by Dan | May 15, 2013 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
The Fargo marathon and half marathon are this saturday. The time is now…the nerves are building, the excitement, anxiety building…what will the weather be like? Did I do enough to get ready? Above all…Remember to have FUN! There will be a large group of “Watertownians” there this weekend, and a lot of us are meeting friday night to have some good food. Jill, Jackie, Steve A, Tim, Tracy, Holly, Beth, Megan, Tom and Sue, Steve H and Carletta, and Sarah and I. “Gettin’ ready for a good time!” This morning when I went out for a short run, the double rainbow was staring right at me…I had to quit go back in the house to get the camera, as it was all done in about 10 min.
Now, I don’t know if there is actually a “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow, but it was sure cool to look at. It made for a great, relaxing run. Just time to think. Maybe today this meant I was going for my goals, that I had worked hard to get ready for this day coming on saturday. The biggest joy of all of this is I run because I can! Many people cannot. Sometimes for those of us who do run, we get more worried about our times, when we should be realizing what we really are getting out of all of this. We run because we like it. It does not really matter our time. We made the effort to go for this goal, and it is coming soon. I felt really relaxed running seeing this before hand. Maybe the marathon should have been today…I think I would have been flying!
So, to all of my fellow Watertown friends going this weekend…Good Luck! Be safe! Have fun! This is what it is all about. Don’t make this another stress to have in your life. Enjoy it for what it is. Relax, and go show YOURSELF how YOU can do, because YOU are the ones who put in all the work! Good Luck!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2058
by Dan | May 12, 2013 | Exercise, Holidays, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there. It turned out to be a great day. Nice and sunny, and no wind. I took Sarah out for a walk this afternoon along the lake. Very nice scenery!
You can see the lake is very calm. The temperatures will be picking up as the week goes on. We are now in taper mode as this coming saturday we will be competing in Fargo, with Sarah doing the 1/2 marathon, and I will be doing the marathon.
Now we just need all the leaves to get back on the trees. Regardless, it was a very nice day. Hope all of you took advantage of it and got out and spent time outside. Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2055
by Dan | May 5, 2013 | Exercise, Goals, Wellness/Health
Attention everyone! Here is an application for the Hospital Hill Run/Walk 2013. They are also located at the clinics, the rec center, and Prarie Lakes Hospital website. Come join the fun. Whether you are a serious competitor, or out for fun, it does not matter. It is a good social event as well. Proceeds are going to go for the Caring Club House, and a portion of this will go to Park and Rec for upkeep on the bike trail, which the majority of us use. Hope to see you there!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2048
by Dan | Apr 28, 2013 | Exercise, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
Finally! We have a good weekend. Warm out, and you can all see how many people have been outside this weekend. We are either doing some yard work, out walking, riding, running…whatever! We just want to be outside. It has been too long of a Winter, and we were all anxious to get outside and enjoying things again. The snow, other than a few snow piles that had been really high, it now melted.
Even Buddy is outside in his kennel and just taking it all in. He can look around, and watch everything much easier from the outside than in the house. He has been on some walks too, and is definitely happy about it. So everybody, take advantage of this weather now, and get out, and get moving! This is exactly what this doctor ordered! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2041
by Dan | Apr 16, 2013 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
As a finisher of 8 marathons, soon to be doing the 9th in Fargo next month, where do you start to describe the scene near the finish line of the Boston Marathon yesterday? At first, shock, disbelief. Then denial–afterall, how could someone possibly do this? Now today, anger. The whole spectrum of emotions. A lot of these same emotions you experience when you are actually running a marathon. You start off excited, overjoyed, and can’t wait to get started. You are just soaking up the entire atmosphere, relishing in the fact of how hard you have trained to get ready for this event. It is fun, but make no mistake, it is work! After awhile, you get into a groove, and are just running. Somewhere along mile 15, fatigue starts entering into the picture. A little anxiety creeps in, and then as you get further into it, somewhere around mile 20-21, you start to get worried. The exhaustion starts setting in, and you begin to wonder “am I going to be able to finish?” Panic starts to set in, and you keep telling yourself, remember all of the work I have put into this, the hours running, and you are telling yourself “yes, I can do this!” You start to get within a half mile of the finish line, and you are fired up. The end is near. It is so close, it is like you can taste it. You approach the finish line, and everybody is out there, cheering you on, your family is out in the crowd, yelling your name. They have stood behind you always, and in particular, this last many months as you are training for this. You have trained to feel the joy and overwhelming emotion of crossing the finish line. You have done it! 26.2 miles! You start being overcome with emotions…tears come, exhaustion has reached its max, and you are happy and thrilled that you have completed your goal. Here is Steve and I as we finished the Disney marathon this January…the look of exhaustion on us, the emotions of tears starting on Steve’s face. No other words to describe it.
Now…go to yesterday afternoon. The shock, fear, chaos, all of this happening just before the finish line. You are overwhelmed with emotions already from running, and now several bombs are going off…your family who is out there to see you and cheer you on, are now hurt. Now to make matters worse, they held off all of these other runners back from the area…they no longer can finish when they are this close, and they have no idea if members of their family are ones that are hurt. Now talk about undescribable emotion! Where do you even begin? The race no longer matters…it is now about your family, and other peoples family who are hurt. How can an activity that can bring so much overpowering joy and emotion, become so devastating in the blink of an eye.
Running the Boston Marathon has been on my bucket list for the last 21 years. I have never qualified for it. I have never been able to run in it. This does not mean I still don’t want to. I could run it as a member of the medical team, but I have always wanted to run because I earned it. That does not mean any marathon, or other race I run, I would not help someone who needed medical help. That is a given…I would just do without thinking. This is what one running physician did yesterday. He was approaching the finish line when the bomb went off…he never crossed the line. He turned around and began helping whoever he could. One of the interviews on TV I saw say he was covered in blood, and someone asked him if he was hurt. His response, “I am a doctor, and I just want to help”. Nothing else matters at that point. It is no longer about a race. It is about life. Remember these runners, and their families going forward. I may not have been running Boston, and I may not have qualified for Boston, but I am still a runner…and if I have anything to say about it, I always will!
Keep moving everybody! Keep these Boston people in your thoughts and your hearts.
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2029
by Dan | Apr 14, 2013 | Equipment, Exercise, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
With the weather we are having, it is easy to have all the excuses come out as to why you can’t exercise. “I am sick of snow!; I am too tired!; It is too cold; It is too windy; The sun is not out; I have too many other things to get done.” And on and on it goes. Believe me, I think I have used all of these at one time, plus about 1,000 others. If we waited for the perfect moment, we would never get out the door. Now, I am the first to admit, I am really tired of this weather too. It makes it very hard to get motivated to get outside. So, if the weather is not cooperating, then keep it inside yet.
Get on the treadmill, or the bike, and put on the TV or the radio, or use your ipod. Whatever it takes to help keep your mind off of the activity. I just got some DVD’s to use that have me running or walking out in the woods, or in California along the ocean. You literally get to follow along with someone else walking or running. They have a music background, so you can just lose yourself in the scenery, and it is the next best thing to being outside. The more you can keep your mind interested in something, the easier it gets. Which brings up some topics to discuss. What do you think about when you are out walking, running, or biking? What do you think of during that 20 or 30 minutes of time? Or if you are doing a marathon, like Steve and I, what do you think about during a 3-3 1/2 hour run? I will fill you in on what I think about, but would like to hear what you keeps you going as well. Stay tuned for future posts on this. Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2027
