Free Stuff

Some of my favorite concepts include free and exercise, hence I'm a runner:-). It's true; I don't care for spending money, in any amount. Like most folks I justify the means and do in fact buy goods and services. To Shannan's chagrin, I open my wallet with a fair amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth. If the weather keeps you inside or for a nice cross training workout, the link below shows some very good exercise options. None of them require a gym, equipment or even a whole lot of time.


Enjoy and exercise free of charge.

Tom
//www.thepostgame.com/blog/training-day/201204/bodyweight-workout

Airport Surprise

Greetings!  Many large cities throughout the U.S. seem to have blighted neighborhoods around major airports. Also it's commonplace to find industrial areas and hotels in the immediate radius. Given that has been my reality more often than not, imagine my surprise when I ran in Milwaukee, WI. If you don't know, the area on the west side of the airport is lovely. It does have hotels, industry, and rail road tracks. However, sprinkled, heavily might I add, amid those are really nice homes, a park, community center, and a fine little league center. Clean streets, well-kept lawns, friendly smiles and waves made for one of the more pleasant runs I have had in some time, especially in proximity to an airport.

What a great way to start the day and our trip in the America's Dairyland, Wisconsin.

 Enjoy your surroundings. Run.

 Tom

The Morality of Running

In a Christian Morality class I teach one of the text books defines morality of obligation and morality of happiness. In short the former describes when people follow the rules; the rules and the end of strictly following them are not the true desire. In morality of happiness people do follow what's right for the purpose of enjoying it. An obvious problem develops with regard to individual moral compass. We will not visit this terribly interesting topic today.

William C. Mattison, the author, often refers to daily exercise as an example. Ask yourself. Do you exercise for obligatory reasons, weight management, vanity, doctor's orders or for the joy experienced via exercise? Generally, when I pose questions like this one to students they try to harmonize. The students say they exercise for both reasons. That stated, my answer is without question a combination of both. I began exercising as a means to an end, a very specific one; I wanted to lose weight before our wedding day. 16 years later what started out as obligation has turned into a distinct source of happiness in my daily life.

This same author discusses morality in terms of the “Good Life” and happiness. That cuts to the core of why I exercise. I enjoy it. It promotes my idea of a good life and brings me a great deal of happiness.

 Run for the morality of it.

Tom

Perfect Combo

Most trainers and fitness professionals advocate cross training for all level of athletes. Generally this involves aerobic and anaerobic routines threaded through the week with a day of rest and stretching or yoga. I like the concept. When following a schedule like this I use the rest and stretch days for lighter cardio to preserve the integrity of The Streak. 

Recently, I set out to create my own 90 day program. I just finished the first month. I use a variety of routines from programs like P90X and Insanity as well as a healthy dose of running and a dash of yoga. Part one went well. I find is the alternating plan of cardio followed by resistance creates a nice balance and doesn’t over stress any one section of the body. However, I sort of yearn for a workout, roughly 40 minutes, of cardio and resistance combined. I’m toying with some ideas. More to follow. 

Push. Pull. Lift. Step or Run. 

Tom

Change of Pace

Do you appreciate locally owned businesses, regional shops or mom and pop restaurants? Well, Chinle, AZ, in the Navajo Nation, delivers on all counts. This sand blown town lacks in what we suburban dwellers have come to expect in exterior aesthetics, but man do they ever have a feel all their own. Situated in the Four Corners area, prevailing southwestern influences dominate in the choice of apparel. Most folks wear jeans sans bling, plain tee shirts rather than high priced glitzy ones, boots over crocs and cowboy hats over baseball caps. Sure, some of the "trendy" items are worn, but not to the degree as in cities like Atlanta, Miami and other metropolitan areas.

Unbridled horses galloped along the roadside. You just don't see that very often. Farmland and rolling desert brush provided more familiar and very appealing field of vision on my morning jog. After scouting out the main cross roads, I ran through a dry wash. There were no prints, animal or human, in the sand. That made the deserted location seem all the more isolated. Unfortunately, the wash created a little wind tunnel of sorts. So, I headed back out to the road where I enjoyed the distinctive character of the city.

See things differently. Run.

Tom

Hazelnuts

I don't always listen to music when I run. When, I do the songs come from one of two play lists. I have one for travel and one for jogging around town. Many of the songs overlap on the lists and the largest library of songs unsurprisingly come from Sister Hazel. When I first traveled over sea in the 90s I carried a WalkMan. Do you remember those? I took 16 batteries with me so my extended stay in the Middle East would be filled with music. Side note, don't take a bunch of batteries to the Middle East. Back to the story, at that time Sister Hazel's album Somewhere More Familiar had gained them entree in the world of pop music, where they did not last very long. Nonetheless, I have taken their music with me ever since, part out of superstition, but mostly as I enjoy the tunes from the original rock-n-roll band from the Sunshine State of Florida.

Being at their concerts, no matter where, always takes me back to places near and far. Combined the songs and the locations all of hold fond memories. 

 Enjoy music. Enjoy the world. Run.

Tom

Exercise. A Hard Sale?

Greetings!  I write pieces to post on this blog for the purpose of sharing the joys of running, exercise and good health. Much of that includes travel, exploration and silly side trips. Through all these ventures I hope to encourage others to pursue an active lifestyle, but I try to avoid sounding preachy. Although, I did in fact, graduate from seminary. Luckily for most, I’ve long since decided not to spend time in the pulpit. 

Seriously, after enjoying success and seeing physical progress with BeachBody products I joined the organization as a Coach. I enjoy a handful of benefits, mostly discounts on Shakeology and other products, as a result. I also have the option to sell fitness programs and to recruit other Coaches. Here's the rub. I stink at that sort of thing. When people ask me how to get or stay fit, I promptly say, "Run. You can do it nearly everywhere and for free." I'm a huge advocate of running, and walking for those whose knees or backs won't allow for the rigors of running. My favorite thing about running is the activity allows you to get out and explore a new location or to simply enjoy nature. Surely, you can see how I'm not a good one to sell DVD in-home-workout programs.

No matter how you do it, exercise.

Tom

Running Against the Wind, Again

Turns out heavy winds roll into the Four Corners area annually around late March through April. Exactly the time of year I’m able to visit. As previously mentioned, I had already missed an opportunity to run in the stunningly beautiful Los Alamos, New Mexico due to a back injury. Not being able to truck a mile or two in the windy town of Kayenta was easier to stomach, it helped that while we drove through there was nasty sand storm. But missing out on these grand opportunities to run in the desert during the dame week began to take its toll.

After doing a variety of stretches three times a day the mysterious lower back pain began to subside a little each day. The morning of April 6 rolled around and I paced like an animal in a cage. Given the missed runs and the physiological scare of a more serious injury, I was eager to have a short run. We had lodged in Chinle, AZ, which like Kayenta falls completely within the Navajo Nation. The cities also share strong winds and driving sand. This day was to be my day.

After completing a warm up, a little resistance exercise and some stretches, I lit out in the early morning. Around a half mile or so I turned off the road on to dry wash. Running in the deep sand made each step fairly difficult, especially in the wind. I admit this morning's winds didn't rival Kayenta or even Moab, but it was windy for sure and lots of sand was being blown about. To my dismay, much of it landed in my eyes, nose and mouth.

What grand morning. I delighted in the sun rise as it illuminated the beautiful earth tones of the Southwestern Desert. I thanked God for the opportunity to run and I breathed deeply as I faced the strong winds. I felt alive and grateful for it! And yes, as if on demand, Bob Seger's Against the Wind cued on my mp3 player. Really it did. I relished in the tune.

Appreciate small pleasures. Run.

Tom

The Other Windy City

Kayenta, AZ is one of the two towns where I started out for a run and did not finish. Arlington, VA is the other. In Arlington I stopped short due to plantar fasciitis pain. That was excruciating. I often feel like I gave up too soon in Kayenta. As per usual, I hit the road while most folks remained snug in bed. This small town in the Navajo Nation was not well lit. In fact, it was not lit at all, pre-dawn equated total darkness.

Lack of light did not create the problem that halted a nice morning jog. A touch of altitude, driving sand and the harshest winds I have ever encountered made running nearly impossible. After crossing only two parking lots from the hotel I surrendered to the forces of nature. I considered running with the wind, which would also alleviate most of the sand issue, but sooner or later I'd have to turn around and return. I had run in a sandstorm in Cairo, Egypt, but the winds were not nearly as strong as these. As much as it pained me, and let me tell you it did, I gave in and decided to run that evening in Moab, UT.

In the cool of evening in Moab I enjoyed a hearty stroll by a beautiful river. To my dismay, I did not manage to escape the driving winds. They blew so strong that during my run I passed a construction sign on a spring post which bent over parallel to the ground due to the force of gusting winds.

This all popped into my mind as we drove through a sand storm into Kayenta, AZ, seven years later. Yep, you guessed it. Another missed opportunity. I gave a short run some thought, but never even mentioned the notion to Shannan. We drove on into the whirling desert sands and I assured myself, the day will come for Kayenta and me.

Run safely.

Tom