Wednesday Coffee and Chat and Additions to the Family

Wednesday, January 25, 2017 · Mike Davis

Good morning

No doubt my friends in the northeast are finding some respite in a hot cup of coffee. I am sure yawl are happy about global warming as well. Can you imagine what it would be like if not for it! LOL! Yeah, I crack myself up.

Yesterday, I actually ran on a treadmill because of excessive winds and because I wanted to protect my foot a bit. Sunday afternoon I decided to get out and take my new feet for a run and what stated out to be a 60-minute run ended up being an 80 minute 9-mile run, followed by a 1 mile walk. Totally stupid on my part, and I paid for it with some serious burning in my left foot. Coaches are the worst when it comes to doing exactly what they tell others not to do. Yesterday’s intervals went much better and I am encouraged by how I feel. I am grateful that I have been able to run regularly and obviously living in the south makes a huge difference. Much easier to get motivated to run, if all you must do is throw some shorts, shoes, and a shirt on and head out the door. Once upon I looked forward to winter running in New Hampshire, but the past few winters got challenging. I give the NFLR Winter Pacers group a lot of credit for getting out twice a week, despite the challenge this winter has been in NH!

Monday was a pretty exciting day for Kathy and I. Our grandson Talon turned seven years old and he also gained a baby brother to share his birthday with! Knox (yes that is his name), is our newest grandchild and he has made life easy by being born the same day his brother was. I had forgotten it was Talon’s birthday, so now all I must do is remember January 23nd and I will remember two birthdays’! Speaking of birthday’s today is our son’s birthday! Happy birthday Nick! Nick is finishing his employment at the Northeast Division II Conference and going to work at Queens College in New York City. Pretty exciting and I am proud of Nick.

Saturday while getting my haircut, somehow me and the barber guy got to talking about running and my being a running coach. He asked me for a suggestion on how a 47-year-old guy should start a walking program. Of course, I think everyone should run and I wanted to say; I’m nearly 54 and I am running, but I did not. Instead, I suggested much like a beginner runner, that he get out and walk for 30 minutes, 15 out and 15 back. I am becoming better at encouraging people to just move and not espouse the benefits of running. Maybe if I go back to get a haircut in a year and he tells me he has been walking, I will then suggest he take up running. Seriously, I encouraged him to just get moving so that he will reap the benefits as he ages. He really seemed to understand how important it is for him to start, so I am hopeful.

My son in-law is a physical therapist and he once told me that what most older people that came to get help from physical therapy really needed was, to move. Yes, they may have gotten to the point of muscle weakness, arthritis, or some other aging related issues, but the best treatment, was to get them moving. I have a good amount of arthritis in my hip and it may one day need a replacement, but the orthopedic doctor told me, the best thing for me is to continue to run and stay active. I do a lot to strengthen the muscles around the affected area and I must say that I have less discomfort than I had in the past.

Next Monday is our first test in Exercise Science and that is a little nerve racking. I am trying to memorize so many aspects of kinetics and there are times when I feel like I can’t remember if the foot or the hand is attached to the ankle! Let’s hope that I remember a few things on test day! I must say that the classes are interesting and will certainly help me with my coaching. Understanding how kinetics work is huge when helping runners. Getting a decent passing grade would be awesome, but learning how the body works, is even more important. Hopefully I can do both!

Time to get off to my Wednesday morning men’s group. Have a great hump day and stay warm!

God Bless!

Mike