Going the distance
By way of a follow-up to an earlier article on the amazing Jane Tomlinson, I'd just like to mention that's she's recently completed the Iron Man competition:
The 17-hour challenge involves swimming two miles, completing a 112-mile bike ride and running a full marathon.
The 40-year-old mother-of-three, from Rothwell, Leeds, took on the challenge despite a stay in hospital last week.
Mrs Tomlinson completed the event, which started at 7am and ended at 11pm Florida time, in 15 hours 47 minutes.
For those that do not know, she's terminally ill with cancer, and the various events that's she's taken part in are all in aid of charity.
An amazing woman if ever there was one...
posted by Wayne Smallman at Thursday, March 17, 2005
6 Comments:
Ah .. Lucretia.
So you're not dead, then?
Coz' if you were, do I get the house?
I could rent it out...
I'm going to introduce a possibly controversial argument here. That she did what she did because she had nothing to lose! Really, I'm not denegrating her or her achievements. It's an exciting and interesting thing to do, it's not actualy "special" (unless she was/is in constant pain, in which case it's fairly remarkable).
She did what any one of us (with the exception of the severely disabled) could do. Why don't we? Because we have too much to lose! I, like many others, sit on my big fat arse day after day, doing the same job and trying to get by. Why don't I give up my job, train up, and enter a major sporting/endurance event? Because I've got a family to support? Because I'm lazy? Because it's a huge risk to my "way of life" that I'm not prepared to take?
The word is "risk". We often hear about people who have been given a short time to live, doing something spectacular with their remaining days. While those of us with 'lots' of days remaining don't want to risk them!
It's like the "end of the world" scenario. If you were told there was an asteroid heading towards earth and you had 7 days to live because it was going to destroy all life on the planet, what would you do? Well I certainly wouldn't go to work on Monday! I'd (try to) do something exciting and interesting, and/or spend time with the people I love doing something exciting and interesting. I certainly wouldn't sit at home watching tv - what would be the point?
It's even harder for those who've been told they're going to die, because it's only the end of the world for them - everyone else is going to carry on. You could take a jealous viewpoint and end up resentful for the rest of your days, or you could try to do some good (as well as something exciting and interesting).
So I say, good for her, she's a brave lady. But yah boo sucks to the rest of us Risk Averse suckers living our dreary little lives (by comparison). Now, I'm off out to do some base jumping! Nah, not really, I'm off down to Blockbuster's to get a video to watch while having my Thai take-away tonight, so yah boo sucks to me :-P
In between splitting the groin in my jogging pants, pulling my Achilles tendon and stressing my knee joints .. I jog and cycle quite a lot.
In a typical week, I'll jog eighteen miles and cycle about the same.
It's hard for me because I'm quite tall and not all that light.
I excel at sprinting. I can beat most people and even dogs over one hundred metres and I can keep a flat-out, full-throttle pace for over two hundred metres before my hands start to shake and my chest gives out on me.
I'm not built for jogging, thus the injuries.
Looking at Jane, she's actually an ideal shape & size for endurance running and is naturally quite suited to what she's doing, other than having a debilitating illness.
It's worth pointing out that the cancer she has is attacking her bone marrow. So she is in pain nearly all of the time, and suffering bouts of immense pain on a weekly basis.
All this on top of the pain endured when pushing yourself through the 'the wall'; the point where you exhaust all of your energy and your body switches over to metabolizing body fats.
I'd say that what she is doing is not within reach of everyone. Not by a long way.
Also -- and here's where Sray will have the nod on this -- some people simply can never train to do such things. No matter how hard they try.
Their bodies simply will not 'learn' and build the needed muscle mass.
I know that on flat, I could run maybe half a marathon before my energy levels would be exhausted and / or my joints become so shagged out that I would be at a point where if I were to continue, I would almost certainly cause permanent physical damage.
Without wanting to dismantle her mind, just to peer in to find a motive, I think that she's truly inspirational and a good role model for anyone.
If it weren't for her illness, she would have almost certainly enjoyed an utterly anonymous life.
Ironically, her descent into an untimely death has ensured she will be remembered long after she's passed away.
If ever there was a need to make a film about anyone, this woman is such a person...
I agree. Just the fact that she is making the effort is laudable. It would be so easy for her to sit back and be depressed about her cancer etc., and no one will blame her. But she is fighting back (like Lance Armstrong did), and we appreciate that spirit in any man, woman, or animal. Something called survival.
I accept that what she's done is remarkable, particularly if she's been in excruciating pain the whole time. And I wasn't meaning that everyone should be able to do exactly what she's done. What I was getting at was that we (the great unwashed) could do remarkable feats/activities (not necessarily requiring great physical exertion) too if we put our minds to it. Just that our minds are not 'to it' because we have no real incentive.
There are a relatively small percentage of risk takers in our population. People who will give up a 'normal' life to travel/explore/compete/create/make a difference. Why don't most of us? The point I was trying to make was that we don't, not because we can't, but because trying is a risk we're not prepared to take.
What most of us need is the inspiration to get out of the humdrum. She found that (as some do) in the prospect of imminent death. Some find it in other ways (for example you may take inspiration in someone else's life - hence I agree with your 'role model' comment).
Most people are too self-absorbed (and I count myself among that motley number) to give up / sacrifice a little of their time & wealth to do something remarkable.
I would love to get out there and do something like that .. but, like man sez, I'm just too busy trying make my business work the way I want it to...
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