Sitting Is Killing You AND Your Back

I sit a lot during the day. I study. I listen in my counselor’s chair. After sitting at my desk for long periods of time, the center of my back aches. I creak when I stand up. Sitting hurts!

Sitting is so much easier than standing! I like to relax and  watch a little Hulu or a movie now and then. I watched the Superbowl last night, but spent a good portion of it cleaning and standing around talking. I’ve tried working on my computer while standing, but it’s work. A plus during my day is that I climb fifteen stairs about a dozen times a day. That helps! And I try to exercise at least thirty minutes a day. Still, I came across a great graphic that helps understand the benefits of NOT sitting. It’s a little sensationalized, but basically true.

In the Moment: a Follow Up to Yesterday’s Blog

Yesterday, I tried to live in the moment. It was a day to recuperate, write, exercise, study, make phone calls, run errands, but few people to see.

Denard Robinson "in the moment"

At 6:20 I woke to have my QT. Sounds great, but I’m reading through Ezekiel, a tough read! I really need to focus to hear God’s voice through that Wild Man Prophet.

At 6:45 I went outside to get the newspaper and began getting ready for a bike ride that never came. I couldn’t find a few pieces of equipment so wandered through the house and garage looking. Since I was trying to live “in the moment” I didn’t panic or complain. I took a detour, answered about ten emails, wrote in my journal, read and studied, and wrote my list of things to do for the week, so that by 8:40 I had decided that rest was just as essential as exercise. I took a nap!

At 10:30, I emailed Rhonda to let her know I could come out to her school to study in the afternoon if she wanted me. Of course, she wanted me! I now had about two hours to get some things done around the house. I mowed the lawn, washed dishes, fixed a couple of broken things as I puttered through each moment. Even though I was “getting something done” I stressed a couple of times about “not getting anything done” meaning, my big projects, those “big linebackers pawing across the line on Tuesday and Wednesday” kept trying to distract me.

At 1:30, I ate some great leftovers for lunch, showered, and headed out to the library to meet Rhonda. On the way, my best friend from High School, Dave Hodson called, so we had a quick catch up on the last couple of months. I had started to listen to a Joyce Meyer podcast on “Improving Your Mental Health”, but “in the moment” I let Dave in, and loved the encouragement he gave. We reviewed the Michigan game from Saturday, and spoke of future victories for the Brady Hoke team, but in true Michigan fan pessimism we hedged our bets on a winning season. That was definitely an “out of the moment” moment as we fretted about the future.

Rhonda and I sat together for a couple of hours studying, reading, and interrupting each other’s focus with tidbits of conversation. I was trying to write and gather my thoughts about Christian community, but she kept breaking my moment! Or was she “my in the moment” moment? She was the moment! So, we talked.

I left her at 4:45 to head home to pick up Nathan from swimming and fix dinner. We don’t eat out often! The food’s not as healthy, and the cost is way too unhealthy. I thought of what Nathan would like, and planned a spaghetti dinner. I cooked while Nathan did some homework. We ate pretty quickly, cleaned the kitchen so Rhonda would shower praise on us when we came home, and then, Nathan remembered he needed both lunch and a breakfast packed for tomorrow. He swims at 5:00 am on Tuesdays. Rather than complain, we were “in the moment” putting aside our agenda and made breakfast and lunch. Once we started working it went by fast. He did most of the work.

We settled down for a movie about 8:00. Rather than running out to Redbox we found a movie through our cable internet subscription. It was great, a little violent and cussy, but a great story and acting. At 9:00, Nathan paused the movie and went to bed.

So, Rhonda came home, saw the clean kitchen, showered praise on us, and kissed Nathan good night. We talked a little, sat at the kitchen table doing our writing and homework, and crawled into bed about 11:30.

Stress is always just around the corner if I let it. Today WAS a productive day. I didn’t get much done on my list, but at least I HAVE A LIST. I have some priorities for the week, I’m rested and ready for the next linebacker who breaks through the line to get me today.

A Favorite Hike x 2…No… x 3

Whenever any asks me if I have a favorite pie I always say, “Blueberry, uh, and pecan.” Then, I remember I really like strawberry rhubarb, Derby Pie, and raspberry pie and… So, with hikes, maybe I have more than one favorite, but here are two favorite hikes recently taken on the Appalachian Trail close to where we live. The first is to the top of Roan Mountain. Since there are no trees this area is called a “Bald.”

The other hike is to Laurel Falls. I forgot to mention that both of these trails are parts of the Appalachian Trail. Laurel Falls has two ways to get to it. We prefer taking visitors to the falls from the top. We start at a point where the Appalachian Trail enters the Pond Mountain forest, follows an old railroad train trail over one gorge and through two “canyons”. We leave the main trail to go down almost 400 stairs to the falls below. We can climb an undeveloped trail up to the top of the falls, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A typical lower canopy view of dense Rhododendrons along the Appalachian trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A third hike takes us up to about 2,500 feet above sea level, a vertical climb of almost 1,000 feet to get a view of the Nolichuckey River Gorge below. Many times a day a coal train with at least 100 cars stretching almost half a mile crosses over the river and winds its way through the valley screeching all the time as its heavy load presses on the curved rails. Total time up and down on the switchbacks including a stop at the top for lunch was about two and a half hours.

Family friends from a previous hike showing the Nolichuckey Gorge behind and the railroad bridge over the river.

 

 

 

 

 

Dave’s Killer Running Schedule for 50ish’s

From my friend Dave’s athletic storehouse of wisdom…

“As with many things in life, consistency, devotion, and doing the work is key to success. The law of the harvest. It’s roughly a plan that I got from Runnersworld many years ago. I’ve used it a number of times with success.

“Take it easy as you get back into running.

“I always follow a plan like this as I comeback after a long layoff:

go for 30-40 minutes, always warmup and stretch, 3 runs a week, always a day rest

week 1    run 1min, walk 3 min (8 times)

week 2    r 2, w 2

week 3     r 3, w 2

week 4    r 4, w 2

week 5    r5 w1.5

week 6    r6  w 1.5

week 7    r7 w1

week 8    r8 w1

week 9    r10 w1

week 10    r15 w1

week 11    all run

“I keep a training log on a small calendar to keep myself disciplined in the approach.

Lean Mean Fightin’ Machine…Dave “Face” Hodson

Dec. 5, 2008, Swim Workout

4 x 50 moderate speed warmup

12 x 50 on 1:45 fast (avg. time was :43)

500m (10 min)

5 x 100m on 3:00 (avg. time was 1:45)

12 x 25 sprints on :45 (avg. time was :22)

100 cooldown

Time: 60 min; Distance: 2100m