Multiple OLS Flare Up!

Two flare ups of OLS (Old Lion Syndrome) to tell you about. The first one occurred because I went to the gym during the middle of the morning on the day after Christmas. I was finishing up as a crowd of people were coming in and getting started. So as I sat there on the benches wrapping up my work out, I suddenly became aware that I felt a need to keep up with the fresh crowd that had just come in. To continue working out just to prove that I could keep up. Dumb I know, but as I heard a sports talk show personality say today, "Tell a guy he can't do something, and you can sure bet he either will do or will try to do it."

The second was actually caused by being at the gym with my wife. After nine years of marriage, as I prepared to use the leg press equipment, I caught her looking at me as I was adding plates to the rack.

Now for those of you thinking that that is sweet and romantic, let me assure you, she wasn't checking me out, she was seeing how much weight I was pressing. In her varsity sport's days, leg press was one of her strengths in the weight room, and still can press what I think is a pretty good weight, so despite later admitting that she was checking to make sure I was doing the same kind of weight other guys were doing, I think she was making sure I would work out with at least the weight she uses.

After a warm up set that I knew didn't impress her much, I jumped up another 40 lbs. After a 4 mile tempo, for some reason I keep running tempo runs on the same day and before my leg work in the weight room (I guess at some point I'll start planning a little, for now, I just do what feels good on that any given day.), so the weight required some effort, but wasn't overly streneous. Still she was watching. Soooo, with a full flare up of OLS setting in, I throw on an extra 130 pounds and crank out 10 reps.

In the end, I didn't impress her much. Remember, we've been married nine years. Alas, I did find a replacement workout for the squats I don't particularly like. I found I could work out much heavier than I thought, and that sitting can be difficult the morning after lifting heavy on an exercise designed to target your hamstrings and GLUTES!

Holiday Damage...a weighty issue

Well I got a new scale for Christmas and I didn't like what it said this morning. I figured it was as inaccurate as our old one and headed to the gym.

Well, the new scale worked just fine, it matched up with the medical office style scale used at the gym.

Two days off from working out, one night of homemade pizza, and one day of binging on every sweet in sight equals 4 pounds.

I was expecting a couple pounds, but not four, so I did a little research. You can trust me or look the subject up for yourself, but here's what I found.

American Adults gain 1.05 pound during the holidays. Not bad, right? Wrong. Why? Because most will not lose that extra 1 pound and will tack on another half to full pound throughout the rest of the year, every year of their adult life. So even if you only gained that holiday pound, you're looking at a 15 pound gain from age 20 to age 35. Tack on an extra half pound each year and you're up by 22 pounds over that slim youth you were shortly after high school.

Good news. Exercise can take it off and the more active you are the less likely you are to gain the most during the holiday. Remember, the average is 1.05 pounds, so some had to gain more than that and some less. Shoot for the less.

Bad news. If you're already overweight or obese, you'll be on the upper end of the weight gain. Maybe as much as five additional pounds.

The only cure for holiday pounds seems to be to move and keep moving.

Tomorrow, or maybe tonight, an OLS episode at the gym this morning...stay tuned!

K.I.S.S.

K.I.S.S., the acronym for, "Keep It Simple Stupid", can be applied to lots of things in life, and with some exceptions, is perhaps the best way to go about things.

If your exercise regimen is too complex, it can become a hassle, a burden that you want to put down. That's the beauty of running. A pair of shorts, a pair of shoes, and you're ready to go. Even though I've moved to treadmill use in recent months, running still constitutes the majority of my workout and my lifting routine consists only of the tried and true basics. Easy to cram into an hour each morning.

Yesterday was our church's Christmas service, or was it. No cantata, fancy candlelight service, nope, just your standard Sunday morning service with the sermon being taken from Luke 2. (The Birth of Christ - Remember Linus in Charlie Brown's Christmas, telling us the real meaning of Christmas).

Why no fancy service? As our pastor explained, many challenges have faced our congregation this year; illness, death, financial and employment concerns. Why throw another thing onto members (and some key leadership people) and clutter up Christmas?

The message that Chris delivered was equally simple, no he isn't a "Simpleton", it pointed out the simplicity of that first Christmas, uncluttered by all the things we've hung on it throughout the centuries. Within 4 hours, that message would echo in my heart and save my Christmas.

I had to wrap up my Christmas shopping yesterday for my wife. No I didn't procrastinate, the opportunity to get it done over the past month just hadn't existed. I went out with only a vague idea of what I might get since I'd already gotten her what I hope will be a "huge" surprise. Also on my list was the task of finding something that the kids could give to her, from them.

I bounced from store to store, finding nothing but dwindling inventories and picked over specials, battling traffic, but finding everyone I met to be pleasant and polite. Anyway, as I left Target, I began to panic. This was my third store and seemed to be my last chance of finding that perfect gift (I know what you're thinking..."She has me, what more could she ask for.) while staying somewhat within my unofficial/rarely observed budget. (She's worth a lot more than I can afford, but no one tell her I said that.)

As panic swept over me, I stressed, I worried, and then Chris's sermon popped into my head. By allowing myself to become stressed, I was stripping all the joy from the act of giving. I remembered and consciously acknowledged that Christmas isn't about my mad last minute dash, but rather its about the birth of a Savior....that plain...that simple....and in that moment, Christmas was special again, not because of me or mine, but because of Jesus Christ.

Luke 2:8-14 (KJV)
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Politically Correct Holiday

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, and with sincere respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all, or their choice to
actively oppose such religious or secular traditions. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than another country, nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere, nor to deny the many crimes and other offences
that have been committed by America against African Americans, Native Americans
Japanese Americans, Mexican Americans, and against the peoples of Vietnam,
The Peoples Democratic Republic of Korea, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and many others.
Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability,
religious faith or sexual preference of the wishes.

That's great, but from my family to your's:

MERRY CHRISTMAS, and may GOD BLESS THE YEAR AHEAD!

Christmas Wish

It's been hectic lately and not much time for blogging.

But as a public service announcement, please view and remember to be careful what you wish for. Sometimes it is best that we be content with the blessings we have.

Still a Runner?

That's the question that has been running through my head for several days.

I haven't hit the road for 3 weeks and was only doing so for my long runs for weeks before.

I'm not afraid of the weather, it's just easier to transition from the treadmill to the weights, and I've really begun to have fun with my weight training. I'm not lifting a ton of weight or reps, but I'm seeing results and that always makes it fun.

With all the turmoil recently, racing hasn't crossed my mind.

At some point I'll have to decide whether or not I get serious about running again, whether or not to train for a marathon or see how good I do at the half distance by running the Mini.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.

A great gift for a kid and a parent...

Your kids need you, not just stuff!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2008/12/11/wdiv.mom.surprises.son.wdiv

Will get back in the blogging saddle soon! But for now, this trumps what I had to say.

For those with small kids...

...or those like me who turn into big kids this time of year.
http://www.writetosanta.ca/

If you write to the address the kids will get a letter back.
At least ours have in the past and it appears the Canadian postal workers are doing it again this year.

Merry Christmas

Bits and Pieces

A sign on my desk that I looked at again today for the first time in a long time contains at least a few truths.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Pay off your credit cards every month.
5. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
6. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God, He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship is a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy chldhood. The second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare. Then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
32. Believe in Miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
34. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger
35. Growing Old beats the alternative--dying Young.
36. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
37. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
38. Get outside everyday. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
40. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
41. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
42. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
43. The best is yet to come.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
46. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
47. If you don't ask, you don't get.
48. Yield.
49. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.