Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Flyover in Missing Man Formation

I wanted to share with you part of the email we received from Brian today. Each of us deals with death in different ways and it amazes me how strong Brian and his family are in the face of this tragedy. It makes me even more motivated to go out and do my run tomorrow, too bad today is a rest day!


Dear Team-
I am just getting to e-mails and saw this. Thank you, Colleen, for forwarding the "bio" at this time to further honor my Pap. Such a good man. Strong, courageous, and positive up until the very end. He recently told me a story of his fastest run ever. He did a 5 mile race at a 7:20 pace when he was in his late 30's. You can be sure that David and I both will be trying to meet that high bar he set. About 2 hours before he died we went out and ran 5 miles in his honor. I joked that this was our own version of a "flyover in missing man formation."

If you read the end of my bio, then let me add a final note here:

Yes, his passing has made me sad. I am happy to confirm that in the end I have no regrets. Nothing remained unspoken. We were blessed with so many months to prepare for his death. Now I will begin moving forward and race in his memory. He committed to be with me on my races. We spoke Thursday about me doing an Ironman and he once again assured me he would come with me on the race and cross the finish line with me. I have a long way to go between here and there, but I look forward to every painful swim stroke, pedal stroke, and foot strike. May the suffering we endure as a team and as athletes inspire others to challenge themselves in new ways, support worthy causes like TNT, and to live each day of their lives fully.

In lieu of flowers we have asked that donations be made in dad's memory. We recommend supporting your favorite Team in Training athlete. ;)

Love you guys-
Brian and Dave, Jr.

1 comment:

Rockin Austin said...

Your coach is amazing...