"I'll Have What She's Having"

     Admittedly I'm a few years too yong to be a true When Harry Met Sally fan.  However, as an 80's baby, a New Yorker, and a lover of Katz's Deli sang-wiches, I felt compelled to borrow today's title from the movie.  It is after all, one of the most famous movie quotes in history, and certainly a must know for Manhattanites who hang out and about near Houston St.  For the few (maybe two) readers who might not know what I'm talking about, enjoy! 

     Stepping away from Meg Ryan's award winning performance, I'd like to highlight an even more amazing and empassioned performance.  Smply stated, yesterday my friend Jessica Marino completed the US World Championship IRONMAN Triathlon (aka "Kona") in an astonishing 10:32:23!  To quickly put the thought of an IRONMAN into context... it's a 2.4 mile swim, followed by a 112 mile bike, capped off by a 26.2 mile run (what some refer to as a Marathon, haha).  To put the Kona World Championships into more simple context... it's the mecca; the creme de la creme of triathlons; it's a race most triathletes could never dream of even qualify for let alone finishing... let alone dominating in 10:32:23.  After Jess swam 2.4 miles, and pedaled hard for 112 miles, she ran a marathon in 3:29:34.  If you do the math that means she averaged faster than 8 minutes per mile in her marathon.  Wow!

     Jess' race day endurance is beyond impressive, but my reason for telling her story, and posting her results is to share "what she's having" with all of you.  Jess was a competetive gymnast her whole life before moving on to play DI soccer in college.  She started working on Wall Street after graduating college, and found the sport of triathlon to be a new outlet for her energy and competitive spirit.  For Jess, it wasn't enough to just participate, and in a few short years she went from a girl who couldn't even really swim that well to the one who just raced among the most elite triathletes in the world.  Jess' focus, determination, strength and honor, and SOUL are unbelivably inspirational.  She managed a stressful job, a rigorous training schedule, a few serious and nagging injuries, and life... and she never made any excuses.  So, it doesn't matter if your goal is to do a triathlon, to lose 5 lbs, to run around the block, to be a better spouse/brother/sister/parent, or even just to have a more positive attitude... I hope that you can be motivated by her success story, and have enough faith in yourself to take a step towards a personal goal that you have.  If you want to "have what she's having" just take a sip of her positive and fearless attitude.  Don't wait! Believe in yourself, laugh at yourself, keep it simple, and start today.  As we know... FAITH trumps fear. 

PAC, Perthes, Patience and Progress... and Don't Forget to Sleep!

     First of all... my sincerest apologies for having stepped off the virtual grid for a little while, but I promise it was for good reason. Following my trip to San Diego I devoted three weeks to finish preparing and running the Performance Athletic Club inaugural lacrosse camps... Join the PAC!  Camp was a tremendous success as we were able to inspire and educate a terrific group of young kids.  We had 80 campers between the ages of 4 and 7 participate in our Monster Mash Lacrosse camp, and 15 parent/child combo campers for our Family Fundamentals camp.  Both weeks were filled with fun, learning, prizes, a little bit of rain, and A LOT of smiles!

    Two weeks ago I also attended a fund raiser for a great cause that I wanted to help raise awareness for. Though our families have known each other for decades I'd never met 11 year old Matty Maher.  I'd certainly never heard of Perthes disease.  Matty is a brave young athlete who has spent years courageously fighting a battle against perthes disease which (over-simply stated) is a degenerative bone disease that affects the development of the hip joint and femur.  To continue being blunt (just so you can begin to appreciate Matty's challenge)... without a functional hip you can't walk, stand, sit, or even lay comfortably.  

     Matty's parents are VIPete blog readers, and when they shared my injury story with Matty he immediately wanted to help me.  Matty send me an encouraging card, and a very special get well gift that I keep next to my bed as a reminder to be strong.  Wow! It meant the world to me that this young man was so selfless and caring that he wanted to help me through my challenge while he continues to fight through his.  I wanted to share Matty's Story, and say thanks again for his support. Please take a look at his website and show him your support! 

    For a quick update on my Achilles... I've been walking(or some version of it) without my boot for about a month now.  More importantly I got (some of) my freedom back when the doc cleared me to drive again!  I am doing two hours of physical therapy three times a week, and getting stronger everyday.  I still have to wear my boot for training and coaching in order to protect the Achilles from any sudden movements that it's not ready for.  I really have a love/hate relationship with that boot, but my PATIENCE is paying off. I'm considered to be making phenomenal PROGRESS... maybe even more so than Kobe.  He thinks he knows... but he has no idea(that he's even in a competition)!

           

     Finally, a note about wellness:  DON'T FORGET TO SLEEP!  Let's face it... the importance of this seemingly obvious statement is largely ignored by most of us.  Granted, "newly-parents" have no choice! (Congratulations by the way to my twin sister Bethany, her husband Tom, and their 6 week old future basketball star, Tommy!  Congratulations also to my friend Joey McD, his wife Carol, and their 2 week old future lacrosse star, JJ!)  Getting back to sleep... is important for many reasons.  First of all... scientists believe that the quantity and quality of the sleep you get directly affects your appetite.  To summarize leptin and ghrelin hormones are at work within you arguing about whether you are hungry or full.  A lack of sleep can cause a spike in your ghrelin levels making you feel hungry and firing up your appetite.  That lack of sleep concurrently reduces your leptin levels which will cause you to feel less satisfied after you eat.  Here is the long story.  The short story... sleep more to lose weight!(*Disclaimer: Staying up late and snacking, combined with "catching up on your sleep through your morning workout" will result in an undesirable and opposite effect.)

Nothing screams U.S.A. like CSA!

    Happy Independence Day... Happy 4th of July... and God Bless the USA!

     I hope everyone enjoys this glorious day of barbecues, beverages, fireworks, and family.  I feel very fortunate to spend the 4th this year in San Diego, CA.  As I relax in such close proximity to the Coronado Naval bases I have to acknowledge the remarkable Americans who go to work and train there everyday.  

     On a patriotic and nutritious side note... Nothing screams U.S.A. like CSA!  CSA stands for community sponsored agriculture.  Very simply stated, community sponsored agriculture is a partnership in which families or individuals agree to buy and eat whatever the local farm happens to grow each week.  It's an opportunity for suburbanites and city'its version of "live off the land."  For a better definition check out the Hawthorne Valley Farm's website.  They share interesting and healthy recipes on a regular basis to help educate, and encourage you to try new fruits and vegetables while expanding your kitchen comfort zone. They'll also do a much better job of outlining the mutually beneficial relationship brought about by CSA. My mom and both my sisters have been participating in the Hawthorne Valley CSA, and therefore I've been the lucky recipient of a lot of fresh produce!  Everything we've gotten from the farm has been unbelievably clean, tasty, and nutritious.  I encourage you to research CSA's that service your area, and think about trying it out for the coming fall/winter or next year.  It'll be a new experience, and can be an exciting way to learn more about preparing and eating healthy foods.   Oh yeah, and it supports local community, business, and farms... and that would be very AMERICAN of you!  Have a great Fourth of July!   

Summer Fitness Foods and Making Assisted Strides

     Happy Friday and pre-4th of July weekend (let's make this a two week holiday!).  I wanted to share this link to a great summer nutrition snapshot from our friends at Active.com.  

     I find articles like this to be very inspirational because it reminds you that "eating healthy" doesn't have to mean "eating HELLthy".  It's a quick read with great detail and takeaways, and I guarantee that you'll notice a few of your favorite foods on there.  For the rest of the summer, let's try to commit to replacing unhealthy processed snacks with some of these nutritious fruits and vegetables.  None of these foods are short on taste, and ALL of them have important health benefits.  Get creative and mix a few of these summer fruits and vegetables together to concoct a new "summer salad." The neighbors will love your creativity, and you're sure to impress the rest of the party when you confidently explain that you casually threw in porcini mushrooms to make sure everyone at the party got enough ergosterol(precursor to vitamin D).  They'll like the taste, and love you for caring about them!

     As an update regarding the Woodstick Classic Alumni Achilles Rupture... I've been progressing well through my first few weeks at physical therapy.  Ed Farrell and the amazing staff at Physical Solutions are the best in the business of helping people get their mobility, and their lives back .  I'm also back at the gym now so I can do cardio on the arm bike/UBE(upper body exerciser).  Even though I had been working out on my couch and in the den, it's been a really great feeling to go to the gym and to get back into a routine.  If you've had anything derail your workouts or gym attendance lately... make a decision to get back.  Once you get back into a routine you'll be reinvigorated and working out will be a summer breeze.  By the way... if you see someone on one crutch, or a tripod stool feeding lacrosse balls to future all-americans... it's likely me. Enjoy the updated pictures below, and the video of my first post-surgery personal training client.  My 2 year old niece Tess has been visiting me almost every day, and she has learned to love crunches!

  

Thanks Coach!

     My twin sister, Bethany, and I had a really nice pre-Father's Day dinner with my parents last night.  After dinner we walked(I crutched) down 7th Street, and we ran into a few high school kids that knew my dad.  They were excited to see him and exclaimed, "Hi COACH!"  It was very obvious that these kids really appreciated the time they'd spent playing for and training with my dad, and they were sorry he was retiring.  Although I didnt' know any of these kids I felt a natural connection with them because I knew exactly why they were upset.  I too was fortunate enough to have been coached by my dad... my entire life.  

     I've had a lot of coaches throughout my sports career, but no one as good as my dad.  He always has and always will live for coaching, and helping kids realize their athletic ability(no matter what skill level they start with).  Though it was tough to be the son of the coach at times, I was the luckiest athlete in the world to have been mentored by my dad throughout my career.  He was far from calm, and yelled when he felt he needed to(often), but no matter what happened he always put his players first.  My friends who played on the "Storm" soccer team or "Rams" lacrosse team share a lot of stories about Coach LeSueur.  There are a few stories that end with him being red carded, or asked to leave the field, but I can assure you that he was only protecting his players.  I wish I had a dollar for every time someone approaches me to thank me and tell me what a positive influence my dad was on their sports career and life.  For over thirty years he ran an amazing soccer camp which was like a breeding ground for most athletes in Garden City... first they were campers, then they became stars, and finally came back to be coaches.    

     My father is a great COACH, and his secret is simple.  He coaches with PASSION.  He has taught me many great lessons about sports and about life, but the most important think I have to thank him for is showing me the importance of playing with passion, and living with a passion.  

     So, whether you're a coach, a banker, doctor, lawyer, mom/dad, etc... Never forget to bring your passion to work, bring it home, and bring it to everything you do.  Happy Father's Day Dad... Thanks Coach!