X-Dog Events in Oregon

This is a video teaser of the incredible Adventure Trail running the X-Dog group puts on in Oregon.  They are a blast.

Disasters, devastation, hard times and bad times are just the door way to a life that is grander than any of us can image if we make that choice. Look at Japan’s response after having the bomb dropped on it. They came away as a leader in the industrial revolution. Hearing from your doctor that you have a terminal and serious illness or losing a love one are all horrific events. You and I can recount numerous examples of devastating events. But in every case we have a choice of how we move forward. Not moving forward is a bad choice. Having the option to let go of the past and embracing the future is a true gift. It is too bad that it take these travesties for us to realize that gift.

Though in many cases it’s not as horrific as the disaster previously discussed, I believe many of us are living in an opportunity right now due to our economy. It hasn’t been to good for many of us. I believe the punchline is that its not so much a slow in the economy as it is changing course, a new economy so to speak. I don’t believe this is an attack on Capitalism, but rather an attack on Consumerism (and many poor spending habits of both money and natural resources.)

We need to adjust our live to new ways of living and thinking. The old economy, the old industrial revolution of consumerism is taking a huge change of direct. Our challenge is to see if we can flow with it and not to continue trying to swim up stream in a direction that will not render the fruits it once did. We also need to not get discourage when thing don’t work out the first time. We are navigating uncharted waters. There may not be any specific manual on how to navigate these waters. We have an opportunity to learn, evolve, and define our future. The future is ours to build. Our fathers and mothers life styles may not be available to our generation. We would be wise to learn from history and not repeat the excess of the last two decades. This applies to not only our personal financial habits but also our planets limited resources. This is exciting stuff!

It’s time to take charge of our lives. Life choices are not a political problem. This is an individual life choice issue. Stand on your values, just make sure your values are not confused with those hard headed ideas of “well that’s the way its always been done”. Don’t wait on the government, your parents, your spouse, ignite your fire. You’re driving, step on the gas.

Whatever choices you make, have confidence that it will lead you down a path that can lead you to a life beyond your wildest dream.

This is a valuable lesson for us all.

I was just watching a show on the Green Planet Channel about Greensburg, Kansas. On May 4, 2007 a Category 5 Tornado struck the town of Greensburg, Kansas wiping out most of the town as you can see from the photo …(more photos).

11 people were killed and 1400 peoples lives were thrown a huge change of direction. The initial devastation of the event can’t be measure in just the millions of dollars or in the destroyed memories that mother nature had decided to claim. Family members were lost or injured. Homes and worldly possession were leveled, twisted, and cast into a pile of rubble.

This left the town’s people with two choices. Wallow in there own self pity and waste time on why is God doing this to them or regroup and come together as a community to rebuild there lives. Fortunately, as is usually the case, the community decide the latter. Not only did they decide to move forward with there lives, they decide to move forward in a way that is environmentally sound. They are rebuilding green, making there community sustainable. What a victory from the jaws of defeat these courageous people have chosen.

Like most residents, City Administrator Steve Hewitt lost his home and everything he owned, but he believed the tornado had a silver lining. “It forced people to make change. It forced people to say, ‘You know what we have is an opportunity unlike any other community gets,’ ” Hewitt said.

A full story on the town of Greensburg is available at  “After tornado, town rebuilds by going green”

But wash your hands first.

Thanks @TheDailyBlonde

It is the month of sometime, on the shores of the somewhere. It is raining, and the little town look totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town. He enters the only hotel, lays a $100 on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one.

The hotel proprietor takes the $100 bucks and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.
The Butcher takes the $100 bucks, and runs to pay his debt to the pig grower.
The pig grower takes the $100 bucks, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.
The supplier of feed and fuel takes the $100 buck and runs to pay his debt to the town’s prostitute that in these hard times, gave her “services” on credit.
The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the $100 bucks to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.

The hotel proprietor then lays the $100 dollars back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.

At that moment, the rich tourist comes down after inspecting the room and takes his $100 dollars, after saying that he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government under President BHO and the State of California under Governor Arnold are doing business today and actually in California for a long time already.

At least the hooker and the hogs made out okay.

It’s always hard to lose a good friend.  Someone that was always there for you, always listened when you wanted an ear, always loved you no matter what.

Well I lost such a friend yesterday.  My good buddy Frisco.  Frisco found his way into my life 13 years ago when I  had lost another friend (Ewok, my Chow) who disappeared mysteriously .  After several trips to the humane society we ran across a little puppy.  Frisco grabbed our hearts immediately so we adopted the little guy.  Well this little guy turned into a 125 pound 1/2 Sheppard, 1/2 Newfoundland.  Though he was big, he was a gentle spirit.   Never met a person he didn’t like.  His one character issue was he never met a dog he liked or at least until he got to express his alpha dog posture.

Frisco’s favorite thing in life was a ride in the car.  Karen and I once went on a 2 week driving vacation and Frisco went with us.  After 2 weeks in the car and once we got back home,  while we unpacked, Frisco jump back in the car and was ready to go again.

If Frisco could tell you of his highlight of life I believe he would say the summer we spent in the Trinity Alps in Northern California.  His job was to chase chipmunks.  He spent about 8 hours a day chasing those little guys and I’m not sure who had more fun, the Chipmunks or Frisco.  In any case, I think the 3 months at Hodges Cabin in the woods was his favorite.

Frisco was my running buddy for years and when my late wife Pattie passed away in 2003, Frisco was there to console me and make sure I didn’t loose focus on life.

He also has taken the heart of my wife Karen who before Frisco was not so sure about having a dog.  After a little time with Frisco she is now what I consider a dog person and we have another dog, little Buddy which she has totally spoiled.

In any case we miss our good friend, but we just count our blessing that we got to spend 13 and Karen 6 wonderful years.  He brought lots of light to our lives and I just hope we gave him as good a life.

I figure he, my previous wife Pattie, and my cat (who died last year at age 18) are up in heaven discussing stuff.  They all will live in my heart and my spirit as long as my spirit lives.  I hope you will join me in this salute to a his great life

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Any training, education, or exercise program is 1 part effort and 4 parts motivation.  For the effort to be sustained it is important to have the reason to go for it, whether that be spiritual, financial, or for your health.

I have several friends that ask how many miles are you doing a week or month.  After your answer they nod and ask about the courses or routes.  After explaining the route they are indignant that I would call that 3.75 mile route 4 miles.  They would comment “Oh you’re not doing 30 miles a week.  You are doing 25 miles a week”.  Its the old “you’re not as good as I am, because I always round down” syndrome.

This is where my pet peeve kick in.  So many of us allow our egos to take control and get caught up in the numbers that we don’t focus on what’s import.  The point is whatever it take to motivate a person is ok.  It pretty easy to get up in the morning and have that first cup of coffee, but you need a reason to get out the door and start that morning jog or run.  If you run that same 3.75 mile course on a regular bases and it motivate you for whatever reason to do it again tomorrow then who cares.  If a run is easier today than yesterday, then that is what its about.

Honesty and candid feedback is important, but it’s not a license to tear people down.  This is typically the excuse that is used when stifling a person.   I believe the key is to expand ones focus beyond there nose.  Everything isn’t about you all the time, just as it true that it is all about you sometimes.  So when you feel like the phase “I’m just being honest” is about to erupt, weight the consequences.

We all have choices:

1. We can encourage someone to improve their health, their finances, or their spiritual life or
2. We can discourage them to bring them down.

Which one is going to make you feel better about yourself.  I suggest if it is option 2 get some counseling.

So if someone talks about how god lifted there spirit or old John said he ran 20 miles Saturday when he really only ran 16 miles, let it go.  The important thing is that they were uplifted and old John did 16 miles and they are excited about it.

Give support and encouragement to your fellow runner or fellow man, whatever the endeavor. You may need it yourself sometime.

No I’m not talking about drugs for you old farts that remember the 60’s.  I’m talking about  training for life, training for running or training for just about everything.  I’ll focus this blog on running and the marathon, however the concepts are sound for lots of life’s challenges.

My initial running career started in high school in Cross Country and Track, however a short baseball opportunity in college and the a stint in the military sidetracked me for a few years.  When I returned to running in 1980 I was over weight, smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day, out of shape, and starting the down slide from my prime.  So running was a god-send and got my life back on track.

My first objective was to actual study and learn about running.  Being a obsessive compulsive and very competitive I needed to find out how to be fast or at least as fast as possible.  Actually, fast enough to beat Pat Blozinski.  Pat was the guy that motivated me to get back into running as a way to stop smoking.  In any case, I read the usual suspects like Jim Fixx, Dr. Sheehan, Jeff Galloway and Hal Higdon.  But it was an article by a guy name Tom Osler that really influenced my running career and I credit for my lack of major injuries. 

Tom Osler is professor of mathematics at Rowan University and was among those who helped push and pull America toward running mania.  In 1967 he published an unassuming, but important little booklet that has worn remarkably well.  In December 1985, January 1986 Runners World reprinted the Osler’s booklets, which included notes on the philosophy of the system as well as a program for developing the base on which racing fitness is built.  Below are links to those articles

• The Conditioning of a Distance Runner RW – December 1985
• The Conditioning of a Distance Runner RW – January 1986

One of the comments that stuck with me was in relation to LSD (Long Slow Distance).  He suggested, assuming good conditioning,  that if you ran for 30 minutes at a comfortable pace and walked for 5 minutes to recover that you could exercise all day.  I was skeptical, so I gave it a try on my next 20 mile run.  Amazingly it seem to work.  I felt guilty because it didn’t hurt.  So I tried it a few more times.  It still didn’t hurt.  My next 30k I set PR.  Did this make sense?  Getting in better shape without training at race pace?  This can’t be.  Well over the years I’ve evolved my approach and in short it has evolved to LSD for the base sprinkled with a little Speed is the key.

LSD – My definition of LSD (Long Slow Distance) is running/jogging/walking for a prolong period of time within a physical comfort level.  No pushing.  This is more of a spiritual experience.  Getting in touch with yourself.  Time in the saddle so to speak.  This is setting and maintaining the base.  This should never stop.  This is the heart of your running career.  A prolong and successful running career or life style must be based on the spiritual aspects of it.  If this isn’t at the heart of it you are setting yourself up for lots of heart break and disenchantment when you get that little injury or illness that sets you back.  Embrace the sport through LSD and your career with your running spirit will always move forward as long as you can.

Speed – It doesn’t kill or even injure if managed appropriately.  The purpose of speed is to be faster.  And it is a critical part of taking strides ahead. 

Keep in mind that the time target is not the goal.  It is the stride and form that we want to master.  We are trying to learn to maintain a comfortable posture while running faster.    Since the whole objective is to run faster the target time is a good gauge for setting a tangible goal.

For myself I like to put speed work in my plan for 2 months at a time, twice a year.  Speed work renders fast improvement, but tends to loose its momentum after a period of time.  It is also a good idea to let your body recover from the added muscle stress.

I also establish my goal for speed work at the pace of my target mile pace.  So if i want to do 7:00 miles (4200 seconds) I would divide that by the repeats distance.  For instance, 440 repeat target would be at 1:45.  And this is a building process over the 2 months.  I would do speed work once a week before the rest day.    My typical cycle for the target mention above would be:

(WU – warm up, WD – warm down)

This plan can be adapted to fartleks, or intervals of any mix and match.  The important thing is to warm up, build up, warm down, and stretch when you are doing any type of speed work or stressing those muscles.  Don’t stress over not achieving your goal.  It is a target.  The time is not the important thing.  It is the stride and the form.  The times will come when they are ready.

So I hope you get something from this article. I find its philosophies appropriate in life as well.  We need to keep that base in place all the time.  That is those things that are spiritual for you, (Don’t get scared, I didn’t say religion) and practice those thing in your daily life, live your life in alignment with those values.  However, once in a while you may be faced with a project that requires you to pick it up a notch.  These are the things that will have significant impact on your life, career, relationships or whatever.  But be sure to not get to caught up in the heat of the moment.  Keep in touch with the LSD of your life at all cost. “Speed can kill if not managed”.

This is politically correct because I am an Okie and I understand all of this.

• You know the address of Mathis Brothers
• You refer to the weather men by their first name
• You planned your wedding around a football schedule
• You call 30mph winds a light breeze
• You see an Obama bumper sticker & assume they are from “out of town”
• You have voted on chicken fighting
• Your favorite Christmas carol is BC Clark jingle
• When you hear someone say Texas you immediately think “SUCKS”
• Someone you know graduated with a famous country singer
• you can pronounce Gotebo
• You plan an additional 30 minutes for any road trip because of certain road construction
• you don’t think it’s odd to name airports after people who died in plane crashes
• You can’t name 3 NFL players, but you can name every player on the OU roster
• You have had an argument with someone over who’s high school had the highest pregnancy rate
• You’ve had to use both the heat & A/c on the same day
• You’ve asked someone what type of “Coke” do they want & they’ve replied “Dr. Pepper”
• You hear a tornado siren & run outside to look
• You use the word “fixin” when you are telling people what you are about to do (even if it doesn’t involve “fixing” anything)
• You say you hate Texas, but secretly hope they take OK with them if they ever leave the Union
• You call Oklahoma “Okie-Homa”
• You don’t think it’s odd to name a college mascot after people who cheated
• Your local car commercials look more like amateur comedy acts
• You learned to shoot a gun before tying your shoes
• You don’t think it’s odd to have ammunition, movie rentals & fishing bate at the gas station
• You think a F250 4×4 is more of a status symbol than a BMW
• You have at least 5 friends who work in the oil & gas industry
• You only have to drive an hour to go on a hunting trip
• 80% of the music on the radio is either Christian or Country or some mix of the two
• You spend 10 minutes at a 4-way stop because everyone keeps motioning for someone else to go first
• The word “bedlam” gets you excited
• Everytime someone says “O.K.” you start thinking L-A-H-O-M-A….Oklahoma, OK!

If you are training for a run or working out in the gym to build muscle or lose weight its proven that stressing the muscles will help achieve those objectives.  It is also a good practice to stretch before and after a good workout to help the muscles recover.

This is no different in life.  When we are challenged by life, through finances or disappointed by relationships whether that be professional or personal, it a glorious opportunity to train the soul.  It takes our eyes of earthly rewards.   It strips away superficial beliefs. It strengths the faith of those that endure and our attitude through it serves as an example to other.

In Matthew 5:11 – 5:15ish, teaches this and talks of letting your light shine as your light is meant to illuminate your soul.  So as you choose your directions today, make sure there is  plenty of room for your soul, your spirit, because as Christ teaches, if you are the salt of life, don’t loose your saltiness, because you will be thought out to be trampled by men.