Started Training

**BFritz** · 06-08-2009, 02:32 AM

Ok, to set this up for anyone who doesn't know, in September of 1999, when I was 15 years old, I was injured in a car wreck when my 15 year old best friend was 15 and drunk. I suffered a traumatic brain injury, fractured and dislocated jaw, and my lung collapsed once in the wreck, then once again while I was in my 3 month coma, and they dislocated my shoulder while lifting my arm to put in a chest tube.

On October the 5th of 1999, I was declared brain dead.

When I woke up from my coma, I couldn't stand up or even mutter small words.

I've worked my *** off, and now I can talk a little and walk about 25 to 30 feet (without a cane or anything).

Is the stage set?

Last week, I started riding a bike to get my legs strong enough and to build endurance so I can start training for my ultimate goal, which is to use a walker to walk in the Flying Pig Marathon. I may only be able to make the 3k or 5k event, but I'm going to work my *** off to make sure that I do AT LEAST the 3k or 5k, and I'm going to give it my all to do as much as possible.

My goal is, at best, highly unlikely, right?

Doubt me, please, I beg you, I dare you.

runninrebs21 · 06-08-2009, 02:43 AM

I must say that is a great story, good luck with your training and hopefully you will reach your goal.

lil dog · 06-08-2009, 10:44 AM

In 1980, my sister was shot in the head 5 times with a 25 caliber hand gun, by a jealous boy friend, who then turned the gun on himself, he died, she lived! As a 15 year old boy, I watched as she struggled to live, she spent 3 months in intensive care, they done many brain surgeries on her, she lived a very long time, with no bones in the left side of her head, she was paralyzed from the wast down for awhile, her right arm is still paralyzed, she has trouble seeing , her short term memory, is terrible, she too had to learn how to walk and talk again, she now walks with a cane, and she does well for what shes been through..... I said all that to say, I have no doubt that you can reach your goal, I have seen first hand what a strong willed person can do, and for you to make it through all of that, your will to live and succeed is strong!!!! I wish you all the luck in the world, and hope for nothing but the best for you!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!:Cheerlead

**Playboy5** · 06-08-2009, 10:45 AM

BFritz..You never seem to amazae me my friend..Def. one of my favorites on here. You need to get a tattoo saying, "Sky's the Limit"!

***Spud6*** · 06-08-2009, 06:40 PM

I wish you all the luck BFritz!!!

**BFritz** · 06-09-2009, 03:55 AM

runninrebs21 Wrote:I must say that is a great story, good luck with your training and hopefully you will reach your goal.

MisterPerfect Wrote:I wish you all the luck BFritz!!!

PLAYBOY5 Wrote:BFritz..You never seem to amazae me my friend..Def. one of my favorites on here. You need to get a tattoo saying, "Sky's the Limit"!

Thank you for the wishes, but do none of you realize how impossible and unlikely this is going to be? I want people to doubt me, I want people to think about this objectively and say "this is impossible, there's no way in **** that he'll do this," because it will only make me work that much harder.

People in my condition and people with injuries as bad as mine don't do this sort of thing.

A lot of people with no injuries and who have no special condition couldn't do this.

If anyone sees this (or even any of you) and believes how hard that I'll work but just have doubts that I'll do it because you understand how unlikely this is, please, voice it, no hard feelings.

Also, it's 5k and 10k next year (aside from the full 25 mile marathon), not 3k and 5k, so I'm working on doing the 10k.

lil dog Wrote:In 1980, my sister was shot in the head 5 times with a 25 caliber hand gun, by a jealous boy friend, who then turned the gun on himself, he died, she lived! As a 15 year old boy, I watched as she struggled to live, she spent 3 months in intensive care, they done many brain surgeries on her, she lived a very long time, with no bones in the left side of her head, she was paralyzed from the wast down for awhile, her right arm is still paralyzed, she has trouble seeing , her short term memory, is terrible, she too had to learn how to walk and talk again, she now walks with a cane, and she does well for what shes been through..... I said all that to say, I have no doubt that you can reach your goal, I have seen first hand what a strong willed person can do, and for you to make it through all of that, your will to live and succeed is strong!!!! I wish you all the luck in the world, and hope for nothing but the best for you!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!:Cheerlead

I thought I was doing well for myself........... way to show me how well someone else is doing under possibly worse circumstances............. way to rain on my parade...........:Angry07: ...........

lol, I'm playing, obviously. That's an awesome story, and your sister should be an inspiration to A LOT OF PEOPLE!

**BFritz** · 06-09-2009, 04:17 AM

Playboy, I meant to mention in my reply above a that tattoo of that quote would be a good idea, but, for my next tattoo, I'm planning on getting a Phoenix from ancient mythology (dies and rises from its own ashes, how's that for symbolism of what happened to me?).

Then, I might get the date of the wreck under it (9-18-99).

~~NEWARKCATHOLICFAN~~ · 06-09-2009, 12:29 PM

That's awesome and good luck on fighting the good fight, so to speak.

***Spud6*** · 06-09-2009, 06:31 PM

BFritz Wrote:Playboy, I meant to mention in my reply above a that tattoo of that quote would be a good idea, but, for my next tattoo, I'm planning on getting a Phoenix from ancient mythology (dies and rises from its own ashes, how's that for symbolism of what happened to me?).

Then, I might get the date of the wreck under it (9-18-99).

That would look awesome BF.:Thumbs:

**jetpilot** · 06-09-2009, 08:03 PM

lil dog Wrote:In 1980, my sister was shot in the head 5 times with a 25 caliber hand gun, by a jealous boy friend, who then turned the gun on himself, he died, she lived! As a 15 year old boy, I watched as she struggled to live, she spent 3 months in intensive care, they done many brain surgeries on her, she lived a very long time, with no bones in the left side of her head, she was paralyzed from the wast down for awhile, her right arm is still paralyzed, she has trouble seeing , her short term memory, is terrible, she too had to learn how to walk and talk again, she now walks with a cane, and she does well for what shes been through..... I said all that to say, I have no doubt that you can reach your goal, I have seen first hand what a strong willed person can do, and for you to make it through all of that, your will to live and succeed is strong!!!! I wish you all the luck in the world, and hope for nothing but the best for you!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!:Cheerlead

That's awesome...:Clap:

And best of luck BFritz!

devilhorns05 · 06-09-2009, 08:11 PM

Best of luck to you BFritz

***Spud6*** · 06-09-2009, 08:55 PM

lil dog Wrote:In 1980, my sister was shot in the head 5 times with a 25 caliber hand gun, by a jealous boy friend, who then turned the gun on himself, he died, she lived! As a 15 year old boy, I watched as she struggled to live, she spent 3 months in intensive care, they done many brain surgeries on her, she lived a very long time, with no bones in the left side of her head, she was paralyzed from the wast down for awhile, her right arm is still paralyzed, she has trouble seeing , her short term memory, is terrible, she too had to learn how to walk and talk again, she now walks with a cane, and she does well for what shes been through..... I said all that to say, I have no doubt that you can reach your goal, I have seen first hand what a strong willed person can do, and for you to make it through all of that, your will to live and succeed is strong!!!! I wish you all the luck in the world, and hope for nothing but the best for you!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!:Cheerlead

This is a awesome story. Your sister is one great warrior.

**BFritz** · 06-12-2009, 04:25 AM

So, I've been training for about a week and a half- started off riding for 15 minutes (stationary bike), and I've been doing it every night.

Tonight, I upped the resistance a level (I didn't even know that I could do it) and rode the stationary bike for 61 minutes and 9.24 miles.

This is a highly improbable goal, almost impossible, and some people have to have doubts, even if you hope that I pull it off.

Please, voice your doubts, call me out.............. I'll only work that much harder.

**cougarpride08** · 06-12-2009, 01:47 PM

Nothing is impossible if you work hard, and by the looks of things you are going to work so Good Luck to you.

**EKUAlum05** · 06-12-2009, 05:35 PM

Great story... I have no doubt that you will not only go the 5k, but the year after you will complete the full marathon!

I strongly suggest watching the youtube video's about D"ick and Rick Hoyt. All of us guys at the office did a Half Iron Man last year and our boss sent us this video to get us fired up. It is truly one of the most motivational stories I have ever seen and I think it will be something to help give you a little push in your training.

lil dog · 06-14-2009, 11:42 AM

Hey BFritz hows the training going? I hope well, keep us posted.....

**BFritz** · 06-19-2009, 03:08 AM

lil dog Wrote:Hey BFritz hows the training going? I hope well, keep us posted.....

Actually, still going strong, and someone told me to be careful not to work too hard because I'll get tired of it, but there's no chance of that ever happening................. I'll never give up going hard........... it's just who I am.

PROGRESS REPORT
I found out that it's not 3k or 5k- it's 5k or 10k (besides the big marathon).

The friend who takes me to workout has been working Dixie's basketball camp this week, so he hasn't been able to take me to lift weights, but I'm still riding the bike every night or day (I lift weights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and then ride the bike each day regardless).

In contrast to above concerns about overworking, I've only pushed myself harder as the days go on. When I started, I was just riding the bike on normal resistance for about 15 minutes, but, after a few days, I started riding for 30 minutes, which I still normally do that (a lot of times for more, but I never do less than 30, and one day I rode for 61). However, I've upped the resistance 3 levels, and still riding to the point of heart attack (joking, *I hope*), and I'm still riding at a solid pace (usually about 10-12 mph). I'm going to continue doing that, and, I'm not sure when, but I'm going to go up to Thomas More or CovCath on days that I don't lift and just see how long I can walk around the track (with a walker, of course, and I heard that 4 laps is a mile, but if anyone can verify that or give the right number, I'd appreciate it). I'm planning on just starting with a mile (I believe I can make it if it's only 4 laps), and then just increasing it as time goes on.

10k is over 6 miles, and I decided that I'm making the 10k, and it's not even a question of "if" because I'm going to do it.

I am getting stronger and building endurance, and I look like I was in a wet t-shirt contest when I get done riding the bike because of how much I sweat (I'd win, it's HOT :worthy: :lmao: ).

I'm going to try to find sponsors to donate money, whether it be families or companies (as little as $10 to $50, but as much as a hundred or a thousand, I'm not really sure how much people will offer, but I have already had offers to donate, just not an amount). Then, I'm going to post every donor on my website so they are all recognized. After that, I'm going to donate it all to charity (unless I get an insane amount, like $30,000+, which I hope, and then I might take a portion of it to do something else, but I'm not talking a lot, I just mean to do something like take a trip or enter a poker tournament, but most of it would still go to charity).

So, if you work for a company or think that your family might be interested, please be thinking about giving a donation (still about 9 or 10 months before they need to do it).

Thanks for the well-wishes and the support, and I'll try to post updates (but please remind me periodically if I haven't in a while).

**PC_You_Know** · 06-19-2009, 03:21 AM

I'm rooting for you bro!

**BFritz** · 06-19-2009, 03:28 AM

PC_You_Know Wrote:I'm rooting for you bro!

Thanks brother, I can use all the support I can get:Thumbs:

But I would like a few people to doubt me because this is so highly unlikely that it will only drive me to work harder.

***Spud6*** · 06-19-2009, 04:14 AM

BFritz Wrote:Thanks brother, I can use all the support I can get:Thumbs:

But I would like a few people to doubt me because this is so highly unlikely that it will only drive me to work harder.

Well man. I'm a supporter of you.

IISnakE · 06-19-2009, 12:18 PM

Good Luck BFritz! Nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself!

Tatertot · 06-19-2009, 08:28 PM

Good Luck and we're all behind you to reach your goal! With your determination, anything's possible! If anyone doubts you, prove them wrong! :Thumbs:

**BFritz** · 06-22-2009, 03:18 AM

Tatertot Wrote:Good Luck and we're all behind you to reach your goal! With your determination, anything's possible! If anyone doubts you, prove them wrong! :Thumbs:

Thanks, but people doubting me will only push me to work harder and to get to where I need to be.

Actually, had someone doubt me today, and it was a good friend. He said "you can probly do the 5k, but the 10k's a LONG WAY," so I was pumped and I'm going to work that much harder to prove him wrong.

It only makes me that much hungrier.

lil dog · 06-23-2009, 06:43 PM

Thanks for the update, sounds like you are working very hard, I wish you all the luck in the world, you sound so strong there is no way i could doubt you man.........keep us updated, and I want to donate if you decide to do that so let me know , GOOD LUCK AND I'M PULLING FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!

**BFritz** · 06-23-2009, 07:49 PM

lil dog Wrote:Thanks for the update, sounds like you are working very hard, I wish you all the luck in the world, you sound so strong there is no way i could doubt you man.........keep us updated, and I want to donate if you decide to do that so let me know , GOOD LUCK AND I'M PULLING FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, brother.

A new update is that I'm going to start going down to CovCath's track or Thomas More's track and try start walking around it with a walker. I'll see how far I can go and just build from there. I was actually supposed to go tonight, but my friend's car broke down, so that idea's shot.

I'm to going post all of the donors on my website, but I'm not going to start asking people to commit for probably another five or six months.

Remind me if I forget, but thanks, I appreciate all the support I can get!

lil dog · 06-24-2009, 01:18 AM

BFritz Wrote:Thanks, brother.

A new update is that I'm going to start going down to CovCath's track or Thomas More's track and try start walking around it with a walker. I'll see how far I can go and just build from there. I was actually supposed to go tonight, but my friend's car broke down, so that idea's shot.

I'm to going post all of the donors on my website, but I'm not going to start asking people to commit for probably another five or six months.

Remind me if I forget, but thanks, I appreciate all the support I can get!

Cool, I will keep up with you on here!!!!!!!!!:Thumbs:

**BFritz** · 06-24-2009, 01:21 AM

lil dog Wrote:Cool, I will keep up with you on here!!!!!!!!!:Thumbs:

Tonight, I walked a fourth of a mile just to see how it would feel, and my legs felt great, but I just need to find a way to do it faster because it took forever.

lil dog · 06-24-2009, 01:26 AM

BFritz Wrote:Tonight, I walked a fourth of a mile just to see how it would feel, and my legs felt great, but I just need to find a way to do it faster because it took forever.

Keep working man , you will get it!!!!!!!:Cheerlead

**BFritz** · 06-30-2009, 01:24 AM

lil dog Wrote:Keep working man , you will get it!!!!!!!:Cheerlead

When I walked a fourth of a mile, the reason it too so long is because I had to take two steps, then lift the walker, put it a few feet ahead, and then step again, but today I bought sliders to slide on the ground so I can just walk in stride without having to lift it after every two steps.

**BFritz** · 07-16-2009, 01:16 AM

Minor update- I decided to donate all of the money that I get donated to charity because it will only make me work that much harder if I'm working for other people or other causes (I had originally said that I'd donate most of it but use a lil bit to do something for myself).