How did Grandpa John Get Into Running?

On numerous occasions I have been asked ‘How did you get started or involved with running?” Ok, you asked for it, so here it is- the story:

After 40+ years of smoking and weighting around 250 lbs, on December 16th, 2005 thinking I was having a cardiac event, I drove myself to a local hospital. Prior to checking in, however and having just bought a pack of cigarettes, I had one last smoke before going into the emergency room (Very very, very stupid!). That was my last cigarette!!!

Well, they did all sorts of testing and blood work ups and even a catheter procedure. Thank God, I did not have a heart attack, but they did find that I had to 2 blocked arteries and that I also had GERD, Acid Reflux. That was the primary culprit. Stomach acid was entering or irritating my bronchial tubes (I wonder why I did get some form of pneumonia from it). Since my arteries were at 50% blockage, no stents were put in, but I was put on Plavix, which I still take religiously to this day. Along with that I was also put on proton pump inhibitors and blood pressure medicine and told by the discharging physician that if I continued to smoke I’d die at a really young age and since my mother died at 45 from coronary disease, I had better start getting in shape.

THat’s all it took. As soon as I got the clearance from my primary care physician I began a work out regimen designed solely to build and restore my heart health. My workout plan was based on a 5 day schedule: days 1, 3, and 5 were Cardio workouts; days 2 & 4 were weight training. Every so slow I started noticing changes, my clothes were starting to get loose and I needed to buy a new belt…I dropped from 250lbs to 210 lbs and I was feeling great. I was doing so good that my doctor took me off all my blood pressure medicines. It was then that I decided to up the workout to include running. So I researched and found the Couch Potato to 5K (C25K) running plan. Following it religiously by the time week 8 rolled around I was running 30 minutes non-stop! I was overjoyed. I signed up for my very first 5K (The Kinesiology 5k) I ran it in the very slow time of 33:19. After finishing, I thought well that was a nice experience but I am not sure if I want to run anymore races. Until….

I was relaxing at home watching ESPN and a special was being televised…It was all about the “Badwater Ultramarathon;”- a 135 mile race that runs smack thru Death Valley and up the side of Mount Whitney California. I was enthralled; the spirit of the event captured my spirit. My testosterone levels spiked for sure. I knew I couldn’t run Badwater, but hey I could run a marathon (Yeah that’s right, 1 race to my credit and I was going to run a marathon)…
So began my journey, the year was Oct 2006. In November 2006 I joined up with Team in Training and a little less than 7 months later I successfully ran (waddled is more like it) my first marathon, The Vancouver International Marathon and 4 months later still I ran the Rochester NY marathon.

Yes, I admit it. I am hooked! I love distance running and I love that I am able to run for my Little Buddies….If you can’t run, then won’t you please help me, help them too.
PLEASE Say Yes to Grandpa John and make a generous donation to the Band of Parents.

Here for the sake of fond memories I post a few pictures for your enjoyment

I AM IN PAIN HERE FOLKS!

I DID'T QUIT THEN, I WON'T QUIT NOW.

Yeah, I know I am slow, but I can go slow for a really long time :)

God Bless and Good Night.

Gj

Grandpa John Receives a High Honor

The Organic Food Bar Company (OFB) Has Honored Grandpa John with their first “Everyday Heroes Award”

Angels tears flowed heavily as I ran my daily training run. So soothing the rain; the angels were cleansing my soul for the good news I was about to receive when I got home.

Several weeks ago, I sent a letter of inquiry to the Organic Food Bar company seeing if I could qualify to be one of their OFB Brand Champions (I was actually seeking a voice for my Little Buddies suffering from neuroblastoma) Well, a few days later, much to my surprise, I received an email from *Eric Harr (more on this fine gentleman later), of OFB and what he had to say shocked me.

Although, I would more than qualify to be an OFB Brand Champion, those positions were reserved more for professional athletes. But, the owner of the company, Dr. Singh and Eric were so impressed and inspired by what I wrote that they decided to launch a new campaign called “OFB Everyday Heroes” and I was their vanguard: their very first Organic Food Bar Everyday Hero. Who, me a hero? I never thought myself a hero and still don’t. How can you be a hero doing what you love for those you love?

The true heroes are my Little Buddies and their families, But, I must say that I am very proud to accept OFB’s accolades and I will do my best to reflect the high values OFB upholds and represents. I am truly honored. They have my never ending gratitude for giving voice to my Little Buddies and the Band of Parents.

*In several emails to me Eric Harr, a professional triathlete, told me that I was such an inspiration and worthy of such acclaim. Yet, it is Eric more than I who deserves much acclaim and honor. This wonderful person and fine gentleman has joined up with CARE and developed the “I Am Powerful Workout” wherein he will make donations to CARE for each hour a person works out… the funds will be used to help women in poor counties overcome numerous adversities…as stated at the I Am Powerful Workout web page: “Empower women and families in poor communities around the world to improve their lives.” Please join Eric by following follow the link in the right column to his “I Am Powerful Workout” website – thanks, Gj

Please follow this link to reach OFB’s Everyday Heroes web page:

http://www.organicfoodbar.com/heroes/hero/9


Dear Lord, may I never forget how great an honor it is to serve those I love.
Gj


Rest Peacefully in His Loving Arms

Grandpa John

Neuroblastoma –Did You Know; Another Type of Hero; Weekend Training

Neuroblastoma-Did You Know?: I know many of my “Little Buddies” and their parents visit our site here and already know about what I am going to post, but this is for our visitors who might not know about neuroblastoma, or childhood cancers. Every so often I’ll post different facts about these dreaded diseases and their impact to the lives of our all of our Buddies

Did You Know:

· Each school day, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer
· Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer in children
· Neuroblastoma is the most common extra cranial solid tumor cancer in children.
· Every 16 hours a child with neuroblastoma dies.
· There are 15 children diagnosed with cancer for every one child diagnosed with pediatric AIDS. Yet, the U.S. invests approximately $595,000 for research per victim of pediatric AIDS and only $20,000 for each victim of childhood cancer.
· The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) federal budget was $4.6 billion. Of that, breast cancer received 12%, prostate cancer received 7%, and all 12 major groups of pediatric cancers combined received less than 3%.
· Cancer kills more children than any other disease, more than Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes and Pediatric AIDS combined.

Another Type of Hero: His name is Sam Seltzer, small of stature, bent and wrinkled with age, with a voice that sounds like a choir, very melodic, and a very wise man to be sure. When you first meet him you’d wonder why he sings all the time, or why that impish grin captures your heart so. Then you happen to notice a small tattoo on his arm, but it’s not any tattoo, it a tattoo made up of only numbers. You see, Sam is a Holocaust survivor and I have the privilege of meeting him and I am just beginning to know him in the slightest meaning of the word. We go to the same gym a few time a week and I find the time I spend with him to be a blessing to my heart; already I love him. I must remember to tell him that the next time we meet.

Pre-world War II Sam lived in Poland, and during the war he survived 15 Nazi slave labor and death camps, to include Auschwitz. Sam also has a book out; it’s title “Fences That Kill” written by Dr. Richard B Traitel and Martha Seltzer as told to them told by Sam. I haven’t had a chance to pick the book up yet, but I plan on doing so this week or so.. I’ll share with you what I find; yes he is a Hero to me.

Thanks you Sam for having enriched my life beyond measure.

Oh, why does Sam sing all the time – It’s simple he loves life and is happy to be alive.

Weekend’s Training: This past weekend I logged 22 glorious miles: 14 Miles on Saturday and 8 on Sunday. Weekly Total: 34 miles.

Saturday’s run began with a soggy 3 mile trail run. The trails weren’t too bad at the beginning of the run, but as I got closer to the lower wetland areas having soggy feet and muddy shoe took on a whole new meaning. It seem that Friday night’s rain storm must have been localized right over the trial I was running. It was fun I was really having a blast, but I decided after the 3 that I plenty of fun for the day and made my way out to the trail along Hines Park Drive; a nice blacktop path and it was dry.

Ahh! So nice to be running on dry land, but therein was a problem; it seems my trail shoes really aren’t made for black top and the pounding this ol’ 207 lb body could give them. I think it was around mile 12 or so when I heard a scream. Looking around I saw no one yet I distinctly heard a scream….Wait a minute! It’s my legs, shins, calves and quads hollering in unison STOP! Did I listen to them? YES I did, I stopped, but only long enough to rub some of the stiffness and soreness out; to avoid further harm though I did the run walk routine. That is, I ran for all of 15 seconds, then walked for a minute (LoL) and repeated that sequence till I finished my 14 for the day. It was a very pleasant experience for sure.

Sundays 8 miles was a very nice recovery run. The weather was nice and the run very relaxing
I am most definitely looking forward to this week’s increased mileage.

And remember the reason for this blog: Please Say Yes to Grandpa John and make a generous donation today to the Band of Parents – Thanks

How long should you try? Until.
Jim Rohn

God Bless

Gj