Ultra

Somehow I stumbled upon this book, "Finding Ultra". Not sure what it was that drew me to this book, maybe I liked the idea that a man that was so out of shape around 40 years of age that he couldn't even walk up a flight of steps without getting winded was able to run an Ultraman race two years later and be called one of the fittest men in the world. Almost makes you think that there is hope for just about everyone out there to change their lives with diet and exercise. I ordered the book to have something to read on my flights to Paris, but I have been unable to stop reading it.

As I go through the book I realize that I had a lot of false ideas as I started to read his memoir. I was thinking that the message was that if you eat SUPER healthy, that somehow you will have so much energy that you are bouncing off the walls and need to compete in races just so you can sleep at night. Don't I wish that were true. The point is and the point he makes in this video is that there really are no shortcuts and that success really boils down to unrelenting hard work and commitment.

The other thing that has surprised me was when the coach he hired to help him train for his races has to keep telling him to slow down. Starting out his training he and I both thought that he would just have to keep pushing himself to the limit until he finally started to make some gains, but his coach would not let him raise his heart rate above 140 beats per minute.

During his climb to the top he had some pretty great cheerleaders in his life. His wife always encouraged him to follow his dreams even if it meant that there was little financial stability for their family of six. His father who had earlier in his life told him that he didn't want to talk to him until he turned his life around (due to his alcoholism) drove the crew van during his first Ultraman and was brought to tears and told him how proud he was of what he had done. His children were there during the race to make sure he had water and all the supplies he needed for the race. In the end when he crossed the finish line he was just sad that he didn't invite more family members to be there with him after he crossed the finish line.

The bottom line I guess is that stories like this aren't just about finishing a race. They are metaphors for life. There is the overcoming, the redemption, the importance of loving support, the hard work that finally pays off, the never giving up and the not running faster than you have strength while still pushing yourself to improve.

Kind of just makes me want to quit my job and follow my dreams even if I am not sure what they are yet. ;) What I do know is that I need to slow down and stop appeasing my fears.