Sunday Story…The Bionic Man

I hope it didn’t cost 6 million dollars, but I am now in possession of a new knee. It turns out that what I got was not exactly a new knee…as in, out with the old and in with the new—but a resurfaced knee.

What that means is the doctor moves the kneecap out of the way, takes both the tibia end and the femur end of the leg bones and “resurfaces” them, attaches a cap to both, and then places a poly-carbonate pad between the two caps. The kneecap goes back in place. All the ligaments and tendons are left intact, except the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which got severed in the process. So, my skiing career is over. But an ACL isn’t necessary for most of my activities (I am not a skier! Here’s a video of the physician assistant explaining what was done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kayVY2qMB7M

Easy peasy, right? Well not so fast. The incision is about 12” long from above the knee to below. The trauma to the area was fairly intense. When it was all said and done the knee was about the size of a small soccer ball. Worse, the ability to move the leg overall was minimal and the mobility in the knee itself was non-existent.

As I sit here, 3 days post-op the swelling has diminished by more than half. I can lift the leg independently and bend the knee to 90 degrees with some effort. The rehab exercises are getting easier every time I do them (3x a day) and I can walk without assistance (although not easily).

The whole process has been very simple and straightforward. But it has not been easy. And it is going to get harder over the next few weeks and months as I get deeper into physical therapy and try to regain the strength and mobility in my right leg.

Steve Austin I’m not…yet!

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

 

 

 

 

Sunday Story…The Journey to Extraordinary III

You are empowered to decide how you want your journey to extraordinary to play out. Notice, however, that it is a journey. We aren’t talking about an extraordinary destination, although your destination may, indeed, be extraordinary. The joy, the learning, and the teaching are in the journey. And like Odysseus’ trek home, it isn’t going to be a direct path. There will be detours, there will be monsters, there will be setbacks.

Throughout your journey to living an extraordinary life, you are faced with one immutable fact: your time here is limited. We are all going to die. Our time on earth is short and we have a responsibility to ourselves, our loved ones, and our maker to fill it with activities that will cement a legacy.

We all leave a legacy. Some people leave a much bigger, longer-lasting legacy than others. But we all leave one. As we move on our journey, staying in harmony, always inching closer to the end point of our stay, the question becomes: do my actions, do my words, match with the legacy I am striving to leave?

When you are gone, what will be said about you? There is no hierarchy in the graveyard, the one who amasses the most does not sit above the one who amasses less. Our job here at Odyssey is to give you permission to voyage extraordinarily and then celebrate your journey. But you will have to make the climb yourself. I can’t do it for you. I can help, cajole, inspire, and push but in the final assessment, it will be all you.

So go forth and leave the extraordinary legacy you were put on this earth to leave.

 

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

Sunday Story…The Journey to Extraordinary II

Perhaps, before embarking on our journey to extraordinary, we should decide what an extraordinary journey would look like. That definition is for each of you to make. My journey is going to look much different from yours. Where I am in my life is where I am, and you are where you are. That being said, some principles transcend exact times and places.

Odysseus’ extraordinary journey took him on many adventures, trials, and tribulations. His journey though had a single-minded destination…home and hearth. He was dedicated to making his way back. What is the destination you are dedicated to? We all talk about the importance of the journey and the enjoyment of the process. But we can’t lose sight of where our journey is taking us.

I posit that harmony is more important than balance. At any point in my life, I may need to be more heavily weighted toward one activity or another. When your children are small, they need a different type of attention than they do when they are older or adults. The same is true of your career. If I want to run a marathon in under 5 hours, I am going to need to dedicate some time to training. That is different than I just want to be able to run easily for an hour. Just as Odysseus had to stop and fight various enemies you will need to stop and vanquish your own challenges.

But what good will running that marathon do me if I lose my relationships and career while I’m training? I believe that would be extraordinarily bad and something to be avoided. When we started Odyssey we wanted to be a beacon of health and fitness. Your fitness is not just who you are physically, mentally, or emotionally. All three must be in harmony to find health.

More next week,

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412

 

 

Sunday Story…The Journey to Extraordinary

Many years ago, Ellie and I were brainstorming what the vision for our CrossFit gym would be. Before there was the name, Odyssey, there was a vision. A vision of a place where everyone would find their way to their best life…their extraordinary life. As we talked, we realized that every one of us had a hero waiting to be enlivened within us. A hero who would need to live an extraordinary life to meet the demands and rigor of a life worth living.

Fitness was a sneaky way to get people started on their journey. When you begin your fitness journey, you aren’t sure of what you are capable of. When you walked through the door for the first time, you came for the fitness. Hopefully, we inspired you to do and be more than just fit.

Just as health isn’t just the absence of sickness, fitness isn’t just the absence of weakness. Health means your biomarkers are in the correct ranges. Health means you have a vibrancy that embraces life. Fitness means your body is strong and able. Fitness means you can perform both your daily functions as well as any other tasks you ask of it. Fitness is physical, mental, and emotional. If you are super physically fit and an emotional child or an angry narcissist, you aren’t fit. You’re just physically fit.

Your journey to extraordinary isn’t just physical, nor is it just mental or emotional. It is all that and more. Your journey encompasses your entire galaxy of life on this planet.

More next week.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412