HUGS - Human Universal Goals

I was reading a book the other day about goals and life plans.   I was written by Brian Tracy.  He said something that really struck me as odd, but true.  He said:

Virtually all of us have four main goals in common.  Theses are (1) to be fit, be healthy, and live a long life; (2) to do work we enjoy and be well paid for it; (3) to be in happy relationships with people  we love and respect and who love and respect us in return; and (4) to achieve financial independence so we never have to worry about money again.  Flight Plan, p.8 by Brian Tracy


Think about that.  It is so true.  Have you ever had a personal goal that didn't fit into one of those categories?  Not I.  I have been setting goals for years, and can honestly say that they all fit into one of the above. These appear to be human universal goals, or HUGs.

So, why is this important?  Well, maybe it isn't.  But, then again, maybe it is.

I think it shows that we are all more similar than we are different; that we all want the same things in life - mainly, health, wealth, love, and respect.  Remember that the next time you are watching two talking heads screaming at each other on the TV over some ridiculous issue.  We are all more similar than different.  We all want the same things.  Our HUGs give us away.

That is what I think.  How about you?

Running Lets You Live Forever

Well. . . not exactly.

But, a recently long term study of exercise determined that moderate exercise, especially running, leads to lower death rates and better health. And you don't have to do a lot of running to live longer.


“We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity,” Dr. Peter Schnorr, a cardiologist and an author of the study, said in presenting the findings at a clinical meeting organized last month by the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation. “The good news is that you don’t actually need to do that much to reap the benefits.”

In fact, the study concluded that the "sweet spot" for the best benefit was relatively low.  “Twenty miles a week or less of jogging at a 10- or 11-minute-mile pace can add years to your life span," according to Dr. O’Keefe. a cardiologist cited in the article.  This is exactly what I do!  YEAH!!

You can find the complete article  about the study in the NY Times here.

On a personal note, I started running because I wanted to be healthy again and live longer.  I didn't want to be one of those people who work themselves to death. So far so good.  No regrets.

 

Six Miler- First Month of Training Down

My long run this week was a 6 mile jaunt through Lake Merial. I had to run around in circles a few places to get the six, and I was dodging lighting and rain, but, I knocked it out.

My first month of training is complete. Here are my stats over the last 4 weeks:

  • 15 running workouts, 2 cross training workouts
  • 51.1 running miles, 12 stationary bike miles
  • 10.5 hours of running (yikes), 1 hour of biking
  • Longest run - 6 miles

Overall, not bad. I didn’t miss any workouts, but did have to move some around due to the weather and other issues.

One month down, three to go.

Congrats to USA Diving and David Boudia

[caption id="attachment_60" align="alignright" width="200"]Chris waiting to dive Chris Jackson waiting to dive


USA Diving had a fantastic Olympics! We ended up with 4 medals: 1 Gold, 1 Silver, and 2 Bronze.  Not bad after being skunked in the last 2 Olympics (2008, 2004) and only 1 medal in 2000.  Last gold in individual 10 meter tower was in 1988. - yikes!

Here is USA Diving's article about Boudia winning Gold:

He had a great final (prelims - not so much). Although I do admire the Chinese divers, it was good to see them lose.  They didn't respond to pressure well.  I wish that Tom Daley would have beaten them and taken silver.  He deserved it.

My son is a diver.  We are looking forward to his senior year.  Unsurprisingly, Boudia's Gold Medal is inspiration for American divers everywhere.

Doubt . . .

Doubt. It creeps up on you. It seeps into your mind. It undermines everything you do.

I am starting to doubt my ability to complete this half marathon. I am struggling. No where near where I was last year. I know it is early in my training. But, to be honest, it has been hard.

Did 5 miles this morning. I should be happy with that, but I am not. I was really slow. My legs and my lungs were hurting. Barely made it to the end. And I am not losing weight this year. Struggles abound.

And here comes doubt. Can I do this? Am I too old? I am nuts to even try this. What was i thinking?

I want to give up. I want to stop and just forget about this whole thing. That is one reason why I have put this challenge out here (and on Facebook, Dailymile, Twitter). Making the challenge public, makes it hard to quit.

So what to do.

One of my favorite movie quotes is from Castaway, Chuck (played by Tom Hanks) had lost everything after being air wrecked on a small atoll in the Pacific. He had even lost the power over his own death. Faced with the power of nothing he recounted:

I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... … And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?


So, I will keep going. Stick with my training schedule. Make it day to day. Because who knows what will happen. Maybe doubt will be chased away.