The Arena

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

Teddy Roosevelt
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

One of my favorite passages. So a toast on the eve of Ironman... "Here's to living in the arena!"

When my diagnosis wasn't clear in the winter of '07 - '08 I had a couple of sleepless nights. I never would have guessed that I'd have the opportunity to do this again, let alone just a few months later. Through that time period I had two friends that understood my situation better than anyone else. They were instrumental in helping me remain positive. It was comforting to have friends that had complete empathy. One of those friends was recently hospitalized for his own heart disease. He won't have the opportunity to race Ironman, so I promised I'd race this one in his honor. Steve, when the going gets tough out there tomorrow I'll be thinking about you!