Sarah and I spent last week out in the Black Hills for a vacation. We stayed out in a cabin in Hill City. It was so much fun, and the scenery was incredible. I took so many pictures I could not keep track of them all. We got to experience the Badlands at both Sunset Friday night, and Sunrise Saturday Morning. Wow!
We did the Crazy Horse Volksmarch on Sunday and met up with Tom and Sue for the day. What a blast!
The hike up and back was a little over 5 miles. We then took off and drove through Custer State Park. Then the adventures continued for us after that. We went hiking every day: Bear Butte in Sturgis; Spearfish Canyon; Hill City; Mount Rushmore; and Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney Peak). The fog was rolling in later that morning, and by the time we got to the top, the pictures and view were amazing. About 30 minutes later the fog was so thick you could not see anything anymore from the top.
We went hiking every day! The colors were absolutely incredible. Every day we covered anywhere from 8-12 miles a day. What a great get away!
With trying to hit the Badlands at sunset and sunrise, we stayed Friday night in Wall. Of course, if you go to Wall, you have to go to Wall Drug! I was just posing with other celebrities while I was there!
It was time for a getaway. We got to do what we love to do. I got to take a ton of pictures. And Sarah and I got to spend some time together!
Remember, we all need to take a break from the hectic schedule of life! Do what you love to do! Get outside while we still can. Winter is just around the corner, and we have all been spending too much time inside. Get out and go! Keep moving everybody!
You never know when you are going to run into friends. A few weeks ago, we met Tom and Sue Beaudry for a 5k walk/run. It is always good to meet up with friends. Opportunities always arise where you need to “seize the day”: Make the most of the present moment–Carpe Diem! Don’t miss out on those opportunities when they arise. It does not matter if it is meeting with friends/family, or just paying attention to what is around you. The weather and scenery lately have been very cool to watch, whether the fog at sunrise, or the beauty of the sunset.
There is always something to see, we just have to be looking for it. Sometimes it is not always so obvious either.
We could all learn something from this! Take those moments we are given and make them perfect. Seize the moment! Seize the Day! Sometimes you just need to listen to yourself, and not others.
Right on! This is where we truly find who are friends are. This should not have to even be said with our family. This is what makes our run family such a big deal. We are there because we all like to run. We can all feel free to talk, hash things out. We discuss issues, complain about things, and talk about things in general that helps each of us!
But I must say, after last weekend spending time with my grandson Connor, I know what is important. I love spending time with him. He just has a way of making my day go even better. He is always there to help as well!
And, even more important, we know how to help each other seize the moments! These moments become vital to seize the day! We know when we both need to take a break!
Like grandpa, like grandson! We both needed to recharge the battery. Knowing when to seize the moments are what overall help to seize the day! What are you doing to seize the day? What could you be doing to seize the moments more often? Spend times with those who matter, not the “things” you think matter!
We all need to do a better job of this. Don’t miss out on what is really important. Seize the moments to help “Seize the Day”! Keep moving everybody!
Sarah and I competed for the first time in the South Dakota State Senior games. Anybody over the age of 50 can participate. We were not sure what to really expect. It was a lot of fun, and we left with a lot of new medals. Sarah competed in 3 events, and came away with 2 gold medals, and a silver. I competed in 7 events and came away with 5 gold medals, and two silvers. It was fun to win the medals, but it was more fun to compete!
I was most nervous about competing in the bench press. I do some of this in my Reiflex center, but not usually the weight required for this. Anyone in the category of 50-59 men had to bench 125# and do as many repetitions as possible. I managed to do 19 reps! I had no idea what I was capable of. The guy in charge of the competition even told me afterwards for someone my size, he was surprised at my strength! That made me surprised then too. I guess it goes to show that we don’t know what we are capable of until we try. So, what are you waiting for?
Sarah won for women in the plank! 6 minutes and 2 seconds! Wow! She had never gone this long before. I guess our workouts in the Reiflex center are paying off!
We both medaled in the wall sit, which was tough, as it was the last event of the day, and we were pretty tired by then.
All of our weight workouts were to help with our running. Saturday morning was our last event–the 5k Run. We both won for our age groups. I was a little nervous at the beginning because some of these guys are animals when it comes to running!
We had a lot of fun competing, and I think we are hooked for future competitions. There was a 91-year-old male competing. No one else was in his age group, so he was winning all of the gold medals. But the fact he was the only one in his age group did not matter. He was putting many of the other younger people to shame with what he was to do with competing. He was an athlete! We could all learn from him. He was smiling with everything, and loved to compete, and it showed. Have fun. Be healthy. Surprise yourself with what you may be able to do. I challenge all of the members of Watertown Area Run Club who are over 50 to compete next year. It was a lot of fun, and everybody is cheering everybody else on. The true spirit of competition! Keep moving everybody!
We spent Saturday morning in Huron, running a race called Andy’s Road Race. They just celebrated their 40th annual event. Sarah and I have done it many times over the years. In fact, we had been dating for 3 weeks in our second year of Medical School when Sarah had me come to Huron, where her parents still live, and do Andy’s. Now they have a 5k and a 10k, but back then they had a 5k and a 10 mile. I did the 10 mile event then. I was not exactly ready for it then. I was still running, but not that much. Of course, I was trying to impress Sarah at the time. I ended up doing really well, running 65 minutes for a 10 mile race, but ended up throwing up a few times during the run, and at the finish. The things we do when we are trying to impress a girl! They since have changed it to a 10k, 6.2 miles. This is the distance we usually do, and Saturday was no different. This was the first 10k for Megan. She ended up second overall female!
Sarah and I both finished second for our age groups, so it was a second-place day for the Reiffenberger’s in general!
It is always good to go back for the race. We spent several hours at the Fair as well, besides seeing Sarah’s parents.
Now that we got Megan convinced that deep down, she is really a runner and not a swimmer, I see many other opportunities for races into the future.
Tradition! It has to start somewhere. Any event or place, or activity, that becomes a part of your tradition is entirely up to you! The tradition is whatever you want to make it out to be!
A lot of traditions for us, and our family, involves running, and different races in different places. There is always a finish line for us somewhere. What is your finish line? What is your tradition? If you don’t have a tradition yet for you, or your family, what are you waiting for? Make that tradition whatever is important to you. Even though things change over time, there is always something consistent about it. The best part of Andy’s for me is that it was the first race I did having Sarah involved in my life. I was trying to impress the girl of my dreams that day, and bottom line…I still am trying. Do I need to keep impressing her? No! (But I will keep trying anyway!) Now we are doing these kinds of events as a family, and having our kids involved. Several years ago, my other daughter Molly, and future son-in-law then, Tanner, came and ran this event. Make your tradition whatever is important to you, and your family. After all, it is your tradition! Keep moving everybody!
Some of the days this past week or so have been very foggy in the mornings. Some of those days have been really tough to see. You keep moving forward, and it clears as you go. You just may have to slow it down a little. Mmmm….sounds like what a lot of us should be doing every day. We go and go like nothing is blocking our view, yet that may be the times when we really are not looking either. Look at what is ahead of us and keep going. The path, or plan, actually comes more into focus as we go.
Sometimes we don’t always know where the path in our life is going to take us. We can’t look too far ahead, or we will miss many things right in front of us. You have to keep in mind that by slowing it down, we can appreciate more the things we may take for granted. It gives it a completely different way of looking at things.
Quite a few of the mornings this week the pelicans will be out at Forsberg Park. Just gathered all together. Taking it easy. Not a care in the world. We could learn a lot from Pelicans. They are also pretty cool watching as well!
So, take a deep breath. Look beyond the fog. What is really going on? What is it you may be missing? What are those things right in front of you that you are not paying attention too? Appreciate each day, and take it all in. You can’t look too far ahead, or you will miss the moment you are in right now.
Spend time with friends. Spend time with family. Look at what is in front of you now, not beyond. Take each day for what it is. A new day to experience new things. You never know what you may actually see! Look beyond the fog! Keep moving everybody!
Over the years, you make lots of decisions. Some good. Some bad. Nothing is always perfect or goes the way you always want it to. But that is how you learn, and grow, as well. Many times, our expectations don’t always match with reality. Our wedding anniversary is in October, and it will be number 32. Sometimes, expectations don’t come close to reality. I expected our marriage to be great, but reality has even surpassed that. It is better than I thought it could be! And we are still both running. Many things change over time. Now, many things about our running have changed over time. We can’t do the same number of miles that we used to do. We don’t run as fast as we used to. I know someone else who can relate to this.
Tom and I have been training partners for many years. We have logged countless miles over the years. Our speed has definitely gotten slower over the years. And that is ok. We have our memories. We have our times. We achieved many of our goals. Tom will always have the fact that he qualified for the Boston Marathon and ran at Boston too. Not many of us can say that! But we are still out there, pounding the pavement.
Just like for Tom, there is never any quit in Sarah and me as well. We keep going with the flow and do what we can. Adventures still keep coming. Reality keeps us grounded, but that does not mean we still can’t have expectations of how we would like to do. Over time, you learn to not set your expectations so high. Right now, for many of our races, time is really not an issue. At least time is not as critical as we once thought it was when running a race. We have had our personal records. Nobody can take that away from us. Now we are creating new records of sort. Participating is the goal. Running has helped us see many different places, and we plan on continuing this as well.
We may be getting older, but that does not mean we still don’t have that competitive drive. We just set new goals and compete more within our own age divisions. In about 3 weeks I am going to be participating in my first Senior Games, and they are here in Watertown. Will see how that goes. I have to admit, it is kind of exciting to think about competing in different events, and have it age related. Motivation comes from within. Once you give up on things, your life becomes boring. There is a quote by Abraham Lincoln: “I am reserving that rocking chair for when I get old enough.” How old is old enough? Age is just a number. Expectations are still there; we just need to keep reality in mind. The only constant in life is that there is change. Things may not turn out how we expect them to, but they really do occur for a reason. We just may not understand those reasons at the time. Eventually we come to an understanding. I have to admit after my health issues 3 years ago, I definitely pay a lot more attention to my surroundings. I pay attention more to the little things in life. My expectation what that I had a lot of time to pay attention to those things, but the reality told me otherwise. Live each day to the fullest. Nobody is guaranteed tomorrow. None of us want to have regrets! The little things really are the big things!
Open your minds to what is in front of you. Look at things differently. The bottom line is no two days are the same. They all have their uniqueness to them. Enjoy them all.
Each day is a chance to see something else. To experience something else. To enjoy something else.
Your someday is today! Bring it on! Expectations are what you think it may be, and reality is how it really is. Turn those expectations into reality. If you don’t try, you will never know what you can do. Age is a number. I have a patient now who is 100 years old. When she was 89 years old, she climbed to the top of Harney Peak (Now Black Elk Peak) in the Black Hills. For those of you who have done it, you know this is very vigorous. It can take 3 1/2 – 4 hours to go up, and back down. The kicker in all of this is she said she would have gotten done sooner if she did not have to wait for her 2 50-year-old nephews to keep up! That is what I want to do. Make your expectations become reality. Accomplish those things you want to. If may not always be as fast, or completed the way you thought, but don’t give up. This is what makes life fun! Keep moving everybody!
