biking

I was wrong.

Posted on by Phil Corbett

I hate to admit it but I have to – I was wrong. I have been wrong for years.

For a long time, I have been telling people who ran long distances races they were a bit crazy. You train, and train, and train, so you can pay money to run a long distance, at the end of which your body hurts, and some times, you even throw up. Sure you get refreshments along the way, like water, sports drinks, and some packages filled with a thick, glue-like substance that is supposed to provide you some energy, but I was just not convinced it was a wise use of money.

I preferred the long bike rides. Yes, I had to train for them and they also cost money, but there were so many more advantages to them. The rest stops along the way were filled with stuff I liked to eat, like cookies, candy bars, and donuts. At the end of one ride, I had root beer floats.

Though I never biked in one that did, some rides even provided free beer!

The physical activity aspect of bike riding was better, too. When you stop moving your legs on runs, you stop. When biking, you coast. When running, you have to run up and down the hills. When biking, on the way down a hill, once again, you get to coast.

It was just a no-brainer to me. Biking was the way to go.

Then I was persuaded to sign up for the Fall 50 – a 50-mile run in Door County in Wisconsin.

To be clear, I did not run the entire 50 miles, though many runners did. I was in a relay team with my brother, his wife, her sister, and my wife.

My wife was inspiring. She readily admits to not being a runner and to have never run more than a few miles at a time before training for this race. She ran her first leg of the relay, 5.3 miles, at a 10:00 minute per mile pace, one minute per mile faster than she had ever run. She ran her second leg, 4.5 miles, at just a slightly slower pace, while battling some intense leg pain from the start. I was impressed.

With around 1700 or so runners, I am sure there were many other inspirational stories I could write about.

For me, though, the race was just a lot of fun. There were serious runners, but most runners just wanted to have a good time. Teams were encouraged to dress up and prizes were awarded for the best costumes. I do not know which team won but some of my favorites were the all-female team dressed up like girl scouts, the team dressed up in 1970s outfits, using an RV as their team vehicle, and the team wearing prosthetic butts.

Even the rest stops were better than I had hoped. Other than a few glasses of Gatorade, I am not sure I chose a healthy item all day, unless you count chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as healthy.

Overall, it was a great experience I would recommend to almost anyone.

Oh, and did I mention, the post race party included unlimited free beer, wine, and pizza!

I guess running isn’t so crazy after all.

P.S. Here is the link to the Fall 50 website. http://www.fall50.com/

If you are interested in running it next year, just know that within three hours of the registration opening last April, all 360 relay spots were filled.

My Role Models

Posted on by Phil Corbett

The big news this week was the confession of Lance Armstrong. I have to admit, I so wanted Lance to be telling the truth all those years, winning the seven Tour de France titles cleanly. I was a Lance fan. I watched the TDF because of him. I saw the stories on his training regimen and it encouraged me to get on my bike. I read his book and was inspired by his fight against cancer. I wear a yellow bracelet and admire the work he has done helping others with cancer.

I’m not shocked he doped. Nor am I disheartened. Yes, I was a fan of his but he was not a role model of mine.

For me, the bigger and better news this week came in the form of a video shared over Facebook. The video is about the 2012 Sports Illustrated Kids SportsKids of the Year. If you haven’t seen it, Google it and watch the video. I won’t ruin it for you if you have not seen it but basically the story is about a 9-year-old boy who competes in triathlons with his brother. I dare you watch it and tell me you were not inspired by their story.

Yes, the older brother in the story inspires me but he would not a role model of mine, either.

I believe my role models should be people I know, people much closer to my home – some even in my home. Like my 11-year-old son who has the courage to try new activities, not knowing if he will be good at them or not. Or my 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son whose hearts are bigger than their small bodies. Or their mother and my wife (the same person), whose passion for everything she does is infectious.

Some parents at my church are role models to me. They have three boys – all young men now. The oldest two are significantly disabled. The youngest is extremely bright and attending a prestigious college. For how challenging I imagine their life can be, I do not believe I have ever seen either one of them not smiling. They help me keep my life in perspective and remind me of the importance of being positive.

I could list many more role models, all having a trait or two that I admire and want to emulate. I try not to put them on a pedestal because the only direction they have to go from there is down. I am well aware they have faults, though I may not know, nor care to know, what their faults are. Actually, the fact they have faults make them even more of a role model because it means they are human, just like me.

Charles Barkley, former NBA great, was right. We need to stop looking to celebrities for role models and look to parents and teachers (and children, and friends, and neighbors, and you get the point).