to do, but never quit fighting to be healthier. I would have never have ran a marathon or ran a 50K without training, I am not sure why I thought I could do this. Once again, Susan might have mentioned this a few times before I went.

 In my family quitting fighting could mean your dieing. My conditioning and stupidity might have gotten me into here, but it has also helped me survive a bad situation that would have been much worse if I wasn't healthy and fit.

I have said in the past this is the year of just trying to stay fit, and this will be an adjustment for me. Regardless, I am still going to be fighting. Sometimes I might just have to fight at a slower pace than I want.

Living to fight another day,

Keebler

P.S. To all the doctors and nurses a big thanks, but a special thanks to: Joy, Mariana, Stephanie, Kenneth, Katie, Sara, my nurse practitioner Young, Dr. Kruczek, and of course Dr. Landry. I hope that I haven't forgotten anyone. If so I am sorry I have been slightly delirious :)

The Sun is Shining Down

I hope those of you that have always been checking in here at Keeblerville haven't decided to give up on this blog or myself yet. The truth is that I have somewhat been giving up since Ironman Boulder, and am just now in a place to understand why. I started this blog update many times only to delete it, because it just kept sounding like I was complaining. Compared to other people with some "real" problems who am I to sit here and bitch about this or that.

I always have wanted this blog to be a place to inspire others to be healthier in mind, body, spirit. I want it to be that place that people could come read some writing from a guy that proved that anyone can go from really out of shape,  turn it around, and have some fun doing it.  A place that helps people recognize that no matter who you are, or what you have, your health is something that you should fight for.

When we all last talked I was hoping for better days coming in 2015, but life had another plan for us. We'll talk about me first, but I am only part of the story. The first thing is that physically I was feeling like I was never going to be healthy again. It wasn't just the flu that did it to me, but it was the final blow for me to give into reality. The reality is that I am burned out.

I have seen this happen to a couple of very close friends, and believed that if it was going to happen to me I would see it coming. I didn't. As an endurance athlete you train yourself to keep going no matter what. Even in bad times you know they are temporary, and if you just keep going you will pull through. That is the physical part, and I knew how to deal with that. I knew how to listen to my body. I knew when to push, and when to back off for the next challenge.

I ignored the other parts of me that helps me be whole. I ignored where I was spiritually. I ignored where I was mentally.  I just kept pushing through believing that if I just kept going life would ease up. I was wrong. I believed that our family had hit a rough patch health wise, and that things were turning around. I was wrong. I believed that my usual job stress was getting better, and it was going to ease up. I was wrong.

Looking around at our circle of friends we knew of so many that were going through some bad stuff. So who was I to bitch about our little problems here and there. So I kept my mouth shut and put my head down and pushed through.

My first sign came when Tim called me and said it was time to start planning for next race season. Something that we have done for the last 6 years together. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't do it, but I didn't want to tell him. This next thought might not make sense to many of you, but here it is. I was afraid that if I wasn't pushing myself to the next level I was quitting. Then those of you that have made that change in your health would look at me and think that if I quit fighting it was ok for you to quit fighting. I know that is slightly wackadoodle (technical head shrink term), but that is what was in my head.

Talking this over with Susan she eloquently reminded me that if I wasn't going to race that was fine, but the option of sitting on my ass was not acceptable.  She is very aware that she is a wife that married someone that must always fight for their health if they want to or not. Sometimes I even have to be reminded of it. Finally, I knew that I couldn't plan any race, and I made that call to my friend and the best coach ever, to say I was done for now. When that talk was over an enormous pressure came off, and I believed that things were going to be easy from here on out. I was wrong.

Susan was planning on training for her first marathon, and I thought why not run with her. So a goal was born. I even talked it over with my good friend Jerred, and we set up a schedule to run together at least once a week. Now I have rarely trained with other people over the last several years not because of some great scheme I just usually couldn't make my schedule fit with others. I didn't know it but running with a friend was one of the things that I needed. Our weekly runs have been filled with anything from talking about serious stuff, training ideas, to not talking about anything that matters. This time was going to be more important to come then I ever imagined. The weekly talks and runs either with friends or by myself have become a treasure to help release the pressure.

We really thought that after Anna's surgery last November that her stomach issues were over, but then one Sunday she started hurting bad just like when her appendix was inflamed. No appendix meant that something else was going on. So back to the ER we go twice during the week only to find out that she has something called mesenteric-lymphadentitis. The fix for this is you just have to let it pass, and try to manage the pain with some pain meds. That's easy to say to an adult, but try to say that to a 9 year old girl. She put her head down and took her medicine and we eventually got the pain under control, and thought ok this is it, she's good.

Then a few weeks later the pain comes back, but this time the pain meds don't work. So back to the ER again, and this time she gets admitted. Many of you that have had loved ones in the hospital, know how time stands still almost immediately. So for a week Anna goes thought every test you can think of for her stomach pain while we are also trying to keep life somewhat normal for Allie. All of the test done, comes back negative which we were very grateful for,  but we still didn't have any answers.

Now with everything thing I have put myself through I know what endurance is all about. Then you see the bravery and strength of a little girl that just wants her Mom and Dad to get the pain to stop. You see the bravery and strength of a Mom that rarely if ever leaves the side of her daughter. Now I  know what endurance and strength really look like. You know how fragile our health is no matter how "healthy" we think we are, and sometimes no amount of training prepares you for some fights. Then when the fight is almost out of you it dawns on you that strength comes from the prayers of a little 9 year old girl that just wants to be better.

Anna during her last test that took 2 1/2 hours

After all of the tests done we had no answers except all of the bad things were ruled out. One set of blood work results showed that she might have issues with some foods, and now that was all we had left to try. Anna had to fast for her last test so we decided that day we would cut out those foods, and that really cut out all foods that were processed. Since that day she hasn't had a pain one. Now is this the final answer? We hope and pray it is, but it will be a long time before we aren't afraid of the pain coming back.

I would love to tell all of you that Anna has been smooth sailing since then, but then that would just be a lie.  After about two weeks of no stomach pain Susan and I decided to go through with her first marathon in Dallas, and then drive on to trade her company car out in Tennessee. The run went great and we had some well deserved catch up time on the road for a few days.The whole time we were driving we were afraid that we were about to get the call that the pain was back. It didn't! So now for the happy ending. Nope!

Happiness before the Big D Marathon

Susan finishing her first marathon!

Well we made it home with no reoccurrence of pain, and had a great dinner with the girls. While we starting to clean up the kitchen we sent them off to take a bath, and within a few minutes all we heard was Anna screaming. Well she was using the soap dish as a way to lower herself into the tub when it broke off from the wall. Her arm was hurt and she was bleeding like crazy from her nose. You can't make this stuff up. So off to the ER we go again. Even after a few doc visits since then we are still not positive that her arm isn't broke, and we aren't sure on her nose but we think it is good.

If you are all still with me I finally will get to why I titled this blog what I did. It is from a song from a group that over the last few years I have really connected to their music.

The Sun is Shining Down by J.J. Grey & Mofro. Now this song is about the last conversation that his Grandparents had on the way to the hospital. When I listened to this it reminded me that every day we wake up and the sun is shining down is a great day. We have another chance to do good, to do God's work, to smile through the bad stuff in life. Sometimes it piles on all of us, but we just need to keep feeling the blessing of another day with the sun shining down.

For better or worse I am back and no I don't know what the future holds, or what races are to come or not come, but I promise we aren't done fighting.


Yours in the fight,
Keebler

Slow your Roll

There now is just a few days left in 2014, and I am ready for the New Year to get here. The last few months have been nothing if not trying. Just to list a few of the things that have happened:

1. ER visit with the oldest daughter for what turned into a an emergency appendectomy. This unfortunately was not her first visit to the ER this year. She had to go earlier in the year for breathing issues, and had to stay a few days.
2. Three weeks later 2nd ER visit with same daughter for broken arm.
3. A week or so later the same daughter came down with the Flu.
4. I had to have an MRI done on my shoulder.
5. Then for the first time in my life I was hit with the flu, and I am still trying to recover from it.
6. The youngest daughter is now sick with what is probably the flu.

In the grand scheme of the things these are such minor things to happen, but it has really made me forget all of the good things that have happened this year. Sometimes that does seem to happen when we get in the middle of trying times, no matter how large or small, and it becomes all consuming.

A few of the good things that have happened this year racing wise and beyond:

1. I finished my first trail marathon in the grasslands.
2. I spent 8 hrs in the saddle, and for the first time believed that I could complete an Ironman.
3. I finished Ironman Boulder!
4. We nearly moved but were reminded how much we love our life here.
5. I finally started a group at work that meets to discuss and encourage each other to live healthier.
6. I didn't have to have surgery on my shoulder, but will be in PT for a few weeks.
7. The flu has gotten me back down to race weight :)

Nine years ago this month I started a couch to 5k program to try to complete my first sprint triathlon. I was 50 lbs overweight, and really didn't realize that I was out of shape. I didn't look much different than most of the people that I knew, but I was about to become a Dad.

I did know what it felt like to think that your Dad is just one heart attack from being gone, and I knew that I didn't want my kid to feel that way.

I had seen a woman that was afraid that her husband was only one heart attack away from her raising 2 kids by herself, and I didn't want that for my wife.

I was under the belief that there wasn't much I could do about my own health. Then my bearded, opinionated, German neighbor told me that I was too young to be that fat.

Then 9 years goes by. I have had to say goodbye to the man that I never really thought would be gone. My thirties are just a few days away from being gone. I have raced so many times, so many different distances, in so many different places, that I have nearly taken it for granted that I will always be able to be able to do this. I hardly remember what it felt like to be 50 lbs heavier, and not able to run more that a few yards. Who knows if I will be able to always race, but one thing is for sure I have realized that I do have control over my health. I do have control over the example I set for my kids to choose to be active and eat healthy. I do have control over whether or not I fight.

After not getting out of bed for 3 days with 103F fever. I am still feeling like I will never be healthy again. I know I will be. The truth is I can't even remember the last time I worked out consistently or at all. I know I will get back to normal at some point, but now is the time to just slow my roll and get healthy again.

The Keebler family wishes all of you the best in 2015!

Thanks to my great Sister in law, Amy Odom, for this photo and the one below.

The Battle of Palo Duro 20K

The Palo Duro Trail Run is always one of the races that we always try to make since I ran the 50k a couple of years back. Not only is the race one of the best organized with the some of the best volunteers ever, but it is one of the most beautiful and rugged places that we have to run in this part of Texas. Now I haven't been up for running the 50k again these last few years, but thankfully they have a 20k distance that lets you see the whole course. The only problem is that if you want to run the 20k you have to sign up in July, because it always sells out quickly.

This weekend was also a great time for Susan and I to get away for a quick race getaway. Sometimes even a night away just to actually have time to talk and enjoy a dinner is something every marriage needs.

After getting to Canyon and fitting in a quick shake out run we went in search of dinner. Actually truth be told we went in search of the necessities for a night cap after dinner. As a side note I was pleasantly surprised by the IPA selection at Eskimo Joe's, but the wine selection left a little bit to be desired. I guess you can't win them all.

Since the rest of the group from Lubbock wasn't going to be able to join us for dinner until later we decided to go ahead and eat. Thanks to Yelp we found a great pizza place called 575 Pizzeria. They really take pride in making great pizza, and they have a great selection in beer and wine. We had our priorities in place for the night before this race :)

Later that evening we met up with some of Susan's run club, and shared some laughs and drinks before trying to get some rest before a very early alarm clock. I will note here that we had prepared for breakfast the next morning since our very rude check in clerk at the Holiday Inn told us they would not have breakfast ready before we left. Then we went for our morning run to find that they did have it ready. Oh well! I think that next year we will find a new hotel to stay at for the race. 

This morning was much warmer then last year, but I will say it was still a little chilly. I really didn't have much of a plan going into this. I even joked with Tim that I was just going to start out as fast as I could and try to finish fast. Who cared what happened in the middle! I did know that no matter what, I would have to get in with the front of the pack so that my pace wouldn't be dictated by the group. To say I was nervous to be in the front of the pack, would be an understatement, I was terrified! 

When we entered the trail I hopped in right behind another member of our group, Ruben. I was really glad for this since he was keeping a great steady pace that was hard enough to keep us close to the main group, but not killing us. After a few miles in we switched spots and I took over the pacing. I am not the best person to be leading the pace, because I can't help it if I see the rabbits out front and try to catch them. Even with that in mind I kept it somewhat steady until about mile 3 at the first water stop. 

As soon as we all entered the water stop 3 or 4 guys that were ahead of us stopped to drink, and I decided to keep going since I had my water. Right off I heard someone behind me and assumed that it was Ruben. It wasn't until another mile or so we turned off that section of the trail that I found out it wasn't Ruben, but a guy in my age group named Mark.

I would say for about another couple of miles we had another guy with us, but after that it was Mark and I running a pretty hard pace. At least it was hard for me. At one point we were talking about race plans, and I decided to just go ahead and tell the truth. I was going to push it until I either made it to the finish or blew up. So somewhat my usual plan.

Palo Duro always seems to bring out something different in me. I think that since it is near the end of my season and I am usually mentally and physically done that I don't really care how hard I push it, or if I hit the wall and crumble. What was different this time is I really didn't know what to do with a guy chasing me, and me leading our pace. Do I keep leading and dictate the pace? Do I pull off and give him the chance so that he can push me harder than I can go? As usual I was debating all of this while I was trying not to run myself into the ground.

I can't even tell you how many miles it was just Mark and me matching each other step for step, climb for climb, descent for descent. Neither one of us willing to give an inch, willing to back off, or show any weakness. Then finally we got into a longer climb, and I was just doing my best to keep the same pace up the climb when I realized that I didn't hear any footsteps behind me. When I looked back Mark was gone so I just kept pushing my pace harder.

I knew that Mark was a very strong runner, so I knew that if I didn't keep pushing myself, then he would catch me. I kept pushing myself hard for a couple of miles until I started to hear a very familiar running step coming behind me. Mark was back, and it turned out he had cramped. As much as I wished I could have kept him farther back I was impressed at what it took to get back up to me. I am not sure if it had been reversed I would have been able to do the same, and very soon I was going to have to find that out.

Like I said I was disappointed that I couldn't have put more time in on him, but I was glad to have him back running with me again. Even though we had never met until this run, for me, it was like seeing an old friend after a few years.

When we got to the last water stop I knew that I had to stop long enough to take a gel or I was done. I had exhausted myself and used every bit of my reserves. I can't remember running this hard for this long. Then what I was afraid was going to happen happened. Mark was able to get out of the stop quicker than me, and the tables had turned. I was finally chasing, and I was pretty sure I didn't have anything left to chase.

Mentally for a short time this defeated me, and I nearly was resigned to just jogging in the last few miles. I was trying to keep him in sight, and he just seemed to keep getting farther away. Then we made a turn that didn't look like an uphill, but at this point of the race it felt like a mountain. The hill must have been just enough of one that Mark seemed to be getting closer and closer. Then the chance came for me to go for the lead again and with the last bit of effort I had I went for it.

I would say that at this point we were around a mile or 2 from the finish. I didn't care how bad it hurt I just knew that this was my last chance to stay ahead. I was running scared! I swear my water bottle sloshing sounded just like someone was right behind me. So I just kept pushing and pushing. My right side was cramping, and that is always my sign that I am going beyond my limits.

When I finally made the last turn to the finish I kept looking back and saw no one, but still didn't believe it and pushed harder. When I crossed the finish line there was nothing left. I couldn't talk and barely could stand. Few things are as satisfying as pushing your limits and breaking them down.

I stood there waiting for Mark to turn the corner to the finish, because you don't battle someone like that and not thank them. With a pat on the back and a thanks I told him that run was a battle worth telling people. This was the kind of run that I will always look back at and smile. If you read this here Mark thanks again for the battle and the run.

Sometimes you push your body to see what the limits are, and instead of finding the will to fight you only find the will to survive. I didn't intend on this being my last race of the year, but my body and life has decided that it will be.

Our personal life has been a little like the survival game recently, but after your kid goes through an emergency surgery your definition of survival changes. The focus on your own health goes to the back burner, and after more than a week it's hard to get it back on the schedule. So now is the time for a little off season recovery and hopefully a little more blogging.

Until next time,
Keebler

Driving home right after racing Palo Duro 20k. Trust me, if you could smell a pic this one smells horrible!

Another of life's curve balls. My oldest had to have an emergency appendectomy, but this is us leaving the hospital.

IM Boulder Naked Race Report

I tried to get this race update on here as soon after IM Boulder, but life just wouldn't allow that to happen. I hope that I haven't lost everyone, but sometimes we all need time to recharge. This time it has just taken longer than normal. It probably would have been even longer, but I was blessed with a couple of opportunities to talk to groups about why their health should be important. That always seems to bring me back to putting my life back out here. 

I actually am glad that it happened this way, because it has taken me this long to really process what it has meant to complete my first IM. Preparing and completing and Ironman is enough to complely deplete all of you, but along with that Susan and I were struggling with some opportunities that would mean we would be moving our family to somewhere completely new. It happens everyday with families, but it was a very serious discussion that made us really evaluate our life. I never anticipated how emotional it was going to be for me to get through this race, but then you add the stress of making a life changing decision. The reality is that all of this did me in.

Most of this post was written right after IM Boulder for my coach, TIm Key. The comments that are in blue are what I have added to it. So I hope even if you might never be interested in an IM race, stick around. I would say that IM is as close to seeing an entire lifetime of emotions happen in one day. You will see and feel your highest, but not until you have gone through some of your lowest points. Then it seems to happen all over again and again and again. Below is my best attempt of describing what it was like going through my first IM. I hope you enjoy, and if not please come back I will be up to the same old nonsense soon enough. 

Before we begin I didn't actually race naked regardless of the title to this blog, but I did decide to go without electronics (except my bike computer). I didn't want to know my HR in case the altitude was making it act goofy. I was under the belief that I knew how my body should feel, and it would tell me how far I could push it.

IM BOULDER RACE REPORT:

Morning Before Swim:

A few days before I stayed good and hydrated so I was feeling good on that point. I woke up around 3:30 and fixed 2 bagels. I tried to have PB on both but it was growing in my mouth so I really just had a little on the 2 bagels. Then I mixed a GU electrolyte drink to sip on for the morning. I sipped on this until the start of the swim. 

As I mentioned earlier I was going out without a watch or HR monitor. Not that big of a deal for the swim, but it would have some ramifications for me later in the day. I also didn't want to worry about my splits, and instead wanted to focus on finishing. Besides just finishing I knew my run has been developing over the last couple of years, and I was really hoping that if I made it to the run I would feel like running.

I really didn't feel nervous about the day until I was standing in the very slow port-a-potty line (or the port-a-pooper, as Allie would call it), and I was starting to think that I wouldn't get there in time for the start of the race. I really was giving that horrible time to think too much about what I was about to undertake. 

The swim was set up as rolling start. Which means they had signs up with approximate swim times, and you were to self seed yourself. Taking the advice of Tim and my friend Jerred I decided to slide in with the group at the front of the race.This seemed like a great idea at the time :)

Swim:

I decided to start with the first swim group even if it was a little above what I can swim. When the cannon went off I was in the middle of this group. Things were good for the first few minutes, until I was halfway through the first leg of the swim. I suddenly had a bad side cramp that I knew was my diaphragm seizing. I don't think that I was swimming harder than I am accustomed, but I think that my pace combined with the altitude caused this. It was bad enough that I was having a very difficult time swimming at all. I knew enough that if I slowed my pace and slowed my breathing that my diaphragm should release. I made the first turn and it started to feel some better. I just tried to stay steady and keep my breathing every 3rd stroke, but I don't think that I was going near my usual pace. Then after making the next turn I finally started to realize it was releasing slowly, and it was getting much better. I started to stretch out my stroke some to see if that helped, but I kept my breathing at every 3. 

Throughout the swim I was in a crowd, but it was not too hard on me. Except once on the last leg when I got elbowed in the jaw. It brought me out the water, but I was able to get back in my rhythm quickly. Even with all of this in mind I was surprised to see that my swim was still within what I anticipated.

Susan and Jerred said that when they saw me I looked like I was not doing well, and of course they didn't know the tough time I had on the swim. I can say it now, but I was in enough pain at the time that it was a very real concern that I would not finish the swim. As bad as I looked coming out of the water I was really elated to just be done.

T1:

Coming out of the water I could feel that I had cramped bad enough that my side was actually sore to the touch. I tried to stretch it some, but it was just going to be part of my day. Looking back at the pics today I see the pain on my face from the swim. I really only remember being excited to be finished swimming! It was a fair distance to the change tent, and I walked part of this then started a slow jog. This made me feel better, and I was able to keep calm throughout the change. I was really focusing on not rushing, and not getting my breathing out of sorts again. I tried to jog in my bike shoes to my bike, but since my bike was at the very end of transition I had to take it a little easier. 

Thanks to Dr. Jaime Cooper and Coach Tim for giving me a lot of things to work on as far as nutrition goes. This was really the first race I have ever done that I really thought about what nutrition I was taking in to race. I know now how much of a difference a race can be if you get your nutrition right.

Bike:

The night before I had packed enough gu chomps, gels, and salt sticks caps to make it to my special needs. I didn't memorize my nutrition plan or print it out, but instead I knew I had packed what I needed for the first half so I instead kept to a set pattern. I knew that I needed to be taking in either 2-3 gu chomps or a gel every 20 minutes along with 1-3 salt stick caps. The first hour I took in only 4 salt caps, because I was afraid of starting off too strong and getting GI distress early. I also made a decision the night before to add a water bottle on the front of my bike in case I needed more water. I know the golden rule is to not do something new the day of the race, but I was really worried that I was not going to have enough water between aid stations. Starting on my bike I had an insulated water bottle frozen with Gu Roctane, and the other two bottles with water.

This turned out to be a very wise gamble since I sweat like a circus freak!  

As soon as I was out of the park I took in my first gu chomp, but did not take in any salt stick caps until the next :20. My plan for the bike was to just manage the inclines, and pick up as much speed as I could on the declines. I would have added picking up speed on the flat sections, but I am pretty sure that I didn't ride on anything that was not either up or down. I knew that I was going to have a lot of people pass me on the bike, but I felt that if I just stayed steady on the bike I might be able to run and feel descent.

I stayed pretty consistent on my schedule of eating/salt every :20 minutes. What I didn't anticipate was that my Gu Roctane bottle stayed partially frozen for the whole first half. This did make it difficult to drink that bottle, but it helped keep me with a cold drink all day. Since it was frozen it made it important that I had that extra bottle. The aid stations were every 15 miles so I ended up taking in Gu chomps for most of the eating times, and then I always took in a gel at every aid station then took the time to fill up all water bottles. I wanted to make sure I was drinking enough water to offset the salt stick caps. Everything was very repetitive for the rest of the day, so I won't go into everything play by play.  

Coming into special needs I had used all of my salt stick caps and everything else except one gel. I had the amount down just right, and I felt good at this point and had good energy. I added some of the jerky (I am thinking of marketing it as Keebler Racing Jerky) to my bag plus a stinger waffle ( we hadn't talked about this, but I knew I could handle it and I wanted an alternative if the jerky didn't work out), more chomps, gels, more salt stick caps, and another frozen bottle of Gu Roctane. I hadn't tried the jerky out before this race (yes I know that was #2 on risky behavior for the day), but I thought that if it didn't taste good I would just throw it away.

Let me first say that the jerky was the absolute bomb!!! It hit the spot and provided me that lift in spirit that I needed. Also, the insulated bottle with Gu Roctane was actually still partially frozen. I couldn't believe it! Also, it was great to have a cold drink for several more miles. The only thing that worried me was that I didn't put in enough salt stick caps to fill the holder back up. I was worried that this might mean I would be out of salt for the end of the bike.

The rest of the bike was really uneventful I kept waiting to feel my energy or fatigue set in, but I really never felt like it happened. I actually was able to really power through some areas and pass several people.  I did start rationing my salt stick caps the last hour, and finished right on track. The last 2 hours on 2 of my eating sessions I did eat some more of the jerky and the stinger waffle. Luckily I never felt like I was having GI issues during the bike, and was really able to keep a nice consistent pace. 

I thought that it would be hard for me having all of these folks pass me on the bike, but I just kept in mind that it would be a long day for everyone. If I had any goal for the day besides finishing it was being able to feel good for the run, and at the point that I was coming off the bike I was feeling good and ready to be off the damn bike!!

T2:

This was an stupid long run with the bike after the dismount. I stayed in my bike shoes, but after running in them for part of it I decided to take them off to be more comfortable. This was a great idea until I hit black matts on a bridge, and then it went from bad to worse when I got on the black school track. It was hot as the sun and I could feel my feet starting to blister nearly right off. They did have some cardboard down, but when I got to my bag a guys started yelling at me to put on my shoes. I did as quick as possible, and that probably saved me. I sat in the changing tent and took my time getting my breath while putting on my run stuff. This probably could of been faster, but I was glad I took my time to catch my breath.  

I can't emphasis how crazy hot that track was barefoot. Other than that I was really surprised that I didn't feel bad at all. The other thing that I must note here is that the level of unabashed nudity was a little surprising, but then again who really cares after that long on your bike. 

Run:

Going out on the run I took a bottle with Gu Roctane, gels, and salt stick caps. I had decided that I would get chomps and Gu Gels on the course. I can not express how good I felt when I started running. I was expecting for my legs to feel like hunks of wood, but thankfully I felt great! I was actually a little apprehensive with this for the first few miles. I would get to the aid stations and take in water and walk some. Then take off again. One thing that I was not thinking about when I decided to not take a watch was that I would not know when to take in nutrition. So I decided that I would take in a gel the first aid station, and then take in salt stick caps the next aid station. Then I would keep repeating this pattern though the race. 

Told you the watch thing would come back to haunt me, but one thing I learned from this day was that you have to adapt. This really didn't work out to bad for me, and I was still glad to not know what my heart rate was during some parts of the race.

I was able to stay consistent and felt really good for the whole first loop. My legs felt strong and my energy/spirit never seemed to drop off. When I was able to get to the end of the first loop  there was so many people and a few familiar faces that I was really able to run strong. I was feeling so good that at one point I was smiling when I heard someone say that I looked like I was actually enjoying it! That could not have been more true.

Reading this part again still makes me smile! Nothing feels better then to be pushing your limits and enjoying it.

 I had known when I came off the bike that if I felt good I should try to see if I could run back some of the spots that I had lost on the bike. My very loose plan was to survive the race, but I also felt that if I saved enough I might be able to run back a few of the spots I lost on the bike.

Getting special needs on the run was a little goofy. You could either get it on the 10th miles or at the 12th mile. I accidentally grabbed it on the 10th, but didn't open it and waited until the 12th to get into it. I did put in more power bar gels, jerky, another Gu Roctane bottle, and salt stick tabs. I had gone through all of my salt stick tabs on the first round, and at this point I was feeling good with no GI distress of any sort. During the first loop I did not ever feel like I could eat the chomps, and stayed with the gels. Considering this I didn't even try the jerky and just replenished the salt stick tabs and the power bar gels. My stomach really felt good so I decided to not worry about the stomach meds. Looking back I probably should have taken them in case of any issues, but thankfully nothing major happened.

Turns out Susan was arguing with the head bag drop dude about whether or not I had touched my bag or not, and if I should be taking out anything from it. Needless to say the guy didn't say anything else to me.

I kept the same pattern that I had on the first loop of alternating gels and salt stick caps per aid station. I was only walking the space of the stations through the 16th mile. I did take in a couple of times during this phase some coke. I could tell that my energy was fading a little, but I still felt strong when I was running. One thing that I was surprised to see was how many people were puking on the run. This started getting me a little nervous and I kept waiting for that feeling to hit me. In my limited experience I have hit my marathon wall around the 16th mile, and I had it so ingrained in my mind that when I got to mile 16 I just starting walking more. Looking back I can't really tell you if that was just me or my body really telling me to do that.

Somewhere around the backside of the 2nd loop I had to act like I wasn't walking when I ran into and got to meet Craig Alexander. I also was able to get to meet and talk to one of the most inspirational athletes I have ever seen during the race Fireman Rob. This is one of the greatest things about this sport is that pros and amateurs alike compete right along side each other.

One thing that I did notice is that somewhere in the last 4-5 miles. Near the end I was getting nervous about stomach issues arising so I started cutting my salt sticks down to one every other aid station. It probably is good to note here that I did pee 3 times after the start of the run. So hydration was spot on! I would say that I was able to keep my pace better when I got back in the crowd, but the last 2 miles it was harder to hold it for the whole space between aid stations. I also got to the point that the last 2-3 miles I could not make myself take in gels anymore. I tried to drink some Gatorade and Coke, but I finally could only take in water. 

I did walk some before the last turn to the finish, but as soon as I turned it all seemed to go away. So many of you guys had told me that would happen, but it was so weird to be so down, and then for it to instantly disappear. 

Still the weirdest feeling in the world was for all of the pain to just go away that when I started to run up the finish shoot. It really helped seeing part of the Keebler Crew right before I finished, and then getting to see all of the crew at the end. The added bonus not only having family and friends there, but all of the folks from lubbock racing and spectating. We have all been seeing each other for years at races, and they really helped me understand how special it was to finally decide to race an IM and finish. Susan and I felt really welcomed into a great new racing family! Thanks everyone from the FlatOut Tri Club!!

Post Race:

I was extremely nauseous after the race, but I did try some chocolate milk after a few minutes after and that seemed to help. Then later I was able to eat a piece of pizza. We ended up having pizza that night with a couple of beers. The days following I have been constantly hungry. I know that I raced hard and had nothing left, but I was surprised and happy to not be totally hobbled for days. 

An Ironman is really a family affair. The athlete might do the training, but it takes all of the family and friends to get them to the finish line. My first IM could not have been in a more perfect place than Boulder, and yes it is one of the most beautiful places in the world that any endurance athlete would want to live. With that being said the main reason it was perfect was having those people surrounding you that are always there to pick you up and keep you going no matter what.

I can not ever put into words how much I was moved by the support and love from so many people during this last year of training for this race. Especially the Keebler Boulder Crew! It goes without saying that the largest amount of thanks needs to go to Susan and the girls for being so understanding during those long training days.

All the day's Gu food laid out.

Bike Drop off and then a hundred mile walk back to you car.

The girl's getting some extra cash for travel expenses.

The Keebler Crew! Need I say more.

Bike drop off. I think that I was actually scared s**tless at this point.

I'm the painful looking splash somewhere out there.

The one and only documented sighting of Mr. Hurst spectating a race. I am glad to say this will not be seen again :)

Heading out and trying to decide if I was still in pain.

This was the high point of the bike seeing a lot of the folks from Lubbock. It was great! Photo courtesy of Jon Mark Bernal

Near the end and all the bad magically going away. Hell my feet aren't even touching the ground :)

Here's Jerred giving me that last bit of encouragement to make it to the finish. After all the years of training, racing, and more than a few beers together this really meant a lot to me.

I started this blog and mission to help others, and this is the rock that it was built on.

At the end of the day sometimes you just need a cold river to heal your wounds.

Until next time,
Keebler
#gucrew