3-1=2

I was at the funeral of a neighbor a few weeks ago.  It was not your typical funeral, it was a service set in a theater.

There were poems, video montages of his work, photos of his life and stories shared by those he worked with and those who loved him most.  He made a huge impact in people lives.  He gave so much of his soul and spirit to his work, to his family and to everything he did.

I knew he and his wife and his daughter were a tight knit trio, but I had no idea how close.  Every facet of their lives were intertwined.  It was as if together they were a three legged stool and one of the legs had just broken off, never to be fixed.

The pain of loss so great.

I wept as I listened.

I wept at their loss.

I wept as the raw feelings being set out before everyone slowly washed over the theater.  This person with so much talent, love and wit, was now suddenly gone.

Life will not be the same.

Tiny pieces of him remain, but it isn’t the same.

It will never be the same.

After listening and seeing and experiencing who Bob was, through the eyes of so many, I walked away from the experience filled with the hope that I may live my life in such a way, that touches so many, so profoundly.

Oh how I love this…

It makes me want to crank up some music and throw some things around.

Mikhael Paskalev – I spy from André Chocron on Vimeo.

Totally busted up

Last year’s racing season was EPIC to say the least.  It will never occur again in my lifetime.  To start the year PR’ing at Boston Marathon, sandwich four half ironman races (including the World Championships) in the middle and end with the New York City Marathon in November, was exhilarating, unbelievable, utterly ridiculous, hard, fantastic and totally awesome on so many levels.

I only have random pictures and really no blog posts to show for it. Sorry, I was on my bike, or running or maybe in a lake.

I had a plan, a two year plan of how racing was suppose to go.  The plan I set out for myself has me signed up and heading to Ironman Canada in August. Not only to head there, but to work my way towards a Kona slot.  I decided after much deliberation that this race was my best shot.  I’m already signed up and my bike even has transportation to Canada.

But today, four months after the end of that amazing ride in 2011, I’m a bit of a physical wreck.  The entire left side of my body, hips down, is not working right.  I have a hamstring that never stops hurting and has no power, a pelvis that is utterly wonky, the back of my knee is so tight it feels like there is a tight wad of cotton stuck in the joint and my calf hurts when I run.  My PTs have me relegated to the pool, aqua jogging and swimming but only with a pull buoy (my arms are going to be so fierce) in hopes of keeping my pelvis in alignment for just one week.  Everyone thinks this all stems from my pelvis.

Being a person who likes control and who doesn’t like the fact that her two year plan is not going according to plan, I’m trying to remain calm.  It feels dire, unfixable, possibly impossible. If it IS possible, at what cost?  I can’t defer the race to next year.

While having a pity party earlier in the week I told my friend that this is a pretty hard fall from grace.  Her response, “Don’t worry, it’s going to be ok, you’re just on a grace hiatus.”

I think I’m going to try that on and see how it feels for a while…a Grace Hiatus.

Summer 2011: Day 45

Hmmm, wonder whose kid this is

Originally uploaded by sellke

Ohhhh man – I’m birthing an Ironman

This process has reminded me a lot of what it was like to be pregnant.  Reading all the books (training mags/books/charts), doing all the classes (training), preparing the room (my bike, my shoes, my stroke), eating right (eating right) and just getting everything ready for the big day.   I LOVED being pregnant, I LOVED training.

And now, now it’s time to give birth.

Here’s the hitch, by the time the last one came out, it only took me 2 hours start to finish . I am going to be doing this ironman for 12-14 hours.  Maybe I needed a 24 hour labor to prepare me.

I have no idea what to expect, well that is not all together true, I know the stories of others that have gone before me and the “idea” of what I think it is going to be like.  I do know this, I will try to live in the moment, I will be grateful for the experience and for all of the people in my life that have been nothing but the most wonderful support staff anyone could ask for.  So, thank you, thank you, thank you.

The one thing that isn’t the same as pregnancy, is that after the race I won’t be coming home with a small little baby that needs to be fed, changed and taken care of.  Or maybe that will be me.

You can follow the race live on race day at http://www.ironman.com.

Here are the bib numbers of the folks you may want to track.  Please no placing bets in the comments section.

Mary Sellke 2664

Courtney Steilen 2607

Todd Olson 1378

Diane Birkeland 2743

Vicki Carver 2700

Jackie Dezellar 2816

Danielle Pellicano 2394

Scott Welle 475

Getting there is way more than half the battle

The absurdity of trying to get all your things together and actually make it to the start line of the ironman is an accomplishment in and of itself.

Here are some updates:

T-odd, just found out his bike has a crack in the frame and is unrideable.  No, I am not kidding.

Jackie, just got her race wheels on, with her brand new bike and biked through wet cement and then ran over a squirrel.

Vicki, just got her cast on.

I think I am going to lock myself up in a dark room until I get picked up on Friday morning.

Bumps in the road

This ironman race is NOT for the faint of heart.  Anything can seem to happen, in the blink of an eye.

The day we came home from Ironman Camp in Madison, Jackie forgot her bike was mounted on the top of her car and ran it right into the garage.  Needless to to say, it broke in two, IN TWO!  So three weeks out from the race, she was on the hunt for a new bike.  Not really the thing she wanted to be doing.

(Old)

(New)

Last weekend, when we were all on our Clover Leaf of Death ride, the LAST hard ride of training, 15 miles into it Vicki went over her handle bars.

Out cold for a good 30 seconds, just laying there in the road still as a stone.  Her wrist is broken, her body is scraped up and they are is still trying to figure out why her knee swelled like a blow fish.

She is getting run through the paces; x-rays, MRIs, pulling, prodding.  She is doing everything she can to move forward and YES, still complete the race.

These are the moments, after all the months and miles and sweat, that you sometimes hit.

You can either be torn apart by them and quit or move forward and persevere.

Let’s hope the rest of the days leading up to the race are smooth sailing.

So perfect

A few years ago, we were teaching CT about money and bought him three containers to separate out his allowance into three different areas:  SAVE, SPEND & GIVE.

The system fell apart somewhere along the line and per usual the containers where lost, living under a bed, thrown behind the couch or eaten by the dog.

Today, KP told me he has found a new home for the new thumb tacks and was wondering if he could keep them in his room.

And the winner is….

So last night, Omar and Becca headed off in all their finery to The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year^® gala to see if Omar would earn the prestigious award of Entrepreneur of The Year for Consumer Products.

AND HELL YES HE DID!

Congratulations Omar, Becca and Surly Brewing Company!

“Ernst & Young LLP is pleased to announce the winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® award in the Upper Midwest Region. This group of leading entrepreneurs was selected by an independent judging panel made up of regional business, academic and community leaders. The winners were revealed at a gala event on Thursday, June 10 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“Ernst & Young believes in the power of entrepreneurship,” said William Miller, Partner and Strategic Growth Markets Leader with Ernst & Young LLP’s Minneapolis office. “These Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners are best in class, and we are proud to honor their outstanding success.”

The Upper Midwest program recognizes companies based in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. The Upper Midwest winners for the Ernst & Young LLP Entrepreneur Of The Year award in 2010 are:

·    Lifetime Achievement – M. A. “Mort” Mortenson, M. A. Mortenson Company (Golden Valley, Minnesota)
·    Master – Jack Link, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky (Minong, Wisconsin)
·    Emerging – Joe Keeley, College Nannies & Tutors (Wayzata, Minnesota)
·    Technology – John Romans, BioMedix Vascular Solutions (St. Paul, Minnesota)
·    Retail – Rollie Benjamin, ABRA Auto Body & Glass (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota)
·    Distribution – Jimmy Vosika, ShopJimmy.com
·    Consumer Services – Peter Taunton, Snap Fitness (Chanhassen, Minnesota)
·    Health Sciences – Jerome Ruzicka, Starkey Laboratories, Inc. (Eden Prairie, Minnesota)
·    Consumer Products – Omar Ansari, Surly Brewing Co. (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Should I bite her head off?

Originally uploaded by sellke