Heroes, People Who Inspire, and Motivators: Part II Heroes.

As I wrote in my last post, a hero is defined as “a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.”  I added “someone who puts others above self; often and great personal sacrifice.”  A lot of people will identify professional athletes or celebrities as heroes solely on their fame.  I’m not sure that qualifies unless it is someone like Tim Tebow who uses his fame to advance several charitable causes.  We often think of military servicepersons and first responders.  Maybe we think about a single parent who works two jobs to put food on the table but still manages to read bedtime stories to the kids.  Maybe we think about a doctor or nurse who volunteers to go to a war-torn country to administer aid to the sick and wounded.  A U.S. Marine, Jason Dunham and a Navy SEAL, Michael Monsoor, both threw themselves on grenades and used their bodies to shield their Shipmates from the blast.  Both were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.  Heroic!

A few years ago, a co-worker and I were talking about running.  Master Sergeant, Tim Otis, is a United States Marine, ultra-marathoner, and two-time finisher of the Old Dominion 100 Mile Cross Country Run.  During Tim’s first attempt at the Old Dominion, he made it 92 miles before his body couldn’t take another step.  While he didn’t finish the race, I certainly consider that a win!  He was telling me about why he runs so much.  He said that he never wants to have to look a widow in the eye and tell her that her husband is dead because he couldn’t run far enough or fast enough to get to him.  Wow!  Tim prays that he never has to be put in that situation, but he is preparing for it nonetheless.  Heroic!

I think the most significant hero in my life is my sister, Mary.  My older brother, Mike, has a degenerative kidney disorder and was on a transplant list.  The doctors told him that his best shot for a match was from a family member.  While all of us were ready to offer ours, Mary was selected as the closest match.  Last summer, she and Mike went into surgery and saved Mike’s life.  While Mike is still having some minor complications from the recovery, the kidney is functioning perfectly.  Mary has fully recovered. Not only is Mary a heroine to Mike, but she is a heroine to Mike’s wife and four sons.

There is a passage in the Bible that reads, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13).  Is it love or is it heroic?  I guess in a lot of cases it is both.

I’m curious to know who are heroes in the lives of those who are reading this.

Heroes, People Who Inspire, and Motivators: Part I

Success in anything, be it business, family, music, or fitness, depends on a number of factors.  Certainly, talent, tenacity, and education are key elements.  But I think that it all boils down to an intrinsic desire to succeed; an internal fire that propels us to move from where we are to a higher level of achievement.  Now, I have not done any scholarly research on this other than my own personal observations.  Most of us need that internal fire to be stoked by an external source.  Those external sources are often in the forms of heroes, inspirers (not sure if that is actually a word, but it is for the purposes of this blog), and motivators. 

The dictionary defines a hero as a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.  Now, I don’t disagree with these qualities, but I would like to add to this description.  I view a hero as someone who puts others above self; often and great personal sacrifice.  Sometimes these heroic actions are a one-time event that is situation oriented.  A person who sees a neighbor’s house on fire and rushes in to save the occupants; A person who thwarts a robbery in a convenient store; A person who administers first aid or CPR to a stranger.  These people did not wake up in the morning planning on being a hero, but the day’s events presented choices that someone could make…be a hero or be a bystander.  Other people sacrifice time and money in their everyday lives to enrich the lives of others.  People who volunteer at youth centers, retirement communities, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers also fall into this category.  These are people that I look up to and hope to be like.  I don’t know how I would react to a neighbor’s house on fire or a convenient store robbery and I hope that I never have to find out.  But I also hope that if that situation were to present itself, I would have the courage to act and not be a bystander.

I’ve been pretty blessed in my life.  I grew up with wonderful parents; I have a beautiful, loving, and supportive wife; I have great kids; I have a pretty successful career.  I’ve never had any personal tragedies, illnesses, or insurmountable challenges.  I’m inspired by people who have had to overcome such challenges.  Whenever I want to complain about something, there is always someone who has had to overcome much worse than my situation and they propel me to change my attitude.  They inspire me to not only be grateful for what I have, but to set goals, excel, and achieve.

Motivators are the people who I see every day working towards their goals.  They might be friends that post their workouts on Facebook.  They might be family members working towards professional or educational goals.  It may even just be someone who swings by my office with a kind word.

People can possess all three qualities, but sometimes they are mutually exclusive.  Over my next three blog posts, I will write about each of these types of people and who they are in my life.  

I Should Have Been A Meteorologist!

Thoughts on this week’s training.

I had to make a few adjustments to my training plan this week due to travel and weather.  I live about 7 miles from one of the Virginia Beach Recreation Centers.  So this past Tuesday morning I rode to the rec center, swam, then rode home.  I decided to see how fast I could ride there and back.  I was able to sustain a 20+ mph pace in both directions.

Wednesday morning I was in DC with my family.  I got up in the morning for a nice 4 mile run along the Potomac.  Not only was it a beautiful run, but I did a negative split with my first mile around a 10 minute pace and my last around 9.  In case I haven’t mentioned it, I’m not a fast runner, but I have a goal of getting faster.

Thursday was aggravating.  I had intended on riding to work, but when I got up in the morning to check the weather, the forecast said that there was an 80% chance of thunderstorms at about the time that I’d be riding to work and again at the time that I’d be riding home.  I decided that I’d make it a swim day instead.  So naturally, it didn’t rain at all and it was a beautiful day. I should be a weatherman!  I’d love to have a job where people expected you to only be right about 50% of the time!

I did manage to get a good swim workout in though.  I did 900 yards; 150 easy warm-up; 3x200 at race pace; 150 cool down.  Now, I don’t have a coach or swim with a watch, so I don’t really know what a “race pace” is, but I’ve come up with my own little formula for how much effort I’m exerting on my swim.

0% = laying on the couch and eating cheese

10% = thinking about the gym while getting up to get more cheese (okay, getting serious now)

50%  = an easy warmup; heart pumping and elevated breathing.

90-95% = Sprint

By this formula, I think that 75-80% effort should by my “race pace.” 

Today, I did some dreaded track work.  I’m not a huge fan of running to begin with, but to force myself to run fast is like being forced to watch a Kardashian marathon while bagpipers are parading through my living room.  My total distance was 4.5 miles; 1 mile warm-up; 5x800 at 3:30-3:45 each; 1 mile cool down.  Perhaps when I actually get faster, I’ll enjoy it more.

Tomorrow I have a 35 mile ride with the guys.  I haven’t ridden with them in a while, so that will be nice.  Unfortunately, I think it is supposed to be really windy tomorrow.  I have a seven mile run and a 1200 yd swim scheduled for Sunday.  Easy day.

My Journey Begins with an Addiction

The Addiction

Hi. I’m Pat and I’m addicted to triathlon.  They say that admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.  The problem is not that I want to quit and can’t; the problem is that there isn’t enough time or money to train and race as much as I would like. 

I guess I should start by saying that I’m nowhere near being an elite or professional athlete.  I’m in my 40s and could easily compete in the Clydesdale division (and no…it’s not muscle).  My times are in the lower end of the middle of the pack.  I’m pretty sure that I will never stand on a podium at the end of a race, but I sure do love the sport!

As a kid I would ride my bike all over my small town.  I spent my summers at the local swimming pool.  I even joined a swim team one year because a girl that I liked was doing it.  I ran track and cross country in high school.  In college, I relied on my youthful corvette-like metabolism to process enough  pizza, beer, and Ramen to feed a small country.  I would occasionally go for a run to recapture the glory days of my 5 minute miles in high school only to regret even lacing up my old shoes.  I quit college to join the Navy and was forced (sort of) to get back into shape.  Again, my youthful metabolism and moderate muscle memory allowed me to pass my semi-annual physical training tests without putting in much effort.

Then I turned 30.

It was like my corvette metabolism had suddenly turned into a pinto trying to pull a camper through the Rockies!  Holy Crap!  The number on the scale passed the 200 mark and I could no longer rely on my youthful metabolism or muscle memory to get me through my Navy PT tests.  I started running regularly to keep the scale in check.  I ran my first marathon at age 36.  Unfortunately, it didn’t do much to get the scale down.

Now there were a handful of guys with whom I worked that were big-time cyclists.  I remembered how much I enjoyed riding my bike all over town as a kid.  I convinced my wife to let me spend a good chunk of change on a decent bike with the promise that I would commute to work on most days and the bike would pay for itself in time.  It did!  I rode a couple thousand miles in the first year that I had the bike.  I had different commuting distances from 7 to 10 to 15 miles depending on how I was feeling that day.  My commutes now are about 17 miles one-way.

A few guys that I worked with were active triathletes; I think three of them had even completed multiple Ironman races.  They talked me into signing up for a sprint.  At age 38, I completed my first sprint…and I was hooked!  I was training, dieting, and doing great!  I lost a ton of weight and was reaping the benefits of my newfound addiction.

Then in 2014, while I was training for an Olympic tri, I gained 20 pounds in about 6 weeks.  What the hell!?  After ruling out tumors and cancer, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.  Not life threatening, but still not cool!

So now, at 41 and about 220 pounds, I certainly don’t look like a triathlete. I don’t see myself as competing against anyone by myself, but I love the sport.  I love the friends and family that I have who push me to swim, ride, and run faster.  I love the comradery of the athletes at the races; everyone is supportive and encouraging.

In 12 weeks, I will complete my first Half Ironman.  This is my journey.