A Parade Via Sweat Equity

One year ago today I was sobbing on the treadmill @ Renzo Gracie PA, a place most would describe as an MMA gym, but one that often serves as my cathedral.  I was in between clients last December 5th, getting my own cardio in, as my playlist gave way to frenzied alerts and notifications.   My lifelong friend Anthony Ceccomancini and the love of his life very narrowly escaped death as their home and everything except their pets, a box of important documents, and their cars, succumbed to the wildfire that engulfed them.  Over the next few days while sharing the gofundme link that my high school lab partner and fellow thespian Amy Jo initiated on their behalf, I posted that I would “personally host a parade in honor of their neighbor, Jacqui Bally.”  The Bally’s delayed their own get-away as Jacqui fiercely pounded on Cecco and Elise’s door at 4am or so that morning.  She saved their lives.  So, believe me, that parade is happening.  But, not in some showy display that Cecco would never abide.  Indeed, every time throughout this year that I have asked, “What else I can do to help?” Cecco emphatically responds: “Just keep sending us your love and support.”   I can’t stop there.  Maybe it is all those drama club rehearsals where TL ingrained that “show; don’t tell” discipline; maybe it is the outgrowth of far more recent lessons where exercise serves as exorcist, but I confess that I have been in cahoots with Elise Drozdowski to find a way to both repay the heavens for their escape and restore their spirits as they work through recovering their hearts and home.  I created a Charity Miles campaign and asked Elise to help me choose a charity that Cecco would want to support.  After a little covert action on Elise’s part, we selected Habitat for Humanity.  All the donations come from sponsors, so I am not soliciting money; just miles.  I am donating all of my miles between now and December 5, 2019.  Please join my Charity Miles team #findyes or download the app and simply choose Habitat for Humanity as your charity of choice. 

THANKSGIVING

It was tradition—going to the big NPHS Thanksgiving game. My dad was driving us since it was at South this year. He lived for it. The former star quarterback in my hometown, he went to college on a full ride, and ultimately made a career as a coach and PE teacher.

After the game we head back to the car. To avoid the crowd my dad decides we are taking a shortcut over the 8’ barbed-wire fence. I say nothing in front of my friends but I look at him in horror. By 15 there are about 180 pounds on my 5’3” frame. (Despite our victory I know this game is rapidly going south.) My dad demonstrates scaling the fence; then he pops back over to help me and my friends. One by one they are safely on the other side. Now it’s my turn. My worst fears are realized. I cannot boost myself over. I get impaled on the top. My friction-worn jeans are actually frayed on the inseam; I end up literally hanging by a thread in front of my entire high school. My dad’s glory-reliving is decimated. He is ashamed of me but too good to say it. It is a long, hard, tear-fighting, pie-foreshadowing drive home.

That stranded sophomore never dreamed of ending up here* on Thanksgiving: stronger inside and out; with enough medical excuses to satisfy even the strictest gym teacher and absolutely no desire to use them. Thank you, Josh and Sara and Greg. You have given me the New World. Happy Thanksgiving!

*I anonymously posted this on Thanksgiving 2007 on the wall by the water fountain in my gym. But, the management tore it down as soon as they saw it- probably because they refused to promote individual trainers. Have to add "virtual walls" to the list of things I am thankful for.

Black Coffee & Calendar Magic

Whether it is hanging up in the kitchen, sitting on a desk, or flashing alerts in your iPhone, if you are like me you are a slave to your calendar or more accurately, calendars: all striving to manage work schedules, kids’ schedules, activities, etc.  So, what about your health and fitness plan...does it even appear in the mix?  Because in my case:  If it is not on my calendar, it is not in my life.  No amount of hoping, thinking, or dreaming gets it in.  At minimum, I have training appointments and classes that are entered by default; they might get edited, but they have to be carved into the week.  If I don't defend that time, trust me it gets sucked up by chores or work or traffic or errands, etc.  You know how it is you look back at the day and think...what happened, my list is so long and I am totally exhausted and  out of time.  It is almost demoralizing except that when I do take the initiative the calendar can be MAGIC.   Registering for races taught me that.  I can be working out all along, but as soon as I circle a date for an event, something clicks.  It is with me moment to moment, not in a worrisome way, just reinforcing that little adjustments in nutrition, exercise, sleep, habits, all make an impact.  There is deceit in a bad habit that tells you it won't matter.  But when I am training for something specific I am rarely taken in by it.  The next date for me is November 16th.  It's not a race actually it is something totally different; this time my brain needed a challenge and my body needed less running.  But, the date is the key to unlocking the little adjustments to get ready, like stretching on my own, taking glucosamine, and, maybe not so little--drinking black coffee.  It took me until today, day 25, not to miss it.  But, after three decades of "light and sweet" I guess 25 days is actually pretty miraculous (and so is deleting 3,750 useless calories 150 x 25 days of Coffeemate)  So, put something on your calendar, something just for you, after all shouldn't your calendar-- translation-your life- have room for you?