Camp Journal

Editor’s Note: As courageous and generous individuals participate in Hole in the Wall teams benefiting Flying Horse Farms, we have invited them to blog about their experiences on the Camp Journal.   This is the first entry from Tom “Tommy” Thompson, who will be doing his first Ironman in August to benefit our camp.  Join us in listening to his personal path to help train for the race, raise money, and ultimately create opportunities for our campers.   We thank Tommy for his willingness to take on this daunting endeavor and look forward to being his biggest cheerleaders.

Ironman-in-training Tommy Thompson and family

 

My name is Tom or Tommy. This is my first entry for the Flying Horse Farms blog and I thought I should introduce myself and how I arrived where I am.

Several years ago I made a bet with my kids that I could lose 10 pounds in a month. The loser had to buy the winner dinner. How hard could it be, right? I was still in my 30’s and I was in pretty good shape. Or so I thought.

I lost zero pounds and it took me nearly 15 minutes to run a little over a mile. I was in horrible shape and it opened my eyes. (Now in my defense, it was winter and it was pretty cold – boohoo for me.) I paid my debt to my family but continued to try to lose the weight. More importantly, I realized I needed to get in better shape.

Fast forward to today: I am 30 pounds lighter and have run a couple of 5K events. I do regular strength and cardio training and continue to find new challenges to keep my interest.

Throughout my life I have always tried to make sacrifices so others could be happy. I have given up career opportunities to be available for my kid’s. As the father in a blended family, that was very important to me. From experience, I know how important even the smallest events can be for our kids and how much they want me there, even if they don’t say. I put tremendous pressure on myself to be better tomorrow than I am today. I once told my dad that I wanted to be a better dad than he was so that my kids could be better than me. I try every day to live up to that. My dad passed away suddenly in January of 2008, making that promise more important than ever.

I have three kids: a step-daughter in college, a son who is a senior in high school, and a daughter who is a freshman in high school. My wife of 10 years and my kids are my life.

Earlier this year I had an “aha” moment. I saw an article on my work web-site about an employee who raised money for the Make-a-Wish program through participation in a triathlon and marathon. I realized that I, too, use my fitness and good health to give back and make a difference.

The next step was to find an organization to support. I have long known about The Victory Junction Gang camp, in North Carolina, due to my love of NASCAR. (The camp, a member of the Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, was founded by driver Kyle Petty and his wife Pattie.) In researching their camp online, I learned about the plans for Flying Horse Farms here in Ohio. I immediately contacted the director and had the opportunity to meet him and some of his staff at a local presentation. That’s when I decided this was the organization I wanted to support.

The only thing left after that was to decide on an event. I discounted everyone encouraging me to start small and went right to the half insane. I am going to participate in the Steelhead 70.3 Ironman. The race is in Benton Harbor, Michigan, on August 1. This is a half Ironman thus the ‘half’ insane part. It is important to not only compete but I would like to do well.

I reached out to a trainer that my wife and I know and asked for his help. I asked him to research the camp and explained my intentions for now and in the future. I am happy to say that I will have a nutrition and strength trainer to help me prepare. Bryan McIintosh and Rick Deal, both trainers at Dynamic Fitness Group, will be working with me and I couldn’t be happier.

My goal, first and foremost, is to raise funds for what is sure to be an amazing experience for children in Ohio and surrounding states at Flying Horse Farms. Personally, I want to be competitive. I feel that the result of a good performance this year will be new opportunities for funds in the future. The goals I have set for myself, both fund raising and competitive, are going to be difficult but not impossible. It is going to take a lot of hard work for myself and volunteers, but the reward is going to be amazing. In the coming months I am going to chronicle my experiences of both my training and fund raising. Please check out my web page for fundraising updates and continue to check in and leave comments. Any advice or past experiences will be great and I look forward to responding to them.

Tags: Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, Flying Horse Farms, Ironman, Team Hole in the Wall

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 1:30 pm and is filed under Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, Team Hole in the Wall, Tommy Thompson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.