Connecting You to a Healthy Life!

Attention, running naysayers!

“We have lost the tradition and necessity, but we still have the native ability; our DNA hasn’t changed in centuries and is 99.9% identical across the globe, meaning we’ve all got the same stock parts as any ancient hunter-gatherer.”

Christopher McDougall
Born to Run

  Attention, running naysayers! It seems our bodies evolved upright, with two legs for the purpose of survival… to hunt and forage for our food by walking and running. Aha! There IS a runner in each of us. Whether you believe it’s by God’s will or scientific fact – those limbs attached to your hips once served a function beyond merely getting to and from today’s sedentary activities. Running for the sake of survival has obviously evolved, but has NOT been lost; no longer must we hunt and kill our dinner, but now we run to stay healthy and to live longer.

For those of you who claim non-runner body type or inclination, I urge you to reconsider. The multitude of benefits of consistent aerobic exercise are positively too many to enumerate here. Besides, the medical community continues to attempt to communicate those messages. Instead, I invite you to join your ancestors past and the men and women of today to run… BECAUSE YOU CAN.

The Gazelle Sports 5k and 10k training programs are a wonderfully safe place to start. Safe, because you are immediately introduced and linked to like-minded newbies. Safe, because you are led by professionals through a progressive walk to run program that will transform your body and your future. The training groups are event specific. For example, current winter programs are preparing Irish Jig 5k runners. Fifth Third River Bank Run 5k and 10k programs kick off in February and Girls on the Run 5k focused programs start in March. Within a few weeks you will progress from the couch to a start line – and most importantly, a finish line. Having this organized running event as a goal is an excellent motivator and method for preparing your body to run the distance.

The coaches are passionate about running. They are the world’s best cheerleaders. They all started as non-runners themselves… and they understand the emotions behind the training experience. The coaches will teach stretching, strengthening, nutrition, proper clothing and shoes, injury prevention and running strategies. And with a good dose of patience, dedication and consistent participation on your part, the coaches will prepare you to cross that finish line.

I have seen all physical shapes and sizes, all ages (it is NEVER too late to start running), varying natural abilities and runners from all walks of life; they blend together in running training programs and achieve success. This training tribe may not be out hunting for dinner anymore, but they do have a common goal… to complete their first 5k or 10k en route to a more active lifestyle.

Fear not, reluctant runners! Join the tribe of runners and I promise you an intensely satisfying launch to a running lifestyle.

- Gazelle Girl Caroline

1st February 2012
Training
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Admission Time

“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self-esteem.” -Thomas S. Szasz

I can’t do it on my own.

It’s a pride thing, something a lot of runners deal with, but I finally came to the realization that what I am doing on my own is not helping my hip “issue.” I resisted for months, because I thought I knew too much to need a true professional’s opinion. It’s just one of the many ways that I act in a hypocritical manner. I tell people all the time to get things checked out when something doesn’t feel right, that it doesn’t hurt to get it looked at (not even in the wallet if they check out SIMIO PT in Holland – they offer a free 45-minute consultation to anyone in order to educate people in a no pressure environment). And yet, here I sat, watching my waist grow as I assumed that I just needed to take time off.

Well, Adam at SIMIO confirmed during my consultation that simply taking time away from running wasn’t going to solve my problems. What he explained (and what I’ve heard from him and Craig multiple times) was that the body works as a chain. When one thing isn’t working properly, the rest of the body adjusts to “pick up the slack.” Although this sounds great, when a problem goes undiagnosed for years (as in my case), your body can get pretty messed up – all along the chain. If you can find the source (as the guys at SIMIO do), you can re-train your body to work the way it should.

Now that I have the proper information, I’m going to try to be disciplined enough to work through it on my own (still pride). But if/when that fails, I’ll be sure to enlist Adam’s help once again.

27th January 2012
Training
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Frustration: It’s a frustrating thing

Lately I’ve been frustrated. It doesn’t make me love my job or my family less, it’s simply a part of being human. The key, of course, is finding a healthy way to deal with frustration. Usually, I run. But what happens when running is one of the things that is frustrating?

I’ve been dealing with a nagging issue. I don’t want to call it an injury, because I’m not sure that’s what it is. Of course, I am not a doctor, nor a physical therapist, and I recognize that self-diagnosis has extended the frustration for me before, but I am stubborn and will not make the time to get things checked out. With that said, and with what I do know, it seems to be more of a muscular imbalance than a true injury. Sure, that might be the same to you, but for me, the label “injury” means something that I don’t want to deal with (mentally or physically).

When the thing that is your best medicine for frustration is a major source of frustration where do you turn? If I had a definitive answer, I would not still be frustrated. I have been working on balancing my perceived muscular imbalance, and that has helped. However the benefits are short-lived. Whereas a good run can keep me feeling good for a couple of days, the mental benefits of what I have been doing this week seem to wane in a couple of hours. Yes, it’s keeping me from boiling over, but it hasn’t been the cure. Life ebbs and flows like a babbling brook that rushes like a river, and maybe this is just a season in which the water level is high. Or maybe the key lies in the quote below:

“To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles.”    -T.F. Hodge

5th January 2012
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2011: Year In Review

I know, it’s old and played to do a year in review. It’s a cop-out for any real journalist. Well, I’ve got news for you – I’m no journalist. I’m just a hack writer, so you get a hack blog post.When I look back at the year 2011, it doesn’t seem all that remarkable. That’s why I’ve decided to do a year in review. I’m using this as a way to force myself to look back and remember more specifically the things that happened, the things I accomplished, and, ultimately, the things I learned in the last calendar year. I hope that when you finish reading mine, you will make time to do this for yourself. Without further ado, here is what I learned in 2011:

  • Jury duty isn’t nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be
  • I’m not very good at indoor soccer
  • In fact, I suck at indoor soccer
  • If properly motivated (and medicated) it is possible to run a half-marathon on a severely sprained ankle – though you will pay for it for many months following
  • I have many responsibilities in my life, most of which do not appreciate when I give 100% of my focus to the track season
  • I like Tulip Time
  • Turning 30 isn’t so bad, but being 30 is a whole new beast
  • Kaila is the most beautiful princess in the world
  • and she’s a pretty fast barefoot runner, too!
  • I need to “let loose” and leave my routine once in a while to explore the world around me and discover new experiences
  • I love West Michigan and everything it has to offer
  • Sleeping in a car in a field the night before a race may not be the worst idea ever, but it’s not a great one
  • If you drive straight home from that race because of a family gathering and decide that, for the sake of time, you will only “freshen up” instead of full-fledged showering, there will be family pictures taken as soon as you get there
  • Injuries are just a part of running…at least for me
  • Chicago is a great city for a runner
  • I love my job, the company I work for, and the people I work with
  • But most importantly, I learned that I am nothing without the friends and family that surround me and love me on a daily basis

Thank you all for taking the time to read my blog over the past number of months. 2012 should be a great year, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you all as it moves along. Happy New Year!

30th December 2011
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Where’s MY pace group?

“If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion.”  – Robert Pirsig

Some of you may have noticed I haven’t posted in a while – some of you may have not. I don’t want to infuriate you with excuses, so I will simply say that it’s hard to believe my last post was 3 weeks ago.

It’s been a busy couple weeks – I feel like I’ve been living my life at a much quicker pace than I am comfortable with.

In running, it’s good to push the pace if you want to improve. As I tell my track girls, you can’t get faster if you don’t practice running faster. My tendency, however, is to always be pushing the pace. “Doggonit, if I’m going to run, I’m going to run fast!” (and be exhausted at the end). That’s why I’ve embraced running with my brother. Not only do I get to spend quality time with him, but it also forces me to slow my pace. At a slower pace, it’s much easier to take everything in. Running on trails in fall in Michigan means there is a lot to take in. Slowing my pace allows me to soak in everything that I love about running – not just the feeling I have afterwards.

Being back to a slower pace of life has allowed me to do the same thing. Sometimes I need the hectic weeks so that when things get back to a manageable pace, I’m able to look around and soak in everything that I love about my life.

8th November 2011
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Living Gazelle Sports’ mission…in Chicago

“At Gazelle Sports we…strive for retail excellence by providing the world’s best customer care” -Gazelle Sports’ mission statement

In a blog post a couple of weeks ago, I commented that one of our favorite places to visit for a vacation is the city of Chicago. Being “small town folks” as we are, we enjoy the excitement and relative anonymity of the big city from time to time. It had been a few months since we’d visited, so this weekend seemed like a great time to spend two days amidst the many cultures the country’s third largest city has to offer. (It doesn’t hurt that my favorite race from last year was taking place, and I was intent on beating last year’s time)

Because the “world’s best customer care” is something I strive to provide, it is something that is often on my mind, even outside of work. We shopped at a number of department stores downtown that provided us just the amount of customer care you would expect from such a store; that is to say, not much. But I’m not writing to rail against the “status quo” of national retail chains. Over the weekend, I witnessed what is quite possibly the best customer care I have ever seen (outside of Gazelle Sports, of course).

I was really happy with the way the race went last year, so I did my best to repeat my pre-race routine from last year. After checking into our hotel, we walked about a mile to packet pickup and then back again to drop off my race bag. Then, it was time for dinner. Last year, we just so happened to find an amazing restaurant, Italian Village. The people are great, the atmosphere is fantastic, and the food is phenomenal. Of course, we had to go back.

This year, we were seated in a small room just off the main seating area and the kitchen with about 8 other people. As the server was going around, taking orders for dinner, I couldn’t help but overhear the woman behind me ordering. She placed her order, including a salad minus onions. (at this point in the story, I feel like I’m not going to do it justice)  A few minutes later, the server came back and asked her if she was allergic to onions. She responded by saying “yes.” He informed her that the sauce on the main dish she ordered was made with onions and offered a number of options for her. After some back and forth questioning, she ultimately revealed that onions simply upset her stomach, and that the amount in the sauce would be fine. The server inquired if she was sure that was okay, and she assured him it would be fine.

If the interaction were to end here, I would have been impressed that the server was able to make the connection that onions were used in the making of the sauce and that she had just asked not to have onions on her salad. But alas, there is more to the story.

Less than 5 minutes later, the cook who was preparing her meal came out to the table to speak with the woman. He wanted to be absolutely sure that his meal would not cause any negative reaction to any customer. Again, she assured him that she would be fine and preferred to have the course prepared as normal. The cook apologized for the confusion, and made her meal as he normally would. I leaned over the table and said to my wife, “now THAT’S world’s best customer care.” Most servers would never take the time to make the connection he did. Most servers would never make the myriad of alternative suggestions that he made. And most cooks would NEVER leave the kitchen to be sure his meal is being prepared in a way that will not make a patron sick. Most restaurants are content to wait it out and see if the customer is willing to complain. But not at Italian Village, they put the customer first.

18th October 2011
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Not alone on an island

“I nod to a passing stranger, and the stranger nods back, and two human beings go off, feeling a little less anonymous.”  ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com

Exercise is a unifying endeavor.

I don’t know this as a scientist or psychologist (though if anyone can explain the chemistry behind it, please feel free), but as a human being who has experienced it firsthand. When I think back to high school, my closest friends were the ones that I ran with. Whether that was track or cross country, the commonality we shared in the abuse of our bodies brought us closer together. It’s the same in any sport.

The experience doesn’t limit itself to high school or organized sport, though. Any time I’m out for a hike, a bike ride, a walk, or a run, I feel closer to the people I pass on the sidwalks and bike paths than I do to the people passing me in their cars and trucks. I think it’s because I know that somewhere, they’re experiencing the same things I am. Whether that is frustration from a workout that’s not going well, or the peace that comes with a nice stroll, I know that I have felt whatever they are feeling and they have felt whatever I am feeling. This was never more evident than it was just the other day.

I was out for a late morning run, trying one of those beautiful routes I talked about in my last blog around Windmill Island. Yes, Holland is still a small town, and people are generally friendly, but I have never experienced what I did that day. On the approximately 2 mile loop around the island, I crossed paths with 5 different people- some walking, some running, and some cycling. I’m pretty easy to ignore when I run; my sunglasses, earbuds, buff headband, and focused demeanor are not particularly inviting. Nonetheless, all 5 individuals reached out with some sort of greeting to me- some a smile and a wave, some a smile and a nod, some a smile and a gentle “hello.” Did you notice that every one of them had a smile? I did. It’s the smile that moves the act from a courteous formality to one of unity. Thank you, strangers, for being a part of my run. I hope I could do for you what you did for me.

7th October 2011
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There is life after 30

“Whatever does not kill him makes him stronger” -Friedrich Nietzsche

In high school, the joke was I’d be in a wheelchair by 30.

In college, the joke was I’d be dead by 30.

I turned 30 just about three months ago, and I am happy to tell you I am still alive (and not in a wheelchair). Any of you who know me know that I don’t lead what you would call a reckless lifestyle. And if you’ve known me for a while, or been through a Good Form Running clinic that I’ve led, you know that my body doesn’t exactly have a history of durability.

I’ve had my run of injuries: anything from concussions to strained muscles to sprained ligaments and almost everything in between. The big joke isn’t that I’ve been injured so much, but more that I’ve spent so little time being healthy. I’ve actually had a pretty good spell over the past couple of years, and Good Form Running has been a big part of that. However, my body does not limit itself to running injuries.

This past winter my brother talked me into joining him on an indoor soccer team. (Sidenote: I’m NOT good at soccer. Something about the coordination of running and kicking and looking around just doesn’t work in my brain. I got cut from middle school soccer both years I tried out. MIDDLE SCHOOL! Everyone makes the middle school soccer team! I guess they just didn’t have room for a doofus who continually tripped over the ball…) Knowing my history, and the fact that I was training for my first half-marathon, I was hesitant. But, he had recently moved back to West Michigan from the Bay area, and I thought this would be a good way to hang out together. Plus, as I mentioned, I had been having pretty good luck lately. (Another sidenote: is it really good luck if I’ve just been avoided anything other than running or cycling? Hindsight is 20/20) So, I decided to go for it. In the first half of the first game, our brother-in-law-to-be sprained his ankle and was out for the season. I started to get nervous.

The season went along, and I had no problems other than being sore in places I had forgotten about. Our last game was a Tuesday night, 5 days before my half-marathon. Things were going well, and this game was for 2nd place in the league (no thanks to my ballhandling). About halfway through the second half I trapped the ball in our end as an opponent was fast approaching. As I tried to decide what to do, he reached me, and did not respect my need for more time. He clearly subscribes to the theory that the quickest way between two points is a straight line, so he attempted to kick the ball through my foot. He was unsuccessful, unless his goal was to get me out of the game. In a very heroic manner, I limped to bench, calling for a sub. Instead of just getting some ice and sitting the rest of the game out (I am, after all, a man), I “walked it off” and came back into the game a mere 3 minutes later. Adrenaline carried me through the rest of the game, and we won. I had a good feeling that it would feel better in just a couple of days. I have LOTS of experience with sprained ankles, and this one didn’t seem so bad.

It was worse than I thought.

The reason I’m telling this tale today is that I have had a rough couple of weeks. Every morning upon waking up, the ankle felt as stiff as it did the day after my half-marathon nearly 6 months ago. I’ve had what I would consider 3 major injuries in my life thus far, and each of them was an ankle sprain that hung around for at least 6 months. The first was caused me to lose my entire senior track season, and highly influenced my decision to not run competitively in college. The second happened about 5 years ago playing soccer with a bunch of 5-year-olds (I told you I’m not good at soccer) and was the impetus behind my gaining 30 pounds in the 52 weeks I could not walk without a limp and, eventually, getting back into running. I still don’t know what path that this injury is taking me on. I know that I am stronger in many ways than I have ever been before, and I know that most days on which I want to run, I am able to warm it up and run without pain. But it’s those first few steps in the morning as I climb down the stairs like a toddler that keep me humble. Perhaps I’ll never know what it’s like to jump out of bed and hit the ground running, but I will continue to do what I need to do to stay active, to grow stronger, to be better.

 

5th September 2011
Training
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Patience (and not the kind at your doctor’s office)

“take it slow it’ll work itself out fine; all we need is just a little patience” -Guns ‘n Roses

I’ve had what feels like a hundred ideas for a blog this week, but with each one started came the realization that it just wasn’t quite right. So, I decided to take my family for a walk as inspiration. My amazing wife, my beautiful 3 year old daughter, and my rambunctious 6 year old mutt of a dog set out with me for a 0.7 mile journey around our block.

One thing you need to realize is that I really want to be able to take nightly walks with my family; I really want to enstill the joy of spending time outdoors being active. Another thing you need to realize is that going for a walk with my family is not enjoyable. For instance, have you ever seen a dog that walks so well that it doesn’t even need a leash? That’s not my dog. I know it’s completely my fault for the lack of proper training I gave her when she was still young, but it’s a constant tug-of-war between the two of us while we’re on our walk. It doesn’t help that we’re incredibly inconsistent when it comes to walking, so she’s never been able to really learn well. Then there’s the daughter. As any 3 year old, she moves at her own pace. Sometimes it’s incredibly fast – sometimes it’s incredibly slow. It’s rarely right at the pace we’re hoping for. On this particular evening, it was incredibly slow. Between admonishing the dog and encouraging the daughter, I had no time to talk to my wife. It was not enjoyable.

As we neared the end of our journey, I found myself thinking about patience and my lack thereof. Why do we get impatient? A simple answer is because we want things to be easier right now. We don’t care about the journey or the lessons learned along the way, we just want things to be easier right NOW. I want my dog to walk this walk like one of those dogs who don’t need a leash. I want my daughter to walk like a 30 year old. In that moment of impatience, I don’t care about her expressing her independence or finding her own path – I just want to have a nice walk.

We do this in other areas of life, too. We don’t allow time for processes to work or for things to develop in their own time – it’s the age we live in. I’m constantly frustrated at how “slow” my internet connection is at work. Then I remember that just 10 years ago, I was using dial-up. At least once a week I have someone come in the store and tell me about an injury that happened because they rushed into a training program or came back too quickly from a separate injury or tried to transition into a barefoot-type shoe without proper preparation. We live in a culture of instant gratification. If we want something, we want it now. My worry is that we’re missing out on the journey.

25th August 2011
Training, Uncategorized
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floating down the lazy river

“I like the word ‘indolence.’ It makes my laziness seem classy” -Bern Williams
I’m exhausted.
Mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally.
It’s even been a struggle to get this blog post done (I’ve been working on it since Sunday).
This is where I could go into a diatribe about how busy the past 10 days have bee, but this isn’t the place for my whining (I save that for at home). What I’ve realized, though, is that when I’m exhasuted, I get lazy. There is a line, thin as it may be, between restfulness and laziness, and all too often I cross that line. And when I cross that line, I really cross that line. I’m not just talking about sitting on the couch and playing video games for 30 minuts. I’m talking about sitting on the couch and playing video games for 2 hours while slamming the remaining cookies left over from sidewalk sales down my gullet and downing 4 beers. It’s easy to eat cookies and drink beer, but it takes discipline to stop.
When I am exhausted, I get lazy. When I get lazy, I lose my discipline. I’ve been eating almost nothing but junk for a week now, I haven’t run in 9 days, and I even hit the “snooze” alarm the other morning (I know, how can I live with myself, right?). The good news is I know what to do. The bad news is I’ve gotten too comfortable being lazy to do it. Well, tomorrow it ends. Tomorrow morning I WILL get up and run. Tomorrow morning I WILL have a healthy breakfast.
Or maybe I’ll just sleep in…
17th August 2011
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