Joshua Wang

Preamble Saturday mornings are Group Training Sessions (GTS) with Team in Training. For those who are new to my blog, welcome! I'm training for the Rome Marathon and raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. If you're interested in donating, you can go to my personal online fundraising page. I'll be updating my blog / site as my fundraising and training progresses. GTS We ran a 4km route starting around Yonge / Eglinton. It was my first time running in that area specifically. The weather was perfect and the people were fun. I woke up a bit late that day (i.e. 7am) so I didn't make it in time for the seminar on proper footwear, but I did make it in time for the run =) Basically, the way the training works is that we follow a training plan with group runs on Saturdays. It's more of a casual / fun run and a way to update each other on how our training and fundraising are going. I find this kind of community support to be pretty effective - the bulk of the t

Fundraising Goal: $10,000 Fitness Goal: 42.2 km, full marathon The journey to Rome will be exciting! I'll be raising money for a good cause and training to run my first marathon. This week, I'll need to plan out my fundraising and also start training. The key to my training (and fundraising) is consistency . I missed the first Group Training Session with Team in Training this past Saturday since I was in New York for a Taekwondo tournament ( blog ). I'll be going to my first training session this Saturday (8:00 AM in the morning!! ugh ><). Today is my 4km tempo run. I'll do the tempo run for my "lunch break" and read through the fundraising manual tonight. This will help me get it done, as I have a tendency of wanting to do many things, but doing only a few. Ever since I started drinking coffee, I haven't really stopped. I haven't had a cup today and don't plan to. I'm working on breaking free from my dependency on coffee. I don't

I recently picked up the sport of Taekwondo. And this weekend, I'll be going to New York with my brother for my first Taekwondo tournament! I'm pretty excited and am looking forward to a great time. As I have been learning the art, I've been learning more than just martial arts. One of the greatest lessons I'm learning right now is in ruling my spirit . Proverbs 16:32 says, "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who take a city." What does it mean to be truly strong? As I have been training, I have been slowly trying to build up the physical toughness for knuckle push-ups (yes, I'm a bit soft). But what does it mean to be tough all over ... in body, mind, spirit, and heart? Thick skin, soft heart. Tender Warrior. Food for thought.

The Basics: What: Full Marathon, 42.2 km or 26.2 mi When: March 20, 2011 Web: Rome Marathon , Support Me =) Fundraising Goal: $10,000 The excerpt below is taken from my fundraising webpage . About me - Why I run I love running. Running is an adventure. Running allows me to explore the city, trails, parks. Running connects me with my friends and with my inner self. Running is peaceful yet invigorating. I was not always a runner and grew up with exercise induced asthma. Over time, running became a lifestyle for me. My journey in pursuit of fitness has inspired me to help others reach their potential as well. My dream, simply stated, is to see everyone smile. Along the way, I've had the opportunity to influence the lives of others. My personal image (above) shows my various adventures, from being a pace bunny for the Niagara Falls Half Marathon to random adventures with my friends and family. When I saw the opportunity to run in Rome, the idea of going to Rome caught my attention! Upo

Inspiration from Japanese Comics I was recently reflecting on the characters of Naruto and Luffy (the main characters of two different Anime / Manga series). They start off with relatively little ability or skill but press on with a strong mind . The face enemies despite insurmountable odds and pursue their dreams with relentless intensity. Strong Mind There are many areas in my life where I am "weak": academically, spiritually, in discipline, fitness, patience, and so on. I will use the example of running, but this applies to every other aspect of my life. I used to be a weak runner - and I still am, depends on who you compare me with. I grew up with exercise induced asthma and would make all sorts of excuses to not train or run hard. Then I met someone who also grew up with exercise induced asthma, but was competing at the Canadian Cross Country Championships! It blew me away! He told me he just had to fight. Running was just harder for him. My journey as a runner started s

The Way of the Samurai In The Last Samurai , starring Tom Cruise, there is a particular scene where Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is learning how to fight, samurai style. After a frustrating defeat, a fellow samurai comes over and tells him, "No mind". He then explains that Algren has too many minds - minds on enemy, minds on people watching, etc. The idea of "no mind" is to clear one's mind of any distractions whatsoever. This is something I need to work on. To be committed fully to the task at hand. I'm very good at being easily distracted. I'm learning to develop a laser sharp focus and keeping my aim on the target until the very end. To persevere on the right things. Too often, my mind is littered with excuses: headache, tired, can't do it, frustrated, pointless, too difficult. These excuses permeate my physical discipline, spiritual life, and emotional health. An important lesson that I'm working on is to realize that there is a point for me to