“It is our failure to become our perceived ideal
that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.”
– Conan O’Brien

Deep Squats (Thoughts)

51 of us for Murph yesterday. If you missed it, you were missed.
There’s a funny thing about about Murph. It’s NEVER easy. I’ll speak for myself, but I bet it’s true for you, too.
The run starts great as I leave 1:00 after everyone else. Out past Jiffy Lube. Down San Antonio. Checking running form in the glass on buildings. I’m so cool. People driving by must think I’m super fit and cool to run at 9:30am on a holiday. Then I turn the corner. The vest is chafing my neck. What’s up with that?
Turning onto Independence. 800m left. Good. I’m tired of running. MMMmmm. The bread at the bakery smells good and sweet! Final 250m. Let’s get ready to do work.

Sets of pull-ups go well. Thank goodness for grips. Pushups. Always the pushups… Sets of 10 start well and I’m quickly reminded that I’m not the man of my memory. Looks like it’s 2 sets of 5. Breathe through good squats. Why do my knees hurt already? Insert mental image of Sally O’Malley kicking and being 50!
Sweat starts dropping on the ground from pushups and squats. My shirt is wet. I think I’ll feel this year more than most. Funny, that keeps happening. Chip away. Just keep chipping.

Out the door at 37:00. Whew. Barring a meltdown I’ll be under the 60:00 goal for everyone to be done. Walk to sidewalk. Now, just don’t stop or walk till it’s over. This is the suck. I think the last time I ran more than 400m at a time was for Murph on January 1st. Yep, I’m lazy like everyone else. I’m not special. But now my calves are cursing me for not running or doing any weight vest workouts to prepare for this.
“Come on, Dymmel.” “You got this.” Self talk. It’s all I’ve got left. Did I say something to Nicolai as he passed me? I don’t think so. Oh, hey Mirco. Good job. Ugh. Last turn. Strong finish! Nope. Just keep shuffling.

Hey Chris. Hey Johannes. Thanks for picking me up the last couple hundred meters. Up the hill to the gym. (I know it’s not a hill, but it feels like one!)
51:25. Hands on knees. Walk over, time on board. Start yelling at everyone else to get times up. Not my fastest. Not my slowest. Don’t care. I kept going. I knew I’d be sore today. I AM! Doesn’t matter. Life goes on. It’s a workout that means more to me than any Open, Qualifier or Games workout. This isn’t about me, but it does remind me of that fact, which helps me. I hope it helps you.
Thank you all for making every day at CFPA worth it for me and everyone else that comes here. May we all find what we need.

See you in class.
Tim

What’s Going On?

250 Years of Fitness Freedom
Saturday, July 4, 2026
9am

Overheard in Class:
“I might have gone slow, but I got low.”

Timfluencing

David Foster Wallace Commencement to Kenyan College 2005

“It is about the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time, that we have to keep reminding ourselves over and over:

“This is water.”

“This is water.”

Tim’s Takeaway: This speech was about mindfulness before it was cool. And for the same reason we can read another book about leadership, service, heroism, sales, etc., we need reminders to do these things. I hope this helps you somehow. The graphics throughout are helpful.

Please send me suggestions for commencement speeches that are memorable for you and would like to share with our community.

Thank you for your support.

I look forward to what we will do together.