Coach was Hulk of a man and great motivator, he coached calisthenics, weight training (machine and free), wrestling (my brother, not me) soft ball, basketball, dodge ball, Football, Soccer and Gym. He pushed those who could be pushed, inspired those who could be inspired and encouraged the rest to do their best and get better.
This weird assault on my grey matter linked rather quickly with the creative side of my brain. Following this direction; way left of my original field of thought, I sought to find a link, common or coincidence, that would make sense.
Up and dressed, I was waiting (and waiting) for the coffee maker to make: you guessed it, COFFEE. Suddenly a synaptic connection was made!
Over the last two and a half years I was free to improve, maintain or destroy myself. Luckily I followed the stages of this regimen in reverse, going for a while into a very internal darkness. Prior to that time (April 2011) I weighed nearly 240lbs. For a few months I slept on a friends couch. I attended too many favorite bars, stayed out too late. To often I was driving home after one (or more) too many. Then I leveled off.
I found a small place I could afford. I called the place The Hovel! When I moved in it had blood red walls in the dining room. It had a bathroom tub with a perpetual drip, it didn't have AC, it didn't have many outlets, or storm windows. It did have other incentives. It didn't cost too much monthly.
The Hovel was two blocks from a long time good friend. She was supposed to help me paint over the faux massacre colors, but before she could, her heart called her to visit her brother and his children just outside of DC.
I thought I was rebuilding my life (different from all I known, but still a life), then my beautiful and inspirational friend permanently moved to DC. All her local family were gone, so the logical course was to go where her remaining family was. I agreed, and I was again in stasis mode. Atrophy.
A year later I uploaded the MapMyWalk app and started tracking my walks. Then as temperatures went up I added the MapMyRide bike app as well.
After being 12 miles from my job site for over 24 years I was extremely pleased to be just over 5 miles away at the Hovel.
A plan for the future presented itself. Then in two years, just like my DC neighbor, my mother was gone, and my father was ailing. In late october my father had a massive stroke, then in early November he passed. After his funeral the logical course was for me to go where family is.
Over these last two plus years I've done hundreds of walks, and over 85 bike rides. Three months ago my dad passed, just about two weeks before the aniversary of moms passing. It still hurts (and the coaches voice said "Walk it off").
So, when I awoke this morning my second thought was about the weather. The previous 5 days were rainy, too windy or both. Still, I needed to work out. I had been doing situps, planks and lots of short walks, but biking was out of the question. So even before I opened my weather app this morning, in my head I heard coach all the way from 1976 say, "If it rains, just walk it off. If it hurts, just walk it off."
I walked off 3 miles, no hurt, no pain.
Thanks coach.
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