THANKSGIVING DAY

I am still running. It is not easy to find the time to run and when I do find the time to run I get other ideas to use up my time and sometimes I am just too tired to run. It is hard for me but I am not giving up. Every time I talk to people about training for marathon, I get the idea that I have to be lot more disciplined and careful about what I eat and when I eat.

Today is the Thanksgiving day, a day to celebrate God's grace and mercy and a day to eat a great home cooked meal with the family. I helped my wife prepare the Thanksgiving meal for our family dinner. I got an eighteen pound turkey so that we have some left over turkey meat for lunches. It took four days to thaw out the turkey and took 6 hours to bake it, but it took only fifteen minutes to eat it. I felt like I was cooking all day even though I was just a helper. I am used to sitting down at the grandma Rice's Thanksgiving dinner table with countless varieties of dishes; never giving much thought to all the time it took in preparing the dinner. You got to enjoy preparing the dinner to really enjoy the day because it is a lot of work and it takes practically all day to prepare. For me celebrating the Thanksgiving Day was not just eating the dinner but the process of making the dinner and to mentally taking a day off from other work related responsibilities and just enjoying helping each other in the kitchen. I also realized that the most fun part of the day was tasting the roasted part of the turkey every time I checked the temperature of the meat. Everything turned out great and we had a great Thanksgiving meal. Now I need to do some running.

Half a Bagel


Thought for the Day

Don't eat Donuts Before you Run

I believe eating habit has a lot to do with how our body responds to stress. I love to drink a cup of orange juice before I run, but I think it did not help me as much as I thought. I asked one of our Sunday School friends what she eats before she runs. She said, "half a bagel." I am not much of a bagel eater. I would rather eat some donuts holes. I did try to run after eating some donuts and a cup coffee; and it gave me a burst of energy at the outset but I got tired very quickly. I also learned that I should not drink too much water or eat a heavy meal before I run because it gives me some sort of pain in my stomach. I think it is called side- sticker. One morning I decided to eat half a bagel with a cup of tea before I ran and it helped me run smoothly but I should have avoided the tea.

Proper use of energy

Thought For The Day


Be consistent, steady and humble and you will succeed


On Tuesday I thought I could run faster so I tried, only to find out that I was running out of breath. I had to stop few times to catch my breath. Wrong thing to do. Today I decided to humble myself and run slower. It worked and I ran 5 miles in an hour and I didn't have to stop for breath. There was a person in red running in front me about 10 blocks away. At one point I thought of catching up to the runner but I chose not to. It is humbling to be a steady and consistent runner when you feel running faster. At this speed it will take me about 5-6 hours to run a marathon. I do need to improve my speed. My goal is to cover 8 mile an hour. Next week I will try to run 6 miles in an hour.

New Running Shoes

A Good Pair of Running Shoes

Yesterday my wife took me to a shoe store to buy me a new pair of running shoes. We thought it would take, maybe about 30 minutes at the most to find a pair of shoes that would work for my feet. Well, it took almost an hour. I learned a lot about those running shoes and how each one is made differently. Not all running shoes are equal and for a good one I need to spend around $80 to $100.00 I went for the medium price shoes but the young who picked the shoes for me said that I should buy a better shoes when I am ready to run the marathon. Later I ran for two and a half miles and I felt good. I think I am going to enjoy running more now that I have a new pair of shoes.

STARTING OVER AGAIN

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Just keep the train moving, because it takes a lot of energy to get the train going again once it stops.

I have been out of the country for a while so I am behind on my training. I am starting over again. Two days ago I ran for 45 minutes and I felt tired. I need to run more. I also need to buy a good pair of running shoes. Sometimes I am tempted to run bare feet like I used when I was a boy. My feet are flat and really wide so it is hard to find a pair of shoes that feels comfortable.
Today I went hunting for shoes but they did not have my size. I don't really know what sizes would
work well for me. Maybe E3 wide.

SPEED LIMIT

Thought for the Day


Never Run Faster Than You Can Run


Last week I ran outside. It was great. My daughter accompanied me on her bike and I covered 2.8 miles in 40 minutes. I felt good. Everything went well except the pain on the left side of my abdomen. My wife said that's because I drank two cups of tea before I ran.

Two days ago I was running late so I decided to run faster to cover more ground and get a full work out at the same time in 10 minutes. It was a wrong thing to do. I usually run at level 4 but I decided to start at level 6. after about 5 minute I was out of breath. My heart was hurting and I felt tired. Last week I ran over three miles and I felt fine but this time it was bad.

Lesson learned: I should know my speed limit and maintain that for a while. I believe I can run faster but for now I have decided not to run faster than my body can handle.

Thought for the Day

The More you Stretch the less you will stress out your muscles

Today I stretched out for about five minutes and it made a difference in my running.
I usually experience pain for the first 10 minutes but this time I felt good from the outset. I ran for one hour and covered 4 miles. It was a great feeling to run my first one hour since I started training. My wife told me to stretch more before I run but I thought it was a waste of time so I would jump right in to running. I think I will stretch more before I run from now on.

Thought for the day

Don't over do it, but never give up.

First ten minutes is still hard for me to get going and also the last five minutes.
On Monday I run 3 miles on the treadmill and today I ran about a mile outside for the first time since I started training. It sure was very different from running on the treadmill. I had to run down hill first so coming back up was tough so I walked up the hill just before I got home. My wife told me that I should get a nice pair of shoes and my friends told me the same thing and they are all right. I am finding out that I can not just run on bare feet on any sneakers. I felt it hard as I ran on my old pair of sneakers. Tomorrow I am going to buy a new pair of running shoes. I thought my comfortable shoe would do the do but I found out that all sneakers are not equal. My wife and my friends were sharing from their experiences and now I have my own experience.

The best part of the running is the sense of accomplishment and freshness of body, mind and soul. I was afraid of feeling pain and discomfort in my body after I run but so far it is not as painful as I though. But then, I am just starting and I have at 23.2 mile to go yet for the full marathon. As long as I don't over do it I think I can avoid the pain and develop endurance.

Blessing Each Other

Thought For the Day


Remember to bless someone today


Today I jogged for 30 minutes and covered 2 miles.
My Heart rate is still 176 peak.
Right now my diet hasn't changed. I eat rice at least once a day and drink at least one cup of coffee and one cup of chai.

Warm Winter Day

Thought for the Day

Play outside in winter when it warms up to 45 degrees.



Today the temperature was warmer, it was in the 40s so I played outside with my children.
Yesterday I ran for 33 minutes and covered 2.15 miles. My hear rate was 169 peak.

Right size sneakers

Thought for the Day

There is no right way to wear a pair of wrong size sneakers.

Yesterday I bought a pair of sneakers from Goodwill even though it was two sizes bigger than my size. I tried them on with two layers of socks for extra cushion but it did not work. Lesson: There is no right way to wear a pair of wrong size sneakers. Whether something is cheap or expensive, we must make sure that we are investing our time and energy in the right thing.


Today I jogged for 4o minutes and covered 2.35 miles
Heart rate 167 peak. (getting better. Down from 177)
I cup cold cup orange juice.

I am feeling good about my pace.

Never Too Late

Thought For the Day

Some say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but I say you are never too old to learn something new.


I took a break yesterday and went to the local newly built rec center. I saw young people running on the treadmill effortlessly and looked like they were having fun. I guess there is something motivating about working out in the gym with other people, but unfortunately it is too expensive; so I am back to my treadmill.

Today I shoveled icy snow for 1hour 30 minutes and felt good. I used to feel out of breath but I guess my one week of jogging might have helped me to endure the challenge.

Later I jogged for 30 minutes and covered 2 miles.
I am feeling great. My heart was down to 174 from 177 peak.

I ate two whole wheat chapati, one banana and a cup of chai.
I had pork curry with a cup of coffee for breakfast.

Nothing is Impossible

Thought for the Day

When I hear, " no, you don't," it means it is not the right thing to do, but when I hear, "no, you can't," it means, you don't have what it takes to get the job done. Doing what we can is doing more than what is expected and know that nothing is impossible when your trust is in the Lord.

Scripture text:
Luke 18:27
Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

Breakfast: One banana and a cup of chai.
Today I jogged 1.7 miles in 27 minutes.
Burned 206 calories
Pulse: 178 peak. ( I need to slow it down. My heart is working too hard.)

My lower back was acting up slowly but it went away.
It is getting better to jog longer.

Selfish

Thought for the Day

On a beautiful, sunny and cold day like today, do something productive and don't be selfish.


Last night I went to bed early, at 10 pm. and decided to sleep in till 7:30 am. I felt stiff and awake.
I jogged for 26 minutes and did it around noon.
My heart rate was 146-174. (too high but I felt fine)
First 10 minutes were hard but I stopped even though I felt like I could go little longer.
I jogged about 1.6 miles in 26 minutes. I have a long way to go but I am getting better.

Become A Better Reporter

Thought for the day


I think a positive news followed by the word "BUT" often makes a person doubt and cultivate negative feelings.

Scripture reading for the day.

Numbers 13:17-33 (The Message)

17-20 When Moses sent them off to scout out Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and then into the hill country. Look the land over, see what it is like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Describe the towns where they live: Are they open camps or fortified with walls? And the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests? And try to bring back a sample of the produce that grows there—this is the season for the first ripe grapes."

21-25 With that they were on their way. They scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob toward Lebo Hamath. Their route went through the Negev Desert to the town of Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, descendants of the giant Anak, lived there. Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. When they arrived at the Eshcol Valley they cut off a branch with a single cluster of grapes—it took two men to carry it—slung on a pole. They also picked some pomegranates and figs. They named the place Eshcol Valley (Grape-Cluster-Valley) because of the huge cluster of grapes they had cut down there. After forty days of scouting out the land, they returned home.

26-27 They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip:

27-29 "We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan."

30 Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, "Let's go up and take the land—now. We can do it."

31-33 But the others said, "We can't attack those people; they're way stronger than we are." They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, "We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it's a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers."

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Last night I got a little more sleep than the night before but with an early morning meeting I sat most of my morning away in the car and in the meeting, however for a good cause. I will do my 20 minutes jogging later this evening.

SITTING LESS AND JOGGING MORE

I thought things would get easier but it was harder.

Last night I slept for five and half hours and had an early morning meeting.

I jogged for 20 minutes (P1: Personal trainer plan program 1) and I covered 1 mile.
This time my heart rate went up to 174 and I was feeling a little out of breath so I slowed down.
First 10 minutes were hard and I felt like stopping but I didn't, instead I slowed down for few minutes. Towards the end I was feeling some pain on my lower back. But it went away once I slowed down. I need to work harder but I also must listen to what my body is telling me. I guess it must have been my lack of sleep.

This is my typical day

I am only 48 but as I reflect on my daily activities, I realized that i do very little walking or jogging. Most of my daily activity consist of "SITTING and SLEEPING."

1. Drive to early morning meeting - sit for 10-30 minutes in the card
2. Meeting -sit for 2-2:30 hours
3. Drive back -sit for 10-30 minutes
4. Hospital visit - sit for 30 -45 minutes
   
5. Visiting time -stand or sit for 15-30 minutes
6. Driving to place to visit with people - 35-60 minutes, return.
   
7. Visiting -20-35 minutes
   
8. Evening meeting - sit for 2-3:30 hours
9. Study -2-4 hours
10. family time - sit for 2 hour
11. Personal time -sit for 1 hour
    
12. Driving to places and other activities -sit 1 hour
    
13. Sleep - 6-7:30 hours

I am hoping that my daily 20 minutes jogging will make a difference. It's a start.

Today is going to be a great day

Today is going to be a great day.

Thought for the day

We need more people who praise God in everything, because people are hearing God's name repeatedly but seldom in reverence or respect.

Psalm 135:3
"Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant."

Breakfast: one chapatti, two eggs and one cup of Chai.
Warm up for 5 minutes walked for 2 minutes Jogged for 20 minutes.
I think I covered 1.1 mile
Heart rate: Between 135 and 165. This may not be accurate.

Feeling sore

Today I was feeling little a sore from yesterday so I walked for 15 minutes and jogged for 5 minutes. My heart rate is crazy right now. It goes all the way up to 164. I think that is too high. I have to bring my heart rate down to between 120-146.

My wish list

My shoes are probably not the best suited for running but these are my pair of shoes for now. All our savings and gift money went into the treadmill so for now I am going to use my old shoes.

Welcome to my blog

Today I started my training. My goal is to run half a marathon. I believe it is going to be a hard work out but I am excited to do this. I am 48 and I know it is going to be a lot of work, but if I don't try it I guess I will never know what it feels like to train and run in a marathon. We got a treadmill today and it was fun setting up. I ran for 20 minutes and I was ready for a break. My lovely wife is giving me some great advice and she is doing the research for me. This is going to be a lot of fun.