Regardless if you have followed this journey for one day or the last 3 years, I wanted to take this time to say, THANK YOU!
When I first started this blog, it was really just a way for me to keep a diary of my training that lead up to my attempt to become my son's Ironman triathlete in honor of his recovery from three life threatening surgeries. Little did I know at the time that it would become a blog that gets nearly 10,000 hits a month. None of this would have happened without you typing in or clicking on the link to navigate to
www.shawnsironman.com.
I am not a writer, celebrity, or public relations guru. I am just a simple dad that wanted to do what I could to prevent another family from feeling that hopeless and alone feeling that my family did when we found out that our child was born with life threatening birth defects.
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| Shawn's Anomaly Awareness Run |
Tomorrow I will start my journey to complete my second Ironman triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run), but I could not have gotten this far without all of the support from sponsors and fellow athletes. You have confirmed to me that this journey is worth it. Thank you specifically to Shauna Hall, Rich Wilkins, Karrie Bellard, and Ron Stitt for being my training partners leading up to the Ironman Florida. There were several times that I just did not want to get up do the long runs and bike rides, but I knew that you would be waiting for me and wonder where I was if I did not show up.
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| Family H.O.P.E. Flag Signing At Cook Children's Hospital |
I want to thank all of the families that have placed their loved one's name on the
H.O.P.E. Flag and allowing me to represent your family. I hope that you find the inspiration to keep pressing on one day at a time and know that you are only given what you can handle. You may bend, but you will never break.
Thank you to all of you that have donated or plan to donate this weekend to our mission to the birth defect research and care package project at Texas Children's Hospital.
I want to thank my family for putting up with me while I was absent during the weekend mornings training and being my "Ironman Support Crew".
I don't know what tomorrow event results will be, but regardless where, when, or if I cross the finish line tomorrow of the Ironman Florida, I plan to take it one stroke, one pedal, and one step at a time...
