Against the Odds - Book Review

I was very fortunate to be contacted by John Pendergrass author of Against the Odds recently.  John is an everyday athlete - an ophthalmologist living in Mississippi who is not just a runner but also a triathlete.  Against the Odds is his story of pursuing six Ironman races on six Continents in his Sixties.  That's right...in his sixties!



I really enjoyed reading John's story as he navigated the globe tackling Ironman events.  This book is as much a travelogue as an inspiring story.  It is full of optimism and possibility and that is motivating no matter what your age.  First, there is something that book is not...and that's okay.  This book is not a detailed training plan for completing an Ironman.  If you are hoping to get the nuts and bolts of how to train for an Ironman then you will need to add another book to your shopping cart with John's book!

In this book, John shares quite openly about the challenges and joys of being an Ironman athlete. John speaks candidly about the time challenges that this puts on you as an individual, professional, and family member.  One of the aspects of his story that I liked is that he turns his destination race events into family travel time when possible.  As he shared the story of his race in Switzerland I wanted to join his wife and daughter in their adventures discovering chocolate! Even though I'm a triathlete...chocolate still trumps triathlon!

John's book takes the reader along to Brazil, Switzerland, South Africa, New Zealand, Arizona, and finally China.  I really enjoyed that John spends as much time talking about his travels around these places as he does talking about the races in each.  His travel experiences made me want to travel more just to see the sights.  I'm more excited now for my trip with friends later this year to do the SeaWheeze half marathon in Vancouver!

"Every Ironman story is interesting. I love and admire everyone who competes in one of these events, the details are always fascinating.  There are few dilettantes in the world of this incredible race.  There's no sense of entitlement, no room for whining or victimhood, no place for laziness.  It's just a hard, time-consuming goal to reach, and that's what makes it so worthwhile."  

It's hard to capture and explain why we love triathlon but with the sample above John does a great job of explaining why we pursue triathlon.  It's an addictive sport and the challenges we endure are worth it for the triumphs we experience every time we cross that finish line.

Altogether in the book, one of my favorite passages speaks to experience of triathlon - especially post-race.  "It never fails, memories improve with time, the pain and suffering disappear while the high points grow and endure."  Isn't that the truth! Just think about how you recount a race or even just a training run or ride to friends.  That hill becomes steeper with each story telling until you have climbed Mont Tremblanc in your ride! That final sprint to the finish against a competitor...you relive it in slow motion.  And that is why, without fail, we forget the pain and suffering and we keep signing up for more races.

I really enjoyed reading John's story and it has me ready for triathlon season! Pick up your copy today at Amazon.

Pay It Forward Giveaway

A few weeks ago I was really lucky to win a giveaway hosted by Jason over at Life of An Aspiring Triathlete.  The giveaway included two books 17 Hours to Glory and The Long Run (see below for my book review). These two books are full of motivation and inspiration and are definitely worth sharing via this Pay It Forward giveaway!  Just like Jason, I will be hosting a giveaway of the two books to one of my readers.  I'm going to use the same general entry procedure that Jason used when he started the giveaway. 

So here are the rules.....very simple:

1- Be a follower

2- Promise to pay it forward that once you are done reading these books you will have a giveaway as well to send these on to the next person

3- Promise to notify Jason at jbaha [at] gmail [dot] com when you put the giveaway up so he can follow where the books are travelling.

4- Promise that if you get the book and there is no more room to put something motivating that after you read it you will mail it back to Jason (he will pay for the shipping) so that he can see where these books have travelled and all the motivating words in them.

5- Promise to write something motivating in the books, doesn't matter where.
6- Promote it on your Facebook, Twitter, blog, write it in the dust on your car or kitchen table, talk about it at the PTA meeting.....you get the point.

Do it all in one comment.  There will only be 1 entry per person. The giveaway will end Sunday January 9th at 12pm CST.......Good luck to all.....PAY IT FORWARD!!!!!

The Long Run Book Review


The Long Run is the story of Matt Long, a New York City firefighter who was severely injured while riding his bike when a commuter bus ran over him.  I first heard of Matt Long's story when Runner's World did an article on his recovery in 2008.  It was a hard article to read because the extent of his injuries was so severe.  The book is just as open and honest with the injuries that Matt suffered as well as the emotions that Matt experienced during his recovery. 

Prior to his injury, Matt had completed the New York City Marathon in an impressive 3:13:56 and had completed numerous triathlons including the Lake Placid Ironman.  He was definitely an athlete in both his personal life as an athlete and professional life as a firefighter.  His recovery process included setbacks and triumphs and it is truly inspiring to follow the journey that he took.  The book is pretty easy to read and written in a very conversational style.  It was emotional to read at times as Matt struggled with surviving the injuries and learning to find his former life in his new body.  You will definitely find inspiration in Matt's story.

Book Review - 17 Hours to Glory

Recently I won a Pay It Forward Giveaway of two books hosted by Jason over at Life of An Aspiring Triathlete.  I just finished reading the first of those books, 17 Hours to Glory.  It is a compilation of stories about some of the World Champions of Triathlon and the everyday athletes that have found glory in the sport. 


I enjoyed the book a lot and I have to caution you that it will inspire you to want to be an Ironman! This book lets you experience some of the greatest moments in Kona history.  It made me get on YouTube to even watch some of those moments too.  If you watched the 2010 race on NBC a few weeks ago you probably heard the commentators discuss the Iron War.  That story is covered in the book as well. 

From the pro triathletes to the challenged athletes to the age groupers all of the stories share a common theme...perseverance.  Nearly all the athletes experienced setbacks, injuries, and sickness at some point in their careers and in races.  It is really inspiring to know that the pros are human too!

This is a great book and if you stick around I will be hosting my own Pay It Forward giveaway soon.  I have to finish the second book first and then I'll do a giveaway for both with the stipulation that the winner also promise to host a giveaway and pass the books along after they are done with them.   I hope to have the giveaway up by the end of the week. 

Book Review and Giveaway

Today was the launch of the new book Delivering Happiness A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh the CEO of Zappos.com.  I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of this book to read and review.  I have heard about the Zappos.com culture for years and seen Zappos.com on the Fortune list of Top 100 companies to work for so I was quite interested in learning more about how this company got started and has developed such a strong corporate culture. 

The book is broken out into three sections: I - Profits, II - Profits and Passion, III - Profits, Passion, and Purpose. The book follows a chronological review of Tony Hsieh's career from being a young entrepreneur to financing start-ups and ultimately his involvement in turning Zappos.com into $1 Billion company in 10 years. 

I enjoyed all of the stories that the book contained.  It was easy to make comparisons to my own experiences with online retailers.  I love the simplicity of the Zappos brand promise: Zappos is about delivering happiness to the world.  Zappos employees strive to deliver a WOW experience for their customers and this unmatched level of customer service has served as a competitive advantage and differentiation in the world of online retail.  Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed were the short quotes and tweets such as "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf," by Jon Kabat-Zinn and "Life isn't about finding yourself.  Life is about creating yourself," by George Bernard Shaw.  Overall, this book was a great read and much more light-hearted than traditional business books.  The book gave me ideas to think about in how to make sure that I incorporate passion and purpose in my work. 

You can purchase this book from Amazon.com but you could win a free copy by entering my giveaway!  One winner will receive a free copy of the book.  The giveaway will run through Friday, June 11th at midnight CST and the winner will be announced over the weekend.  Good luck to all!!!

To enter:
1) Leave a comment listing your best customer service experience. 
2) Gain additional entries by posting on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. (leave a comment for each)

*Full Disclosure: I received free advanced copies of the book, and these statements are my honest opinions of the book.