The power of positive role models...

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Little in life can trump being a grandpa and I became one exactly one year ago today when Josie came into my world.  When I think of what my dad’s parents meant to me and to the person I have become (the better parts), I can only hope I will have some positive impact on her life as she grows.  I know she will have an impact on mine.

It was, after all, my grandparents I wanted to ride my bike 550 miles to see when I was a senior in high school.  I believe this single event was one of the most influential in my life.  It became my first great physical challenge and taught me the meaning of pain and discipline as they relate to achieving a goal.  I know I will do more of this kind of riding in retirement and for as long as my body allows, so that part of their influence will last forever.  I know I will be calling upon and testing that discipline when I first strap on my backpack and begin a journey of some five million steps it will take to complete the Pacific Crest Trail.  Memories of my time with them are vivid and recalled often as I walk, exercise, and work.  Their work ethic and love of family though, will be what I will cherish above all else.  It drives everything I do today and in the future and if I have one quality of which I am proud and hope to have passed along to my children, it is this one.

So…shin splints…an old friend and nemesis has visited again.  Friend because it is a reminder that I’ve ramped it up again, though probably too quickly.  Shin splints, in the early stages, are just pain along the front of the leg and in the tibia, which runs between the foot and the knee.  It can come about as a change in surface upon which you walk or run, as in moving from trails and dirt to harder surfaces like the road or sidewalks, or when distance or intensity increases…or both.  The ‘or both’ would describe me many times in the past, but this time I wasn’t quite so stupid.  I did begin running again though, and thought that all the steps I take in an average day would protect me and allow me to start with 25-30 minutes of running.  Just writing this down reminds me how stupid a plan that was even for a young athlete…and I’m none of that.  I walked/limped throughout the day at work, feeling the sharp, stabbing pain with each step.  It was a run day – I’m shooting for every other – but I knew that wouldn’t be happening.  I wanted to get Dakota out for a walk though, and complete my 20,000 steps, so we headed for the park and a 2-mile hike. 

When I returned home, I did what you’re supposed to do, having skipped the ‘rest it’ part.  With an ice pack wrapped around my shin, I watched an episode of ‘The West Wing’ and again wished our President would do the same and possibly adapt the one characteristic I look for in any leader – the ability to tell the truth.  I know…Fantasy Island.

Hike: 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate:  80-100 bpm.
Calories burned: 350.
Bonus: 21,000 steps.