The past week had quite a few ups and downs. The downs were dealing with whatever stomach issue that still seems to be hanging around. I have been to the doc a few times, had some tests done and they still are unsure of what is going on. Tomorrow I am having some sort of scan where they inject dye into my arm and then watch what happens when it moves through my organs. Really I just want to get it figured out so I can get it taken care of and move on. It's not very fun to know that any time during the day, you're going to feel like crap for a few hours.
The ups the past week were pretty great though! Started the off-season plan on Monday and I really like it so far. Like I said before, it seems like it will keep it changed up enough to keep if from getting boring and that's pretty important. Also on Monday I was able to meet with a few charities about fund raising for them during our Ironman training. I have decided to raise money for charity during my training, along with my friend Carl Nofstger, in honor of my Grandpa RM Traviss. RM passed away earlier this year after a short battle with cancer.
First I met with Mark Slocum, Executive Director of Children's Cancer Connection, at Smokey Row for coffee. We shared our stories and information about our goals and possibilities of what we are doing. Mark gave me some materials to go over about the services that his organization provides. This charity is pretty amazing. To sum it up in their words, "We enhance the quality of life for children and families affected by childhood cancer by providing programs for education, recreation and support." That barely scratches the surface of what they do so I encourage you to check out their website at www.childrenscancerconnection.org.
Second I met with Chaney Yeast with the Regional Child Protection Center at Blank Children's Hospital. Again, I was blown away by what these people do for our children and community. And how much they are able to do with limited resources. This organization helps kids that have been harmed or are living in unsafe conditions. Chaney was very, very nice and had a ton of information for me. This was about the time that I started to realize that this wasn't going to be an easy decision. I also suggest that you check out their information, http://www.blankchildrens.org/child-protection.aspx. At least check out what services are provided to the kid's in our community that need help the most.
And lastly, I met with Alissa McKinney who is the Director of Development for Blank Children's Hospital. She told me about all of the different services and departments within the hospital. I really had no idea how much Blank does. Honestly, I kind of thought Blank was just a kid friendly hospital or ER. I guess I never really thought about how much a hospital does, but Blank goes above and beyond for kids. I was very impressed with some success stories she shared and how selfless the staff sounds. Again, I am super proud Blank Hospital calls Des Moines home. If something were to ever happen to Cadence, I am glad that somewhere like this is only a short drive away.
After talking all of the information over with Carl and Nicole, we decided that Children's Cancer Connection was our best fit. We could not decide on who was most deserving, because they all were. We decided by who was most compatible and excited about what we were doing. Not to mention that I have a personal hate for cancer and would like to have something to do with people dealing with it. I could really tell that Mark was excited about what we were doing and very willing to help us too. So we are very excited to start working with them and we will have a lot more information on this soon. Be prepared to share what we are doing with anyone and every one you know. We want it to be big and it's going to take all the help we can get. You could start helping by following this blog and getting others to read and follow. We will have a site soon but for now, information will be shared on here every now and then.
So the other day while I was swimming I was trying to think about what I should write about this week. And I started to think about what made me decide to do all of this. Why do I do triathlons? Why do I spend money on things that other people would think are crazy? Why do I think of a bikes like others might think of a nice car or motorcycle? It all started after I met a goal that I set out months in advance and then worked for. I was king of starting and not finishing, and in some aspects I still am. But after I ran my first half marathon, slow as it may have been, I accomplished something that I had to work hard for. I remember saying after that race that I was going to just run no more than 5 miles at a time from now on. That didn't last too long. That was in an October and the following December I happened to watch the Ironman World Championship in Kona on TV. I was glued to the TV during the entire broadcast. I had seen this before but for the first time I was thinking, "that could be me". Seeing Chrissie Wellington overcome obstacles that would have possibly sidelined the average age grouper. But she took that diversity and used it as fuel to continue and dominate. I also watched as 80 year olds, people paralyzed from the waist down, and just ordinary folks race in this epic feat. I sat there and watched and by the end of the broadcast I had decided that I wanted to be an Ironman. So I set the goal to complete a triathlon the following summer and the rest is history. Next summer I WILL hear the words, "Caleb Pike, from Des Moines, Iowa, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!" And my family will be there to see it. Cadence will then have an Ironman dad. How many dads are Ironman? I know that some day she will still be embarassed by me but I also know that she will be proud that I am her dad. And that is why I do this. Well, that, the medal, and cookies you get when you finish.
The photo above is from the Des Moines Marathon. Starting from the left: Kathryn, Janet, Nicole E., Nicole P., and me.
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