A Reflection of 2013, Anticipation of 2014

Well it is January 1, 2014, and while my upstairs neighbors are presumably sleeping off the late night boozing they so graciously shared with the rest of the building via audio-havoc, I am enjoying a reasonable flute of chilled prosecco and feeling pensive about things.

There is much about the above statement that lends support to the notion that I am clearly an 86 year old woman trapped in a 33 year old dude's body, but let's not dwell on it.

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year that was 2013, and also ponder what might be in store for 2014 and what I hope to achieve.  This could get deep, people.  I might use hashtags.

As an athlete, 2013 was disastrous in many ways, and yet extremely constructive in others.  As I've written up in a previous post, IronMan Mont Tremblant was primarily a hot, steamy pile of mess for me.  I wish there was a better way to describe my performance, but it was just plain ugly.  Sure there might be a correlation to my level of training and fitness at the time, but I've never had a solid grasp of correlations, or anything about statistics for that matter.  Good thing I'm not getting a PhD…

Despite the messy and steamy nature of it though, it was supremely motivating.  Since that race, I have had a fire under me that has launched my training into new places: namely existent!  I'm afraid I am overwhelming my poor coach with my compliance.  He never saw it coming.  Poor dear.

In that vein, I have been on my bike 3-4 times per week and killing the workouts.  I don't get a kickback on this endorsement (which my lawyer will soon be made aware of), but I started taking classes at this cool joint called Tailwind Endurance.  Check this out: you put your bike on a computrainer with 15 other idiots too delicate to ride in the cold, and you cycle like a maniac all while going absolutely nowhere.  Brilliant, right?  Here's the best part: on the giant screen in front of the group is a display of how you are performing.  You see not only your current wattage output, but also how you rank among the other morons sitting next to you.  It's like a video game, athletics, and a college binge-drinking night all rolled in to one.  I'm in love.

In the several weeks I have been taking these classes, I have seen my FTP (functional threshold power, AKA: the number that proves how manly you are) jump by huge margins.  That translates to me going faster on the bike.  This in turn means we have one happy cyclist sitting here in front of a computer screen with an almost empty glass of prosecco.

And since we are talking bikes, check out my new baby pictured below.  I got a fascinating email from my accountant a few weeks ago which went something like this: "Dear Chad, the IRS is going to rape you in a couple of months.  Hard.  You will cry.  So will your unborn children.  If you have any business expenses coming up, spend them now."  You know the best part of being a physical therapist practice owner and having a blog to help "advertise?"  Tri bikes that are categorized as Damn Sexy are considered a business expense.

Boy bike or girl bike?  What should I name him/her?

I also just completed a 45 day Paleolithic diet eating and fitness challenge.  My blog is chalk full of entries detailing this experience, but suffice it to say that I am a fan.  Not only did I see incredible changes in my own performance, recovery, and svelte physique, but my fellow participants went through pretty incredible changes as well.  The winner of the challenge, and subsequently my Mom, shocked her physician with her results and was able to discontinue the use of daily blood pressure medicine.  That's big, people.  I was honored to have led such a group and alarmingly inspired by their determination and fantastic results.  This was a rewarding experience, and one I hope to renew again soon.  

As for my personal life, 2013 has been more rewarding than I could have ever imagined.  My business, F Squared PT has been consistently and marvelously growing in reputation and productivity.  I was offered a part-time faculty position teaching in a doctorate program of physical therapy at Touro College, which I graciously and humbly accepted and begin in a couple of weeks.  I have a beautiful soul whom I am lucky enough to call my life partner, not to mention being proud of the fact I haven't murdered for the insurance money.  I have 2 of the most outstanding pups a dad could ask for with whom I share a love so sincere I can't imagine it bested by any other (see below for their picture and prepare yourself for a collective "ahhhhhh").  My life has been blessed in 2013, and not in the stereotypical Hallmark sort of way.  When I say blessed, I mean only to convey the most heartfelt and overwhelmed feelings of gratitude and fortune.  I know I have worked hard to be where I am, but I also appreciate the serendipity and sheer dumb luck that has brought me to where I stand.  

And speaking of standing, I may not be able to after this last glass of prosecco.  #whatsinthisstuff

Maggie: a princess in every sense of the word

Mick: the sweetest and most loyal dog in the history of furry companions

So after all of that alcohol-inspired rhetoric about the previous year, what can I say about my hopes and ambitions for 2014?

I have learned over the years to avoid making firm plans.  That just gives the Universe an opportunity to toy with you.  Instead, I hope to succeed in the following points for 2014:

• Remember to take time for myself.  With the intensity and veracity of my schedule and life, it is easy to forget that I am important too.  Having a morning or two at home with just me and my pups is something that I hope to embrace in the coming year.
• Remember to prioritize what is truly important.  For 2014, I have a great many goals.  These include becoming a better athlete, a better partner, a better puppy-daddy, a better human.  My goals do not include trivial daily occurrences that can seem so monumental at times.  My goals do not include petty competition or ego-driven triumphs.  My goals should not serve a superficial/selfish aim, but rather should enrich the very person who I hope to improve upon.
• Strive to be the best I can be at what I choose to devote my energy.  If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right.  
• Remember to do things that improve and enrich other peoples lives as mine has been enriched.  I do honestly believe that the best way to appreciate the blessings and opportunities one has in their life is to help another achieve the same success.  Seeing the satisfaction, gratitude, and triumph through another's eyes is truly the best way to experience your own good fortune.  I hope to remind myself of that and make efforts to create such opportunities.
• Find ways to show my gratitude.  For example, I am stupidly grateful to you all taking the time to read the rantings of such an one as I (I think that is a Gilbert and Sullivan line…#muststopdrinking).  That so many of you, a considerable number being strangers, read what I have to say is humbling.  I am grateful and wish I could show you that in some way.  Until I figure that out, I'll just keep writing and you just keep reading.  It's what we do.
• And lastly, I hope to eat more guacamole and plantain chips in 2014.  If there is a more delicious snack in this world, I dare you to introduce me to it.

I have nothing but optimism and excited anticipation to see how this coming year unfolds.  There will be success.  There will be heartbreak.  There will be achievements paired with failure.  We have all been given the precious gift that is this life.  I plan to live mine to the fullest, and what better time to recall such a motto than the beginning of a new year.

Much love, immense gratitude, and pinch-me-awake joy,

Chad

Deep thought Tuesday 4: Do something that scares you

Dear world, please meet my friend Lisa.

Isn't she glamorous?  I wonder if she's planning to give me my hat back soon...

I am writing about her tonight because she has had a pretty incredible year that is worth mentioning.  The theme of her year is doing things she's afraid of, and while nude streaking in Times Square didn't make her list, other pretty cool things did.

Early in the year, she decided to shave her head for St. Baldricks, an organization dedicated to helping families with children battling cancer.  Please picture the most lush, curly, would-kill-your-stepsister-for, brown hair.  She had it.  A lot of it.  Yet somehow she became even more beautiful after it was gone.

Years ago, she used to sing, just like me.  And just like me, she put it away as a profession to join the real world who enjoy paying rent and such.  Adulthood calls.  This year she also got back on stage, with me, and sang her face off.  I'd say she sang her hair off, but it was already gone.

And finally, she got her ass on a bike and raised money for people battling homelessness and HIV status.  I had the pleasure of accompanying her from Boston to NYC on a bicycle.  

Oh yeah, she also has lost 35 lbs and counting on her fight to get healthy.

Reading this, I feel like a lazy punk.  At least I'm also going bald, it's just happening slower and doesn't really help kids, but I think my suffering makes the world a better place.

So why am I telling you about Lisa and her year of accomplishments?  Mostly to make you jealous of my awesome friends, but also to encourage all of us to carry this momentum forward into our own lives.  Because when I asked her what motivated her to have a year like this, she said it was because she felt her life was previously in a rut and she wanted to do things that scared her.

I still think Times Square streaking would have made a better story, but she did pretty well without it.

I wanted to tell her story because it reminds me of the passion I occasionally find in my life that pushes me forward.  It reminds me of how I can be a better man by pushing my own boundaries.  It reminds me that being scared of things is really just an opportunity waiting to happen.

Here are her words on reflecting on these experiences, "The greatest part is everything I have gotten out of this year.  I made amazing friends, I rode a bike after not being on one since I was a kid.  I raised ~ $6000 for 2 amazing organizations, I shared a stage with an incredibly multi talented friend, I've let myself believe in myself again and I kinda dig it."

Isn't that last line poignant?  "I've let myself believe in myself again and I kinda dig it."  Friends, if that isn't poetry then Walt Whitman was a boob.

I'm left reflecting how often I don't believe in myself.  I wonder how many of my readers do the same absurd trick to themselves now and then.  I ponder how different our world would be if we could all channel this drive to change; to grow; to live.

Saying I am proud of Lisa and her accomplishments sounds childish and stupid.  I am overwhelmed by what she has done.  It's a funny thing when a teacher is taught by the student; it's an opportunity for them both to grow together.

Here's hoping that a blog entry I'll write in the near future tells you about fears I have faced and hurdles I have overcome.  Perhaps we can find them together?

Taking an opportunity

"When someone offers you the chance to make the world a better place, you take it."  A truly inspired quote by an exceptionally eloquent man.  Ok, it was me, but it is pretty good, right?

That's what I felt I got the chance to do this past weekend: make the world a better place.  Along with another 106 riders and 40+ volunteer crew members, we set out on bicycle from Boston to NYC over 3 days.  Here's how it went down.

On Thursday night we all sit together and take a moment.  This ride is about many things, one of them being a moment to remember those who we have lost along the years to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  We sit silently in a room and one by one, the names of those lost appear on a screen as though being signed by their owner.  A more sombre moment cannot be imagined.

I spoke about it after the ride which you can see below, but there is nothing like seeing those names and recognizing some of them.  Remembering the time you shared with that person.  The jokes, the laughter, the tears.  It's hard to know you have lost them, and devastating to know it isn't over yet.  More are being lost daily and the infection rates of new HIV cases has not changed in 10 years.  Via the media we seem to have been told that this epidemic is basically over.  Tell that to those of us who lose friends each year.  We must have missed the memo.

The ride was Friday-Sunday, and while a daily play-by-play might make for a good story, it just seems impossible to break each day down analytically into separate moments of note.

There were unbelievable hills to climb.  They made me remember my friends struggle and why I was there.

There were moments of laughter that were borderline painful.  They made me reflect on those I still have in my life and am allowed to cherish.

There were moments of exquisite pain and sadness.  They made me realize that through pain, I can be stronger.

There were moments of anger and frustration.  They made me remember why I still fight for a cause and a group of people I believe in.

There were also brief moments of confusion, lending themselves well to photo ops.

It's hard to articulate how an experience like this changes a person, much less how much change happens when you've done it 7 times.  Each year gets easier and somehow harder at the same time.  Each ride forms new bonds and strengthens old friendships.  I count myself terrifically fortunate to have been given the opportunities in my life to give back to those who need it, and find that working to help those in need lends itself as the most self-satisfying work to be done.

Because it really isn't about the 285 miles ridden, although my coach is delighted that I spent that much time on a bike.  It isn't about cadence, or power, or even biking.  As one of the producers of the ride has been quoted to say, "it is a civil rights march on two wheels."  I dig that.

At the closing ceremonies, I was given the very undeserved honor of being asked to speak and tell the crowd what drove me to do this ride.  Two days afterwards, I am still reeling and raw from the emotional upheaval that was this past weekend and vow to continue doing what I am able to do to help those who are in such great a need.

Perhaps I will see you there next year?
http://brakingaidsride.org

Deep thought tuesday 3: Giving Back

Let's be honest.  I am pretty much the luckiest bastard to walk the Earth.  Well... if we count Channing Tatum, I'm the second luckiest bastard.  I have a great life, a partner who is loving and supportive, a job at which I thrive, and I get to do Ironman races because I find them strangely enjoyable.  Really?  The next time I have a bad day, please remind me to read this.

The point of this blog post, and perhaps on a much larger scale, is the importance of giving back and helping others.  This weeks entries will all have to do with one big event in my life: BRAKING AIDS Ride, a bike ride from Boston to NYC over 3 days raising money for Housing Works.  If I tried really hard, I bet I could squeeze another hyperlink into this paragraph, no?  People who click hyperlinks go to heaven, I'm just sayin'.

If you don't know about Housing Works, here is the cliff notes version.  The organization started back in the 80's when the AIDS crisis was gaining steam.  Due to the misinformation, and lack of information, a great deal of stigma arose around those who where HIV+ often leading them to lose their jobs and eventually homes.  Housing Works was founded to help these folks find homes and get back on their feet.  Today, every person who is accepted into their program get a guaranteed position within their chain of retail stores.  Not many of us have ever experienced homelessness, with or without a positive diagnosis of HIV.  To find a place that gets you back on your feet, puts a safe roof over your head, and gives you a job?  I can't imagine the feeling of hope and salvation that must bring, and in so many ways, I hope I never am in a position to feel that for myself.

So for the 7th time, I will get on my bike and ride.  You have to raise money to do this ride of course, to the tune of at least $3500.  Why do I do this?  Why do I pester my friends year after year to donate money (yes! another one!)?  It is because it's what I know I can do to make a difference.  It's how I know to help.

So imagine my surprise this year when the ride producers asked me to be the designated speaker at the closing ceremonies (last one, I swear).  To say this is an honor would be to compare peanut butter to almond butter.  There is just no comparison or equivalent.

I have to admit that I don't know entirely what I plan to say.  All the more reason to show up to see me tank, right?  Normally the person they ask to do this is a freakin' hero.  A veritable rock star.  A story that not only inspires but also makes you desperate to do something to change the world.  What the hell am I compared to that?  If you think of something, please let me know!

I plan to say something along the lines of why I ride.  Why, for the seventh time, I am going to sit on a seat the size of a deck of cards for 3 straight days solid.  Why I work so hard to raise this money.  I'll say something along the lines of, "because it makes the world just a little bit better."

If you should find yourself in the NYC area, specifically the East Village, this Sunday afternoon, do something good for yourself and see this event.  It is heartwarming and gives you perspective like you can't imagine.  I also don't play for audiences smaller than 1000, so show up so we don't have an embarrassing diva moments.

Here's to helping those who need it and unexpectedly helping yourself along the way.

Look, it's me.  Down front and center, of course...