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I coach a bike team for the Leukemia Society’s http://www.teamintraining.org
Team in Training Program. Twice a year my assistant coaches and I take about 55 people,
many of whom haven’t ridden a bike since they were kids, and train them to ride a one-day
100-mile event. In return, these cyclists raise a minimum of $2,200 for leukemia research.
You’d think that to be the Big Cheese of a bike team, I’d have to be a champion cyclist,
with years of riding, several Olympic medals, and a lot of racing wins under my belt. Not
so. I’ve only been riding for the last two and a half years. I started with Team in
Training in spring of ’97, stayed with the team as a volunteer staff person, and at the
end of ’99, voila!—they offered me the role of La Quesa Grande.
What is my point, you ask? By now, most of you reading this know that I spent most of my
adult life struggling with my weight. When I exercised, it was to lose weight, not for any
other reason. If anyone had tried to tell me I was actually an athlete, I’d have denied it.
And if they’d told me I was enough of an athlete to coach a bike team, I’d have laughed at
them. Well, maybe not actually laughed at them, because I’m much too polite for that. But
I’d have thought they were insane.
So my point is this: If I could do it, you can too. You may not think so—neither did I—but
you can.
All over the U.S., non-profit groups are looking for people like you. The Team in Training
model has really taken off. Leukemia Society chapters all over the country are training
novices for marathon runs and walks, 100-mile bike rides (“centuries”), and triathlons.
Other groups are doing the same thing to raise money for AIDS, multiple sclerosis,
arthritis, lung disease, etc. You can get involved as a participant first, like I did. If
you enjoy your experience, you’ll almost certainly be invited back to help with future
seasons.
In addition to these charities, YMCAs and local recreation centers always need people to
teach fitness classes. Typically, none of these groups can afford to pay very well, so
don’t look to them as a significant source of income. But that’s not really the point.
There’s nothing like helping other people get fit to motivate you to get fitter and to
think of yourself as an athlete. If you can help yourself and others get fit in the
service of a good cause, so much the better.
And if you’re thinking, “She’s crazy. I’m too out of shape to exercise myself, much less
teach fitness to other people!,” banish that thought. One of the best aquatics (water
exercise) instructors I know weighs well over 200 pounds. This gal teaches class in her
bathing suit several times a week, and has done so for years. She is, and always will be,
an inspiration to me.
So here’s this week’s challenge. In deference to the holiday craziness, I’m making it a
simple one, like last week’s hydration challenge. It doesn’t take a lot of time or
preparation—you can do it anywhere at any time. But you may not find it easy.
This week I want you to start visualizing yourself as an athlete. Close your eyes, relax,
and picture yourself in different situations—working out, teaching classes, crossing
finish lines. Fill in the details—what you’re wearing, how you’re feeling, how warm or
cold the air is, the smell of the chlorine if you’re in a pool, and so on. You are an
athlete, and you can inspire other people to be athletes, too. All you need to do is
believe it.
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