Tuesday October 9, 2007
Another early trip to the airport started my day but, “the great part of waking up is Folgers in your cup”. After my 6am flight I was met at the Dallas Fort Worth airport by the AP press and some soon to be “boys” from Triton Sports who then took me to heaven’s gym, Lifetime Fitness, to film a story on my upcoming race. With cameras and writers all over the place I went on my way with my swim workout just trying to stay focused on the task ahead. From there, dinner and off to the Hilton Anotole. This hotel was museum like in size and decoration. The atrium was so large it could house NBA basketball games or the largest basket weaving convention in the world. After walking the long distance to my room I was spent and hit the hay for some rest.
Wednesday October10, 2007: NFL Prospect
Wednesday began with a meeting with some executives from AdvoCare, an unbelievable nutrition and supplement company that has enhanced my nutrition and training. AdvoCare is a company the produces products of the highest quality and effectiveness for those that want to lose weight, maintain wellness and enhance performance. I don’t want this to sound like an ad for the company but when something works you gotta let people know.
Later that day, I did a little touring of one of Dallas’s most famous landmarks, Texas Stadium, home to America’s Team. America’s team didn’t look so hot come Sunday when the greatest American patriot Tom Brady torched the Cowboys 48 points. The stadium tour included a trip to a box suite, inside the locker room and even a chance to go on the field. My new Texas bro from Triton Sports Mike helped guide me around and served as my eyes in my attempt to make 30 and 40yd field goals. After lining it up from 30yds out, I split the uprights on my first attempt and moved back to 40 to test my range. Straight on line, my attempt fell five yards short but fantasy football owners should still consider inserting Aaron Scheidies into their upcoming Fantasy football lineup as place kicker. Breaking news just came out ruling that all made field goals by a blind individual will count for four times the normal fantasy point value. Make the change now before it is too late.
From posing as Terrell Owens (TO) on the Texas Star, Mike and I used connections to snag tickets to the home opener for the Dallas Stars against the LA Kings. With jumbo TVs spanning the arena walls and a massive Mike Madano blow up doll outside we walked in the stadium, grabbed a beer and took our seats.
Hockey games are always interesting for me. Even with binoculars it always seems as though the players are going through motions without any puck. Maybe its me but I didn’t see a puck entering the net yet the Stars racked up five goals in their walloping of the newly acquired purple jersey Kings. Another interesting hockey phenomenon was the artic temperatures that rolled through despite being in hot Dallas. We left shivering and stopped at the Golden Arches to warm our tummies with a few McDonald Snackers before returning to the Anotole.
Thursday October 11, 2007 Its All About the Benjamin’s:
After last minute antics by the media with Ben’s travel we picked him up at the airport and it was Ben’s day to shine with the press. The media of course questioned his ability to keep up with me but I had no doubt in my mind of his ability. Following Ben’s interview the trip really started to get interesting. We jumped in a seemingly harmless cab not knowing what was in store. Only blocks away from our destination, the cabbie got lost and started driving in every direction, not listening to us (the customer) to pull over and ask for direction. All the while his rip off meter was still ticking. He even left it on when we went into a gas station to get directions. Thirty minutes later we came to the door of Lifetime Fitness and his meter read $52, $12 over the price when he started wandering. It is bad enough that he tried to charge us for getting us lost in his city, but even worse he said it was our fault that he got lost because the address was confusing. Tell me if I am wrong but “3419 Trinity Mills Drive: sounds like a pretty legit address to me. Sure enough, that was the exact address on the building and there was signage all over the side of the road reading LIFETIME FITNESS. We told him we weren’t paying his extra dollars and suggested he get GPS and then walked inside. Following our brief workout, we asked for the number for a cab company to take us to dinner making sure the cab looked nothing like the green checkered one we took hours ago. The front desk suggested going to Carrabas Italian restaurant and so we took them up on the suggestion.
A cute little waitress had our table so we went out of our way to make conversation each time she came near. By the end of dinner we earned ourselves each free side salads and dessert. If we didn’t live half way across the country we probably could have scored some digits but since we were leaving in a few days we spared the trouble.
To finish off the night we jumped in one more cab back to the Hilton. This ride was better than the first but maybe not as safe. The cabbie was watching the FSU vs. Wake Forest football game on his phone while simultaneously driving 70+ mph and tailgating the car in front of him. As he drove, he told how he had $200 on Wake Forest and how his son was going to be the next Steve Prefontain. He also pointed out the best spots for night life in Dallas but based on vibes he was giving we decided to use that space in our brain for something else more beneficial.
Friday October 15, 2007 Gearing Up For the Race
Friday was pretty uneventful to tell you the truth except of course that my good friend Jillian Peterson arrived to hang and race. Also, Friday was the day we picked up the aerodynamic masterpiece that we would be riding on Sunday. Thanks to C Different teammate and friend Dave Bigoney, we would be riding a 26lb stealth rocket tandem made by Griffen Bikes fully equipped with aero-bars. This bike is 12lbs less than my normal 38lb red beast Burley. Put another way it’s the difference between a Mac truck and a Lamborghini. The bike needed some adjusting but with a few turns of the allen key it was ready to fly.
Much of the day on Friday was spent attending the mandatory race meeting, packet pick-up and cruising the vendors at the race expo. Lifetime Fitness contracted my bud John Korff to help direct the race and along with him came his work crew Victoria and Carlie. Since it was Vic’s birthday on Friday I decided I would give her a smooch on the cheek each and every time I saw her for the entire weekend. By Sunday this number had reached double figures but I think she was ok with it.
After dinner it was back to the room to chill out and watch some sports or so I thought. Next thing I know Jillian had the channel to the movie Drum Line and I was forced to listen to the little drummer boy until I fell asleep.
Saturday October 13, 2007 Some Final Touches
It was the day before I would make a run at history but you wouldn’t know it from my level of focus. The only thing I did different on Saturday was stay ‘dry” for the entire day. Don’t want to go into one of the biggest races of your life dehydrated. The first half of the day was spent visiting the swim start and T1. It was pretty much like every other of the nearly 75 transition areas I had seen over my 8yr career. We hopped in the suffocating warm waters of Joe Pool lake and I taught Ben how to guide in the swim. Yes, that’s right, it was one day before the race and Ben and I had only swam once together before. I wasn’t worried though because I told Ben that if any one got in our way I gave him permission to do whatever was needed to dispose of them. After guide training and a little socialization we jumped back on the school bus to find out that the transmission blew out and we would have to find another way back.
Upon arrival back at the hotel we made a quick check at the Ironman Hawaii leaderboard and of course my CDF buddy Charlie Plaskon and headed out for dinner. Joining us were other members of the USA elite team and my good buddy Dave Wine from Seattle who extended a business trip to attend the race. A hearty meal from Panera Bread and crowded car ride home ended the day.
Sunday October 14, 2007 A Day that Will Live in Infamy
The United States Postal Service (band) started the day off blaring from Jillian’s phone. With just enough time to throw on my race get-up and visit the can we headed to catch the 5:30am shuttle to T2. The race would be a point to point race meaning there would be two transition areas thus causing more hassle than is wished for at the wee hours of the morning. Regardless, we got to the race and were all ready to go. The world class pro field racing for over $1/4 million was introduced and set free. Ten minutes later they announced Ben and I and it was game time, or so I thought. There was one little problem, Ben forgot the tether for the swim in the transition area and for a minute things needed to be delayed. Not the greatest start to Ben’s guiding career but fortunately everything after that was great. We started in the elite age group wave from which athletes from all over the US had qualified to compete. This meant that the swim would be a bit of a rough one and Ben would have to kick, dunk and claw his way through the flailing masses in order to keep me in the right direction. The second half of the swim was a little dicey. Fighting the current, turbulent water and scrappy competition we exited the swim in 20:38 and flew through T1 and jumped on the tandem. We were a little behind our expected record setting pace and needed to pick it up a notch. The bike did not start off as planned as we headed uphill into the wind for the first few miles. Checking his Garman, Ben informed me that we were only holding 21mph and that was not gonna cut it if I wanted this record. Then, as I sipped on my Gatorade and reached down to put it back in its cage I missed the cage and lost the bottle to the road which was a crucial loss. Ticked off inside, I regrouped and re-strategized how I would get enough calories necessary. I had only water to drink and so I decided to ration my yummy Espresso Gu’s throughout the rest of the bike. Ben had his quad cannons going and it was time to rev mine up to full blast. From that point on we flew down the rolad at dangerously fast speeds, passing cars as well as the entire elite age group field that was ahead of us. Dodging cones and reaching speeds of 45mph we zipped into T2 with a 54min bike split. We were back on pace for the record but with me being gimpy on one leg nothing was for sure. As we started the first lap on the run, I was clicking right along and getting positive encouragement from Ben some of which I can’t repeat. The run was a two loop course through the heart of Dallas and the finish was at Reunion Arena, former home of the Dallas Mavericks. As we came around for the first loop (5K) in 18:30, Ben pumped up the crowd shouting “make some noise, he’s going for a world record.” The energy from the crowd fueled me for the next few minutes but then the lactic acid began to flood my whole body and next thing I know I was running in a drunken stagger, but it was a stagger with purpose and heart. My pace started slowing down and the pain was evident on my face. I kept going though and knew that this record would either go down or I would hit the ground trying. A quarter of a mile from the finish, I gasped to Ben, “your gonna have to catch me at the finish line because I am wobbly.” The crowd began to roar as the announcer yelled over the loudspeaker, “here he comes folks, can he do it. Aaron Scheidies is attempting to break a world record.” Virtually cramping in every muscle in my body I ran through the finishing shoot and everyone looked at the time. I held onto Ben as my legs were more wobbly than a pregnant lady in her 3rd trimester.
“He did it folks, a new World Record for Aaron Scheidies. Aaron is the first athlete with a disability to ever break the 2hr barrier in an Olympic distance triathlon,” said the announcer. All of the joy overtook the pain and next thing you know I was calling for a nice cold one and hugging everyone in sight. My Seattle boy Dave Wine came out for the race from a business trip and we celebrated with some post race carb replenishment. For the next few hours it was a circus with media flocking like nets on a humid day.
By 11:30am it was time to get back to the Hilton to pack the bikes and head to the sports bar for celebration drinks and of course football. We were just down the road from the stadium where the Cowboys and Patriots were doing battle, well more like where Tom Brady was single handedly smoking the boys. If that was a preview of the Super Bowl than I guess this year’s game will just be another rerun of every other Super Bowl.
4:30pm rolled around and it was time to head off to catch our 6pm flight. Just as we were getting into the car, I received a call from a lady at CBS. She told me how Good Morning America was interested in my story and they would be bringing a film crew to my aunt and uncle’s house in Seattle upon my arrival. There was one slight problem with this plan. Come to find out, we wouldn’t be going to Seattle on Sunday night. We had boarded the plane and headed out to the runway when they decided there were mechanical problems and the flight was a no go. Next thing I know Ben and I were being swooped up and taken to a production studio in Dallas where I would be hooked up to a satellite for the interview that supposedly would be aired on Good Morning America with the one and only Diane Soyer. By 11pm we were exhausted and so we got dropped off at our dump hole Ramada that Alaska Airlines was putting us up in. What ever happen to the days when Ramada hotels were a respectable family establishment? This place smelled like they had locked the doors and invited every smoker in Texas in for a Marlboro convention.
Monday October 15, 2007: Returning Home, or Maybe NOT:
Needless to say, by 5am when we woke up for our 7am flight we had both smoked at least two packs of cigarettes second handedly. As we arrived at gate E17 for our flight, we were pleasantly informed of the news that our flight was delayed. Everyone stormed to the attendant to bite her head off as Ben and I quietly walked up and got our food coupons and found a secret little lounge behind a Starbucks. Ben spotted a cot hidden in the back room and next thing you know we were taking turns napping and surfing the net. Nearly 24hrs after we were supposed to leave, we finally took off and returned home.
Tuesday October 16, 2007: Where Did this Come From?
Still exhausted, I woke up at 6:45am to return to my PT clinical at the Auburn Hospital. All of a sudden I kept getting phone calls informing me that the story of Ben and I going 1:58:08 was all over the internet. Evidently it graced the home pages of Yahoo, AOL and MSNBC. Don’t know where that came from but I guess people listen to what the AP puts out. Funny that my appearance on Good Morning America had still not taken place even though about half of the people I know had been taping it for two days. That’s the media for ya! I think the story got cut because of the breaking news that another soldier got killed in the war or something. Regardless, the trip was a great success. I had accomplished a feat that I had been attempting for over five years. I had broken down barriers for others with disabilities to continue to accomplish great things. All I have to say about all of this is,"it's a GREAT day to be a Spartan!!!"
