Thursday, January 1, 2009

The FUN FACTOR....Discovered

  • Baby Jock: earliest athletic activity ...ice skating w/Dad at age 2 & skiing at age 4
  • Back in the 'day (High School): wanted to run distance with the track team...but they didn't have a girls version...so joined the boys track team. the coach wasn't happy about this - but he couldn't deny me cuz Title 9 had just kicked in. One day, during a jumping drill...one of the guys tripped me. I fell, crashed on my kneecaps...and couldn't walk. the coach drove me home and said he was sorry I wouldn't be able to return cuz my knees were hurt. I returned 2 days later...with really swollen knees....and finished out the season. Went on to run 3 marathons (Skylon, NYC'85 & NYC'99), and countless 1/2 marathons, 10K's and duathlons...
  • Longtime Competitor: took up tennis at age 7. fell in love with the sport, and spent as many hours of the day competing on the tennis court. had to be the best...and took the sport very seriously. Trained and practiced relentlessly. Fierce competitor...had the energy to run down every tennis ball for hours until my competition wore out. Was top dog in High School, #1 in college, in the history books at SUNY Binghamton, #5 in New York State, and went on to compete in sectional, category II and National Championships (mixed, singles & doubles) for the next 20 years. Retired in 2006 from tennis at the top of my game, Mid-Atlantic USPTA Player of the Year, ranked in the top 20 Nationally, and a 5.0 USTA rated player.
  • Time 4 Fun: took up inline skating as a reprieve from tennis competition in the mid 1990's. just wanted to have fun...no competition, no pressure. Needed some balance, wanted more FUN. Skated 3 years with Team-in-Training, FUNdraisers for MS, 4 Athens 2 Atlanta roadskates, and too numerous to mention other ultra distance events. Sounds a lot like competition, eh?...but alas, I managed to focus on improving technique, effortless skating and enjoying the moment. Avoided feedback from a clock. It was a new concept...and I was diggin' it. If I wanted to stop and smell the roses, I did. I pushed myself on the fun-factor alone...the more fun I was having...the more I wanted to skate. Threw in a Tri - to mix things up a bit!
  • took up Sailing. The magic is in the journey....it's not how quickly you get to the destination...but about how many moments you capture along the way
  • Tossed OUT the trophy collection....let the FUN begin!


...and more...



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