Sharks and Elephants.

It's kinda strange being scared to run, but at the same time experiencing a deep desire to go hammer the pavement. If I had to give the best analogy I can think of, I would say it is very similar to the feeling of being a strict vegetarian, but at the same time experiencing a deep desire to go on an African safari and shoot an elephant. This is how I felt upon waking on Sunday morning. I dreamt about shooting that elephant the entire night. And by shooting the elephant, I mean running. The back was slightly sore and the foot still a bit tender, but I wanted to run - almost as badly as I wanted to eat a big breakfast of CARBOHYDRATES. My carb loading protocol dictated that Sunday morning was the time to start shoving starch down the hatch. Boy, I love bread pudding.

Anyways, I am both attending and presenting at the Hawaii Ironman Medical Conference during my stay here in Kona. This means that I am spending 5 hous per day in an air conditioned hotel conference room listening to physicians talk about solutions for saddle sores. I personally will be presenting on physiology of endurance athletics. So I sat all morning, just thinking about running, and listening to doctors describe solutions for runner's diarrhea.

Finally, class was dismissed! I drove home, put on my running shoes, and took a few ginger steps. Then I opened my stride up, and ran. I ran 4 miles - 2 miles out and back. Interestingly, the foot felt just a little sore, but the back was a bigger problem. My right butt cheek hurt, probably due to nerve related sacroiliac related dysfunction. I had to change up my stride a bit, which hurt the right knee. Gotta love those chain reactions. So I will talk to Dr. Pearce tomorrow about seeing a chiropractor.

Either way, I am glad to say that I will be completing this race. If I can run 4 miles, I know I can bike and swim, which I will be trying tomorrow. And even if I have to run-walk the marathon or stop and stretch my back every 20 miles on the bike, I know I can do Ironman.

So thank you for your prayers, your outpouring of concern and your medical advice. I am convinced that the power of the body to heal is only possible by the grace of God. I will be thanking God every morning for my returning physical health, which I will never again take for granted.

The remainder of Sunday was uneventful. Unpack and build bicycle. Tour Kona with my wife. Eat dinner with the Tri-Fusion triathlon club. Go to bed. Althought I was very sleepy, this was a good day.

Let me finish by saying that I hope I do not see any dangerous animals when I am swimming tomorrow. My pet dolphin Edward, who I brought on the trip to protect me from sharks, unfortunately perished during the long flight to Kona, as the federal aviation administration failed to feed him his allotted tuna rations. So I hope I am not eaten by sharks.

Are sharks or elephants the most dangerous animal in the world?

Neither. The most dangerous animal in the world is a shark riding on the back of an elephant, razing everything in it's path.

Ben