How it all began

This blog was originally conceived in 2008 but didn’t go live until the summer of 2014 in preparation for my first IM in Lake Tahoe. It was definitely the biggest athletic undertaking for me up until that point so I decided to start putting my thoughts on paper and share with my family and friends as I trained.  Given that creative writing is not my naturally strong suit, writing about training took nearly as much time as the actual training, so at some point I stopped, despite the encouraging remarks from a few loyal followers who read my posts (thanks Mom, Dad, Yury and Sabina)

Today, a good friend (Steve) and fellow endurance athlete is training for his first century ride (100-miles) around Lake Tahoe while raising money for the less fortunate and sharing his thoughts along the way. This may very well be the second revival of SmileyRunner as I really want to thank Steve for getting me back in the saddle, to join him on this epic ride, for commitment to fundraising, and for reminding me that even the busiest people (Steve’s a full time Dad, athlete, political activist, and a CEO of thriving company) can find time to do whatever they set their mind to.

I’m incredibly proud and supportive of your efforts bud – you’re awesome!

On that note, I unfortunately have to wrap this up, but ask that you please take a moment to support Steve’s efforts HERE and follow his progress.

‘Till next time….hopefully sooner than later….thanks for reading

Roman

Its a GO!

Yesterday was a super MAGNETICALLY charged day – that literally began with a magnet, a mixed bag of good & bad news, and ended on a high note with the good news winning by a long mile.

7:45am – I get pushed into the belly of a giant buzzing magnet and nervously await for the magnetic field around me to create a 3D-image of my left knee.  The outcome will determine if I can proceed with my training and attempt the Ironman in September

10:00am – I get a call from our good friend Dr. Flora. “So, how does it look doc?” I ask.  Silence.  “Shit”, I think to myself, Flora’s not exactly known for pauses. “Yeah, that Ironman thing is not looking good for ya” I hear on the other end of the line.  Stomach drops to the floor…thump!

– “Huh?”

– “Nah, I’m just messing with you, you’re fine”.  

– “Huh?? Wait what??“

– “Look, your knee is definitely not happy, your medial meniscus has a slight tear which is not good, but its still super slight and should be okay but you need to be careful and”  -breath-  “Anyways, do you know what a meniscus is, and what it does?”

– “Huh?”

– Well, your meniscus is attached to the blah blah blah and to the blah blah blah which basically does blah blah blah and together with the blah blah blah makes your knee joint work” (sorry Doc, I don’t speak Doc)

– “Soooo….what does that mean?”  

– “Well hun, that means you gotta start acting your age”  (bad news)

– “Soooo….can I do the Ironman”

– “Yeah, you should be fine” (great news)

– “WooHoo….Thanks Doc!”

Few more back and forth’s just to be sure I heard everything right and I’m off to the doctor’s appointment with Sabina.

10:45am –  Doctors appointment #2:  Sabina drinks plenty of water – Lays down in a dark room with ultrasound equipment – Jelly – Ignition – Start – Go!

– Heartbeat (check),

– Head (check),

– Two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears (check),

– Two little arms, two little hands (check),

– Two little legs, two little feet (check),

– Between two little legs (Penis),

WAIT! Go back! Are you sure?!?!

– Penis (Check)….Its a BOY!!!!!

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Phew, all that before lunch! Sabina and I were both exhausted and exhilarated at the same time, and Ellie was so excited that she kept asking for her little brother, after the ultrasound monitor was turned off, not understanding where he went.

As we sat in that room, we both remarked on how amazing it was, that despite not having had a strong preference for a boy or a girl, knowing that we’ll have a boy immediately added a new dimension and range of emotions to our family. And luckily for Ellie, she’ll be freed from having to like scotch, fishing, cars, and memorizing useless movie quotes.

So here we are folks. Yesterday was an amazing day filled with life changing news and a little doze of reality – I promise to start paying extra attention to my body, though I may need a second opinion on the “needing to act my age” diagnosis. Sorry doc, that’s a tough pill to swallow. But in all seriousness, I owe a hugely sincere thanks to our amazing friend Dr. Flora Stepansky for getting me examined on such short notice, arranging the entire procedure with her best folks, for being super attentive, careful, and supportive! Thanks love!

And now that I have an almost clean bill of health, with 14 weeks to go before the race, I’m ramping up my training to make-up for lost time and my limping knee.  I thank you again for your continued support, help, and encouragement.  And before I go, please help ramp-up our fundraising efforts for the Children of Peru Foundation that helped me secure a spot on the Ironman roster!  Please click HERE to learn more about them and donate if you can!

Many thanks and never act your chronological age!

Roman

 

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No make up classes in life…

I had a chance to catch up with a good friend from college over coffee today between meetings and his busy foreign travel schedule as a young start-up exec.  We talked about work, home, year-end goals, our health, our relationships, and then shifted gears to talk about the balance of it all.

He talked about the demands of his fast-paced tech-startup and the crazy travel schedule as he forged partnerships and sales channels overseas. I shared my own challenges of growing and scaling a business, demands of home, family, health, and finances. Then we both admitted to being fully & consciously engaged in our work despite the various B/S that we could have lived without, but agreed that we were both happy with everything as it was.

I did mentioned my upcoming ironman race and my increasing level of anxiety about the lack of training due to my work schedule and family demands.  “A real, full, ironman?” he asked. “Yep” – I replied – “16 weeks left and I’m about 6 weeks behind.”  His next comment struck a nerve and stayed with me:

“Damn, that’s tough man. You can’t get that time back” he said.  “Nope, sure can’t” I replied.

We then talked about time for a minute (ironic, I know) and he mentioned his CEO, who’s work ethic made my buddy feel like a borderline slacker (despite his already packed schedule), and about how difficult it must be to spend so much time away from his wife and two kids.

Another nerve struck: can’t get that time back!  

For the rest of the day, as the clock raced forward outpacing my growing to-do list, I forgot the zinger until I sat down with my Mom, Dad, Brother, and my little daughter over dinner later in the evening.  Watching the three Polnar generations at the dinner table, hearing my parents reminisce about the days when my brother and I were little kids, and imagining myself in their shoes as Ellie grew up in front of my eyes…my friend’s comment rushed back with another emotional cord strike.

Indeed, none of us can get that time back!

I shook the thought out of my head by reminding myself that living life without regretful rearview glances requires love, passion, dreams, thoughtfulness, forward facing orientation, and a healthy dose of conscious compromise.

So while life (just like my upcoming Ironman race) requires a lot of preparation, training & practice, I’m choosing to balance the next 16 weeks of training with the demands of equally important life’s moments and people that need me – because in the end – I can’t get that time back!

Thanks for reading,

Roman (aka Smiley Runner)

 

 

PS…the deck is done! Last Saturday consisted of 8 more hours of sanding and staining, that left me utterly exhausted and perfectly satisfied! And if you are able, please consider helping our chosen charity as we raise funds for kids living in poverty – please click HERE and thanks again.

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Whatever works…

I’ve been meaning to fix the deck at the cabin since the summer of 2012 but something always kept coming up…in addition to not knowing if I wanted to repaint it or sand it down. The redwood deck boards have been covered by layers of paint over the last 20+ years, beaten by the elements, and warped by the southern exposure – but I kept wondering if restoring them was a possibility. The easier option was to slap a fresh layer of paint and kick the can down the road for another couple of years. So obviously, I took the harder route.

Here’s the before & after deck railing board:

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A quick mid-day coffee break & back to work:

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Eight hours later – the before & after deck boards (though still unfinished):

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So having spent 8 hours sanding in the 85+ degree sun, I figure I burned at least a couple of thousand calories (minus the three beers) that should amount to a 3+ hour bike ride that I skipped to get this done.  So when I get asked one of the three most common questions about preparing for the Ironman: “What do you do to train?”  The answer is almost always: “Whatever works?”

And finally a long awaited reward after a hard day’s work…a smile that fills my world with happiness:

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Stay tuned for day 2 of more sanding, staining, and finally finishing deck #1  I figure that’s going to be my “swim” workout : )

Thanks again for reading, for your ongoing support and encouragement.

Cheers!

Roman (aka SmileyRunner)

 

 

Seems like it was yesterday…

It seems like it was yesterday that I stood next to Sabina in front of our family and friends to exchange our vows and say I do(s).  That was four years ago – seemingly a blink of an eye away – yet when I look back to take stock of our accomplishments that I realize how much has changed (in the best possible sense).

This past weekend, my Brother (Yury) and his Fiancé (Kat) exchanged their vows in front of their family and friends and marked a beginning of a new timeline of their own. I wished them a lifetime filled with daily and momentous happiness – to take daily glances in the rearview mirror to catch beautiful passing moments, while keeping their eyes on the horizon for amazing moments they have yet to create.

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While this doesn’t relate directly with my training for the Ironman…as one of the most momentous experiences of happiness in my life, their wedding connected a lot of dots and made me pause to take stock once again:

  • For one, I realized that hangovers linger longer than they used to, even four years ago – so time to start hammering down on my training and replace bourbon with protein shakes
  • Being asked to officiate their wedding pushed me to such remote outskirts of my comfort zone that I remembered that’s where we grow the most – thank you for that
  • Its important to uphold certain traditions and shed the extras – focus on the essence of what makes you truly happy
  • Don’t overextend yourself or others – frictionless balance feels good

So on that note, I am incredibly grateful to Yury and Kat for an amazing weekend, as well as to our parents, our families and friends for showering them with love. Its now time to recommit myself to training and celebrate once again when I cross the finish line in 16 weeks.

Thanks for reading and if you haven’t already, please support our chosen charity!

Roman