I Will Run.

Typically I am not a reader. I enjoying watching a movie or a show more then reading, I find it to be more efficient and less work. However, I broke my rule when I learned of a book that was of interest to me. I was reading an article in Runners World Magazine which was an excerpt from a book. It was enough to get me hooked, I wanted to read more, in fact I wanted to read the whole book.

I wasn’t about to go out and actually “buy” a book, so I called the local library to see if they had a copy. They told me they could move the book from one branch to my local branch and keep it on hold for me. I soon dusted off the library card and went and picked up the book.

The book was called “The Long Run, A New York City Firefighter’s Triumphant Comeback from Cash Victim to Elite Athlete” by Matt Long.

The book was of interest to me for several reasons. Mainly because this guy, Matt, was a marathon runner and Ironman athlete. Also, he was a NYC firefighter and his firehouse was just a few blocks from where I had once lived.

His story is amazing, even without the tragic event that took place in his life, I think Matt would be an inspiration to many, after all he was in the NYC firefighter. He was also a successful entrepreneur and owns several bars in Manhattan with one of his brothers. He was among those that responded to Ground Zero on 9/11 just moments before the second tower collapsed and helped search through the debris to find what few survivors made it. He helped fight many fires, and saved lives. He ran marathons and qualified for the Boston Marathon and also competed in the grueling Ironman. Without tragedy, he was someone who most people could admire.

His story didn’t stop there though, it went much further. Just about six weeks after finishing the NYC Marathon and a few weeks before he began his training for Boston, we was riding his bike to work, where he trained new recruits for the fire department. He was riding his bike because the City transit workers were on strike (illegally) and he had no other method to get there. As he was riding, he was struck by a charter bus that was making an illegal turn. The bus literally ran him over and when police and medics arrived on scene, Matt was trapped under the bus, with his bike piercing through him and into the bus. At the time they gave Matt a 5% chance of living.

The book chronicles his journey from being a marathon runner, to being literally torn apart and unable to do anything, even sit up. It took Matt three years of hard work and determination before he finally ran the NYC marathon again when it took him more than twice as long to finish. He also went on to complete an Ironman.

Endurance sports such as a marathon or Ironman are as much mental as they are physical. The ability to run 26.2 miles is no doubt physically challenging but to stay positive the entire run and to continue to run is just as much a part of the sport. After going through what he had gone through, Matt would need this same mental toughness just to get through the day-to-day living in a new condition.

His story is amazing because he decided one day that he wasn’t going to live a sad and depressed life but he was going to do what had always made him happy. He was going to run. He was determined, he was motivated and he was successful. I took away a lot from this book, not just about running but about life. We all have adversity, some more than others, some different from others. We can chose to let it stop us from living the life we want, or we can chose run.

I have never experienced the physical pain that Matt had to go through and I hope I never have to. I think it would be fair to say though, that I have felt my share of discouragement, of adversity and of trials, just like most people. In the past I have felt like I was a victim, that circumstances were out of my control and I felt helpless. I don’t feel that way anymore. Sure there are trials I have to go through but I know I can either feel sorry for myself or I can chose to overcome it and live the way I want to live. I can be happy, if I chose to be happy. Just like it was not easy for Matt to run again, it won’t always be easy for me.

This book moved me in many ways. His story is an inspiration. It made me want to train to run a marathon myself. To push myself both to my physical and mental limits. I never thought I could run 13.1 miles but I did. I pushed myself and I did it. Now I believe I can run the other half, the whole 26.2 miles. My goal, complete a marathon before my next birthday. Which one? I don’t know but I know it’s going to happen. I won’t qualify for Boston and that’s OK with me. I will finish, I will run.

Beautiful Storms

Sometimes when I am in the mood, it's always nice to write down what I feel inside. I wouldn't say that I am a song writer or a poem writer, though I do jot something down from time to time as a way to express what is inside. Just like life, sometimes that are good things, sometime they are bad.

I wrote the poem below one night as I was sitting and thinking about how I have been able to learn and grow from my trials. I became appreciative of the struggles I have and am experiencing because it forces me to grow. I thought of how I loved hiking the mountains in Colorado and how often times we would have to deal with snow (even in the summer) and lightning but because of those storms the beauty of what we were able to experience was created. We couldn't have a forest without rain and we couldn't know joy if we didn't know pain.

I am not saying the poem is any good, I just thought I would share.

Beautiful Storms

Have you ever laid beneath a shade tree
and dreamed a peaceful dream?
Have you listened to a bird's song
or heard the rushing stream?
Have you laid upon the green grass
and gazed up at the sky?
Have you ever felt your soul at peace
and stopped to question why?

Have you ever walked a mile
while rain fell from up high?
Have you ever felt the cold wind blow
as you loudly cursed the sky?
Have you ever felt a burden
you thought too much to take?
Have you ever longed for something
that it caused your heart to ache?

The shade tree couldn't grow
if it never felt the rain.
And your soul would never grow
if it never felt some pain.
So next time you feel the storm
And you see the sky turn gray,
know that after every storm
there's a sunny day.

Champions!

Well it's been some time since my last post but I have to put something down today. I have been a Giants fan since I was just a young boy, many, many years ago. Last night for the first time in my life, I could say my team is the World Champions.

You would think that being born just miles from Oakland, during the World Series in which the A's would win, that I would grow up to be an A's fan. For some reason, I fell in love with the city across the bay. I loved going to see a game in Candlestick.

Of course having the Giants win the World Series comes with a price for me, quite literally. In Spring Training, Jared and I were getting some autographs when after getting Bruce Bochy's signature, another fan wished Bruce good luck in the World Series. I chuckled to myself, what a silly thing to say in Spring Training, to a Giants manager. There and then Jared made a bet with me that the Giants would win the World Series. If they did, he gets an Xbox, if they don't, I get $10. Seemed pretty good to me. In fact a couple weeks later I was up at a conference in Laughlin, NV and I could have placed a bet on the Giants winning it all. I figured if I placed $10 on that back then and they won, I could get two Xbox's, either way I wouldn't lose. I decided not and just keep my ten bucks.

After the final out last night, both Jared and I were jumping up down like we were the ones on the field. For me it was finally over, the years I spend wishing they would just win it all, for Jared I think it was more about him winning his Xbox.

I have only had a couple of chances to see my team even make it to the World Series. I will never forget the Series in '89 when they got swept by the A's. Of course I blame it all on the earthquake. I will never forget that one.

Then in 2002 it looked like they would get it done. With a juiced up slugger they were looking pretty good but then choked it away to the Angels.

Somehow this was there year. It was meant to be. I mean waiting to the last day of the season to win the NL West, then getting hot just at the right time. What an awesome year it was, I can't wait till next spring when you will find me once again at Scottsdale Stadium cheering them and getting an autograph or two. (By the way, I was pitched in Scottsdale Stadium...it was kickball but still it was cool).