2009.01.11

A few weeks ago, my wife and I went the Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN. We took in an awesome show at the Sweet Fanny Adams theatre. We also climbed the Chimney Tops. We hiked for a little better than 2-miles before reaching "the climb". I have never done rock climbing. Forget hte fact that there were no harnesses. One false step would have resulted in a deadly fall. I took the photo on the right while I sat on a small rock shelf about halfway up to the top.

It took a few minutes for me to gather the courage to complete the climb from here. I do not like heights. I was paralized with fear. I refused to give in to the fear. I conquered my fear. I finished the climb. The view from the top was simply amazing.

This morning (Sunday), the alarm went off at 6:00am. MO and I ate a light breakfast and headed to Kettering. We competed in a USA Triathlon sanctioned race. MO was the youngest participant by at least 10 years. We joined the Splash N' Dash series. We swam 1,000 yards and then dried off and ran 3.1 miles outside in 25° weather on icy roads.

I did the swim beside MO the entire way. I encouraged him. Once it came time to run, MO took off and left me in the dust. He maintained a 100-yard lead on me throughout the race. A faster runner went past me. I asked him what pace he was running. He said he was running an 8:30 (per mile) pace I asked him to encourage MO to pick up the pace a bit. A minute or two later, he caught up with MO. He encouraged MO. The two picked up the pace. MO ran with the guy for a mile or so. Then, the finish line was in sight.

In typical fashion, MO sprinted the last tenth of a mile. MO left his running companion in the dust. I know this because when I finished, the runner approached me. He told me how he tried to keep up with MO but, was unable.

MO said the event was "cake". He can't wait to do it again. I am so very very proud of him.