Dan and Amy: New Zealand and Dengue

I never got around to writing on Monday, or Tuesday... or Wednesday through Saturday. And how quickly the week has passed. Ugg.

But I'd rather like to remember a few things from the week, and the week prior. Not in any order:

Dan's race in New Zealand last week was incredible. He didn't pace/nourish himself well and he was exhausted with just 3 miles remaining. We sat at the finish line for more than an hour waiting for him to arrive. I'd been tracking his GPS, but he'd passed the final sensors and I knew he was somewhere along the last stretch. I kept telling the children I'd thought he'd gotten sick. So we began walking the course backwards watching so that if he was still racing we could cheer for him. After an 11 hour race, the last thing you want to do is miss the finish. I half expected to find him sitting on a curb somewhere, but he was running. Not fast, but moving. And he looked so sick. We cheered and then ran back to the finish line, where he crossed and then we didn't see him again for 2 hours. He was so sick the medics kept him under observation for 2 hours before releasing him. That's when we found out how bad it had gotten on the race. The swim was the worst in the last 17 years, Dan said it felt like a washing machine. Even with all the waves he swam well and fast. Then he had the bike, and the wind that churned up the lake gave him a good push out of town, but was a head wind the entire way back. By the time he got to the run he still felt ok and he looked like he was going to PR by more than 90 minutes. After 23 miles into the run he got sick. So so sick. It was so bad he actually called for someone to grab the medic van. He climbed in and said I'm out. The medic looked at him and said "You're crazy. This course is open for another 6 hours, you could crawl to the finish line." And then he didn't go anywhere. Eventually Dan crawled back out of the van, was sick again and then began shuffling down the course. He finished. It was ugly, but he still PR'd.

The first photo is about 8 miles into the run. (Still looking strong.) The second is at the finish, so so sick.

I've thought a lot about it this week. Sometimes, no matter what preparation or how dedicated we are, we can't get the results that we wanted. But that doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. (Dan may disagree, he is disappointed with his performance and that he let himself get so sick. And at the moment doesn't have the desire to run another triathlon.) But I feel like the preparation was far more important than the race. Won't God feel the same way? If we have done all we can, and done our best, then that will be good enough. Elder Cornish shared a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley last conference: "All the Lord expects of us it to try, but you have to really try!" Dan did. He trained hard, and was dedicated, he was putting in more hours than I would have liked towards this goal, we both had to sacrifice time for his training. He may have had higher expectations for the outcome, but that can wait for another time.

Watching the race and having a picnic during the run.

Sometimes I think about the medic. Dan was actually dangerously depleted of salt and electrolytes. He probably needed an IV. I don't think the medic on the course was actually a qualified doctor, but a hired driver used to keep the course clear. Maybe he should have driven Dan back those last 3 miles. But I actually was thrilled that he told Dan he didn't want to drive him back. Sometimes we are so close to reaching our goals, or to the finish line, but are too exhausted to realise how close. And yeah, we would be disappointed looking back and realising it. Last year Elder Renlund said, "As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints. As we change, we will find that God indeed cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming than about who we once were." Maybe sometimes we're the one encouraging others to keep going, and other times we're the one needing the encouragement. I guess I'm torn between the two scenarios and am glad he has recovered well, but I know he has had an opportunity to grow and improve over the last few months.

That was last week. We loved New Zealand and stayed in a small house on the lake where Dan was racing. We attended a ward in a small town on our drive back up to Auckland. After Sunday school, Dan asked the teacher about her name and we actually know her son and his wife from BYU. I love that the world seems small sometimes.

The day after we got back Dan headed to the US. Those are some long flights, but I think they are worth it. (Maybe not with children.) It's kind of fun seeing Dan on a mountain bike or up in the mountains, or wearing the same hoodie (he stole from Sam) all week.

Just after Dan left Maeser started a fever. Not unusual, but he has joint aches. This is symptomatic of Dengue, which can only be tested after someone has been sick for 2-5 days. The doctor said his test wasn't a strong negative, so he'll be tested again in 3 days. Basically he's got growing pains for another week. Poor kid.