Tip #12

Beginner Running Tip 12 : Combine exercise with a proper diet Being overweight is often caused by a combination of not enough exercise and improper eating habits. Take your time to learn about your diet and what you can do to make improvements. So here's where I do a little bit of soap-boxing - by the way that may be a real expression or it may be something made up. Nevertheless, if you've been reading this, you know I usually start off with my commentary than put the actual tip. In this case, I was honestly not liking the way they had this tip written up so I just included the one line shown above. After that, they were pitching the latest and greatest - and there always a latest and greatest - weight loss process. I think theirs had you buying a book and a cd that would result in you losing no less than 10 pounds in some absurd amount of time. From my experience, and this sounds boringly simple but true, the proper combination is eating real food in reasonable quantities while training. Not tons more. And certainly not tons less. And who can help you do this? I still stand by my friends at WW to help you eat properly, get in the right amounts of fruits and vegetables and still be a little decadent as the mood strikes you. Deprivation of anything? Forget it. You'll be eating it off the walls in no time. Max carbs? No, just the right amount that you can convert to glycogen to store what you need for your runs, long and short. This months Runners World has something about going Vegan. Next month it will be Gluten Fee. The one after, who knows. Probably just depends on what book is hot. Trust me. Eat a balanced diet that you occasionally spike with a little something for the long ones and you'll be a happy, fit beginning runner.

My Stepfather

Well, it's been a bit more than a week since posting. That's because it's been a very tough week for my family and myself. While I've stayed away from the very personal side of my life and stuck to running, I'm going to go out on a limb and change that. I guess what's the point of blogging if not to share myself, feeling, emotions and all. I'll get back to the running stuff over the next few days - there's time for that....

My stepfather, always a kind friend to me, devoted husband to my mom, and caring father, grandfather and friend to many, passed away this past Friday. I'd known him nearly 30 years, having met him when I was just 17 or 18. While he had been bravely battling lung cancer for months, in the end, the disease just went to work and from last Wednesday through Friday moved way too rapidly to do anything. Fortunately, he passed peacefully in his sleep and told my mom he loved her one last time.

Having been lucky enough up till now, I've never experienced someone very close passing away. What I've taken away more and guess would like to share is the realization that people have so many different sides to them. And it's so important and valuable to get to learn about them and celebrate those parts while we have the chance. My stepfather was an amazing cook, an incredibly well read and educated man and wonderful sharer of knowledge. For better or worse, that's what we often thought of when we thought of him. The reality - and I learned this as friends and family got up to share their feelings - is that he was so much more. He was a close friend and confidante to his companions and he enjoyed debating every facet of life with them from the best place to buy coffee to why we should be more patient with our politicians. To another person my age, he was a soothing and humorous force at a difficult time in life. And to one of his closest relatives, he was someone to enjoy sporting events with, good wine and the finer things in life.

At the end of the day, he taught me something that we often laughed about. He did things his way, without compromise and without regrets. He didn't extend invitations but you were always welcome and invited. And, as my wife so eloquently put it, once you found a way inside that big heart of his, you were there forever. And he's in ours.

A little break in the action - but not in running

First, if you were (one of the millions) reading my 110 Days of Running Blog and are now joining us here, welcome! This is really going to be quick because I have all of ten minutes before on to the next activity. Today is my one day at home from a week away of touring colleges with my daughter and some family time. What's been fun is that I've had the opportunity to run in some new places which always gives me a huge lift. It was extra welcome as I've been training very legitimately for the New Jersey Marathon, had done some really nice long runs but needed a little break in the action. Not a total break from running but some shorter, slightly faster runs.

My first two stops this week were perfect for it. We were first in Rehobeth Beach - well, technically it's called Broadkill Beach and it was truly the middle of nowhere. Actually nowhere might have been a few miles from where we were. We were further than the middle of nowhere. Nevertheless, there was some nice relatively flat land to run through with beautiful views of a nature preserve and plenty of beach. Did two nice 6 and 4 milers there.

After that, Monday and Tuesday we were in Washington and Georgetown. That is really a great, great city to run in. The first day was about turning lemons to lemonade. I recently read an article in Runners World about the joy of going "Naked". In other words, no iPod, no watch - just you and your sneakers. I did find that I was starting to get a little dependent on the iPod so I had gotten to a point of taking it with me on every other run. So, Monday, I went out without the iPod but of course, had the watch. As I was walking to the reservoir, I did something that shut my watch down. I did this before and all I really needed to do was connect it to the charter to get going again- but for now it was dead.

So there I am without a watch and without tunes which I've found to be sort of a fun way to time yourself if need be. The only thing left to do was just count by my own breathing and rhythm. So I did and got into a much better and evenly spaced breathing thing. As there turned out to be mile markers, I saw that I ended up covering about 6+ miles and the clock at starbucks showed me that I was around an 11+ mile. And it felt great. The day itself had a few irritates that I won't go into but suffice to say by the end of it, I felt like I needed a little treat...

I bought myself a pair of Brooks T7 Racers at the Georgetown Running Store, cousin of one of my favorites here in Bronxville, near Yonkers. These things just rock. I was happy to jump on a treadmill and go uncomfortable fast for a simulated 5K - what a way to get the frustrations out. The next morning, couldn't sleep and was up at 4:30...Since I don't know the town that well, wasn't quite up for being out there in the dark. So I watched Scream 2 on TV until 6:00 and then went out. I started out thinking I need a light day but really wanted to get the T7s on the street. So I did and headed to George Washington University. Well, soon enough I'm at 3 miles, then an easy 4 and 5 and back in Georgetown at Wisconson Avenue asking myself whether I want to tackle that hill - if you know the hill, it's kind of scary. Anyway, I decided to and still felt pretty good. So ended up with a solid 7 miles done by 7:00 at about 11 again and that was taking it easy. These shoes just make you want to run.

Anyway, tomorrow, heading to Boston, another great running city and looking forward to following the Charles River path, another favorite. We'll get back to the tips and Seinfeld next week - for now, nice to enjoy the ride(S)

Day 124 - And an update to the blog

Hi All (readers of my 110 blog and my Teens Run Yonkers - I'll be posting this in both)

Well, like the Seinfeld Series, all good things - OK,depending on your opinion, things - must come to an end or at least a temporary end. While I haven't shared a lot very personally, I'll share that this has been a tough few weeks for my family and I. I've had family members that have been challenged with health issues and it's been sad to folks that I love lose so much of themselves to these things. Not going into a lot of detail but I'm guessing you get it. As such, I really needed a run today to just clear my head and not think. One of our kids in teens run yonkers mentioned that he loved the feeling of just running and not having to do lots of thinking. So, I ran and ran and ran some more and was happy to put myself right on my marathon training schedule with a 20 mile run. Sometimes, especially when things are tough and you can't control, just getting out there and pushing and pushing till you accomplish something totally in your control, it feels good. Again, this is why we do Teens Run Yonkers - to teach young people about moving beyond self-imposed limits and getting to the place where you're in control.

Anyway, this was Day 124 - 14 past my originally goaded 110 days of running. While I absolutely love(d) doing this blog, I'm realizing it's relatively time consuming - and sort of mind dividing - to do two separate blogs. So this will be the final post - for awhile anyway - for the 110 blog. Starting tomorrow, I will be doing all my posting in the Teens Run Yonkers Daily Runner blog. For those of you who have been reading 110 and enjoying our occasional Seinfeld Trivia, I'll still try to kick that in from time to time. No reason we can't have some fun while motivating others to run. I'll also start adding a bit more about my own personal running and lessons learned into the Teens Run blog. We will finish up with the tips but again, will infuse it with some new stuff.


For those of you who read either of these, I welcome your thoughts, comments, suggestions and ideas for improving the blog, life, liberty and the pursuit of a perfect pair of running shoes (but I do have a couple of candidates!!) See you on the street