Del Shannon, Gaemi, 15k and Monday Morning Weigh In

Ran in the rain today. Wow. What a great experience. For the first time in Bangkok I felt cold while running. I am sure it was still in 70's. I ran 15k today; the first 3 laps with with my friend Iain and the last 3 with my friend Gaemi, but she was suffering from depression.;). (Thailand joke?) Anyways, nothing too deep or profound to share here but I did have a very unique song stuck in my head for the last hour of running. Like I said before, I don't listen to music while I run, but when I do it is usually the voices in my head. 




Monday Morning Weigh In: 
Starting Weight June 11th: 119kg (261lbs) 
Last Monday: 107.5kg (237lbs) 
Today: 107.2kg (236.3lbs)

Skytrain Inspiration

A little daily inspiration I get from a new commercial on the Skytrain. This is not an endorsement of the product or yogurt. Enjoy.

Journeymen, Advocates, Fat Evangelists & The "Just Don't Know-ers"

If you have ever been overweight you have ran into the same things I have. People play important roles in our lives and journey towards fitness. Most of them are positive and life giving.  When it comes to being overweight I have 4 types of people in my life.

1. Fellow Journeymen - These folks are fighting the good fight as well. They are working hard and weight has been an issue for some time in their life. We understand each others struggles. We get why it is hard at times. We are there to support each other, encourage each other and kick each other in the pants if need be.

2. Advocates - I like these folks. They may have never struggled with weight but they have found a way to encourage you and empower you in your journey to loose weight. They don't judge you but we have given them permission to speak into our lives. This could be a good friend, spouse, trainer or whoever you allow to have this place in your life. This is usually earned, not necesssarily by how smart they are, but how they communicate that info and how they treat you as a person. They long to see you succeed.

3. Fat Evangelists - This person usually offers unsolicited advice on nutrtion and exercise. They see you are "fat" and their "fat-dar" goes off and they think it is their mission to help. When I lived in Denver I was looking to get in shape so I was gym shopping. After looking around and being self-conscious enough as a big guy walking into a gym I came out and BOOM. Fat Evangelist. Attached to my car window was someone's card. It read something like "Want to lose weight?" blah blah blah. I looked around and no other car had one. I was special. The fat guy. I have a few stories like that but I will save those for another day. These folks, as much as I know they are probably wonderful people, are irrelevant to me. They have nothing I want to hear although they feel they have much to tell me. You ever encounter these guys?

4. The "Just Don't Know-ers" - I don't want to use the word ignorant because that has such a negative conotation. It is the people who don't realize they say mean or hurtful things. I really give these folks a lot of grace. They may have never suffered with obesity and some of the insecurities it brings. I chalk it up to not knowing me or my situation that well. In the country I live in now I have never felt so mocked as an adult but I don't take it as people being bullies or mean. Some folks point at my gut and rub theirs with their hands as they laugh. Others will come up and grab my gut and rub it and laugh. They just have no clue and I think there are cultural cues I don't get. I would be a liar if I said there weren't moments my pacifism wasn't tested though ;)  If the opportunity arises I look for the moment to educate and offer my thoughts. I have started telling people it is impolite.

I have encountered all these folks in my life and you know what? I need them. The Journeymen and Advocates push me and encourage me and hold me accountable. The "Just Don't Know-ers" are wonderfully good people that I get the opportunity to educate and encourage. The Fat Evangelists remind me to be a better person. To treat others how I would want to be treated and they teach me patience and graciousness although I don't always win that one.

I share this because I am reflecting on how people have spoken life into me. Growth comes not just from sunshine but through the rain as well. People sharpen us. The Book of Proverbs says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." 

So don't let the tough people get you down. So in the same way our advocates and journeymen sharpen us, be sure to let those who might play a more antagonist role in your life make you into a better person as well.

Monday Morning Weigh In is Back

My last post was about fear.Well I got a confession: I purposely stayed off the scale while I was hurt because I was afraid to see the results. Well I sucked it up this morning and stood on the scale. Let's recap shall we?

Starting Weight: 

June 11th 2012 - 119 kg (262.4 lbs)

Last Weigh In:

August 20th, 2012 - 107.2kg (236.3 lbs)

Today:

October 1st, 2012 - 107.5kg (237 lbs)

I'll take it! I'm so glad I am still on course. I was so worried I was gaining some K's but obviously not! Maybe I am learning something about proper nutrition. I know it shows a weight gain but I have ran about 4 times in the last 4 weeks. What a relief. I think I will celebrate with some stir fried  veggies and a diet coke!

We need to learn to celebrate things that don't seem worth celebrating. Not to patronize ourselves but to remember it is the little things that can make the biggest difference. I feel a lot of love and support from my friends and family and that helps more than I even realize. Now...let's see if I can still be on course for the BKK Marathon.

The Clouds are Farting

My son is so afraid of thunderstorms. He always has been. Even this morning he saw the grey clouds in the sky and was so worried it was going to rain on his way to school. When he was younger he would crawl out of bed and sleep on the couch while we were awake if it happened to be storming out. Thunder is very frightening to him. I tried to convince him lightning and thunder were nothing to fear. I would tell him how I enjoyed watching a good thunderstorm. He was not interested at all. I would use the oldie but goodie. "Thunder is God or angels bowling." Yeah, not convinced. Then the other night I busted out, "Thunder is just the clouds farting." I watched as his little 6 year old brain processed away and then he just giggled and grin and ran off. Then 2 nights ago he was in bed and a loud, room shaking burst of thunder filled our apartment. He jumped out of bed and came running out. I thought he was going to want to lay on the couch with us and do a little whimpering. Instead he gives me a goofy grin, looks at me and says, "The clouds are farting!" Oh man...so that's what sticks? But he doesn't fear thunder as much now because he has an understanding...some what. But this taught me an interesting lesson about fear.

 Much of what we fear is because we don't know. We don't know what it is like to run a marathon. We don't try new experiences, foods or adventures simply because the fear of the unknown outweighs our willingness to step out. We feel we need to understand something before we can no longer fear it. We do the same with people. We are sometimes afraid to get to know people of other backgrounds, nationalities or even social circles because we are worried about being accepted or we have made our own assumptions about who they are. Or we think there isn't anything we can have in common with people "so different". Fear is a good thing. It is natural. It is what keeps us from doing something stupid or reckless. But many times fear is a liar and can become overwhelming and unrealistic. We fear it/them because we don't know. We need to push past our fears and embrace the unknown. Try something new. Talk to someone that seems different than you. See what is on the other side of the unknown. You know what happens if you don't, right? Nothing.

Fear can be crippling and keep us from embracing life and others fully. See the opposite of fear is not courage. No, courage is something done in spite of fear. I can still be afraid of soi dogs and walk down my street at 2 am if I have to. The opposite of fear is love. If we learn to embrace and love life, love others and love what is around us our fear will be replaced. It's not an easy task but it is a necessary one. As a young man I usually retreated from hard things, new people and experiences because I was afraid but the older I get the more I long to love Jesus, love others, love my life. I am doing things I never would have done before because I was afraid. I would have missed out on amazing friendships over the years and incredible life experiences (good & bad). Don't let fear keep you from loving life and loving others.


PS - I wasn't that far off on my definition of thunder. Thunder: a loud, explosive, resounding noise produced by the explosive expansion of air heated by a lightning discharge. - Dictionary.com

Having a Little Fun at My Barefoot Friends Expense

It's Wednesday. Lets have a little fun. If you live within the running world at all you might get a little kick out of this. Enjoy.

The Day the Music Was Reborn

Don't get me wrong Don McLean. I think we definitely suffered from the loss of Holly, Valens and The Big Bopper but music has suffered death once again. Now into my 4th decade of music and listening to music from my dad's generation I got to say we have suffered through a dark season recently. Suddenly everything is auto-tuned and digitalized. The Billboard charts lost their soul and sold out to commercialism and formulas. All we get is LadyMileyBeiberSpears shoved down our throats and told it is good for us. Soulless music deprived of anything artful, meaningful and just plain good. Country music just became rock with a fiddle. Rap just became about girls, making money and being awesome. Rock all but disappeared and I desperately await its return.

Don't get me wrong. There is still a jewel or two floating around out there. Reminders of what music once was. But good music had been dead and buried. Ladies and gentlemen let me tell you music has been resurrected. It has been resurrected in the form of modern folk music...yes...modern folk music.

My iTunes account is full of names like The Cave Singers, The Civil Wars, Mumford & Sons, First Aid Kit, Josh Garrels, The Mountain Goats, The Decemberists...and on it goes. That is barely scratching the surface. Music is rising again. Real music. Music that has passion, purity, heart and is really good to listen to. What a breath of fresh air. As I write this I am listening to Mumford's new album Babel. So good.

I do truly believe that these other genre's of music will find life again. One day. But I'm not waiting on them. I will go where there is life. I love old country, and the soul of rap music...and pretty much no pop music. Not since the 80's anyways.

OK I take music way too seriously. Maybe. Maybe not. I think music should tell us a story. It should tell us about the artist or the authors perception of the world. Just like painting, sculpting, composing or writing it should compel us and move us...not just ask us "what we gonna do with all that junk?" Good grief. lol.

Anyways. Check out Mumford & Sons if you never have before. Start with "Sigh No More" and move on to  "Babel". I haven't met anyone who has been disappointed. Peace.