Wedemann’s Amazing Adventure

Fire Fighter, Joe Wedemann, goal setter and good friend

Dr. Joseph Murphy said, “Our subconscious mind can be compared to a garden – if we leave it unattended, the weeds will grow wild.”

    Setting goals in our everyday lives is a great destroyer of those “weeds” and helps us develop a healthy “garden.”

    Longtime friend and County of Hawaii Firefighter, Joe Wedemann, is a great example of a person that is constantly setting goals for himself and acting on them.

   I’ve known Wedemann from his humble days when he worked in the jewelry department at Liberty House that was once located in the Prince Kuhio Plaza.

   Wedemann set a goal then of making into the Fire Department and fulfilling a childhood dream.  This was no easy task for a man in his 30’s, at the time, but Wedemann persevered and overcame obstacles to make it.

   During his pre fire department days Wedemann recruited me to help him run his first marathon, a 26.2-mile effort, as we spent many weekends running from our homes in Paradise Park, out to the Mall, and back to HPP again.

   After achieving a series of successful marathons Wedemann set his sights on qualifying and then finishing, his first Ironman World Triathlon.  He has since completed three Ironman’s.

   So it was no surprise for me when I heard that this 40 something year old had decided to do a bike ride around the Big Island in a single day, a distance of 215 miles.

   Wedemann set his goal date for Father’s Day and had spent all his days off from the department to go on long rides in preparation for his adventure.

   Several of Wedemann’s friends volunteered to ride part of the way with him as they would provide support along the route.

   The group of five gathered at Hilo Bayfront on Father’s Day at 3 a.m. “We got rolling at 3:20 a.m. and started smelling the sweet smell of pancake syrup and bacon as we passed Ken’s Pancake House,” Wedemann said.

   “I was surprised to see so many cars in the parking lot of Ken’s.  The weather was nice all the way up to Glenwood where we were treated to some London style fog and a light drizzle as the sun attempted to break through.”

    Wedemann was joined initially by fellow riders Adam Busek, Jeremy Butts, Robert Van Geen and Michael Hrynevych.

    “We all stayed together to the 30 mile marker where we had a brief stop for water.  Jeremy (Butts) said aloha at that point as he planned on keeping us company to Volcano,” Wedemann said.

Working out on a stationary bike, Joe Wedemann is in picture perfect health

    Along the way Wedemann was joined by friend Mark Mangabin and Tanner Whitman who followed in a support vehicle as they supplied the water and nutrition for Wedemann and his friends.

    “Descending down from Pahala was pretty effortless until we reached Whittington Beach Park, just before Naalehu,” Wedemann said.

   Wedemann reached Naalehu around 7 a.m. and the decent from Volcano to Pahala would be the last real break of the day.

   “Once we got into Pahala it was getting pretty hot and the eventual steep hills began to separate the rest of the guys riding with me,” he said.

   At 125 miles Busek was the only rider left with Wedemann as the duo had ridden together up through Holualoa.  “Once we hit Palani Adam (Busek) left, as he was meeting his wife for lunch in Kailua.”

   Wedemann rode solo up to Waimea, all the while battling the high gust of winds most of the way uphill.

   “After a short bathroom break in Waimea, my friend, Alan Ryan joined me for the last 56 miles to Hilo.  At this point I was getting pretty tired.  Thank God the winds started to subside,” Wedemann said.

   Wedemann reached Hilo Bayfront at 6:30 p.m. just before the pouring rain.  “Thank God for giving me the strength, ability, motivation, and my wife (Veronica) who continues to surprise me with her loving support for me and my adventures,” Wedemann said after his amazing ride.

   I admire people with goals that keep raising the bar on themselves in an effort to enjoy life and to utilize their gifts to their fullest potential.

  “People with goals succeed because they know where they are going.  It’s as simple as that,” Earl Nightingale wrote.

  Joe Wedemann is just an average person with an amazing appetite to challenge himself far beyond what most of us would consider reasonable.

Is Running Good for Your Heart?

Runners participate in the annual Big Island International Marathon

There has been tons of research done on the value of exercise and the beneficial list continues to grow and now includes slowing the onset of Alzheimer’s, reducing the pain suffered from arthritis and, in women, reducing the number of hot flashes during menopause.

    The two most important forms of exercise are strength training and aerobic.  In strength training the benefits come in the form of maintaining and building proper bone and muscle mass.  If done for at least 20 minutes, 2 or 3 times per week we can reduce and possibly even reverse some of the body’s natural age related process.

    Aerobic exercise, such as running, biking and swimming, stimulates the cardiovascular system and will boost blood flow to the heart.  Many of the health benefits that we receive come from the increased blood flow throughout our body.

    Studies show that those of us that exercise regularly will reduce our risk of dying prematurely by 25%.  Most of that can be attributed to the fact that people who exercise will lower their risk of heart attacks and strokes.

    According to Kenneth Cooper, M.D., “Our bodies should last us 120 years.”  Cooper claims that we die soon because ‘we don’t take care of ourselves.’

    But understand that exercise, in itself, is not the panacea of health and fitness.  Exercise is the most desirable way to stay in great shape and to look years younger, but it cannot solve all of life’s medical problems.

    The great Jim Fixx, a formidable distance runner during the 1960’s and ‘70’s, died prematurely of a heart attack.  Researchers later added genetic factors into the health mix and concluded that eating a healthy diet plays an important role in longevity.

    Running, in itself, cannot solve all of ones medical problems and it does not promise the ‘Fountain of Youth’, so why should you dedicate 30 minutes or more a day, 4 or 5 times per week?

    Years of running can actually cause minor electrical changes in the heart and sometimes can produce arrhythmias.  Running can also cause other changes in the body and unless you are seeing a medical professional that knows about sports medicine they can be confused.

     Most medical professionals are accustomed to seeing ill patients rather than the seriously fit.  After years of running, some of us can even develop what is called the ‘athletes heart.’  According to Vinod Kurup, M.D., who by the way is a marathoner himself, the condition is quite common in runners. 

    In sick people the increased ventricle-wall thickness can be an indicator to heart attack and stroke.  But an enlarged heart in a runner can be a normal adaptation caused by years of running.

   So, is running good for your heart?  The benefits of running far exceed the risk associated with the sport.  Each of us have to decide for ourselves, but for me the overall results clearly lead me to believe that it is the right thing to do.

Ortiz Family Runs Away at Mid-Summer 5K

left to right: Laura Hernandez Otriz, Deann Thornton, Sonoka Takewaka, Esther Kanehailua

Brothers: Germain, Manny & Paco Ortiz

The Ortiz family raced to victory and captured the top three spots in the Mid-Summer 5K held in Hilo today.

   Brothers Germain, Manny and Paco Ortiz went one-two-three in the 3.1-mile race.  Germain clocked in with a time of 17 minutes 34 seconds and was followed by Manny, 17:54 and Paco, 17:58.

  Germain’s wife, Laura Hernandez, won the women’s division with her time of 21:15 and was followed by Keaau High’s Deann Thornton, Japan’s Sonoka Takewaka and public school principal Esther Kanehailua in 25:08.

BIRR president, Greg Lum Ho, gives some pre-race instructions

Puna Boys Seeking State Championship

Puna Boys 14 looking to repeat as state canoe paddling champions

      The Puna boys crew of Hapa Aki, Keola Sumera-Lee, Colby Nicolas, Kalae Ke III, Chance Agpoon and Lono Leasure-Lucas  capped off their unblemished season by capturing the Moku O Hawaii Canoe Paddling  championships held at Hilo Bay, July 18.

    Four members on the island championship crew, Aki, Sumera-Lee, Ke III and Leasure-Lucas helped capture the boys 13 state championship last year and are experienced under pressure.  The same four entered the boys 16 and were joined by Leasure-Lucas brother, Luke, along with Aimoku Johansen and another gold medal.

   The state canoe paddling championships are scheduled for Saturday, August 1, at Hilo Bay starting  at 8 a.m.

New World Rankings in Track & Field

USA's Maggie Vessey is ranked number one in the world

All-Athletes.com came up with their own release of World Track & Field Ranking which list American, Ivory Williams, as the fastest man in the world.

100m 200m 400m 800m 1500m 5000m 10000m 110/100m Hurdles 400m Hurdles 3000m Steeple High Jump Pole Vault Long Jump Triple Jump Shot Put Discus Throw Hammer Throw Javelin Throw Race Walking Decathlon/Heptathlon

Men Ivory Williams (USA) 11. (20.) Alonso Edwards (PAN) 8. (12.) Yannick Fonsat (FRA) 63. (105.) Michael Rimmer (GBR) 15. (23.) Matt Lincoln (CAN) 81. (104.) Matt Tegenkamp (USA) 18. (24.) Carles Castillejo (ESP) 20. (59.) Dwight Thomas (JAM) 18. (28.) Lloyd Gumbs (GBR) 55. (103.) M. Mekhissi Bennabad (FRA) 2. (3.) Silvano Chesani (ITA) 108. (157.) Renaud Lavillenie (FRA) 2. (3.) Dwight Phillips (USA) 1. (2.) Daniele Greco (ITA) 33. (42.) Mateusz Mikos (POL) 95. (121.) Boudewijn Luijten (NED) 123. (181.) Yury Shayunou (BLR) 3. (4.) Teemu Wirkkala (FIN) 5. (7.) Dawid Tomola (POL) 88. (114.) Eelco Sintnicolaas (NED) 14. (18.)

Women Aleen Bailey (JAM) 19. (32.) Olivia Borlee (BEL) 46. (61.) Debbie Dunn (USA) 9. (15.) Maggie Vessey (USA) 11. (18.) Kelly McNeice-Reid (IRL) 68. (99.) Svetlana Kudelich (BLR) 86. (144.) Zsófia Erdélyi (HUN) 106. (191.) Michelle Perry (USA) 10. (15.) Anna Olichwierczuk-Jesien 2. (3.) Sophie Duarte (FRA) 10. (14.) Jennifer Klein (GER) 68. (118.) Minna Nikkanen (FIN) 29. (37.) Clélia Reuse (SUI) 126. (158.) Haoua Kessely (FRA) 79. (106.) Natalia Ducó (CHI) 23. (29.) Eden Francis (GBR) 38. (45.) Katerina Safránková (CZE) 59. (79.) Ásdís Hjálmsdottír (ISL) 19. (24.) Yelena Shumkina (RUS) 19. (24.) Maiju Mattila (FIN) 101. (227.)

(The athlete’s previous week’s position is in brackets after the current World Ranking position)