Year of encouraging others

2010 was the year of the bike. I have made a good transition to biking more, improving my mountain biking skills and saving my knees. 2011 brings some big goals for me. The first goal in 2011 is taking courses to receive my Personal Trainer Certification(CPT). I hope to build on my knowledge base so I can share my passion for fitness and health with others. This has been a building process. I have read thousands of articles over the years and know running inside and out. Now I want to further my knowledge of coaching methods and the body so I can help others meet their goals. I never though that during my selfish racing days I would want to give anything back. It was about hammering other people and running faster. Now that arthritis has set limitations on me, it has oddly made me want to help others experience the passion that I have found through exercise and fitness. It is not all about the end result for people. It is a journey of pushing past your limits and finding a better you. I have gotten a lot of satisfaction in helping others. Maybe all these years of running myself into the ground has been worth something. Let the New Year begin!

Wake me when Christmas is Over

Does anyone else feel this way? Having not much of a functional family, no family of my own that I have created, and my spouse's family that sets off the anxiety bells, I am glad when Christmas is over. The loneliness ovetakes me, the days wind down to Christmas Eve when I am supposed to feel something, feel the connection to family and something greater. The only thought that ovetakes me is getting past January 1st and being in a normal routine again. No more family members that could not care less when I call, write or walk in a room. I look forward to getting back to my friends, my dog clients and exercising. Feeling like an outcast on this supposed special day is enough for me to mark it off the calendar for next year. I try to help others around this time of year to allay the feelings of loneliness but, it only goes so far. No family members gathered around the warm fire for me. Give me acold day spent outside with my dog and I am much happier. Did I mention I had to board my dog Axel for the holidays?

Less than motivated

Runners live and die by the weather forecast. An accurate forecast can also forecast my mood and motivation. When the weather is sunny and crisp, I can run for miles, full of smiles and good spirits. Turn off the sun, add some rain, cloudy weather and I feel like calling off the run and crawling in bed with a good book. Some days it is better to do something rather than nothing. Today was one of those days. After looking at weather forecast and seeing that it will probably be rainy tomorrow, my expectations are properly set and the run will be a success!

Expectations

With the end of my running career in plain sight, it is nice to be able to run again. My arthritic knees cannot handle the fast running on pavement on long, fast runs. I have started running with a few friends that are getting their running feet firmly under them and it has been nice to trot along at a pace my knees can handle. Gone are the days of sub 6 minute miles, gone are the 4 hours runs at 8 min pace. They have been replaced by 2.5 hour 16 mile runs, easy days at 10 minute pace. Running is still rewarding at any pace and I enjoy the tiredness that comes from an honest effort. Maybe that was what was underneath all those fast runs anyway. It is nice to have my sights set on the experience and have that firmly in focus.