The End of An Era

Had my last session with Hassan Bailey, my trainer at New York Sports Club, on Wednesday. A bittersweet moment. He definitely changed my life and turned me into something of an athlete.

I started training with him in February of 2005, I had a few simple goals:

1) Learn how to use the machines in the gym better
2) Become more flexible
3) Get rid of some extra fat around my gut
4) Feel like I could beat the hell out of somebody on the Subway (The Batman Effect)

Essentially, I achieved three out of four in the years since we began working together. Strangely enough, I am still not all that flexible.

But, more importantly, I feel a lot more confident about my abilities as an athlete. I've learn that the only limits I have are those that I set. It's cliche to say it but it's true. I would never have the confidence to attempt running in the NYC Marathon if it were not for Hassan. It took some time but the results speak for themselves: I ride faster, run farther, lift more, look better and have more energy than ever before. I've dropped more than 10lbs and have hardly modified my diet.

Plus, I feel a lot more comfortable in a gym setting.

The shame of it all is that it took until I was 40 years old for any of this to happen.

For this week, I did four miles on the treadmill on Monday and again on Wednesday. Capped the week with a 20-mile bike trip this morning (19.4 mph). I'll probably do 12-14 miles tomorrow morning.