Happy Holidays!!!

Anyone who doesn't know what this blog is all about can click here and get caught up or better yet make a donation!

The picture on the left is Cody and Quinn with Santa last year. Christmas is Codes favorite holiday for obvious reasons, but the less obvious is that he loves the pageantry. He genuinely loves our tree, all the decorations around the house, the lights around the neighborhood, the Christmas songs, holiday music at the stores and all the special events around town. When someone comes over to the house he very promptly runs into the living room and in his very loud (hearing impaired) voice announces, "Merry Christmas!", while extending his arms to the tree he helped decorate. He calls out every Santa Claus sign he sees on the road, same with elves, trees and anything else that says its the holidays. This sometimes makes for an annoying car ride. Especially as we get closer to Christmas and it's been almost three weeks of constant calling out of everything Christmas. Not to mention he won't stop calling it out until you acknowledge that you see it. Without even realizing it Knikie, Quinn and I take turns acknowledging him. Seems almost comical when you look at the whole picture.
We have already raised nearly $695!!!! Way more than I thought we would see during the holidays. I will start another big push in January and am considering some other fund raiser events along the way. I am really excited with the great start we have gotten off too!!
On the training front, I haven't been exactly setting the world on fire, but I have been trying to do my off season maintenance. I have been riding and running with a great group of guys on Tuesday nights. We get in about 18-25 miles on the bike and then follow it up with a hard as you can 2 mile run. Last night I had a great 8 mile run. Felt great on my feet and really think my running is going to get better this next year!!!
I still have several blog ideas, but I was wondering if any of you have any suggestions or questions you guys would like me to answer in the blog or offline??? Simply add a comment at the bottom, you can even do it anonymously if you want.
Hope your Holidays are 20X better than ever this year!!!
Cale

It's ON!!!!

This is it!! I am officially signed up for Ironman Florida 2010!!! On November 6th, 2010 I will run into the gulf with nearly 2800 other poor souls (at the same time) in an attempt to become an Ironman and live up to the effort my youngest makes just to get through a normal day. I'm also finally signed up for the Janus Charity Challenge. I''m really excited about all of this. I'm planning on doing some extra fund raising over the next year as well as asking for some support from local business', friends and family. You can check out the donation page here Click here. Any and all donations are welcome, no matter how small or how big they ALL help!! Picture on the left is Quinn and Cody chillin' at McDonalds.
For a really detailed look at what I'm doing please read the other posts on this blog!! There is a ton of info in there and it really sums up what this experience is all about. 
As most of you know already my son Cody was born without the part of the brain that connects the left and right halves. It's called the corpus callosum. I'm doing this Ironman to raise money for the only organization that is studying and helping those born with this disorder, The National Organization for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum (NODCC). They hold conferences and help family's and individuals make the adjustments and get the education they need to get the most out of life with the disorder.
Cody is doing great!!! I just attended an awards assembly at the boys elementary. Cody got an award for perfect attendance and his brother, Quinn received Principals Honor Roll and perfect attendance. Cody literally ran to the stage to get his award!! He was soooo excited! Needless to say I'm a very proud Dad!!


The theme for this Ironman dream of mine is "20X". When we went to see one of the docs that deal with the mind, she informed Knikie and I that Cody works about twenty times harder just to get through a normal day, than the average kid his age. So my effort on the day of the Ironman might come close to 20x the effort that I put in for a normal day. So "20X" stands for doing everything for the next year with twenty times the effort, twenty times the donations, twenty times the smiles, twenty times the determination, twenty times the work and twenty times the fun.   20X!!!

For those that have been following the blog you have been waiting on the announcement of my "secret weapon". Well it comes in the form of Michelle Tovar. Michelle will be my Coach starting in January and going through November. I'm very lucky to have her on my team.  She is a teacher and a graduate of Florida Atlantic University. Perhaps most importantly Michelle is an Ironman. Welcome aboard Michelle!! Michelle's husband, Andres will be attempting his first Ironman with me as well. So I get a great Coach and training partner all in one. Both are exceptional people and athletes and I look forward to a great year with them!!!! The picture to the left is of Andres and Michelle this year at Half-Ironman Longhorn in Texas!! 

Finally, I wanted to sum up with my volunteer experience at Ironman Florida this year. For those of you who didn't know about the only way to get into this race is to volunteer for the race and then they hold a spot for you in next years event. So a group of five of us made the eight hour drive to Panama City early on a Friday morning. The five of us together made for what I would call a bad episode of the odd couple. There is Peter Weiler a Financial Advisor here in Stuart, five time Boston Marathoner and a triathlete. Pete's close friend Mike Renfro, a Graphic Design artist and triathlete. Jeff Maher a former punk rock star, A/C installer,aspiring Fireman and Paramedic and triathlete. Tommy Allore, Nutritionist with Herbalife, Licensed Poker Dealer and triathlete. And of course me, Electronic Engineering Specialist and triathlete. Everyone, but Jeff would be signing up for Ironman next year. Jeff has to go to college next year to finish up his degree for the firefighting stuff, so that means not enough time. 

We went down early to watch the start of the race on Saturday morning. 2800 or so people running into the water at the same time is quite an intimidating site. We were all in awe. Mike was assigned to wet suit stripping as his volunteer slot. Basically he helped the athletes get out of their wet suits as they came out of the water after the 2.4 mile swim. He said it was great and really a good motivator. Jeff and Pete were assigned to the transition area. They helped the athletes find their bikes on the rack and get their gear in order. They also caught the bikes when the athletes returned from the 112 mile bike ride and again helped them with their gear. Tommy and I were lucky enough to be finish line catchers. Our time slot was perfect as we got to see all of the winners cross the line. I was really surprised when the sixth place male crossed the line and promptly went down. With a little prompting from our friend Andres (yes he was there too) we went over and picked him up and helped him back to the medical tent. He was the first of many people we would have to help back to the medical tent. Most everyone who crossed that finish line looked great when they crossed it. About four or five steps later they didn't look so great. It's amazing how far you mind can push your body, but when your mind quits pushing your body is ready to rest. Sometimes, it rests immediately and without warning.  The picture on the left is of my arm with the coveted Ironman volunteer bracelet that holds your place for the following year.
We went and got some dinner and some rest then returned to the finish line around 11pm to see the last finisher. You see it's a big deal in Ironman. You only have 17 hours to go the 140.6 miles. That 17 hours ends at midnight. Being the last finisher is almost an honor. We were all there when she came in at 16hrs 59min and 48 sec. It was very emotional and very fun to watch!
Overall it was one of the most motivating and fun times in my life. I couldn't believe that such a mix match of guys and personality's would have so much fun. Training with these 4 guys is going to be one of the highlights of this whole experience. I can't tell you how great it is to be teamed up with them all.




So with all of that said, lets get to work..............

End of "The Season".....Beginning of "20X"

The conversation was short and it went something like this:

Cale: Cody, time to take a bath.

Cody: No.

Cale: Cody, who makes the rules?

Cody: Me.

Cale: Cody, Mommy talked to you about this in the car today. Remember what she said? Alright, so who makes the rules?

Cody: Me. Cody. (said with an inference that I might not understand who "me" was.)

Gotta love the stubbornness of this little guy. Took all I had not to fall down laughing. I did good though, kept my stern Dad voice and insisted that it was bath time and that he needed to listen before things got ugly. Cody would eventually cave and take his bath and all was good in our world again. It takes Codes several runs before he gets things. It's part of his diagnosis. He has problems understanding complex novel situations. Which basically means any time your having a conversation with him and it's a new subject and there is more than one party, he gets confused easily. So it takes us several runs through to get the our point across. It all comes back to what the Neuro-Psychologist said about Codes having to work twenty times harder to get through what we would consider a normal day. With that said the theme for our road to the Ironman is set, it's 20X (20 times). It stands for putting in twenty times the effort, twenty times the donations, twenty times the smiles, twenty times the determination, twenty times the work and twenty times the fun. 20X!!!

On the racing front, Triathlon Season is now over, until February of next year when some of the races start up again. I ran my last sprint race on the 18th of October. Finished 3rd in my age group and second place in my age group in the sprint triathlon point series. It was a great way to end my season. The end of the triathlon season marks the beginning of the running season here in Florida. I ran my first half-marathon this weekend. Won my age group with a 1 hour 44 minute and 58 seconds for 13.1 miles. That's a fairly big mile stone for me as it marks the first time I have won my age group in any form of competition, since I got started in the mess two years ago.

Think I'll hold off on the announcement of my "secret weapon" for next year until the next blog. I'm also going to only up date the blog every two weeks next year, instead of every week as I originally planned. It's hard to come up with enough to fill the page in just a weeks time, plus I want to make it somewhat interesting. Every two weeks should allow me to gather some good stuff on Codes and my training.

The picture was taken by my wife, Knikie Simmons. It's me holding all my medals for the events I have completed from November 2008 thru November 2009. You can't see all of them in the picture, but there are quite a few.

Last race of the season........

Well this Sunday I will round out my 2009 competitive season for triathlon and running. I have to say that I have really enjoyed this year. As a family we participated in 10 running events and 17 triathlons between November of 2008 and November of 2009. That's 9.6 miles of swimming, 288 miles of biking and 114.7 miles of running in races only. I say as a family, because Knike, Quinn and Cody were at almost everyone of them. They didn't come out to some of the running races because it was just too cold to stand there while Dad ran and then got back in the car, plus if all Dad is doing is running, well then we are watching cartoons. Can't say that I blame them for that. I really want to tell them THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT THIS YEAR!!! My family absolutely rocks when it comes to supporting me. No one has a support group as good as mine and if you want to challenge that you'll have to deal with Codes (watch out, he bites).
I got to do some really cool races this year, including the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon and Ironman Florida 70.3 (half-ironman).
The Escape from Alcatraz race was one of those events in life that really only happen once. Can't tell you how great it feels to have your family cheering you on during a really special event.
Here is the brief overview from the website:
"Triathletes from around the globe will descend on San Francisco for one chance to attempt the impossible – ESCAPE from Alcatraz. The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon attracts World Champions, Olympic Medalists and the best amateur triathletes from 50 states and over 40 countries. They will put their endurance to the ultimate test as they take on San Francisco’s icy waters, steep hills, and rugged terrain. Consistently ranked #1 in the US by Inside Triathlon Magazine, this event draws thousands each summer to find out who has what it takes to ESCAPE! The 2009 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon features a 1.5-mile swim through frigid waters from Alcatraz Island to the shores of the St. Francis Yacht Club, a grueling 18-mile bike ride, and a demanding 8-mile run through the trails of the Golden Gate Recreational Area. Set against the natural beauty of San Francisco, this thrilling triathlon is a virtual postcard of the City by the Bay."
As you can read it was really cool, you can find more details on that race here: http://www.escapefromalcatraztriathlon.com/
My other big race this year was my half-ironman. I trained really hard for this one and it was all working out well till around mile 12 of the 13.1 mile run, when my body decided it had had enough of the heat and I cramped up all over the place. I limped in to finish, stretching about every 10 steps or so for the last 1.1 miles. Learned a big lesson: No matter how much you prepare for a race, your body can always decide your done, sometimes well before your mind does. It's ok though, we are going back for more next year and I'll have a secret weapon in my corner. You can check out the details on this one here: http://www.floridahalfironman.com/
As some of you know I had my last "big" race of the year last weekend. I ran the Health First Olympic Distance triathlon in Melbourne, FL. I did really well coming out of the water and off the bike, from what I can tell I was in second or third place when I started running. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my leg turnover up to speed and I suffered dearly on the run. This has been a familiar thing for me in the last half of the year. I believe I have a handle on why and we will work on this extensively next year. I ended up finishing 6th in my age group, taking 2 hours 52 min and 35 seconds to finish the race. I was happy with my effort, but disappointed in my results. No worries, I still have one more race to finish up the year.
Sunday, we head down for a short sprint triathlon. It's the last race of an 8 race point series. I'm currently second in points and have a decent shot at winning the points in my age group, but I will have to have my best race ever on the course to do so. So one more race for this year!!!!
After that I'm headed to Panama City to Volunteer for Ironman Florida!!!!! 
I'll be giving details on that in my next blog (and I might tell you guys about my secret weapon for next year)!!! Then we start the blogs for the year!!! Let the count down begin!!
Picture was taken by my wife Knikie Simmons. It's Quinn, Cody and I before the start of the Health First race on October 11th, 2009.
For those interested here is the breakdown and results of all my races this year: Cale's Results for 2009 season

Baby steps

Haven't been able to get to this for a couple weeks and feel like I need to get moving on it a bit. I have started some other blogs that I will finish as I kick this thing off in full swing in November. The original blog already made my company's local newsletter and we have some of my co-workers standing at the ready offering up all kinds of support. Super excited about that. Can't wait now until I can get the donation site set up and can get things moving.
I have been training for an Olympic distance race on October 11th. I started an actual training plan and am currently on week 14 of 16. It's a trial run to see if I can follow a written plan and hit all my goals along the way. I ran this race last year and really enjoyed the course. You can click here to check it out. An Olympic distance race consists of a 1500 meter (almost a mile)swim, 40 kilometer (24.8 mile) bike and a 10k (6.2 mile run). It should take me close to 2 and a half hours, give or take a few minutes, to finish. I figure if I can spend 16 weeks training for 2.5 hours then I can put a year in for the less than 17 hours that it will have to take to finish the Ironman. It's a personal test to see if I have the self discipline to commit to a plan and actually do it. So far things are going well. Probably the hardest part is juggling day to day life with the training. It's going to get harder as the big race next year gets closer. My wife and kids have been great. I couldn't ask for any more support than they all give. They come to most of my races and make huge sacrifices at home to make sure I get the time and the rest I need to do this stuff. Big props to Knikie and all she does to keep me swimming, biking and running. Literally Knik has kicked me out of the house on occasion to insure I get my training in for that day. I can tell she is going to be a big plus to have on my side as we move closer to the main event.
So what are the goals for this Olympic distance?? Normally it would be to simply beat my time from last year. I haven't ever really gone out to try and win my age group or to be competitive with anyone, but myself since I started this whole thing. I have even asked some of my closer friends to give me some predictions on finish times for this one, but that was just to get a gauge on where they think I'm going to come in time wise (to see what they think I'm capable of). This time around the goal is much different and much more aggressive. I want to win my age group. I don't want any males with the ages 29-34 on their calves to pass me and if they do, I will make every effort to catch them. I'm going out this time to beat others, to truly race, to win.
Photo taken by Knikie Simmons on September 20th, 2009. It's my feet close to the finish in the rain at a local sprint race in Key Biscayne, FL.

Inspiration and a little humor

This week I'm cheating a little bit and sharing some of my favorite spots from youtube on Ironman, some are very motivational some are funny, either way I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This one is my absolute favorite:

Another goody:

Aright it's not triathlon, but hey it's got Lance boxing!:b

By far the best triathlon commercial ever and yes the swim starts are that rough:

Quinn......

Since I'm not into the official blog towards the Ironman and charity donations, I thought this would be a good time to introduce you guys to my oldest son, Quinn, a.k.a. "Kuya" (that's what Cody calls him). For those of you who don't know my wife, Knikie, is Filipino. In the Philippines the oldest of each generation is called either Kuya (if it's a boy) or Ate (if it's a girl). Quinn is the Kuya, pronounced kwia and he fits the role to the tee. The role is basically, as I understand it, a liaison between the parents and the kids. This includes all the cousins. Which means when there is a large family gathering Quinn is expected to keep the kids entertained and organized. Later in life it will mean answering life questions and giving advice. It's a lot of responsibility, especially when your little brother is "special".

Quinn demonstrates more patience at nine years old than most adults. You see as cute as Cody looks, he's not the easiest guy to live with. Cody rarely has any concern for anyone, but Cody. He also gets frustrated very quickly and Quinn usually catches most of it. Now when Codes gets mad he usually hits, pinches, kicks and in some bad situations he bites. Quinn never retaliates, he just takes the beating and reports back to Mom and Dad. He is always kind to his little brother and helps him out every chance he gets. He's Cody's hero, best friend and punching bag.

It's that kind of self discipline and heart that I'm going to have to draw on to finish this venture.

I just hope I have half of what this kid does. If I do I'll make it with ease.

They both started school yesterday. Cody is in an ESE class and Quinn started 4th grade. They absolutely love going to the same school and I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

On a seprate note my next training race is this weekend, down at Tradewinds park in West Palm. Hope to see some of you there!!

Looking forward

Round two.

Well last week I went into what I was setting out to do. This week I'm going to delve into the how.

Think I'll start with the charity side of things, since I have already had a few people ask about how to donate or when the donations are going to start. I plan on using the Janus Charity Challenge to set up my donation site. The really cool thing about the Janus Charity Challenge is that it lends us the opportunity to add some more money to our donation at the end of this thing. See Janus has a small competition going at each race between the people trying to raise money for each of their respective charities. The top 50 get bonus money added onto their donations. Here is the list from the Janus website:

As a reflection of our commitment to the program and the athlete’s efforts, Janus makes additional contributions to the beneficiaries of the 50 top fundraisers at each race in the following amounts:

1st Place Individual : $10,000 donation

2nd Place Individual : $8,000 donation

3rd Place Individual : $6,000 donation

4th Place Individual : $4,000 donation

5th Place Individual : $2,000 donation

The beneficiaries of the next 30 highest fundraisers who raise a minimum of $750.00 will receive an additional contribution of $750.00 from Janus.

The beneficiaries of the next 15 highest fundraisers who raise a minimum of $500.00 will receive an additional contribution of $100.00 from Janus.

They will also allow me to have a donation web page on their site that will allow for completely safe and secure online donations to the charity of my choice, which of course is the NODCC. I won't be able to set up my site until I'm registered for Ironman Florida 2010 (IMF) and Janus is set up for next years race. I will register for IMF the day after this years race on November 7th. I have already signed up to volunteer for this years race. By volunteering I will have a slot saved for me in next years race. That way I don't have to worry about the race selling out and me not being able to get in. I'm really looking forward to volunteering. I'm driving up with a group of friends, some of which will be attempting the race next year as well. Super excited about that trip!!!

Once the charity site is setup, I will contact the NODCC and see what they can do to raise awareness to our little adventure.

As far as the IM race itself, well that's going to be a little harder. I'll probably start developing my training program over the next couple of months and running it by the wife (it's going to take up a bunch of time). Hoping to include a marathon, Half-Ironman Florida, and at least a couple of 100 mile bike rides in my training for the big one. I'll have plenty of support from my family, friends and great group that I belong too, the Treasure Coast Triathletes.

A quick update on Cody!! He got his new hearing aids last Friday. We found out a few months ago that his hearing in both ears is severely impaired. They are working great so far, he talks a little quieter, his speech is improving and he has been keeping them in his ears, which I thought was going to be the biggest problem. The hearing aids are actually made by the same company I work for, Siemens. I've been really impressed with everything so far. Hopefully it all continues to go well.

IronCody

To make a donation please CLICK HERE, you can also get caught up on what this blog is all about! 

Well I'm about 3 months out from what will be my year long endeavor to become an Ironman and in doing so raise as much money as I can for the NODCC. For those of you who might not know what an Ironman is or the NODCC I'll give you the readers digest version of each.

An Ironman is an individual that completes a race that consists of swimming 2.5 miles, then biking 112 miles, followed by running a marathon (26.2 miles). All three sports are completed in that order and you must finish in less than 17 hours.

The National Organization for Disorders of the Corpus Callosum (NODCC) is a nonprofit corporation established in 2002 by professionals, parents and individuals with a personal commitment to understanding corpus callosum disorders. Their mission is to to enhance the quality of life and promote opportunities for individuals with disorders of the corpus callosum and raise the profile, understanding and acceptance of these disorders through research, education, advocacy and networking.

Why the NODCC? Because my son Cody was born with Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. Which means he is missing the part of the brain that connects the left and the right hemispheres. It largely affects his coordination, speech, and overall brain function. The NODCC was our only resource for explaining what Cody's disorder meant for him and us. They hold an annual conference that is open to anyone who wants to know more about the disorders of the corpus callosum. The topics range from, how it affects people and their lives who have it, to how to manage the schooling and financial aspects of raising a child with the disorder. We attended the conference in 2005 in Greenville, SC. We left with a much better picture of what raising Cody was going to be like and more importantly some of the things that we needed to do and not do. It was priceless.

Why Ironman? Well after Cody had finished his first neurological-psychological evaluation last year, the doctor, said that Cody works harder to just be normal and go through his day like all of us. I asked how much harder, she replied about 20 times harder. It's 20 times harder for him to walk, talk and play like any other kid.

I have been running triathlons for over 3 years now. I have completed several sprint triathlons (400 meter swim, 10 mile bike, 3.1 mile run), a handful of olympic distance races (1500 meter swim, 40 kilometer bike, 10 kilometer run), two half-ironman distance triathlons (1.25 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) and the famous Escape from Alcatraz triathlon. All of those races were difficult and took a huge effort by me mentally and physically. However, none of those races are as difficult or challenging as Cody's day to day life. Cody is already an Ironman in my book. The least I can do as his father is attempt to meet the high standard he sets everyday at least once. Hopefully, 140.6 miles later, I can do that and in the process help the organization that has helped us and Cody.

I'm going to attempt to continue to blog about everything to do with this undertaking, setting up the donation site, my training, Cody's progress and of course the Ironman event. My goal is to continue to post a blog at least once a week, starting now and continueing through the race in November 2010.

Hopefully it will inspire some of you to donate or look for some other way to make a difference in someone else's life.

For more information on the NODCC go to www.nodcc.org, info on Ironman triathlons go to www.ironman.com

As this thing continues on I'll provide more info on the race and the charity.

The picture is of Quinn my oldest and Cody at the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco, CA. They are patiently waiting with donuts and chocolate milk for me to get out of the bay.

Thanks in advance for your support!!

Cale