Over the past thirty some odd years I have joined a number of gyms with the intent of getting healthy and staying fit. The results have become so predictable, it’s kind of funny that I would expect things to be different each time.
It goes something like this:
- Find a hip and popular gym.
- Hear the sales pitch, all the while thinking, can we just get on with it.
- Sign a bunch of paperwork, blah, blah, blah.
- Pay all sorts of make-believe fees.
- Buy some fancy schmancy workout clothes.
- Show up back at the gym the same day, ready to conquer the world.
- Try out every piece of equipment, racket ball court, pool and steam room.
- Shower and pack up stinky clothes.
- Drive home feeling like the Six Million Dollar Man.
- Pass out by 8:30 due to total exhaustion.
- Wake up next morning barley able to walk
- Go to gym a half dozen more times over the year, mostly out of guilt for the $40 per month automatically withdrawn from my bank account.
- Try everything to cancel this ridiculous gym membership.
- Swear I will never do that again.
- Do it all over again a few years later.
What is it that always draws me back to repeat this same cycle of events? Well if I am like you it’s the reality that I need to be doing something to keep my body healthy. I see all those fit people on early morning TV working out and getting fit and so I conclude this must be the way it’s done.
Well friends, I have something to share with you that only took thirty years to figure out, “do the thing you love”. I’ll say it again, “Do that thing you love to do”. I have been running for just about three years now and that’s a lot longer than any gym membership I ever kept. I’ve started to realize that while we all know we need to exercise, stay fit and be healthy, we often try to fulfill that reality in a way not natural to the way we’re wired. Obviously some folks love to go to the gym and have been doing so since Jack LaLanne was wearing a onesie but for many of us, the gym feels boring and repetitive. I’ve discovered that my active life needs to have variety to keep it exciting and interesting.
So what do you love to do? Maybe like me, you get bored running the same routes all the time and like some change of scenery? Maybe you enjoy a little rain now and then to mix things up and keep it interesting. Look back in your life to the things you enjoy the most and see how those can be incorporated into your running life. Maybe you like to get on the trail or take photographs of nature, could those things become a unique part of your running adventure? Break the stereotype rules of what you perceive running to be and make it unique to the way you’re wired. You might be surprised to find a whole group of folks just waiting to do something a little different than the norm.
See you soon on the road to adventure,
Greg Paskal
Lead Adventurer
In 2011, I watched as my wife, Cindy completed her very first 5k, sponsored by a church in the Plano, Texas area. At the time, I had added a regimented walking routine to my daily activities but running was out of the question. I thought, there is no way this guy could run for any length of time and that was just the way it was going to be. A few months later Cindy decided to sign up for her second 5k run, sponsored by Luke’s Locker in Allen, Texas called Trek or Treat. Several months before the race, she met up with a number of other runners all getting ready to prepare for this race. I decided to join her but only with the idea that I would walk while she did her running thing.
Then I met Jim, one of those guys who share a word or two with you that changes your life forever. Those words to me were “Hey, were heading down hill, you might as well run.” So I did, I ran that short downhill section and that was the beginning of an amazing transformation in my life.
As the weeks progressed I decided to run a little farther until the day came I ran an entire mile without stopping, it was a miracle, I mean amazing, how could this guy who was in his mid 40’s become a runner for the first time in his life? Week after week I continued to increase my distance, Jim and the other runners coaching and encouraging me along the way. I decided to sign up for the Trek or Treat 5k and participate with Cindy in this event. That was my very first race and a major accomplishment in my life. I was stronger and fitter than I had been in years and felt great knowing I could do something at this stage of my life that would have a positive impact for years to come.
After completing the Trek or Treat 5k I was hooked. I wanted to continue running and so I did. By nature I am a very spontaneous and adventurous person and these characteristics came into play with my running as well. I found that while I could run the same routes week after week, that this was, well…pretty boring. I wanted to get out and see some things and what better way than to put on my running shoes and head out somewhere and explore. This led me to visit many locations including the Katy Trail, White Rock Lake, Arbor Hill Nature Preserve, Chisholm Trail and many other places, each one providing its own sense of excitement and challenge. I soon came to realize that combining both running and my sense of adventure invigorated me to stick with running and enjoy this place I call home.
With a couple of years behind me and a number of exciting races now completed, I started to get a sense that I may not be the only person who enjoys a sense of adventure and who might like to blend that with their love of running. This is where the idea for Venture Runs came from, a place for other runners in the North Dallas area to learn about running events in interesting and adventurous locations. It could become a place where I would post some location I would be running at and others could come along and join in the adventure.
Let the adventure begin, I hope you choose to come along.
Greg Paskal
Lead Adventurer
Even thought I often feel ready to run, I have learned to pay attention to my running schedule and not to over due things. This lesson came after more than once instance when I decided I felt ready to run so why not do just that. This lead to a number of injuries that were avoidable. As with all things in life, it is possible to get too much of a good thing. A smart athlete considers not only do they feel like doing something but is the exercise investing in the long term.
Ok, I admit it, I’m a Techie through and through and that includes when I run. Like many folks, I started by simply using my iPhone while running but soon experimented with a number of Apps, heart monitor and a Bluetooth watch.
Looking forward to writing a number of articles explaining how I came about using the various tech I run with and what you should know if your are looking to add some tech to your running.
