Reality Check

The New Year has brought with it many changes in my life not the least of which is the reality that I am yet another year older!

Yes, another year older and not a whit closer to my goal of "immortality!!"

"Immortality?" you say? Why not? Just look at some others. Jack Lalanne for example. He is only one major example of someone who has fought the fight and continues to win. He does the things that allow him to live a long and vital life.

I'm not talking here only about longevity. Many people are able to live long and productive lives but so few actually thrive.

When I was in my twenties I lived in a boarding house for "gringos" in Mexico City called Casa Gonzalez. There I met a "young" lady who was over 90. During her lifetime she had been a nurse, a teacher, a mother of three, and had also owned, at the age of 72, a restaurant! When I met her she spent her time between Mexico City, Seattle and Costa Rica. She walked two miles each day and never ate anything that might be detrimental to her health.

Now that's thriving! How exciting!

So what do I do now?

Keep getting out of the sack in the morning and getting my chubby little butt out the door as often as I can. At least three to four days each week is my goal. More is better.

What have you decided to do to better the quality of your life? And don't forget. We're not looking for just a few "resolutions." It's the "reality/gut check" that we're need here.

Anything else is just words.

Altitude?... What Altitude?

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be able to attend a men's retreat with the men from my Church. We went to a camp at Big Bear, Calif. along with a few hundred other guys from around the Southwest.

We were at about 7,000 ft. altitude. I live at approx. 2,000 ft. Needless to say the oxygen supply was somewhat different than what I am used to.

Along with many(!) hills and valleys (I think my cabin was about 3,000 ft. below the rest rooms!) I was able to get in a couple of outstanding workouts.

They say that running, or just exercising (even horseshoes was strenuous), at a higher altitude than you are used to increases ones aerobic capacity at lower elevations.

I must admit that at my present level of fitness, or lack of, I was not able to notice much change in my performance. However, many years ago, when training for the St. George (UT) Marathon, I found that by training both at the Grand Canyon and at Mt. Charleston (near Vegas) I was able to develop my ability to run the beginning of St. George with far greater ease than the previous year.

Over the years many world class athletes have indicated the need to train at altitude for major races. Unfortunately us regular Joes' just can't pick-up and go to our favorite altitude training facility whenever a "big" race comes along.

For me the best alternative has been to find the grandstand at the local High School and do stair work. At least I can get above street level that way! Or, if they lock the field during non-school hours, some simple interval work will do in a pinch.

Suffice it to say that unless you are, indeed, world class you can probably get by without altitude training unless the mountains are close by.

Our goal is to keep it simple.