Lane 8 is happy the left heel pain was minimal yesterday. It’s sort of funny how easy it can be to find joy and happiness. We get so busy in our daily activities that we can rob ourselves of the simplest of joys.
Every morning I check out the window as dawn gives way to sunrise. The sunrise is always beautiful, even when it is “ordinary”.
Two days ago there was a Facebook post on my wall, asking for prayers for a teenage friend who committed suicide. This is a horrific tragedy. One none of us can comprehend.
The basic act of thinking of a Family (one you never met) and the grief that is overwhelming everyone they know, can be a humble joy. Believing that your thoughts and feelings for them may in some way comfort them.
Part of what makes Lane 8 blog posts about health and wellness so much fun to write about is that every once in awhile, if I feel like it, there is editorial license to blog about something else. This also makes Lane 8 happy.
Last night I could barely walk. Foot pain. Left heel. Why? Not sure.
Some of you know I represented the United States at the 2009 Masters Track & Field World Championships in Lahti, Finland. The first week of August seems like so long ago, when in fact, it wasn’t. Since then, I’ve completely tapered off on training. Completely.
So why the pain?
What is amazing to me, and something I tried to hide in the Lane 8 blog posts before traveling to Finland, is that I was actually able to compete at all.
“Then why put yourself through all this”?, is a common question. Roger Bannister, the first human to break the four-minute mile barrier, said it best:
“I sometimes think that running has given me a glimpse of the greatest freedom a man can ever know, because it results in the simultaneous liberation of both the mind and body….. The runner does not know how or why he runs. He only knows that he must run….. We run, not because it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves”. — Roger Bannister 1956
Yesterday’s Lane 8 blog post ended with me promising to share today the level of fitness that was unknowingly gained on the journey to become a world class Master’s athlete.
And by the way, the goal was never to become a world class Master’s athlete. The goal was, and always will be, about getting and staying healthy to contend with the hereditary predisposition to both physical and mental illnesses. I am, after all, 50 years old. :)
Here’s a jeff noel midlife You Tube video which highlights the strength of the body’s core. And just before heading to Lahti, Finland for the 2009 WMA Master’s Track & Field World Championships, I increased the time from “20-count” (in this clip) to 30-count:
Guarantee you, if you try to put both feet up at a 90-degree angle, you won’t be able to hold it for more than a “2-count”. Don’t believe me? Try it. Carpe diem!
Skipping a day of exercise is an easy thing to do. In fact, it’s actually one of the easiest things to do. How do I know? Because I did it yesterday.
It was easy.
Just don’t go to the gym. How hard is that? It’s not.
However, the intent was to pick up our son at school and head to Gold’s Gym like we commonly do. The reason I really wanted to go is because I hadn’t been in four days.
Too much time in between workouts does several things:
Too much rest negates previous efforts
Too much rest makes us lazy
Too much rest makes it easier to skip
Skipping a day of exercise is an easy thing to do. When it comes to taking care of yourself, are you an example or a warning?
That’s what is confusing. Why is the left foot pain returning?
It’s always something isn’t it? There’s always something that is in front of us that tempts us to want to stop doing what we know we can’t stop doing.
Always has been. Always will be. Getting so impatient with this that a cortisone shot is looking very tempting – cortisone is something I swore I wouldn’t do.
Yet my podiatrist and I agreed, in March, that we should try one shot.
Now I’m seriously thinking about a second. Remember, I swore I’d never do a single shot. Now I’m thinking about a second. Good luck with your temptations today.
Well, we ignore it until we start to here from it. Aches and pains. Wake up calls.
We can be fairly certain that these will afflict us all. The question is, it seems, “Can we slow down, minimize, or stop altogether, these physical challenges”?
At 50, even though I’ve seen a lot, there is much that hasn’t been seen. What I do know, is that trying is better than worrying. At least if we get ailments, and wake up calls, we can live with the Peace that we did our best.
It’s amazing how difficult it is to stay focused over the long haul.
We’ve all seen people get motivated, set, and then achieve big health goals. And then some time later, they fail. They regress, almost predictably.
There’s a missing link. Staying there.
That’s where I come in. You will see, from my own struggle in real time, the simple secrets to long-term success. It amazes me how viral the right thing can become.
But you’re gonna have to want to follow. I can’t make you. It’s completely up to you. Always has been. Always will be. Dream big. Get there. STAY THERE!
Bonus: AnotherLane 8 You Tube video found and placed in cyberspace – Australian Masters Athletics website.
Was reminded of that yesterday after giving a speech, a man asked me privately, “How do you motivate people”?
Without any hesitation, because it’s a common question, “If you want to motivate others, you need to be motivated yourself”.
It’s the first and only rule of motivation. Enthusiasm is the most contagious thing in the world. The second most contagious thing in the world is the opposite.
The lack of enthusiasm. Admit it or not, everyone takes their cue from you.
When you look in the mirror, are you a mountain or a molehill?
Rest is critical to physical (and mental and spiritual) health. So just enjoy this diversion and expect the break to be over soon. Carpe diem, jeff noel
