Why I Run

A friend asked me a simple question, “Why do you run?” as part of some research she’s doing. That sounded to me like a perfect blog post. So here it is. This is why I run.

Physical Health
No brainer, right? I run because it’s good for me. I tend to be lazy and rely too much on my blessed metabolism, but I often neglect other health concerns such as cholesterol. Running has helped me get in the best shape of my life—inside and out.

Mental Health
I’ve yet to find many things more relaxing, and mentally freeing, than running. Stress is just an “easy three” away from disappearing. I’m a big fan of running to music or podcasts, but that doesn’t stop my mind from solving the worlds problems as I run. And I’m an outside runner, so benefits of the fresh air and scenery is impossible to calculate. (This is probably a great time to mention that running is a great prayer venue.)

Challenge
I started running as a little challenge to a few friends a couple years ago. We were meeting at our college homecoming and thought it would be fun to run in the 5K going on that weekend. That challenge set me on the course that now has me training for a Half Marathon this May. I’d have to say of all the reasons to continue running, challenging myself to new heights is pretty high on the list.

Community
Like any other hobby, running gives you an instant community. We all want to discuss our runs, our shoes, our gadgets, our races, our milestones, our training schedules, etc. Recently I’ve discovered that training with others is another a great community (and accountability) builder!

Inspiration
I run for inspiration—to inspire others, as well as to be inspired.

It’s also convenient, cheap, and fun! You get a great sense of accomplishment, and it’s extremely easy to make great strides (no pun intended). It started out as a simple challenge, turned into a hobby to collect t-shirts as I stayed in shape, and is now part of my regular routine.

Related Links:
» 6 Reasons To Run a 5K
» Lessons Learned From Running
» Race Log
» Why Run?

Filed under: Exercise, Health, Running

Cholesterol Check

I guess on the bright side I’m not really getting much worse…

2008
Total – 225
HDL – 28
LDL – 157
Triglycerides – 198

2005
Total – 228
HDL – 34
LDL – 152
Triglycerides – 209

2004
Total – 191
HDL – 38
LDL – 124
Triglycerides – 146

2003
Total – 226
HDL – 38
LDL – 152
Triglycerides – 180

OPTIMAL
Total – Less than 200
HDL (Good Cholesterol) – Greater than 40
LDL (Bad Cholesterol) – Less than 100
Triglycerides – Less than 150

For more on these numbers click here.

Filed under: Health

Lessons Learned From Running

→ I’m not a spring chicken any more. I actually wonder if I ever was.

→ It is no longer called jogging. Should you refer to it as jogging, you will be chastised.

→ Shoes are important.

→ Diet will determine how easy your run is.

→ Your mind is extremely stronger than your body. Control your mind and you’ll be able to control your body.

→ The faster the music in your ipod the better.

→ Your appetite will increase exponentially.

→ Small gains bring great encouragement.

→ Bigger gains make you feel bulletproof.

→ Your 5 year old son will try to run you over with your own car if you’re not aware of your surroundings.

→ Pacing is key.

→ It’s bad on the environment because you’ll shower more, and put more clothes in the laundry.

→ You look forward to challenging yourself on the next run.

→ After the second time out you will realize that you actually can do this.

→ I should have started a long time ago.

**UPDATE**
→ And you can even do it when you’re old.

Filed under: Exercise, Health

6 Reasons

Next month I’ll be meeting up with a few college buddies at our alma mater, Harding University, for Homecoming. We’ll be camping the whole time and sneaking into dorms for showers. Good times.

Yesterday we decided to enter the 5K Bison Stampede they are having that Saturday. Ironically the last time I ran one (21 years ago) it was also in Searcy, and I came in first place in my age group. That won’t happen again, but I am planning on doing more than just completing it.

This morning while researching some training and tips for the run, I ran across a great article with Six Reasons to Run a 5K.

1. Ease. Most of you are busy, and training time is precious. Therefore, it’s really tough to find the time to train for a half-marathon or marathon. Not so with the 5K. You can work up to it quickly (from scratch) and train for it adequately on just three days a week.

2. Convenience. With a 5K, race day is a snap. You arrive at the race, warm up for 10 to 20 minutes, race for 40 minutes maximum, cool down, replenish with food and drink, and head home in your new race T-shirt before your family has finished breakfast.

3. Exhilaration. In a 5K, you feel like you’re really racing. And that’s a good feeling. Not many runners can maintain a 10K race pace that is much faster than their daily training pace. With a 5K, however, you can motor as much as one minute per mile faster than your usual training pace.

4. Improvement. Racing the occasional 5K is an excellent fitness booster. It will elevate your max VO2, improve form and efficiency, and make your regular training runs feel easier.

5. Change. Too often in our training, we run the same course at the same pace at the same time of day. Don’t get me wrong. Routine is good—essential, in fact, if you want to stay with a long-term running program. But too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing. You need variation, and a short-and-sweet 5K every once in awhile is a great way to mix things up.

6. Motivation. Races are great motivators. Each year, scores of runners tell me that having a regular schedule of 5K races gets them out the door on days when they would have stayed in bed in the morning or hit the couch after work.

… and it’s probably good for my cholesterol.

Filed under: Camping, Exercise, Harding University, Health

Best Diet Plan Ever

(ht: The Deloach)

Filed under: Diet, Exercise, Food, Health, YouTube

Toxic Lemons

I knew it!

I’ve been complaining for years that I don’t want lemons slices in my drinks at restaurants because I doubted they cleaned the skins to my liking. Turns out I was on to something.

A recent study by healthinspections.com reveals that those innocent lemon slices you get in restaurants are loaded with bacteria, fecal matter, and all sorts of other nasty germs.

“It was like they had dipped it in raw meat or something; it was gross!” exclaimed Anne LaGrange, a microbiologist who tested several lemons from various restaurants and was shocked at the results. “The very first sample that we took was loaded with fecal bacteria.”

Full disclosure, this isn’t really as bad as it sounds, but it is enough for me to continue asking for no lemons with my drinks.

How about you?

(ht: Wisebread)

Filed under: Bacteria, Drinks, Fecal Matter, Food, Health, Lemons

Ironpuppy 2008

Building on the momentum of my old man, I too have thrown my hat into the triathlon ring for next summer. I’ve been riding my bike pretty good this month, and with a little more focused training I think I do alright in this thing.

It’s not a full, or even a half triathlon, but rather what they call a Sprint or Mini triathlon. Here are the distances:

• Swim — 1000 meters

• Bike — 14 miles

• Run — 4 miles

This is a Racing For Recovery event in Monroe, Michigan. The swimming section will be in Lake Erie, where they say the water will be 68-69°. I’m thinking about making this a yearly activity with the hopes of moving up to a half marathon after a few years.

Who’s with me?

» RacingForRecoveryHalf.com

Filed under: Challenge, Exercise, Health, Ironman, Motivation, Push, Triathlon