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Hello, my name is Joseph All. Today’s date is April 11, 20205 episode one of my show called the Spark of the athlete I’m recording from Las Vegas, Nevada and I wanted to talk about the spark fire in the valley, which I experienced in 1984 running 4 to five minute mile runs cross country. I was born in 1967 I joined the Boy Scouts or I’d like to say I went on a hike with the Boy Scouts in 1977 and aged 10 in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, this hike of five days was a distance of 50 miles and on the first day I completed 20 miles of the hike with the backpack anywhere from 30 to 60 pounds of weight 1977 is when I started to run and preparation for water polo. I got the inspiration to to compete in waterpole in the high school level because of my brother who was four years older than I was, he was on a winning team. That’s the spark. That is the spark that made me want to compete and I felt that runny would help me prep to play on the waterole team begin in 1981 begin in 1981. I played six years water polo in 1986 I started to compete inath L lounge winning my first triathlon as a sprint distance triathlete by 1988 my health failed. The results weren’t good. I was out for two weeks straight. I felt that I needed to read up and study how the nutrition to the results were good after six years I figured out how to no longer to get sick. I did not get sick. I did not want to get sick anymore Two important things that I found out was that I was lactos intolerant and sugar processed sugar is not good for the immune system as it lowers the immune system and as the main cause for it diabetes or for athletes, it’s called the sugar crash 2001 I completed a triathlon that was close to half Iman called the big rock Traathlon Riverside, California. I placed approxately a 20 um 45 minutes behind the first professional trap leak at the time I was injured. Injuries included a thigh bone that was not correctly in place in the hip socket if I wasn’t careful and I jumped off as up off the board for a lap swimming or swimming that would cause a double crab thigh and hamstring would cramp up a spray neck and three disk in my upper spine were injured, including muscle in my upper body from lifting weights in a crackub I raced in this race after lifting weights for a year and a half consistently in which I stopped lifting weights in 1996 and decided a triathlon train by 2001 I got married. My daughter was born in 2002 at age three. She picked up golf on her own. I did not tell her to golf. I hope to train as a athlete to compete in golf and she wound up winning for junior golf championships 2013 was when I decided to take a rest. My body needed rest to heal. That was in 2013 was until recently that I recovered from all injuries. Glad planner facitis lot of pamstring during the COVID-19 lockdown injured tricep from lifting weights, pulled toenail, entered thigh and uh dry skin on the feet. That resulted in cuts now getting back to the original title of my show The Spark of the athlete. What is the spark of the athlete? It’s the fire and the valley psychologist would call it passion, but do you feel passionate about and which I did have a conversation with the psychologist in which uh he recognized my athic ability and wanting to work out. I said, what are you passionate about? Fire in the valley. No, you just know that you have to work out in a certain sport in a certain way whether it’s every day every other day or a few times a week depending on the intensity if you’re ultra me let’s just say ultra marathon, athlete and any sport you wouldn’t want to work out every day However, the spark is the spark. It would ignites you to forget about this world and who you are. You have no sense of self, but you do have the sense in the passion and the fire in the belly to work out. And that’s what happened to me. That is what I experience as an athlete beginning in 1977 and when I decided to compete in travel on now, I would like to cover non-athletes who are your biggest competitors. These are the ones who ask why do you want to extra exercise today? shouldn’t you take a rest? Why do you need to compete every weekend don’t you need to do other things? These are your biggest competitors are they could be other athletes? You just don’t have the drive that you have because you have the spark and he could fill the fire in the valley and you have this determination that nothing nobody, not even the weather will prevent you from working out exercising or competing and yes I have been there and I have been to done that and I’m talking plain waterpole and unheated pools. We were shivering while in the pool around a marathon on my own full marathon 26.2 miles 32° weather wearing runny shorts and one layer of a running shirt around in 155° weather. distance wasn’t too long a couple miles but it’s the prep that I did prior to the run. few weeks of swimming to keep the body temperature cool and after the 150 mile run I swim but the question is what drives a person to exercise and push themselves to extreme challenges I can’t speak for a mountain climber climbing up mountains at 10,000 foot elevations are above, but I can imagine that that’s a higher level of fire in the valley and determination, but it’s the spark, the spark that you need to begin a workout program or compete in a marathon or ultra marathon what will ignite that spark within you? No one can do it for you. No one cannot touch you and say run a marathon it’s all up to you. It’s all up to you. There have been times when I sat on a bull deck or just sat down and I stared into the distance and I tell myself, dear God, give me another chance. Give me another chance to prove myself as an athlete. and I went to work working out every day and don’t tell anyone what you’re doing don’t tell anyone about your plans to become a great athlete. Nobody will understand except for yourself and that’s what makes us unique. It’s what makes us who we are as individuals individualism is a whole subject that’s been covered by philosophers and psychologists, and I encourage you to look it up. The I am the individual you don’t know who you are until you’re by yourself running on a trail and you see no one else. No one else to talk to you, no one else to bother you. It’s just you and your shadow with the sun blazing down on your neck, your face and you ask yourself, what am I doing here? which kind of that cannot be answered. It can never be answered. If you had a good run pace, raving in the swimming pool it over have to think about a doing a flip turn and a 25 yard pole, which is pretty much standard most of swimlap pools. We’ been lifting weights. your body are automatically knows what to do, where to go. That’s the level of that all athletes should achieve. It takes patience. It takes years of relentless activity, determination, but don’t give up never give up our ancient ancestors hunter gatherers walked up to twelve miles a day to day’s running w in comparison to hunter gatherers of ancient times would be in between five to seven miles, depending on the terrain if you’re running up hill level or rolling hills but the fact is is that either get to that gem, you swim, bike ride, run hike, left weights at home get out there and move do aerobics yoga cross train you have your main sport and there are other sports meditate fewer to ask me what three things you can do right now to prep yourself at a level one athlete meditate stretch and do aerobics that simple start off with one a minute five minutes build keep building. Don’t tell anyone what you’re doing because non athletes are the biggest competitors. They will kill your dreams for being athlete. This is Joseph Alley, episode of my show at the spark of the athlete recording from Las Vegas, Nevada Go get a warriors don’t give up don’t give in and yes it is true. No pain no gain checking out April 11, 2025 Las Vegas, Nevada