by Dan | Dec 3, 2017 | Exercise, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Well, we all have things that we were planning on doing, and changes in our schedule, or daily routine happens…or you get sick. That was me this week. I have a marathon coming up in January that I am trying to do some long runs yet, and this weekend was going to be one of my 20 mile runs. The weather was going to be great, and we still have no snow. But, I ended up starting to get sick on Monday, and as the week went on, it only got worse. The coughing was non stop, and by Friday, I had to stay home as every time I started talking, I was coughing. I went in to get myself checked, to make sure I did not have anything more than something viral. One of my nurses asked me, “What is going to happen to your exercise streak?”. Well, to be honest, at 8 AM, this was the last thing I was worried about. I ended up going back home, and slept until 4PM. Just what I needed. By then, I was so achy from laying all day, then I went for a walk on the treadmill. I did not have to worry about the weather, the wind, and I could control how fast I went. I managed 3 miles, slow pace, but actually felt better. Exercise streak intact! But, there was no way I was going to be doing a 20 mile run the next day. That is ok…I want to be healthy first! The weekend is now going to be in the past, and I will just plan, or change my plans, going forward. It is no different than anything else in life. Things don’t always go as we would like. You can either accept it, or dwell on it…or make excuses. Bottom line, you still have to deal with it. Adapt, and overcome. Tomorrow is another day…we hope! It helped running with the run club this AM as well. It always provides more motivation. I did not know how far I was going to go when I started, but told myself I would do what I felt comfortable doing. No excuses. Just keep moving. I am feeling much better, and hopefully I hit the peak of this a few days ago. As physicians, Sarah and I are always taking care of somebody else, but, we get sick too. You just make the best of things, and move on. It is always great having my own doctor at home all of the time too! Thanks Sarah for helping to take care of me…and hanging with me running this AM.
You keep pushing me, motiving me…loving me, even when I am sick, and crabby! Thanks for hanging with me. This is how we strive to survive. Be there for somebody, at some time, because sooner than later, you will have the favor returned to you!
Love ya Sarah! Thanks for everything you do for me! Keep moving everybody! Don’t make excuses, just do it!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3721 (Still intact!)
by Dan | Nov 26, 2017 | Exercise, Family, Food, Holidays, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health
Thanksgiving! A time to spend with family, eat good food, watch football on TV…and exercise! “If you want to eat, you gotta move your feet”. The annual Turkey Day DASH took place on Thursday, a 5k run, and 2 mile walk. 360 people participated in this event. It is a great way to start out the holiday, and get your activity in, and then eat and enjoy the rest of the day as you want.
We had absolutely perfect weather for this as well. Ended up being at race time in the low 40’s, and then got into the mid 50’s by the middle of the afternoon. Great time to go for a walk to work off some of that noon meal as well. Nick came home from college, and brought my mom up with him, so we got to spend some great family time together as well. Sarah’s family made it up for the day as well. Great food, and great company.
The Turkey day DASH is becoming a family tradition for us now as well. You are out exercising with hundreds of other people, and then work up an appetite to eat, and not feel as guilty later because you already worked out. Thanksgiving is one of those times when we all indulge a little, and that is ok…but still good to keep within reason. And, there is no excuse to not exercise that day as well. There is always some time, you just have to figure out when is that time.
Here was my plate when we sat down. Turkey with stuffing, gravy, corn, a bun, and my moms famous noodle salad with grapes! Delicious!
It was a good time spending with family. We all had more than enough to eat. We then watched the Vikings win in football, and then the weather was so nice out, we went out for a walk, and just spent time outside and enjoyed the warm weather. We have had days where the temperature has been -25 degrees, so this was great!
They were taking pictures of everybody coming across the finish line at the race. After we crossed, I reached my hand out to Sarah to high five her…we came across together…and she was not looking at me right then. So I turned towards her more, and then she saw me and high fived back, but the angle of the camera looks like I am smacking her in the face! Truly, it is just the angle of the camera!
But it was a great way to start the day. Many of the run club members…friends…were there as well. This, too, is becoming a tradition as well.
There is always time to take care of yourself, stay in shape, and spend time with friends. You have to figure out how you are going to do this, and how you are going to make time for it. Is this always easy to do? No! It takes some effort to figure out when this will get worked into your day. You have to plan…you have to learn to make accommodations…you have to make an effort. When all is said and done, you will be happy you did it. Learn to make adjustments. Invest in you. Are you not worth it? The days go by fast. Don’t waste the time we do have. Take advantage of it, and enjoy life to its fullest. Strive to survive! Spend the holidays with family, and make them special. Those same people will not always be in your life. Make life count! Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3714
by Dan | Nov 19, 2017 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Weather, Wellness/Health, Winter
It may be getting colder out, but you can still jump for excitement! We still have the ability to get outside and exercise, where a lot of people still cannot choose. Does it get tough to get motivated to get out there when you see how cold it is, and how strong the wind is? Absolutely! But, by the time all is said and done, you still feel better when you get done…just that right now when it is cold, you feel even better now when you get done.
First, we can get excited that the majority of the trails are still open, and not icy, and snow covered. We will take this as long as we can. Just like any sport, you have to have the right equipment for it. You dress in layers, and you can take layers off as you need. Your pockets often times are packed with a mask, extra gloves, etc, but if you are prepared, then the run, or walk outside, is much more enjoyable. And, no matter what, it is still much better than being stuck inside on a treadmill!
Here are many of us in the run club, after we got done with our run. We all have the right equipment on, layers on, to handle the cold. That does not mean I don’t want it to get warm out. It is still more enjoyable in the Summer, but you can make if more enjoyable by being prepared for it. You just have to remember one important point:
That is why you have to keep moving! If you stay moving, you stay warm. It helps keep you motivated to keep going, and then you get done faster! We had just gotten done with a run club run last year, and we had just gotten some new light snow during the run. Our tracks were present yet on the way back.
It helps to know where you have been, but it is much more important to know where you want to go! Keep looking forward. Tough conditions make you stronger. Don’t think…just get out and move! You can do this by yourself, but there is no question it is much easier to do when you have friends/training partners with you. This way, if it is windy, you can help take turns blocking the wind. That is what Sarah and I did on our run yesterday. You work together. You motivate each other. The cold is just a temperature…don’t let it decide whether you will exercise or not. If it gets bad enough, it may change where you exercise, or how far or how much you exercise, but don’t let it stop you! You will amaze even yourself at what you may be capable of doing. Enjoy it! When people drive by and look at us outside running, they all think we are crazy! Some days, maybe we are…but we are not going to let is stop us from what we enjoy doing! Keep moving everybody, and remember, you may just have to dress warmer!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3707
by Dan | Nov 12, 2017 | Exercise, Family, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
This first picture is our Halloween costume at a 5k race one of our years of residency…we went as doctors! How original!
But medical school was done, and it was time for our Family Medicine Residency! A time when we were finally referred to as a doctor! Sarah and I had just finished medical school, and it was off to residency for 3 years of training in Family Medicine. Intense does not really describe it. A new rotation every month, ranging from pediatrics, to OB, to internal medicine, to surgery, and back and forth. Every month was like starting a new job again. The hours at times seemed endless, but boy did we learn a lot. It was a good thing for us that we did not have kids yet…the time restraint would have really made this tough to accomplish. Running was our escape from all of it. It was a time to help maintain our sanity. It was time for us! Our residency also put on a recruiting effort in the Summer of every year where we would bike over different areas of the state over a 3 day weekend, and tour different areas of South Dakota. It gave us the opportunity to see little towns in SD, and see what medicine was like there, and for those people in those towns to see us. Watertown was one of those stops on one of those years. It helped solidify for us the fact that we wanted to come here. So activity promotion was a big promotion for our training in Family Medicine as well back then. We were not going to just tell other people they needed to exercise…we were going to do it as well. Well, two of our faculty doctors, Dr. Brechetsbaur, “Dr. B”, and our residency director, Dr. Kemp, and myself decided that we were going to train for our first marathon, Grandma’s marathon, in June of 1994…my last month of residency. Now, looking back, I would not recommend that to anybody else. Our time was so busy then as well, that to try and train for a marathon made it very difficult. Needless to say, out of all of the marathons I have done, I was the least prepared for this one. That, and the fact that I had no clue what it took to do a marathon. The longest I had run to get ready was a 17 miler, and that was once. By mile 19 of the marathon, I seriously thought that I was not going to finish this race, and I had 7.2 miles left to go! Dr. Kemp and I managed to run together to the finish though, and then I spent the next week trying to learn how to walk again. I had youth on my side yet at that point, and that is I think the only reason I even finished it. Here we are leaning against a boat by the finish line after.
I really am leaning up against this boat just to help keep me upright. This next picture is Dr. Kemp and myself running by at about mile 7…we are right in the middle of the picture, wearing red shirts advertising our residency.
Shortly after that, the shirts had to go. It was already up to 90 degrees that day, and we were not prepared for that heat. One half of me got sunburned pretty good that day, so that did not help matters either. This next picture says it all!
This one is of me waiting for Sarah to find me after the finish line. I managed to sit up right then, but prior to that was curled up in a ball under a tree to get some shade, trying to figure out what all just happened! We finished though! It definitely taught me this race is not one to take lightly. You have to prepare for it. My preparation now is much different these days…but, I also at least have more time available to do it compared to those days of residency.
We had our fun times too! Our residency each year would have a Halloween party, and our third year, Sarah and I dressed up as a “polyester couple” from the 50’s. I bought this suit at the salvation army, and Sarah is wearing one of her mom’s polyester maternity outfits she wore when she was pregnant with Sarah. Of course, we had to make Sarah look pregnant then (because she was not yet!)
So, this was the Halloween of 1993, and then a few months later, she was pregnant…with our twin daughters! We graduated from residency at the end of June 1994, and moved to Watertown, and she delivered our twin daughters Sept 22 of 1994. I can always remember their birthdate, because we had “2 on 22”! And here I thought residency was busy! But this will be the beginning of some of the next stories going forward. I did have to add one picture of Sarah actually pregnant, at least during residency, and this was taken in May of 1994.
Our life had changed a lot prior to that, but little did we know how much it was going to change after another 4 months! Staying active then was always a part of our lives, and remains so to this date. Always active, and leading by example for our kids as well. Again, more on that to come. Just remember, if it is important to you, you will find a way to make time to be active, and enjoy life along the way. If not, you will just make another excuse. Be in charge, and strive to survive!
Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3700 ( I made up the 3 days I missed over the years not counting leap year…before I started writing on the blog!)
by Dan | Nov 5, 2017 | Exercise, Goals, Motivation, Wellness/Health
Having fun in life! Is that not what it is all about? There is a talk by former governor of South Dakota, Frank Farrar, this coming Thursday at the Event Center starting at 6PM, being sponsored by the Prairie Lakes Hospital Foundation. You can get on Facebook and look up Prairie Lakes Healthcare Foundation, and if will provide you to the link to register to go to this event It is free! No excuses, this will be great, and I am especially looking forward to this! Come out at listen to what he has to day. He is 88 years old, and still participating in triathlons. He is a perfect example of someone who is going to live life to the fullest, and enjoy the ride along the way. I am looking forward to going, and helping motivate me as well. I don’t know if I will even be here when I am 88 years old, much less doing triathlons, but hopefully I am helping to increase my odds of this.
Enjoy your friends along the way, and work together to help stay motivated to exercise. Here Paula, Jill, Sarah, and myself are in the starting ling of the Twin Cities Marathon on Oct 1 this year. We had 4 great months of training together, all coming together on this one day.
Sarah and I got to cross the finish line together! A memory to last forever. Now that is living life “limitless”. Don’t hold back on anything. The majority of times are limitations we have are created between our ears, and we have to quit listening to all the negative thoughts/ideas, and go out and take a chance! If you don’t take a chance, you never know what life will have to offer to you. Use is or lose it! How true can this be? You need to be like our run club when we meet on Sunday mornings. We are not meeting just because we like to run…but because of the social interaction, the time to talk, laugh, learn some life lessons from each other. We all have something to teach someone else, and we are never to old to stop learning. Be in charge of your life! Be in the driver’s seat! Decide what you want, and then go for it. Nobody said it would be easy. Nobody said you would not have to work for it. When you work hard at something you really enjoy, before too long it is really not work…it is fun!
Jump into action! Have fun, stay healthy, work together with someone. Sunday mornings are now turning into one of my favorite activities for the week. If you don’t make an effort, you will never know how much you are missing. I see many people that do not make an effort, but just complain all of the time about how hard it is, or that they don’t feel good, or they are not healthy. Some of this is out of our control, but much of it is. If we worked just as hard at trying as we did complaining, we would have it made. Now, keep moving everybody! Have fun. Hope to see you Thursday evening for a great evening of motivation, and learning about what life has to offer…about “living limitless”!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3690
by Dan | Oct 29, 2017 | Diet, Exercise, Food, Goals, Motivation, Weight Management, Wellness/Health
The weather is beginning to change outside, but that does not mean you can’t still get out for some adventures. Halloween is coming up, and a great time for kids, and grandkids, as well as adults, to get dressed up and get creative…and also enjoy some sweets. If you make up for some of it by walking, running, biking, or other activity, then it is easier to enjoy the “sweet”. Many from our run club joined in on the fun at the Wellness Centers Halloween 5k run/walk. The majority of them dressed up as a unicorn, and they were known at the “unicorn herd”.
I think Jill Makepeace was the brains behind the group theme this year. It started out kind of cold earlier on Saturday morning, so you still had to dress well for it.
The McElroy family went as the Wizard of Oz theme, and Jenn and Owen each ran with one of their daughters. Talk about a great way to get your kids involved with running, and just being active in general! Great role models!
Steve Arbogast went as “Jawsome”. What a hilarious costume! Very well done Steve! Way to be creative.
Like I said, when you do the extra activity, then you get to partake in some of the other fun activities…eating candy…especially peanut M & M’s. My weakness! It is ok once in awhile to treat yourself, and enjoy life. Just make up for it in other ways. If you don’t do the activity, or watch your portions in other ways, then all this will accomplish is helping you gain weight. Does it take work? Absolutely! Can it be done? Absolutely! It takes some planning, creative ways of thinking, and making a little bit more effort to accomplish, but overall those extra rewards in life are what make life fun! Enjoy once in a while. I also celebrated my birthday earlier this week, and my nurse Chris made me one of her famous M & M cakes again!
It was excellent! I had to make some accommodations that day, and even that week, for what I planned on having for “extras”, but it was not that hard to do. Plan, make changes, learn to go with the flow, and keep working at it. Working on our diet and increasing our activity is a lifetime goal. One day here or there will not blow your whole plan…as long as you make those accommodations. Be diligent! Be honest with yourself, and still enjoy the pleasures in life! Just remember: Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 3683
