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2008 – A new beginning, a time for new goals and to realize that I can set them and move toward them (and achieve several other things along the way). 2008, for me, is also about gratitude … I’ve achieved so much with the motivation, support and encouragement of you all, of MTM and from Carlyn and Scott. 2008 is a time when I bring best wishes forward for each of you … that you’ll find joy and contentment, that you’ll maintain and improve health, that you’ll recognize your possibilities, that you’ll realize prosperity (in its many forms) and that you’ll move without restriction toward your goals. Move forward, manage your state, live good!
Entering 2008 has been a part of my Christmas break; it’s been time with family and making memories; it’s been away from home; and it now presents the opportunity for us to move back into our basement fully (most of our gear has remained in the garage since August with the renovation). Exercise-wise I’ve exercised each day with the exception of a rest day, last Saturday. I haven’t always had the pool or gym to use and in these cases have opted for walking for an hour with intensity … some days have had two walks. And, I suppose with the moving of furniture and boxes yesterday and today I’ve had more of a long, slow weight workout, an LSWW. Yesterday saw me start at 10:30 a.m. and continue through New Year’s eve to 3:45 a.m. (I did stop for a few hours to celebrate with wife and kids); but then, I went out for my hour’s walk at -27C. Diet-wise I’ve indulged in some treats and have found that on days when I’m tired and routine has been absent that there’s a feeling of entitlement to treats. Again, it’s just like our summer breaks/holidays … it’s also a time to see and value our exercise and diet plans when they’re working optimally.
Some intentions to sort through with the remainder of the break include:
1. Starting a new thread for the 365 day challenge.
2. Planning out workouts for opposing muscle groups along with LSB.
3. Celebrating a year on the 100 days of exercise challenge on January 8th.
4. Read all of last year’s posts in my 100 days of exercise challenge.
5. Generate and assemble a doable list of goals, goals that will take me further along in Life and career and family and …. And, it’s about looking at it from the point of view of what I’ll give myself.
So, again, best wishes in 2008!!
“If you’re looking for the key to the universe I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The bad news: there is no key to the universe. The good news: it was never locked.” Anonymous
“If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times.” – St. Augustine
A most happy and prosperous New Year to each of you! Let’s see what we can do with 2008!!
In keeping with most recent Christmases I have released myself from my regular work-a-day routine and have in completing the unpacking and organization of basement household items this week flipped my hours around so that I have been heading to bed at 5:00 a.m. and waking by 11:00 a.m.. This pattern is about choosing to invest my initiative in the project while I have the time to devote to the project. So, exercise, while being done, is being done following each day’s unpacking and organizing. Maintaining my regular routine would have forced me to schedule the project into doable time slots and would not necessarily guarantee completion. And, then there’s the matter of initiative and persistence on a physical project after working out … my workouts can leave me feeling spent with little else to offer in major and prolonged physical activity; on Saturdays, for instance, after a run and a swim my preference is to spend the remainder of the day on less demanding tasks.
So, at 4:55 a.m., this morning, I have completed an hour’s walk listening to Daily Boosts. Scott’s talk of cars reminded me of seeing a Jaguar station wagon, this fall, while chaperoning our High School volleyball teams away from High Level. What a sleek vehicle! For me and my enjoyment in detailing cars it’s more about representation and appreciation of the craftwork having gone into the vehicle’s design; also, with so much time travelling each year I’d anticipate a comfortable, precise ride and sporty powertrain. The last Jaguar I saw prior to the station wagon was an 80’s sedan driven by Dakota House who’d come to High Level (he plays the character TV on North of 60).
Other ideas hitting home … what success looks like and what success does not look like; in the latter instance success cannot be about Life on the metaphoric treadmill … there’s got to be abundant time, abundant energy and abundant interest in others. As well, Scott’s experience in removing his wedding band has struck a chord. Again, he’s dug deep to provide a vivid, personal and provocative lesson in choosing to leave the past behind, experiencing the upside excitement of new possibilities and committing to creating a new reality. I wonder about his readiness and about how much removing the ring was based upon having a clear understanding of his reality. It got me thinking about a SWOT assessment – looking at our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as we develop our vision and goals Good schtuff!
Walk Stats
Distance – 4 miles
Time – 60+ minutes
Pace – With Intensity
“Is the Life I’m living the Life that wants to live in me?” – Parker Palmer
Hey Ross, glad to see you’re off to a good start. The ring episode got to me too. I’m about to cross the twenty year mark with my wife. Scott sure gives you lots to think about.
And, Brad … we’re going to have to talk about Raid the North this year!
Our Christmas break has been good in many ways (some of them tasty, most having to do with slowing routines down, many having to do with organizational and preparatory activities for 2008).
And, this week’s done. We’ve moved into our newly renovated basement. All is unpacked and organized. Photos, even, have been sorted through and most put into albums. We’ve unpacked boxes comprised of my grandfather’s memorabilia and his work with UNICEF. We’ve unpacked and glimpsed through boxes of Mum’s stuff, boxes of my childhood stuff, boxes not opened in decades. Everything now has a place and we’re still able to move freely within our basement. It is no longer a box warehouse. The only chore that still needs done is hanging pictures and is probably a good activity to let breathe with time to see what goes where optimally. There is even room for additional furniture – a 2008 purchase, perhaps. So, we’re at the conclusion of this renovation. We can now park our Honda Odyssey in our garage. Good!
Physically, the week’s contained long, focused, draining hours. Exercise has always been done at the wee-hour end of the day … like tonight - I’m just in from 90 minutes walking; it’s been cold out and Evian water I bought midway was forming ice crystals along the way. Physically, my first week of break contained scheduled meals and workouts. This second week of break has been active but there have been treats to nibble on when I’ve been tired and taking a break from unpacking and moving in (a minor amount of training for my before picture as Scott would say). My feet have taken a beating during the break. A new pair of running shoes caused a blister that broke and bled (I continued on in my workout). Moving in and wearing socks around the basement has produced cracked heels. My wife has rubbed Ozonol into the cracks, bandaged them and then (as Red Green would have it) put a final layer of duct tape around the heel to prevent further wear and ‘tear’.
The week’s been good in other ways. I’ve been able to hang out with my son and daughter. Occasionally, things have slowed enough to be able to watch a movie or two with them. Tonight was ‘Evan Almighty’ with Emily and a few episodes of ‘House’ with my son. In terms of values and goal setting, I’ve done two things – reading through my 2007 thread and writing about highlights and things that have surfaced through the year. So, now the big ‘to do’ is to prepare for the return to my regular routine of teaching, workouts, family and Life. I think there’s a lesson in MTM 126 about the value of positive self talk in rolling forward.
Walk – Friday (wee hours)
Distance – six + miles
Time – 90 minutes
Walk – Thursday (wee hours)
Distance – 4+ miles
Time – 60+ minutes
“Reach out and open the door that no one thought could be opened. Life is behind it.” – Kelly Ann Rothaus ( Believe in Yourself )
Sounds like a good week all in all Ross, getting things done, spending times with the kids and wife, thats all good!
I would love to do the Raid the North thing too, with Bree we would have a team! Only one problem, the cost-the entry fee and the cost of the gear would be really pricey, so there would be some sponsorship needed, I’m not worried about the logistics. For fun, we should just go over it and see what it would take?
Per person would propbably run something like this:
$1500 entry fee
$700 gear (wild guess)
$300 hotel and meal expenses the day before and after
$??? airfare - Ross & Shawn, not much since you’re already in Canada, Me and Bree more since we’re in Tennesee & Florida
Total cost $3000 each, approximately.
Then there is training. How would we work as a team if we don’t have some practice sessions? So throw in more dollars to meet somewhere and practice.
Sure sounds like fun. Worth the $$ if we could work it out.
Wow! You’ve got a jump on scoping things out! Then, there’s the matter of Raid the North not having its events posted, yet … so, we don’t know which end of the country we’d be at. Newfoundland would be one of my hopes … I’d love to see it and interact within the area. But, wouldn’t it be something to be in Nunavut, Northwest Territories or the Yukon? For us Canucks, flying down to Florida or Tennessee with Expedia deals would probably be easier in terms of dollars. It is about practice, and, it is about dealing with Terrain, intelligently. So, as you said before it is about our physical and mental capacities and how we exercise them optimally. You’re right to approach Raid the North as possibility; for me, last year, a lot of my achievements were ones that I recognized I had access to and with all things being right, I seized the opportunity and acted. So, metaphorically speaking (or perhaps speaking by way of cliché) let’s be ready to seize the opportunity should the stars align in everyone’s favour (and, in the back of our minds let’s keep it as one thing we may be training toward).
It’s Saturday. The Christmas break concludes tomorrow. School and teaching resumes on Monday. I found myself wanting to immerse myself in my week’s homework to get an idea of what this week will be about. I tackled school e-mail first, reading through the odds and ends to be tackled this week. I then looked back over the past few weeks leading to Christmas to find those things that will repeat in the structure of the week. After an hour or so having written the week out, I went to the gym for my first cardio session of 2008. I tuned in to the Podrunner podcast and kept at it working through to 60 minutes of running and another 10 minutes on the Cardio Crossramp, these activities being preceded by warm-up and followed with cool-down. I shortened my run to 60 minutes to allow others to use the treadmill. The Crossramp did get my heart rate going optimally. Overall, I note that my heart rate was elevated by 10-15 bpm from where I was before Christmas … a thickening of the blood with less water being consumed and my working out later in the day. The evening’s been one with friends over chatting with coffee and cake. Then, it’s been about getting materials from school, followed by watching ‘House’ with my son.
Cardio Stats
Total time – 80 minutes
Time Running – 60 minutes
Time Crossramp – 10 minutes
Time Walking (warm-up) – 7 minutes
Time Recumbent bike (cool-down) – 5 minutes
Distance (walk & run) – 7.58 miles
Energy – 1113 Calories burned
Heart Rate – 140-156 bpm
“We don’t have an eternity to realize our dreams, only the time we are here.” – Susan Taylor (Make Every Moment Count)
Ross great job on getting back into the mix!
Maybe we could all do something a little less pricey also?We could all go on some sort of trip or adventure?
Sounds like you have a lot going on as usual. I always loved the new start to a semester, and it looks like you are doing all of your homework to be ready. Raid the North, I bet you will take it by storm if you choose to do it. I always think that the choosing is the hard part. Once the choice is made, the rest may take a lot of physical work, but that’s the easy part.
Don’t think for an instant that I haven’t thought about a California Kayaker to lead us along the Raid the North Challenge ... that should be right up your alley.
Monday #1 of 2008 is not quite a manic Monday and it’s certainly not a Boomtown Rats take on Mondays. It is a Monday when the world will return to and shape its routines. It’ll be like this for a few days as students and teachers reacquaint themselves with each other after the Christmas break.
Today, I’m adjusting sleep hours and hours awake; it will be a long day. But, the body’s rhythm will be set with this morning’s workout, my second gym workout of 2008, an upper body workout followed by long, slow burn. I’m listening, presently, to Dr. Oliver Sacks’ ‘Musicophilia, Tales of Music and the Brain. It’s looking at where music is … a catalyst of brain events or the product of brain events. People described in the book might hear music during an epileptic seizure, others have an associative power where a word triggers music and later lyrics and another person after having been struck by lightening develops acuity and skill that move him to being a concert-grade pianist. Interesting stuff. It doesn’t have answers as much as it’s out there showing the mysteries of the brain and the human organism. With the long, slow burn, I switched to Tiesto’s club mix and then got thinking about how club music has been easier to listen to and more productive in terms of the mind-body connection in walking or running. A playlist with dissimilar music has that aspect of acclimatization to a song, the getting-in to it and the getting-out of it; there’s a psychic shifting of gears in this scenario, probably owing to the music-emotion connection. And, then, I’m reminded that I haven’t played my guitar in two weeks.
Anyway, the second gym workout of the year was productive. I’m walking and running with duct taped heels, these days. The LSB went okay with my heels – I walked at 13% incline for 60 minutes.
Also noteworthy … like so many of you on the forum, today’s workout constitutes and wraps up my 365 days of Exercise; last year I started on January 8, 2007. Another goal is met.
Time – 60 minutes
Incline – 13 %
Distance – 3.72 miles
Speed – 3.5 mph
Heart Rate – 132-135+ bpm
Energy – 711 Calories burned
“There is more in us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less.” – Kurt Hahn ( Settle For More )
Ross, sounds like your talking a little bit about synesthesia, by the way great workout.
PS- my girlfriend is epileptic and she can barely remember her name after a seizure.
A good sleep, a good workout, a good hunger for this morning’s breakfast … all part of a good morning. Today has been cardio, a 70 minute run, the first of 2008. I’ve kept my fitness level through the break where I did workout at a gym and where I did a lot of walking when the gym was unavailable.
One year ago today I began my first 100 Days of Exercise Challenge. I never imagined running current distances – but I wanted to and worked towards it. I never imagined, a year ago, that I’d be swimming four days a week or be working out in a gym outside the house. I never imagined being on the other side of a beautiful basement renovation and having worked as hard as I have to complete it. I have attempted and seen through so much, so much more positively than I might have all owing to remaining active and reaching further. And, more importantly I’ve done so with the regular coaching of Motivation to Move and Scott helping me to see the 10,000 foot Life view and the role exercise has in moving forward. Big time thanks and gratitude to Scott and company.
P.S. – it’s time to change my signature goal weights; below is 2007’s accomplishment.
Ross | 263 : 190 : 190 | “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Chinese Proverb
So, it is official. Today is day 1 of year 2 with Motivation to Move. Let’s see what this year will bring and what we can do with it!
Run Stats
Total Time – 80 minutes
Time running – 70 minutes
Time walking (warm-up & cool-down) – 10 minutes
Distance – 8.78 miles
Heart Rate – 136-153 bpm
Energy – 935 Calories burned
Speeds – 3.5 & 7.0 mph
“Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the know to the unknown.” – George Shinn ( Embrace Change )
A new pair of running shoes caused a blister that broke and bled (I continued on in my workout). Moving in and wearing socks around the basement has produced cracked heels. My wife has rubbed Ozonol into the cracks, bandaged them and then (as Red Green 
would have it) put a final layer of duct tape around the heel to prevent further wear and ‘tear’.
