This weekend marked the time of the year where the sun blazes hot and people from around the World descend upon Louisville Kentucky for the Ford Ironman.  This year was no different, hot, humid, and visitors from around the globe.  However I had never paid much attention to it until this year, when my nephew Casey Andrew Moore decided he was going to become an IronMan.

Now you have to understand my nephew.  He’s forged Army strong, 22 years old and chiseled from some metal that I can’t understand.  He had been training for about a year for this event.  However the last month had him stationed in Washington state with little time for training.  Despite this he rolled into town spirits high, nervous, but content that regardless what come, he was going to get through it.

His mother (my sister), all her kids, husband, Casey’s girlfriend and my family chased him around the rolling hills of the countryside that is rural Louisville Kentucky for most of the day.  I was not there at 7:30 when he jumped into the murky Ohio River for a leisurely 2.4 mile swim, which he accomplished in just under 1.5 hours.  I did however catch him after about 40 miles on his bike and since I was the native Louisvillian of the group it was up to me to guide them from vantage point to vantage point so we could cheer him on.

The sun blazed hot when we pulled off of exit 28 in rural Oldham County to catch him at the 80 mile point of his bike ride.  It was an uphill section, his face calm and focused and sweat rolled from seemingly every pore of his body.  As we waited him to appear we watched young, old, and every age in between pass by us.  Some looked strong and others looked as if they could fall over at any time.

The sun continued its path across the Louisville area as the temperature reached 95 degrees F.  By 4pm we had setup for our final vantage point for the 112 mile bike ride.  We found a point near the Ohio river where Casey would have about 10 miles left on the bike. The route there was flat and nearly everyone that rode by gave us a big thumbs up as we clanged our cow bells and encouraged them on.  ”1o miles to go” I’d yell…”well and a marathon after that” I’d say as my voice trailed off.  An IronMan means 2.4 miles of swimming, a 112 mile bike ride, and finally a 26.2 mile run through the streets of Louisville.  This is not a task for the weak of heart, and the number of entrants tells a story.  From all around the globe there was a grand total of 2137 entrants.  That will tell  you how many people even want to give this thing a shot!

We hurried to the transition area, a beautiful spot on the “Great Lawn” of downtown Louisville.  It’s approximately 15 or 20 acres of green area with playgrounds, water fountains and such…but also consist of 10 or so acres of lawn where concerts and the like are held during the summer.  This is where all the bikes, running gear and the like are stored by number with each participant having their own staging area.  Casey made the transition area at about 4pm.  and he looked pretty strong….tired but strong. He stopped momentarily for a kiss from his sweetie and gave us all hugs as he took off for for his marathon which would take him across the river into Indiana, then back, through the streets of Old Louisville and would finish at the entertainment district of downtown, 4th Street Live.  I had plans to have dinner with my in-laws so my daughter and I bid everyone farewell and told them we’d catch them at the finish later on that evening.

Now mind you, it’s 4:30 by now and Casey’s been going since 7:30 that morning.  My wife Leslie, son Zachary, Rachel, my daughter and I go have a Mexican feast with Leslie’s parents, Don and Gwen, drop our son off at the ice cream shop where he’d put in a short shift then headed home to prepare to head back downtown for the finish.  Yes, in that period of time I had a shower, a couple margaritas, dinner and dropped my son off at work, and Casey was still out on the course!

We arrived on third street for the final vantage point before Casey would finish and we waited, and waited, and waited… His father Kevin, Casey’s girlfriend Lindsey, and the kids took off looking to meet him and after about a half hour we got word they had found him and he’s on his way…sore, cramping, having to stop and stretch…walk, run…walk…walk was the order of finishing this thing… He greeted us with smiles at about 10:00pm EST where we all gave him one final hug, jumped in our cars and headed to 4th street live to catch the finish and at 10:42pm Casey crossed the finish line where throngs of participants and their families stayed, ate, and cheered the rest of their fellow IronMen on. The music was pumping, the lights of 4th street live looked like a christmas display at Macy’s and as Casey crossed the line the announcer said a few words about this being Casey’s first attempt then declared “Casey Andrew Moore, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN! ” and the crowd cheered as if he were related to each and every one of them….

What a satisfying day, but tumultuous day Casey had.  I asked him how it went and he said that many times he started to tell himself “this is silly, just toss in the towel.”  At times he had been in so much pain from his feet through his legs and all points in between that he didn’t know HOW he was going to make it.  But he told me “I knew I could, I looked around and said I’m going to finish this.”  And finish it he did… In 14 hours 27 minutes… and as I stood there thinking about it it dawned on me that some of us are economic ironmen (and women) and are cut of the same cloth that allows us endure economic hardships.

This country has endured and for certain will endure economic hardships, but history has taught us that nothing trumps hard work, ingenuity and creativity, and THAT is the America I know.  I don’t know this America that screams “the sky is falling, prepare for Mad Max” silly things like that.  Certainly the recession has hit us, some of us hard…but no one promised us an easy ride when we became American’s.  We were promised the freedom to pursue our dreams and make our own way.  So we learn, we make adjustments and we deal with it until conditions improve.  And we PREPARE ourselves better for the next time we have hardships.  Sure we could throw in the towel, become nay-sayers cash in our retirement accounts, or we could tough it out and come out the other end confident, prepared and ready for tomorrow.

So like my nephew Casey who I am infinitely proud of today, I and many who read this and other positive economic blogs should stand proud and say YOU ARE AN ECONOMIC IRON MAN!

And thanks to all of your for keeping it positive.  Now, back to work!