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Name: Terry Phillis Born: February 11, 1966 Hometown: Anniston Marital Status: Married
Pride Terry Phillis has much to be proud of - excellent health, a wonderful family, a prosperous business (Mellow Mushroom Pizza), an established doctoral practice (Anniston Urologic Associates), an award winning racing team (Mellow Mushroom Racing), and tons of friends that would do almost anything for him. These are just a few of the things that make our November spotlight runner special. In looking at Terry's life, one cannot help but to be amazed at what this very talented man has accomplished in such a short time. As I began learning more about Terry, one word kept popping into my head - success. This prompted me to do a little research on the topic of successful people. The 2006 best-selling book "Succeed on Your Own Terms", outlines 19 qualities that are evident in successful people. After perusing these indicators, I selected 5 that I thought most exemplified Dr. Phillis. I also had a little fun in arranging an easy acronym that can best exemplify Terry - I call it P.R.I.D.E. Patience: Waiting extended periods of time requires tremendous internal strength. But as the saying goes, "Good things come for those who wait." For those of you who are close to Terry, you know that his patience is constantly being tested. I can only imagine the patience it takes to run your own business! Resilience: After rejection or defeat, some individuals are able to bounce back and recover quickly. This inner strength demonstrates determination and exemplifies resilience. I am not sure if Terry has ever been defeated, but try keeping up with him for any length of time and you will see this resilience first-hand! Integrity: Integrity demands unshakeable morals and principles. Remain true to yourself and never compromise your standards. Terry is the kind of guy that says what he means and means what he says. Determination: The act of perseverance can motivate individuals through the most dire straits or setbacks. No matter the odds or difficulties, these people believe they will overcome all obstacles. Completing one Ironman competition would prove this point. Terry has completed two! Enthusiasm: If you do not love what you do, your success will always feel empty. When you are passionate about what you do, your enthusiasm will rub off on those around you. Terry's passion is obvious in his training and commitment to his community. His passion spills over into everything he is a part of. We are sure glad he is a part of the Anniston Runners club!
Twenty questions My first question would have to be this - How on earth did Terry find time to answer these questions? It appears that every hour of his day is consumed. This very busy man probably had no choice but to answer these questions in his sleep....
How long have you been running? I had run a little to lose weight for wrestling and to stay in shape for other sports, but I really didn't start "running" until I started my residency in 1992. It didn't cost much, and time was tight. Running was about the only thing I could fit in.
I did a sprint
distance event with the Vandervoorts in Guntersville. A couple of
years ago, Lucy caught me in a midlife crisis and talked me into
registering.
I joked the first
year that if I was able to complete that distance, I should write a
pamphlet
on the subject. My goal each week was to go farther than the
previous
week. After struggling to finish, I decided that maybe some of
these
folks knew what they were talking about. I read some stuff and
listened to more experienced racers and tried to incorporate what I
learned
into my schedule. This year, I may not have logged as many miles,
but
I made my work-outs do more for me. Time is limited no matter how
early you get up or how late you go to bed. With work and family,
it was
definitely more important to stress quality
efforts.
The only
work outs that were nonnegotiable were the weekend bricks. The
weekday
workouts changed constantly. The basic plan was to get in 1 1/2
hours
before breakfast either on the bike or running. At lunch or in the
evening, I would try to get another hour in. If I ran in the am,
then
I swam at lunch. If I biked in the am, I ran at lunch. If I missed
a
lunch work out, I ran after work. I took one day off each week, but
it
varied depending on work and family schedule. Deciding when to eat
meals
turns out to be one of the toughest challenges. It does not take as many days as you might think. I was back on my bike within the week and was running the next week. A benefit to being in better shape is that you really do recover faster. The day feels very long if you don't do something.
I'm definitely a
cyclist trying to get through the other two
events, but oddly enough, it's the swim that is most relaxing and
that I
feel the best about finishing. It doesn't hurt that it is the
shortest
of the legs. I have three daughters, Erin 13, Corey 11 and Regan 8. Cindy and I have been married for 15 wonderful years (did you hear that, honey?). I possess the only Y chromosome in the house. Even our little Scotty, Zoe, is a girl.
I'm not sure. I remember eating one Saturday morning at Big Apple Bagels right after we moved here in 1998. I remember hearing them talk about the Woodstock race.
St. Patrick's Day 1994, I think that even the late St.
Patrick finished in front of me.
The next one.
Finishing the Ironman is probably one of my
proudest moments. I had kind of a dry spell since 1987, when I was
honored as the MVP of the Dartmouth College football team. I have
had some
great times and made some incredible friends while competing and
training. Athletics has been responsible for some of my fondest
memories and
deepest regrets.
I
hate to lose. I am incredibly self conscious about looking bad
winning
or losing. I think that fear of failure is my most powerful
motivator. 40 yards - 4.7 seconds Mile - 5:45 5K - 19:30 Marathon 3:37 Ironman 12:09
I also used to hold the Pleasant
Valley
Junior High dip record (56/minute)
I used to be the guy
cranking heavy metal and rap, of course that was when it took
every ounce of concentration that I could muster to run 20 minutes. These days, I would much rather listen to the folky,
singer
songwriter stuff like Eddie Vetter, Peter Yorn, Donavon
Frankenreiter, Ben
Harper, Amos Lee.......though, I must admit that I would never FF
through
any Jay Z , Linkin Park or NIN if it were to come up on my Ipod
during a
run. This is a trick question, right? MELLOW MUSHROOM PIZZA!!!!! AND LOTS OF IT!!!!!!!!!
What is your
favorite pre or post-race food?
Love it.......but I get home sick after 5
days.
Watching my kids do
anything. Corey is pretty good at soccer, Erin is a real cutie
cheerleader
and Regan is a gutsy little bike rider. I am still trying to get
more time
to hone my Guitar Hero skills. * I went out for wrestling upon the advice of my junior high basketball coach (I like to think that he recognized my obvious potential for wrestling excellence and un-selfishly offered my talents to the wrestling team rather than hog my skills on his basketball team.) Anyway, At my first meet, I got pinned in 12 seconds. 5 years later, I beat the kid who pinned me to take away the varsity spot on our high school team.
*
Thinking about finishing the Ironman with
my kids, holding their hands as we pushed through the finish line tape
still
kind of gives me chills.
Urology is
easy; Pizza is
tough.
I am pretty
insecure. What do you mean "if"? You don't think this thing is going to work? Damn! Seriously (if you can be serious on the time machine question), There are lots of personal regrets, especially stupid things that I have said or mean comments that I have made (and continue to make, unfortunately) that I wish that I could go back and retract, but life is all about making little mistakes and learning, growing, forgiving and, sometimes, regretting. There is lots of stuff I would like to change if I could (disarm Kurt Cobain, hide Floyd's testosterone patch, pick some different lottery numbers, call someone to go check on Elvis, give the ball to someone other than Ernest Byner in the AFC championship game of 1988, talk some sense into Hemingway, stop David Lee Roth from leaving the band, picking some more different lottery numbers, etc.....) But I guess that if I could change one thing, I would climb into the trusty old time machine and set the dials to 9/10/01 and revoke a few peoples' boarding passes for the next day.
We bid farewell to our November spotlight runner with two final questions:
I'm still looking for the next
challenge. Todd may talk me into one of his trail run delusions,
though he hasn't been able to, yet. Someday, I would like to do
the
Escape from Alcatraz triathlon in San Fran. Personally, I have found that running, biking and other endurance sports are about discipline. Give yourself the opportunity to run without distraction, deception or entertainment and you will be better in the long run (pun intended). I love music. I love TV. I love talking to people, but sometimes it is ok to just be alone working through discomfort and fatigue. Learn to relax with just you. As you get more fit, you become more comfortable, and you will love the freedom of running without earplugs and TV monitors. You don't have to do it every time and you will enjoy your Ipod more if you take some breaks once in awhile. |
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