Pathos

Emotion is a huge part of the way we live our lives. We feel it when we wake up, we feel it as we get into bed at night, and we feel everywhere in between. It can stop us from moving forward, and It can keep us from looking back. Our Emotions are unique to each of us, because the manner in which we show, hide, and overcome our emotions is possibly the largest determination of our character. Fear, anger, courage, and remorse. Joy, triumph, and dismay.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just choose our emotions? For example, when fear overwhelms us, we could just throw it to the side and replace it with courage. 

If anyone has ever told you that they have never felt fear before, you probably know that their full of it. But what about the people throughout history who have done such courageous things in the midst of infinite fear? How can fear not be shown when death is eminent? I assume those individuals would rather go to heaven brave, than leave their bodies a coward. 

In combat history, there have been men who have thrown themselves on grenades to save fellow warriors, warriors who have stood against an army so large with so few, and warriors who have died in battle when surrender would have saved them. 

Honor.

From the Ancient Greeks all the way to our modern warriors, honor is the greatest masker of fear. Honor ignites courage. 

When I ran my marathon back in November of 2011, I ran for a fallen soldier. Since it was the "2011 Soldier Marathon," they offered a special bib to pin on your shirt that had a name blank for a fallen warrior. Many picked out of a stack of names and pictures, but I knew who I would run for long before the marathon. 

Michael Monsoor threw himself on a grenade to save his teammates around him. This happened on a rooftop in Ramadi, Afghanistan. When a fire fight broke out, Michael and his team were on top of a roof.  An insurgent threw a grenade where he and his teammates were. He had about two seconds to decide whether to dive to safety, or to sacrifice himself by diving on top of the grenade and absorbing its blast. Michael decided to save his teammates and threw himself on top of the grenade. Had he dove to safety, several of his teammates would have been wounded or killed.

That is courage 

Honor ignites courage

Emotion can dictate courage and fear. I am a strong believer that courage does not exist in everybody, but for those that have lots of it, could you ever imagine that sort of sacrifice? I ask myself, would I have done the same as Michael? I honestly think that no one knows if they would have done the same. I certainly like to think that I would have. Michael, and others like him, inspire me through their courage. Honor beyond human comprehension.

I live inspired.

- Arthur Cole Zaricor

Ethos

Sometimes to get what you want, to get where you want to be, you have to be hungry. You have to be uncomfortable. When you need to train your tired, and you'd rather not. But getting out to train is getting closer to where you want to be. It never ends. Goals cause discomfort, because meaningful goals require hard work and suffering. 


Some of us suffer, alone. It's a choice that we make. We get to the gym alone, we run alone. We bike and swim alone. We do these things alone because when those skills are to be executed in performance, we will execute them alone. Some of us will even succeed alone and fail alone, only to pick ourselves up, alone. 


Plenty will decide to just stay down on the ground, accept their losses and move on. But for those with an uncommon breed of heart, WE face these failures with the heart of a warrior. A warrior that rises to his feet, wipes the dirt from his face, and surges back into the battle, whatever that battle may be, to conquer; nothing else. 


We may slip and fall through challenges, but we get back up, and each time we get up, our footing becomes a little stronger and we find that we slip less and less. We strive, heart and soul, towards a perfection that we know isn't there, but we choose to spend our lives getting as close as we can. Words like dedication and steadfast aren't words at all, but rather elements that make up our souls. Passion and commitment are elements of our minds. Strength and compassion are elements that embody our hearts.  


We earn everything through sweat and sometimes blood. This is my idea of being successful. This Warrior Soul, Warrior Mind, Warrior Heart. knowing that it will never end. Accepting that perfection is unachievable. But mainly knowing that nothing will stop us from moving forward. No thing nor being. 

- Arthur Cole Zaricor

What Makes us Overweight? The Struggles that Come with it. A Way to Drop the Pounds.

           I know what you’re thinking, “Cole, eating makes you fat. Duh.” While that is very true, the lack of control that one has around food comes from much more than just eating to eat. We don’t just want to stuff our faces all the time, we certainly don’t want to be overweight, and we usually never stop and think before we eat that bowl of ice cream, that piece of pie, (insert your favorite unhealthy, sugary, fatty food). Though eating “comfort” food makes us feel good WHILE we eat it, 9 times out of 10 we feel like CRAP after eating it. So is it worth it for those couple of minutes of satisfaction? The next thing is exercise. Most people hate it, but it is half of the battle of losing weight. Sure you can diet all you want, but exercise will not only MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, it will significantly increase your WELLNESS and HEALTH; Not to mention burn body fat. No body wants to get off of their duff and go running because “It’s too hot!” or “It’s too cold!” or my favorite, “I didn’t get enough sleep last night.” While exercising may seem like an arduous task, 9 times out of 10, you will FEEL GOOD after you exercise.

You see, eating or the addiction to food is like any other addiction. Take smoking for example. People smoke knowing that it isn’t doing them any good, but they enjoy that cigarette for those couple of minutes that it lasts. The same goes for food. Man that big piece of chocolate pie at midnight was fantastic, but now I’m going to go stand in front of the mirror and see if I can still see my abs for 5 minutes, go to sleep, and wake up feeling like CRAP. It is ALL ABOUT MAKING CHOICES. You can CHOOSE to have a hamburger with bacon smothered in cheese on a white bun, or you can CHOOSE to have a lean chicken sandwich (ok lets put cheese on it) on wheat bread with some lettuce and tomatoes.

A diet is not about a meal plan or buying a book telling you what you can and can’t eat. By definition, a “diet” is what a person CHOOSES to eat. You can have a healthy diet or an unhealthy diet. All that this depends on is what you put in your mouth! It’s a game of choices, and when you want to loose weight but choose to over eat or to have that slice of awesome chocolate pie at midnight, you are CHOOSEING to gain weight or be OVERWEIGHT. Now please understand, I’m am not telling you to never eat chocolate pie, but if you’re eating it more than just for a special occasion, your eating it to much. You will find that when you make the RIGHT FOOD CHOICES, it will eventually become part of your lifestyle, because you will become so used to eating the right foods.

Exercise has to be as equally challenging as eating right, but I’ll say it again, IT’S A CHOICE. People ask how I went from kankles to ankles and from breasts to pecks in just about a year, and 9 times out of 10 I will say that I made a CHOICE to work hard because I was tired of how I looked, how unconfident I was, and how others saw that food CONTROLLED ME. It really seemed that some people avoided me just because I was overweight. I feel that the main reason people often make overweight individuals social outcasts is that PEOPLE SEE OVERWEIGHT INDIVIDUALS AS INDIVIDUALS THAT LACK SELF-CONTROL. I know that this is a bold statement, and it’s not intended to hurt feelings, but I know this because it happened to me. This form of “out casting” is rampant with younger people. Going back to exercise, it is the exercising aspect of weight loss that lets you show yourself exactly how bad you want to lose weight. If you work hard and strain and sweat, you’ll drop the pounds (keep in mind that a good diet is required as well). Also know that it is NEVER TO LATE to start the journey from being overweight to being healthy. No matter how big you are, it all starts with good choices and a determined mindset.

The 2011 Soldier Marathon, A True Experience

I had always heard a lot of different things about the famed marathon, like how it is a race to be respected, that you’ll hit a wall during the run, and that completing one of these bad boys will change you forever. Let me go ahead and tell you that I denied all of these ideas. Before, I had never thought of 26.2 miles as being THAT far, I had completed an eighteen-mile trail run and never hit a wall ( so how could eight more miles cause me to do that?), and I thought that I had this idea of “no limits” down loooong before the marathon. Ironically, every single one of those ideas about the marathon happened to me as I completed the hardest thing that I have EVER done in my life.

            I registered for this event about a week before it actually happened. As you know from my previous blogs, I had been planning to do it months before it actually happened. So you’re probably wondering why I had not registered months ago. Honestly, because I wasn’t really sure about it. In my mind it sounded easy, but the truth of 3+ hours of running and the distance of 26.2 miles, I’ll be honest, intimidated me a little. So did I really want to commit myself to this arduous event? My parents fully supported me in my quest to conquer the ancient and mysterious marathon run; they even paid for my registration to the 2011 Soldier Marathon as a large part of my birthday fund. Mom had to work the weekend of the event, but not dad. So before I knew it, reservations were made for my dad and I to stay at a hotel in Columbus, GA (about 18 minutes away from the National Infantry Museum, which is where the marathon would start). So Friday night my dad picked me up from Auburn and we had a smooth trip to the hotel (I didn’t forget about the time change this time!). I had trouble sleeping that night though, because the thought of the next morning’s events were hanging heavy on my mind, not to mention my dads atomic snoring. But hey, he drove a long way to support me, and for that, I owe him much thanks.

            The alarm clock screamed at 5:00 sharp the next morning and I quickly dressed up, gathered my things, and headed out the door. It was off to the National Infantry Museum for my dad and I.

Me in my sweats about 15 minutes before the race.

 It was dark and VERY cold when we arrived, but even in the darkness the museum looks amazing! It is a massive piece of beautiful architecture, along with its famous concourse lined on both sides with each of the 50 state flags on large flagpoles. Registration went very smoothly (thank goodness!) and before I knew it, the call was made over a loud Intercom system, “10 minutes until the start! All marathon and half marathon participants please make your way to the starting line!” This was it. This was the beginning of a life-changing race.

            As we lined up (well more like globed up) to run, I noticed people with signs that had paces and finishing times written on them. I thought this was really neat so I found a pacer, Chris, the 3:25:00 pacer, and thought this was a feasible finishing time for me. The cannon by the starting line blasted and off we went, shoulder to shoulder. 

A couple of minutes after the cannon blast. I'm in the rear center of this picture poking my head up.

Before anyone knew it we passed the 2-mile marker at our 7 minutes 45 seconds a mile pace. There wasn’t much talking in in our little pace group. Every now and then Chris would say some encouraging words. People eventually began to drop back, and others went ahead of the pack. When we arrived at mile 9 or 10 I had had about enough of this pace and slowly dropped back to about an 8 minutes 35-40 seconds a mile pace.

            I could tell my legs were tightening up and this made me start to worry. Lets just say right then I knew that this was going to be a very long run. Thoughts went through my head like “Oh my God, what if I didn’t properly train for this” or “Something’s wrong. I shouldn’t be this sore this soon.” I mean it was only mile 13 for crying out loud! How could this be? I had run more than 13 miles before and hadn’t been this sore. Basically, my mind was playing tricks on my body, and my body was playing tricks on my mind. Remember when I talked about doubting that I’d ever hit a wall? Well at mile 15 I did. Everyone says that’s where it is and by God I hit it. I don’t know what I would have done without the service men and women cheering for me on the side of the road.

            By mile 16 I must have been at about a 9 minutes 30 seconds a mile pace and began to be overtaken by the other runners, some looking like they were in their 40’s and 50’s! But my body just wouldn’t let my legs go any faster. At mile 19, I’ll never forget, this service woman told me that I’d be so happy and feel so good when I cross that finish line. That was about the best thing that anyone could have ever said to me at the time, so I got a small charge and boosted my pace a little. I was very relieved when I saw the 20-mile marker and thought to myself, “Now I only have to run a measly 10K to the finish.” Yeah well that was the hardest damn 10k I think I’ll ever run! And to top it off, the mile markers seemed like they were two or three miles apart! At this point I honestly thought that if I went any faster, my legs would cramp up do to the fact that they were SO tight.

            It was mile 22 and I must have been at a 10 and a half-minute mile pace when I heard pacer Terry, who led a small group of two runners for a finishing time of 3:45:00, yelling words of encouragement to his group. I don’t know why, but at that instant I made a decision and a promise to myself that I would stick with this man to the end. He was traveling at about an eight-minute mile pace, so as you can guess, I had to considerably increase my pace. I introduced myself to him and said, “Terry, my name is Cole, and I’m staying with you no matter what man” and to that he said, “Ok, Cole, that means that you STAY WITH ME NO MATTER WHAT.” It wasn’t long before the others in the pacing group dropped off the back. It was just Terry and I, and I swear that he had time to make up, because this guy was booking it! I mean it felt like a sprinters pace! At some points during those last four miles I would fall back a little, and Terry would look back and say, “Come on man! You can do this!” and before I knew it, I was right back up next to him giving it all I had. “2 miles to go! Almost there! Dig deep!” he told me, and I was literally talking to my self saying out loud “I can do this. I can do this” over and over again. My tanks were empty, but my pride was there. Hooyah Cole! This is what testing your soul is! This is what it feels like! Am I gonna fall back, or am I gonna stay with this guy to the end?! “1.2 miles!” Terry screamed, as we seemed to be running faster and faster with each step. “Holy shit! I’m gonna do it!” I yelled, as I could barely hear the music at the finish line. The flags were in sight and maybe there was a tear in my eye, maybe there wasn’t, but Terry looked at me and said, “Cole you go ahead man. You go earn your time. I’m gonna fall back a bit and pull some others to the finish.” So with out saying a word I dug as deep as I could, pounding my way down the concourse lined with flags. 

Me "digging deep" with a look of pain and relief on my face as I sprint to the finish. You can see Terry two people behind me in the black shorts and red shirt holding a
small white sign.

Here you can see the soldiers at the finish line.

People lined both sides of the concourse and were cheering me on. A man on the intercom yelled, “ Here comes Arthur Cole Zaricor! Running for 3 hours and 45 minutes! Give him a hand!” I could see several soldiers past the finish line yelling for me, and before I knew it, one of them was putting a medal around my neck and another was wrapping a space blanket around my shoulders. “God bless you,” I said and a few minutes later I was hugging my dad, totally exhausted. I later found Terry and made sure he knew how much I appreciated him. I honestly felt on top of the world. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t do anymore. Oh, I got first place in my age group by the way!

   

Me with a victories fist pump while holding a hamburger, power aid, and a banana peel. "Yeah baby!" 

            This marathon taught me so much about my self and my limits. It showed me how  effective encouraging others can be, and how I can still push my self when there is nothing left in me. I owe a huge thanks to my family and friends for supporting me, especially for my dad who chose to drive up to Columbus, GA on his weekend off and support me before, during, and after the race. I also owe a big thanks to Terry. I only knew him for 4 miles, but that was enough to see that he truly believed in me and wanted me to get across that finish line in good timing. My biggest and final thanks go to the service men and women who were there cheering all of the runners on. They gave this run a bigger purpose than just running 26.2 miles. In all, my life was changed, and I look forward to the 2012 Soldier Marathon at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Georgia.

Me with my hard earned medal bestowed on me by those who proudly serve this awesome nation.

            

"The Darby Ranger Run" 18 Miles of Hell

(INSERT LOUD ALARM CLOCK NOISE.) It is Saturday morning, 5:30 a.m., September 8, 2011. I quickly get myself out of bed and immediately start gathering my things. The day had finally arrived! In a few hours, the Darby Ranger 30 kilometer “Road Warrior” Run would begin, and I was filled with 80% excitement and 20% nerves. This 18-mile trail/ dirt road run would be the longest and most grueling run I had ever done. Was I ready? I thought so. Mind over matter right? Of course. “All’s I’d have to do is just keep one foot in front of the other; It’s that simple?” Little did I know about what actually awaited me.
            So I got out of bed and put on all of my running attire, grab my sports drinks, and ate a nice coffee cup full of oatmeal (I don’t have bowls). I got on the road at about 6:15 a.m. and off I went on my hour and a half drive to Camp Darby where my adventurous, limit testing run would begin. I couldn’t tell you what was on my mind while I was driving, but I was happy to be getting there early; an hour early; so I thought. I had always heard that getting to a race early and having time to stretch, relax, and go to the bathroom would ultimately help you have a better run than if you didn’t. Well there was a tiny little fluke in my strategy. You see, there is what is known as a time-zone change between Auburn, Alabama and Fort Benning, Georgia, and the well-prepared Cole Zaricor had failed to think about this little detail. So I arrived and said to myself, “wow, a lot of people decided to get here early!” I looked at my watch that read 7:30 a.m. At that instant a light bulb….. ok an EXLPOSION went off in my head. I quickly pulled out my phone and it clearly read 8:30! No, I wasn’t early; I was LATE! I quickly ran to get my race number, ran to the bathroom, then to the 30K safety briefing, which I missed half of. This is not how I wanted to start my self-testing journey through 18 miles of completely hellish terrain, but at least I had made it.

            BANG! The sound of a simulated artillery explosion started the race and about thirty others and myself began our run. I immediately assessed how others were conducting their pace at the beginning o the run, and to my surprise, almost everyone darted off putting me near dead last. This did not bother me at all. I had my nice, steady pace going and was not about to let my testosterone take over. I don’t think many of these people knew what they were getting into, hell, I sure didn’t, but I knew that a lot of the individuals who darted off at the beginning were going to be dragging themselves across the finish line (if they even make it that far).

            The first two and a half miles were relatively easy but after that, things got tough, real tough. I found myself with an extremely steep hill in front of me that was about a quarter mile long and to top that off, it had very loose dirt on top of it. It was kind of like running on sand, but I managed it and was almost heaving at the top. I proceeded into the woods and found myself climbing another hill a lot like the first, but steeper; This wasn’t good. It was on this hill that I started to pass a few people, and Once over that monster, it was back into the woods and a lot of ups and downs (pertaining to elevation). One by one I began to overtake the other contestants as they slowly wore down. I want point out one particular hill; I want to say it was somewhere between mile fifteen and sixteen. It wasn’t very steep, but it had a lot of sand on it, and when I approached it, I noticed there were five people walking with their heads down; they had hit the wall. I walked for a couple seconds because I to was exhausted, but I quickly decided that I wasn’t going to let this stop me like it stopped the others, so I painfully and awkwardly drug myself to the top; running not walking. During the run, I remember falling on my face on some of the steep hills that seemed to be layered with loose sand. When I hit the ground, I didn’t feel like getting back up at all, I mean, I was freaking exhausted! But I knew that I had to finish this race. This run meant a lot to me, and I really wanted to dig deep into my soul and prove to my self that I could beat this run. So I struggled to my sore feet and kept going.

            The finish line was at the bottom of a fairly steep hill and when I saw it, I almost broke down with amazement and exhaustion. I had done IT! I remember talking to a couple of the runners at the awards ceremony about the run. A few of them had run marathons before and said that there was no comparison in difficulty between the two. They said that the Ranger Run was much more painful than a marathon. Well that is good news to me because the November 12, 2011 Soldier Marathon is getting pretty close. Anyways, I ended up placing 5^th overall out of the 40 runners. First place had a time of 1:54’:14 and I placed 5th with a time of 2:16’:20”. The experience was amazing. I can do so much more than I thought I could. I believe this applies to everyone. It’s not often that we actually push ourselves, but when we do we open new doors in our lives. I had done my best in this event and learned a lot about myself in the process.