Author Archives

    Terrie Wurzbacher

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    How to Read “It’s Not About The Miles”

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    It all depends on what you’re looking for that day or hour or minute. You can use “It’s Not About The Miles” in various ways. Obviously the theme was my 2021 Vol State Race (314 miles across Tennessee in 10 days). You will definitely see where the title comes from. The 314 miles certainly was an accomplishment…BUT…everything (and everyone) that happened along the way during 10 days paralleled my “journey run” through 70+ years of life.

    There’s the story about the race, the towns, the people in the race and along the way

    There’s discussion of all the obstacles I encountered

    There’s more info about ways I discovered to conquer those obstacles.

    This is also a synopsis, of sorts, of all the mental toughness/discipline study and training I did SINCE that race

    There are things i did right and things I could have done better – helpful for those doing the race for the first time.

    Life Lessons at every turn of the page it seems. I drew upon my experience and all I’ve learned and  tried to put them into words of wisdom hoping that one or two might impact someone positively and open a door they hadn’t seen before

    At the end of this post I included the table of contents. However, that is only the major breaks. There are many sections inside each of these “titles”

    You can do many things with the paperback copy but whichever you choose, I hope you enjoy (and I  have to do the selfish plug for reviews if you can take a minute or two to put one on Amazon):

    1) Read straight through
    2) Open up to a page and try to figure out if you know what’s been happening, what’s happening now or does it even matter (many sections are not about anything chronological)
    3) Go to the Table of Contents and pick a place
    4) Just Flip the pages and read the Life Lessons. They are easily identifiable. Again, no chronology is needed
    5) Page through and find the bolded section titles and see if anything catches your fancy
    6) Use it for weightlifting
    7) Use it as a paperweight

    Table of Contents
    Cover
    Dedication
    Foreword
    Introduction
    14 Basic Life Lessons
    Why Did YOU Open This Book?
    Paving the Road Ahead – What to Expect The Way There The Race
    Ten Adventurous Days The Village
    Help Comes in Many Forms…
    The End and The Aftermath
    Obstacles & Challenges
    The F Factors
    F Marks the Spot Deprivation Challenges Pain
    Emotional and Mental Obstacles
    What I’ve Learned Since the 2021 Race Mental Strategies for the Win Mistakes I Made
    What I Could Have Done Better
    The Successes
    A Few More Lessons Two Key Questions
    What’s Next?
    Special Acknowledgement
    Acknowledgements
    About the Cover
    About the Author
    Resources
    The LEGO®s of My Life

    Hope you like it!

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    What Do You Mean?

    Veterans' Day 2022

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    Two caveats:

    I am a veteran and love that so many have changed their Facebook profile photo to one of them in uniform. But, the only photo I have is one when I was an Ensign (way back in the late 70s) and obviously that isn’t digital – we didn’t even know what that word meant or if it existed back then..lol

    Because it’s Veterans Day, I’ll post about How To Read My Book tomorrow. Bet you are glad for the reprieve from my bragging and sales pitches..lol

    Ok, now about today’s subject….

    Today is Veteran’s Day and I will say that everyone, especially here in San Antonio, makes it a special day with discounts and freebies for Veterans. It’s extremely nice and I’m sure appreciated by all of us.

    I don’t think anyone wants “Thank you for your service” to merely be something you say like “how are you today?” or “have a nice day”. But, it’s similar to so many of our overused words. How many times can you say “like” and have anyone pay attention to it or have anyone think it actually has meaning.

    Ask yourself, “What do I mean when I tell someone I hardly know (or even those I do know) ‘thank you for your service’? What am I really thanking them for?”

    Maybe, you could add a little something extra about what it means knowing that they gave up a job that would earn more money to continue to protect our country or to serve those who were doing the protection.

    Also, please remember, that it’s not all about Combat veterans. I see this way too often and I’m not demeaning them..BUT I feel that when people think only of combat veterans as “worthy” or “important”, the whole point is missed.

    We are a TEAM and more importantly, we are a FAMILY! Everyone on a team is important. I continually refer to the pandemic and the immense importance of (but with little recognition of) the housekeeping staffs in the hospital. How long do you think the hospital would have been able to remain open without them scrubbing and spraying everything to keep those little buggers (literally) from hopping up onto another patient or staff member?

    Same with the military. Without all the supply people in the states and without trainers, not much would good would happen in the combat arenas. EVERYONE has a part.

    So, maybe ask someone what they did in the service – not just the branch but what their job was and how they liked it or who they supported etc.. Find out more about the service you’re thanking them for. I guarantee you’ll go away enriched!

    Thanks to all my Shipmates who cared for the patients we took care of. You all supported each other so everyone could give their utmost and know that a caring person was nearby. I love everyone (well, almost everyone….I don’t want to be Pinocchio) I served with.

    Happy Veterans’ Day!

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    I’m Overwhelmed

    By Everyone's Support

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    This is an understatement. You all have been so supportive of my book’s birth. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, though, since you’re always the first to lift me up and cheer me on in whatever I’ve attempted to do.

    After all, without each of you as members of Team Terrie, there would be no book.

    Today I want to mention some of the people who are in the book by name. There are many in it but not named. I am sure someone will feel left out but unfortunately the book would be even longer if I listed everyone at this race that has had an impact on me. In addition, please remember that this is about the 2021 Vol State so people who have been influential in other races are most likely not in this book.

    Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the various ways you can read the book so you’re not overwhelmed – that seems to be the word of the day!

    Of course the key stars of “It’s Not About the Miles” have to be:
    Laz, Sandra, Carl, Jan and Oprah

    The key star of my success in 2021 was Paul Heckert, The Warden!!

    The other members of the cast in no particular order are:
    The Montgomery Family
    The McHenri
    The TWO Dianes (Diane Durden and Diane Taylor)
    Hunt
    Beth
    Jameelah
    A couple of Seans
    Michelle
    BJ
    Ed
    Shenoa
    Bob
    Emma and Mary
    My Grandson
    Ray K
    and perhaps more that I have even forgotten I talked about….

    I hope you enjoy the book and of course, I’d appreciate any reviews you might be able to give. The folks who have already reviewed it have helped me so much.

    This also might help those of you who are thinking of doing Vol State. It is a book of Love – love of life, love for Tennessee, love for so many people and love of the race (journey run) itself.

    Thank you!