Being and Doing

There are many phases or levels of walking, running or run walking. The first few months are the times of discovering your own body again. Where you are strong, where you are weak and all that's in between. Those beginning months are when every week and sometimes everyday are new personal records of distance and speed. As your body adapts to the stress of exercise your mind becomes dependant on that wonderful feeling of motion.

The next level of motion is doing the race events. It's a whole new world when we join others. We are no longer just someone out getting in better shape, this is the time we realize we are indeed athletes. We are not fast or lean yet but we are well on our way and we have started to form dreams and goals.

After a few years of doing the races and steadily improving we get to a point where we begin to feel that we are as strong and fast and lean as we are going to get. We are having fun with our training and racing but it's beginning to get stale. It seems that the excitement is not there like it used to be. We enjoy the company of our friends we see at our races and those who sometimes train with us. But something is missing.

The next level is not one that just counciously happens. At this level we differ greatly in where we branch out. Some just quit and take a break for a few weeks or months or years. I have been there several times. Often quiting for years before suddenly getting the desire again to lace up and begin again. Other times we advance to long distance and move up to marathons or ultras. Instead of 5Ks and 10Ks we do the half and full marathons. Races become a good excuse to travel and a race becomes a mini vacation and and adventure.

The next level is one that writers have tried to describe for years. It's like the zen of motion. It's where we are there doing our miles, not because we are training for something but because we just enjoy the being and the doing. It's where we no longer even time our runs or walks but just do them because it's the best time of our day. It's when we meet others to do some miles just because being with good friends in the open air, with the sounds and smells of the world around you is just about the best feeling in the world.

Whatever level we are in our journey to health and happiness, being in motion should be a part of it. Our wonderful bodies were designed for motion not for sitting around watching life go by.

Thanks for reading.

Rambling Panda

Waiting For Adventures.

I've been on the planet for a long time and one of the things I've noticed is that way to many people spend their lives waiting to live. They wait for vacations, they wait for holidays, like Christmas to get together with friends or family and they wait hoping for others to visit. They can't wait for the days to go by till the event comes up. Even more sad is that a lot of people wait for some happiness that never comes.

I'm an adult athlete, one of the big advantages to that are that my adventures come everyday. Today I'm off work so I'm driving down to Nashville and meeting another race walker to train on the hills. This fellow and I don't get to see each other very often except on Disney trips but this year we decided to do some training together. We only live 60 miles apart so we decided to not wait till January each year to enjoy each others company.

There are some online groups of runners and walkers that do races all over the country. These frequent weekend trips are wonderful breaks from the routine of work and a chance for adventure and seeing friends. I used to just see these friends a couple of times a year and spend the rest of the time longing for trip time to come.

Last year my world was turned upside down by a separation and divorce. I was in a fog for a while there and realized when I emerged from that fog that I'd been in a rut for a long time. I had spent a lot of my life waiting for my fun times and adventure instead of having those good times every week and often every day.

Now I train a lot more with others instead of alone. When you train with others every time you get together is a new adventure. A new chance to be with friends and to have awesome discussions. We have solved all the worlds problems during our walks and vented our troubles with someone who cares. I truly have the brothers and sisters I had never had before.

Each day now is another chance for an adventure, each weekend is a chance for a new trip to see other places and do races in interesting locations. I still do the Disney trip or two every year but now I don't just wait around for them, I'm to busy living.

I have a Disney friend who is a quilter, she gathers friends and family and has sewing "Bees", touching cloth is a stress reliever and a way to explore her creativity. Her quilting Bees are a chance to have fellowship and new adventures.

No matter what your interests are explore ways to enjoy them more often, don't wait for special events. Life is to short not to have fun and adventure as often as possible.

Thanks for reading.

Rambling Panda

Dear Mr President

Mr President, with all due respect you are looking at health care from the wrong angle. You need to think it terms of making the nation well not making it mandatory to have health insurance.

I'm sure you are asking yourself now, "How do I go about that", so glad you asked, get you a bottle of water and I'll tell you.

To start with wellness has to start at the top. Yep right here with you. Federal incentives for cities and towns that build walker and bicycle paths through out the city. No federal funds for highways unless you make the paths. Businesses that put in showers for employees to use if they bike, walk or run to work, would be able to not only deduct the expense of the construction but would get extra points toward getting federal, state and city contracts. Fitness friendly businesses would be offered tax incentives.

People who purchase a bicycle or bicycles for the family can deduct that expense directly from their federal income tax. Not only is it a step toward health but a step toward lessening our dependence on foreign oil.

All expenses that are fitness related are also directly tax deductible, exercise clothing, expenses related to going to events like walks, runs, marathons, swimming events and bike tours. Each city will provide health clubs that are inexpensive with information and help for new exercisers. Private health club memberships are tax deductible. Low interest loans for someone starting a new health club.

Insurance companies will give healthy person discounts for people who keep themselves healthy. Think safe driver rates for good drivers. Those who smoke will be given free stop smoking counselling and free patches or gum to help with stopping.

I know this is a fantasy but it's how we need, as one of the most unhealthy of nations, to think. We are getting fattier and more addicted to the "good life" every year.

Thanks for reading.

Rambling Panda

Feeling the Power

I'm writing this for Robert on the eve of his quest for a slot on the team that represents Tenn in the National Senior Olympics. Bob and I train together, but should he make the Tenn team and I make the Kentucky team we will be competing against each other.

Will that be a problem? Nope it will be an honor to compete with him, against him, not at all there is gold, silver and bronze to be brought home.

When I went to the national Senior Olympics in 2007, I was not at all worried about winning, after all there were 3 people in my age group there that had a current world age group record or had previously held one. Just to know, not believe, but to know that I belonged there at that starting line on that day was enough.

I was a new, self taught race walker. A sport where not only speed matters but every motion of your body is under the scrutiny of judges. For me the mere fact that I'd earned the right to call myself an Olympian and have the chance to show I was worthy of being there on that day with the best in the nation, was enough.

I trained to finish the races strong with proper technique and enjoy the experience. I'm training differently now and Bob is a big part of that training. We are training to continually be better, faster and stronger athletes. We share a vision and a passion, we are over 50, but we are not slaves to the number of years we have been on the planet. We look at those years as preparing us for what is to come. A future and a destiny that's yet to be told.

Bob, I salute you and tomorrow when you compete on the field of honor, my thoughts will be with you. Get your best Grrrrrrr on my brother and earn the right to go forward. We have a date with Houston and destiny next year.

Thanks for reading

Rambling Panda

Timing your training

The absolutely most effective and the most dangerous training is where you go hard to the edge and stop. Going over the edge results in a good chance of injury, but if you time the effort exactly right you get the maximum benefit.

I had a reminder of this fact this week. I often do training walks 2 days in a row and sometimes even 3 days in a row. But Monday I walked hills late evening, Tuesday I walked hard about mid day and Wednesday I did a hard 8 miles, in the early morning. So instead of 3 hard walks over 72 hours, in reality I did them in 48 hours. I woke up Thursday morning quite sore all over and my feet were very sore on the bottoms.

I think I stopped just in time, any further training would, I'm sure, have resulted in some type of injury. I just did pool workouts the next 3 days and stayed off my feet as much as possible. I was finally feeling good again by the next Monday. I probably came back stronger but I almost over did it big time. That foot pain felt like it could easily have become a PF strain.

When a muscle is asked to preform when it's tired and hasn't recovered from the last workout it's very easy to strain or pull something. Once you pass that edge a long recovery is usually required.

It's like weight lifting, if you have a really super lifting session you will come back stronger, but if you try to lift again before the muscles are rested they can easily fail. Slow but steady progress is the best way to train whether it's weight lifting, running, walking or biking.

Along with that slow and steady progress is getting enough rest between workouts and not trying to squeeze in extra training.

Thanks for reading.

Rambling Panda

World Affairs

There are a lot of natural disasters happening on our planet here lately. Now I know that there isn't a lot we can do about the earth quakes, floods and volcanoes but our personal fitness can be our salvation.

When we are so out of shape that day to day living is a physical struggle how can we possibly hope to survive a disaster. Our fitness can be not only what carries us to safety but our loved ones also.

Ever watch one of those disaster movies? The heroes in them are in good shape and very fit, that isn't just a made up movie thing, to be able to help yourself and others you have to be strong and have good endurance.

Those miles you walked/ran and those hours you spent in the pool, weight room or the exercise class can be the difference in your survival and the survival of those you love. These disasters are not just in the movies, just watch the news.

We have the potential every day to be in a dangerous situation. Not just natural but man made. Terrorism, personal attacks, attempted rape or arson, there is an endless list of possible situations where your fitness can mean survival. A car wreak in a blizzard can become a life or death situation.

Each of us have the responsibility to keep ourselves fit enough to survive and to help our loved ones when necessary. Ask yourself if it were up to you to be the hero when a hero is needed, would you be up to the challenge?

Think about this the next time your having motivation issues.

Thanks of reading.

Rambling Panda

What does it take.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be one of the best athletes in your sport? Ever wonder about the guys that win their age group in the races? Ever wonder what they did that you didn't? Have you ever thought that's where you wanted to be?

I have no idea what it takes but I'm on a journey to find out. I may never arrive there but I'm learning with every strep on that road. I'm learning that the first hurdle is myself and my personal motivation and determination. I've learned that it has to start with believing in yourself, even if your the only one who does.

It takes attention to the details. It takes accomplishing all the parts. The stretching, the resting, the intensity and the healthy eating, for weight control. There are no magic formulas and we are all different. We have to train to strengthen our weaknesses. Some of us have tight calves, some have weakness in certain muscle groups and some of us have imbalances that we need to correct.

We have to commit to do the training regularly, that means every day is part of our training even if the plan for the day is rest or recovery. We need to keep training in perspective and fit it in where it belongs. Make some part of your day, your time and use your time for your training and not for TV.

Many things are more important than our sport, our family, our work and for each of us the ranking of stuff is different. But our health and self esteem are important also. That's what sport gives us, an outlet to push our limits and shoot for goals, goals that are only important to us.

Life gives us nothing but a chance to be, what we do with that chance is up to each of us.

Thanks for reading.

Rambling Panda