Turbulent Times!

Well when I started this little Ironman adventure, targeted fundraising for Kids with Cancer Society, and to raise awareness around DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma) I anticipated a lot of potential obstacles and challenges.  COVID-19 and closure of gyms and pools was not on the radar at all!

That being said I come back to the challenging reality that Ronan Smyth and his family grappled with from the day of his diagnosis with DIPG due to his far too early passing.  I know from the brief conversations I have had with his mother and from seeing some of the posts on Facebook, that Ronan faced no shortage of challenges and bad days.  So I persevere.  

At this point there is already a lot of talk about Ironman Canada at the end of August being in potential jeopardy of cancellation.  I suspect that some of my larger lead up events in July are even more at risk.  Nothing I can do about that and I continue to prepare as if the races will happen.  I continue to work with the Kids for Cancer Society to get a fundraising page up and running with specific reference to what I'm doing and noting my commitment to the legacy of Ronan.

So at this point - from a health and athletic standpoint - things are going well.  Aside from the lack of a swimming opportunity right now (and contrary to popular belief about Canadians, snowbanks don't make for much of a substitute for open water) I'm keeping a pretty consistent effort on both my bike and run components.  This sometimes is including brick efforts as well - get off the bike and go straight to run.  I've also continued to work on core strength with those workouts happening about three times a week.  At this point the minimum hours committed to physically getting ready is no less than 7 hours per week and has sometimes peaked up at 11 hours or even more on occasion.

On top of that I have continued to get to Ironman at a weight that is far less than I have ever competed at before.  Post-Christmas turkey I weighed in at 204 pounds.  This was "only" 10 pounds over my usual race weight of 195 pounds.  For those of you who don't know, a guy weighing 200 pounds or more is lovingly classed/called "Clydesdale".  For women I believe the similar term becomes "Amazon".  I didn't want to be in that neighborhood again so committed to a significant weight loss plan since Christmas.  What has that meant?  Well starting back in the first week of January it meant a calorie intake of 1,755 per day.  Over time that has been reduced to where I now sit at a targeted calorie intake of 1,319.  So pretty sparse and routine meals for a long time now.  One of the recent unintended consequences of that has been a flare up of gout in my right foot!  A consequence, apparently, of too much salmon and not enough water.

The results, though, speak for themselves.  As of this morning I now weight in at 173.6 pounds - over 30 pounds down since Christmas and over 20 pounds down from best/worst race weight for an Ironman!  My goal of at least 170 pounds is easily in sight now with the potential of even getting to 165 pounds around Easter.  I feel like Dwayne Johnson in The Game Plan - light on my toes!  It is around Easter that I will cease the weight loss and commit even more fully to more intensive training.  And hopefully swimming will become an option again!

That's the status report during this time of lockdown and social isolation.  In an ironic way, this reality has helped keep me focused on training and personal health as a lot of other distractions have gone away.  

Keep well.  Stay safe.  Let's keep doing this.

__________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions 

www.breakpoint.solutions 

780-250-2543

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.

This Time It's Personal

This particular blog has been dormant for quite some time now.  In fact as I look back it's been almost 7 years since I last talked about Ironman, training, trials, tribulations and victories.

Well I'm back and getting ready for Ironman Canada #3 slated for August 30, 2020.  I made that commitment last year upon hearing that Ironman was returning to Penticton.  That reality gave me a chance to go back and race against my former self with the last, best effort coming in 2011.  When I race this time I'll be 55.  I was age 46 last time around.  Should be an interesting challenge!

This year is different in another way as well.  I'm racing for a cause.  I'm trying to bring hope to those impacted or suffering from a malicious and (currently) incurable childhood cancer - DIPG - Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.  I'm trying to raise awareness about this disease and it's impact.  I'm trying to raise funds through my efforts for much needed support for children and families impacted by this disease.  As a member of the Cops for Cancer Ironteam (http://www.ironteam.ca/) since 2008, I've helped fundraise for cancer research before and support the amazing legacy that this group of dedicated athletes has already established.

We've all been impacted by cancer in one way or another.  A friend of mine lost his wife to lung cancer.  She left behind a devoted husband and two young children just over a year ago.  Another family member passed away from brain cancer late last year.  Others I know have been impacted by colon cancer, skin cancer and the list goes on.  But in the past year, I watched a family struggle with the diagnosis and the inevitable passing of their son due to DIPG.  While I worked with both parents in my past career I have to admit that I likely never met their son Ronan.  But I feel I got to know him through the efforts of his mother in particular as she documented all that they went through - and continue to go through - to make the most of his last months with them.

While I have experienced substantial personal loss myself - loss of grandparents, parent, and wife - I still can't imagine the impact of losing one of my children.  What I saw with Ronan's journey through living with DIPG was strength and a level of maturity he brought to his life in those last months.  I can only hope to emulate the kind of dignity and strength he showed at age 12 and 13 as the cancer slowly took him from this world.

There is so much to say about Ronan that can't be said in on blog post - so there will be more in the future.  However, you can start to glean a lot about him and his experience by simply searching his name as a starting point on the internet.

On February 12, 2020, on what would have been Ronan's 14th birthday, his mother asked that people remember him and perhaps dedicate some aspect of their day to his memory.  In the throes of getting ready for my Ironman experience I responded that I would dedicate my day's workout in respect of the request.  But the ask got me thinking about what else might be possible.  I started thinking and digging and arrived at a concept of not just dedicating one day or a few hours of effort to this cause but instead considering what it might look like to dedicate my Ironman training and competition to Ronan's memory and to making a more sizeable impact for DIPG awareness and support.

So here goes!  For those who know me well you already have a sense that in the past few years I have been driven by the philosophy of "What if?" and "Why not?"  So let's dream big.  I want to commit this next 6 to 7 months to moving the needle forward on DIPG awareness and support.  I'm dedicating this year's Ironman effort to that end.  And this commitment is not just one of blood, sweat and tears.  I want to raise substantial funds for the cause.  I have reached out and teamed up with the Kids with Cancer Society.  In short order they will be helping me with promotion, fundraising web-page, donation forms, and a lot of advice!  They will be the charity of choice for this effort.

Coincidentally, my 9-year old daughter - who seems to have a decidedly charitable element to her personality - had recently said that she wanted to do some fundraising for cancer research.  She had already formulated her own plan.  I talked to her about Ronan and what I was trying to pursue and why.  She's on board!  From her viewpoint - and prior to knowing about Ronan and DIPG - she had envisioned a fundraising goal of $10,000.

I said "What if?" and "Why not?"... go bigger!

So I'm actually hoping through my efforts, the efforts of family and friends, colleagues, contacts, those who have been impacted by DIPG, and the efforts and commitment of complete strangers that we can in fact target and reach $100,000 as a fundraising goal.

And again I emphasize and repeat this is not just going to be me shedding blood, sweat and tears in service of this cause.  I will put my money where my mouth is.  My wife and I - founders and principals of our own coaching/leadership development company - BreakPoint Solutions (www.breakpoint.solutions) commit to contributing 5% of our monthly billings from March through to the end of August to this cause.  By our own commitment and efforts that should mean attainment of my daughter's fundraising target of $10,000.

But I want more and I hope WE can get there together!

Over the next 6 to 7 months you can expect to get updates through about both my physical and mental readiness for Ironman, lead up races and - most importantly - the fundraising efforts.

I thank you in advance for helping to raise awareness about the insidious disease of DIPG, to providing hope to those children and families who are currently challenged by this cancer, and raising funds to support those challenged by other childhood cancers in partnership with Kids With Cancer Society.

It's About Leadership!  And this time it's personal.  F**K Cancer.

_________________________________________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC

President & Founder - BreakPoint Solutions

gregh@breakpoint.solutions 

www.breakpoint.solutions 

780-250-2543

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.