I am so proud of my friend Ty. Last weekend he headed to Cambridge, Maryland for IRONMAN MARYLAND. He's been training for months for his A-Race and just last week we had a send-off party for him. On Wednesday, he loaded up his amazing wife, Lissi, and their two girls to travel nearly eight hours to the race.
On the Road. Stolen Selfies from Ty's Facebook Page
I don't know if you know this, but the past week has been crazy - weather-wise - in the south and along the Atlantic. Record-breaking rain on top of high tides and wind from a low pressure system over South Carolina and the threat of Hurricane Joaquin created a perfect flood. When the weather goes crazy, triathletes go crazy. Even if you're not the one racing, you may become obsessed with Jim Cantore's location (never a good sign for him to show up in your neighborhood) or Al Roker's predictions. You also may become obsessed with the race website or facebook page. Will they cancel the swim? Will they cut it short?
IRONMAN's slogan is ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. I've learned that in any triathlon - ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN. Several hours into their trip, the Rabons got the news that MDOT had cancelled the whole race. I think it was a great decision - safety personnel were going to be needed for something more than a race.
Ty at IMFLA 2014
Now, let me add that this race was a redemption race for Ty. He raced his FIRST iron distance last November at IMFLA. As we were standing on the beach for the swim start, officials announced they were cancelling the swim! They would switch to a bike/run format. Again, probably the right call. Our swimmers from Wilmington were strong and probably would have weathered the waves and rough seas, but safety personnel couldn't stay in place and kept drifting into the area that would have contained 3000 athletes. In order to get in a full full, Ty signed up for Maryland.
When THAT cancelled, there must have been frustration, tears, cussing (?), anger, surprise, disappointment, sadness, hurt. It's the ultimate C'MON, MAN. He'd felt it all before a year earlier. Ty knows how to adapt and overcome. Here's what that looks like (from my perspective):
- He had a plan B. He had met with his coach, his close friends and family before they left and discussed the multitude of possibilities. He had people in place to help him sign up for Beach2Battleship, right here in Wilmington. Home field advantage. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.
- He compromised with resolve. He could have taken the rain date that IM tentatively offered or probably deferred to next year's race. He could have said, to hell with this! He did not give up. Instead, he chose another 140.6. He resolved not to let the situation get the best of him.
My favorite thing is that his two daughters got to see this. How amazing that they can watch their father's example on how to adapt and overcome. How to turn lemons into lemonade. How to make the best out of a bad situation. And how much WE can learn from him, too.