It's been a few weeks since I last sat down to write.....not a whole lot to write about on the training front.....way too much going on in almost every other facet of life. In an effort to spare you the details.....here's the short version:
- Went to a conference in Vegas....but I'm told what goes on there.....you know.....is supposed to stay there, so I'm sworn to secrecy. I'll just say that the place is the epicenter of RED-iculousness. There's really nothing I've ever seen like it. Impressive.
- Flew back from Vegas into the face of an on-coming storm that (at the time was being billed as "Frankenstorm") - yeah, so it lived up to its billing and then some.......
- Power went out in about ALL of New Jersey (or like 90%) and life was brought to the brink of chaos......people stealing (or attempting to in our case) generators, waiting on gas lines, buying (this was a low point for me) firewood, watching the blue flash of power lines coming down and finding ground, seeing pictures of the Jersey Shore and Staten Island, NY being obliterated, and more
- Went for a run that required climbing over, under and through many downed trees
- Rolled my L ankle HARD (never get used to that snap and pain)
- Got through the depression that comes with disaster (no, not the ankle)
- Decided that the NYC Marathon wasn't going to work, went back to the same trail and cleared those same trees (what's better than chainsaws w/friends?)
- Threw a pick-up-game of marathon, raised $10,000 for hurricane relief and continued to deal with shortages of gas
- Committed to bring aid to the shore, Staten Island and local food banks, and recruited a great crop of people to help us out.
- Registered for Timberman (hooray) and a bunch of folks decided they were up for it too, including my wife who will do her first sprint
- Got power back at BaseCamp31....YES
- Went to the shore and volunteered to help a few people move items and gut their hurricane ravished homes....sad to see, but I think we were a big help
- Took down a 24 year old Cherry tree that was blown over in the storm (thankfully no damage to home) which solves the firewood embarrassment for a little while
- Celebrated a birthday and an engagement, ironically on the same night for the same person....
- And......well, that gets me here.
But where is here?
- Here is a little more physically tired, but mentally refreshed than I've been in a while
- A lot less fit but happy to have put it on hold for some good reasons
- Really ready to get back to a normal routine with work
- Wanting to swim
- Wanting to bike
- Wanting to run
- Excited by the genuine caring by so many folks I've met lately
- Excited by the local pop in triathletes (new training partners!)
- Emotionally cagey about the things on my stupidly long to-do list
- Yet, accepting that those things will still be there tomorrow and committed to helping those who's to-do list has only one item "start-over" however I can
The truth is, it's been a very very crazy last few weeks....and it's not over.....but everyday is a little better. I am incredibly thankful that my chaos has been a very very mild chaos by comparison to the stories I've heard and the destruction I've seen. I am more committed than ever to my mission of being a doer of extraordinary things which includes resuming the RED-iculous effort......but I find myself at ease with the new timeline of "when things fall in place".
Swirling,
Mike E.
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