Run for Life

Shannan and I completely enjoyed the Guy Fieri Foodapaloosa Road Show in Atlanta on November 23. It was a multimedia entertainment event not to be missed. Nonstop amusement flowed for nearly two hours as the Food Network Star and self-proclaimed “rock and roll chef” commandeered the stage of the Cobb Energy Centre. In that span of time he barely touched the two entrees prepared on stage. Instead, Fieri danced, told stories, made jokes and brought well over the ticket price of happiness to 1200 plus foodies in attendance.

Guy even mocked a blogger who had complained about the second place status of cooking from a previous show. I can certainly see where one might expect a celebrity chef to be cooking and sharing recipes for two hours, and Shannan and I would be just nerd enough to appreciate such a thing. To that end, let me make this public service announcement. If you have tickets for the Foodapaloosa Road Show a cooking lession is NOT what you are going to get. You get something much better--the circle of life that forms around food and cooking.

The Road Show encompassed the full scope of cooking and eating in our society. Music, singing, memories, family, friends, meeting new people, learning new things and living in the moment all came to forefront in the show. I have come to realize Guy’s Road Show’s is not just a marketing ploy or concept to sell ticks, books or increase viewership. He helped me to understand that cooking and eating are a way of life.

I felt the message strike home in a profound way. For me, running and exercising are a way of life that include: music, friends, travel, family, celebrations, adventure, discovery, aspirations, nature, prayer and health. I run to be healthy. I run to challenge myself. I run for pleasure. I run because I can. I run for life.

During the show we learned two new recipes. We enjoyed the company of 1200 other Atlantans, and under Guy Fieri’s guidance Shannan and I lived life through the common ground of food. I hope via the blogs to come I can raise the level of my posts to make this a rock-n-roll site that helps you to be happy as a runner or an active person and happy to be alive.

Until next time, Run, Cook, Eat and LIVE!
~Tom

Life gets in the way

What about……

Oh ye of little faith. I understand The Streak isn’t for everyone. For some, exercising every single day certainly falls in the category of “ill advice.” However, trust me when I say that exercising every day doesn’t dwell in the realm of impossibility. In response to that very position I have heard a mountain of scenarios over the years such as: What if you’re sick, or injured? What about when you travel?

Time management and commitment are paramount for me, but mostly I employ common sense. I have exercised after major oral surgery, with colds, sinus infections and a whole host of injuries. Suffice it to say that I engaged in low impact activities in those situations like using a stationary bike or Nordic Track ski simulator.

I know when to say no. I once planned to run in three different half marathon races over one Thanksgiving weekend. A few days out I found myself with a chest cold. I ran the local race, at a slower pace, and cancelled the other two, losing my registration fees and hurting my pride, but not my body.

In 1997 I trained for a half marathon and a couple of weeks before race day decided I could run the entire 26.2 miles. Bad choice. Following the race I found myself severely dehydrated, tired and sore in places I didn’t know could be affected by running. The next morning I could barely walk. So for that day’s exercise session I took a hand saw and worked without stopping for thirty five minutes clearing our back yard. Believe you me, I worked up a hearty sweat and later had sore hands and arms to go with the rest of my body.

I’ll post What About scenarios related to travel later in the week.

Until next time--Read. Exercise. Live!

~Tom

Simple Obsession

Greetings! 50 marathons in a year?! To me that’s as extreme as it gets. Believe it or not some folks add to the ante and run 50 marathons in fifty states in a calendar year. Still, the super extremists take it to the limit and spend a year running a marathon in a different state every week. For those of you doing the math, that’s 26.2 miles per race. Many avid runners only log about 25 miles per week. Running a marathon is no minor undertaking. Imagine going the distance, at a race pace, and then you only have a week to recover while training for the next 26.2 miles. You don’t have to take advanced biology to know the human body is not made for that sort of thing.

I have an obsession of my own and it’s a little more time and energy friendly. I affectionately call it The Streak. Though I don’t run a marathon a week, I do exercise every single day and have for over twelve 12 years without fail. In the blog entries to follow I intend to chronicle interesting events along the road and post insights on how The Streak relates to topics covering nearly every aspect of life.

Read, run and enjoy.

Tom

The Streak

Greetings! I hope this blog message finds all of you well. I want to share a one of the most important aspects of my life with you. In August of 1996 I went on a wedding diet. Like many others, I realized I’m not a good dieter. Thus, I resorted to exercise in order to lose weight. I had a trusty Nordic Track and the open road to help meet that end. I initially set out to exercise for at least thirty minutes, four days a week. I once exercised for a whole week, which gave me the idea to see if I could do it every day for a month. That goal eluded me for months. I kept trying, finally reaching my month long goal, and extending that daily exercise pattern indefinitely. As of now, March 9, 1997, was the last day in which I did not engage in at least 30 minutes aerobic or anaerobic exercise.

Now, to my own amazement, over twelve (12) years have come and gone and my “streak” is still intact. Along the way I have learned there are many other obsessive-compulsive folks out there with much longer streaks than mine. I’m not sure if that’s scary or if I find encouragement if that fact. Nonetheless, this whole experience has given me a new respect for time management, nutrition, body mechanics, aspirin, the change of seasons, personal fortitude, ice packs, nature and my spiritual walk (or jog) with God.

In these ten years I have run on four continents, in fifteen countries and in all 50 states! Some highlights include running in every hour of the 24 hour day, which encompassed things such as midnight races, a 1:00am run under the stars with wild dogs in Egypt, a 3:00am run in an Arab family farm in Syria and at 4:00am in the driving snow of a small town in Michigan. I ran up Mount Marathon in Alaska (and slid back down), alongside ten major bodies of water, up the Mount of Olives, around the Sea of Galilee, on the Olympic Marathon track in Atlanta and in the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing. Our trip to complete a run in my 50th state caused us to get iced in Indianapolis and have to stay an extra day. I’ve had injuries in both ankles, my back, hamstring, fingers, head, shoulders, knees and toes. Still, the expense of bandages, new shoes and orthotics pale in comparison to the zillions I save in stress relief, and not needing mood altering pharmaceuticals or therapy.

I want to thank all of those folks who have supported this endeavor over the years, and above all my wife, Shannan, who has waited at no o’clock in the morning and late in the evening in the rain, cold, on beaches, in oppressive heat, on bridges, in foreign countries, at the base of mountains and even parked on a multi-lane limited access highway (yikes, we didn’t realize that was the case when I got of the car--it was before dawn in Ohio).

When I mused if I could make it a month, a decade flashed under my feet. Wonder if I can go for a score!

My best to you all and I hope you keep going, and going and going…..

Tom