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A lesson I’ve learned as I’ve gown up is…

Don’t worry. Look back at some of the most traumatic events in your life. Think about how each situation turned out. I bet you’ll find that everything turned out OK in the end. In fact, you might even appreciate that the struggle made you a stronger or better-rounded person. So, why worry when past experience tells us that it’s all going to be OK?

Willis Carrier, the engineer who launched the Air Conditioning industry, solved his problems by asking himself, what is the worst that can possibly happen? Then, he prepared to accept it if he had to as well as calmly proceeded to improve on the worst.  I think he’s a smart man.

Note: I learned this lesson by reading the books “Calm My Anxious Heart” by Linda Dillow and “So Long Insecurity” by Beth Moore.  These are both great books that I highly recommend. 

I have just completed week one of the Couch to 5k Running Plan. I’ve got nine weeks to go to complete the plan, and eleven weeks till I participate in the Dam to Dam 5k. Week one requires me to alternate jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes (plus a 5 minute warm up and cool down).

One of my saving graces is an application on my Droid that beeps whenever I am supposed to switch to another activity. I know that if I were constantly looking at my watch I would just count down the seconds till the torture is over. This simple beep allows me to concentrate on the activity rather than the time. Like biking, I’ve found that running allows me to release my stresses and simply ponder the meaning of life. During the three short runs this week, God has shown me more of who I am in Him and revealed to me a lot of neat allegories. So, get ready for lots more blog posts!

Getting used to the Droid did take a bit of time though. It seems that the beep is strangely similar to the beep that I hear when I get email. On my first run I mistook an email notification for the walk beep and stopped jogging too soon. Then the real walk beep came and I started to jog. As you can imagine, then I was all backwards!

On Friday afternoon I ran with my coach and friend Gina. Since we have limited time to get together we went despite the 32-degree temperature, wind, and light snow. Even though I know the run didn’t challenge her, she stayed right along side me which blessed me tremendously. She also gave me a lot of good advice about form; like don’t let your arms cross the center of your body and don’t pound your feet into the pavement. Unfortunately, she told me other things, but I have forgotten them. Oh well, now I have an excuse to run with her again! I know its going to take some time for me to get a handle on this! The snow increased during the run and by the time Gina and I got back the snow covered us (see pictures). I can hardly believe that I went from being a non-runner to someone willing to be a snow-runner in less than a week, but at least it will make a memory that Gina and I will cherish forever.

My biggest concern with running is causing injury to myself. I tried this same plan back in 2005, but I caused damage in my knees that resulted in about $1200 of physical therapy. I hope that my legs are more prepared this time since I just completed the PowerClimb and I’ve been taking Step Aerobics. I’ve also been making sure to stretch before and after I run. So far I just have a little pain in my right ankle. But, it only hurts when I step down on it, which unfortunately is about every other step!

Now I am ready to start week two. This week I will be alternating jogging for 90 seconds and walking for two minutes for a total of 20 minutes. I’ve got a busy week ahead of me, so hopefully I can get my three runs in!

It was about this time last year that my headache started. In the past year I have gotten three pain-relief shots, had steroids twice, taken more meds than I can count, changed chiropractors, gotten several massages, and sat for many hours in a dark room with either ice or heat on my head in order to achieve minimal short-term relief from the throbbing pain on the right side of my head. In addition, I have been to the ER for an emergency CAT Scan, had enough X-rays that I could probably set up the machine myself, and seen more doctors than I can remember.

After all of this, I was diagnosed with “Chronic Headaches” in December 2009. Although that is the most general diagnosis I’ve ever heard of, at least it was a diagnosis. With a diagnosis comes long-term treatment, thank God.

My headaches are now manageable and I have been able to resume activities of daily living. One of the pastimes that I couldn’t sustain last year was working out. Therefore, in January I launched a personal Healthy Living Action Plan to eat well and exercise regularly. By the end of January I had been to the gym more times than the final three months of 2009 combined.

The primary goal of my Healthy Living Action Plan is to lose enough weight to have a normal Body Mass Index (BMI) of 25. Over the past two and a half months I have maintained the plan very well. As a result, I am almost half-way toward my weight loss goal. In addition, my clothes fit better and I feel a sense of personal accomplishment.

Many of my co-workers at Nationwide Insurance are fitness advocates. We often compare workouts, give one another advice, and bike to work together. On February 28, 2010, my co-workers and I participated in the Fight For Air PowerClimb to benefit the American Lung Association. Each of us climbed 83 flights (1000 stairs) to the top of the 801 Grand Building in downtown Des Moines.

When I signed up for the climb the thought of climbing to the top seemed largely impossible for me. I’ve battled knee problems since 2005 and my physical and emotional health was in poor shape due to the events of 2009. Nonetheless, I wanted to participate. My desire to accomplish the challenge, combined with my team’s support, was exactly what I needed to finish the climb. My goal was to finish in less than 20 minutes, and I reached the top in 15:05. I’m hopeful to beat this time when I participate in 2011.

After the PowerClimb my exercise activity began to taper off. Outside of attending weekly yoga and step aerobics classes, as well as climbing the stairs when my co-worker would ask me, I wasn’t doing much activity.

That is, until I went to the gym on Friday.

If you were to have asked me on Thursday to run with you I would have told you that I only run when people are chasing me. The truth is, I tried to run a few years ago and stopped when my chiropractor begged me to stop hurting myself. This is the main reason why I bike. But, as I walked past the Dam to Dam promotion table at the gym it sucked me in. I began to think about how much easier it was for me to get to the gym when motivated by the fear of not completing the PowerClimb. In addition, I realized that MOST of my friends are runners therefore I knew I could get plenty of friends to support me. So, I impulsively decided to run the Dam to Dam 5k on June 5, 2010.

After making the decision, the first thing I did was text my friend Gina, who is an avid runner and has completed a marathon. Since I have this funky problem with running on my tip-toes I asked her to coach me on form and avoiding injury. She responded “You bet I would” three times. I’m not sure if the text messaging service temporarily freaked out, or if she meant to send it three times, but I’m just going to assume that she’s really excited to help me.

Next I contacted my friend Holly, who has a goal to run three consecutive miles by the end of the year. I told her that the only way she could say no to running the Dam to Dam 5k with me is if she is busy that day. Turns out she didn’t have an excuse, so I recruited her for my running buddy. She thinks she’s crazy for accepting, but she’s been running short distances for a couple of years… I am a complete non-runner, so really we are both crazy! But, we should run similar speeds and this will allow both of us to work toward our individual goals. (NOTE: I’m actively recruiting lots of people to join my team – the more the merrier – so prepare for an invite, or four!)

Finally, I became a Facebook fan of the Couch to 5K Running Plan and I downloaded a running application to my phone. The Couch to 5k Running Plan is designed to train new runners to run a 5k in nine weeks by walking/running three times a week for about thirty minutes at a time. Since Dam to Dam is in 12 weeks, it should work out about right.

Mission accomplished. Now I have another seemingly impossible task to scare me into going to the gym regularly. Also, I have set a short-term goal to help me to meet my long-term BMI goal for the year. Finally, I get to spend time with my co-workers and friends advocating a healthy lifestyle, which is truly my passion.

Wish me luck! And, let me know if you would like to run Dam 2 Dam with me!

A lesson I’ve learned as I’ve grown up is…

Get overdraft protection on your checking account. Without it you might overdraw your account and end up paying $40 for a Café Mocha after the fees are charged. Overdraft protection usually free, which sure beats the nasty fees at a time when obviously you are lacking money anyway. Besides, it’s like having a security blanket for your wallet. What could be better than that? Sign up.

Now that we are in March, I’m going out on a limb to say that I think the winter weather is probably behind us. But, what a winter it was! Des Moines experienced the snowiest winter season (December-February) on record with a whopping 61.2 inches of snowfall, which far surpassed the normal of 24.7 inches. In addition, it snowed 33 days of the season which set a new record for the most days with measurable snowfall. Of the 33 days, 19 of them produced snow accumulation of more than one inch which also set a record. And, all that snow piled up to set the record average snow depth for the winter at 10.5 inches.

In addition, the frigid temperatures that averaged 19.8 degrees (4.2 degrees below normal) earned 2010 the title for the 20th coldest winter on record and the coldest winter season since 2000-2001. Finally, as of February 28, the season held fourth place for the most consecutive days in which the temperature has not reached 45 degrees or higher.

Since I’m originally from Iowa, I’m used to cold winters. But, I didn’t realize how cold it was until one sunny day when it was about 20-degrees and I was thinking about how warm it felt. Just then a random guy began to talk with me about how cold it is. As luck would have it, he’s from Montana, where it starts snowing in October! I guess it must have been cold after all!

The combined heavy snow and low temperatures caused snow drifts to climb so tall that people couldn’t see around them when driving and resulted in many accidents. In addition, it caused potholes big enough that I was afraid I’d lose my SUV in some of them. To say we deserve spring is an understatement.

This week the daytime temperatures were about 40-degrees, the sun came out, and it even rained a few times. As I drove around town, I was struck by the massive amounts of melting from day to day. After setting records like the area did over the winter, it’s no wonder that there was a lot of snow to melt. But, what continuously shocked me is all of the signs that began to reappear from under the snowdrifts.

The signs say things like “Child Care,” “For Sale by Owner,” and my favorite “Snow Removal 515-XXX-XXXX.” I didn’t notice the signs getting covered up during the cold dark days of winter, but I sure did notice them as their surroundings began to heat up. And then it occurred to me that the hiding and exposing of the signs is similar to sin in our lives. Sin, like the signs, is easy to cover up but eventually things will heat up and it will be exposed.

Most of the time people don’t go looking for sin. It usually starts subtly with a lustful glance, an extra piece of candy, a sip of alcohol, or something else. Then if we aren’t careful the look, candy, alcohol, or something increases bit by bit to the point that it consumes us.

I can talk about this because I’m not innocent. I’ve experienced the slow fade from a sinless life to a painfully sinful life and back. I bet you have too.

What I find the most interesting though is that as painful as the warm up and subsequent exposing of sins is, it’s nothing in comparison to the cold covering of sins. We flock to sins because we are trying to fill something inside us. Unfortunately, as we hide it from others, we usually just feel more lost and lonely than ever. Some of the saddest points in my life have been a direct result of sin that I brought on myself. Once I turn away from the sin and ask God for forgiveness I feel fulfilled.

Paul talks about this in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 “Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.”

As the evidence of winter melts and summer arises, I urge you to dig down deep past the snow into your soul and look to see if you’ve covered up any sins. If you discover even a hint of sin, repent! It is far better to repent of your sins than it is to cling to your sin and reject God’s grace.

P.S. All of the winter record facts are from the National Weather Service.  A special thank you goes out to my awesome mother who spent the time researching all of the records broken in Iowa during the winter season so I could write this post. I’m SO blessed to have a Mom that enjoys researching!