Day of Activity - The Thanksgiving Movement 2013

“A movement is only composed of people moving. To feel its warmth and motion around us is the end as well as the means.”
~Gloria Steinem~

The idea of a Thanksgiving run came to me one day when I was thinking about the holidays and a lot of friends and family being spread all over the place. Sure there are Turkey Trots and other Thanksgiving runs that I could have signed up for, but these were not the people I wanted to run with. I also really dislike paying to run unless it is fun or challenging and not expensive. So I figured instead of missing these people, I would take this opportunity to get people out doing something and get involved in an activity on the holiday. I did not want to limit this to only runners because I know not everyone enjoys running, so I opened it up to any physical activity. I decided to use face book to get the word out and at first I thought people might think this was a dumb idea but quickly people began joining. Although some of the group would have exercised anyway that day, my objective was to get the people who might not be inclined to commit to doing it.

My wife and I met a couple of friends at a local park in the morning and went for a run. It was a brisk morning and we got to see a lot of deer and witness the sunrise over the lake and get caught up on life events. Other activities included; attending an early morning yoga class, a couple were on vacation in Denver and ran a 5K with a friend and beautiful mountain views, a few friends running all over NYC chasing the Macy’s parade around the city, my sister and niece going for a brisk morning walk, an experienced trail runner introducing the sport to a new trail runner, another helping his mother complete her first 5K, others getting out with family and friends going for walks and runs and one even joining in from across the pond in the UK. I would have loved to be able to get together with all of you and spend some quality time for the day; unfortunately logistics and life do not always allow us to have what we want. So we make the best of it and stay in touch and help hold each other accountable. I enjoyed hearing everyone’s stories and knowing that even though we could not be together, we could still participate in this activity. I miss some of my old running companions but social media has allowed us to not only keep in touch, it has also given us the chance to get to know others. We will have to do this every now and again just to keep track of everyone and keep moving because movement is life!

Thank you for joining me for this activity and stay tuned for the next time we all join in from across the miles for a day of activity. 

Mobile therapy in new shoes.

This past weekend has been a combination of getting back to running after a twelve day break, getting used to new shoes and the return of COLD weather. Friday I took my new Brooks Pure Connect 2 to the Community Center to do some run/walk intervals on the indoor track, running a total of two miles. They felt pretty good, different but good and really light. So Saturday I took them to a local park and met a friend trying them outside for three miles and a mile and a half walk and they still felt pretty good. There was definitely some new muscle soreness but I was expecting that to a point. Sunday I let my wife pick the route and by the way it was twelve degrees at 6:30 in the morning when we left the (nice warm) house. This would turn out to be a little over five and a half miles and fairly hilly and about two-thirds of the way through I was feeling my toes getting numb. I am still not sure if the shoes were a little tight or if it was the cold but it was not unbearable, I did my assessments and made adjustments when I began to feel it.

So running three days in a row and paying so much attention to my new shoes and of course finishing a run with ice-cycles in my hair and my glasses frozen to my headband made me realize something. I was not thinking as much about how rough the previous week had been. So now I am back to work with a fresh new week in front of me and sore legs but it is true that running is cheaper than therapy! Oh, we pay for it but in different ways. We pay in time, sweat, commitment and frozen and sore body parts but I assure you that it is better, more convenient and longer lasting that any drug. And most of all no one is trying to recreate your family tree and ask you a bunch of questions while you run.  

I guess it is time to settle in for the long winter ahead because I have a lot of miles to cover between now and April. I will run as many of those miles outside as physically possible on the streets when I have to and on the trails when I can. The next challenge I have coming up is the Alternate Chili Run, which is a 10 mile trail run on December 14th It is held on a trail I have not run on as of yet but have heard many stories about. The prize at the finish is chili and nano-brewed beer, talk about some incentive! I am going to try to get in on a group run or two out on these trails before the run so I have an idea what to expect.

So, next time the world starts to close in and tension begins to get the best of you. Grab your shoes and lace up for a mobile therapy session!

See you out there!

Philosophic musings from my break from running.

“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.” 
Dalai Lama

 I think that most people are good or at least have potential to be good. I love to watch children when they are young and just absorbing things around them like sponges. Playing without a care in the world and not caring if anyone is watching them. I don’t think a child is born a bad person who has prejudices and hate in their heart so is it possible to stop teaching them these things? Who knows if this can or will ever happen but if we do not try we are in real trouble. So, let kids be kids and teach them love and respect while taking fear out of the equation. Get them to play outside and learn to appreciate nature and use their imagination. If everyone stopped teaching hate and prejudice today, how many generations would it take to have a peace loving world? What if we start by removing labels from people and take time and get to know them for who they really are? 

I know this probably sounds like I am getting completely side tracked and I hope I have not lost you but I believe that this goes hand in hand. We are all connected and we affect others by our actions and our energy. Try this little experiment; pay close attention to a small group of people who can all be talking calmly about this or that and one begins to complain. What happens to the group? How long does it take everyone else to join in complaining with them? If it works this way it can also work the other way but you will find it takes a lot more positive energy than it does with negative energy, but we are affected by others energy in groups. This is why something might be hilarious at the theater but get a chuckle at home or an entire theater tears up watching the end of Marley and Me but feels a little sadness at home. I will hop down off my soapbox for now but all I ask is to keep this in mind and know that directly or indirectly we affect a lot more than we realize.

Some statistics I recently heard are; at age 3 to 3 and a half a child’s self esteem level is approximately 85% and by early teens it drops to 25%. Adults average 40 to 50 thousand thoughts a day and 85% of them are negative, and 85% of illness and disease are brought on by stress. It is no wonder we are such a mess sometimes, physical scars are easily identified but emotional scars are usually hidden to the outside world. I believe it is important to think before speaking because there are times when we damage someone else and may not even realize it. Adults do it to children, children do it to each other, adults do it to each other, and we do it to ourselves. Since we do not know all of each others stories maybe we can be a little more compassionate with each other. Because face it we are all damaged to some extent, if we keep this in mind we can all heal and rebuild.

Walking a fine line. Passion versus responsibility, and a job versus a way of life.

“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.”

~Albert Einstein~

There is a fine line that separates happiness and sadness, responsibility and passion, good and bad, pride and ego, and inspired and stuck. Of course there are many other examples depending on a person’s current situation. I have been thinking about this quite a bit recently after some conversations with my sister while I was visiting. We talked about the possibility of being passionate about what you do for a living as well as how people approach issues they feel strongly about. Everyone develops their individual opinions and principles which is normal as long as they do not treat these opinions like gold that is too valuable to give up even a little or, like a solid wall unable to see the other side. Too often people base their “stand” on a subject strictly by the current situation. People get so hung up fighting what they do not want that they rarely support what it would take to make it better.

For a long time I have felt the struggle between doing what I have to do and what I want to do. Even though I enjoy very little of what I do for a living (to pay the bills) I seem to have few other options at this time. Don’t get me wrong I work hard and will always do my best but so many times I have asked myself over the years; “what is this all really for?” We have created all these companies and jobs so that we can be stuck in them while paying for things from other peoples companies. None of it really means anything in the big picture. The problem is by the time I figured this out I was caught up in the vicious cycle whether I wanted to be or not. I know that many people are in similar situations and some are a lot worse off than I am but that is not the point. I am not complaining, I am simply saying the system is set up to keep you in it and I want out.

So the next question is what is it that I want to be focusing my time on and what would I do if I could do anything? This is where being a personal trainer has allowed me to see glimpses of my purpose. I love to help people develop a better quality of life whether it is being able to participate in a physical activity, enjoy a special vacation or as simple as being able to walk around the mall with their family and not have to stop to rest. I would love to work with kids and help guide them through the always crazy teen years. Help them to develop confidence and compassion as they find their own passion in life. Maybe even bringing families closer together by helping each individual see how they fit into the whole picture. I would like to get kids involved in trail running, hiking and other outdoor activities to allow them to learn to respect nature. Basically I want to make a difference and not feel like I am wasting my time. Who knows if I will figure out how to make these things happen but I will do what I can and of course what I have to until that time.

We must remember that everyone is fighting a battle that we may know nothing about so be kind, commit random acts of kindness and do what you can to make the world better.  

The physical and mental test of the double header weekend.

 “You have to want it, you have to plan for it, you have to fit it into a busy day, you have to be mentally tough, you have to use others to help you. The hard part isn't getting your body in shape. The hard part is getting your mind in shape.” 

~Amby Burfoot~

This weekend was definitely a test I am fairly proud of accomplishing.  This was not only my first weekend running back to back events; it also forced me to work through some mental challenges. I went into the half marathon on Saturday pretty confident but there are always the haunting voices of past mistakes and failures. This started when I realized my running shoes were more worn that I thought they would be at this point. They are the same model as my old shoes but the sole must be a lot softer because they did not wear well. I take out my old shoes and compare them; they all have around the same mileage on them. This alone breaks a major race rule to never change anything on race day. Looking back I would just wear the shoes I have been wearing and not think about it…by now you already know that I tend to over think things.

I drove to the parking lot and boarded the shuttle to the race site. I took my ear buds with me for my pre- race music and the “Rise and Shine” video to get my mind ready, if you have not seen this video I highly recommend it. Shortly after beginning my warm up I start thinking about the shoes which causes me to retie them a little tighter, another thing I never do but they felt funny. Now people are starting the slow approach to the starting line which resembles cattle being loaded into a chute.  After a brief address from the race director the horn sounds and we are off. I start the timer on my watch but have decided to leave the GPS behind and not look at the time until I hit the split button at the halfway point.

The first five miles goes quietly running at a comfortable pace and enjoying the views of the park. The course on a paved trail and the elevation graph looks like a U with a long hill at the turn around point and at the finish. Feeling tired but not bad I head back on the return trip. All is going well until I get to mile eight or so where I begin to feel a sharp twinge on the inside of my left calf and shortly after in my right. Instant flashbacks of the death march from my first attempt lead to a flash of frustration which almost leads to my water bottle being thrown but I luckily realize I am going to need it so I had better chill out. Once it eases I start running until it flares up again and I realize I must repeat this process for the rest of the race until I see the big hill that is the last half to three quarters of a mile to the finish line. I am running to the finish and that is all there is to it. So I finish better than last time but not as well as I wanted. It is time to head over into the long line for the shuttle back to my vehicle. Day one complete!

Sunday the alarm goes off and I slowly dress to give the four mile trail run a try. I will go out and see how I feel and if I don’t feel like I can go I will cheer my wife on and suffer in silence. We walk around a little and slowly run a little taking an assessment as I go I make the decision to give it a go. This time I do not even start my timer I am just happy to be able to be in the excited crowd honoring the Veterans, Fire and Police who are in attendance. The brief address from Ben, the Trail Nerds race director (the same RD as yesterday) and the horn sounds and here we go up the hill leading to the trail. I feel relieved to be off the pavement and running at a slow comfortable pace through the woods. I get caught behind a group on the single track that is moving slower than I like at first but I quickly remind myself what today is all about. Completing back to back runs and enjoying nature on a beautiful fall morning. This is a newer trail with just enough turns and obstacles to keep your attention and some views of the lake from time to time. At one point we came out of the trail to a clearing and miss judging where we were I thought the finish was closer and I powered up the hill passing a few people only to realize we were heading back for another stretch of trail and not as close as I thought. Luckily I still felt good and was able to finish strong with my wife who had already finished running up the last hill with me.

In summary, if I had not run today it would have become another “what if” moment in my life. Even though the half did not unfold “according to plan” I made the adjustment needed to finish and did not injure myself in the process. I proved that I can bounce back and recover quicker than I used to in fact my wife commented that she could remember not too long ago when I could not run back to back two mile runs. Comparing the two days reinforces that I love running on trails and will tolerate pavement if I have to. Another thought that came to me on the trail today is that I am not even taking my running shoes on vacation with me so I will not be tempted. I need this rest time before getting into the long haul I have waiting for me on my return.  The quest of testing myself beyond any past physical and mental challenge I have faced to date. The training that will take me full circle from Flabby to 50K!

Thank you for joining me on this journey!

The best way to learn something is to teach it (and live it)

“You just can't live that negative way.

You know what I mean. Make way for the positive day. Cause it's a new day...” 

~ Bob Marley ~

I recently had the opportunity to help a group of people get through a 90 day weight lose and exercise challenge. I must admit when it was first suggested that I post exercises, ideas and motivational things for them I was honored and a bit nervous. That is a long time to be positive every day, right? As it turns out it was a bit of a blessing as well What developed was a pattern of looking for something positive to post first thing in the morning. A while back I was told that the best way to learn something was to teach it to someone else and this was reminding me to look for good things. This does not mean that every minute of every day will be 100% positive but it increases the odds. If you look for the positive and learn something about yourself from everything you do, you never lose. This led to a two week project where we carried a piece of paper with us and made a note any time anything good happened, no matter how small it was, and we had to pick something we had been dragging around with us and let it go. I noticed things I may have not noticed or might have taken for granted if I was not focusing on the positive. So once again by setting out to help others I became the person blessed by having them there to show me this lesson.

My style of personal training and my approach to life is not in your face, no pain no gain, and I’m old enough to know what doesn't kill you might not only, not make you stronger but it can break you down. All of that being said I decided to approach this straight forward and honestly. If I was struggling I would say so while showing the group how I got through it and that everyone struggles. In the words of Rocky “It’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” Very few of us move forward every day on our own. We must watch out for each other and give assistance and guidance where it is needed; sometimes that comes in the form of just being there for someone, not picking them up every time they fall.

There is hardly a better feeling in life than when someone tells you from their heart that you have helped them, or that they appreciate you. When you know that you have connected with someone and both have affected the path that is their lives. It has nothing to do with vanity because that is a tool of the ego; it is more a case of finding purpose and aligning with the universe. In summary I would have to say; it is more than fake it ‘til you make it, honestly look for positive and good in people and the world. If you are in need of support, give support to others. You get back what you give and what you focus on.

Working hard to get to the middle of the pack.

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." 

~John Bingham~

Yesterday was a very dark and rainy morning when we set out for a run. I decided since it was only three and a half miles I would do my best to keep up with my wife today. Normally she can be about a minute per mile faster than I am, but let’s be honest most people are faster than I am. I have never been built for speed, at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. One of the first thoughts going through my head was why do I have to work so hard to barely keep up with my wife? Not just that she is faster than me but she doesn't even look like she is struggling, why is it so hard for me? Now she is getting farther ahead of me until she has to cross a big intersection first and she goes a ways up the street to go around traffic. Now when I get to the intersection there are fewer cars and she is back with in sight. Now I turn it on determined to catch up, until we turn and go up a long gradual hill. She holds her pace steady and the hill slows me just a little and as I stated, it was dark and rainy. I ended up slowing down with a mile to go because my glasses were covered in water spots and headlights were making it impossible to see. I thought it was better to stay on my feet and back off versus keeping close and wiping out.  We don’t always run together but it definitely pushes me and I think sometimes when I stay close it pushes her too. I think I am closing the gap a little but I know better than get cocky because if she wants to she can humble me any time she chooses.        

It was the same way in tenth grade when I started playing hockey. I skated three to four hours a day during the week and four to six hours sometimes during the weekends and worked my butt off to be mediocre. When I started playing we lived in a small town and I would have loved to try out for the school hockey team. Unfortunately, another move took us to another state and a huge school. I went to the first day of tryouts and there were so many people at the tryout that no one even noticed when I skated off and picked up my bag and left. I played in a league and although most of the time I worked my butt off and was very average I did get a chance to score a goal in a big game, okay, it was my only goal of the season. We were down two to one in a game that determined the championship and I found myself with my back to the opposing goal when a shot came in and the puck came off the goalie and landed by me. The next few seconds went by in slow motion as with a backhand flip sent the puck flipping over the goalie’s shoulder. Once the red light went off I felt like my skates never touched the ice again all night. A teammate scored two goals shortly after and we won the game. I still have the trophy and even though it is a small trophy with the tip of the hockey stick broken off, it is huge in my eyes along with my hockey stick and those two things mean a lot to me.

Having children and coaching for years; I have seen many examples of people who were close or similar talent levels, but one worked very hard and the other came by it more naturally. One person putting in hours of practice on there own and competing with another who seemed to breeze by. They can both at times enjoy success and love what they do but how equal are they? The person who works hard will usually be more passionate about what they are doing but at times it can be exhausting and frustrating. It is not a bad thing to have to work for something it is simply something I have observed over the years. I guess it is yet another thing in life that is the same thing but different. There does not seem to be any other explanation than that. Some of us are destined to have to work for every inch of ground we gain and others simply glide along not even realizing they have moved. Both evidently have advantages and disadvantages so we find out what works and move forward. I am also reminded of the saying; Don't compare your every day self to someone else's highlight reel. We are who we are and we have to use the strengths that we have been given. So push on with me and hopefully the person you are trying to catch up with on your runs is as cute as the one I am chasing.