Categories
motivation Running

Thoughts on a Winter Solstice Run

After a couple of very cold days, this morning was a perfect time for a winter morning run. The temperature was hovering around the freezing mark. Most of the snow had melted on the asphalt trail, though there were some snowy and icy spots where trees have kept the sun at bay.

I noticed a few things on my morning run:

  • The sun was shining through the clouds. Frequently this time of year, the sun shines in the morning and it becomes overcast later. If I want to see the sun, I need to get up for it.
  • No one else was on the trail. Yet there were scores of human footprints, bike tracks, and animal tracks. I don’t always realize that though I am alone, many have come before me.
  • I rarely notice when the wind is at my back, but I know when I am heading into it. I need to remember to take the time to thank those that have given me a tailwind instead of focusing on the headwinds.
  • Sore, tight muscles come when I’ve taken a few days off. But after a couple of miles, I forget they were aching. It reminds me to push through and know that things will get easier.

Winter officially arrives tonight. Seasons come and go. Each has their good times and challenges. May you have a great Christmas and new year. Let’s welcome the new decade, be positive and do the things that lead to success.

Categories
motivation Running

Observations on a Snowy, Morning Run

This morning, I grabbed my ice cleats and went for my run. The scenery was quite different than the same route on Saturday. There were a few tracks on the sidewalk. Some human, some four-legged. Otherwise, there wasn’t much activity on a Monday morning.

snowy, nighttime trail in Ohio
Wolf Creek Recreational Trail, Brookville Ohio, 12/16/19

There were a few things I observed as I jogged down the trail.

  • Environments change quickly. Be prepared when you make a journey.
    • If it’s cold, take a coat.
    • If it’s slippery, wear the right gear to keep you safe.
  • Even in the common, everyday places, there is something new to discover.
  • Some of the best moments are when you are the first to venture out.
    • Embrace the morning.
    • Be a trailblazer.
    • Give yourself time to think.
  • Talk yourself into something instead of out of it.
    • The journey is worth it.
    • It’s rarely as bad as our imagination makes it out to be.

May you have a great day. And whatever your journey this morning, embrace it and look for beauty in unexpected places.

Categories
Exercise motivation Running

No One Wants to be Just a Number… or do They?

Man running into a sunrise

This morning, I did something I know most guys my age don’t do. I ran eight miles. I don’t say this to brag, because I don’t consider myself an athlete. I didn’t run in high school or college. I only picked it up in my thirties when my weight was creeping up on me and my father-in-law poked my doughboy’s belly!

I say it because it is possible to be active in your fifties and beyond. This came to my mind when I read this Runner’s World article the other day:

5 Runners who Prove Age is Just a Number

In this article, it quotes a study that claims people felt they were too old to start exercising after they turned forty-one years old. Yet the article had five runners who began to run between the ages of fifty and eighty-four. Let that sink in! An eighty-four-year-old decided it was time to start running!

We put too many limits on ourselves. We’d like to start something but we make all kinds of excuses like:

  • I’m too old
  • I’m too young
  • I don’t have the money
  • I don’t have the time
  • I don’t have any talent
  • I don’t know anybody
  • The timing isn’t right

We claim we don’t want to be a number, yet do we allow numbers to limit ourselves? Do we give in to society’s expectations that are neither correct nor fulfilling?

Check with your doctor. If he or she gives you the okay, I encourage you to start exercising. It’s made a big difference in my life since I began this good habit.

Categories
motivation

If You’re Stuck, Get Moving!

It’s Sir Isaac Newton’s Three Laws of Motion in Action. Objects in motion, tend to stay in motion. If you’re feeling stuck with some part of your life, the tendency is to wish things will change without doing anyting to change the situation.

If you’re feeling stuck, get moving!

  • Try something new you haven’t done before
  • Change up your routine
  • Quit something that isn’t working and move on to something else

There are no guarantees that things will automatically change. But there is little chance until you make some sort of change and get moving.

Categories
motivation

If Life is a Marathon, Why do we Coast?

One of the many lessons I learned from running a marathon is that training matters. If you want to finish the race, blowing off long runs and failing to put the mileage in will cost you pain and the likelihood you won’t finish what you came to do.

If life is a marathon, then why do we coast? Why do we get comfortable and lazy? Keep pushing yourself! Do the work to stay competitive in the race of life.

  • Learn something new every day
  • Keep your eyes open to new opportunities
  • Take some risks that might not work but could pay off generously
    • Do something that requires faith
  • Keep your head in the game
    • Be positive
    • Be encouraging
    • Ask what if to possibilities, not what if to past regrets and mistakes
    • Look at every challenge as an opportunity
    • Embrace change

No one has ever fully arrived until they take their last breath. And if you are a person of faith, like me, the race is only beginning at that point as well.