"Here's to the pain and the Glory it brings."
Anonymous
Hey all,
Its been a while since I've posted, I know. There's a pretty simple reason - I haven't been healthy. Since mid-February, I've battled pneumonia, the flu, twice, and a prolonged sinus infection. On its face, this doesn't seem that horrible, however, when examined closer, here's what it really did - left me with two bouts of high fevers for stretches of 5 days a piece; extended periods on multiple medications; weakened immune system that left me more susceptible to infections; multiple doctor visits; missed work - time with clients that I love and care about; and more questions than answers. I was horrible to be around - just ask my goddaughter Kara. I lost 5 weeks of training, either not being able to train or limited training due to illness.
It all compounded itself, stress added to illness, and I wasn't seeing the bigger picture- over doing it when I was feeling slightly better only left me weaker and open to staying sick, longer. While I was preaching to friends, clients, athletes, the importance of rest during periods of illness, I was doing the complete opposite. I would love to point the finger to something or someplace for prolonging my illness, however, it was me. It hi me the hardest on April 9, when I got slammed again with a flu that left me with high fevers and feeling helpless on my couch. I was 10 days out from my first outdoor race of the season, and there was no way I was going to make it. For the first time ever, I thought - "I'm not going to get healthy. This will become my life if I don't make some serious changes.I'm 41 and am looking at a laundry list of pills that I have repeatedly told people to fight against. I'm throwing useless band aid on top of useless band aid. And the real bitch of it is, I know what to do. So for fuck's sake man, get it together." And that is when I started to truly heal.
I sat down and looked at my nutrition - really looked at it, broke it down by logging it, then I started looking at everything, and I mean everything that I was doing in my life, what I was missing, and what I was doing right. I got in to see an immunologist, someone who could help me make the right holistic changes, from a health standpoint, not by taking more medication, rather, finding the genesis of my health issues, then fixing them at the root, not at some half way point, where I would be fed with more meds, more band aids. And that my dear readers, that's how you get healthy. You take a really hard look at yourself, with clarity and honesty, you strip yourself down, and you get after it. You take control of your body. Stop giving your health away. I am witnessing two of my uncles, great men, strong men, succumb to illnesses that could have been addressed years ago by being honest about their health. Don't misunderstand, I love them both deeply, and I am here to help them both. But I don't want anyone in my family to go through what they are currently battling. I don't want anyone, period, to suffer that way.
Here's the deal - if you really want to get healthy then do it. Its not a game, its not a mystery, its simpler than you think. But you have to be honest with yourself as to what you are willing to do to fix it. I knew I wanted to race this year. I wanted to be fitter than ever. To that end, I stopped babying myself and got after it. As hard as I do my training. Its my opinion that you have to seek, with a hint of desperation to get answers as to what is truly ailing you. When I did that, I was back to training, and yes, racing.
I raced yesterday, on a sunny and windy day in Southeastern Illinois. The Oblong Duathlon. A 2 mile run/21 mile bike/2 mile run. Short, yes. Competitive, hell yes. Anytime Andreas Maher shows up, its game time. Let me say this first before talking about the race - Andreas is someone I have deep respect for, not only as an athlete, but as a man. His unassuming manner, and gentlemanly qualities make him someone I have enjoyed competing against for quite some time. He's done quite a bit for duathlon, particularly in the Mideast, and his presence at a race makes for fireworks. Yesterday was no different. Although its been a few years since we've gone head to head, we were right back at it, neither of us giving an inch, trying to distance ourselves from the field. However, the wind was keeping all of us honest, and in a bit of agony. But I remembered the words of my coach, Jen Garrison - "Once you get on the bike, you have to turn yourself inside out to stay at the front." Truer words have never been spoken. It was a grind. Everytime I felt my pace slowing, all I thought about were the big engines behind me, many of whom I saw at the turn around on the bike. So, I dug deep, and it wasn't pretty. Actually, it was flat out ugly. When I spit, most of it ended on my shoulders, or, worse yet, I had spit and phlegm on my face. My arm sleeves were covered in spittle and stuff from my nose that was flat out gross. I didn't care. Not one bit.
When I got off the bike, I had hoped to put at least a minute on the field. And as I headed out of transition, there was Andreas. Shit. The dude can run, and everyone knows it. I have experienced his power on the run in the past, where he would pull away on the second run leaving the rest of us to wonder if we were running in quick sand. But yesterday was a different story. I decided rather quickly, that I was going to run as hard as possible, for as long as possible, and hope to God that its enough to stay away. At the turnaround of the run, I was stunned to say I gained about 15 seconds more on Andreas, and the rest of the field. With a head wind on the way back, I hoped I was giving a decent enough poker face to make it seem like I was ok, but the foam from my mouth probably wasn't helping. But my legs didn't let me down. As I got within 100 meters of the finish line, I gave a slight tug to my jersey top, and thankfully crossed in first place. I was relieved, happy and exhausted. I waited at the finish line for Andreas, who also looked beat, and we shook hands, had a small embrace, and acknowledged a tough day without saying a word. I have never beaten him, but that wasn't the biggest satisfaction. The biggest sense of satisfaction came today, when I woke up and realized my body felt good. I felt strong. I trained without issue. Yes, I raced at about 85% of being healthy. Yes, I raced at 85% of where my fitness should be right now. But, with the help of 2 amazing coaches, Jen and Kara, and great sponsors, and Rich and Drew - my go to bike guys, I won. I know it wasn't a huge race. I know it wasn't on a huge stage. But it felt like winning Nationals.
The lessons I've learned the last 4 months will stay with me forever. Learn from my mistakes. Please, for your own sake, and for the sake of those closest to you. Because its selfish to not take better care of yourself. We don't live in a vacuum. Our health, good or bad, affects those closest to us. So if you know something is wrong, find the source. NOW. Believe me, you'll be glad you did.
Stay strong.
Guy
