by Dan | Nov 22, 2015 | Etc.
Over these past few months I have written about my experiences with exercise, and in particular, running. It has been a great time for me as well reliving these memories, and going back through all of the pictures. This will be my final installment of the “In It For The Long Run” series. I have some ideas for some new areas to write on.
No where is it more true when it comes to exercise of any kind, that the hardest part of it all is mental. Trying to convince yourself that you can do it. For me, running has taught me to keep moving forward, one step at a time, especially in the most painful moments of my life. It truly is about life’s experiences, and how you as an individual can deal with it. One of my true idols, both as a runner, and as a physician, is Dr. George Sheehan. I have written on him in the past as well. He was a cardiologist by trade, but was an avid runner by choice, and helped set the running boom back in the 1970’s. He has some great quotes, and this one in particular is one of my favorites. “Success means having the Courage, the Determination, and the Will to become the person you believe you were meant to be!” Right on! Words to really focus on , and live by.
Running has taught me so many things. My favorite is that it really is my time to think.
Life moves along at a fast pace, and sometimes you need to sit down and relax, and just spend time thinking, and looking at what is all around you. And, thinking and appreciating everything you already have. That is what running does for me. I can forget all of my problems…it is just me…soaking it all in. It has taught me how to find strength; to remind myself I am strong; to be a positive influence to my family, and my patients; for friendship; because I enjoy a challenge; to get fit with my family, and have even more special family bonds and memories; to deal with life’s challenges; to be the best version of myself; because I’m ALIVE!
Remember to slow down, take the time to “smell the roses”! We all take for granted things in our life, and can go on and on and totally miss out on what is right in front of us! We have all done it, me included. Appreciate the little things in life, because in the end, it is what makes things big in our life.
Enjoy the things in life right in front of us. Don’t take anything for granted, for one day we won’t be here anymore. Help pass that point of motivation on to everybody else you come in contact with. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying everything in life is just “peachy”…we all have setbacks, bad days, challenges in our life. But what defines things more is how we handle them. How do we adapt and overcome. Our biggest obstacle is our mind, and if we truly believe we can, we are halfway there with everything in life.
We all truly need to work on making the Rest of Our Life, The Best of Our Life! Never give up on yourself. If you can’t depend on yourself, it makes it that much more difficult to depend on someone else! I hope all of these posts help hit some points home for all of you reading them. If you have any particular areas you would like me to discuss, let me know! Just remember, keep moving everybody! Stay IN IT FOR THE LONG RUN!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2977
by Dan | Nov 15, 2015 | Etc.
Last month Sarah and I traveled to Baltimore to do a race. Sarah did the Half Marathon, and I did the Marathon. It was the 15th Anniversary of the Baltimore Running Festival race. We had never been to Baltimore before, or Maryland for that matter, but it made for a quick stop off as we went out to go see our daughter in school, who is a 50 minute drive in Fairfax, Virginia. The weather was perfect for running, started off in upper 30’s, and finished in the mid 50’s, but boy, were there hills! We both were not quite expecting this, and were not as ready for this as we would have liked to. But it was great going to a different state, and experiencing the life of a big city. We found out though that we appreciate where we live even more!
The start line was at the Baltimore Orioles stadium, and the finish line was at the Baltimore Ravens stadium, which is right behind me on this picture. This was the day before when we were at the running expo, and got to look at lots of new running gadgets, clothes, and just overall, new ideas. The medals were very impressive as well!
Every marathon, and even every race we have done, has brought with it unique experiences that make each one special. The medals also provide memories to last forever. Every race has its good points, and bad points, but it is pretty safe to say, the good outweighs the bad. Here we are at the end of each of our races, getting our medals.
Those wraps are wonderful when you are chilled. They definitely help keep you warm afterwards.
It was a fun event for the 15th Anniversary of the race. There were over 3,000 people in the Marathon, and over 21,000 in the Half Marathon!
Here we are getting fired up the day before at the Expo. Behind us is a wall where everybody got to sign their name. We can now chalk Maryland off of out list of states that we have run in. This is on our bucket list…to run in every state. It does not have to be a race, but just to run. So far I have hit around 30 states. I need to see what time will bring, and what events we can try and hit to make it more interesting. It is another goal in my life…and we all need goals. We need to be working toward something that is a challenge to us. When we do this, the accomplishments mean so much more. Just remember to have fun doing this. It should not be another means of stress, or pressure to feel like it is something we have to do. It should be something we “want” to do. Life is full of experiences, just waiting for us to participate in!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2970
by Dan | Nov 8, 2015 | Etc.
Running has allowed me to meet a lot of new people over the years, and a lot of people have become good friends. We all like to stay active, and in particular, we like to run. This story is in regards to the Watertown Area Run Club–WARC! We have been going now over 3 years, and we gradually keep growing each year. This one is our original group, and we are all celebrating after a race at Fargo, where we either did the Half Marathon, or the Full Marathon. Tom Beaudry, Jill Makepeace, Steve Arbogast, Jackie Burghardt, Steve Hauck, Sarah and myself.
We encourage each other, run with each other…we care about each other! Over the years now, we have gradually kept increasing people who have started to come.
Here Owen McElroy is joining. We also will tend to run in almost any weather. I had one exception this year–it was pouring rain out. But there still are plenty of times when we deal with the rain as well.
Here Paula Nurnberg is joining us. The one thing to keep in mind, is that we have fun! It is a social gathering, a time to talk. We learn a lot about each other, and the run goes almost “effortless” with conversation. But, we are runners! We are different. Sometimes people think we may be crazy for what we do. But I think that could be the furthest thing from the truth. Look how excited we are getting ready to run!
But above all else, we show support of each other, and truly are interested in how each other does. It is like an extended family. Here we are showing are spirit at the 4th of July run this year, with Jen McElroy, and future recruit, Kate McElroy.
We have a lot of fun over the Summer, and we have even been going yet, as long the snow holds off. Our thoughts, as long as we are going to run anyway, then we can keep meeting. Spread the word…it is a social gathering, not a competition.
Here was also new member Jennifer Jensen, who has since moved away at the end of Summer. But we are smiling, just happy to be out running! Whether it is running, walking, biking, or other activity…as long as you are moving, the benefits far outweigh the risks involved. Give it a try! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2963
by Dan | Nov 1, 2015 | Exercise, Goals, Heart Health, Motivation, weight lifting
As a physician, we do our best to take care of our patients. But, we would be totally lost without our Nurses! My current team is Linda, Melody, and Chris, of which Chris has been with me the entire 21 years I have been at Brown Clinic. My team knows my patients just like me. But, they also know me! They keep me organized and on track. It would be prudent that I listen to them! There is no question, my team takes care of me, for which I am grateful. Here is my Team:
My team has heard me thousands of times encouraging my patients that they need to watch their diet, and they need to stay active and exercise. When it comes to the exercise, they all follow this advice. Linda has run several 5k races, and Melody walks…someday I will get her to try running! Chris, though, has become a running maniac! She has been doing this now for about 3 years, and she runs and goes to races a lot with Susan, a former nurse of mine, and they are having fun. After all, this is what it is all about. Hopefully in the process, you improve your health as well.
Here is Chris, then Susan, and Shelly, one of Dr. Greg Larson’s nurses. They all participated in the Hospital Hill run this Summer.
Here is Linda after participating in one of the color runs.
I have heard excuses from them, and at times still do (Ha!) about the time and effort it takes to keep trying to exercise. Chris struggled at first, and was always worried that she was too slow! Now she does not worry about her speed, but she did get a shirt that expressed her thoughts.
As her shirt states: I Run…I’m slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter, but I Run!
Exactly! I does not matter how fast you go, or what anybody else thinks of you…It only matters that you are trying, and that you are improving your health…Improving your health to be around longer to spend time with their family. Deep down, they work on this so they will be able to spend more time being my nurses!!!! After all, I listen to everything they tell me! (No laughing!) There is no question this takes work, and that there are always other things to do that keep us busy. We need to make it a priority. It took almost 17 years to get Chris on this bandwagon, and Linda is going…I need to keep working on Melody, and eventually she will get it too. Are you listening Melody? I am not giving up getting you going more! They are all important to me, and I want them to be around helping me, and my patients, for a long time. There will always be that special bond with Chris. What can I say, she has been with me since day one of my Watertown practice. Sarah is my wife, and I have her at home to help keep me organized and on track, but I have Chris at the clinic. I love it when we can all run in a race together…and here are Chris and Sarah after the 4th of July run this Summer.
We can have fun staying active as well. Chris just signed up at Anytime Fitness so she can stay active inside when it gets cold out, but is also working on strength training as well. I was encouraging her on her first day!
Way to go Chris! Keep encouraging those people around you to keep working on taking care of themselves. There are other people who would like to have them around a lot longer too. There is no question this takes work. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it. Just remember, anything worth having is worth working for! Thank you to MY TEAM! I appreciate all you do for me! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2956
by Dan | Oct 25, 2015 | Etc.
Which came first…running, or friends? In this particular case, friends. It just happen to be that running reinforced that friendship even more. Steve and Carletta Hauck have been our neighbors since we have lived in Watertown. Carletta was our daytime nanny for our kids, and now is our Executive Director for the South Dakota Academy of Family Physicians. Steve, or course, is one of my training partners. Where do you start to thank someone for everything they have done for you? Words cannot express how much we have appreciated them over the years. We and the majority of our families have gone to Disney twice to do the Marathon weekend, and the entire trip was more fun than I could have ever imagined. This last time, all but Jeff and Molly were able to attend. This is not like 2 different families, but more like one “big family”. We care and worry about each other just as much as our own direct family. We look after each other, but we know how to have fun together too!
We can be “goofy” together, but we have our serious moments too.
And of course, those unbreakable running bonds for those of us competing!
The running event is just what got us all to the same place at the same time. It was an excuse to go on vacation together…and it worked well!
Those bonds go back for years. Here is Tom Beaudry with his family at one of our Grandma’s marathon days. Having our families there cheering us on is more valuable than words can describe. No money value can be placed on it. It truly is priceless!
There is no stronger bond in life than your family. They are there through all of the good times, and the bad times. In fact, they make the bad times tolerable. If you can’t trust your family for support, who can you trust? With running, and the bonds that have been extended with this, now have effectively just increased the size of what we would refer to as family. It has been a pleasure getting to know these people over time. Time, and distance, may change some of the direct impact, but there will always be that “bond” that was created from those events in the past that cannot be changed. Looking back on them, they can only be appreciated even that much more. Thanks for all of the memories guys! It has been an honor and a privilege!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2949
