I'm feeling a bit better so hopefully will be back out running tomorrow........
Today we celebrated my daughter, Rebecca's birthday - she turned 21 yesterday and she has made Danielle and I very proud. The whole family came out apart from my mum who wasn't well enough which was a huge disappointment and shame for her as I'm sure she would have enjoyed the time with the family.
I was thinking tonight after everyone had gone home that we all have people that we respect, look up to in life and want to be like. I decided at the end of the sporting year of 2012 to try and do another Ironman. To do an ironman is a massive commitment in terms of training, time and effort but when you consider what my father went through it seems nothing and although i've never told him, he is my hero.
Dad joined the RAF when he turned 18 in 1940. He had decided that conscription wasn't the way forward and if he joined up he would have some choice about what he would do. Dad was born in north of Scotland in 1922. When he joined the RAF he was detailed into the radar team and set about learning his new job. Basically Dad's role was to watch the radar and report back what planes were in the air so that appropriate defences could be put in place.
When Britain crossed the Channel on D Day Dad followed a day behind and must have seen a dreadful scene landing on Gold Beach after the initial assault. He followed behind the battle front receiving messages from the Enigma machines in Bletchley Park asking for confirmation of what bombers were coming and where they were heading. The battle raged around Dad, set up in his cardboard improvised protection, and occasionally he would have to scramble back from behind enemy lines. Nights were spend under canvas or trucks as the front line moved up through France, Belgium and into Holland. It was an amazing story that I haven't shared adequately but no doubt shaped the man that became a successful Primary Headmaster and Primary Schools Advisor.
Dad was in London on VE Day and VJ Day totally by chance and ended up having a cup of tea with a few pals and enjoying a good blether. He 's not the party type!
My father often worries for me about the challenge of Ironman and the stresses on the body that it creates but I look at him and see a man who has been through so much more than I could ever take on. A swim, bike and run in comparison to the responsibility and fear factor of watching over a nation from a site just behind the fighting front makes what I do look easy.
He is my hero, the person I aspire to be like and at 91 a stronger and better man than I will ever be. I feel very fortunate that he's my dad and with me approaching 50 he is still around to inspire me and the rest of the family.
Sadly the reason that he couldn't fly was his flat feet and poor eyesight both of which he shared with me!
We all need people to look up to and respect. I'm just so lucky that I have one so close to home!
Couldn't agree more.
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