Running: A FEVER

How do you handle adversity? Do you have people you talk to? Things that you do? I have attitude problems but I keep on going, trying to maintain. It's in the hard times that we really find out who we are. Sports are a metaphor for life. There is always some difficulty, some challenge to overcome. In a game, it is the opponent. In running there is no opponent except gravity. There is a big mental...

Frustration has to be met with determination. Survival is a win. I reason that the more success one has, the harder it is to get that incremental increase. So while on my first run, I had an infinite percent increase in everything, and subsequent workouts were jumps ahead, now these improvements are harder won. I'm also in the middle of a difficult stretch of days. I now know that these come and g...

We went past twenty episodes without celebrating, so yay! That is a lot of episodes for a podcast and it's a good sign that we have some staying power. I intentionally leave the house later. Since I now have my headlamp, I want to give it a good tryout. It is dark and the visual effects are interesting. It's cold enough to see my breath, but I only see it when it's going in front of the light. Als...

Special Guest: Heather I go to Rush Running, a local running store, and get a gait analysis. First I put on a neutral test shoe, get on a treadmill, and start running for a few seconds. Then Heather shows me the video and what my feet were doing. I am amazed at how well she ties my shoes. Turns out you need a size larger than your normal size for running. We try a few different shoes in the medium...

It's a cool day, and though it is clear and at the peak of temperature for the day, my hands are cold. I try to keep a positive attitude and recognize success in my efforts, but sometimes I don't celebrate wins and tend to just look for the next challenge I must overcome. Perhaps I need to work on that. I look forward to a visit to a running store to finally get equipped to run in the dark. Runnin...

I explain the absence of trail audio from yesterday, it was an audio problem. This time of year, trying to get out and exercise is a race against the sun because the days are so short. Today it is darker and colder, and there are not many people on the trail. Today is also one of those difficult days. The cold makes it harder to breathe once I start my run. I've been asked how cold it will have to...

Title: Why Do You Run? The excitement is still fresh in my mind about the half mile I ran yesterday. Although I have walked off and on even in recent years, I have not run in a long time, so it is great to be able to do that. Maybe it doesn't seem like much to an experienced runner, but to me it's a real accomplishment. I am also excited to be associated with Tom Rohr who started the Padua Podcast...

It's early morning and a very cold 35 degrees. And it's a little different seeing that low temperature when I'm going to be spending 40-50 minutes outside. Chafing may be an issue for people who are overweight, like I am, or for anyone depending on how one's body is built. It's important to have either running tights or underwear that covers those areas so you don't have skin-on-skin friction. I'm...

After passing my test I am able to devote more time to things I love like podcasting. A thought came to me during my morning meditation: Do you love your life enough to make it last as long as possible? I think I do. I look forward to many days and the things I can do with them. So it feels good to be working out every day because I feel like I am prolonging the life I love. I have more energy tod...

Running has become like one of those things I really enjoy but never do. I put it in that class even though I have only missed 3 days since I started almost three weeks ago. It's in that class of things. But just because I may be in a rut, doesn't mean I have to stay there. This show is all about change, a journey. A journey is by its nature full of change: a change of scenery, a change of perspec...

I quote my friend quoting a mystic who said one can hear the voice of God by sitting under a cedar tree while the sun rises. This is a busy day on the trail with lots of noise including loud exhaust systems, children playing, dogs, bikes, and more. And it is hard work for me as I realize that in this journey as in any other serious venture, some days are much harder than others. A retraction about...

No ill effects from yesterday's twinge. I always keep in mind the potential of injury and try to avoid it. I try to drill that into my mind and keep focused on it. Muscle weighs more than fat, so there could be an initial weight gain or slow weight loss, but the shape of my body will change, so I should feel differently. There are physical realities of how much one can do as one gets older. I'm no...

My first morning run! Time management forces me to be flexible with my workout schedule. I have some concerns about early morning running, such as cold muscles, darkness, and whether I will get to work on time. As a precaution I decide to make this an all-walk, no-run workout. I am doing dynamic stretching, but have no clear direction on how to do it. I like the progress I am seeing in the lengthe...

It's great to be past that statistically significant seventh episode, by which most podcasts end. But that's only a statistic. Time is a factor. How would I get my runs in if my schedule was less flexible or more hectic? What about my goal? We have setbacks, and it's important not to look at a setback as a failure. It can be too easy to pronounce the project failed and just quit. When I got back f...

"It's beautiful … this stretch." I finally take a new route starting at the marina that turns out to be much more picturesque and interesting. There are woods, a dam, a bridge, and a waterfall-like spillway. Here are some pictures. More advice about warmups: stretch after the workout to avoid soreness by releasing the lactic acid that builds up in the muscles. New in this episode: CAR TIPS: Let yo...

I discuss my weight and how that affects what I can do at this point in my journey. Losing weight is a conundrum. I need to have enough nutrition to do the exercise I need to do, but eating lighter will help me lose weight faster, which would make working out easier. So far I haven't found a new part of the course. Pain is part of this process, but sometimes running helps me feel better. I get int...

Back from Thanksgiving after three days off, I get right back in to the swing of things. What happened? It was the taking of Dad's advice combined with the usual holiday temptations. Christmas? Who knows? But I'm not giving up and waiting for a new year's resolution. Great weather today. I was planning to find a place to park so I could start at a different part of the course. Though I was unsucce...

Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend I went out walking one day with my Father, who offered some advice on moderation in exercise. In accord with Southern tradition, my family calls me by my middle name Brent, because my father and I have the same first and last names. It may be enough to work out several times a week to give my body time to recover and rebuild before the next workout. But develo...

I express concern about having something come up that forces me to not work out one day, and having that turn into a lot of days. I talk about the book Living Forward by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy and my priority for physical fitness. Goals and habits are important. Both good and bad habits are hard to break. But it takes time to establish a habit and I haven't been doing this for very long....

"I'm just like Joe Cool. I'm lookin' good today, I'm feelin' good, it's another beautiful day." Daniel J. Lewis is the RSS Guru. 10,000 steps per day is considered a good amount of exercise. But even walking a mile and a half of intentional exercise, I have not achieved that yet. Wearing the super-cool, ultra-groovy opthalmalogical sunglasses, I went for a record 1.5 miles at a faster pace (possib...

Did I start gradually enough? I may be walking for at least a week, but I want to start doing some running at least during part of the workout as soon as I can. Getting ready for Thanksgiving. How will I handle the unhealthy food choices and tendencies toward just sitting around napping and watching the football games? I take a more challenging part of the course with inclines, and decide that I w...

"There it is, my first run!" Another beautiful day for a walk/run. Objective is to push myself a little more, and add some distance. I learn how far I am walking by using signs on the course. I vow to track performance in the future. For the first time since I started this project, I run, if only for a few seconds. Nobody knows everything about running, so sometimes you just have a try something a...

"I'm not going to have the attitude that I'm not going to run. I'm definitely going to run." I go out on the trail for the first time, discover Lake Fayetteville and think about thinking about running while walking. It's important to have a goal, only if you want to achieve it. My goals are to be healthy, to be flexible and strong enough and fit enough to do things I want to do, like maybe playing...