Sergeant Tony's Blog

I used to be a professional triathlete.

Okay, not EXACTLY a professional. I mean, I’ve never won a triathlon, and I’ve done over a hundred of them from the sprint distance — sprints are shorter events like a .5 mile swim, 15 mile, 3 mile run, for example — to the half Ironman distance (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run) that I did last summer.

And in all of those races … I’ve never won.

I’ve never even gotten close.

I’ve never even been close enough to SEE the winner win!

In fact, in my first triathlon I got beat by an old guy 40 years older than I was!

So how did I become a pro?

Well, I’m using the term “pro” pretty loosely to mean “sponsored.”

I had a sponsor in 1987 for my last triathlon season before I followed a lifelong dream and moved to Japan. My brother-in-law, Ron Clifton, sponsored me that year. Ron and my sister Sharon own “Clifton Body Shop” in Fort Smith, Arkansas. (If you’re ever in my hometown, stop by the shop and tell ‘em you know me. Don’t be surprised if they throw you out and sic’ the dogs on ya! hahaha)

So for that one season my race uniform consisted of hats and t-shirts with “Clifton Body Shop!” printed on them! Ron paid my race entry fees, travel expenses, and even some extra money on top of that! Pretty cool, huh? He even promised me $100,000 prize money if I won a race wearing a Clifton Body Shop shirt! (He knew that wasn’t gonna happen!)

Last week several of us Boot Campers did the Dragonfly Triathlon in Sardis, Mississippi: Scot Bearup, Wendy Ludlow, and Daniel Shaffer, who finished second in his age group! Way to go Daniel! Incidentally, Daniel placed in his age group at the Memphis in May triathlons too!

So here I am. I’m still at it. Still doing triathlons … all these years later.

But I haven’t sat in a classroom in a long time.

What??

I haven’t really been doing anything to challenge my brain in the same way that I challenge myself physically.

I haven’t been doing any mental triathlons.

I abandoned my PhD work 10 years ago. And I’ve noticed that it’s really really easy to get mentally lazy. I used to scratch my head in confused disappointment at my Dad’s generation when he and his friends seemed to quit learning anything new and didn’t seem to care to learn anything new. They lived by the motto: “All I need to know, I already know, and I don’t need to know no more.”

Mental laziness, not as noticeable as physical laziness, can be just as insidious. Mental couch potatoes get soft and dull, mentally fat and out of shape. What if your mental laziness made your earlobes sag and hang down like a hound dog’s floppy ears? We’d all get busy then, wouldn’t we?

So, here’s my challenge.

Knock off the mental cobwebs and start firing the synapses again! Do some brain work, some brain teasers, crossword puzzles, or sudoku. Find something that makes you use your noodle, start playing chess or checkers (for you UT people). Read a book that isn’t related to all of the other books you’ve read before. If you’ve never read a book (you Ole Miss people!), now would be a good time to give that a shot! Learn something new, like a language or a musical instrument (“learn to work the saxophone” — my apologies to Donald Fagen!) … take up a new hobby that makes you use your brain! Get out of your mental comfort zone and take up something that requires you to be analytical!

Start doing some mental push ups!

We’ll tackle being creative next week!

For now … GET BUSY BEING SMART AND HOT!!

(If you’ve got a favorite thing that you do to stay mentally sharp, tell me and I’ll compile a list of ideas to pass on to the troops!)

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SPEED ZONE!

Tomorrow (Thursday) the evening class will meet at 5:45 at the track at the U of M, our old stomping grounds, for cardio! We’ll use the track there for some speed work! You are welcome to join in! Park in the parking garage on Zach Curlin. It’ll cost you a dollar but it will ensure that you don’t get a parking ticket. We’ll warm up and stretch out on the outdoor basketball court (our original Quarterdeck!).

Speed work is OPTIONAL! If you’d just like to meet there and run around the track or the campus, come out and join us!

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TOMORROW’S THURSDAY EVENING CLASS

See above announcement.

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USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP — COLLIERVILLE!

Sergeant Les Bonnett will start USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP Collierville on July 1, 2008 at 0530!

Faith Lutheran Church, at the corner of Byhalia Road and White, is the location; this is just down the street from The Home Depot. The excitement and interest in the program from the staff at Faith Lutheran has been awesome!

Tell your friends who live in Germantown or Collierville that USMC FITNESS BOOT CAMP IS COMING!

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AND DON’T FORGET USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP — MIDTOWN at Evergreen Presbyterian Church, 0530 to 0630, Monday through Friday, under the direction of Battalion Commanders Theresa Andreuccetti and Holly Guthrie!!

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PAYING THE PIED PIPER

You know how much I enjoy getting your money!

If you ask, “Tony, do I owe you money?” The answer is always “YES, YOU DO!”

A small favor:

When you pay with a check, may I ask you to please, please, please write the boot camper’s name on the memo line and the month(s) that are being paid for.

Some of you have a Sugar Daddy or a Sugar Momma, paying your fees — I’m cool with that — but if your name doesn’t appear on the check or on the memo line, then I don’t know who to credit.

Look in your check registry. If it’s been a while since you paid … well … you know what to do … I have plenty of ink pens!

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DR. PHIL IS COMING, DR. PHIL IS COMING!!

The Dr. Phil Show will be launching a new contest that is a cross between The Biggest Loser and The Amazing Race. Starting with 6 teams of two in Times Square in NYC and “race” across America, they’ll stop in different cities to workout, run races, and be challenged until they reach their final destination and a winner is declared.

Memphis is one of the cities where the contestants will stop and be challenged. I’ve been asked to be the guy to challenge and abuse them in Memphis!

The Dr. Phil Show will be here July 29, 30, and 31st. It’s possible that part of their back story for their Memphis challenge will include them filming some of US doing Boot Camp! You could be on national television yelling out MARINE CORPS!!! They may even conduct some interviews with some of you! Wouldn’t THAT be cool?

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No doubt you have heard about the passing of Tim Russert, the host of NBC’s Meet the Press, who died of a sudden heart attack at age 58.

In Tim’s book, “Big Russ and Me,” he introduced us to his dad, a sanitation worker from south Buffalo, NY. Tim Russert knew all of our country’s most famous, most wealthy and most powerful, yet it was the simple lessons of respect and decency learned from his blue collar Dad that inspired a book.

Thanks Tim, for reminding us of what is important in this world.

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To your continued good health, physical fitness, and mental sharpness!

Tony

Sergeant Major Tony Ludlow
USMC Fitness BOOT CAMP, Commanding
5358 Denwood
Memphis, TN 38120
901-644-0145

www.usmcfitnessbootcamp.com

www.shaklee.net/tonyludlow/main