It Happened!

Day 5 of 8...still smiling

This time last week I was reveling in the fact that my daughter had just completed her first day of pre-k.  I used to laugh at "Those People" that had to tell everyone a play-by-play on their children's daily occurrences, but I couldn't contain myself on how cool it was that she was now excited to be going to classes everyday.

But what was really interesting to me is that the day before her first day of school, I was wearing shorts that I wore every day for the previous 10 days, hadn't showered in the same amount of days, nor shaved, and just happened to be in eastern Africa; Tanzania.  I couldn't help but start to realize that just 24 hours from one of the most important days of my parental experience, I was in a country where the average age of mortality is 51.  I knew that climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the week before her school, was risking the chance to see her off on her first day and the dichotomy of worlds that I found myself was truly mesmerizing.

Kili was everything I that I never imagined.  I never imagined that walking an average of 5 miles a day would be so difficult.  I never imagined that walking, literally, a foot's length stride at a time would be difficult.  I never imagined that being with 5 of my best friends for 10 straight days would make you feel like you were twelve again; but I feel that way every time I'm with them anyway.  But I most of all never thought that even after all these years of knowing each other, after the unbelievable life experiences we have shared, after 3 years of detailed, military precision-like logistical planning for this once-in-a-lifetime, epic adventure, we would still only have three topics to discuss during the hours of getting to the top of Africa; farting, pooping and farting.

I was with some of the most well traveled people that I know.  We have experienced some of the world's most interesting aspects of life and the mere fact that our basic "needs" were the center of attention garnered some of the most interesting conversations I have ever had.  Its amazing to know that when your day's goal is to safely ascend the highest mountain on a continent and support the efforts to get to that summit, you begin to realize that most of the other BS that we focus on in a given day is immaterial and irrelevant.  I/we were most concerned with eating, or not eating, the right foods, taking the right medicine, wearing the right clothes (for practical purposes) and for getting enough sleep; all in the name of the rear end bodily function.  Putting yourself in compromising positions, even in front of your best friends, makes for very uncomfortable hiking, tent sleeping, group discussions, enclosed area meetings, open area meetings, and everything in between.

It was really hard to believe that such a short time ago, I accomplished one of the main events of my 40th year's schedule and the main outcome of our discussions was that I didn't even use an entire roll of toilet paper.  I should have used (insert one of my best friend's name here) advice who used three rolls.

Happy to be home and yes, I do now bow to the thrown.

When Do You Become an Adult?

Turning forty, as many of us have realized, has been a time of reflection on how much of an adult you have become.  Many of us own a home, negotiate the purchase of our own cars, decide on where to vacation, where to eat, how the bills get paid and maybe even become a parent.  Its interesting to finally understand that for roughly half of our lives, someone else, typically a parent, made the majority of our decisions for us.  Its only been roughly 20 years since we've had full reign of our destiny on a daily basis.  For those that have been to their 20+ year high school reunion, we know that those decades have passed faster than we ever thought possible.

But does the age of majority truly start at 18?  This past week, for me at least, I found out that being an adult starts at 39.  For me, I have found that I am truly an adult with the passing of my father about a week ago.  I am no longer able to have a chance to ask for advice and I am unable to have a living historian of my life a phone call away.  Not that he ever really played those roles for me, but having the comfort of knowing that I could at least ask someone some questions, some deep-rooted and meaningful questions, gave me a little comfort, because I was so young then; just one week ago.  I understand now that I was truly a child, someone's child.  I can understand that I no longer have the privilege of falling under the auspices of an older generation.  Even though I am extremely close to my mother, we speak daily (inset your umbilical cord comments here) I now feel that I am THE generation.

I became an adult this week...Three months before my 40th birthday.  I wish I could have stayed a child for a lot longer.

What Are Those Two Circles?

After almost a week in the NC mountains, living without air conditioning (because you don't need it,) sleeping without medication (because you don't need it,) and eating whatever is in front of you (because...,) I started to see how my children perceive summer vacation.  It became blatantly apparent to me that summer is truly the culmination of the entire year.  I'm not sure why God put summer in the middle of year so we just get confused as to when the year actually starts and ends.  If He just made the hot/fun months from October - December, then we could start the year in January with school and work until the beginning of "Summer" at the end of September.  Summer would run its course for the remainder of the year and then January rolls around again for school.

But noooooooooo.  Mittendrinen (please Google for my gentile friends), we have to have summer right in the middle of everything.  This just shows that Julius Cesar was as vain as they come; naming the most fun month, July, after himself and putting it at a time of the year where everyone is looking forward to saying his name all time.  "Let's wait until July to go on vacation, I can't wait until July so I don't have to be in school, lets not pay the electric bill until July" (maybe not that one.)  But you get the picture.

All kids do is look forward to the summer!!!  I was/am one of those kids.  I loved that July brought me the time to go on a hike with family.  I loved that we were forced to talk to each other and sing songs with each other.  I loved that we can stay up late and tell stories to each other.  In actuality, I thank Julius, and God, for giving me the summer in order to remind me how important it is to just BE with one another.

So there I am, on the phone with my wife, recapping their summer day and she says to me, "your daughter (4 years old) looked at the dog as it was walking away from her and asked, 'what are those two circles on the bottom of the dog?'"  Another reason that summer is so special...the endless learning opportunities.

¿Dónde está el baño!

Its 3a and the cell phone alarm 2 feet from my head goes off, much to the dismay of my wife.  I know that you're not supposed to keep your cell phone that close to you at night, but I wouldn't hear it if it was any farther away.  I have that very meaningful conversation with myself that we all have first thing in the morning of how I would be able to rearrange the day's tasks if I just got another hour of sleep.  After some self-negotiating, I decided to just get up and see what happens.

When you run that early in the morning, there is a lot of time to think.  I purposely don't bring the iPod because there are so few moments in life where there is little to no noise.  3a runs are some of those moments and I'm learning to treasure them.  I find myself rehashing what I thought, at each moment, were insignificant events in my life; where is the neighbor, that lived down my street when I was 4, that was always so nice to our family?, why do I remember what I was wearing to school on a particular day in 6th grade?, what about the time that my mother told me not to point at the obese woman across the street, I was 3 then?, or how about running down a silent street in the dark with the sudden urge to use the facilities...any facilities!!!...that was when I was 39 on June 15.  Somehow that is the most vivid for me.  There are really few things more motivating then a desperate need to find a bathroom.  Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.  When everyone sees the roll of toilet paper I have rolling around in the back seat of my car, they all comment on how good of an idea that is to have there.  Just make sure you tell people you got the idea from me.

Having just returned from a few days in the Dominican Republic with some old and new friends, I began to think that this year is half over.  Years of planning, travel arrangements, logistics, coordination, training, begging, feeling guilty for leaving my family...its half way there.  I feel better during runs, swimming is easier, hell...getting up in the morning is getting easier.  I now feel like its working, that part of me is turning back the imaginary clock I have in my mind.  I know that most people think this year is a ridiculous bout of midlife crises, but its really turning out to be my best year ever.

Kili No Mo

Today I found out that one of the six team members of this summer's Kili climb is unable to make the trip. Uncle John, as my daughter calls him, not in a prostitute sort of way, let us know that his boss wont give him the time off.  He will only be one month shy of the end of his project and the word came today that he is going to serve every last day of his duty.

Its very telling that while we've been planning for three years for this trip, one person can stand in the way of your dream.  Its a good lesson; most of us think we're in control of our lives, but its clear that most of us are naive to think that.

So then there were five.  Five knuckleheads traipsing across the earth to get together and have a beer at the end of their most prolific trip of their lives.  Paying for the Skype upgrade to have multiple users would have been easier.  But you can see the desperation in voices as we try and share our training regimes with each other to try and get an edge on the pain that we're about to inflict on ourselves.  In any case, we're in; flights made, deposits are nonrefundable, clothing purchased, satellite phone ordered, climbing advice received and estate planning is being secured.  We're off to see the....

HDLs Going Down

Summer planning is well underway and I'm starting to feel overwhelmed by it all.  While I've accomplished almost half of the events that I've set out to do already, the REAL feats come in August, September and October of this year.  The logistics of me going to Africa for Kili followed by NY with the family make me feel like I'm planning for my first State Dinner at the White House.

We just had our most recent conference call with all six of the Kili participants on the phone at the same time.  Pretty amazing given that we're juggling 12 times zones.  Our group essentially depicts all maturity phases of my life (Name purposely withheld); Starting with my friend from when I was 5 and we have done everything together our entire lives and he is now an ER doctor, two more friends from when I was 8 that coincidentally are both in health care at some of the highest levels, another friend that I met when I was 17 and decided to travel the world for a while instead of going to college and finally, a college friend who is now in Afghanistan serving his 23rd year in the Army. Its going to be a great trip.

In any case, I was called back to the doctor a couple of weeks ago to do a follow up on my cholesterol and believe it or not, my levels have gone went down.  While I still have to watch the diet, my pants seem to fit a little better these days and I can wear a tie for longer periods without being too uncomfortable.  Exercising is getting a little easier and I'm finding that I actually need it...if I dont get it, I get cranky.

All in all, there seems to be some positive effects to early mornings, early evenings, training time and family time.

The interviews are becoming more and more interesting.  Recently spoke to a woman in the Washington, DC area that has lost 60 pounds since she started exercises all while running her own business and experiencing the wrath of her verbally abusive husband for being overweight.  She completely impressed me with her honesty of how she feels about herself now and contrasting that with her self-image before the weight loss.

I love the fact that my friends and family are following this journey and, at the very least, entertaining me with an "at a boy" when I see them at different events.  I've received a lot of encouragement from total strangers and all seem to be simultaneously curious, envious and stupefied by my 40th year.  I appreciate the comments and look forward to reading and responding.  We'll see how this all plays out, one way or another.

If I had $5,000....(BNL Music)

Ring Ring Ring

Dave:  Hello
Slob:  Hey man, what's up?
Dave:  Nada mucho, y tu?
Slob: We got a hotel room for the race but wanted to coordinate with you and stuff
Dave:  What are you talking about?
Slob:  The race in two weeks, I'm bringing the family and we got a hotel room
Dave:  I have no idea what you are saying; what race?
Slob: The triathlon we signed up for six months ago.
Dave:  I signed up for a triathlon that's in two weeks?
Slob:  Yep, I'm sending you the link so you can see your name on the website.
Dave:  I have no desire to do a triathlon in two weeks, I'd rather you get a running start and kick me in the nuts as hard as you can
Slob:  I would if you had any nuts to kick
Dave:  Good one.  Well, as long as you're going to be here, just stay at our house so we can at least carpool to this so called race you think I'm signed up for.
Slob:  Cool, see you then....

And so it went, the Slobs came to visit us and actually proved that I signed up for a triathlon.  Over three thousand people registered and everyone but me was excited to be there.  I felt like a grumpy old man:
-The lines are too long
-I have to walk too far to get my bike
-I have to wait too long to start the race (The winner finished before I even started, no lie)

But as I watched wave after wave of people I began to notice a progression in age.  Like most races, you start with people that are at or near your ability level.  With over 3000 people, that meant that they had roughly 30 different waves that went off in 5 minute increments.  I got a good view of about 15 of those waves and saw men and women of different ages start their slumber towards justifying the t-shirt they received the day before.  I started noticing a lot of patterns too;

1.  Men in age groups from 20 - 30 years old have a lot of tattoos
2.  Men in age groups from 40 - 50 have a lot of body hair in weird places
3.  Women of all ages are more polite to each other as they begin the thrashing of a mass swim start
4.  Men seem a little less conscience of the weird shapes of their bodies as they get older
5.  It seems that you need to spend about $5,000 on a bike to feel good about yourself these days

As I got into the transition area where all the bikes await their owners like little puppies in the window of the pet shop, I couldn't help but notice that there was millions of dollars in leisure equipment just laying around.  There was so much expensive hardware there this weekend it made me a little sad that the average person had been convinced somewhere along the way that even though they are getting older now and had to "compete" in individual sports, the way to make themselves happier was to purchase an eighteen gram crotch rocket that slices through the air.  There I was, borrowed bike, running shorts (no spandex), and a great sense of urgency to run as fast as I could so my wife wouldn't be late for an appointment she had immediately following the race and I could stay in her good graces.  Hey, everyone has a different motivation.

The finish line is nearing and there is my family on the final turn, screaming and yelling for Daddy.  The scowl that I had for the previous three hours immediately changed to shear joy and I grabbed my daughter so we could run the last 100 yards together and cross the finish line holding hands and pumping our fists.  You want to know why I'm "clinging to my youth?," so I can experience that moment for as many years as possible.  I will remember the crowd's cheers for us and her face forever.