Go figure! I just don't understand some people.

 

Today's quote: 
“Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.” -unknown


First the good stuff:

I have discovered then when I DON'T run in the morning, my day does not go as well. I'm actually MORE tired by the end of my long day-I don't know the science or whatever that makes it true, I just have observed that it is. I know when I don't run I feel guilty, lazy, and get mad at myself for caving in. Maybe the anti-version of those feelings all being positive is the recipe for a better day.

More good news:

I am ordering my first Advocare order today. All other products were given to me by my friend who approached me about it after seeing my facebook posts about changing my life. I tell him he's like a drug pusher-gave me the free "product" now I am hooked :)
I was not interested at first but he asked for my mailing address and I gave it, then asked why? He says-I'm sending you a book-well he didn't send a book but he is helping me turn the pages to a new life. Just as I don't want this to be just another political blog(due to my tea party activities), I don't intend to turn my blog into just another product sales page, but I will mention news pertinent to revamping my life. If interested in Advocare then click on the link to the right that says "Get yours here".



Here's an observation I've made at my job when discussing my latest morning jog or other physical activity. Some people are supportive even while feeling like they should be more active themselves. They say things like: "that's great Don-keep it up man, I need to be doing that myself".


Others actually seem to resent what I'm doing and make comments like:
"You won't catch ME out there running before work-I get enough exercise here"-like I don't work as hard.
Or "Man are you crazy?! Why would you be out there jogging when you:
could get more sleep, work as hard as we do, yada yada."

Maybe they don't resent me but it sure seems like it at least a little. I can only guess its because I force them to examine themselves and due to their physical condition they don't like it. Hopefully I can inspire them if they are ever ready to make their own changes.

A man's got to know his limitations.

Title quote by Detective Harry Callahan(Clint Eastwood) in Magnum Force.

Yesterday afternoon I decide to go for a jog. Now during the week I keep my morning limit to about 3.25 miles. I'm winded after but not so much as I can't handle it and my workday.

Yesterday I decide to stretch my limit as I'm on the weekend. Now I did work today but it was only driving to Atlanta and back-not in/out the tractor and trailer making deliveries like a normal day. So anyway I'm thinking I can handle a pretty good bump up and decide on a route.

Now my regular run I've mapped out online to get an accurate estimate for my 5K training. Yesterday I pick a route and think its about 5 miles.

1. I was wrong....it was 6.
2. I normally run in the cool morning, not the heat of late afternoon.
3. I like taking a bottle of water to sip on but didn't yesterday.
4. all this equals a very tough eye-opening experience

I STRUGGLED to make it back. I make no pretense, I was stumble/walking, there was no jog left in me. At one point I'm on an overpass leaned on rail with both hands looking down at RR tracks. 2 cars go by and slow down some. I look over my shoulder and it seemed they were giving me  a weird look.....I wondered if they thought I was going to jump....the problem was if I wanted to jump I don't think I had the strength left to pick my leg over the guard rail.....then the ambulance went by slowing down as I stumbled. I was thinking yep, they are looking in the mirror to see if I may be the next customer. Ha! Not today.

So I may be ready to take on a 5k but definitely not a 10k yet. Funny thing is I feel pretty good today. I was afraid I'd be all stove up and stiff. I believe my Advocare supplements may be helping not only with my weight and energy but my physical recovery. I can't wait for my large order next week so I can start approaching friends about it. I BELIEVE IN ADVOCARE.

Not enough hours in the day

Today's Quote:
"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others." Ayn Rand

No real news today. I took the day off from any fitness activity to allow my body to rest-I also worked 13 hours today so that wasn't a hard decision.

I am very excited about the possibilities of my future. The business I'm getting into, my fitness level, my creativity, etc. all are helping me to want more hours in my day.

I have a couple of ideas for inventions I want to pursue but have no extra time right now.

I would love for any readers to offer comments or suggestions about how I can improve my blog. I will keep doing this as it is therapeutic for me but I also want to inspire others who maybe have been in the "life has passed me by" mindset.

"Stay frosty!" (I love that)

Go, go, go

Today's quote: Procastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried.-Unknown

Hit the road this morning and ran 3.25 miles before work. About the 2 mile mark I was wondering if I had bit off more than I could chew. I had to be at work by 7 which required leaving by 6:40. I couldn't take a shortcut-there wasn't one. So I bore down and focused on maintaining a good pace whether in my jogging 4 minutes or walking 1 minute(new strategy a friend recommended).

With the same friend's encouragement I became a distributor of Advocare products today(click link on top of right column). I started taking them myself Sunday and am already sold. The energy drink Spark is the best I've ever had in this way: I actually feel it work. I've tried rockstar, redbull, etc. But I've never been able to feel the energy, sharp focus, and readiness that this gives me IN 15 MINUTES.

I will be running in my first 5K race EVER on August 13th!

Well its been a full day til next time: "Act as if what you do makes a difference-it does".

To Run or Not to Run

Today's Quote:

"Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward."
Victor Kiam

I woke up this morning at 5:45 to the sound of rain. As I lay there slowly coming to life, I thought, "well its raining and you think you are a runner. So are you going to get out of bed and run in the rain, or roll over and try to snooze some more?" I got up and ran.

Not only ran but loved jogging in the rain. I'm going to be soaking wet after my 3 miles anyway, but with rain it is so much cooler. My wife thinks I'm nuts but she will think that anyway(with some justification-just not as much as she thinks-ha).

Saw some friends and acquaintenances today and one told me that I looked like I felt good and was is a good mood. I said "you're right I do feel good, I'm in a great mood, and I love it". Since turning over the "It's NEVER too late" leaf, my mental state has vastly improved. I still have problems to deal with but it really seems to be easier.

Call it a positive attitude, a product of physical activity, or psychological mumbo jumbo; I am handling life better and enjoying it more.

I didn't go to work until 12:30 pm today-my hours were getting too high for the week. I got hooked on a movie and watched it before getting out and jogging. I paid the price in the delay because it was HOT. I jogged 3 miles in 40 minutes. Not fast by far but I'm trying to work my way up slowly. Truthfully, with my weight and bad knees, if I tried to outright run I would probably wind up in surgery. They sound like rice krispies now.

Figured my BMI with a formula I found and discovered its higher than I thought-a 36!

Right now, I am wondering if doing this blog is worth it. No one seems to be interested, not that I'm a great writer or that I have an interesting life, but I thought at least a couple of people would subscribe. Oh well.

When dachshunds attack!

Today's quote:

Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do.
Orison Swett Marden

This morning I decided to walk instead of swim laps. I walked 1.25 miles as fast as I could walk before heading to work. Had 3 dogs come after me. 2 were half grown mutts but one was a dachshund. I really thought he was going to bite me. I stomped my foot at them and the 2 mutts yelped and ran. The dachshund ran at me but stopped about 2 feet short. I've never seen a dachshund act belligerent before. They've always just waddled and wagged. Guess he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. 

Runaway on the treadmill

I decided tonight to hit the treadmill after pushups and the ablounger. I'm doing fine about 15 minutes at a very brisk walk when I put my foot down and it feels like it hit a slick spot. I lost my balance, went to flailing my arms grabbing for the handles, knocking a broom leaning up beside me flying. I had the kill switch hooked to me so it shut down or no telling what I would have wound up doing to myself. Thankfully no video exists of this incident.

Started working on creating my "It's Never Too Late List" for accountability, advice, suggestions, etc. I'm not happy with the formatting on it, but no time to change it now.

Today's quote: "We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities."Ralph Waldo Emerson

Eeyore or Tigger? and other odds and ends

I was driving to Atlanta and back today for work trying to make a financial dent. I've always got my best thinking done on a run like this where I am in the truck not hopping in and out like my M-F work. I had a lot ideas today, one of which is a little crazy but here it is.

I somehow came up with idea of being compared to cartoon characters. Crazy huh? But I believe there's something to be said for an off the wall idea. I realized that I had been acting like Winnie the Pooh's bud, Eeyore. Kinda of like "I'm just a donkey, pile more junk on me life, that's all I'm good for, woe is me"...weird I know and I'm basing all this off what I remember from the cartoon from MANY years ago.....Of course with that comparison comes this question: Who am I now? Remember Tigger? He bounced everywhere, was enthusiastic, took risks which sometimes didn't work out but he was happening to life, not vice versa. So now I know-Tigger is my new alter ego!

Who are you?

I also had a creative "firestorm" for lack of a better term. In the space of 15-20 minutes I had the inspiration for this post above, I laid out the framework for 2 songs(I've dabbled some before when running long haul but have never tried to pursue it) and a short speech for an event I'll be attending next Saturday.

I'm not sure where some of my brainstorms are coming from but its like my brain is in hyper drive the last few days. Is it the change in diet, activity level, or positive attitude? Does it matter?

No image shaping here: I also went to the grocery store for my wife this afternoon when I got back from Atlanta. She normally does the shopping but was feeling poorly and wasn't able to get everything yesterday. I came back with 3 wrong items which cost us $10 extra due to sales on the items I should have gotten. And as my wife correctly pointed out, after 21 years of marriage I should be able to remember what she normally buys. So just so you know, I'm still a dummy on some things. I can remember the settings on a machine I worked on in my pre-trucking days 15 years ago but can't remember simple things-how crazy is that?

No fitness activity today, saving up for in the morning when I'll hit the pool for laps before work.

Live man walking

I went walking this morning. Why walk instead of jog? Well I kept up a good pace walking when my 5 mile "jog" the other day was a jog in form but not in speed at times. I have bad knees and back so I decided to walk until I'm in better shape to cut down on jarring those weak points. I also don't have any running shoes per se yet.

I did roughly 4 miles and worked up a good sweat. I wanted to cool off around the ball fields I was walking around but the city had removed the handles to the only faucets I could find outside the locked areas. I guess vandals are the reason. So I hit the cold tub when back home and have been fighting with setting up this blog's colors, fonts, and layouts ever since. ARGH!

Looks like I'm going to add "learn html" to my to-do list so I can create the vision in my head. I'm not having much luck with the pre-loaded idiot proof(yeah right) system.

Wet workout

I finally was able to hit the pool this morning before work. On the way there I remembered I had to be at work at 6:30 instead of the normal 7:00. So I'm thinking GREAT I finally get to make it and now I don't have time for a decent workout.

I decide "OK I can go check everything out since I haven't been there in years and get in the water for maybe 10 minutes. It won't be much but I don't want to wait til another day".

So I get there, pay my buck, change quickly into my trunks and hit the water. I swam for a whopping TWO laps in the Olympic size pool and was totally exhausted. I mean I struggled to make that last one.  So swimming is MOST definitely a great workout and I am DEFINITELY not in shape.

Powerful beyond measure

Forgot I wanted to post this sent to me by a friend. Both quotes are by Marianne Williamson. Please read through all the way even if you are not a believer so I can ask you a question.


"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?(my highlight) We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

Another version:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear in that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the World.
There is nothing enlightening about shrinking
so that other people won't feel unsure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
As we let our own Light shine,
we consciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."

So even if you don't believe in God, can you deny the power that would energize your life if you lived as if other people needed your example to live by? What if you wanted to be a motivator to everyone who came in contact with you? WHAT IF people wanted to be like you?!

This is one of the most inspirational things I've ever read. I cannot fully put into words how it reachs me inside but I truly wish I had read it years ago. Who knows though, I might not have appreciated it then.

Working man's workout

No home workout tonight. I delivered 88 tires today so I think I can take the night off. I plan to get up in the morning and go by the city indoor pool. They open at 5:30-7:30 AM for swimming laps. It only cost $1! You can't beat that. I figure it will be easier on my Rice Krispy knees(snap, crackle, pop).

just a little more

Last night when I got home from work I did 20 minutes-combined treadmill, pushups, and crunches on ab lounger....it's not a lot but its a 100% increase over my after-work activity level 3 weeks ago. It was tough because I was sore from my probably ill advised jaunt on Independence Day but not unbearable.

Got to get to work documenting my list of goals ASAP.

The running? man

So today I’m sitting watching TV and it hits me-here you are on your butt doing nothing again. It will be dark and you will be mad because you didn’t accomplish anything. So I got up and decided to go for a walk, then I said heck, I’ll try jogging- I’m 48, 6’3′ and weigh 285 and I ran 1 mile ONCE in high school and walked 2 miles a few months ago. So I start and I RAN(loose interpretation of the word RAN) 5 MILES!! Now to the untrained observer I may have looked like a fat guy staggering slowly down the road but who cares! I'm hyped that I survived that distance. Of course I also had to discover the joy of an ICE COLD bath when done!

And best of all: my son told me before I left "you can call me to come pick you up if you need me too". How's that for motivation?! I would have crawled back first! Not to mention he's 20 and probably couldn't handle what I did.

The first 10 days

I decided on June 20th, 2011 to start the rest of my life. The part where I'm no longer passively waiting to die. The part where I pray for new paths in my life and then do what I can create them instead of waiting for it to fall in my lap.

Here's what all happened in the first 10 days(some by my action and some by ??)

1. I started exercising. A few tips from http://www.nerdfitness.com/ helped. I started slow(its tough after working over 12 hours in the Alabama/Florida heat). I did 5 minutes the first day. Then added at least a minute every day after. I will keep on until I do at least 30 minutes per day. I'm up to 15 right now.

2. I went to a tryout for the TV show Survivor. I haven't watched since I think the first or second year but hey, that doesn't mean I can't be on it. I actually got a laugh out of the film crew recording our one minute "why I should be on Survivor" video. So who knows? I might have a shot.

3. I got word to a presidential candidate I was interested in helping.(I am not going to use this blog for political reasons and don't intend do any political commentary here.) I received a message to email what I was interested in doing as they are looking for leaders in my state for the future. (Alabama is not an early state so nothing happens here until after Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, etc.)

4. A friend asked if I would like be involved in an online local talk radio show for our area. I had to decline FOR NOW due to a schedule conflict with my 60+ hour a week job.

5. Another friend saw me post about exercising on facebook and contacted me. He volunteered to mentor me through a nutrional program he sells to help people get in shape and to give me a great discount. I'm interested but want to see how I do first without supplements. I also can't justify to myself spending the $ when it can go towards debt.

6. I was invited to a meeting at a local restaurant by a friend.  A group of people meet every Monday night for conversation. They ask only that you invite people who can carry on a conversation with some intelligence. I met people from all ages, walks of life and occupations. They welcomed me and I had a great 2 hours discussing books, food, and life. I always enjoy talking to people who I know may be smarter than me, have more money, or more interesting life experiences but who aren't condescending.

7. Last but not least, I started this blog. The minutiae of getting the look right is a pain but its a great way to get some accountability if I have any readers keeping up with it...I guess they call them followers in the vernacular of the blogosphere but it seems weird to use that term...like a cult leader or something LOL.

It's like my pebble of action and attitude is starting a small avalanche of positive possibilities. WOW!

Why I started this blog

Why a blog?
I decided to start one after seeing the support received by others whose blogs I've read. Advice, tips, compliments, etc. from total strangers whose only motivation is to encourage or help you-how cool is that?  I don't know if I have the time needed to devote to this but I want to give it a shot. I know some make money with theirs-I don't see that happening and that's not my motivation anyway.

Why name it "The It's NEVER Too Late Blog"?
Because I believe there are a lot of people like me who are middle aged or older thinking their life has passed them by and they can't do anything about it. I hope this blog not only helps me with your support and encouragement but that if you need the same you can find it here. If you're alive its not too late to make some changes.

I am 48 years old and have felt like I was trapped in a box for a while now. The box has more than 6 sides, more like a soccer ball than a square box. Every little "side" came from one of my decisions. The box gets smaller and the pieces tougher to knock loose as I get older.

I don't believe my life and where it's at is the "fault" of anyone but myself. I believe MY DECISIONS=MY LIFE just as YOUR decisions=YOUR life. You may have obstacles and unexpected turns in your life's path but you make the decisions on how to respond. I am angry with myself for not making better decisions but I can't let that rule my life any longer. I can either have "wasted" 30 years and change or keep adding more waste until I drop dead.

I currently am a "local" pickup/delivery driver for a trucking company. I usually drive 250-350 miles per day and make 12-18 stops. I am home every night (+) but work 60 plus hours a week(-). I do some pretty physical work some days but am not in great shape(no exercise plus those big meals late at night after work from a wife who can cook FROM SCRATCH). Ironically I need the long hours because of my own financial decisions. My wife has a lot of health problems so I definitely need the health insurance-even so we've spent around $2000 on prescriptions, copays, etc. so far this year. I never finished college so my options are limited in the employment field. I would love to get out of trucking and do something more mentally stimulating  and make as much money but with all of the above its one tough piece of the box.

I want to travel and do some fun, interesting, challenging things(List to come later) but with my lack of time and money I've been feeling like it was impossible. I discovered the blog of impossible things (http://www.joelrunyon.com/) and Joel is an inspiration. I emailed him personally for advice even though he's half my age-numbers don't matter, results do and he has achieved some great results on his quest. He advised me to start small-do little things that are cheap or free that I've never done. He reminded me: exercise is free!! you don't need high priced gym memberships, equipment, etc. Just the mindset to get moving. If you get into shape you: have more energy for other goals, see positive results in your life which enables you take risks, think clearer because your body is "tuned up" better.

Well this intro has went on long enough, I don't want to run on and on in one post. I will leave you with this quote:

"Its never too late to become who you were meant to be"-this is now the slogan for my life.