Summer Is Over, Now What?

By Don Otis

For many of us, summer is filled with activity. We take vacations. We get outside. Then comes the fall and we scramble to fill our woodshed or prepare our garden for the dormant winter months. Aside from shoveling snow, our winter workouts consist of channel surfing or shivering to stay warm.

I lived and worked in North Idaho for fifteen years. When I first moved there from southern California, it was an adjustment. I spent many of my evenings at a gym, playing squash, swimming, running or lifting. Then I discovered running outside, even in the snow. I took an old pair of running shows and placed about eight short flat-headed screws around the parameter of the sole. The screws give traction on the snow and ice, a bit like having studded snow tires.

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The Balance Between Long and Short Term Goals

What are your goals?  Yes, I posed that question last month.  Goals are an integral part of life.  They are vital to personal growth and development in every area of life – fitness, spiritual, intellectual, vocational, and even family.

Far too many people float through life without any goals.  I asked one of my sons recently, “What do you want to accomplish in school this year?”  He said, “I don’t know.”  Then I asked, “How about football?”  He said, “I don’t know.”  I said, “If you don’t know, I sure don’t either!”

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Weight Loss & Exercise

By Don Otis –

My youngest son is 25 and wants to lose weight. Last summer he flew out to Colorado and joined me for some rafting on the Arkansas River (yes, there’s an Arkansas River in Colorado for some reason), and climbing on one of our 54 peaks that rise above 14,000’. Now, he’s picking up another favorite activity: mountain biking.

As spring arrives and a mediocre winter passes, most of us look forward to the summer and the numerous activities we can do when it warms up.

A full third of all Americans suffer from obesity. The lure of foods, snacks, sweets that are bad for us beckons from billboards, flashing neon signs, and even while standing in line at the grocery store. We can’t seem to escape the temptation. The one-two punch of combining revised eating habits with increasing your activity level is the best way to drop weight. If this is on your to-do list before the summer, here are some principles to keep in mind.

Be Active! When you run, you burn about 125 calories per mile. If you walk, it’s less. To find out how many calories you are burning for the activity of your choice, check your burn rate at www.livestrong.com. While any activity that gets the heart rate up is good, the more intensity you can withstand, the more effective the results. For example, if you typically walk at 3 mph, increase this to 4 mph (15 minutes/mile). I am a huge proponent of mixing it up so boredom doesn’t creep in. When you mix your activities, anything you can do (including a walk-run combination or climbing hills) will make a difference.

Watch What You Eat! The second component is your food intake. The worst foods for diets are fried foods, sweetened drinks, red or processed meats. The best foods are nuts, fruits, whole grains, vegetables, or yogurt. I believe in moderation but I also enjoy my sweets as well. Don’t eliminate completely those food items that are less-than-helpful to your diet. Instead, limit the caloric intake from these foods. These “reward calories” can come in the form of cookies or other sweets but should be limited to half of what you used to consume.

Make Goals! As summer draws near, write down a few activity goals you’d like to accomplish before next winter. These can be anything from running in a local race, hiking a trail or looking good for a wedding or class reunion. For my son, knowing that losing weight will enable him to peddle or hike up steep trails provides plenty of motivation.

God has made us for activity. And much like a car manufacturer, when we put the wrong kind of fuel in our gas tank, we’ll see poor results or no results at all.

Waiting for the Spring Runoff

By Don Otis –

He was born in China the son of missionaries. In 1924, he competed in the Olympics, a Scottish runner who famously said, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” Eric Liddell’s inspirational story was told in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire.

The truth is that we aren’t all fast like Liddell was. Some of us are slow. We struggle and suffer through workouts and would rather do almost anything but run. There are, however, others who persevere through workouts in the winter and by spring start thinking about entering local races. It is a good way to remain motivated and do something with your hard work on the treadmill.

If you have never entered a race, there are many distances–5K (3.1 miles), 10K (6.2), Half Marathon (13.1 miles), and Marathon are the most popular. There are trail runs, hill climbs, charity events, and everything in between. In my home town in Colorado we have a Blossom Festival 5K and 5 mile run on trails along the Arkansas River.

I want to encourage you to set some goals for this spring and enter a local race. There are many good reasons: having something to focus your efforts toward, the encouragement that comes from joining other people in a healthy activity, or discovering how you measure up to others in your age category. These are just a few benefits beside the obvious health payback. So, how do you get started? Here are a few tips.

1. Check with your local Parks & Recreation Department to find out if they sponsor any events in your community. Then, get registered. This is the first step–commitment.
2. Depending on the length of event you select (don’t sign up for a marathon if you’ve never done a race before) prepare yourself accordingly. If you want to run a 10K, be prepared to do slow training runs of between 6-8 miles.
3. Weekly runs should include one longer run, one tempo run (shorter distance at the pace you want to run on race day), some limited speed work (shorter intervals).
4. Cross train on off days or rest. Plan on running 4-5 days a week. You should do your long run and tempo run after a light day. You can swim or cycle on off days but don’t overdo these days. You want to feel fresh on days when your workouts are toughest.
5. On race day, go out slow and finish strong. The best runners understand that going out too fast will cost them dearly at the end of the race. We call these negative splits where the first half of a race is slightly slower than the second half. This requires enormous discipline on race day because you are rested and ready to go.
6. A few weeks before you race, go easy on weight-training. Rest more in the last week or two. Good runners know that going into a race fresh is part of the balance between a good time and a frustrating experience.
7. Don’t over-train. This means that you bump up your mileage or speed slowly. Your body must adapt to any new workload. If you want to avoid injury, don’t suddenly go from running 15 miles a week to trying 25 or 30.

In more than thirty years I have done more than 100 races of all kinds. I remember when my boys were small, they’d ask, “Dad, why do you go to these races because you never win!” It was one of those teachable moments. I told them, “I run to do the best I can.”

Comment below and let me know how your journey goes!

In Sickness and in Health

By Don Otis –

I was minding my own business while running on a treadmill at the gym. The guy on the machine next to me began hacking. He coughed and sneezed through several miles. This raises a question regarding health, safety, and consideration for your fellow gym members.

Being the obsessive-compulsive person that I am, I already wash my hands more than most, open bathroom doors with a paper towel, and try to avoid sneezers and coughers. Perhaps knowledge is power or maybe it’s just something that assaults us with unwanted thoughts regarding our vulnerability. For example, did you know that when you sneeze, the air moves at 100 miles per hour and unleashes 10,000 bacteria and 5,000 droplets (I have no idea who counts these)?

If you are sick and still want to do a workout, go outdoors or someplace where others won’t be placed at risk of your cold or flu. While this seems fairly evident, for many people in our narcissistic culture, thinking about the welfare of others is the last thing on their minds.

In a gym setting, be aware that equipment, handles, buttons, knobs, and doors carry bacteria to avoid. Wipe down equipment if you sweat on it like I do. If you remind yourself that a third of all men refuse to wash their hands after using the bathroom, it may help change your habits in public places like gyms.

Aside from the obvious, germs and bacteria, other risks abound. For example, while riding my mountain bike this past weekend I discovered that a man had died on one of the downhill sections of the trail. He was riding without a helmet. He had a seizure; fell off his bike and struck his head on a rock. He died, not from the seizure, but from the head injury he sustained. If you ride a bike, even if you just plan to do it for leisure, wear a helmet. If you see kids without helmets, encourage them to put one on. And speaking of helmets…

I was climbing Longs Peak outside Denver this summer, near the summit is a section called the Trough. There can be dozens of people in this steep section at any one time, dislodging rocks that gain momentum as they hurl down. Rather than wearing helmets, I saw many climbers taking their chances, and I wondered whether this form of Russian roulette was worth the risk. One bloodied and mangled face is all it takes change our perception of safety.

For those of us who love the outdoors, it’s never possible to eliminate all risks. If you run, be aware of your environment. I have run in areas where there are grizzly bears, mountain lions, and moose. If you run or ride in an urban area, I encourage you not to wear ear buds, but be aware of what’s happening around you–people, cars, sirens, dogs.

Finally, be prepared in case of emergencies. A fall on a high peak in the Rockies last year reminded me that accidents happen without warning. You have to anticipate the possibilities without being deterred from the activity. We can become complacent and forget that bad things can happen, even if we have hiked this trail, run this course, or ridden this route.

Stay safe and enjoy the journey!

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