On 9 Sep 2007, i lost one of my best friends. SGT Alexander Gagalac died in Iraq when his Hummer was struck by an Rocket Propelled Grenade. I didn't believe it when my friend Arvin (Also a Soldier) delivered the news. Once it sunk in I was crippled with guilt. I joined the Army in 1999 and immediately after completing my training i returned home to become an Hometown Recruiter. I knew Alexander and his twin brother were interested in joining the Army so they were the first to be recruited. A few months later, they left for Fort Benning Infantry Center. If i had never joined the Army things would have been so different. We might have still been in Hawaii drinking beer and partying, yeah we may have all ended up becoming losers but atleast everyone would still be alive. This guilt haunted me for a long time but i kept it bottled in. At his funeral I barely shed a tear. I tried to stay strong for all my friends. It wasn't till I finally put on his memorial braclet on a few weeks later that I finally broke down. Just seening his name engraved on this military braclet was too much for me. I cried my eyes out for almost a week and have cried almost every other day for the next year.
At his funeral I took a few moments and reevaluated my life. I was alive but was I really living? If i died tomorrow, would i be satisfied with what I have done so far and would Alexander look down at me and be proud of how I've lived so far. The answer to all these questions and more was NO. At that moment I decided to take control of my life. I would do everything I said I couldn't do and I would live a life that Alexander would be proud of.
A few months before my friend died in Iraq my GF and I volunteered to hand out water at a local Marathon. I had no idea what a marathon was. All i knew was there would be a bunch of crazy folks running for a long time. As i smoked my newports and handed out water I couldn't help but feel so inferior next to all these marathoners. They came in all shapes and sizes and some were old enough to be my grandparents. I was a Soldier but there was NO WAY i could do that. I could barely run 2 miles for my PT Test. As diverse as all these runners were, i kept wondering what they all had in common? It's gotta be something special to drive you to run 26.2 miles. I was in shock and awe and embarrassed that i was even on the same road as all these people.
At the funeral I kept thinking about that race. My promise to do all everything i thought i couldn't began with that marathon. I quit smoking and decided I would run a Marathon in Alexanders Memory. Once that was done, I'd move on to the next thing i thought was impossible.
I finished the Battle Field Marathon in Georgia the following year on my birthday. I was the hardest thing I've ever done in my whole entire life. I wore a shirt with Alexanders name on so people would know his name. Because it was a Military related race there were many verterans there. Each time i passed by a vet, they saluted me and I cried. You have no idea how hard it is to run and cry at the same time. Through those 26.2 miles I felt closer to Alexander. I apologized for helping him join the army. I told him of my future plans for my life and that I would somehow live my life in his memory. The marathon changed my life. I showed me that I was as strong as I thought I was and if I put my mind to something, i could definately make it happen.
Once my body finally healed from the Marathon, the depression sunk back in and i began looking for another event to race in Alex's memory. I Learned about Triathlons. I didn't like to run, I just like how it made me feel. So I transitioned over to triathlons. Over the next year i kept learning more and more about triathlon. I eventuall learned about Ironman.
Ironman was supposedly the toughest one day endurance event on earth. The race seemed impossible. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and a full MARATHON at the end of it. Just the thought of the race scared me. I Told myself i have to do it in Alex's memory.
This started my journey to become an Ironman.
