Blueclaws & Bikes

New Jersey baseball fans were in for a treat at the June 14 Lakewood Blueclaws game.  SGT Jason Simms Sr. received a handcycle as part of the game’s events, gifted by the Lt. Dennis Zilinski Foundation Memorial Fund. 

Jason served in the Marine Corps for 9 years as a member of the 2^nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Delta Company.  After being stationed in Hawaii, Okinawa, Japan, California, and North Carolina, Jason deployed to Fallujah, Iraq in February of 2004. He was assigned as a gunner and partook in numerous combat patrols.  An extremely dedicated Marine, he received a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a Combat “V” for Valor during this time.

On July 1, 2004, Jason’s platoon set out on a routine patrol. However, this round turned out to be far from routine. Jason was hit by an IED and suffered severe burns to his hands, face, and head, while also enduring shrapnel and bullet wounds that severed all tendons and arteries in his right leg.  He has since had 23 surgeries throughout his recovery process.  Medically retired from the Marines in April of 2008, Jason now works for the Department of the Navy within the Wounded Warrior Program, helping to place wounded in federal jobs following their time in the service.

Returning to an active lifestyle, Jason could greatly benefit from a handcycle – Team Hope For The Warriors® willingly accepted to fulfill the need.  Team Hope For The Warriors® and the Lt. Dennis Zilinski Memorial Fund partnered in coordinating the construction and funding of the Freedom Ryder handcycle, which was then presented to Jason at the Blueclaws game.  A ceremony was held before the game to recognize Jason, who was then honored to throw the first pitch. Jason’s wife, Alana, and son, Dylan, joined him for the event.

Jason, Alana, and Dylan

Jason’s awards include:

Purple Heart

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat “V”

Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal

Combat Action Ribbon  

Navy Unit Citation

Meritorious Unit Citation

Good Conduct Medal 

National Defense Medal

Iraqi Campaign Medal

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

3 Sea Service Deployment Ribbons

4 Certificates of Commendation

2 Meritorious Mast’s

Marine of the Quarter in 1998 and 1999

 

Team Hope For The Warriors® is honored to touch such a deserving Marine! Thank you SGT Jason Simms Sr. for your service.

Team Training Tips for Success!

Be in touch with your personal health and fitness!

It’s extremely important to know what, if any, precautions you must take to maintain a healthy mind and body both before starting and during any fitness routine.

Push your limits, but not to any unhealthy point!  Especially for endurance sports like running, following a training plan in accordance to your fitness level can help avoid injury and other undesirable problems.

Here are links to a few of our favorite training plans, specifically for half and full marathons: 

www.halhigdon.com
www.jeffgalloway.com 
www.marathonrookie.com 
www.marathon-training-tips.com

These are just a few- a wide variety of schedules are out there.  We also suggest the training schedule of the DC Road Runner’s included in your Team kit.

As we all know, fitness and nutrition go hand in hand.  As you train for these great events, be sure to maintain a healthy diet.

Include a wide variety of foods from all food groups.

Fuel before, during and after exercise.

A favorite mantra- everything in moderation!

Don't be Homer!

Hydration, Hydration, Hydration!

Cold weather, hot weather, windy, rainy, you name it- consuming fluids is crucial.

As days get hotter and training sessions longer, drinking fluids with electrolytes is an excellent idea to replenish depleted salt and energy stores.

A word of caution:  too much water can also be a bad thing.  Maintaining the proper proportion of sodium to water in the body is key.

Endless hydration :)

Make use of recovery days!

Recovery days are critical for allowing your body to rebuild damaged muscle tissue and rejuvenate from hard training.

One or two days of rest per week are ideal.

This will also help prevent chronic soreness and injuries.

Rockin' the American Odyssey Relay 2012

Thursday, April 26, 1:00 pm…the Team is packed and ready to head to Gettysburg from the Hope For The Warriors® office in VA.  Our 12 person team was less than 24 hours from beginning the American Odyssey Relay, the 200-mile trek from Gettysburg, PA to the waterfront in downtown Washington, DC.  We were just one of over 100 teams to be racing, and one of three charity partners: Hope Connections for Cancer, Team Red, White & Blue, and Hope For The Warriors®.  We all know pictures speak a thousand words, so here’s a photo journey of the American Odyssey Relay 2012.

The Team enjoyed a dinner hosted by the event organizers on Thursday evening, followed by a pre-race meeting.  Here’s our Team, donating even more back! 

They're AWESOME!

And Jenlene gave us a personal pre-race brief – we’re stoked!

We were scheduled the very first start time: 7:00 AM. But you know what, we were so excited and ready to get moving, we were happy with that! 

Bright and early!

Andddd we’re off. Over the hills…

Amy Shioji = rock star

Through the countryside….

Alain Jones, striding it out

Through the night…

David Carter's got this!

To the waterfront! Here we are, waiting for our final runner, Lauren.  Getting silly after more than 24 hours of no sleep and running…what do you expect?!

Anddd we’re done, bringing it in.

Final runner, Lauren Lamb, bringing us in!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

A huge shout out to:

Alain Jones, Laura DeFraia-Colee, Dave Hickey, Amy Shioji, David Carter, Susanna McDonald, William Davis, Cory Murphy, Daryl Grassel, and Lauren Lamb --- you ROCK! 

Feel free to check out all of the AOR photos, courtesy of Paul Oberle

A Father's Day Swim, Bike, Run

Triathletes?!  Triathletes.  We know you’re out there, whether you know you’re a triathlete or not!  Celebrate Father’s Day this year at Bay Shore Marina Park, NY, by participating in the TrIslip Super Sprint triathlon!  This is the second year Hope For The Warriors® has been the beneficiary of this triathlon – let’s do our part and have an awesome Team representation out there!  

The Super Sprint distance consists of a 300 M (.19 miles) swim, a 10 KM (6.2 miles) bike, and 4 KM (2.5 miles) run. The swim will be along the shore of the Great South Bay. The bike follows with a flat course through downtown Bay Shore.  Road, time trial, mountain, hybrid, and beach cruiser bikes are allowed on the course.  Lastly, the run will be a flat, beautiful route along the water in the Marina and a short out and back in the neighborhood to finish back at the Marina.  Awards will be given to the top three of each registration category. And, for the first year, the race is hosting the NY Metro Area/Long Island High School Championships! 

John Masters & Manny Jimenez - TrIslip 2011

ALL registration proceeds and any donations above that will directly benefit our combat wounded service members and their families. Make a day out of it at the Bay Shore Marina Park – swim, bike, and run for the country!! Check out the TrIslip webpage for more information and to register.