Thought of the day

[Randy]

Please feel free to share your favorites with us.

"Self-pity is an emotion reserved for quitters"

Randy

[Lorrie Price]

Hello everyone it has been a while but, Good News we have had a great couple of weeks.
This quote is so great for any one who has had a brain injury or any trial...

START BY DOING WHAT'S NECESSARY....
THEN WHAT'S POSSIBLE...
AND SUDDENLY YOU'RE DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE!

SIR FRANCES

[Randy]

Hi Lorrie,

It's great to hear that Randal is doing well. Your quote is so true! I had a perfect example of it this weekend.

I did an annual fund-raising ride called the Toad Festival. While it is open to all riders, it is no "gimme". The route is fairly technical and covers about 29 miles with about 4,300 feet of elevation gain. As usual, I was on my singlespeed mountain bike.

This course can hurt you in some spots if you do not respect it. It is loose and rocky with several trails running right along the canyon walls. It would be ugly if you lost your balance.

While I did not do as well as I have in previous years, I am OK with that. At least I finished and came home in one piece. As you mentioned, I found out what is "possible". Now, on to the Impossible!

Stay well and best to Randal!

Randy

[Randy]

Happy Sunday everyone

Sorry for the long time between posts. I have been covered up with work stuff and going crazy.

Here are a few things to reflect upon:

"Little by little one walks far."
- Peruvian proverb

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.”
-Tommy Lasorda

“If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I'd still swim. And I'd despise the one who gave up.”
-Abraham Maslow

Be strong! Be determined! Any progress is better than no progress at all.

Randy

[Randy]

Hi everyone:

Well, I pulled the trigger and will be doing my first race since my injury. I am doing a 2-person 12-hour race with my son Dan next week in preparation for my big race in July. More to come.

Here are some quotes that I thought were appropriate:

“Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.”
-Anonymous

"Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.”
-E. Joseph Crossman

“To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.”
-Author unknown

Today, accomplishing what you thought was impossible.

Randy

[Randy]

Hi all:

I just returned from a training ride that I have been avoiding: I rode the same road where I was injured last summer. I needed to do it. It is a good route and has several nice climbs. This officially closes the book on what happened. Now it's all about moving forward.

You have all been so supportive. I hope in some small way that I have been there for all of you. So my thoughts today deal with friendship.

“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.”

“If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I wouldn't follow. I'd be at the bottom ready to catch them when they fall.”
-Anonymous

“Family... a group experience of love and support.”
-Marianne Williamson

Thanks for being there. And thank you Saul, Yvonne, and Jim for everything that you are doing.

Randy

[Randy]

Hi everyone:

Greetings from Jackson MS. I am here on a work assignment and will be doing some running and workouts in the gym to prepare for my first race in nearly a year! As some of you know, I will be doing a 2-person 12-hour race with my son, Dan, on Saturday. I can't wait!

I have been an admier of Maya Angelou and have included some of her thoughts for us to consider.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."

"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded."

"Nothing will work unless you do."

"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated."

"I believe that each of us comes from the Creator trailing wisps of glory."

Thank you, Maya!

Be great today.

Randy

[Damon Mann]

Hey Randy,

Here is a good one I live my life by...

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" - The Golden Rule

See you at the races Saturday!


Damon

[Randy]

Hi Damon,

So, does this mean that I should be a "gentleman" racer? OK, I promise that I will not lap you this weekend!

And I'll try not to crash out in front of you.

And I promise not to destroy any more helmets. This is getting too expensive.

Nce to have you on board. Thanks for your comments.

Randy

[Gaylialynn]

As is our confidence, so is our capacity.

William Hazlitt

[Randy]

Hi Gaylialynn and welcome!

Your quote comes at the perfect time. I am packing and preparing for my first race since my injury last summer! Yeah! My son and I are doing a 2-person team in a 12-hour mountain bike race. I was doubtful and apprehensive this afternoon as I got the bike ready, but I am confident now! That is so much a part of mountain biking. When you are ready to charge up a steep pitch, you have to "commit" and be confident.

Wish me luck!

Randy

Gaylialynn said:

As is our confidence, so is our capacity.

William Hazlitt

[Gaylialynn]

Hi Randy: I juts found this note. Not sure why I did nto see it earlier. I hope you get this before you og. My accident wsa at the Hawaii Ironman 2007 and I will be racign there for the first time in October. I keep that quote with em always and I am glad to know it spoke to yuo. What day is the race? I will light a cadnle for you and your son...just a silly thing I od when someone is facing a challenge. Oh, and sorry fro the "typos". Still struggling with moving letters around. Did nto run this note by my new best freind, the spell checker :)

Hugs,
Gaylia

Randy said:

Hi Gaylialynn and welcome!

Your quote comes at the perfect time. I am packing and preparing for my first race since my injury last summer! Yeah! My son and I are doing a 2-person team in a 12-hour mountain bike race. I was doubtful and apprehensive this afternoon as I got the bike ready, but I am confident now! That is so much a part of mountain biking. When you are ready to charge up a steep pitch, you have to "commit" and be confident.

Wish me luck!

Randy

Gaylialynn said:

As is our confidence, so is our capacity.

William Hazlitt

[Randy]

Gaylia:

Wow, another IM triathlete! I admire you all. I am OK on the bike, but I am not a runner and only an OK swimmer. The best I ever did was a 1/2 IM. Now I will occasionally use Olympic and Sprint distance tris for x-training.

Our race was this past Saturday up at Big Bear Lake. We probably finished in the lower 25% but that was OK. It was my first race in nearly a year. I usually do 18-24 events each year so not competing regularly has been a real shock to my system.

The key is that I now know where I need to focus my training to be competitive again. BTW, no one in the race knew that I had been in an accident and had a brain injury. Nor did I want them to know. If I can compete on an even playing field, that is fine with me, even if I do not do as well as I did in the past. But I'll get there!

You know, it is easy to pass a comment to someone out of frustration when they laugh or belittle you because of a bad line, a bobble, or a fall. I must exercise self-control and not snap at them and make them feel bad about their comment. This happened twice this past weekend and I just shrugged it off. I made doubly sure that I never created any dangerous situations for other competitors even if it meant dismounting and letting riders pass me. I am sure that I looked like a green pea.

And as far as typos, don't worry! I write for a living and I get to see mistakes all of the time, many by the pros. We are only human.

Thanks for the note. Great to hear about your Ironman. My 24-hour race seems to pale in comparison.

Let me know whan your race is. Kona?

Randy