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| Dr. JJ's full IRONMAN 140.6 mile Finisher's Medal |
I done did it!
Indeed, I did done it and ENJOYED the process (kind of)—as per Dr. Chris Neck's excellent advice!
And I must say...
After spending 45 years on this planet, it feels pretty darn good to finally and officially be an IRONMAN!
I should note here, however, that there are many different ways to become a woman or man of STEEL—existentially speaking. This particular avenue just happens to be one of them. Thus, as you read through these experiences of mine, do not make the mistake of thinking YOU have to do the exact same things I did.
You don't.
There are many other ways to become all that you are capable of becoming as a human being and self-action leader. This unique race just happened to be something I needed to do for the sake of my own singular SAL journey and personal growth.
The physical, mental, and spiritual effort and energy I exerted for 15 long hours on Saturday felt like the compaction and distillation of an entire lifetime of experiences—all in a single day.
FIRST: Serendipity utilized this extended engagement in physical exercise to spiritually exorcise a personal demon that has afflicted me all of my life going back to my earliest childhood memories.
SECOND: the summiting of this significant personal mountaintop has provided me with clarity regarding where I go next with regards to physical exercise for the rest of my life—a direction that is quite different than I expected going into the event.
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| The sun is setting on my racing career. It's time to pass the torch to others and cheer them on. |
That's not to say I will never enter another race; but this moment in time has become a significant personal summit and life turning point for me, whereby I feel as though it's no longer about me as a competitor. Instead, it's time to pass the torch and turn my attention to a new generation of athletes—including my own children—and focus more on them and their success as opposed to me and my success as an athlete.
It's a most welcomed transition, and I feel ready and eager to make it!
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| My kids have already begun a collection of their own FINISHERS, participation, and other medals and awards. It's time to focus less on my races and more on theirs. |
I've always admired people who know when it's time to exit stage left and who know how to bow out gracefully, gratefully, and with class.
I want to be one of those people!
There's no better way and time to go out than to go out on top.
While my top as an IRONMAN is admittedly a lot slower than many others' top—to wit: more than a thousand athletes finished before I did on Saturday—SAL is not about competing with or beating others. It is about competing with yourself in a never-ending effort to grow and improve gradually and steadily over time.
Suffice it to say, I did not come anywhere near to winning the race on Saturday.
But I did manage to win my race on Saturday—ugly as my individual performance was at times. So for me and me alone as an individual and unique self-action leader, this is how I go out on top!
Before delving into the hairy details of those long and draining 15 hours, let's address these two life-changing experiences, right off the top.
In this life, all of us face "THORNS of the flesh" and briars of the heart, mind, and soul.
I am no different.
As a writer and speaker, I have in fact been unusually open and transparent about my own briars and thorns, flaws and foibles, which include extensive battles with mental illness in the form of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression. And this is to say nothing of the emotional, physical, social, personal, professional, and spiritual crucibles I have passed through over the course of my life to-date.
It is no secret that I have been unusually blessed in both my life and career. But I declare in words of sincerity and soberness that this cornucopia of favors, fortunes, talents, and opportunities has been accompanied by a commensurate measure of anxiety, heartache, struggle, suffering, and pain.
Suffice it to say: if you ever feel jealous of me or anyone else because of what they appear to be or have—and I know what that feeling is like because I've experienced my share of it throughout my life and career—I have one piece of advice for YOU...
Be careful what you wish for!
"I think when I was, I don't know, five or six or something, I thought I was insane. It was just strange. Because it was clear that other people did not—they're minds weren't exploding with ideas. It was like, hmmm: I'm strange. I don't think you'd necessarily want to be me. It's very hard to turn it off. It's like a never-ending explosion. All the time." (1)
I'm certainly no Elon Musk when it comes to my bank account or professional prestige.
However, given my intense and long-lasting experiences with OCD, depression, and other, related challenges, I very much relate to his words above, especially the part about a "never-ending explosion" in my brain that is "hard to turn off."
Moreover, many were the moments across my lifetime where I felt as though I was teetering and tottering right on a razor's edge of insanity. That I've been able to keep it all together as well as I have is perhaps the purest tribute to both SAL and Serendipity.
Herein lies pure and true HOPE for all of us!
And that's a big part of why I'm so passionate about teaching these principles and practices to others.
Because I know from personal experience that they WORK!
I'm sure there are many people out there who have an idyllic view of my life and career and family, and I'll be the first to admit that I have been mightily blessed in all of the above ways and means.
But... never forget that there are always TWO (2) sides to every COIN in this world.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul spoke of his having a "thorn in the flesh" which he described as "the messenger of Satan [sent] to buffet [him]." (2) Paul added, rather tellingly, that "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me," (3) ostensibly implying that his Lord allowed him to bear and carry the burden for some time before finally extricating it.
"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." (4)
The implicit inference of this verse, of course, is that Serendipitous GRACE did eventually heal Paul completely after he had done everything he could to invite that power and after a given period of time established by God.
That, my friends, is the GOOD NEWS of SAL and SERENDIPITY harmoniously working hand-in-hand.
I have a deep and abiding faith in the reality and efficacy of this Serendipitous power in my life and YOURS. While different philosophies and religions ascribe different Beings or Sources to this power, the actuality of the power itself is absolutely indisputable to anyone who has authentically experienced it.
Once they do, they naturally become believers.
They really have no choice—if they are honest.
Doubters will always exist, of course; but doubt flees before the miracle of the power Itself; and anyone who has actually experienced such power already knows exactly what I am talking about. For the initiated, it needs no explanation. And for the uninitiated, even the most articulate and persuasive possible descriptions often prove insufficient.
At the very end of his famous and bestselling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Stephen R. Covey wrote:
"I believe there are parts to human nature that cannot be reached by either legislation or education, but require the power of God to deal with. I believe that as human beings, we cannot perfect ourselves. To the degree that we align ourselves with correct principles, divine endowments will be released within our nature in enabling us to fulfill the measure of our creation. In the words of Teilhard de Chardin, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." (5)
During the course of my full IRONMAN event and immediately afterwards, I experienced an unseen—but very real—power come into my mind, heart, and soul and heal me of a lifelong affliction—a very real "THORN" in my flesh" and briar in my heart and soul that has afflicted me to varying degrees for as long as I can remember. Thus, I began the race with this four-decade plus-long affliction hanging over my head like a dark cloud and depressing, ponderous burden. But by the time I had crossed the finish line, my metaphorical ankle shackles had burst and my metaphysical wrist manacles had miraculously been removed!
I had been healed, perhaps even for good, of this particular thorn and briar.
It was as though I was literally exorcised through exercise; and I count it as a long-awaited miracle of grace-laden Serendipity—an achievement that, despite my very best efforts over the course of a lifetime—I had been unable to solve all on my own.
And now you know why I talk so much about SERENDIPITY in my discussions of SELF-ACTION LEADERSHIP. While each of us is truly "Sovereign" over the choices we make and the direction we take in our lives and career, it is equally true that we cannot do everything all by ourselves.
As Stephen Covey so succinctly put it: "We cannot perfect ourselves."
Until a self-leader comprehends, appreciates, and fully acknowledges and accepts this verity and reality, he or she will never graduate to self-action leader status and progress to the higher stages of Existential Growth available to the willing, working, humble pursuers thereof.
You will not find anyone on this planet who is more passionate about our need to take personal responsibility and achieve self-reliance in every area of our lives than me.
Make no mistake... Decisions still determine our Destiny.
This great truth will never change.
I am, after all, still the SAL Guy!
But... and this particular "but" is the most crucial of all conjunctions... even the SAL Guy himself cannot do it all by himself. And this great truth is just as important as the SAL mantra:
I Am Sovereign.
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| In all things, I strive to bow myself humbly, meekly, reverently, and obediently before my MASTER, even the Lord, Jesus Christ. |
In my belief system, Jesus Christ is the Source of Serendipity, and I humbly and gratefully bend my knee and bow my head before Him in great relief and sincere thanksgiving for lifting this burden off my shoulders, for removing this particular "Thorn of my flesh" and briar of my mind, heart, and soul. It has been a long time coming, and I have often wondered when my own SAL would finally align with His Serendipitous grace, power, and timing.
I never dreamed it would take place through the course of a full IRONMAN Triathlon!
An excorcism through excercising.
But that is exactly what happened to me on Saturday!
Serendipity works in mysterious and often surprising ways!
I recognize it is possible that this thorn could still return in the future, as it has many times in the past. However, in all of my past experiences with this particular thorn, I sense something different about this time around. Something about the metaphysical expunging process feels more thorough and complete than before, thus infusing my soul with the faith required to press forward and continue to "plow in hope" as I continue to be a "partaker of his hope." (6)
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| In life, we all deal with BRIARS and THORNS of the body, heart, mind, and spirit. |
The answer is the same with me as it was with Paul: it doesn't matter.
Just know that despite all that I have shared over the years with my readers about my personal, professional, mental, emotional, and social difficulties, trials, rejections, and temporary failures, there is still more that I have not shared.
And that is as it should be.
There are some things that are too personal and/or private and/or sacred to share with a wide audience—even for honest, open, transparent, and always educationally-focused JJ. Indeed, there are some things that simply belong between a man and his best friend, or between a woman and her spouse, or between a boy and his spiritual leader, or between a girl and her counselor or psychiatrist, or between anyone and their God—and the blessed privacy of their own thoughts.
In our current culture, which is so quick to condemn a person for simply uttering a "wrong" word or idea or opinion, how grateful I am for the privacy of my own thoughts where I can patiently sort things out in my own way and in my own time with the aid of SAL and Serendipity.
The "thorn" I speak of belongs in one of these private relationship "safes" mentioned above where it can (and has) been appropriately, relevantly, repeatedly, and privately addressed and resolved through the right mixture of SAL, Serendipity, and personal, professional, and spiritual aides over long periods of time.
And now, after Saturday's Serendipitous healing, I may finally be FREE of it for good! And there is nothing quite so glorious in this world—or any other world—than FREEDOM!
That is why I named my company, Freedom Focused; because we at Freedom Focused are, after all, laser-focused on freedom—now and forevermore. Everything we think about, say, and do is aimed at empowering ourselves and others to learn about freedom, to earn and secure freedom, to maintain and sustain freedom, and to perpetuate and preserve individual and collective liberties and freedoms—now and always.
Now, let's move on to the SECOND distinct reason why this full IRONMAN event was life-changing for me.
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| Jr. high and high school athletic ribbons and my San Jacinto Battle Reenactment medals. |
Well, to my surprise, the 5% chance that I might not sign up to do this again has blossomed so big and so brightly that it has completely switched places so that there is now a 99% chance that this event will be a "One-and-Done" affair for me.
I know... it surprised me as much as it probably surprises some of you to hear this.
The reason for this is twofold.
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| High school and college cross-country and track medals. |
"I don't think so!"
This is a very natural feeling in the midst of the race itself because such events can be really painful in the moment. But, you typically feel differently shortly after the race or a day-or-two later and before you know it, you've signed up for your next event, sometimes one that is even longer and harder than the one you just did.
I have experienced this phenomenon myself on many occasions in the past.
That is precisely what led me to sign up for this full IRONMAN in the first place!
But things are different this time around.
It has now been four (4) days since I completed the full IRONMAN event, and I remain decisive and firm in my resolve to hang up my bib number.
TWO: It dawned on me after the race on Saturday that I don't really have anything else to prove to myself—or to others—with regards to these kind of events, and that—to be perfectly frank—I really don't want to ever put myself through that degree of optional self-flagellation again!
I've had a good run of these kind of events. Since my first 5K race at age six in July 1986, I have entered literally hundreds of different athletic competitions of all kinds, including many MARATHONS and half marathons, and countless other triathlons, races, sports games, etc.
At 45 years of age, I am no longer a young man, and I no longer feel the "itch" of a young man to enter these kinds of events—and at this point in my life, that's A-okay with me.
In fact, it's better than okay.
It's FANTASTIC!
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| Christopher P. Neck, Ph.D. Full Professor of Management W.P. Carey School of Business Arizona State University |
And now it is time to retire and follow in the footsteps of my beloved mentor and cherished friend—Dr. Christopher P. Neck—and further simplify my life by mostly retiring my biking, swimming, and other athletic gear and focus in on becoming a happy and private treadmill walker/runner for the rest of my days.
I also plan on taking more WALKS outside and engaging in more strength and stretching exercises.
So, to be clear, I still feel the same desire, motivation, and zest to exercise regularly (even vigorously) moving forward until the day I die. Indeed, I aim to take even better care of my physical body and appearance in the future than I have in the past; but, I no longer feel the need to prove myself by entering organized athletic competitions.
For this and many other reasons, it is truly GREAT to finally be a MAN!
Not a young man; but an ever-maturing, middle-aged man who has a pretty clear idea about who he is, who he isn't, what his priorities are, and why he is here on planet Earth for this brief period of time in human history.
So, there you have it...
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| It's time to start focusing more on the rising generation and their races of all kinds. |
This is not to say I will never enter another race. But in the future, my reasons for entering races will change. For example, I might enter a race for the sake of nurturing a relationship with a child, spouse, friend, neighbor, or colleague. I might also enter a future race if I authentically and genuinely feel the itch to compete again. But my days of feeling like it is something I have to do for my own existential growth and maturation—or to prove myself to myself or others—are over, and I am glad of it and feel relieved to have reached this moment of summiting my own, personal athletic mountaintop, from which the existential views are truly beautiful!
It's been a good RUN!
(pun intended)
I'm in pretty good physical shape now too—something I aim to maintain to the best of my imperfect ability for the rest of my days in this dreary world where our mortal bodies are destined to atrophy, decline, and eventually die.
So, with that rather detailed introduction, let's dive into the nitty-gritty of the race itself, which managed to produce such an eclectic range and electric array of stirring experiences and emotions—not only during those 15 hours of competition, but moving forward into the future as well.
Dr. JJ Conquers the full IRONMAN (sort of)
My extra early rise from bed came on account of a sign-in snafu I had run into the previous day.
Despite arriving earlier than usual to pick up my race number and packet on Friday, I discovered the hard way that packet pick-up time frames work differently for full IRONMAN events than half IRONMAN events—and every other race in which I've ever competed for that matter. The only times athletes could pick up their stuff was on Wednesday and Thursday or on Friday from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
After 11:00 p.m., they shut down packet pick-up entirely. I had never participated in a race with such an unusual packet pick window.
I arrived at about 12:30 p.m. thinking I still had at least four hours left before they started shutting things down. I was, in fact, patting myself on the back because I had arisen at 3:15 a.m. to leave Palm Beach Gardens for Panama City so I would have plenty of time before they closed.
I was wrong!
They were already CLOSED down by the time I arrived!
Someone gave me a phone number to call to remedy my dilemma.
I immediately dialed the number.
After asking why I did not arrive during the appointed packet pick-up times and being implicitly upbraided for not taking personal responsibility in the matter—the ultimate dig and slight for a self-action leader—the woman on the phone informed me that since I was a first-time offender, she would make an exception for me this one time and allow me to pick up my race packet extra early in the morning before the race began.
I understand she was trained to say what she said and was just doing her job, but it felt a little insulting given my reasonable rookie's error in the matter. Furthermore, there is no way I would've taken "No" for an answer after investing over $900 to enter this race, to say nothing of the travel and training expenses. Even if I had to threaten legal action, I was going to be allowed into this race I had signed up for, paid for, and trained for over the past five months.
Once I had received my packet, bib number, and other necessary items and was ready to go, I was able to relax a little—and pay three visits to the restroom—as I waited for the race to begin.
At 6:00 a.m., the first hues of sunrise began to lighten the eastern sky along the beautiful Panama City Beach coastline.
At 6:45 a.m. on the dot, the starting cannon fired with a resounding "BOOM" and the elite competitors—those who would finish in under 9 hours—were released into the water, three-at-a-time.
With 1800 athletes in line to start and knowing it would be some time before a slow swimmer like me began the race, I had no desire to stand in the herd of huddled tri- and wetsuit-clad athletes backed up for some ways behind the starting line.
So, I spent the first 30 or so walking around, hiding my crocs in the bushes where I could retrieve them later after the race, making trips to-and-from the bathroom, and then watching the elite athletes complete their first 1.2-mile lap of the 2-lap swim leg.
After about 40 minutes had passed, the starting herd had winnowed sufficiently to prompt my entrance thereto. At 47 minutes after the starting cannon had gone off, I crossed the starting line—literally the last triathlete to do so, thus officially making a tradition of what my Aussie mate—Glen Robinson—and I had done together six months earlier at the half IRONMAN triathlon, also in Panama City Beach, Florida, just about five miles up the beach.
There are benefits to being the last athlete to start a triathlon.
One of those benefits is that your second lap of the swim leg is much less congested because almost everybody else is already out of the water. The first lap is a bit crazy because there are so many swimmers all around you, both from those who started out in front of you and those who are completing their second loop of the swim.
Another benefit of starting in last place is that the farther back in the pack you start, the easier it is to pass people later in the race, particularly on the bike and run portions of the course. And it always feels better to pass someone than it does when someone passes you!
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| Most IRONMAN swimmers complete the swim leg using the "Freestyle Stroke." JJ swims to the beat of his own drum: the elementary back! |
Unlike most IRONMAN swimmers, who prefer the "Freestyle Stroke," I somewhat comically engage the "Elementary Backstroke." Indeed, I completed 98% of the 2.4 mile swim in this manner.
The elementary backstroke isn't a racing stroke; it's a survival stroke, designed to be used for long, slow swims in emergency situations.
However, from the first time I learned different strokes while taking swimming lessons as a boy, the elementary backstroke has been my stroke of choice. It's not only easier than racing strokes (including the traditional backstroke — hence its intended use in survival situations), but it's quite pleasant because you are on your back and therefore don't have to continually come up for air. With the exception of the inevitable splashing from other swimmers and ocean waves and surf (ocean swims have a lot more movement and sway in the water than lake swimming), you mostly avoid getting water in your eyes and nose, and I wear ear plugs and a swimming cap keep my inner ears dry and lessen the noise. For me, the elementary backstroke is not only a relaxing way to swim, but with a little training, I had figured out how to keep up a decent pace doing it.
So that is how I executed my swim!
No matter how poor of a swimmer you are, anyone can swim 2.4 miles more quickly than they can bike 112 miles or run 26.2 miles. Thus, overall, the swim really is the easiest leg for most people—no matter how you slice and dice the individual strengths and other variables.
My pre-race time projections were:
Swim: 2 hours even
Bike: 7 hours even
Run: 5 hours even
My actual times on race day were:
Swim: 1 hour and 47 minutes
Bike: 7 hours and 19 minutes
Run: 5 hours and 21 minutes
Suffice it to say, I was feeling pretty good about myself and my overall race when I came out of the water onto the beach following the swim leg. After a 9-minute changing transition into the bike leg, I was a couple of minutes under my 2-hour projection and feeling positive about not only my baseline goal (under 15 hours), but my main goal as well (under 14 hours). My ideal goal (under 13 hours) was always a "wait-and-see" scenario, and simply never materialized as the day progressed.
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| My Specialized brand road bike I've trained and raced on since 2018. |
Beginning about mile 23, however, it began to get harder than I had expected at that early part of the bike course. Part of the reason for this was the presence of a headwind. Anyone with any cycling experience knows there is a night-and-day difference between biking with a headwind and biking with a tailwind. The former is very challenging and stifling and the latter is very easy and freeing.
For the next seven miles or so, up to about mile 30, I battled this headwind combined with the mental realization that the ride was already proving difficult and I still had over 75 miles to go!
It was also at this point when a recurring rhetorical question kept echoing into my mind again-and-again, and it went like this: "JJ: you are planning on doing what after you finish this 112-mile bike ride?!
I know... kind of a "psych-yourself-out" question, and not a wise mental tactic, but it continued to plague me for the rest of the bike ride. I see now that I didn't have as good a plan for positive mental self-talk going into the race as I should have. Mentally, I was mostly relying on the positive training experiences I had already completed, assuming the race would feel much the same way.
I was wrong about this assumption—and others—throughout the day, which added to the overall difficulty of the event.
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| Without proper hydration, a plant dries out and withers. The same thing happens to a triathlete! |
I first experienced this sign of dehydration during my 116 mile bike ride from Key Largo to Key West back in July.
This summertime ride in the Florida Keys was relatively easy because I had a tailwind almost the entire way. However, I failed to properly hydrate the last 25 miles and started to feel this unusual heat-pain sensation in the balls of my feet. At the time it first occurred, I had never experienced it before and didn't understand why it was happening. I just thought my feet were hot and perhaps I should dip them in some cool water.
I later learned it was a symptom of dehydration. Now that I am aware of this fact and reality, I always take proper care to drink as much as I feel I can whenever I start to feel this particular symptom.
One of the ironies of dehydration, however, is that you can experience it while simultaneously not feeling thirsty. In other words, your body is desperately calling out for more fluids, yet you do not feel like drinking anything.
In fact, drinking something can actually feel unpleasant!
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| My two IRONMAN backpacks from the 2024 Florida Gulf Coast 70.3 and 140.6 events. |
I usually have a very strong stomach when it comes to intense physical exertion.
I had, of course, thrown up on many occasions throughout my lifetime due to stomach-related sicknesses. But intense or even excessive physical exertion had never prompted me to up-chuck.
So you can imagine my surprise when, at about mile 75, I completely lost my cookies.
Shortly before this happened, I had forced myself to quickly drink a 20-ounce electrolyte-rich powder mix drink at an aid station. I say "forced myself" because I didn't really want to drink it; but knew I had to because of the tell-tale symptom of dehydration in my feet.
Nevertheless, it wasn't more than a couple of minutes after I had pounded that electrolyte drink that it all came back up. Knowing what was coming, I walked off to the side of the aid station where I wouldn't directly disturb any of the athletes or volunteers and simply let 'er go!
Not me!
I am not only undignified, but conduct my business so loudly that folks in the next county over can hear what is going on. If you think I'm exaggerating here, just ask my wife, Lina. It's always a little embarrassing for her whenever I throw up within earshot of others because I make such a dramatic, noisy scene when I do.
I am telling you, when I throw up, everybody within a mile-radius knows it, and it's completely involuntary on my part. I know this because I've made conscious attempts to heave in quieter, less violent, and more dignified ways, but it always fails!
Knowing this about myself, I was not surprised to hear utter silence surround me once I began losing my cookies. I didn't actually look up and around me at the athletes and volunteers who were undoubtedly stopping and staring dumbfoundedly at the sad, messy, noisy, and violent spectacle that lay before them.
It was, in fact, so sad and so spectacular a scene that for several moments, no one dared speak up to ask if I needed any help. They were all obviously scared into silent submission by the unexpected event that was playing out before them. I, myself, dared not look up for fear of peering into their shocked and gaping views!
Finally, after six or seven horrendous (albeit productive) heaves, there was nothing left to lose, and I simply laid there on my side next to my downturned bike, plaintively resting for a few minutes.
When I finally looked up at the volunteers standing at the aid station behind me, one young lady finally mustered up the courage to say: "Would you like an energy bar?" To which I audibly laughed and said, "No, thank you." I didn't explicitly state my reason for turning the bar down, assuming my chuckle communicated the fact that the last thing I wanted to do at that moment was to was eat anything.
Nevertheless, knowing that I was now in even greater danger of further dehydration, I did my best to replenish some all of the fluids I had just lost so quickly and in such great quantities.
There was some good news about this salient and sickening episode.
I actually felt much better after I threw up.
So, I was soon back in the saddle once more and on my way. For the next 20 miles or so, life was actually pretty good again because I was finally going in the opposite direction and enjoying a tailwind as opposed to a headwind. It was also a very nice day, weather wise, and I took many moments out to notice that as I swam, peddled, or ran along my way.
Oh, what a blessed boon good weather and a tailwind is, especially after you have battled a headwind for many miles!
Headwinds can be sooooo discouraging when you are on a long bike ride.
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| JJ holding his Utah 2A individual State Cross-Country Championship Gold Medal from 1996 and his 4 x 800 meter relay 2nd Team All-American NJCAA Silver Medal from 2003 |
You can't make this stuff up, Folks!
According to Wikipedia, New Hope, Florida is an unincorporated community in Washington County Florida. It is located approximately halfway in between the Gulf Coast and the Georgia State Line. It was near the northernmost point of the 112-mile bike leg.
It was a wonderfully explicit harbinger of easier miles to come and a magnificent reminder of what we should always remember in life: when things get really tough, don't ever give up because there is always "New Hope" for easier and better times ahead, and sometimes it's just around the next corner or a few more miles up or down the road—just as it was on the full IRONMAN bike course.
The last 20 miles of the bike went okay, but I just kept feeling so surprised at how hard it had all been. After all, this was not my first triple-digit bike ride rodeo. I had completed rides of 116, 104, and 119 miles all since July—and the latter two rides had both been completed within six weeks of the event—and none of the other three rides had been nearly as difficult.
Why in the world was this?
I kept asking myself this question as I battled the ongoing adversities.
To be completely honest, I really don't know all the reasons why. I was prepared both physically and mentally to take on the challenge, and I felt fine after the swim. After all my post-race analysis, there are only two conclusions I have come to as to why the bike was so much harder than I felt it should have been given my physical training and mental preparation.
The first reason is that even though I didn't consciously feel or notice it, the 2.4 mile swim took more out of me than I gave it credit for. Bottom line here is that I didn't swim 2.4 miles before any of the other three triple digit bike rides I completed in training.
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| JJ's Triathlon FINISHER'S medals and one Ragnar Relay FINISHER'S medal |
Sometimes you have to chalk it up to being "just one of those things."
It's just the way life goes sometimes, and we have to live with that reality, which is part-and-parcel of being a flawed, imperfect, mortal, needy, and non-mechanical human being.
By the time I finally finished the 112-mile bike leg of the course, I was not only exhausted, but calorically famished and depleted as well. When I got in the men's changing tent to prepare for the run, I sat down on one of the chairs and just rested for a minute-or-so. I was so drained—so much more so than I anticipated I would be—that I was finding myself not caring too much about my time result anymore.
At this point in the race, I simply wanted to finish!
But 26.2 miles of walking/running lay before me and it was a daunting feeling.
Another athlete sat down a couple of chairs down from me and verbalized exactly what I was feeling.
Said he: "I am so glad to finally be off that bike seat!"
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| Other racing medals from other the years. |
The problem was that once I was in my running shoes, I had no strength to run! And it wasn't that my legs were heavy or tired. In fact, my legs felt surprisingly fresh. The issue had little to do with my legs and everything to do with everything above my waist that felt so completely drained from the swimming and biking.
Furthermore, I was completely famished—meaning calorically decimated. Despite having consciously eaten several snacks (e.g. bananas and rice krispy treats) at several aid stations along the bike course, I simply didn't have any fuel left in my body by the end of the cycling route (and post up-chuck) and therefore lacked the strength to even try running.
I knew that the only solution to this was to replenish my lost calories, so starting at the first running aid station, which came at every mile marker on the run portion of the event, I began eating everything that appealed to my appetite at that point in time. I ate potato chips, I chomped on pretzels, I downed bananas, and I chewed and swallowed grapes.
I knew it would take some time for the calories to begin the digestion process and transfer into real energy.
While I waited for these essential biological and chemical transformations to take place inside my body, I simply walked and walked and kept walking. I was keeping a decent walking pace, but I also started doing the timing math in my head, which led me to feel quite depressed and discouraged realizing how long it would take me to finish an entire marathon at this snail's pace.
It's also a little embarrassing whenever you are "walking" when you are supposed to be "running" in an event like this. But, as most triathletes well understand, sometimes you simply have to walk part of the running leg.
At this point, the sun was already setting, and I was only at about mile 2 of the 26.2 mile course. But I just kept walking, hoping that come what may, I would still cross the finish line and receive my coveted IRONMAN medal.
Oh, what a sweet and savory sight that was to this calorically-depleted Southern Boy!
I'm telling you right now: it's a darn good thing I didn't have any currency or plastic on me right then, or you can be certain I would have snuck into that restaurant and filled my belly with an All-Star Special, which, I might add, is precisely what I ordered and ate for breakfast the next morning!
But, I didn't have any money on me, so I had to just walk on past the beautiful yellow and black printed heaven that unmistakably marks WH all throughout the blessed South.
Despite those breakfast-for-dinner-in-the-middle-of-my-IRONMAN-marathon dreams being dashed, there was HOPE up ahead in a manner that I had never imagined or dreamed of. I mean I never could have guessed what I'd find at an aid station in between miles five and six. I doubt that YOU could guess what it was either unless you have also participated in a full IRONMAN triathlon.
What was this magical HOPE?
Drumroll...
It
Was
Hot CHICKEN BROTH!
Oh, my, glorious, GOODNESS...
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| Never in my life had Chicken Broth tasted so GOOD! |
Oh, was it delicious!
And ohhhhhhhh was it warming and soothing and refreshing and rejuvenating.
After downing four paper cups of that incredibly yummy and restorative elixir sent to me straight from the poultry gods, I concurrently began to feel the first fruits of the energy transfer from my previously devoured pretzels, potato chips, bananas, and grapes. To top it all off, I saw a sign that reminded me there was a "Cut-off" point at which, if I had not finished the race, I would be considered a "Did-Not-Finish" entry.
No triathlete ever wants to end up in the DNF category.
But inevitably, some athletes do find themselves there. In fact, of the approximately 1,800 athletes who started the race in the morning, there were some 300 who either did not start, did not finish, or did not finish before the time cut-off, which was 12:00 a.m. midnight.
I desperately wanted to avoid joining that deflated and disappointed milieu—and in part because it would increase the pressure I would inevitably put on myself to sign up for another full IRONMAN, which, by this point in time, I was wholly resolved not to do if at all possible!
Suffice it to say, this perfect confluence of chicken broth, energy transfer, and time cut-off reminder had an electric effect upon me and jolted me suddenly out of my physical lethargy and my mental stupor. The result was that I started to jog again... slowly at first... but soon my muscle memory and my training memory reminded me that I was, in fact, prepared for this marathon.
After all, I had completed 30-mile, 25-mile, and 26.2 mile treadmill runs in just the past month. With this renewed energy and momentum and memory, I ran—relatively swiftly—for the next 10 miles, stopping only briefly (and occasionally) at given mile-marker aid stations as needed to rehydrate.
A fascinating paradox—perhaps even a mini-miracle—occurred at this same point during the marathon.
About the same time I came across the chicken broth, I could feel myself beginning to develop a blister on the ball of my left foot. That is not something you want to start feeling at mile five (5) of a full marathon!
But then, after I started to slowly jog, I made a fascinating discovery: for some completely counterintuitive reason, the developing blister felt more sensitive when I walked than when I jogged or ran. I suppose it had something to do with the nature of the pressure being applied while walking versus running: namely, walking pressure was more heavy and direct while running pressure produced more of an easy-going slide.
At the next aid station, I saw two jars of vaseline and some wooden physician's tongue-depressing sticks and wisely took the opportunity to generously swap the bottoms of both of my feet with the lubricating salve.
After doing so, I put my socks back on, re-laced up my shoes, and began to run again and amazingly—and thankfully—the developing blisters were kept at bay for the rest of the race!
As I continued to run and increase my speed, I began to do reevaluate the timing math in my head, and to my great joy, I realized that while my ideal (sub 13 hour) and main (sub 14 hour) timing goals were well out of my reach at this point, there was still a good chance I could attain my baseline goal of finishing in under 15 hours.
In last week's blog post, I made the following projection about this goal:
"My baseline goal (Tier 3) is to complete the 140.6 mile course in under 15 hours. This is a realistic goal—even if I experience some unexpected issues along the way (like a flat tire) that slow me down more than anticipated."
While I was able to avoid injuries and flat tires, I undoubtedly "experience[d] some unexpected issues along the way" (Ã la, caloric decimation, moderate-severe dehydration, and unexpectedly puking).
Nevertheless, just as I projected, I realized there was still HOPE to finish in under 15 hours even in the midst of these ancillary issues that had cropped up unexpectedly along the way.
Over the last ten miles, I was unable to maintain the same quick pace I had enjoyed between miles six (6) and sixteen (16). But I kept on going, putting one foot in front of the other while continuing to rehydrate as needed at aid stations (with Coke, electrolyte-rich powder drink mix, water, and more chicken broth!).
After enduring all the unexpected drama, difficulty, and even pending-disaster of the day, I felt pretty triumphant as I coasted down the finish-way, which they had designed to make you feel like a celebrity, all-star, or elite athlete—even if you are, like me, none of the above!
Indeed, even if you aren't anyone special in the Triathlon world—like me—you do feel a little bit like a celebrity running down that fan-lined, cheering, literal "red carpet" with the black IRONMAN logo emblazoned thereon as you approach the finish line.
To the credit of the volunteers and race organizers, they really do make you feel special after you cross that elusive finish line by warmly and smilingly congratulating you and then immediately placing your coveted FINISHER'S MEDAL around your neck followed by presenting you with your finisher's race hat and shirt, which apparently is denied the DNF-ers.
My heart truly goes out to the DNF crew, all of whom are denied this glory and prizes at the end.
But that's real life: if you don't finish the race, you don't get what the finishers get.
It's easy to start the race.
It's much harder to finish the race!
After picking up my finisher's swag, I saw two signs before me. The sign on the LEFT said: "Food" and the sign on the RIGHT said: "Medical Tent."
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| My FINISHER'S hat and shirt, which I received along with my medal. |
You probably won't be surprised at this point to find out that I ended up spending time in BOTH tents!
First, I turned to my left where I enjoyed two slices of pizza and an ice cold Coca-Cola. It was getting late and I would miss out on my original plan of enjoying a lavish steak feast at Outback, but that was okay. I ate at Longhorn steakhouse the day before and that was enough to scratch my steak itch.
At this point, I simply wanted to get some simple food in my belly and head back home for a much needed and welcomed night's rest. The timing of the annual daylight savings "fall back" date change could not have come at a more perfect time; I would have an extra hour of sleep as a result!
After eating my pizza and drinking my Coke, my sweat-drenched clothing conspired with the cool fall night air causing me to catch a case of the "chills and shakes."
I starting shaking pretty badly and my arms and legs were covered in chill bumps, so carrying my french fries (which I almost dropped and spilled because I was shaking so), I walked right out of the food tent and right into the medical tent, where they gave me some low density polyethylene "heat sheets" to warm up.
There were several other athletes in the tent being treated for one malaise or another brought on by the intensity of what we had all just put our bodies through. One lady in her 50s or 60s across from me had a worse case of the chills and shakes than I did and it took her a lot longer to get warm than me.
Poor thing!
Having just experienced the same symptoms, I felt so much empathy as I saw her there uncontrollably shaking despite being wrapped up in two polyethylene "heat sheets."
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| After the race in my car with my FINISHER'S swag. |
It was a great article of clothing for a man recovering from the chill and shakes!
After I was warm, dry, and feeling better, a medical staffer measured my vitals and sent me on my way. The pizza and french fries I had eaten satisfied me sufficiently that all I needed now was a caramel sundae and Diet Coke.
Fortunately, unlike Outback Steakhouse, McDonald's was still open after 11:00 p.m., so I picked up my two treats from the drive-up window, sent a few texts to loved ones, returned to my hotel, took a nice, hot shower, rubbed BioFreeze pain relief gel on my sore muscles, and dropped exhaustedly into bed.
Right at that moment, to top a most remarkable and dramatic day off, I got the hiccups!
I rarely get hiccups, but of course, I got the hiccups right as I was preparing to drift off into one of the most welcomed slumbers of my entire life.
Something you should know about me and hiccups is that our relationship is similar to my relationship with throwing up. I don't hiccup daintily or quietly. It's a loud, neck-jerking, jarring and annoying affair.
But the IRONMAN gods smiled upon me and after a few minutes, my hiccups vanished and it wasn't but a few seconds later that I fell fast asleep into a deep, restful, and most welcomed slumber.
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| Driving home, a happy man... nay; a happy IRONMAN. |
In the the few days that have passed since completing this mammoth, career-summiting athletic challenge, my resolve to not enter another one of these races has remained firm.
ONE full IRONMAN Triathlon in my lifetime is enough for this man!
I confess the event truly humbled me.
I knew from personal experience beforehand that full marathons are not twice as hard as half marathons; but more like four or five times harder, despite being only twice as long.
The thought crossed my mind several times before this IRONMAN event: "I wonder if that same reality will hold true for a full IRONMAN compared to a half IRONMAN." After all, I had completed the half IRONMAN in Panama City Beach six months earlier and finished in just under six (6) hours—a sub 12-hour full IRONMAN pace. I had also felt better, stronger, and had far fewer issues on the half IRONMAN event.
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| JJ's collection of MARATHON and half-marathon FINISHER medals |
I was wrong!
The full IRONMAN was not just twice as hard as the half IRONMAN; it was 4-5 times harder—just like my experience with half marathons vs. full marathons.
Things happen in a marathon that don't happen in a half marathon. It's a phenomenon called "The Wall" where, usually at about mile 19 or 20, your body just kind of shuts down and no matter how strong you may be mentally, you just physically cannot proceed in the same way as before. It is very humbling and terribly frustrating; but there isn't much you can do about it other than refuel, rehydrate, walk/jog it out, and hope you catch a "Second Wind" before the finish line (and sometimes you do get a second wind; I know because I've experienced it).
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| JJ's IRONMAN Triathlon FINISHER'S medals. Left-to-right: Florida 70.3 and Florida 140.6 (2024) and St. George 70.3 (2019) |
According to the online website, Trainer Road, "Bonking is a dreaded experience and occurs when the body becomes functionally depleted of glycogen. This exhaustion of fuel shuts down the body's ability to exert itself." (7)
I assume I experienced a minor form of "bonking" in between the bike and run legs, where, for the first five or six miles, I had to walk instead of run until I had restored my glycogen and/or other nutrients needed to properly proceed.
More serious episodes of bonking can disable an athlete entirely. For example, at about mile 100 of the bike ride, I peddled past a fellow biker who was laying down on the ground flat on his back next to his bike. As I passed him, I asked him if he was okay and he said: "Yes: I've just bonked."
It's a real phenomenon that can happen to anyone—including elite athletes, although they'll take every precaution to prevent it.
Life is full of humbling events.
This full IRONMAN Triathlon was certainly one of them for me.
I'm so glad I did it!
And I'm so glad I won't be doing it ever again!!
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| JJ wearing his Marathon and half marathon medals. |
It is truly remarkable what the human body is capable of. I'll never get to the elite level myself. But I feel good about pushing myself to my own, personal limits—and beyond.
In preparation for this blog post, I got out all my old athletic medals and ribbons to take some pictures and bask for a few moments in the glory days of yesteryear.
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| My son, "Tyler Jordan" drawing inspiration for his own future with racing and in life. |
Touched by the moment, Lina suggested we have a family prayer. I thought that was a splendid idea and acted as voice, giving praise and thanks to my Maker for the wonderful opportunities, achievements, learning, and growth I have enjoyed through my experiences as a competitive athlete the past four decades.
More importantly, I mentioned my children (all present) by name and said several things about them in my gratitude to and supplication of God on their behalf.
After I said "Amen" my oldest son Tucker, with a big smile on his face, exclaimed: "That was the best prayer I've ever heard!"
I think he liked and appreciated the things I said about him and his younger sister and brother.
This morning, I put most of my hardware back in the boxes where they had previously been stored. I selected a few, extra special medals to keep out where I can see them on a regular basis—a little reminder of all the memories and the man I've become through tackling it all.
It really has been a good "RUN" for me.
Test assured I'll continue to walk and run to varying degrees for the rest of my life in a never-ending effort to keep my physical body in good shape and proper working order so that I might be an effective, efficient, capable, and loving husband, father, son, brother, friend, neighbor, colleague, etc.
Dr. Neck: Happy treadmill runner, here I come!
Update on the SAL Life Leadership Textbook PUBLICATION
As promised, TODAY I share with you an update on the online, serial publication of the SAL Life Leadership Textbook.
Things are going swimmingly—much like my 2.4-mile glide through the lovely waters of the Gulf Coast last Saturday morning—with the online, serial publication of the SEVENTH Edition of the SAL Life Leadership textbook.
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| The SIXTH Edition was published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in 2019 in TWO Volumes. |
I began this serial publication on September 6, 2023, so am now over a year into the process. At present, I am almost done with BOOK the FOURTH and Volume 1 (as it is organized in the SIXTH Edition).
The last chapter of Volume 1 will be published later this year around Christmas time.
In January, I will begin publishing Volume 2 (as it is organized in the SIXTH Edition). Remember: the SEVENTH Edition will be consolidated into just ONE VOLUME, which will be much more accessible and convenient for students and other readers and practitioners.
The next four book sections, which include BOOKS the FIFTH through BOOK the LAST (section eight) will be serially published throughout 2025. It will take approximately two years to complete this serial publication of the entire work.
After this online (serial) publication is finished sometime in the fall of 2025, I will begin revisions and edits of the entire hard copy manuscript. When that work is complete, I will submit the full manuscript to the publisher. Once the publisher has a manuscript in hand, it will take several months for them to format and prepare a galley proof, which I will then review and send back for final edits.
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| The SEVENTH Edition will be published by Palmetto Publishing in 2026 in a single TEXTBOOK format |
Once this Life Leadership Textbook has been published, it will be available for audiences of all kinds, including adolescent and adult students of all ages, families, organizations, and individuals everywhere.
In short, it is designed to serve as something akin to an academic or secular BIBLE.
In other words, it will serve as an areligious and non-denominational guide to living life to its fullest and becoming all YOU are capable of becoming as a human being on planet Earth—that can be used by schools, organizations, families, and individuals everywhere.
For over twenty years now, I have felt obsessively driven to complete this comprehensive Life Leadership textbook... now in its SEVENTH Edition. As you can imagine, it has come a long way since that first edition, which I penned for a teenage audience back in 2005-2006.
In his legendary book, Outliers: The Story of Success, bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell made the "10,000-hour Rule" famous. This rule basically states that in order to become a world-class professional at anything, you need to invest at least 10,000 hours in that art or skill.
I have discovered—from my own experience—the truth of this rule. While I have always had an in-born talent for writing, speaking, and communication, it took me many years (even decades) to become a highly skilled professional in these areas.
In total, I have spent literally tens of thousands of hours anxiously engaged in study, organization, preparation, writing, editing, revising, repeating (seven long times), publishing, and re-publishing over the course of the past 38 years.
In short, I have paid the price to effectively author this Life Leadership tome, and its substance and style reflects this dedication, persistence, and massive ongoing investment of time and energy.
As such, I am both deeply proud of and profoundly humbled by its creation. I am proud because I was the instrument through which it was created and was willing to persist through endless delays, frustrations, rejections, and temporary roadblocks in order to complete the entire work, not just once, but SEVEN times.
I am further humbled because I needed so much help along the way—from many other people, yes, but more especially from that Higher Power—to get it to where it stands today... and will yet stand upon its hard copy publication a few years from now... and beyond!
I hope that someday this work will help YOU in some way, just like it has helped me in every way.
There is something for everybody in his comprehensive and holistic work.
I invite YOU to find out what that something is for YOU!
Tune in next Wednesday for my resumption of the online, serials publication of the SAL Life Leadership Textbook. Next week will feature Chapter 23 of BOOK the FOURTH.
Also...
For those interested in the Scholarly Journal Articles that support the SAL Theory, Model, and Life Leadership Textbook, please email Dr. JJ at freedomfocused@gmail.com with the title of the Article you would like to read and he will send it to you for FREE.
Supporting Academic Journal Articles
SAL Theory Paper ~ Journal of Leadership & Management ~ (2015)
SAL Model Paper ~ Journal of Leadership & Management ~ (2018)
SAL Pedagogy Paper ~ Journal of Leadership & Management ~ (2018)
Character Education and Cultural Balance in the 21st Century ~ Journal of Leadership & Management ~ (2021)
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 416th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 225th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 415 FF Blog Articles
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL QUOTES
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL POEMS
Click HERE to access the FULL TEXT of Dr. JJ's Psalms of Life: A Poetry Collection
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Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.
Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks
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