That's What Brothers are For

As the time draws even closer to Brent and my long awaited attempt to become Ironmen on September 8th in Madison, Wisconsin, I get more and more excited. Imagine the thought of looking forward to something that has been on your mind, night and day for years and that day is now just beyond your finger tips and getting closer by the minute. I feel like a little boy on about December 1st knowing that on Christmas or Hanukkah morning he is finally going to get the chance to unwrap his dream gift. Can’t eat, can’t sleep, and can’t think of much anything else. Well that’s about where I am right now.

 Brent and I are currently increasing our time spent on the bike and our training will probably peak at about a 40 mile ride. That portion of the race will be 112 miles but we will never bring our training up as high as that as it would likely leave us on empty come the actual race. We just continue to get stronger as we  increase our mileage and then enter the race with the confidence that we’ve put in enough miles during our training to be able to take it up a notch and conquer the course.

Some things that people probably don’t realize is that Brent will give me water about every ten minutes so that I stay hydrated. I can't take water myself so I am positioned in front of Brent on the bike and I turn slightly to my left to take in fluids. Brent leans forward while biking and pours the water into my mouth. We will also take nourishment during the race as it is important to keep the engine running. Though I wish it was a burrito from Moe's or a Carvel Ice Cream cake, I will likely exist for 16 hours on bananas and peanut butter sandwiches while Brent will eat just about everything in site to keep his energy level high. Like a finely tuned machine if you don't keep it properly fueled it won't run as it was designed. 

And though it may or may not be something anyone wants to think about, I will be wearing a condom catheter during the race so that we don’t have to stop every ten minutes for me to void. I normally don’t need to wear such a contraption because I am blessed enough to be able to void on my own but with this long a race, where every second counts, there is no time for pit stops. A guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do. Brent on the other will do what many Ironman do if nature calls and that will be to use the water or the bike if necessary. It’s the part of the Ironman that many don’t consider but 140.6 is a long way to ignore something like that.

Another question people have asked recently is what I will wear during the event. Some think a bathing suit or a wet suit but Brent is a strong enough swimmer that I don’t even get splashed very much so I’ll be wearing running tights and a KPeasey t-shirt and then transition right to the bike and running chair in the same attire. Brent of course will do the swim in a wet suit and bathing cap and then he’ll have a change of clothes as he exits the water. We will have three helpers along the course, one is responsible for me, one is responsible Brent and one is a spare helper. Brent’s helper will hold up a towel and Brent will change following the swim.

As I said in my last post, I will be envisioning the shoot during the race as that will be my motivation and inspiration. The thought of completing this amazing event with my brother is motivation enough but being in the zone and thinking of the finish will drive me and keep me going throughout the 14-16 hours the race will take. Brent and I also have a bit of an advantage over those who are competing solo in that we can communicate with each other and spur each other on throughout the Ironman in the event we tire or lose our focus. So much of this is mental and to have each other to pick the other up will be a positive advantage.

So in some ways, Brent will be carrying me during the race, but I’ll also be there to carry him. 

And after all, isn’t that what brothers are for?

Walking with KPeasey is a campaign affiliated with The Kyle Pease Foundation, Inc (KPF). Walking with KPeasey works to create awareness and raise funds in support of KPF. 

The Kyle Pease Foundation, in turn, promotes success for young persons with disabilities by providing assistance to meet their individual needs through sports and competition. Programs include scholarship opportunities, purchasing adaptive sports equipment, and participating in educational campaigns around Cerebral Palsy.