"We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move. We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use." Tao te Ching by Lao-tzu, translation by S. Mitchell Hi folks! Thanks for stopping by! Most ... Read more
FitOldDog Is Not A Great Athlete But A Persistent One So Attitude Is More Important Than Genes For His Marathons
Hi folks! Thanks for stopping by! As you age you need to become increasingly aware of what is going on within and around your body if you want to stay in the game of life for as long as you can. This post was prompted by an article forwarded to me by my sister in Spain, and it's interesting in the nature of its implied underlying assumptions about what motivates most people to undertake marathons. I often ... Read more
Painted Ladies Followed By A Circadian Conflict Meditation Reminding FitOldDog That His Reactions Create His Unrest Not Disturbances Themselves
Hi folks! Thanks for stopping by! Life sends us lessons on a daily basis, but, as explained in that great movie, Groundhog Day, we have to be reminded over and over again before they finally sink in and we reach a state of relaxed contentment much, if not all, of the time. I live in a household where no one but myself has any apparent respect for natural light and dark cycles. I suspect this is simply due ... Read more
The Overarching Goal Of FitOldDog’s Blog Is To Make Our Lives Better Through The Encouragement Of Change For The Better As We Age
Life is most certainly wet and dynamic, and dynamism requires that one embrace beneficial change. Change of Diet: But what should one change, and how does one know if a particular modification of our lifestyle will reap benefits or not. The absolute answer is that you really cannot know for sure because we are embedded in complex networks, and networks have a way of responding unpredictably. Take food for ... Read more
A Running Cadence Lesson From My Dogs
Hi folks! Thanks for stopping by! Non-human animals are natural athletes, whilst we are burdened (and gifted) with an over active neocortex (that big lump of brain that causes us to solve problems, but worry about them too much). Non-human animals just seem to do what they do without really thinking about it, as far as one can tell. Though I'm sure they are having many more great thoughts and emotions than ... Read more
A Good Life Is About Recognizing Unhealthy Mind And Body Patterns And Then To Fix Them
Hi folks! Thanks for stopping by! We each possess and display evidence of many patterns of behavior in our bodies and minds (are the mind and body separate things or one entity? I suspect the latter!). Some of these patterns are conscious, such as my overwhelming discomfort with having my back to a room full of people, some are unconscious. But all of these patterns, including destructive tapes running in our ... Read more
Don’t Be Blindsided By Lack Of Body Awareness As You Age Or You’ll Beat Up The Only Body You Have
Hi folks! Thanks for stopping by! I suspect that improved body awareness applied to safe exercise for better health can open the road to enjoyable endurance racing and an active old age. In my last Ironman race a few days ago I had the opportunity to watch the runners, because I missed the bike cutoff (thank goodness, but that's another story). There was a consistent feature of these runners that caught my ... Read more
Exercise Tip: Train For The Conditions Or They’ll Take You Down But Sometimes Success Is Disguised As Failure
An important exercise tip, when training for endurance races, is prepare yourself for the expected conditions, but this is not always easy as conditions are not necessarily predictable. That said, if you run (or bike) into trouble, don't beat yourself up about it, if you gave it your best effort. Four of five months ago my youngest son, and great Ironman triathlete, Nigel, called and said, "Dad, I've signed up for ... Read more
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