Saturday, October 20, 2012

Fall Temps - Finally




 Been way too long since my last post so may be a little long!  Football season has been very good for my son’s team this year.  They lost a lot of seniors last year and were expected to have an average season (building year).  Last year they had a lot of talent, and made it to the semifinal.  This year they don’t have as much individual talent, but function really well as a team.  So well that they are the only undefeated team in their division for the state with an 8-0 record. Last week they beat an overconfident undefeated team who have been the state champs the last six years.  Our boys really humbled their opponent to the point you could hear a pin drop.  One more game this season and then off to the playoffs.  The coach has done a fantastic job of keeping them humble, and reminding the players that they are everyone’s target – To dethrone the only undefeated team in the division.

Renee far left, Josh far right - Homecoming Night
Renee & Josh
Me and Josh

The boys with my girl
AC Cheerleaders
Renee left, Josh center
 Just got back from Atlanta after spending a week in another advance leadership forum.  Had a great time, consulted with some really awesome leaders in my industry from all parts of the world (CA, NY, Penn, Al, NC, NM, AZ, France, Belgium,…), with lots of takeaways.  We studied the changes made at NASA with leadership during Apollo 1, Apollo 13, Challenger, and Columbia.  One of our instructor’s Dad was a director at NASA, and he remembers being a small boy when Apollo 1 astronauts (Lt. Col. Virgil I. Grissom, Lt. Col. Edward H. White, and Roger B. Chaffee) would visit his house.  We listened to Gene Kranz "Failure Is Not An Option" (Ed Harris played his part in the movie) talk about the two Apollo tragedies in great details (just like the movie) which was totally inspiring.  What a great week.
Josh chilling at our AS
My son and I ran our own aid station during the FATS 50K run a few weekends ago.  We also had some help for the first few hours as the front runners passed by.  I’m so use to being on the other side of the table as a runner.  It was very awesome to be providing the best support I could, from a runner’s perspective, and being supportive to first time ultra-runners.  I could tell those who were struggling, and what their issues were, and the runners who were having a good day.  The usual stuff like upset stomach, cramping, dehydration, fatigue, minor injuries,…  I wanted to be out on the trail soooooo bad, and could feel all the energy from the runners as they passed through the AS.  Several of the runners recognized me and could not believe I was not running.  Nevertheless, they were thankful I was at the aid station, and looked forward to seeing / reading about me being on the trails again.  I had a few who wanted to quit, but was able to get them refocused, and went on to finish their race.  Only one guy quit at my AS because of a preexisting injury to his ankle and could not make forward progress.  This made me so thirsty for the trails – Been waiting awhile for this to return.

Forks Area Trail System - FATS
Terri Hayes - Race Director and Inspiration with over 300 Ultras


My running base has slowly been returning, but apparently I have not fully recovered from my previous injuries.  I saw my Doc and had some x-rays taken.  A little twinge is still lingering in my left foot and will be seeing a specialist to get this resolved.  The good news is no stress fracture.  The other issue I have been having is with my right shoulder.  Didn’t really notice it until I started weight lifting for strength training (off season program).  I’ve experienced most muscle aches and pains, and can recognize when I’ve pushed myself too hard, but this was different.  X-rays revealed a serious trauma to my shoulder area and my training was not allowing it to heal.  I knew exactly when I hurt it, which was last summer in VT while climbing Camels Hump with my son.  I slipped on some wet rocks traversing down the mountain and landed directly on my right shoulder against a boulder.  Other than the initial impact, I didn’t think twice about it and just keep going.  Doc says I need some therapy to get it healed correctly – Appointment scheduled.  All the years I have been pushing my body to new limits, and other than a few minor aches and pains, this has been a frustrating year.  So ready to be totally healthy again!  At least I can still run, and do some exercises that don’t challenge my shoulder.  This too will pass and I will surface victorious and stronger.

Hope everyone is enjoying the cooler fall temps.

4 comments:

Char said...

A runner with a shoulder injury - so rare. But once you'd explained how it happened it all made sense. I hope it heals quickly.

Raina said...

That is a great looking set of kids! Love seeing the fall football/cheerleading pics. You have every reason to be a proud dad. :)

Your work sounds pretty cool!

I can imagine how fun it was to volunteer at the race, but how much it makes you want to be back at it. I am hoping to do more race volunteering soon, myself.

Hope your shoulder and foot gets better soon! Sounds like you are doing everything possible.

Jill said...

So sorry about the nagging injuries....bleh! I have a shoulder injury, too, which resulted from tendonitis when I swam competitively in college - it flares up a lot when I weight lift and occasionally when I swim.

That's so cool that you and your son had a self-imposed aid station for a 50k. So invigorating to be on the flip side giving back to the sport that gives so much to you. Very cool, indeed!!

Love the pics of your family - great kiddos! :)

Host PPH said...

I think that it is better to have a team that they function than talents because at the end. It is team work that it counts.