Yesterday's 30 Mile Run...

An excerpt from my blog www.trimywill.blogspot.com :

Today was filled with a plethora of different emotions amongst other things...

My alarm sounded at 3:30am, knowing that I needed 40 miles of running today. I pulled myself out of bed, and began to fuel. I hit the road bundled up with headlamp, gloves, beanie, Camelbak, and no iPOD to boot (Battery Dead arghhhh). The run went great aside from hitting 2 trains and having to visit Walmart to "Drop The Kids Off at The Pool", and I must say that the folks that end up on www.peopleofwalmart.com might very well come from this Walmart, and might be found looking for Bologna, shotgun shells, and bait at 5:30am on Saturdays. (Not that I have anything against any and all of these things, except the Bologna)Anyways, I finish up my 17 mile loop feeling good, wanting to go more, but had to head to the next part of the day...

This part of the day was attending the funeral of a good friend, Danny Vivar, who is survived by his wife and 4 young daughters. To see him rolled into the chapel with his young daughters grieving behind him, left an image and a lump in my throat that will be stained in my memory forever. During the service, my mind continually reflected on my gorgeous family, and how blessed I am to have them as my own, and how fragile and short life truly is. It was a beautiful service with uplifting music and speakers, and we left with a brightness of hope for the future. Spiritual food is always the best kind to ingest...

Immediately following the funeral service, I realized I was several minutes late for a conference call, that would be the last in a series to get me the designation as an Official Obesity Help (OH) Support Group Leader. The call lasted 1.5 hours and as I watched the clock tick to 12:30pm while stuffing my face, I began to turn my thoughts towards the running I needed to complete. I was hoping for 40+ miles and had 17 under my belt thus far...

After "Suiting Up" for the run and refilling Mr. Camelbak, I headed out to do the 17 mile loop again. My legs felt fresh, but the bottom of my left arch in my foot was killing me for some reason. I kept running and it got worse. I took in nutrition, salt tabs in the off-chance that it was just a cramp, and still hurt. I called my wife to tell her I was in rough shape, and if she wanted to get out of the house, come find me on the streets and see how I am feeling. As the time went by I began to feel A LOT better and was running at a pretty good clip, however the weather was starting to turn sour. As I was about 4-5 miles from home, I see my wife drive up onto the shoulder to wait for me. She asked how I was, I said pretty good surprisingly, and told her I wanted to keep going. Then I looked in the back seat to see my daughter on the verge of falling asleep, waiting to find daddy running, and my two beautiful boys, in an instant my mind flashed back to the funeral earlier in the day, and all I wanted to do was be with my family. I hopped in the car, and called it a day. I would not have it any other way. Fast or slow time, 30 mile training run or 40 miles, I am finishing this 100 mile Ultra, and I am glad I have been home for the rest of the day with my family. (And of course with my friend... Mr. Epsom Salt)

It has been a great day. A day of reflection, a day of grieving, a day of happiness, a day of solid training, and another day I decided NOT to be idle. Have an awesome day and enjoy the rest of the weekend...

pretty amazing considering all the stuff you had going on yesterday.... especially when i think how tough it was for me to gut out 14 today :)

In today's day and age, getting caught up in life's fast pace is so easy to do. Good for you Dan for being able to say enough and go spend time with your precious family. Kids grow up so fast.

I was with my 12 year old daughter this weekend for her Canadian Jr  National taekwondo competition. The drive there was 3 hours, so we just took the time to chat about life, her dreams and aspirations. That time spent connecting with her far outweighed her competition results. After winning her 1st bronze medal, she was disappointed with her result. I told her that she is awesome, and  I am so proud of her and her accomplishments. She went on to win a second bronze medal.

I am a single parent with three kids, so trying to find some one on one time with them isn't always the easiest thing to do. That's why I really enjoyed the weekend with her. Well, I would say you made a wise decision Dan.

Jet

Wow, you're not a machine!  Glad to see you make the wise decision.  You'll have plenty of time for the ULTRA, but never get those family hours back.  Besides the workout you did over the weekend put us all to shame.  Good luck to you.
Rob

 I know its cliche, but sometimes you need to step back and remember what your priorities are.
Health and exercise are so important but nothing is more important than those little ones who think the world of you.

 You're an impressive person on so many levels.

I love the fact that you have your priorities straight!  Way too often, people regret the time that they could have spent with their loved ones far too late.  I will be giving my own kids an extra long hug tonight.  Thanks for sharing.