Athletic Performance

What is an Athlete?

Each and everyone of us is an actual or potential athlete for some kind of activity. When we were kids the rallying cry from the kid next door was,"come on out and play". The "best exercise" is that which one does on a regular basis, and with at least some effort, that will raise the heart rate to about double for at least 20-30 minutes ,and at least 2 to 3 times a week. (Of course, if there is a medical problem, medical advice should be sought beforehand.)

Personally, I love to run, and I've done it for much of my life. I have completed almost 30 marathons (26.2 miles). I have not run a marathon since 1990, when I completed The Big Sur Marathon. A short time later,I damaged the medial meniscus in my right knee running the hills in Los Gatos. I was working long hours in various medical practices (Emergency, Family and Geriatric practices)....a lot of work pressure (excuses!)

The biggest hurdle to overcome in exercising or playing is getting started, not overdoing it those first days and keeping at it. Then just do it!

My other loves are bicycling, alpine skiing, wilderness canoeing, and hiking. In 1993 I biked the coastal highway from Raymond, WA. to San Francisco with my friend Ron and daughter, Laurie. Almost 800 miles in 12 days....approx. 72 miles /day. Since my diagnosis of Osteoporosis(Compression fractures of T6 and T9 vertebrae), I have incorporated intense weight lifting or resistance training into an almost daily routine. Our ski trip in Feb. 2002 will be to Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies.

An Example of an Athletic Event

	The captions on my postcard: Side 1 River City(Portland,OR)Classic 15k(9.3mi) 06/29/97 RUN# 1684 Age: 65 Sex: M Time: 1:17:21 Pace 8m.:18s./m. Overall Place: 816/1736 Division place 1/8 8 in >65y.o.		Side 2 "If you're reading this postcard then you've run Burnside to Broadway. If you're reading this card then you made it through the hills and the curves. If you're reading this card, you've battled from Front to Barbur. If you're reading this card then you've finished the River City Distance Classic. Congratulations".

The weekend of Sept. 29 and 30 2001, I was privileged to be co-captain with captain Tom Des Lauriers, of The West Valley Relay Runners team #133, that participated in The Providian "Organs R Us" relay race from Calistoga to Santa Cruz, a distance of 199 miles. Once we started at our assigned time of 2.30 PM. in almost 100 degree heat, we ran on through the rest of the day, all night and on the Sunday until we finished 27h.20m.08s. later at 5.50 PM. We stood 64th out of 250 finishers. Technically,(in my opinion), all participants are "winners",but the "winning team" started Saturday at 5.00 PM. and finished 21h.26m.22s. later at 2.26 PM. on Sunday. The slowest team started at 7.30 am. Saturday and 36h.21m.14s. later came onto the beach at 7.51 PM.

In van #1, Jim's Suburban, were my son Jim Walsh, Rosaleen Ryan, Jennifer Kerwin, Mark Burch, Alan Duvall and Peter Zander. In van #2, my Previa, were myself (Fred), Tom Des Lauriers, Tim Nelson, Tom Mount, Heidi Janes, Steve Kinsella, and Warren Ristow, our #1 booster and driver. Warren was removed from the team 2 weeks earlier by his doctor, and Rosaleen stepped in.

The Team Before The Relay	The Team After The Relay

I've run 29 marathons, 10k races, been on teams for hockey, lacrosse, skiing and so on, but nothing before was anything like this. It was the most amazing thing that we bonded together for this cause of raising awareness for organ donations, that we did this in this heat wave with little or no sleep, with not a peep of dissension. In our team each tried harder than the leg before just to put out that little greater effort. It was really "gutting it out". Our reward was a medallion hanging on a blue ribbon and the satisfaction of being part of something so worthwhile.

I have never felt such a prolonged adrenaline rush or the prolonged state of excitement! Each of felt the same and all expressed the desire to be part of next year's team. Tom and I think that we'll be able to put together 4 or 5 teams and really promote West Valley College which was supportive of our team.

I attribute my fitness and ability to compete at this level of intensity to my lifestyle, diet of wholesome foods, and Body Wise Nutritional supplements. Being married to Gretchen for almost 45 years has been the greatest thing to happen to me. We have 5 great kids and 9 grandchildren.

©  2001,  Fred Walsh