Reflections on the trail...

Mom & Me: Shore House Cafe

This morning I did my weekly long run, which is now 10K (6.2 miles). I've only done it twice. Last week was the first. The path I run is part footpath, part equestrian trail, and part bike path. I run through chaparral, along baseball fields, golf courses, and even a few blocks of homes. Today I saw a red tailed hawk, about 50 feet away.

I noticed striations (lines) across the foot path that looked like someone had lightly drawn some antlers through the dirt. Upon closer inspection, I discovered they were ant paths! They had trodden down the dusty path to form their own foot paths. Later, in the neighborhood part of the trail, an asphalt driveway across the path was bounded by some two-by-fours. This barrier not only gave a nice edge for the driveway, but created a super highway for the ants. There seemed a lot of traffic for a Sunday morning. But then, ants are probably not about weeks, just days/nights, and perhaps seasons. (An occasionally rain.)

Sunny Flower

Under one huge tree that was all abloom, I stopped and listened. The tree was abuzz with hundreds and hundreds of bees. (They also were busy on a Sunday morning.)

The trail was very hilly and though most of it is just dirt, some parts are covered with crushed granite or heavy gravel. Heavy gravel is difficult to run up, and a bit dangerous to run down. Going uphill, I discovered that the edges of the pathway were more lightly strewn with gravel. So on the return trip, I asked myself, "What would Robert Frost do?" And I took the path less graveled, and that made all the difference!

Sunny Flower's Familiy

This trail is a less traveled trail in Fullerton, in part perhaps because of the steep stretches it contains. I thought about Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken, as I ran. It reminded me of my own life. Like the narrator in the poem, 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.  (I took a road, just one less traveled by.)

Yesterday, I started rereading a book I read for the first time in 1976, Be Here Now, by Ram Dass. As a result, I enjoyed today's run even more. I also am rereading The Ultimate Beginners Running Guide: The Key  to Running Inspired.  As a result, I ran with better form. One of the "prizes" I got from last week's 10K along this same hilly path are two slightly blackened toenails. I changed the way I laced up my shoes, and I made sure I landed softly on the side of my foot. I also practiced leaning into hills as I walked up them, leaning from the ankles, not the waist. 

Hibiscus at Cal State Fullerton 

One other epiphany along the trail was encountered at the vista points. At one vista point, I missed the vista and instead watched some golfers teeing off. Silly me. How often have I missed the point of the life lesson because I looking around at others, instead of paying attention to lesson? On the way back, I ignored the golfers and took in the vista. The experience made me wonder about how many of life's lessons I'm still missing due to inattention? Vistas can be epiphanies, but they aren't always. It was a reminder to me to stay awake!

The start and finish line of my first 5K.

So, those were some of reflections on the trail from this morning. Parts of the run I just enjoyed the crunch of my feet on the path, the breeze in my face, or the "good morning" of a fellow biker/hiker/jogger. Sometimes, I just enjoyed the company of the ants, birds, bees, and squirrels. I like the road less traveled by. You?

Yeah June!

I spy six Haans!

Back in February, I embarked on a goal towards becoming a runner. My goal was to be fit enough to walk/run 30 minutes, three times a week. For the last two weeks, I'm on target. The slow road to improved fitness has been a rewarding one. This morning I posted this on Facebook:

‎1) Set some goals. 2) Make a plan. 3) Work your plan. 4) Fine tune goals/plans. This morning I did #3. 5+ mile route. Walked uphill (50 minutes). Jogged/walked back downhill (35 minutes). Climbed into my car... and said, "That felt great!" A milestone from my beginnings back in February. Woo hoo!

Papa Haan and his twins: Easter egg hunting!

I'm discovering a zone of fitness that includes walking/hiking/jogging/running. Thanks go out to my kids and fellow runners whose examples inspired me, and to authors who have coached me.

Oh, look here, under the ramp!

As June has arrived, and the school year comes to a close, I look forward to scoping out some new local trails to explore in my running this summer. On top of that, my daughter Joanna wants to play some racquetball! I took up running because I couldn't find a good racquetball partner. Vicki White was my all time favorite, but she moved up to the Pacific Northwest. She and I used to play once, sometimes twice a week. (My nephew John is fun to play with also, but he's a young dad and very busy.)

Looking for the hard-to-find eggs now.

Regardless, as June begins and summer vacation looms, I foresee some good times: on the trails, on the court, and around the house.

Hello June. Hello summer. Hello fitness!

Rachel eyes the chocolate that filled the eggs. A happy Danny!

Happy Mothers' Day (not for everybody), Optimism (for the over-thinker)

Happy Mothers' Day!

Chip: Visiting me at my desk.

To all who provide mothering!

Not all mothering comes from biological mothers, and not all biological mothers provide good mothering. It's not even gender specific: I was a Mr. Mom for a couple of years after my first wife's death. I mothered (and fathered).

This week at school, a fellow teacher called and asked if I could host a boy in my class for 45 minutes or so. He had been removed from his home due to extremely poor mothering. He really didn't want to make a Mothers' Day card along with the class. Kudos to this teacher for being aware, and for giving the boy an option. This teacher knew some of my story, and knew I would understand and provide a safe, warm place... away from the majority, who, rightfully so, love their mothers. Regardless of the day being celebrated, mindful souls know that others may have good reason why they don't enjoy or even like a certain holiday. School mimics life in that regard. We are a multiculturalistic society, with majorities and minorities of every shape and hue. Even on Mothers' Day.



* * * * *

Optimism: Can it be recovered and cultivated? 


A month ago I read a post written by a very bright junior or senior in high school who was feeling blue. Some of her dreams were being reality checked as she got closer to college and adulthood was coming into closer view.

Been there. Disillusionment is a tough row to hoe.

So I wrote her a poem. A poem for those who are at a point of personal despair: great or small, or somewhere in-between. Especially for those who think a lot. Depth of mind can sometimes drowned optimism and hope.

I give you:

I  Wonder If

(for We_the_pieces)

I wonder if hopelessness is an affliction caught by those who think too much?

Chip: Investigating a bug sighting.

I remember considering the quote,

"This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel,"

and thinking,

"No, it's a tragic comedy to those who do either."

I remember sitting in my room alone,

listening to the mournful singing of Neil Young's

"Everybody Knows This is Nowhere."

I remember sitting in a church,

thinking about the fruitlessness of living.

But somewhere along the line...

Maybe it was Harold and Maude?

Maybe it was Cat Stevens' song:

If you want to sing out, sing out...

I don't know how, but...

I recovered my optimism.

Chip: Checking out Heidi, the dog.

And, I decided to cultivate it.

Perhaps hopelessness and giving up is like the flu

caught by young thinkers, who...

when mental health returns...

decide to live life with an informed naivety.

The Dreamer returns...

but now she knows some of the science of navigation.

The Dreamer returns...

but knows something of pace, goals, possibilities,

and boundaries.

I wonder if...

in the life of a thinker...

there are tides,

and turning points.

I spy: The Haan family (6 strong)

I wonder if...

health of mind is as much a game of fitness

as health of body.

Do you wonder

if you think too much?

I don't.

I. am. a. thinker.

And I like it that way.

Running and other happenings!

The view from my front yard: morning.

Well, it's three weeks since my last post, and I'm still running!

Six days after my last post, I ran my first organized 5K -- a smallish event put on by Cal State, Fullerton: the iCare 5K. I ran it with Joanna, my 32 year-old daughter, or rather, she slowed herself down to run it beside me. It was a golden moment: a father/daughter shared memory worth cherishing. And I did.

Half-way through the race, when the course took us through the Arboretum, we heard the cheers of Joanna's husband and four children. Another golden moment, enjoyed despite a pounding heart and tired legs. I had practiced and planned for the event, and met my three goals: have fun, finish, and run faster than some of my co-workers had recently run in their 5K. (I set a personal best, one which I don't plan on breaking for a while.)

Seating for two? (Front yard.)

My other goal was "Don't hurt yourself." And although my legs were pretty tired and wanted to cramp up, they didn't. We all enjoyed a pancake breakfast at the event, after my two granddaughters ran their first organized 1K race, which Joanna had signed them up for. I stood at the finish line and cheered them in.

It was a fun day, and I was only somewhat sore for a few days afterward. I gave myself a couple of days off, and then resumed my training ways.

My running is the cardio part of a fitness regime intended to include strength, cardio, balance, and flexibility. Recently, I've added fat loss to the mix of intentions.

One thing I did not long after the iCare 5K was to research and order a simple heart rate monitor: the Timex Personal Trainer Heart Rate Monitor. It took me a week or two before I took the time to learn how to use it, but it has enabled me to change my exercise program from being mile based, to being Time in Zone based. The Zones are percentage ranges of Maximum Heart Rate, and they help me not to overdo my training. They also help me to find the level of intensity needed to burn fat.

Big sky: front yard view (the park)

One surprising aspect of my three month running journey is the lack of weight loss. I'm hoping that I've gained muscle, and I think that I have, but now that I have established a good fitness base and training program base, I'm fine tuning my life to win the battle of the bulge.

I already had many of the tools and understanding on how to accomplish slow, healthy weight loss, but a week or so ago I re-implemented some things I've learned via Tom Venuto's "Burn the Fat, Build the Muscle" program. I used the program some years back to lose 22 pounds. Over the past three years, I found too many of the pounds I'd lost.

The last go around I did not have as strong of a fitness base. I mostly just walked. It worked, but it wasn't as much fun as what I'm doing now. For example, on Friday, I packed a mini-gym bag and after work, I put on my running shoes and enjoyed a two mile jog along one of the many running/biking/horse trails that thread through Fullerton, my home town. This morning, I did another two miler. I'm getting close to my goal: running for 1/2 hour, three days a week. Only the last week have I been able to run (very slow jog) for 25 minutes straight. (That's two miles at a 12 and 1/2 minutes a mile pace on a slightly hilly course.) Nothing impressive, but it marks a few milestones for me on my personal journey toward improved fitness.

After the iCare 5K, I went back and walked the course, taking pictures along the way. My intention is to start including some pictures on this blog again. I had depleted my collection of pictures and hadn't taken the time to upload and include some pictures. But now, I've remedied that.

So enjoy! (And thanks for stopping by.)

Breaking the Four Weeks Barrier!

Back on March 17th I wrote the following:

My New Year's affirmation is "I choose to be in charge of my habits. I let it be easy."

Fitness is nothing more than the result of habits, mostly involving exercise. So I've decided to let it be easy.

I'm using Psycho-Cybernetic's visualization techniques to create a new image: Don the Runner. (He's fit. He can run 30 minutes at a time, three days a week. At 60, he looks back and says, "It was in February of 2012 that I began to run. That's when I became a runner.")
...

I picture myself on Tax Day (April 15th) running. Why?

To avoid becoming this statistic: "80% of runners stop after 4 weeks!"  But 20% don't quit. I intend to be the one out of five who doesn't quit.

Today is Tax Day, and yesterday I did a practice 5K in preparation for next Saturday's race, the CSUF iCare 5K. The day before yesterday I built an eight foot privacy fence for my back patio. In the process, I strained my left calf. I found that out about three minutes in to my 39 minute run. Ouch.

Today my leg is much better. I'll be doing one to two mile workouts this week, and not very many of them... saving up for the "big event."

But the big event is really today: Don the Runner lives in my mind. Too often we let a false self-image impose non-existent boundaries. (Yes, there are some boundaries... I'll not be running any sub-six minute miles. I'm pretty sure that boat has sailed.) But what many say is impossible, really isn't. What we often say to ourselves in the guise of an Inner Critic, isn't really true, but we act as-if it is. Silly us.

On FaceBook Is yesterday:

Rereading Psycho-Cybernetics (hard copy... no e-book available). 1st read in 2008. Only I'm reading backwards through the chapters. Notable quotes?

"...the past need not predict the future."

"What now appears to be a miracle to others is simply my working to change my own self-image." Jeanne Sanders (Muscular Dystrophy sufferer)

"Little hinges swing big doors." W. Clement Stone

(This book -- Psycho-Cybernetics --  and this author -- Maxwell Maltz --  fathered the self-help movement and peak-performance via visualization.) 

What if... you discovered that many of your limits were self-imposed because you believed some lies about who you could become? 

What if...

Today, I'm celebrating Tax Day, because I'm still on the journey to improved fitness. A journey that includes running. A journey I'm enjoying as I stroll through today... Tax Day... and the four-week-80%-quit day. 

I'm rereading Max's book, and I may post more notable quotes here. 

I'm using his methods to realize New Year's goals. What do you want to realize? What would you undertake if you knew success was assured? What lies are your Inner Critic whispering in your ear to keep you from attempting what you are truly capable of? What if you could install an Automatic Success Mechanism? Would you?

Learning to Love Running: Books along the way!

I know runners. Only a few of them, as they are a fairly rare breed. All but two of these runners look as fit as most of the early morning runners I see out when I drive to work. I've often envied them for their sense of priority, level of fitness, and commitment. But I've only once before attempted to join their ranks.

The first time was a somewhat haphazard attempt that involved a new pair of shoes and some horse trails. I don't think I did more that three runs, and the dream faded.

I recently posted this on a running web-site in response to someone who was just getting back into running. He was looking for encouragement as he was starting over:

"I'm just starting out... or actually five weeks in. I'm moving out of "sedentary confinement."

I was very active in my teens and twenties, and played racquetball well into my 40's. Now "playmates" are harder to find, so I'm turning to running. I'm 58.

My first race (5K) is in two weeks. My son runs, and so does one daughter. They've been encouraging me some, but mostly it's  been books that have helped me: The Quotable Runner, Running for Mortals, The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Running, Wooden: A lifetime of Observations on and off the Court, and now I'm starting The Accidental Athlete.

I'm talking it slow and trying to avoid injury on the way to improved fitness. I'm just barely at 12 minute miles over a 5k distance: run 3, walk 2.

In the past I've only exercised as a by-product of having fun: playing sports. Now, I'm attempting to fall in love with running and a life of training. My goal: Run 1/2 hour three times a week, with off days of strength, flexibility, and balance work. Plus a few "spa" days thrown in as needed.

Long post. Hope it's helpful."

I'm re-posting my comments here because it contains clues as to where I've found some of the information and motivation that has helped me persist on my journey of improved fitness.

My nephew John stopped by with his wife and new baby yesterday (Easter) to say, "Hi." He mentioned that my FaceBook posts on running have got him thinking of taking it up again. I think a history of shin splints which hobbled him some time back. I was pleased the my postings have served to motivate. That's one of the main reasons I write.

"Motivation for change is always difficult. Staying motivated, almost impossible."

That has been my thinking for a number of years, maybe even decades, but for the last few years, I'm trying to reprogram myself into thinking more along these lines:

"I choose to be in charge of my habits. I let it be easy."

"I choose to move forward towards my goals at an easy, sustainable pace."

"I choose to achieve my goals, with the surprising help of God and others."

And, "I choose to let my future unfold at its own pace. Opportunities find me."

Positive change is exhilarating, affirming, and empowering. It's also fun. I believe that much of what limits us is our own unchallenged thinking about the difficulty level of positive change. If we can escape the flip-the-switch-into-a-new-life mentality and instead adopt a little-by-little-sustainable-pace mentality, then I think we'll enjoy life more as a Process-Of-On-Going-Improvement. A POOGI, as Eli Goldratt calls it.

I used to be more fit because I had more fun and played more. I'm rediscovering the joy of movement and athleticism. I'm moving toward adopting a new and improved life-style of fitness. I'm letting it be easy. I'm enjoying the journey. And I'm listening to the helpers who are cheering me on, including those who write books.

One of my runner friends used to say, "By the yard it's hard, but by the inch it's a cinch." Pace. Outlook. Improvement. Let it be easy.

Week 5: Running Reflections

I've finished my fifth week of training/running. So far. So good. I'm still running. At this stage, that's the goal.

My daughter calls this stage of a runner's life "the time of low-hanging fruit." In my last post, I agreed with that, in this post, I issue a protest: The fruit is not that low.

Today I planned out a 5K practice run on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. In two weeks, I'll be running on campus again, this time participating in my first 5K race, the iCare. It's a very small event as far as number of participants, but for me... it's my first 5K race.

Back in the day... school days... I ran to win. But these days, I'm running to get fitter. Five weeks in, I can tell it's working. I'm gaining in strength and stamina. (And I haven't hurt myself -- much.)

My plan for today was to try to run for three minutes and walk for two over a 5K (3.1 mile) distance. The run portions were slow jogging, but not my slowest. At the end of each of the three minutes runs, I was sucking wind pretty good. At the end of the first mile, I was wondering if I could maintain the pace for two more miles.

This is low-hanging fruit?

I did enjoy the flatness of the route. I did attempt to look around at the lovely trees and landscaping. I learned how to squeeze the water bottle while running rather than trying to tip my head back. I learned that a visor is a better option that a full cap to keep my head from overheating. And I finished mile two.

Although the campus is flat, there is an ever-so-slight incline north-to-south, and the final mile was due south: aka downhill. I used my watch to time my mile splits instead of my cell phone: that worked. I was pleased to see that I was still making 12 minute miles (5 mph), even with the 3:2 run:walk ratio. I trekked through the last mile, and I cut the last walk/recovery portion to make sure I broke the 38 minute mark. I finished with an unofficial 37:12: a new Personal Record. (Bonus: my time was in the ballpark of my co-workers' from two weeks back.)

I took a long time to cool down, enjoying the afterward. I found myself less tight, more flexible, than I've been in years.

Seven hours later, as I sit writing this, I'm surprised how good my legs feel. At this point, I feel like I'm developing heart and lung capacity. And that's a good thing, because if these are the days of low-hanging fruit, I'm not even going to think about when things are going to get hard.

But I don't think my daughter was saying things were going to get hard, she was just pointing out that these are the days of big improvements. I'm looking forward to a time of well-earned plateaus: a time of running three times a week for thirty minutes at a clip without any major sucking involved.

That level of fitness should outfit me with the baseline needed not only enjoy running, but for enjoying the many other activities that require decent levels of strength, balance, flexibility, and stamina.

That's the goal, but it's the journey that needs to be savored. Journeys should lead to new commencements. But only for those who trek on!