Looking Beyond the Bellin

With the Bellin Run so close and now that we have 10 weeks of training under our belts, it’s time to start looking beyond the Bellin Run.  You are ready, you have put in the work, now it’s just time to show up and have a great morning.  Why look beyond the Bellin Run when we haven’t even run or walked it yet?  The answer goes back to the first week’s newsletter where I talked about the real purpose of the Bellin Run.  The event itself is a great milestone, but in reality, it shouldn’t be the goal. 

The goal from the beginning was to get off the couch and start moving (or stay off the couch).  The benefits of a regular exercise program and keeping yourself healthy can have ripple effects throughout your community.  As I have said before, you can encourage someone you know, or perhaps a complete stranger to change their lifestyle.  And when they do, they may do the same for someone else.  On race day around 20,000 people will line up and participate.  To put things in perspective, that is 1/5^th the population of Green Bay.  20,000 people living or starting to live a healthier lifestyle.  That is a big impact. 

For companies like Integrys, employee choices like this can help keep insurance costs down as people do things to prevent diseases rather than react to them when it is too late.  A lot of us are customers of WPS, and that helps keep costs down which help keep rates down.  When you have a large community of people that are demanding healthier food choices, costs can come down because the demand is greater.  More choices also become available.  Do you think eating “healthy” is more expensive?  In most cases it is not the case.  This morning I bought 2 bananas for breakfast with my morning coffee.  The bananas cost me 36 cents and left me just as satisfied that if I would have bought the breakfast pizza for $2.50.  That is just one simple example, if you just take the time, you will see how simple it is to make substitutions like this and maybe even save a few bucks.

And you thought you were just signing up for the Bellin Run.  You made a commitment to yourself, your family, your friends, and community that you will not be part of the problem, but a part of the solution.  So come June 9^th, when you get to the finish line, don’t stop, keep going.  Run or walk fast enough and long enough that your age will never catch up with you!

Running in the Heat

After an interesting race weekend, I thought I would give you some tips on running in the heat.  The weather will be fantastic for the Bellin Run, but since we will all be running and walking all summer long (right!! J), we will no doubt encounter some warm, humid weather.

1.       Wear as few clothes as possible.  Believe it or not, during this past weekend’s marathon (temps in the 80s) I saw people in long black running tights and long sleeves.  What you do wear make it light colored and loose.  Your body cools off by sweating and that sweat evaporating off of your skin, so the more surface area exposed, the more efficient this process will be.

2.       Cover your head.  Wearing something like a vented white hat will help reflect the heat and keep the sun off of your face.

3.       Know your course.  Whether it is in a race or you are just going for a casual run, know where you are going so that you know where the shade spots and take advantage of them.

4.       At water stops during races take one cup to drink and another to dump down your back.  You may think that you will not like being wet like that, but it really helps keeping your body cooled down.

5.       Slow down.  In excessive heat, you are probably not going to set a personal best.  Especially in longer distances, start conservatively and see how your body is doing before you let loose and really go for it. 

6.       Be careful of what you are eating and/or drinking during the run.  Running in the heat doesn’t really mean that you will need a whole lot more calories than running in optimal temperatures.  Running in the heat just makes your body less efficient because it is overheated.  So rather than focusing on more calories, just focus on things that will help you cool down.  (See 1-4)

7.       Lastly and maybe most importantly, know when enough is enough.  Risking injury or heat related illness is just a risk not worth taking.

A Little Humor

We are now under 1 month until the Bellin Run, can you believe that we are 8 weeks into the training program!  Time flies when you are having fun.  You are having fun, right?  After a few weeks of some pretty serious messages, hopefully some of these “Funny” (adjective used loosely!) lines and quotes will remind you that this is all fun and games!

"Remember, the second most important thing to choosing the right shoe, is choosing the left one."
-- High school coach to his runners

"My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already."
--Milton Berle

"To a runner, a side stitch is like a car alarm. It signifies something is wrong, but you ignore it until it goes away."
-- Anonymous

"I don't think jogging is healthy, especially morning jogging. If morning joggers knew how tempting they looked to morning motorists, they would stay home and do sit-ups."
- Rita Rudner

"We can't all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by."
- Will Rogers

"I go running when I have to. When the ice cream truck is doing sixty."
- Wendy Liebman

A runner asks his wife: "What do you love most about me? My tremendous athletic ability or my superior intellect?" "What I love most about you," responded the man's wife, "is your enormous sense of humor."

Deciding to take up running, the man was astounded by the wide selection of running shoes available at the local sports shoe store. While trying on a basic pair of running shoe, he noticed a minor feature and asked the clerk: "What is this little pocket thing here on the side for?" And the clerk: "Oh, that's to carry spare change so you can call your wife to come pick you up when you've run too far."

The trouble with jogging is that by the time you realize you are not in shape for it, it is too far to walk back.

Now that our moods are hopefully a little brighter, get out there and make it a great day!

Believe

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
"Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself."

-John Bingham “The Penguin”

Ever hear that running is a great metaphor for life?  Well, at the risk of sounding a bit cliché, I will say it is.  You can find out a lot about yourself while pounding the pavement.

If you haven’t heard of John Bingham, look him up, it is a great story about courage.  John was leading a very unhealthy lifestyle and decided that wasn’t the life he was meant to lead.  But making a decision like that isn’t enough, he still had to follow through and get that foot out the door.  I talked about it a little bit a couple weeks ago, but even now, as we are in the middle of training, how hard do you find it to get your training in each week.  I love running, but it doesn’t take much to talk myself out of getting up in the morning, or strapping on my shoes after work.  We all lead busy and demanding lives but it is very important to make this time for yourself.  Sometimes you may feel guilty or a bit selfish, but in almost all cases, those feelings are yours only, and when they see what an impact your exercising has had on you, I have no doubt that your family and friends will support you. 

So what does running teach us about ourselves?  Well think about this.  When someone has lost a bunch of weight, or maybe is recovering from an injury, often what is something they set their sights on?  Running a race.  Whether it is a 5K, 10K, or even a marathon, there is something very rewarding about setting out to finish that race.  The sport is physically demanding, but we don’t have to depend on someone else to see us through.  The will to finish is all our own and when we do, there is a satisfaction that few other experiences can match.  When you push your body to new limits, it isn’t just physical barriers we push through, but maybe even more importantly it is also all the mental hurdles that in the past keep us on the couch.  When your mind is telling you to stop, but you continue on, that is what this is all about.  Sometimes in a race, the belief in yourself might be all you have left, so training that, just as you do your body, will help you get to the finish! 

Don’t Stop Believing!  (If you prefer, you can sing to yourself the chorus of the Journey Song!)

John Bingham's Website