I have taken over a month off from posting here but I’m excited about a new beginning. Training a group of nearly 300 runners for the Boston Marathon for 5 months requires a Herculean effort. But the rewards are immeasurable. This year’s marathon was the perfect celebration in the aftermath of last year’s tragedy. Now it is time to begin the next chapter of life.
After last year’s Boston Marathon, I felt an insatiable need to live life. So I chose one of my passions and completed an amazing 12,000 miles motorcycle trip to all four corners of the United States in just 14 days. I never dreamed I would circumnavigate the entire country on my BMW motorcycle. Riding from Madawaska, Maine to Key West, Florida to San Yisidro, California to Blaine, Washington and back to Boston was nothing short of amazing.
It also nearly cost me my life when I rode from Jacksonville, Florida to San Diego, California in 40 hours 35 minutes without sleeping. I hit the desert in Arizona after 36 hours and the temperature was 125 degrees. I struggled to stay awake and ultimately hallucinated but managed to make it safely to San Diego. I have no doubt I had several Guardian Angles looking over me. I learned the first casualty of extreme fatigue is the ability to recognize how exhausted you actually are. I’ve experienced this in a 24 hour run but it’s a different story at 75 m.p.h. on a motorcycle
I also learned that living life to the fullest has limits and being careful and realistic are important to not crossing the line and risking it all. Here is a picture taken in Winona, Minnesota, just a few days from my successful return home.
I have enjoyed privately coaching a special group of runners committed to their running potential. I’m so inspired by their determination, discipline, enthusiasm and commitment to excellence. I’m grateful for the opportunity to play a small role in their significant accomplishments.
One of my greatest joys is teaching new runners to run with perfect form and efficiency. In the weeks before the Boston Marathon, I spoke to several Weight Watcher groups about healthy living. I promised them I would conduct a Transformational Running clinic to teach them about beginning a successful training program. I’m so impressed by their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn.
Just over a month after the Boston Marathon, I return to Hopkinton today to conduct this clinic at the local high school track. If I am successful, I will help them enjoy running for life.
I may even see several of them at the starting line of the 2015 Boston Marathon in Hopkinton next April!
The Marathon Solution 