Spring Fever

G'day to all
I apologize for my absence.  Business and family commitments have kept me extremely busy.   February came and went in a blink of an eye.  A special congratulations to Ernie and Cyndi, who competed with us on Season 19 of the Amazing Race.   They officially tied the knot recently.   If I had any advice for a newly wedded couple it would be to pray together.  For those who know the power of prayer, you know what I'm talking about.  For those that don't, take five minutes and look up the stats on couples that pray together;  it might have an impact in your own life.

photo courtesy of CBS

I had a great trip to Catalina Island with some friends.   Although the winds were a little light, we sailed and motor-sailed the whole way over.  We were greeted by a pod of Pilot Whales just off of Arrow Point as we made our way to Emerald Bay.   Yes, we took the plunge into what seemed like icy water.   It was great to see Brian and Judy from camp Emerald Bay . All in all it was a great trip.  Catalina is the bit of paradise as it ever was.  

On a filmmaking note, I was delighted  to  meet Dr. Ted Baehr from Movieguide.org.   We originally met Dr. Baehr at the San Diego Christian Film Festival.  He watched Wild Eyes:  The Abby Sunderland Story - the documentary of Abby's sailing trip, which he enjoyed.  He had many questions about the making of it  and so my wife, Marianne, and I  will be going to lunch with him this week.  I am looking forward to our meeting as Dr Baehr is extremely well-versed in all the avenues of the movie industry and a wealth of information.

Our family has grown again!  Ah, the joy of new birth.   One of our two cats had four adorable little kittens.  With 3 daughters in the house, the joy that the little additions have brought is wonderful. 

Now some of you are thinking. "What about the Iron Man thing?"   It's still going quite well.  I had a cold that lasted 2 weeks and an injury on top of a busy schedule so training has been more sporadic than I would have liked, but my quest still remains. 

Lastly, some exciting news.  My beautiful wife has been faithfully writing away every week at her blog - Abundant Life.   She has blogged fairly anonymously up until today when her blog post on Intrepid Parenting will be featured at a larger and more established parenting blog called the MOB Society (Moms Of Boys).  If you are a parent of boys (or girls) and would like to know how to raise them up to be courageous, head on over and leave a comment if you like what you read.


Cheers,


Laurence

Exciting News - a Screenplay!

G'day,
The first month of the year has been and gone.  I blinked and nearly missed it. 


The exciting news I referred to in December is that the screenplay based on Abby's Solo-circumnavigation attempt has been written and completed.  It has also  received very positive reviews from respected folks within the industry. This is very exciting and will hopefully soon be in production.  The screenplay includes all the highlights of her trip:  the exciting drama and the rescue that captivated the world back in June of 2010.  This is going to make a very exciting movie to watch. 

Abby will be appearing at the Atlantic City Boat Show this weekend Feb 4/5.  She will have her book Unsinkable and the documentary Wild Eyes:  The Abby Sunderland Story with her.   If you happen to be in the area go and say g'day.



Training for the Iron Man is in full swing and has been very demanding but so are most things in life that are worth while.

Schedule:
January
21:  Rest day
22:  Rest day
23:  Spin class + 1 mile swim (3 x 24 laps)
24:  2-mile run
25:  4-mile run
26:  Spin class + 1 mile swim (3 x 24 laps)
27:  8-mile run
28:  Rest day
29:  1-mile swim (72 laps straight)

Over the weekend we had the privilege of watching 2 soccer games live at the Home Depot Center.   The 2 top teams from El Salvador and Guatemala played.  It was a great experience that I shared with Jessie, my 13-year old daughter, who earlier in the day played 2 games herself.  We were all 'soccer-ed' out by the end of the day, but had a great time.

We also had a few new additions to the family:   6 little chicks (the feathered kind).  I love watching the children interact with them.  The kids are totally enamoured with the little things.  

Pursue and Achieve Ambitious Goals

G'day to all,

Well, for all of you who started the year with a New Year's resolution, it's day 21 - a day where no one will know if you just let it all go.  I hope to encourage you to keep with the action.  It takes 30 days to create a new habit so we are 3/4 of the way there. Yes, I'm struggling and although it takes 30 days to create a new habit, it takes only 5 minutes to give it all up. Let's endure together.

For those of you who didn't read my last post, I'm in training to do an Iron Man towards the end of the year.  I've given the quest a name - Fat Man to Iron Man.  In all honesty, I sometimes feel that I may have bitten off a bit more than I can handle.

The training schedule so far has been as follows:


January

1 - New Year's Day
2 - Rest day (oops)                                                                  
3 - 2-mile run with Jessie (13 year old daughter)                    
4 - 2-mile run with Jessie                                       
5 - 2-mile run with Jessie                            
6 - 2-mile run with Jessie                   
7 - Rest day
8 - Rest day
9 - 2-mile run
10 - 40 lap swim: 2 sets of 20 laps (easy because fat floats)
11 - 5- mile run (hard going)
12 - 1-mile swim: 3 sets of 22 laps (easy)
13 - Spin class (hard going)
14 - 8-mile run (hard going)
15 - Rest day
16 - 44 lap swim:  2 sets of 22
17 - 4-mile run with Jessie (hard going)
18 - Spin class morning and evening
19 - 1-mile swim:  3 sets of 22 laps
20 -  5-mile run (felt horrible - this was going to be a 10-mile run)


So there it is.  Thus far if it sounds exhausting, it is.  Have I have I felt like skipping my training?  I have. However, sticking with it and overcoming the apathy is important not allowing the 'stinking thinking' of  negativity to consume you. The hardest part of this is balancing business and family as the training is very time-consuming.  The up-side is a sense of achievement, loosing weight and knowing I'm on the road to achieving an ambitious goal, something that may be lacking as we get older in life.

As I write about this, a very ambitious young lady has set out to achieve something that is almost larger than life itself.  It is a quest that our family is very familiar with. Just over a year ago, after a battle with the Dutch authorities, Laura Dekker set sail in her 38 ft sail boat, Guppy, to solo circumnavigate the world and arrives today on the Dutch Caribbean Island of St Martin to become the youngest person ever to solo circumnavigate the world.  A BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO HER  for a job well done, holding the course and keeping the spirit of adventure alive. A truly remarkable young lady.

Speaking of young sailors, Zac and Abby are speaking at the Toronto Boat Show this weekend.  If you happen to be in the area, duck in and say G'day!

Fat Man to Iron Man

G'day To All!
Well, how many of you made a News Year's resolution?  And how many of you are struggling, already?   Hang in there.  They say it takes thirty days to create a new habit. I will confess that I may have bitten off a bit more than I can handle.  But you know what they say... 'a problem shared is a problem halved'.  Or is that 'a problem shared is a problem doubled'?  


In any case, here it is... any of my blog readers out there from planet earth to the outer reaches of the universe, are cordially invited to join me in going from being a fat man to an Iron Man.   No, I'm not talking about the cartoon character.  The idea is that in one year, through careful training and eating habits, I will take this 233 lb of rippling muscle and turn it into a 180lb hard body Iron Man (what was I thinking?). 


For those who dare, please consult your doctor before embarking on this senseless mission.  I will not take responsibility for any dizzy spells, injury or death.  Husbands consult your wives, and wives consult your husbands.

Well, there it is.   This is actually something that I've wanted to do before reaching my 50th birthday. Commitment is important.  Any and all that are interested in participating, I will be glad to help encourage and show you the schedule that I will be following, along with health tips and goals that I have set to accomplish throughout the year to a achieve the full Iron Man in Austin, Texas on Oct 28th, 2012.  

The last Triathlon I did was some 23 years ago.  It was the half Triathlon which is swim 1.2 mile, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles.  I remember seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and the rest was a blur (just kidding).  It was very hard and took some 4 hours and change.  I had a huge sense of accomplishment.  It was the last of a few triathlons that I did. 


The secret is commitment to the training program and staying injury free. In the ideal world, it would be nice to get a small group in the area that wanted to commit and have weekly meetings and training sessions to help hold each other accountable and encourage one another. 


The distance for the Iron Man is 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run.  Anyone interested in joining me can contact me at info at worldwindproductions dot com.


Cheers!


Laurence

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