Tag: Florida

Got Ideas?

Got ideas?  Yes indeed.  The challenge is ideas aren’t worth the paper they’re written on if you can’t make them work.  This is true in our business life and our personal life.

People constantly come up with ideas to run the government better. Or ideas to help their favorite sports team do better. Or ideas their boss ought to use to become a better leader.

But when do we actually use any of these ideas on ourselves?  When do we look at ourselves with the same level of scrutiny as we do others? When?

And when do we ever attempt to take one of our ideas and apply it to ourselves?  When?  Seriously, when?

My advice is simply this.  I don’t give advice unless a person’s situation is life threatening, or, they ask me for advice.

So, when talking to myself – which is everyday, all day – I’m constantly looking for ways to become better.  Lane 8 is only one of five daily blogs I write.  Why?  Because it’s an idea that’s being implemented.

Lane 8, Halloween Scared

Lane 8 is about taking care of our physical gifts, namely our physical health.  I am reminded  daily just how challenging it is.

As responsible adults, if we don’t make conscious choices, and fight the hard battle to get and stay healthy, what are we left with?

The opposite.

The opposite stinks.  Not making hard choices leads down a path that scares me.

Halloween is just around the corner.  That’s about as scared as I care to get.

Pain Update

Pain update.  Short and sweet.

Yes, the pain is still nagging me, slowing things down, tempting me to become very discouraged.

Tempting me, and I shudder to think about it, to quit.

Quit?

Yes.  Quit.

This has been going on for years.  YEARS!

Being 50 years old and achieving and sustaining a world class fitness level is not easy.

Why work so hard, so long, so quietly?  You know there are many, many people who know me well and have no idea I went to Finland for the 2009 WMA Master’s Track and Field World Championships?  So yes, quietly.

So why then, all this work?

Remember my big goal?  To see our son graduate from High School in ten years.  No man on my Dad’s side has made it past 60.

What’s your “excuse”?

When I Run, I Feel God’s Pleasure

“When I run, I feel God’s pleasure”. — Eric Liddell

That’s It!   Perfect!  Thank you, Craig Nickoloff, for sending me your critical email message yesterday.

The week-long Writer’s Retreat I’ve been attending on Sanibel Island concluded yesterday.   I have been working very, very hard.  Committed.  Intense.  Focused.

I took a well-earned nap, woke up, checked my blackberry, and here’s the message I read.  It was almost like a dream – a real, heaven sent type of dream.

With permission, here it is in it’s entirety:

“I’m still trying to figure out a way to not be so nervous that I make myself sick before the first race.”
Yeah, Buddy, you can do it!
If you’re visualizing yourself running & doing well, your body won’t have time to realize why it should be nervous.
Concentrate.
What’s your drive to run this race?  Run the race for him.
Forget Lane 8.  Run it. You’re running in your lane, to advance.  You’re winning this heat. The other runners are pushing you. You no longer care about time. Qualify with this heat.
As Eric Little said, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure.”
You feel God’s pleasure.
You feel your son’s admiration & love.  Cheryl’s proud of you, to no end.
You don’t have time to think about nerves.
That’s what will drive you.
You’re already an inspiration. That’s not on your shoulders anymore.
You’re here.
This race.
This race for the next one.
You’re running it.
And you feel that pleasure…
GO.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Gonna read this again and again.

You know, it’s really weird, but I too can say, “When I run, I feel God’s pleasure”.  Seriously.

Way seriously.  Carpe diem, jeff noel  🙂

Good new, bad news?

Good news, bad news?

Bad news is I still have left heel pain, intermittently.

Good news is the staff at Florida Hospital rehab center said I’m the most symmetrical person they’ve ever seen.  🙂

What else would they say?  It’s their job to make people feel good about themselves.   Let me tell you, it sure worked yesterday.  🙂

The goal was to test my core.   Why?

After three consecutive years of season-ending injuries, it’s time to start a season with a good, honest look at weak spots and opportunities.

While I still have work to do, overall, my core and symmetry is excellent.

Gotta go run five miles.  I’m praying for a pain-free run, plus world peace, an end to hunger and poverty, and a wish that everyone will be blessed beyond measure today.  Carpe diem, jeff  🙂