Getting old.....Must Excercise

As much as I like to think that I'm still oh...somewhere south of 30 in age, the fact is, I'm not. When I was younger, I was a pretty decent athlete, moved pretty well for someone 6-5.

Now, I don't move nearly as well as I used to. I'm still trying to stay active without having to dish out money or sign a contract for a health club.

No, I haven't found some folks to play golf with though I have found an ok driving range. I don't, well really, can't play basketball much any more, which isn't such a bad thing. I'd love to find a softball team here, but I haven't.

So in the meantime, I run. I've blogged about running before, so I won't go into too much detail. I was running on a treadmill for a good while and really started running out in the neighborhood for most of the past year and a half.

((See look at the gray in my beard//Courtesy: TLB))

On the good side, I lost some weight. I was in very good condition and just generally felt better. Really, I hoped there wasn't going to be a downside, but it is now showing up. I missed most of the past two weeks due to tendinitis in my left foot and ankle and I'm just trying to get back up to speed.

That is all good, but my foot still hurts after I run as does my right ankle (the one with 2 bone spurs). I'm guessing that means it is time to give in. If I want to try and stay in shape I'm going to have to go to a health club. Running on the pavement, I knew would eventually get to me, I was just hoping that it would take longer.

I hate doing that mostly because I don't want to be tied to a contract. But, I don't want to be out of shape again. I got up to 270lbs when I got married in 2007, I'm down under 230 now and want to stay there.

Maybe it is just age, I don't know. Things don't come as easy and the hurt a lot longer, but the work is necessary. I could just take the lazy way out, particularly since I've been really busy, but I don't want to. I like being in decent shape. I like being able to move. It affects the energy level each day. Really it does.

Enjoy today's music of appropriateness: We have Van Halen....need we say more. Thanks You Tube:

The Running Man

This is something for some reason that I have actually put some thought into. Yeah, I know, it is probably because I really don't have a whole hell of a lot else to think about right now. Maybe that is true...I don't know, but this is my blog and I can write about whatever I want.

If any of you are long time, back when I was a kid friends then you knew me when I was a basketball fanatic. I played all the time growing up, anytime that I could. I played in elementary school, middle school and high school and did fairly well for myself. Could have done more, but if you know me, you know I can be a bit headstrong and tend to think that I have the answer to just about everything.

((Me getting ready to run//Courtesy: The Lovely Bride (Michelle))

What I am getting to is this; as much ball as I played, I was never much on conditioning. I played, a lot and was almost always a starter and played most if not all of the game. But I hated conditioning, running in particular. Never saw the point in it. Never understood, even later when it became more popular, why it was such a big deal.

Now I do. I really started running about two years ago. I started mostly on the treadmill. I had lifted weights for a long time and thought that was keeping me in good shape. It wasn't. I got big from lifting. Heck, I was 270 pounds when I got married in April of 2007. But in the Spring of 2008, I got motivated. My parents had given me their treadmill when they moved to Wilmington, North Carolina and I finally started using it.

Now, running on a treadmill isn't quite the same as running on the streets or a track. But it helped, I played softball in the Spring of 2008 as well and the two things helped me lose 30 pounds in about 3 months.

The treadmill is where I did most of my running while in Atlanta. My ankles you see aren't in the greatest shape. I had a very, very bad injury between my Junior and Senior years in High School where I tore all the ligaments and tendons in my right ankle, which left me with bone spurs. Fearing that I couldn't handle running on the street, I stayed on the treadmill. But, the more I ran, the more my endurance built. I went from 2 to 3 to 4 miles in a session and at a fairly good pace.

When we moved to Cincinnati, I didn't have a treadmill to use. We didn't have anywhere to put it in the house we rented. So I had to run on the street and I did. Again, starting around 2 miles, three times a week, I'm up to 3 miles three times a week now. It is a bit of a challenge sometimes, it gets cold here. But, I've bought enough gear that I can run in it. 20 degrees, snow, wind, I've run in it all.

Strangely, I feel weird now when I don't run. I don't now if it is just the exercise or getting a good 30 minutes or so with just me, my thoughts and the I-Pod Nano. But it feels good, the weight is down to 230 and I feel healthy. I'm not bulked up like I was, but my blood pressure has lowered as has my heart rate.

I'm not writing this to be this all-knowing advocate or to preach or anything else like it. I'm writing about this because I am just surprised that I now love doing something that I never much care for before. It's just surprising to me and kind of a good chuckle. Just a random thought, but that I suppose is what writing on your blog is; just writing down whatever comes to mind.

Today's music pick is one of the Greatest Rock songs of all times; Courtesy: Vevo and the You Tube:

Staying Healthy is Good for Job Searching

Yeah, you heard me right. I'm no doctor and I don't really know psychology all that well, but believe me when I say this; if you want to succeed at something like say- searching for a job, then you need to be in good shape to do it.

The obvious question here is "Can you prove it?". No, not directly. But I can offer living proof that a workout a day will make you feel a whole hell of a lot better about sitting in front of the computer for 6 hours a day looking for work. Don't believe me? Try it yourself.

((Daisy the Wonder Dog works out and so should you))

For me it is pretty simple. I run. I've been running for a couple of years now, but until I moved up here it was mostly on the treadmill. Now granted, anyone who has known me from my days as a Basketball player will tell you that I hated extra running. It's true, I did. But I don't now.

I tried lifting weights, really, I've done weight work off and on for most of the past 12 or 13 years. It did feel pretty good, but I bulked up and couldn't lose any weight. In fact I gained weight, because I thought that it would be "Enough to get me in Shape". It wasn't. Was I strong? Yes. When I got married in April of 2007, I weighed 267 pounds. That...was way, way too much.

Since I started running in earnest around June of 2007, I've lost 37 pounds. I'm down to 235. Granted, I am 6-5 and can support it, but I look and feel a whole lot better than I did at 267.

Okay, I am rambling here so I'm going to make my point. The point is this. You need some sort of outlet, particularly if you aren't working or you will go insane. You will. Why not start with a good walk or run? Once you shower up afterwords, you'll have the energy to sit there and do what is necessary. You will be more focused, have more energy and just generally feel better about the predicament that you are in. As I am finding out, you need to use every motivational tool that you can find to stay focused on the task at hand. It's hard...very hard to keep your eye on the Prize...but there is no other choice.

Today's video is a....rather odd...parody promo from the folks at CBS and the You Tube: