Memories

I missed posting this past weekend due to family commitments and my continued urge to always be there for my wife and kids and develop as many memories as we can. I have been blessed over the past 36 years to have shaped some incredible memories that keep me searching for more. Looking back at these memories most of them have shaped the person I am today and have taught me the same values that I try to teach my little ladies everyday.

This past Friday my wife's cousin Jimmy unfortunately lost his battle with cancer. I was both sad and frustrated that this terrible disease took such a young person away from us. Sometimes events just don't seem fair and I wish that there was more that I could do to change the world. I just have to keep reminding myself that if I can accomplish the small things everyday and always smile that it will change someones life hopefully for the better and that's all I can ask for.

I have noticed one common theme after loosing a couple close people to cancer over the years and that's the memories we have of them. The great memories of the good times seem to out weigh the sad days that come at the end and I am grateful for this. I was with my grandmother years ago when cancer took her life and to this day I remember all the great memories and not the final few days. I remember her telling me all about the upcoming Chicago Bears season and what she felt about what management was doing...as a kid I thought how cool is my grandmother that she is a bigger Da Bears fan than I was. I saw pictures of Jimmy the final weeks of his life and the first thing that always came to my mind was how he always had a smile on his face and such a positive outlook and not what cancer had done to him in the end.

As my wife and I get closer to welcoming our third princess into the world in a few weeks my mind is full of joy looking back over the past 10 years my wife and I have been married. She was there for me when I decided to do my first Ironman, she helped support me while I went back to school and more than anything else she has helped me raise two amazing little girls. If the memories I have had the past 10 years are any indication of what the future brings than I have hit the lottery.

What I am trying to get at with this post is don't waste your time worrying about the little things but make time every single day of creating memories with those around you. They will enrich your life more than you can imagine and when your time comes to leave this world people will remember all the amazing moments you provided them with.

As always thanks to everyone who has helped out Jimmy's family. Please keep them in your prayers as they go through the grieving process. I know that I will not give up the fight and I will do my best to spread the word.

On a training note I have had a great couple weeks of training and I am feeling stronger every single day going into Lake Placid Ironman this summer. Last weeks totals:
Swim: 5000...anyone that knows me knows I dont swim much so this is my start towards the next 13 weeks
Bike: 230 miles
Run: 38 miles
This week looks to be bigger and then I am planning on a recovery week soon when my new little lady arrives....

Make It Count!!!!

Teamwork

This weeks events have hit me hard emotionally on a few angles (Boston from the aspect that I have been racing for 15 years with many family and friends cheering me on from the sidelines and Texas from the angle that its my second home and some of the most amazing people I have ever met) and I want to first say that my heart and prayers go out to everyone that has been affected by these tragic events.

With so many thoughts running through my head this week I couldn't nail down a particular topic until this morning when the word TEAMWORK came to mind.

It is hard for many of us to be successful in life without a solid foundation and support team behind us. If you were to peel back the onion of successful organizations/individuals I believe that you would see one common theme...teamwork.

Many people ask me how I am able to squeeze everything I have on my plate into a 24 hour period (two soon to be three kids, busy chiropractic practice, coaching, training for Ironman and giving my wife all the attention she deserves)...well my answer is simply I couldn't do it without the support of my family and the teamwork that my Oergel princesses provide. Anyone that has ever trained for an Ironman Triathlon with a family knows that the teamwork and family support is crucial to the success of the race and the enjoyment that comes with the journey of training.

In the past three days with the unfortunate events that have taken place we have seen amazing feats of teamwork. When the tragedy happened in Boston instead of people running away they joined each other in an effort of teamwork to help those injured. The first responders came together and with that they were able to save the lives of many people due to teamwork. I would like to say I was amazed that so many runners went straight to the hospitals to donate blood for those in need but I am not. The community of endurance sports is an amazing community and it is one of the reasons I love the sport. Its a community of individuals who typically put themselves second in order to make sure those around them are taken care of first.

The last thing I see lots of teamwork in is the people that deal with cancer. Whether its the immediate family, friends circling the wagon, the doctors or the hospice team...the one common theme is being there for the individual and making sure they know how much support that person has.

Thanks to everyone that continues to support Jimmy and his family. Please take a second and read the caring bridge site ( link at top of page) that his wife has set up. She has been an amazing person through this and is the leader of their team.

I am not going to talk much about my training this time but will say that things are going as planned and I will continue to push on with a smile as I am doing this for those who's life's were cut short from recent events or from diseases like cancer.

Make It Count!!!!

Inspiration

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" Wayne Gretzky

There are many things in my 37 years that have inspired me to be better or try harder but this past week I had the privilege of being part of one little girls journey of never giving up.

My oldest daughter Avery has never ceased to amaze me at her drive and ability to always be optimistic. She attacks almost every situation with the will to give it 110% commitment and nothing less. She never complains but instead tries to motivate those around her to also give there best.

This past week she was the lead (Ms. Cruella Deville) in the schools play 101 Dalmations and then 24 hours later had her first step competition. Not once in the week did she say she couldn't do it but woke up each morning with a smile saying today is going to be a great day.

There was a moment of weakness the morning of the play as I was driving her to school but she once again told me that she was ready for everything she was just worried about missing a line or two (she had so many and a solo song!!!) and letting everyone down. I told her that was a common worry and that we can never be perfect in our daily tasks. Everyone no matter their position or chapter in life always hits a moment on weakness or failure. Its how we respond to those moments that determines our greatness. We have two options of either giving up and getting frustrated or we can learn from our mistakes and be better the next time around. I know most of this to a 7 year old would seem like a foreign language but not my little princess.  She proceeded to say you make great sense dad and I will grow from this experience.

She continues to inspire me to try harder and never give up as her own determination and ability to believe in herself inspires me to be a better person. What gives me the right to give up and lack the confidence when my little lady can be so strong.

Those that fight cancer also typically develop a belief of never giving up and wanting to spread the word that life is to fragile not to give your best. Jimmy is fighting the fight right now and not giving up even though giving up would be the easiest way out.

It will always be easier to give up when things get tough but I promise you that if you just give a little extra effort you will be blessed with incredible experiences and you will be amazed at what type of person is deep inside you.

As always thanks for the donations to Jimmy's fund and for following his progress as he is in our thoughts and prayers everyday. For everyone else who is dealing with cancer we want them to know they are in our prayers as well.

This past week training wise has been smooth also with the following stats:
Bike: 190 miles
Run: 41 miles
Strength: 1 hour
Swim: swim training starts tomorrow....pays to have been a competitive swimmer growing up!!!

Make It Count!!!!

No Regrets...

“Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.” ~ Groucho Marx

No regrets is the only way to approach life each day. There are so many opportunities for greatness in today's world but most of it will never be given to you so you have to take control of your life to make sure you are in charge of your future. 

When I was first out of college I lived blocks from Wriggle Field (greatest city in the world) and loved every second of it and was given a great opportunity with one of the largest sports and entertainment firms. It was an amazing opportunity but I had to move to the New York City. Being one that has always tried to maximize my opportunities in life I didn't think twice as it was an incredible opportunity. I packed my bags and moved with no regrets. 

My life changed direction and helped shape who I am today and the incredible system I have in place behind me. I got to hang out with professional athletes, build self confidence that makes decision making easier, started participating in the best sport in the world...triathlon, realized after years in the corporate world that I had more of a gift of helping people (hence my profession as a chiropractor) and most importantly met the woman of my dreams. 

I want to know that if my time was to end today that I have done everything in my power to leave this world with no regrets. I want people to think how great I was with my family, how much I loved my wife and most important have inspired people to try a little harder in life to make a difference in yourself and those around you. 

The best part is I can honestly say I have no regrets so far in my life. Can you sit back while reading this and feel the same? Don't get me wrong there is so much more on my list that I want to accomplish and be a part of...walking my daughters down the aisle (probably crying the whole way), continuing to teach them how small things can make a huge difference in someones life, racing the Hawaii Ironman, traveling the world with my wife and most importantly constantly believing that if I believe in myself and live a life of no regrets my life will be richer than any money could provide. 

If makes me sad that Jimmy is towards the end of his battle with brain cancer but I know for sure from knowing him that his enjoyed his time and has taught his family how to carry on the tradition. 

So do me a favor and evaluate your goals and know that anything is possible in life. That dream of yours can happen with just a little extra energy. Also always make sure that those friends and family around you know how much you care for them as time is fragile and its important to maximize our time on this earth. 

On a side note we hit almost 90 degrees on the east coast which meant a blissful 10 mile tempo run at lunch and everything is falling into place for Lake Placid.

Stick with your dreams and anything is possible....

Make It Count!!!!

Following is a picture of post Half Ironman World Championships in vegas last fall...I put everything I had out on the course in rough temps knowing that the pain would be short term but the pain of knowing I didn't give it my all would haunt me forever...No Regrets!!!

Purpose

The definition of purpose (in my mind) is the ability to strive towards a goal that you have set for yourself in life. 

Purpose is something that I try to teach my daughters about all the time.  It has taken me a long time to understand my purpose in life other than developing micro goals along the way. It wasn't until 2003 and 2006 that I understand my place in this world with 100% confidence. In 2003 I married the most amazing person to this day still amazes me at how amazing a person she is and then in 2006 was the birth of the second most amazing person in my life. Since then we have had a second child, Brynn (2008) and in about 4 weeks our third princess will be born. 

My purpose is without a doubt to be the best father and husband to my family that I can. On a daily basis I do whatever I can to make sure my little ladies and my wife get the most out of me that I can offer. In exchange it allows me to be at peace with myself that should anything ever bad happen I leave them with the most amazing memories of a man that cared for them and always made them laugh. 

Nothing is guaranteed in this life and I learn that more and more each day seeing what people dealing with cancer have to go through. Make sure you find your purpose in life and invest everything you have into that knowing that you are making the most out of everything you have been blessed with. 

On a training note as I know this blog is in reference to my prep for Ironman Lake Placid the race is 16 weeks from today and consistency continues to pay off with training. I am into the first two days of a big training block. Yesterday was filled with an aggressive 60 mile ride followed by an 16.5 mile run today that took 1:56, the run felt flawless with the ability to continue that pace for another 10 miles along with potential of dropping the run pace lower. The next 6 days of this block will be a test of toughness, purpose, consistency and Making It Count!!!

As always that you for everyone's donations to Jimmy and his family as every penny helps them along the way. Cancer is a terrible thing and takes to many lives these days...lets all work together to ride this world of such a terrible disease. 

Make It Count!!!

Toughness

 Toughness in my mind is defined as the ability to push through situations when it feels like there is no way that can be possible. The ability to stay strong even when it would be easier to just give up and take the easier way out. Being able to take control when everyone around you is scrambling for answers. Having an optimistic view point that if you do everything in your power you will overcome.

Over the past 13 years of racing long course triathlon I feel that I have developed a layer of toughness in my sport that has gotten me to many a finish lines when I could have just given up. It has given me the strength to wake up when the rest of the world is sleeping so I can make sure I get in those key training sessions that add to my toughness. There was a point in my early career when an orthopedic surgeon said due to my foot structure i should just give up running as it was not in my future. At that point I could have given in but I decided to push on and prove him wrong and to this day that is what keeps me going-Toughness!

Over the past couple years I have had the unfortunate luck of having friends and family touched by cancer. It is a nasty disease that doesn't care a thing about what your plans in life are or what you have going for you. I have also seen the caregivers of these people develop a layer of toughness that is beyond anything I could imagine. Cancer affects everyone around the individual and while most cancer patients develop a layer of strength it is also important to have a solid support system in place.

Please take a moment to catch up on Jimmy's caring bridge page as new entries will give you insight as to how he is progressing. Also continued thanks to those who have donated to help his family through these hard times.

I will continue my fight against cancer and as always wake up each day and....MAKE IT COUNT!!!!

Jake