For many months now my final word to all reading this thing has been to LIVESTRONG, a phrase coined by the Lance Armstrong Foundation to inspire the 28 million people currently living with cancer. It has me and I thought in some small way it would you if I wrote it down often enough. Deep down I've hoped this story we've been sharing would inspire (or scare) some of you to change your lifestyle for the better, a stretch objective to be sure. Then yesterday it happened, and from about the last person on earth I'd expect it from. Our son Paul. Yep, Burger King Paul. Super size it Paul. The Paul that put away the one pound "Leroy Burger", fries and cole slaw at the Port Hope Hotel way before Adam on Man V Food was making everyone queasy on cable TV.As Paul tells it, he didn't quite know what to do when I was diagnosed but felt he had to do something other than be angry. That "something" was to hit on everyone he knew for pledges to the Lance Armstrong Foundation in return for his competing in an Ironman 70.3 yesterday.
For the past many months he has trained, eaten right, drove by, instead of through Burger Kings, (notice how many are now boarded up ?) spent a substancial amount on gear and trained even more. Yeah, he's ripped, but this 70.3 still wasn't a walk in the park, not by a longshot ! Joann and I were in Benton Harbor yesterday to see Paul, Lo and 2000 other competitors swim 1.2 miles in Lake Michigan in a downpour, bike 56 miles on wet pavement and run 13.1 miles in the heat of the day, all in well under 8 hours. Seeing him cross the finish line is something we'll never forget, nor will he. Paul has been living strong, completed what he set his mind and body to do, honored his commitment to those that pledged over $1300 to a very good organization and brought this smiling old man to tears. It's all good. Thanks son, we're proud of you.
Your turn to LIVESTRONG
(Click on the picture twice to enlarge it)
Congratulations, Paul! What an awesome accomplishment and for such a wonderful cause!
ReplyDeleteJoe and Lorraine
We're so proud of you Paulie!! We knew you could do it. All of that training over 4th of July really paid off! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHope that you can make it up to the Thumb soon, so that we can toast to your success.
Love ya,
Aunt Deb/Uncle Rick
Thanks Uncle Rick and Aunt Deb. It felt great to finish, even though this guy wasn't setting any land speed records. It was a great experience, and I can't wait to do it again. And I can't wait to get up to PA and really enjoy what we have left of this summer.
ReplyDeleteThis was all inspired by my Dad. In my eyes, he's the real IRONMAN of the family. For the last couple months while I was training...all I could think about was that the punishment I was putting myself through doesn't compare to what Dad had to go through.