Resolutions

It's that time of year again, and as the hours and minutes creep closer to 2014, I guess I should commit something to print.

I'm just not sure what that something should be.

Lose weight? Sure

Run/bike/exercise more? Not a bad idea

Eat a more healthy diet? Ugh...

I think my problem is that I don't really care. Or rather, I'll be 50 next April, and I'm (finally) coming to terms with who I am.

That's not to say I won't make half-assed attempts throughout the year at self-improvement.

But I know myself pretty well, I think.

Will I stop being a smartass? No.

Will I stop "stealing" music? Well, it's more like borrowing...

Will I take better care of myself, both physically and emotionally? Not likely.

Will I be thankful for what I have instead of wishing I had something more/cooler/better? I'd like to think so, but I suspect my Magic 8-ball would tell me to ask again later on this one.

Nope, I guess I'll just resolve to be the same ol' me starting at 12:01 this morning.

It's the only resolution I've been able to keep every year, and I don't see the point in stopping now.

...and then THAT happened...

A man walks into a bar and sits at an empty table. Almost immediately, he notices a very attractive, much older woman at the bar. He thinks to himself, "She's a very attractive woman for her age - I wonder if she has a daughter...?"

The woman notices his gaze and approaches his table. "Tell me," she says to him, "were you just thinking about a mother-daughter thing?"

He can't hide the look of surprise on his face as he tells her, "Actually, yes I was!"

"And would you be interested in that sort of thing, by any chance?" she asks.

Not even trying to hide the huge smile crossing his face, he says, "You bet I would!"

The woman gestures over her shoulder back towards the bar and calls out, "Hey, Ma...!"


That joke has no bearing on this post, I just read it in an old magazine yesterday and thought I'd share it.

The real reasons for this post are to start writing again after a long hiatus, and to express why, after six or seven years, I abruptly quit Facebook the other day.

I'll let that sink in a bit.

Got it? Great, here's why...

Facebook stopped being fun a long time ago.

I don't suppose that's much of a reason, though, is it? As I get older (and older, and older), a lot of things stop being fun, but I don't drop them like they're hot.

(My teenage daughter LOVES when I try to be hip, even though most of my 'hip' references are from 5-10 years ago...)

In all honesty, Facebook isn't what it was a few years ago, and I don't really need to be on it. It's more of a time-suck than anything, and I'm really trying to make better use of my time.

What's changed on Facebook? Let me tell you...

I'm a man of very few good, close friends and many, many acquaintances.

And frankly, Facebook gives one insight into said acquaintances that I would just rather not have.

Anything is fair game on Facebook, and that means the two deadly sins as well - religion and politics.

And I'm just as guilty of spewing my nonsensical, poorly-thought-out views as anyone else.

If Facebook were simply a repository of kids pictures and restaurant check-ins and happy birthday wishes and funny memes, I'd hop back in tomorrow.

But it's not. It's becoming something darker. Or maybe it always has been, and my tolerance for it has just run out.

I hold some pretty firm, well-reasoned thoughts on politics and religion. I don't mind sharing those views with others if they're interested in a rational, mature dialog.

But there is precious little rational, mature dialog on Facebook.

That's not to say all of it is chest-beating garbage. I have a few friends who purposefully (attempted to) engage in thoughtful, intelligent discourse, but those friends are rare on Facebook.

And make no mistake, I know I'm just as guilty as everyone else in abusing the system. Or rather, using the system for that which it was intended - displaying your views, however hateful, hurtful and arrogant, for all the cyber-world to see.

But that's no longer me.

I'm still on Twitter, where I can ignore or unfollow the jerks and idiots, post my nonsense in 140-character bursts, and still engage with those online friends whom I consider to be real friends. Most everyone I enjoyed on Facebook is also on Twitter - those few that aren't I can still text or *gasp* talk to in person.

Summertime, And The Livin' Is...Hot

Summertime!

Well, it's definitely summertime around here - temps are in the mid-90's, occasional afternoon thunderstorms, etc.  My run this morning was at 5am, when the temperature dipped to a balmy 80 degrees with a slight breeze...
I've started training in earnest for the Route 66 Half Marathon in November. Using a running plan from my buddy Darron Tytler (@datman65 on Twitter), I completed the first week easily, and am now scheduled to log a solid 12 running miles this week. Add in dog walking and various other activities, and I should be in pretty good shape going forward.

Darron's Running Plan

I've contemplated signing up for the Tulsa Run 15K race. The only thing stopping me, actually, is I'm still a bit cautious (read: superstitious). Three of the last four runs I've signed up for (including last year's Route 66 5K) I have not been able to run due to injury, so I'm a little nervous about committing actual money to it at this point. However, my plan is to run it, as I already have an eight mile run scheduled for the day of that race.

Now that all three kids have graduated to middle school, it will be a little tougher finding the motivation to run in other races. In elementary school, doing the fun runs was an integral part of being part of the running club - in middle school, none of them have yet shown any interest in joining any sort of run club, so other than the big races - Tulsa Run, Zoo Run, etc. - and races associated with friends' businesses - Elote's 5K, for instance - it'll be a struggle to get them to commit to anything, so I may be running some of these myself, if at all. I suppose it'll all depend on what works with my training schedule.

Walkin' In The Rain...

This past Sunday was an off day, but still managed to get Zeus out for a walk in the rain. It started out as a walk in the drizzle, but as we got further from the house, the rain started coming down harder. Just glad I thought to put my phone in a plastic baggy! The picture to the right was taken about halfway through, just before the clouds opened up. The last quarter mile was a torrential downpour. In my defense, we would have gotten back much sooner if SOMEONE didn't have to stop every fifty feet to shake the water out of his entire body. For a dog who loves water, he sure hated the rain. He's like a little kid who will play all day in the pool but scream and yell when it's time to take a bath - it's all fun-and-games when digging in the mud in the backyard, but having to walk in it...no thanks, he said!



1D + 1!

One last thing - always mindful of appealing to the broadest swath of readers, here's a picture of me with One Direction, whom at least one of my kids seems to like.

If I ever run into a life-sized picture of Dave Grohl, I'll be sure to post that. And if I happen across a full-sized cutout of Cameron Diaz, you WON'T see that, as the pictures would most likely be unprintable...

Have a great week everyone!

-Steve

Spring Is Here - Rain, Flowers and Blog Posts Anew!

It's been a painfully long winter, both physically and psychologically - but it's April now, Spring is here and Summer is just around the corner!

 

After battling through foot, knee and calf injuries the last few months, I've completed my first two races of 2013, and ready for the next challenge as I prepare for the Route 66 Half Marathon in November.

St. Pat's bib

Two weeks ago, the boys and I ran the St. Patrick's Day Fun Run and had a great time! There were a lot of costumes, and as this was the unofficial start to racing season here in Tulsa, spirits were high! Both boys did well, and Ian even beat his old man by a good twenty seconds!

 

 

Early morning start...

The only downside to our first race of the year was that when we arrived, my first stop was the Michelob Ultra table, to find out when they'd start serving - I was told as soon as the first gun sounded, they'd start pouring. Talk about motivation to finish strong! However, we finished around 8:40, and I went directly to the table, only to find a sign saying beer wouldn't be served until 9:30. WTH?!?! It was St. Patrick's Day - shouldn't it have been part of the pre-run breakfast?

 

With Whole Foods
Marketing Dir. Lorah

 

There were a lot of cool costumes there - got a ton of pictures, but one of my favorites was when Whole Foods Tulsa's Marketing Director Lorah agreed to pose with us before the race - love the hair, Lorah!

 

 

Brent & Zach

On a non-running related note, we had a busy couple of weeks between races - the weather for the most part was pleasant - time for trips to the park, bike rides, dog walks, etc.

 

Nick and I made the trek to Oklahoma City to see Shinedown, Three Days Grace and P.O.D. - we'd gone to shows together before, but until now the biggest show he'd sees was Daughtry - this was his first real rock show, and he enjoyed every second! He stood for the entire two hours Shinedown (his favorite band) played, singing along to every song, waving his hands, dancing around - he had a blast!

 

Ready to ride...!

We have also had time to perfect our bike riding and driveway basketball skills, thanks to some pretty gorgeous weather. It's always a good thing when the kids WANT to unplug and go outside for a while, and we try to take every opportunity to do just that!

 

 



Luchador bib!

Then this last Saturday evening, Ian and I ran the Elote Tulsa Luchador 5K Run. What a blast! More than just a run, this was a three-plus mile obstacle course - spaghetti slip-n-slide, dance zone, silly string attacks, dodge ball zone, water balloon ambush at Guthrie Green Park, Patron shots (orange Jell-O shots for the kiddos) - this race really had it all!

 

 

 

Hot & Tired
Post Race!

 

We managed to run the entire route through downtown Tulsa, and Ian even PR-d at 32:40! So proud of him!

 

Overall, after a particularly harsh (physically and mentally) winter, it has been an amazing spring so far - and looking forward to much more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Steve

April 2, 2013

 

Run 2013!

My Spring dance card is starting to fill up!

So far I'm set for two races - the Kyle's Krusade Virtual Race which I'm doing on February 2nd (read more about it here) and the Fleet Feet Tulsa Sweetheart 10K (which I'll be running solo, of course, since my wife STILL refuses to run with me, bless her heart).

Also on the horizon are the Zarrow Run, the Cinco de Mayo Run and the Run Tulsa Pink run, which I'll be doing with the kids through their school.

Then I'll spend the summer ramping back up my half marathon training. Races I'm anticipating running include the Tulsa Zoo Run and the Tulsa Run in October, and of course the Williams Route 66 Half Marathon in November.

It's shaping up to be a busy 2013!

-Steve

-----

Follow me on Twitter and Facebook and Daily Mile - you won't regret it (unless you're adverse to frequent nonsense and eyerolls!)

New Year, New Plan!

New Year, New Plan!

I've been mulling over a change in routine since the middle of December. I've been running pretty steadily, off and on, since mid-May 2012, and as we're now well over a week into the new year, it's time I stopped thinking and started doing.

However, I am currently nursing a mystery leg injury, and so any changes I make will have to wait until that is fully healed.

Here's my dilemma, if you can call it that. I love to run, but I'm beginning to think that is not enough for me. And so I've been listening to those around me, watching what the people I admire and respect are doing, and stealing a little bit of this-and-that from each of them. The following is what I've come up with.

My attack will be necessarily a two-pronged one.

The first thing to address, which I can do regardless of the health of my leg, is my diet. I've detailed in previous posts the minimal dietary changes I made in 2012, consisting mostly of the elimination of carbonated beverages from my diet and eating a more healthy breakfast. I've fallen away from that second one in recent weeks, and I need to get back up on that horse.

More importantly, though, it's time I took it to the next level. Keeping in mind that I'm the type of person who usually jumps head first into something and wears it out my welcome pretty quickly, and wanting these changes to stick, I've broken it up into a series of small goals that will get me to the next plateau:

1. Replace junk food snacks with healthy fruits and veggies.
2. Replace post-breakfast caffeine with water.
3. Get back to eating a healthy, filling breakfast.
4. Eat smaller, healthier lunches.

Once I've met these goals, the next steps will be to:

5. Eliminate afternoon snacking.
6. Eliminate all foods after 8PM. (Don't remember where I heard this one, but it's always stuck in my head as being a good idea - I'm in inveterate evening snacker.) (Hyperlink is for you - you know who you are.)

At this point, I should be eating a filling, healthy breakfast, a healthy mid-morning snack, a light & healthy lunch, and a good dinner. I am very fortunate to be married to an amazing, health-concious woman who always cooks as healthily as possible, and who is a magician in the kitchen. Dinner is not a concern; snacking after dinner is.

For a more well-rounded
workout...

The second thing to address, as soon as my leg is 100%, is to expand my exercise regimen beyond running. The first phase will be a 30-day test using my P90X videos from a year ago. The advantage here is two-fold: there will be more indoor workouts during the winter, and it'll be flexible enough that I can switch indoor sessions with running as the weather allows. Here is my basic plan, always subject to modification/tweaking:

Sun - Stretch/Cardo
Mon - Plyometrics
Tue - Running (yeah!)
Wed - Yoga
Thu - Kenpo
Fri - Core Synergistics
Sat - More running (double-yeah!)

After 30 days, I will reasses my progress and make additional changes as necessary.

So, why this change? What am I trying to accomplish?

I like what running has done for me...

The obvious answer here is a more healthy "me." I like what running has done for me physically and emotionally, but I don't want to become burned out on it as I have with so many other things, and I believe this is the next evolution in my progress towards better over all health. I will continue to run races; I'm at a level now that twice-per-week running is suffiecient to maintain the progress I've made as a runner over the past eight months.

So I invite you to join me on this journey, either as a disinterested observer, a vocal detractor or even an active participant - the choice is yours.

I've started a Facebook page to track my progress on this next phase of my life - "like" my page, follow my progress, and post your own. Heck, create your own page and I'll like it in return so we can follow each other on our journey to a better, healthier self! And as always, follow me on Twitter for a more interative experience!

Here's to a fantastic 2013!

-Steve

My Mantra For 2013!

Facebook!

With my trusty steed Zeus

I've started a facebook org page! You can find it here:

Steve On A Mission Facebook Page

Why?

The number one reason, of course, is that I want to help people! Less than a year ago, I was more than thirty pounds heavier than I am now, and couldn't walk a mile (let alone run 100 yards) without feeling winded.

Three months later, I ran my first 5K race in under 30 minutes, and seven months later had completed the first of what I hope are many half-marathons.

By doing three things - dropping carbonated beverages from my diet, eating a healthier breakfast every morning, and regularly exercising (in my case, mostly walking and running with my trusty steed Zeus), I brought about significant changes in my physical appearance, overall health and self-confidence.

And now I want to pass this along to anyone who is interested in making those same changes (or similar ones) and is unsure how to start.

I have goals for the coming year, as well, which I will share as we go along!

So check out the facebook page above, 'like' it if you are so inclined, and join me on this journey - we can do it together!

This is what it looks like to finish your first
half-marathon on a freezing cold morning...