Friday, May 20, 2011

Inspirational Guest Post

The following email landed in my inbox from one of my best friends.  I was so pumped to read through his note and can't wait to follow his journey back to greatness.

"I woke up this morning to the sound of a familiar alarm noise.  My first reaction is to shut it off and dive deeper into the pillow, but I chose to make a stand today.  I have trained and competed at the collegiate level in lacrosse and that has shaped who I am as an athlete.  However, in recent months (maybe years) I have drifted in and out of fitness for thousands of reasons.  Most recently, I have relied on two crutches: the time demands of 3 kids and fear.  I had hip surgery just after turning 35 to correct a physical issue that had torn my labrum and accelerated arthritis.  Since diagnosis in October 2009, I have been cruising in neutral without any real drive or kick.  I was afraid to get into a regular training routine because I felt bad for myself and I need to "protect" my hip.  The truth is I will probably need hip replacements, but my level of activity will not dictate this certainty or the timing of when I go back in for upgrades.

I have known Joe since 2003 and we have gone fitnessing (his word trade marked) on multiple occasions and in multiple theatres (he pronounced: theee-aye-ters).  In fact, the last time I would consider myself fit was when Joe helped me train for the 2004 Boulder Back Roads 1/2 marathon.  My goal was to beat my wife's time of 1hour 49 minutes that she had posted as her best time, but I was just happy training for something.  Joe had me on a regular running program and he joined me on most of my outings.  We would talk during the whole run...THE WHOLE RUN.  I was amazed at how he could do that.  Joe would even say hello to every passing runner.  They would smile, and say hello back.  I would get the smile ("Aww...look at that guy about to die") and Joe would get the "hello".

Joe's blog is fun to read because I know it is 100% accurate, especially when he gushes over how good of a wife he has.  He has officially gone off the reservation, but I take inspiration from his efforts and goals to fight my own first battle...with my alarm clock.  Today, I went against what 99% of my body told me to do and I did not hit snooze.  Instead, I got up and listened to a concert of pops and cracks coming from all my joints as I put on my over priced athletic gear.  Laced up, satellites found, heart rate monitor on, I embarked on my first 6 am training run. 

The first thing I did when I hit the morning air was pick my finish line, so that I would have an end goal to focus on that would force me to finish strong. The first 10 minutes were brutal.  I felt weak, tired and a debate to stop or continue on was raging in my brain. Things slowly got better from there.  My stride opened up and I found my rhythm.  Eventually, not really that long after leaving, I could see my finish line and I was glad to have defined the location where I would let myself stop.  When I finished I felt great.  Not because of my distance, time, average heart rate, or calories burned, but because I broke the snooze cycle and got uncomfortable.

I ran my half marathon in 1 hour and 42 minutes because Joe helped me understand what people can achieve through exercise.  Right now my only goal is to keep kicking my alarm clock's ass - the fitness will follow."

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