It’s been exactly 2 years since one of my best friends Nick Desantis donated a kidney to me. For a few years leading up to the date of the transplant I struggled with polycystic kidney disease (PKD). PKD is a genetic and degenerative disease that took its toll on my health during my mid twenties. Throughout 2008 and early 2009 the worst of my illness set in causing me to come very close to dying twice. Thankfully this is all in the past! Since Nick has donated his kidney I have never felt better! Nick and I are celebrating the 2 year anniversary this weekend with over 70 of our closest family and friends. I know the main question that people will be asking, and a question I always get is how my training for running and triathlons is going and will I be competing soon. I tried to make a comeback 6 months ago which unfortunately resulted in injury. The injury had nothing to do with my previous kidney dilemmas. I have my sights set on a new goal in 2013, but that is honestly not what keeps me going.
Coaching has always been a passion of mine and I absolutely live vicariously through my athletes. Whether one of my athletes is looking to complete in their first 5k or qualify for the Hawaii Ironman Championships it makes me proud and excited! Providing them with the individual attention and support to compete in these events is why I love waking up and going to work every day. This feeling was amplified last Friday at the Sam Howell Memorial Invitation track meet at Princeton University.
To be honest going to a track meet can sometimes be difficult because I miss racing! This track meet was a little different. For the past 6 months I have been coaching my friend and kidney donor, Nick, to race in 5000 meter (5k) events. Nick is a very talented runner, and has been since college. While Nick was in college his fastest time for the 5k was 15:28, and he has not bested this since 2006; his senior year in college. Here we are 5 years later and after months of hard training and racing Nick was ready to give it another shot at breaking his personal record. Nick had raced a 5k a few weeks earlier on the road and ran 15:30, but we did not have our sights set on this race, therefore did not taper or rest as much for that race. But for the Princeton race Nick was rested and ready to go. Deep down I had a feeling this was going to be a good race. Nick had been crushing his workouts and following his training schedule to a ‘T’. Once the race got on its way and after a few laps I knew Nick was going to set a personal record. He was running slightly faster than we had anticipated, but I could tell in his face he was comfortable and on cruise control consistently hitting even splits. When Nick crossed the finished line I could hardly contain myself to show him his time on my watch. As Nick was bent over in pain running the fastest race he had ever run and he could barely breathe I was like a kid shoving my watch in his face to show him his finishing time of 15:17! Nick’s reply was, “I never want to do that again, that hurt so much”!
As Nick now trains for the Chicago marathon and has his sight set on setting another personal record, it is these moments that I live for. And if there is anyone in the world that deserves to be able to continue and run fast, it’s Nick Desantis. Obviously Nick’s accomplishment means the world to me for many reasons, but every athlete that I coach and consult is what keeps me going. Who knows if I will be able to train like I once could, but even if I can’t I will always have my ETA Coach athletes!
Coach Jason
