Win Big

So on occasion I buy lottery tickets. I’m well aware of the odds and occasionally I’ve forgotten to check the results with said tickets. I don’t particularly expect it to happen, but it always reminds me that you never know what can happen. If I had a motto or a mantra, it would probably be something to the effect of “if you never play, you’ll never win.” The lottery reminds me of that. So with all that said, I was talking to a friend about we’d do if we were to win. We both had pretty much the same idea of taking care of friends and family, being set for life, and donating a decent chunk. Whether or not we’d actually spend it nobly is probably something that will never be an issue. Don’t get me wrong, if I were to win, I’d take the money in a heartbeat, but there’d be a dilemma for as long as that money was in play. It’s the same reason why so many lottery winners end up miserable and broke within a short period of time. Most of us are driven by accomplishment. We’re forced to work, pay a price to get what you want. Whether it is to study, save, work hard, or just persevere through tough circumstances. Once you accomplish that goal, you appreciate everything you went through to get there. It makes your prize that much sweeter. Having money dumped on you in the lottery would be damn sweet, but it would be empty in a sense. You haven’t earned that money, it was just given to you. You always treasure something you’ve earned above the things you get for free. You’d have millions of dollars, but you’d never know the value of it. To waste it would be meaningless. You have to sacrifice a little bit of yourself to appreciate it.
I got a taste of achievement this weekend. As part of my training, I ran a half marathon in Brooklyn this past Saturday in about 2hr 6min. Not too shabby for my first time. Crossing the finish line is a unique feeling. Personally, 13.1 miles is the longest I’ve ever run. When I was a kid, my parents and pediatrician advised against any sort of sport that required me to run long distances, due to my asthma. In 5th grade, I discovered soccer and so began the mini-rebellion against that advice. It isn’t a severe case, but it’s always been a mental and physical block that I’ve had to deal with. Running the half was sort of an affirmation that you’re only as limited as you allow yourself to be. I did get a little sentimental after the race thinking about all the times I forgot my inhaler and decided to sit out the game for fear of getting an asthma attack; thinking about how far you can go on pure willpower. I’ve been training since January for the triathlon this was just the first pit stop on the rest of the journey. I’ve already put a lot of myself into the past few months. The bulk of my free time devoted to workouts, hundreds of dollars in equipment and nutrition, and more focus than I’ve ever put into something. It’s all continues to be worth it. I earned that finish line and I’m on my way to earning a few more and I cannot wait. Three and half weeks until June 19, Pier Village Triathlon, Long Branch, NJ.

The Real Training Begins

There are about 14 weeks until the Triathlon. ACS has hooked up their runners with an amazing coaching staff at Asphalt Green on the Upper East Side, as well as, personalized online training logs. I live and work in Jersey so getting to the Upper East Side can be rather difficult. Even with the difficulty that distance presents, it’s worth coming in for at least some of the workouts. If I had to take away one thing from the past few months of training, a huge chuck of this sport is mental. You get to a certain point and your body does so much more than you think it can. Within a short time, I’ve been able to run faster and farther than I thought I could. A lot of times it comes down to motivation. Alone at the gym or running at the waterfront, I can quit whenever I want. My mind starts playing tricks, and I can reason yourself out of finishing your workout. With a group, everyone is in together. I’ll push through and end up going farther than you would on your own. That feeling of exhaustion and completion is something truly unique. I’m not sure how to describe it, but if you’ve felt it, you know.
The coaches at Asphalt Green are incredible. A lot of these guys are Ironman triathletes. They’re in a whole other category of fitness and self-awareness. I’ve got a ridiculous amount to learn from these dudes and I’ve got less than 4 months to do it in. With endurance sports, especially biking and swimming, technique is everything. Bad form leads to injuries as well as fatiguing way too quickly. Good form allows you to regulate your body and sustain yourself for ungodly distances. It’s going to be an intense 14 weeks, but I’m looking forward to it.
So that’s where I am right now, looking ahead to finishing my first triathlon with the help of an amazing team. Everybody knows that nothing worth doing is ever easy. I’ve looked at the training schedule for the next few months and intense doesn’t quite describe it. Brick workouts, running the hills, swimming to China and back, 40mi bike rides, all just training for an event that will most likely be over before the majority of Americans wake up on Sunday, July 18th. I’m ready.

Addiction

So I ran a short race a few weeks ago and I loved it. One thing I started to notice was how important it was to be conscious of keeping pace. Run too hard, you burn out before the race is done. Run too slow, you've got a crappy time. In a short race, it isn't terribly important, but when you start tacking on more distance, pace is king. In addition to getting a taste for races, I also want to work on my pacing my runs. With that said, I've put together a schedule that I want to accomplish for 2010.

NY Colon Cancer Challenge - 15k - March 28th
Scotland Run - 10k - April 3rd
Brooklyn Half Marathon (MAYBE) - 13.1mi - May 22nd
NYC Triathlon (Olympic) - July 18th
Northeast Maryland Triathlon (Sprint) - August 15th
Warrior Dash, Windham, NY - September 18th
Merrell Down & Dirty 10k Mud Run, NY - October 3rd
Tough Mudder, Texas - November 13th

With the exception of June, it's an event per month NYC Triathlon is obviously the main event and biggest challenge.

Run for Haiti

Last Saturday I ran a 4 mile benefit race for Haiti relief. Truthfully, I was terrified of it. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had a mild case of asthma and it makes running in the winter unbearable. I feel like I’m breathing through a straw. It was in my head that running four miles continuously in the dead of February was something I couldn’t do. It's something I’ve struggled with ever since I can remember. I believe in a lot of cases, the fear of failure holds us back from accomplishing things that we aren’t sure about. Sometimes we’ll even do things half-heartedly so that when we fail, you don’t blame yourself. You can make excuses and move on. I decided that morning that I was going to try and finish the run. I set a goal for my mile pace and did my best to stick to it. The results were even better than expected. I beat my projected pace and felt great after I crossed the finish line. I went from thinking I couldn’t finish to knowing that I could at least run another 2 or 3 miles before hitting the wall. Physically, the race told me that I’m headed in the right direction for my training. The biggest benefit to the race was proving how much of this is mental. When you mentally limit yourself, you will be limited physically. You never know what you’re capable of until you drop your concept and just try. All you have to do is set a path and move forward. If you fail, learn and try again. I’ve let fear limit me in so many ways. 4 miles through central park may seem trivial, but taking a chance on this race was game changing in a lot of ways for me. I like being certain of my abilities. I like to play it safe. In the past few months, I’ve learned that if you play it safe, you’re cheating yourself out of everything that can happen when you allow yourself to fail. Allowing yourself to risk failure and getting up when you do is probably the greatest gift you can give yourself.

Good luck with that.

When I tell people that I’m going to be swimming in the Hudson River, they all have the same reaction. It’s a mix of disgust, shock, and pity. Some follow it up with worry for my physical health. Most people have a story of how a friend of theirs fell/jumped into the river and came out reeking of stale garbage and used condoms. Nevertheless, it’s going to be home for 20-30 minutes on the morning of July 18^th. I’ve lived in Jersey my entire life. I know what the Hudson is. Luckily for me, after that mile long swim, I’ve got 25 miles of biking and then 6 miles of running to get through. Smelling or being fresh is not something that was going to happen anyway. I’m going to be dirtier than a frat house after freshman orientation. As a warning to all, if you make it out race day, I am going to hug you. I am going to get as much grime as possible on you. With that said, I hope you all forget about this notification and show up in 5 months.

Seriously guys, they tell me it’s not that bad.

The Reason Behind the Madness

I recently had to write a letter asking for sponsorship. To be honest, I thought I'd pop out a bit of fluff that made me seem like some charitable powerhouse bent on saving the world. Once I started writing, I started thinking about the real reasons why I chose to run the triathlon. The following is why I'm running and why I've chose to fund raise to the American Cancer Society.

I will be running the New York City Triathlon on behalf of the American Cancer Society on July 18, 2010. I am part of the ACS DetermiNation team and have committed to raising at least $2,500 for their cause. My reasons for undertaking this grueling physical competition range from pushing my own physical and mental limits as well as the opportunity to provide support to those who need it in their darkest hours. Even if we don’t know someone personally who has been affected by cancer, we don’t usually have to dig very far into our social networks to find someone who has been touched by some form of this disease. Nobody is exempt from this threat. Cancer affects both the young and the old, across every type of lifestyle imaginable. A few months ago, I met a woman named Karen. Karen was a happily married mother of two with an intense passion for endurance events. She competed in several marathons and triathlons a year. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer three months before a national triathlon competition. If she had decided to put her athletic goals on halt and focus on recovery and treatment, I don’t believe anyone would have faulted her. Instead, she chose not let cancer stop her from attaining her goals. She continued training even through her chemotherapy treatments and eventually completed the triathlon. When she spoke to the group I was with, she said what kept her going was the determination that nothing would stand in her way. Even though she had cancer, she never saw herself as a victim. She never gave up hope, and with that tenacity, she became an inspiration to everyone around her.

Most of us will never know what Karen went through, but her struggle is one of the reason I’ve chose to run for the American Cancer Society. In addition to funding for research, cancer screening, and prevention awareness, ACS provides a practical service for those affected by the disease today. Their network of Hope Lodges provide housing near the nation’s premier cancer treatment facilities for patients currently receiving treatment. Depending on the length of treatment, lodging can cost thousands of dollars that many people simply cannot afford. This service provides hope for those facing overwhelming odds. I believe when you give someone hope, amazing things are possible.

I am asking for your support in helping me raising money and awareness for the American Cancer Society. I have a personal webpage set up to track my progress in both training and meeting my fundraising goals. Any type of support is welcome and I hope you will join me in their cause. Thank you.

Patrick Satterfield

Do you have time?

For those of you who don't know, i signed up for the triathlon while I was unemployed. This was a time when I had pretty much all the time in the world to go to the gym and plan out my training routine. However, through some good fortune, I am now part of the workforce again. I no longer have the same kind of free time the joy of collecting the fruits of my unemployment insurance came with. I've gotten a lot of questions of whether or not i'm still planning on running. Of course I am. It may require a lot more discipline and planning in order to give my training the proper commitment required, but it can still be done. If something is truly important, you learn how to make time for it, even if it's not the most convenient course of action. It might be giving up an hour of sleep or just not waste as much time. This is something I've wanted to do for a while and I'm going to stick with it.

With all that said, my first few weeks of both training and work have been pretty profitable. Some days were harder that others but i can already feel the difference from when i first started. The biggest thing that I've noticed is how important diet is. The days that I've eaten right, I have a lot more energy during my workouts as well as a much faster recovery time. The days that Dominos comes knocking, that 5th mile hurts. On a side note, you should try out the new Dominos. The new changes are actually really good. Anyway, at the start I'm looking forward to watching my own progression and being able to complete an event that I can barely believe I'm getting ready for.

Check back soon for updates. I'm going to try and post thoughts along the way as well as information about events I'm throwing together. Thanks for reading.

It's Only the Beginning

So this week begins my training for the triathlon. I'm starting early because I have quite a way to go. I've been working on different workouts over the weeks with mixed results. Some, I walk away feeling energized. Others, I feel like I'm breathing through a coffee stirring straw. This will be the first week to start putting individual workouts together.

First week:

Day 1 - Total Body Weight Training, 30 minute Medium-High Intensity Run

Day 2 - 30 minute Medium-High Intensity Bike, 30 minute Medium High Intensity Run

Day 3 - Total Body Weight Training, 30 minute Medium-High Intensity Run

Day 4 - 30 minute Medium-High Intensity Bike, 30 minute Medium High Intensity Run

Day 5 - Total Body Weight Training, 30 minute Medium-High Intensity Run

Day 6 - 30 minute Medium-High Intensity Bike, 30 minute Medium High Intensity Run

These workouts are meant to give me a baseline of endurance. Once I do a week or two of these, I'll switch it up to include swim training. That's going to be a battle on its own.