CONNECT: April 4, 2013

 

What You Can Do in Only 8 Weeks.....

Even though our work often provides opportunities that allow us to play a role in moments that can easily grow up to become stories of achievement that inspire others to start their own "pursuit" of health change, people are very humble and don't want to brag so they never get told......and although I try my best to not put anyone on the spot with these communications.....sometimes, the story is so great, you just have to share it....so here goes:

On January 14th I received an email inquiring whether or not I knew anyone who might be willing to raise funds for the Children's Specialized Hospital (NJ) and run in the New York Road Runners 1/2 Marathon on March 17th, a mere 62 days away (but who's counting right?).  The NYRRHalf is a great race, that takes you through Times Square and down the West Side Highway before ending at the South Street Seaport.....truly a cool race course.  At the time, even though there were many runners I could have reached out to, in the spirit of "fundraising" I decided I'd reach out to a guy who I knew was passionate about the hospital and had raised funds for them in the past.  The only hitch in the plan was that he had never run this distance (or perhaps any distance) as he was not a runner per-se.....an important detail I suppose......but not something that couldn't be overcome.

When I floated the idea past Ian the first time, he was intrigued, but clearly unsure if this was a good idea.....he said he'd think about it and I promised to keep pestering (after all, that's what I do) until he gave me an answer.  On January 19th, told me that he wanted "in".  After a reassuring "you can do this" email, I assembled our team and told them about our newest Human Achievement Challenge, that we would be taking a non-runner from zero to half-marathon in 8 weeks; all while he raised money for the charity (and kept up with other responsibilities....like a job).  Not surprising to me, after the team had the details, they dug in and started to talk about how best to attack the challenge.  We assigned Nick Pfaff (one of our more experienced guides and an expert in MOVE and ENDURE), who already had a working relationship with Ian, to be the point person from our team.  We CONNECTED Ian with our Physical Therapists to closely monitor progress, balance RECOVERY, and keep the very real overuse injury risk in check.  We pulled in Lindsay and her group from the Fuel Good Cafe' to keep an eye on FUEL (nutritional considerations) and last, grabbed our other endurance coaches to chime in on the training plan......and after lots of dialog and review of his "base" (starting fitness level), we concluded that it was going to be close and that everything would have to go just right, but it was doable.....we were in 100%.....and with only 8 weeks left to train, we had to get started right away.

• Ian started with some coaching on nutrition and began to track his intake......we made some suggestions and he started to tweak things.  
• Ian consulted with his physician to make sure he had medical clearance to participate.....good to go
• Ian met with Nick to get a baseline fitness assessment.....workable
• Nick consulted with the team and developed a training plan.....had to be "sweet spot" plan (not too hard, not too easy)
• Ian started working the plan and getting training sessions in on the weekend with Nick and a few other colleagues supporting the effort

Fast forward 8 weeks, and I am sitting in a meeting last Friday and someone leans over to me and says "hey, I heard Ian has raised like $2,000 for the hospital....pretty amazing".  Not wanting to be too excited, I responded back "it's going to be a great experience for him, I'm excited for him".  The following day (day before the race) the total was up near $3,000 and the jitters were setting in.  I got a call from Nick who gave me the update on how our athlete was holding up.  The message was pretty straight forward - he was nervous, like any athlete about to do something he wasn't sure about would be.  They were going to meet very early to make sure they'd be at the starting line in plenty of time......and, now, at the point of no return, everything was "go".  My job would be to provide mobile support.  To get around the city and make sure athlete and coach had everything they needed to get to the finish line.

I made my way into Manhattan and found a place I could park for a while just south of central park and kept an eye on the progress of things.  After two loops (+/- 6 miles in), Ian was out of the park and Nick had jumped in to run alongside.  As they got close (technology is amazing BTW), I locked up the car and ran a few blocks to meet them as they ran down 7th Ave.  The news was good so far.  Ian was feeling strong, and he was moving along as planned.  "OK, I'll see you after you get through Times Square".  I got down to 34th street, but couldn't connect with them, so I navigated down near Canal St, which was around the 11 mile mark.  I found a spot I could leave the car for a minute or two and met them on the West Side Highway.  The pace had slowed some and the report wasn't nearly as upbeat now......unfortunately, this is about what we expected; this was a point in the race where the body starts talking back some.  Ian told me the legs were aching and cramping some.....but he was pushing on......he hydrated some and he and Nick kept heading south.  "The Freedom Tower is mile 12.....that's the homestretch" I said and he gave me the thumbs up and kept moving on.  If he could get there I thought, it was in the bag.

As I kept an eye closely on the tracking app, it looked like they were getting there.   Having missed them somehow near the Federal Trade Commission building, Nick and I spoke again and all was still on track.  I told them I'd meet them at the seaport.  As I waited, hoping the policeman there would look the other way just a little bit longer I heard a loud "man am I glad to see you" coming from the guy walking toward me with the shiny medal, the telltale runner's "foil" draped across his shoulders and that fatigue-soaked grin that only someone who is both exhausted and triumphant can pull off.  Ian had done it.....completed a half marathon and raised thousands of dollars for a great cause.  Check out the picture on the Pro-Activity Facebook Page HERE

And as we rode back toward Penn Station we laughed about the fact that when we asked him "so what's next?" he surprised even himself with the answer....."If you asked me if I'd do another one of these two months ago, I'd say 'You're Crazy', but now, after doing this, I think I can do it again and maybe better.....sign me up".  

When people do extraordinary things their world changes.  Ian, you inspire us!

Now go do something extraordinary,

Mike Eisenhart, PT

Managing Partner, Pro-Activity