Milestones

On Monday on my way to work, I happened to notice on my trusty yellow Jeep's odometer that it had traveled 100,000 miles.  I could not help but think about all the good times that I had in my jeep and how dependable it was to me.  I can remember great times like traveling to Hugenot Park Beach near Jacksonville, FL with my mother, wife, and two dogs on New Years Eve to enjoy a nice picnic and establishing tradition of beach pictures.  I can also remember those stressful times as I rushed across two states with several gallons of gas to help out some close friends who were stranded after Hurricane Katrina without a home to go back to.  Yes those memories were all so great and exciting and this was a milestone. 

What is a milestone? What does it mean in our daily lives?  The dictionary definition of a milestone is:

1. A stone marker set up on a roadside to indicate the distance in miles from a given point.

2. An important event, as in a person's career, the history of a nation, or the advancement of knowledge in a field; a turning point.

Each and every day milestones are achieved in life regardless if we really wanted to reach them or not.  For you it may be the milestone of turning a certain age, getting married, having a baby, etc.  For others it may be a promotion or achievement in your field for your hard work.  Ultimately, the milestones that mean the most to us are the ones that we set a goal to reach. 

Since I started my journey last May, I have passed many milestones.  First it was to complete a sprint triathlon, then an Olympic distance, then beat my previous time, then, finish a Half-Ironman and a Half-Marathon, and ultimately to complete the full Ironman.  Each and every time the milestone was harder to reach, but I have been fortunate to find success sometimes through adversity, but always with the same ending, achieving the milestone goal that I had set.  Of course I have had some great support along the way from family, friends, sponsors, and coaches.  I don't think I could have achieved passing the milestones without such a great support staff keeping me grounded and making sure I am not thinking too far into the future as sometimes I can do.  Today, I find myself setting goals to reach other milestones in this journey, but not in the way that you may think.

As you may know, Texas Children's Hospital has been a intricate part of our journey so far.  The administration and medical staff have always been amazing to me.  I have been raising money for their general Pediatric Urology Research Fund on my journey, but I have to admit, there has not been much success.  It some ways it makes me feel as if we are failing the hospital that I felt has given our son as close to a normal life as possible.  Of course I have been brainstorming on how we can generate more donations and then I realized it.  We did not have a milestone goal or in reality, there was not even a definitive road for our milestone to be on...until now!

We have received help from some great people, like Tara Mermis and Ellen Phillips, at Texas Children's Hospital to petition for a fund specifically for research concerning Shawn's conditions.  Although we don't have a specific name for the research fund yet (We wanted some more catchy than Shawn Murphy Pediatric Urology Fund.  Any Ideas?), we have established the specifics of what will be involved in the research:

1. Determine links between Shawn's conditions

2.  Study other possible cases from other hospitals that may have common denominators to Shawn's conditions.

3. Determine what may have genetically caused the conditions to determine if it was hereditary or from environmental causes.

4. Establish a procedural plan for any future child or pregnant mother that is identified with conditions like Shawn's or Rachel's.

We have now set a goal that we must complete for the research to start of $25,000.  There are going to be several ways to achieve this goal including Team Shawn, contributions from the Ironman Foundation and many many more fundraisers coming soon. 

Ultimately, I feel that if Texas Children's Hospital gathers a large grasp on Shawn's conditions and finds effect way to treat, prevent, or repair other children that may suffer from this, that it will be the innovator and leader for treatment. In return, children from all over the world will come to TCH to seek treatment, doctors from all the world will look to TCH for guidance, and parents can gather information at the sole source of Texas Children's Hospital. I know that may sound like great and mighty dreams, but I can't think of another hospital that could get the job done. Remember, nothing is impossible right?

I hope that you all consider becoming an advocate for this endeavor regardless of where you live.  Ask your friends, your companies and corporate partners for matching donations, and maybe even your enemies if they can help us reach our $25,000 goal.  Your help may prevent thousands of children and parents from ever having to go through what we have as a family. 

A Call from World Triathlon Corportation

About a week ago, I received a message from the director of the Ironman Foundation, David Deschenes, about the recent emails that WTC has received on behalf of Shawn's Ironman.  He said that he would like to talk to me about creating "synergy" between Shawn's Ironman and the Ironman foundation.  Today, I finally was able to talk to David for him to tell me more about the Ironman Foundation:

Each year, The Ironman Foundation selects groups within its various event markets for donations including organizations located in the two World Championship host cities – Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i and Lake Las Vegas in Henderson, Nev. The Ironman Foundation also recognizes a multitude of groups on a national and international level. Some of last year’s grants and donations were received by the following: The American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boy Scouts of America, Boys & Girls Club and The United Way.

To date, more than $2 million has been raised through the annual Ironman eBay auction. Through the success of the auction specifically, The Ironman Foundation has donated to organizations like Team Blazeman, Hospice of Kona, C Different, Daniel Robert Sayre Memorial Foundation – with funds benefitting the Hawai`i Fire Department on the Big Island of Hawai`i, The Pediatric Cancer Foundation, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital, Peoples Advocacy for Trails Hawai`i (PATH) and the County of Hawai`i Parks & Recreation Department.

(taken from Ironman.com)

So here is the bad news that David gave me.  He expressed to me that there was no possibility of me making the Ironman World Championship because there were not slot to give out.  The good news is that he really likes the story of Shawn's Ironman and wanted to extend me an offer to purchase a foundational slot for Ironman Texas.  A foundation slot is usually twice as much as regular entry, but 50% of the money would go to the Ironman Foundation.  In return, since the foundation gives back, that additional money that was given to the foundation would then be redirected to the Shawn's Ironman Project along with any other donations that were given to Ironman on behalf of Shawn's Ironman. 

Another thing that he was talking about was at each event they showcase a story about one of the athletes and a local charity or foundation.  All money raised from the foundational slots that are purchased for that event (200 per individual race) would go to that charity.  So in the example of the Ironman Texas:

An Ironman Foundation entry is $1,250 USD, with $625 going toward the race entry fee and $625 for the charitable donation. The charitable donation portion is tax deductible.

$625x200= $125,000

This would mean that if our charity was selected then we could receive a portion of the $125,000 to help research and families that are going through what our family did.   Contributions generally range from 500 – 5K spread across numerous groups.  Of course there is an application process, selection of charity, etc.

For more information about the IMTX Foundation Slots click HERE!

In reality, I have never been in control of this journey.  The journey has always seemed to have a life of its own and goes where it wants to go.  I planned on competing in St. Croix 70.3, something happens that does not allow me to do that, and I ended up completing my first 1/2 Ironman in Orlando, FL.  In hindsight, it was so much better than St. Croix ever have been.  We got to spend time with our close friends and Godparents to Shawn, the Lathrops, we got to see our newborn nephew Carter Ryan, and we were not strapped from spending a lot more money that we would have had to for St. Croix. 

Kyle Garlett at Lavaman

When I started this journey I really imagined that my story ended at the finish line in Kona. It is what Ironman has been to me every since I watched in on televisoin as a child. When I did not win the lottery I was very disappointed and somewhat felt that my journey failed.  I was not willing (and still somewhat not willing) to give up on WTC extending an invition to because of our story.  I knew that other inspirational athletes like Kyle Garlett never qualified or won the lottery to get into Kona, so why not me?  That may be a very selfish way of thinking on my part though.  An Ironman is an Ironman regardless if it is in New York, Florida, Hawaii, or Texas right?  That is the beauty of having an in so many places all over the world.  It gives the opportunity for anyone to become an Ironman in their backyard.  The chosen few that get to compete in Hawaii or qualify are blessed to have that opportunity.  



Now I sit here, discouraged, thinking about what is the next step.  I guess I am training for an Ironman, but I am not sure where that will be now.  I also feel like I am letting my sponsors and supporters down by not being able get to Kona.  I also am also in tears, because I am afraid that our goal of preventing another family from going through  what we went through with Shawn may be lost.  I feel so alone, I don't want to give up, but I just don't know where to go from here.

I am really hoping and praying that you will give me your imput as well.  Can you let me know your thoughts?   Feel free to comment below or write me at shawnsironman@gmail.com.

Wounded Warrior 1/2 Marathon Results, Los Colinas, TX

This week leading up to my first real 1/2 marathon (13.1 mile run) was somewhat stressful for me, but only because I was not able to put the time I really wanted into my training.  Once again the sick bug entered our home first through my wife, and eventually into me.  After my swim on Monday, I felt great, but Tuesday was a different story.  I started feel a little bad, so I decided not to do my afternoon bike ride after work.  Later that evening, I started to feel the same pressure in my ears that my wife did just a few short days before me and woke up on Wednesday morning with a sore throat and congestion.  I went to work, but found that I was not able to stand up for long periods of time without my head pounding. 

Fortunately, Coach Lyons, had factored this week to be a taper week for me considering that I was going to be doing the Wounded Warrior 1/2 Marathon in Los Colinas on Sunday, so there was not any building exercises in my plan.  I did start to feel better by Friday with over the counter medicine, so I decided to take my bike to DFW with me, so I could meet up with a friend that I had known for a long time, David Goldmeyer, to get in a bike ride on Saturday. 

David used to work at a hospital with my wife at her first job after her dietetic internship about 9 years ago.  We got to know him and his wife Melody very well, and they have been close friends every since.  They are also fellow BLOGGERS.  Because they live so close to my mother's house, we always try to make an effort to get together with them if we can to just hang and be silly together.
David has completed several MS150 bike events over the years and even some triathlons, so I was excited that we could get together and ride.  It was a great ride just north of Fort Worth filled with rolling hills, perfect streets, and a rare light wind day.  It was just what I needed, because I was able to clear out all of the congestion during the ride, and I was ready to go for Sunday's 1/2 marathon. 

The morning of the event turned out to be very pleasant for this time of year.  Normally the Texas heat keeps the temperature up in the upper 90s even through the night, but it cooled down to the 70s by the time I woke up at 5:00am.  I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headied to Los Colinas which is only about 30 minutes from my mother's residence in the center of the DFW metroplex.

This was just a training run for me, but I soon started to get an overpowering sense of pride as they started talking about the Wounded Warrior program.  Some of you may know that I was in the Navy when I was younger, but I was never in a serious conflict like Iraq or Afghanistan.  We did not see many "Wounded Warriors" during that time unless one of us got a serious paper cut. 
The Wounded Warrior Project was created to honor and empower wounded warriors.  Their vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded warriors in this nation's history by raising awareness and enlisting the public's aid for the needs of injured service members, help injured service members aid and assist each other, and provide unique direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured services members.  This event help raise money specifically for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund: "The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund provides financial assistance and quality of life solutions for Marines, Sailors and other military personnel assigned to Marine Forces, injured in post 9-11 combat, training, or with life threatening illnesses, and their families. The fund provides relief for immediate financial needs that arise during hospitalization and recovery as well as perpetuating needs such as home modifications, customized transportation and specialized equipment."

I have always been patriotic, and I know how much sacrifice it takes to serve your country, so I felt that I had to give everything I could during this race plus a little more. 
My goal was to finish the race at a 10:00 minute per mile pace, so my goal time was 2:11:00.  I strategically place myself between the 2:00:00 and the 2:10:00 finish time pace runners, so I could keep my pace and try to avoid being passed by the 2:10 guy unless it was at the very last part of the race. 

The gun sounded, and we all started our run.  Unlike any other event I have been in, I was able to have my iPhone with me, so I stared to listen to music and get cued by my TrainingPeaks app.  Of course I also go the chance to tweet a couple of race updates during my run.  That was actually pretty fun. 

The first half of the race I was under 2:00:00 pace, but I knew that my body would not be able to keep that up, so I dialed it down a little to get my heart rate back to where it should be, and I kept looking over my shoulder to see where the 2:10:00 pace runner was.  He was nowhere in sight.  I could not believe it.  I just hit cruise control, listened to my music, and focused on the finish line.  Mile 8 went by, then mile 9, then mile 10, and still no sight of the 2:10:00 pace runner.  At mile 12, we made a U-turn to head towards the finish line, so I knew this would be my chance to pick up the pace good enough that the pace runner would never get the chance to catch me.  I was excited to see my wife, Shawn, and my mother just yards before the finish line.  As soon as Shawn saw me, his face lit up and he started to smile.  I quickly grabbed him up and crossed the finish line like I have so many times before, but each time feels so good. 

Official Finish time: 2:04:55  9:32 min/mile (PR)

This officially shattered my previous finish time of 2:35:00, so I was really happy with my results.  I am really encouraged by this finish because I am really starting to see the fruits of my hard training and coaching by Coach Dana Lyons.  I can't thank him enough for what he has done to get me where I am today without injury.  I know there will be several more personal records (PR) in the future under his direction. 

Next up on my race schedule is an Olympic Distance event in Waco, TX,  called TriWaco, that I have heard a lot of great things about: 

Waco is the home of the first triathlon ever held in the state of Texas. The Waco Striders hosted the event in May 1980 with 24 men and one woman to compete in the Olympic distance at Lake Waco with the staging area at Speegleville Park.  The event grew to 500 entries with a waiting list each year. The 12^th annual Waco Triathlon was in 1991. That was the last year for the triathlon until the new TriWaco started [3 years ago]. Many triathletes considered the Waco Triathlon the best in Texas. .

I guess we will just have to see if it lives up to the hype.  No matter what, it will be great because it will be just another time that my mother (Shawn's YaYa) will get to spend with us.  If any of you near the Waco area want to join me for this event, I would really love the company.  You can be an official Team Shawn's Ironman teamate for the day, or you can just come out and show support (Cowbell optional, but everyone needs "More Cowbell").