Sometimes I don't get it, but I embrace it. With running, ur, in life, one of the greatest tools to strengthen is struggle. When powering through a run, when you are struggling, to continue to move forward is strengthening your resolve and your resilience.
As many of you are approaching the start of your first marathon, embracing this principle will give you an arsenal against every thing that is thrown at you. When your legs fatigue, your fuel fades, and your mind wobbles, you are being made stronger.
"Struggle is nature's way of strengthening."
Today, embrace the struggle. Find strength in the fight. Never go into a race wondering if you are going to finish.
You are.
You will.
You have.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Lessons from I Am Legend
First of all, I hate horror movies. Yet I was gripped by this one. There was an underlying theme that held me glued. Maybe it was the constant battle that Smith walked in throughout the movie.
Will Smith's character Robert Neville creates the tipping point of the movie when telling this story of Reggae legend, Bob Marley.
Marley believed the theory on curing racism and hate was possible by "injecting music and love into people's lives… the people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. Why should I?"
What if every person lived with an expectancy that their actions would be spoken of in generations to come? People looked back on how you lived, led, and loved, and said, "___FILL YOUR NAME IN HERE___, he/she was a LEGEND."
Today, not tomorrow, live knowing that one person can make a difference. You. Believe, dream, and decide today, that you can provide hope for a new way of living and thinking, doing and being.
Like Smith's character, be willing to sacrifice to defend, or more importantly, declare the cure. Ironically, in I Am Legend, blood samples were the inoculates. Amazing.
Love+Light=Life
Until then, much love…and ask "How Can I light up the darkness?" Darkness is not taking a day off.
JHarp
Will Smith's character Robert Neville creates the tipping point of the movie when telling this story of Reggae legend, Bob Marley.
Marley believed the theory on curing racism and hate was possible by "injecting music and love into people's lives… the people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. Why should I?"
What if every person lived with an expectancy that their actions would be spoken of in generations to come? People looked back on how you lived, led, and loved, and said, "___FILL YOUR NAME IN HERE___, he/she was a LEGEND."
Today, not tomorrow, live knowing that one person can make a difference. You. Believe, dream, and decide today, that you can provide hope for a new way of living and thinking, doing and being.
Like Smith's character, be willing to sacrifice to defend, or more importantly, declare the cure. Ironically, in I Am Legend, blood samples were the inoculates. Amazing.
Love+Light=Life
Until then, much love…and ask "How Can I light up the darkness?" Darkness is not taking a day off.
JHarp
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
A View From Up High
I can’t quite shake this latest thought. For some years now, I have been obsessed with all things Everest. At one point, I got sucked into watching, reading, and researching everything I could on Mt Everest.
I feel obsessed with it.
The highest mountain summit on the planet, more than 28,000ft above sea level, the air is thin up there. Few can survive without supplemental oxygen. Yet there are some who live for one reason…to lead others to the next level. Sherpa’s lead others to places they have already been and found value in.
For those close to me, they have heard me rattle on my fascination with the Sherpa Community.
As I watched and read about all things Everest, the common thread that wove every successful expedition together was two fold: Equipment and Sherpas.
The first is equipment. Obvious; The best oxygen, the best climbing gear, the warmest clothes, makes for success. Ok, I get it.
But Sherpas? Sherpas are high mountain dwellers who have acclimated to the extraordinary heights. They dwell, live, and exist at altitudes that other seek to summit.
The Sherpa’s purpose and passion is to get others to the mountain top. They carry equipment, oxygen, food, water, sometimes up to the equivalent of their own body weight on their back. All so that others can experience new heights.
Essentially, they are selfless givers of life to others potential.
They give themselves to a cause that is greater that them…other people’s success.
I want to be a Sherpa.
Find a way to lead someone to a summit that you have already experienced.
The higher summit for an underserved child could be a trip to the dentist.
The higher ground for a student struggling in school could be a tutor.
The summit for a family who has nothing could be a roof over their head.
Find someone. Love them by leading them to a place you have already been and would love to show them the view.
I feel obsessed with it.
The highest mountain summit on the planet, more than 28,000ft above sea level, the air is thin up there. Few can survive without supplemental oxygen. Yet there are some who live for one reason…to lead others to the next level. Sherpa’s lead others to places they have already been and found value in.
For those close to me, they have heard me rattle on my fascination with the Sherpa Community.
As I watched and read about all things Everest, the common thread that wove every successful expedition together was two fold: Equipment and Sherpas.
The first is equipment. Obvious; The best oxygen, the best climbing gear, the warmest clothes, makes for success. Ok, I get it.
But Sherpas? Sherpas are high mountain dwellers who have acclimated to the extraordinary heights. They dwell, live, and exist at altitudes that other seek to summit.
The Sherpa’s purpose and passion is to get others to the mountain top. They carry equipment, oxygen, food, water, sometimes up to the equivalent of their own body weight on their back. All so that others can experience new heights.
Essentially, they are selfless givers of life to others potential.
They give themselves to a cause that is greater that them…other people’s success.
I want to be a Sherpa.
Find a way to lead someone to a summit that you have already experienced.
The higher summit for an underserved child could be a trip to the dentist.
The higher ground for a student struggling in school could be a tutor.
The summit for a family who has nothing could be a roof over their head.
Find someone. Love them by leading them to a place you have already been and would love to show them the view.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Love Helps.
I walked in to the kitchen and saw both kids scurrying around packing their lunch for school tomorrow. This lunch making session was no different. Urgency for my son was at DEF CON Four. He is like me. For the princess, prancing around pausing in between verses of the song she was singing, she was challenging him. It delighted me and annoyed the Little Mister.
But Love Helps.
She was stuck in a quandary. On one side she needed help. On the other side, she wasn't about to ask him for help. Big sisters don't ask little brothers for help.
That is when they noticed I had walked in and observed Family Ties.
I slipped through, acting as if nothing had been observed. I was headed to grab the digital camera. It seems my pension for paparazzi captures the best and worst of a moment. Then I was socked in the gut with a moment that mattered.
As she tried to reach the top shelf to grab a part of her lunch, he noticed. He is tough and tenacious...and tender. I threw the camera up and snapped a master piece that I would call "Love Helps."
I remember watching Collateral, a movie with Tom Cruise (Vincent, the hitman) and Jamie Fox (Max, the cab driver). BK reminded me of this scene.
[Approx 15 min into the movie] Max picks Vincent up at the airport and this conversation rolls out.
Max: First time in L.A.?
Vincent: No. Tell you the truth, whenever I'm here I can't wait to leave. It's too sprawled out, disconnected. You know? That's me. You like it?
Max: It's my home.
Vincent: 17 million people. This is got to be the fifth biggest economy in the world and nobody knows each other. I read about this guy who gets on the MTA here, dies.
Max: Oh.
Vincent: Six hours he's riding the subway before anybody notices his corpse doing laps around L.A., people on and off sitting next to him. Nobody notices."
But reality is much worse than fiction....Consider this story from a NY hospital...
In Plain Sight, A Woman Dies Unassisted on Hospital Floor
A security guard looks on. Image via NYCLU
On June 19, a woman collapsed and lay face down on the floor of the waiting room at a Brooklyn hospital for an hour before anyone checked on her. By that time, she was dead. When a surveillance video was released showing the whole incident, that the media took notice. A video shows several other patients and a few security guards looking on. [Site Source: Link]
BUT IT GETS EVEN WORSE
A Croatian woman sat dead in front of TV for 42 years....
The remains of a woman have been found sitting in front of her TV - 42 years after she was reported missing. Hedviga Golik, who was born in 1924, had apparently made herself a cup of tea before sitting in her favourite armchair in front of her black and white television. Croatian police said she was last seen by neighbors in 1966, when she would have been 42 years old. Her neighbors thought she had moved out of her flat in the capital, Zagreb. But she was found by police who had broken in to help the authorities establish who owned the flat.
"When officers went there, they said it was like stepping into a place frozen in time.
"The cup she had been drinking tea from was still on a table next to the chair she had been sitting in and the house was full of things no one had seen for decades. Nothing had been disturbed for decades, even though there were more than a few cobwebs in there." [Site Source: Link]
THIS LEAVES ME JACKED UP ON SO MANY LEVELS.
They say the worst form of punishment is solitary confinement. Essentially, isolation.
Un-noticed. Dead in plain site on a hospital floor.
Alone. Dead in her own apartment and not even missed, much less found for more than four decades.
Think about how many people are alone. Maybe they are surrounded in an existence of humanity, but still they feel alone. The bottom line is we are better with each other. We are better in community together.
I live by the approach to life that is pretty simple. Invest, Invite, Include.
Invest in the physical needs of others.
Invite people into the world I call mine.
Include others on the journey to "there."
Look around. Find those alone and reach. You will be glad you did.
Think,
JHARP
I walked in to the kitchen and saw both kids scurrying around packing their lunch for school tomorrow. This lunch making session was no different. Urgency for my son was at DEF CON Four. He is like me. For the princess, prancing around pausing in between verses of the song she was singing, she was challenging him. It delighted me and annoyed the Little Mister.
But Love Helps.
She was stuck in a quandary. On one side she needed help. On the other side, she wasn't about to ask him for help. Big sisters don't ask little brothers for help.
That is when they noticed I had walked in and observed Family Ties.
I slipped through, acting as if nothing had been observed. I was headed to grab the digital camera. It seems my pension for paparazzi captures the best and worst of a moment. Then I was socked in the gut with a moment that mattered.
As she tried to reach the top shelf to grab a part of her lunch, he noticed. He is tough and tenacious...and tender. I threw the camera up and snapped a master piece that I would call "Love Helps."
I remember watching Collateral, a movie with Tom Cruise (Vincent, the hitman) and Jamie Fox (Max, the cab driver). BK reminded me of this scene.
[Approx 15 min into the movie] Max picks Vincent up at the airport and this conversation rolls out.
Max: First time in L.A.?
Vincent: No. Tell you the truth, whenever I'm here I can't wait to leave. It's too sprawled out, disconnected. You know? That's me. You like it?
Max: It's my home.
Vincent: 17 million people. This is got to be the fifth biggest economy in the world and nobody knows each other. I read about this guy who gets on the MTA here, dies.
Max: Oh.
Vincent: Six hours he's riding the subway before anybody notices his corpse doing laps around L.A., people on and off sitting next to him. Nobody notices."
But reality is much worse than fiction....Consider this story from a NY hospital...
In Plain Sight, A Woman Dies Unassisted on Hospital Floor
A security guard looks on. Image via NYCLU
On June 19, a woman collapsed and lay face down on the floor of the waiting room at a Brooklyn hospital for an hour before anyone checked on her. By that time, she was dead. When a surveillance video was released showing the whole incident, that the media took notice. A video shows several other patients and a few security guards looking on. [Site Source: Link]
BUT IT GETS EVEN WORSE
A Croatian woman sat dead in front of TV for 42 years....
The remains of a woman have been found sitting in front of her TV - 42 years after she was reported missing. Hedviga Golik, who was born in 1924, had apparently made herself a cup of tea before sitting in her favourite armchair in front of her black and white television. Croatian police said she was last seen by neighbors in 1966, when she would have been 42 years old. Her neighbors thought she had moved out of her flat in the capital, Zagreb. But she was found by police who had broken in to help the authorities establish who owned the flat.
"When officers went there, they said it was like stepping into a place frozen in time.
"The cup she had been drinking tea from was still on a table next to the chair she had been sitting in and the house was full of things no one had seen for decades. Nothing had been disturbed for decades, even though there were more than a few cobwebs in there." [Site Source: Link]
THIS LEAVES ME JACKED UP ON SO MANY LEVELS.
They say the worst form of punishment is solitary confinement. Essentially, isolation.
Un-noticed. Dead in plain site on a hospital floor.
Alone. Dead in her own apartment and not even missed, much less found for more than four decades.
Think about how many people are alone. Maybe they are surrounded in an existence of humanity, but still they feel alone. The bottom line is we are better with each other. We are better in community together.
I live by the approach to life that is pretty simple. Invest, Invite, Include.
Invest in the physical needs of others.
Invite people into the world I call mine.
Include others on the journey to "there."
Look around. Find those alone and reach. You will be glad you did.
Think,
JHARP
Monday, November 14, 2011
Week 16 | Going Down...
Greetings Be Change Runners!
WOW!!
Marathon runners: YOU DID IT!! 20 miles!! Celebrate this victory! It’s a big one!!
Half marathon & relay runners: This is your big week, 11 miles!! You got this!!
And then we taper…
Before I get into tapering, I would like to just remind you why we are doing this. With all the running we’ve been doing and the focus on making it through the “BIG” run, it is easy to lose sight of the cause.
THE CAUSE:
Can you imagine as a parent knowing that the only secured meals your child is getting are the ones provided by their school? Can you imagine holding a sick child in your arms knowing that you cannot take them to the doctor because you have no insurance? What if your child had an abscessed tooth and there was nothing you could do to help because you have no money to take them to the dentist? These are the challenges faced almost daily by the parents of Oak Ridge Elementary. This is why we run... these children need us. They need change. YOU are the change.
One of our runners sent this to me last week…
Yesterday I happen to schedule dental appointments for my boys, without a concern in the world, and it hit me. The kids of Oak Park! My boys, being typical, were nagging, "I don’t wanna go to the dentist!" My response, "Do you know there are kids right down the street who can’t go to the dentist? Have never even seen a dentist? Some of these kids have painful toothaches and their mommies and daddies can’t do anything to help!" This was a moment. I knew I had to do something.
…And so she created a fundraising page and is reaching out to her friends and family to help her change the lives of these children. Fundraising is a world I hate to use; we are not really fundraising as much as we are CHANGING LIVES!! So I challenge you Be Change runners, step out of your comfort zone and ask your friends and family to help you be a life changer. Have your moment. Do something.
______________________________________
Tapering is simple and easy, yet should not be ignored. Firstly, let’s define the taper. Surely the dictionary definition will be sufficient: the period of decreased running mileage before a marathon.
The dictionary definition outlines what a taper is, but fails to give an explanation. Thus, the need for an updated definition: the period of training, usually three weeks before a marathon, when runners cut significant distance from their training, along with changing eating patterns, ensuring adequate rest, preparing psychologically and modifying the time length and intensity to cater your individual needs.
For the purpose of simplifying the above and acting as a quick reference point, see the tapering formula:
Successful tapering = proper timing + decreased running + modified nutrition + adequate rest + mental preparation + customization + self control.
Psychological Aspect of the Taper
It sounds crazy to decrease your training three weeks out from a marathon. Runners struggle more psychologically in the tapering period than they do physically. To add to this, a side effect of decreased running is that you are left with a significant amount of free time. During the taper period, running is replaced with nervous energy.
It takes effort to resist running more than you should during the taper. It goes against common sense and defies the ‘train hard, run hard philosophy’. Nevertheless, there are a number of different ways in which you can make the transition from training to tapering easier.
First, stick to a plan. Don’t find yourself in the first few days of tapering and decide an extra week of training will improve your fitness before the marathon. Additional and unplanned training will likely end bad, whether it be injury or not enough rest before the race. Remember its better to get to the finish line undertrained than overtrained or worse injured.
Secondly, find an activity to fill in the time that you would otherwise be training. Although not directly related to running, it’s an important part of the taper. Consider looking at areas of your life that may have become neglected during training. Some ideas include spending time with friends or family, learn some new recipes (especially during the final stage when carb loading), catch up on work, listen to music, read a book: basically any activity that is not too physical.
Remember that training hard during the taper means you will not be able to run hard on race day. Think of the taper period as running to simply keep your legs moving.
MARATHON
Training plan for WEEK 16|November 13th - November 19th
Sunday: REST DAY
Monday: 5 mile run
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: Cardio/Core work
Thursday: 3 mile run
Friday: Cardio/Core work
Saturday: 20 mile run
SATURDAYS RUN MAP: www.tiny.cc/saturdayrun
Half Marathon & Relay
Training plan for WEEK 16|November 13th - November 19th
Sunday: REST DAY
Monday: 7 mile run
Tuesday: 8 mile run
Wednesday: Cardio/Core work
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday: Cardio/Core work
Saturday: 11 mile run
SATURDAYS RUN MAP: www.tiny.cc/saturdayrun
Congratulations to ultrarunners Jason Harper, Erika Small, Eddie Ballisty and Kyle Roberts on a JOB WELL DONE on Saturday!! So proud of you all!!
Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.
WOW!!
Marathon runners: YOU DID IT!! 20 miles!! Celebrate this victory! It’s a big one!!
Half marathon & relay runners: This is your big week, 11 miles!! You got this!!
And then we taper…
Before I get into tapering, I would like to just remind you why we are doing this. With all the running we’ve been doing and the focus on making it through the “BIG” run, it is easy to lose sight of the cause.
THE CAUSE:
Can you imagine as a parent knowing that the only secured meals your child is getting are the ones provided by their school? Can you imagine holding a sick child in your arms knowing that you cannot take them to the doctor because you have no insurance? What if your child had an abscessed tooth and there was nothing you could do to help because you have no money to take them to the dentist? These are the challenges faced almost daily by the parents of Oak Ridge Elementary. This is why we run... these children need us. They need change. YOU are the change.
One of our runners sent this to me last week…
Yesterday I happen to schedule dental appointments for my boys, without a concern in the world, and it hit me. The kids of Oak Park! My boys, being typical, were nagging, "I don’t wanna go to the dentist!" My response, "Do you know there are kids right down the street who can’t go to the dentist? Have never even seen a dentist? Some of these kids have painful toothaches and their mommies and daddies can’t do anything to help!" This was a moment. I knew I had to do something.
…And so she created a fundraising page and is reaching out to her friends and family to help her change the lives of these children. Fundraising is a world I hate to use; we are not really fundraising as much as we are CHANGING LIVES!! So I challenge you Be Change runners, step out of your comfort zone and ask your friends and family to help you be a life changer. Have your moment. Do something.
______________________________________
Tapering is simple and easy, yet should not be ignored. Firstly, let’s define the taper. Surely the dictionary definition will be sufficient: the period of decreased running mileage before a marathon.
The dictionary definition outlines what a taper is, but fails to give an explanation. Thus, the need for an updated definition: the period of training, usually three weeks before a marathon, when runners cut significant distance from their training, along with changing eating patterns, ensuring adequate rest, preparing psychologically and modifying the time length and intensity to cater your individual needs.
For the purpose of simplifying the above and acting as a quick reference point, see the tapering formula:
Successful tapering = proper timing + decreased running + modified nutrition + adequate rest + mental preparation + customization + self control.
Psychological Aspect of the Taper
It sounds crazy to decrease your training three weeks out from a marathon. Runners struggle more psychologically in the tapering period than they do physically. To add to this, a side effect of decreased running is that you are left with a significant amount of free time. During the taper period, running is replaced with nervous energy.
It takes effort to resist running more than you should during the taper. It goes against common sense and defies the ‘train hard, run hard philosophy’. Nevertheless, there are a number of different ways in which you can make the transition from training to tapering easier.
First, stick to a plan. Don’t find yourself in the first few days of tapering and decide an extra week of training will improve your fitness before the marathon. Additional and unplanned training will likely end bad, whether it be injury or not enough rest before the race. Remember its better to get to the finish line undertrained than overtrained or worse injured.
Secondly, find an activity to fill in the time that you would otherwise be training. Although not directly related to running, it’s an important part of the taper. Consider looking at areas of your life that may have become neglected during training. Some ideas include spending time with friends or family, learn some new recipes (especially during the final stage when carb loading), catch up on work, listen to music, read a book: basically any activity that is not too physical.
Remember that training hard during the taper means you will not be able to run hard on race day. Think of the taper period as running to simply keep your legs moving.
MARATHON
Training plan for WEEK 16|November 13th - November 19th
Sunday: REST DAY
Monday: 5 mile run
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: Cardio/Core work
Thursday: 3 mile run
Friday: Cardio/Core work
Saturday: 20 mile run
SATURDAYS RUN MAP: www.tiny.cc/saturdayrun
Half Marathon & Relay
Training plan for WEEK 16|November 13th - November 19th
Sunday: REST DAY
Monday: 7 mile run
Tuesday: 8 mile run
Wednesday: Cardio/Core work
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday: Cardio/Core work
Saturday: 11 mile run
SATURDAYS RUN MAP: www.tiny.cc/saturdayrun
Congratulations to ultrarunners Jason Harper, Erika Small, Eddie Ballisty and Kyle Roberts on a JOB WELL DONE on Saturday!! So proud of you all!!
Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Week 15 | Find Your Inspiration...
Greetings Be Change Runners!
This is a BIG week!! Marathon runners will be pounding out 20 MILES and half marathoners/relay runners will pound out 10!! This is an important week in your training and I thought maybe you could use a little inspiration.
Here are a few of my favorites...
If You Can't, You Must.
Always Compete. Resist the Common.
Never Quit. Ever.
Believe and Over achieve.
You can either throw in the towel...or you can use it to wipe the sweat from your face!
Bend the Impossible till it breaks.
Fastest Way Out? FINISH.
No Way Out? Go Deeper In.
Find your inspiration and make the impossible possible!
Yes You Can!
Team Hoyt is an inspirational story of a father, Dick Hoyt, and his son, Rick, who compete together in marathons and triathlons across the country.
Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life. This was just the beginning of Dick and Judy's quest for Rick's inclusion in community, sports, education and one day, the workplace.
Dick and Judy soon realized that though Rick couldn't walk or speak; he was quite astute and his eyes would follow them around the room. They fought to integrate Rick into the public school system, pushing administrators to see beyond Rick's physical limitations. Dick and Judy would take Rick sledding and swimming, and even taught him the alphabet and basic words, like any other child.
The Beginning of Team Hoyt
In the spring of 1977, Rick told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his father, "Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped."
This realization was just the beginning of what would become over 1,000 races completed, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons (6 of them being Ironman competitions). Also adding to their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.
In a triathlon, Dick will pull Rick in a boat with a bungee cord attached to a vest around his waist and to the front of the boat for the swimming stage. For the biking stage, Rick will ride a special two-seater bicycle, and then Dick will push Rick in his custom made running chair (for the running stage).
Rick was once asked, if he could give his father one thing, what would it be? Rick responded, "The thing I'd most like is for my dad to sit in the chair and I would push him for once."
The 2009 Boston Marathon was officially Team Hoyt's 1000th race. Rick always says if it comes down to doing one race a year he would like it to be the Boston Marathon: his favorite race. Dick Hoyt now 70 years is not ready to retire yet!
Watch and be inspired:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwfZQfQ3j0Q&feature=related
I leave you with this…
"Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself."
"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run."
-John Bingham, running speaker and writer
For our runners just joining the Be Change movement, you can get caught up on the weekly emails at: www.bechange.cc click on the NEWS tab.
MARATHON
Training plan for WEEK 15 |November 6th - November 12th
Sunday: REST DAY
Monday: 5 mile run
Tuesday: 10 mile run
Wednesday: Cardio/Core work
Thursday: 5mile run
Friday: Cardio/Core work
Saturday: 20 mile run
SATURDAYS RUN MAP: www.tiny.cc/saturdayrun
Half Marathon & Relay
Training plan for WEEK 15 |November 6th - November 12th
Sunday: REST DAY
Monday: 6 mile run
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: Cardio/Core work
Thursday: 6 mile run
Friday: Cardio/Core work
Saturday: 10 mile run
SATURDAYS RUN MAP: www.tiny.cc/saturdayrun
Keep up the good work! We are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished!! YOU ARE ALMOST THERE!!
This is a BIG week!! Marathon runners will be pounding out 20 MILES and half marathoners/relay runners will pound out 10!! This is an important week in your training and I thought maybe you could use a little inspiration.
Here are a few of my favorites...
If You Can't, You Must.
Always Compete. Resist the Common.
Never Quit. Ever.
Believe and Over achieve.
You can either throw in the towel...or you can use it to wipe the sweat from your face!
Bend the Impossible till it breaks.
Fastest Way Out? FINISH.
No Way Out? Go Deeper In.
Find your inspiration and make the impossible possible!
Yes You Can!
Team Hoyt is an inspirational story of a father, Dick Hoyt, and his son, Rick, who compete together in marathons and triathlons across the country.
Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life. This was just the beginning of Dick and Judy's quest for Rick's inclusion in community, sports, education and one day, the workplace.
Dick and Judy soon realized that though Rick couldn't walk or speak; he was quite astute and his eyes would follow them around the room. They fought to integrate Rick into the public school system, pushing administrators to see beyond Rick's physical limitations. Dick and Judy would take Rick sledding and swimming, and even taught him the alphabet and basic words, like any other child.
The Beginning of Team Hoyt
In the spring of 1977, Rick told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile benefit run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralyzed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his father, "Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped."
This realization was just the beginning of what would become over 1,000 races completed, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons (6 of them being Ironman competitions). Also adding to their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.
In a triathlon, Dick will pull Rick in a boat with a bungee cord attached to a vest around his waist and to the front of the boat for the swimming stage. For the biking stage, Rick will ride a special two-seater bicycle, and then Dick will push Rick in his custom made running chair (for the running stage).
Rick was once asked, if he could give his father one thing, what would it be? Rick responded, "The thing I'd most like is for my dad to sit in the chair and I would push him for once."
The 2009 Boston Marathon was officially Team Hoyt's 1000th race. Rick always says if it comes down to doing one race a year he would like it to be the Boston Marathon: his favorite race. Dick Hoyt now 70 years is not ready to retire yet!
Watch and be inspired:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwfZQfQ3j0Q&feature=related
I leave you with this…
"Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself."
"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run."
-John Bingham, running speaker and writer
For our runners just joining the Be Change movement, you can get caught up on the weekly emails at: www.bechange.cc click on the NEWS tab.
MARATHON
Training plan for WEEK 15 |November 6th - November 12th
Sunday: REST DAY
Monday: 5 mile run
Tuesday: 10 mile run
Wednesday: Cardio/Core work
Thursday: 5mile run
Friday: Cardio/Core work
Saturday: 20 mile run
SATURDAYS RUN MAP: www.tiny.cc/saturdayrun
Half Marathon & Relay
Training plan for WEEK 15 |November 6th - November 12th
Sunday: REST DAY
Monday: 6 mile run
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: Cardio/Core work
Thursday: 6 mile run
Friday: Cardio/Core work
Saturday: 10 mile run
SATURDAYS RUN MAP: www.tiny.cc/saturdayrun
Keep up the good work! We are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished!! YOU ARE ALMOST THERE!!
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