Author: subjects2change

A couple of Friday’s ago we finished clearing the table from dinner and finally got a chance to sit down on the sofa after another long work week. Our three year old son was in charge of the television and Meet the Robinson’s was the Friday night feature on the Disney channel. It’s a cute movie, I gladly sat there on the sofa and enjoyed it with my wife and kids. And then near the end of the movie WAPOW there it is, KEEP MOVING FORWARD!! I don’t want to spoil the movie so that’s as far as I am going to take this little jaunt into obscurity. After all this is supposed to be about running isn’t it? I promise this opening paragraph will make more sense by the end.

So without further ado I give you my review on the River to Sea 6 and 12 hour race at Gamble Rogers Park.

To start off this was my first trail race and I was optimistic that I could get 50k (31.07 Miles) in that 6 hour time frame. I had been doing a good job of holding the required pace on training runs and was ready to go on race day.

A couple of minutes before 7:00 am we were called to gather by the start/finish line and the race director Dawn stood up on a rock and addressed the sell out crowd of runners for the 4th straight year. We were given some directions on the course and left with a poem on understanding your why, BOOM there it was again! Yet Another profound message.

By 7:04 the horn went off and we were running for the next 6 hours. This style of race isn’t a set distance its a race against time and how hard you can push yourself. So I set off to go in search of my why with KEEP MOVING FORWARD written in blue sharpie marker on my forearm. And for the first three hours I did exactly that, I was running sub 12 minute miles and was on target to get that 50k under my belt. Needless to say it started to go down hill from there when my calf’s started cramping really bad and that quick running paced slowed to a speed walk. With my message on my arm and Dawn’s words in my head I powered through the remaining hours with the support of fellow racers, the aid station with their amazing snacks, even better ice water sponges and my awesome wife who braved the rain to come pace me for the last hour.

I finished the race officially with a distance of 24.3 miles in 5:50ish but I wanted to use all of that 6 hours and finished one more lap giving me a total of 25.5 miles by my watch at a time of 6:04.

The fact of the matter is that I fell well short of my goal, It was a little unrealistic to begin with but great things don’t usually happen when you aim for something doable. I fell a little less then 6 miles short of that goal and the old me would have been pissed off. Lucky for me I had seen a Disney movie that had a very profound message in it.

Celebrate your failures as they aren’t a complete waste of time. Every “failure” is a learning experience and gets you one step closer to the goal if you just KEEP MOVING FORWARD. I learned a lot in that 6 hours and will be better prepared for the next time I lace up the shoes and hit the trails. I’m looking for that next race right now so that I can further work on discovering my why.

As crazy as this may sound these 6 hour races are really approachable for just about everyone. All the runners and volunteers are really supportive and walking is a lot more common then you would think. Like I said earlier it isn’t a race of distance its just you, the trail and the clock. If you can do 10 miles that awesome, 20 miles amazing or 30+ your my new hero.

I would like to take this as an opportunity to challenge you to go out and sign up for something that you aren’t a 100% certain that you can actually accomplish. And when the going gets tough I hope you remember to KEEP MOVING FORWARD. Greatness is often forged in the crucible of pain and suffering and once you get to the finish line you will realize that you are capable of much more then you ever would have imagined.

What do Dr. Jordan Peterson, an airline steward and Rachel Hollis all have in common?? No this isn’t a joke and that’s right I read Girl, Stop Apologizing and I’m a guy. If you have a problem with it we can meet out by the bus loop and work it out.

All three of them advocate taking care of yourself first is one of the best ways to take care of the people around you. Remember back to the first ten minutes on an airplane when they tell you to put your oxygen mask on first before helping others in case of an emergency. Its wonderfully simple advice, if you aren’t around how can you make a positive impact on the people who are counting on your for their survival.

That’s why I am so frustrated by the recent popularity of the dad bod movement, and even more outraged that the mega gym planet fitness has released a study advocating for it.

The dad bod can be best described as being doughy around the mid section, a love for excessive alcohol consumption, an eat whatever diet and a big no thanks to regular exercise. All of these life choices can lead to carrying around an extra 15-20 lbs or more of fat around your belly.

This just in… medical research from legitimate sources having been saying for years just how dangerous this extra weight can be.

Excess belly fat has been linked to the following diseases.

Cardiovascular disease

Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes

Colorectal cancer

Sleep apnea

Premature death

High blood pressure

ps://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/mens-health/in-depth/belly-fat/art-20045685

Let’s just jump to a conclusion and say that the average dad bod has a wife, two kids, a mortgage and probably some serious credit card debt. What happens to those things when dad isn’t around anymore due to complications from that sexy dad bod???

As a husband and a father of two small kids the most important thing I can do is try to ensure that I am positive role model and that I’m doing everything possible to make sure I am around for as long as possible.

I’ve always believed that moderation is the key to a healthy and happy life and spending quality time with your family is the most important thing. But we have to find some balance in our lives to take better care of ourselves, physically and mentally.

I’m not asking anybody to take up residence in the gym and transform that keg into a 6 pack, however I’m hoping that the words I’m sharing with your are some encouragement to start making some choices that will improve your health.

I realize that this topic isn’t something that can be neatly placed into a box with three easy steps and bingo bango bongo all of our problems are solved. Just google “Tofi meaning” and you will see what I’m trying to get at here. Health and nutrition are massively complicated and cant be easily diagnosed by some guy with a blog whose never met you and doesn’t understand your specific needs.

With that being said I hope these couple of small suggestions are something that you will take seriously and work to incorporate into your life. Visit the doctor, eat some more fruits and vegetables, do some push ups and just drink one beer at that BBQ this weekend. Small improvements like these should get us on path that keeps us annoying the wife and kids for at least a couple more years.

So I have this crazy belief that your dinner table is the most important thing in a house. I know what your thinking BLASPHEMY!! Get this guy kicked off the internet, he must be living in a cave somewhere eating granola and wearing Birkenstocks.

Don’t get me wrong I watch tv on the regular, in fact the women’s World Cup is on in the back ground right now. I’m just saying that we could benefit from turning that thing off and putting the phones down and gathering around the dinner table and sharing a healthy meal. That’s right I said it the family dinner table is the most important thing in a house. I hope after such a ridiculous statement you will stick around and read this through the end.

Sitting down and sharing a communal meal with family and friends is one of the best ways to start and finish your day and do this thing called talking. It’s where you ask what happened with someone’s day or pass down values and wisdom that might have a profound impact on someone’s life.

Family meal time has seen a decline by 30% over the past three decades. This is just my opinion but I believe this decline in family meal time has been the catalyst for poor nutrition and family values.

It’s fine if you don’t believe me, I don’t blame you. I’m the guy who said you should turn off the television. But here’s some things that The American College of Pediatrics found in a recent research article.

Children who eat at the dinner table with their parents/guardians more often then not are more likely to…

Get better grades, have an increased vocabulary, better nutrition habits, decreased likelihood of becoming obese and an overall better relationship with their parents/guardians.

Conversely here’s a couple more things your kids will be less likely to…

Use drugs, drink alcohol, be depressed or engage in sexual behaviors.

I know it isn’t easy to gather up the family and put a hot meal on the dinner table without the tv or cell phones trying to sabotage the meal. But that little bit of hard work and starting the trend of a consistent family meal is well worth the effort.

I know I would like to have a healthy relationship with my successful kids and if having a meal and talking about our day makes them less likely to do drugs and fall into the negative slide of peer pressure, then missing the sports report is well worth it in the end.