If not now, when?

The battery on my .mp3 player concked out on me mid-run a few Sundays ago, so I switched over to Pandora on my phone. One of my stations is “Papa Roach”, and I was cruising along to some nice, fairly hard-core alternative rock. The songs fit my mood, fit the miles, and all was right with the world. Ahhhh…running.

Soon enough a song came on that had some almost unintelligible lyrics. This song, in particular, made me stop running long enough to see who was singing/screaming in my ears. Turns out it was Papa Roach. The line that made me take notice was one of my long favourite quotations, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” Bingo. Exactly that.

A few years back I was ‘enrolled’ in a week long class that tried to teach me new coping skills, how to get along with others, and how to be more ‘mindful’. Did you just shudder, too? Yea, i can’t even type that word without getting sweaty palms. No one has ever been able to explain what ‘mindful’ means, at least not in different terms than I already apply to the way I think (at least in my mind….)

A new chapter is unfolding in my life. Hang on, this one is going to be quite a ride.

ne jamais abandonner

 

ever.

Fun Foto Friday

Someday, he'll kill me for doing this.....but it flippin cracks me up.
Have a great weekend!

Let's brainstorm, shall we???

We have decided to have an employee health fair in August. I am kinda the defacto project leader for this, and i would really like it to kick ass.
It won't be an all day event, but will have  main sessions: one in the morning for the night shift, and one in the mid-late afternoon for the day and evening shift workers.
During the day I'd like to have a few scattered 'lunch and learn' round table discussions on healthy living topics.
Ready?
GO.
what would you like to see at an employee health fair (no pony rides, sorry!)?
what would you NOT like to see?

Can you relate to me any experiences that you've had at employee health fairs that were either good or bad?

Thank you so much for your input. If i do this right, it may become (another) part of my job. Which would actually make me happy.

Lemme have some ideas!!!! (thanks)
-g-

Hey, Vern~!

well, vernAL POOL, that is. Bryce and I went for a woodsy jaunt today, and he shares with us some things that he has learned about frogs...

hey, you KNOW it is gonna be funny. just wait for it......

peace!

“I like Kai, because he’s the leader.”

Bryce and I were just watching episodes of “Ninjago”. He made the above comment completely out of the blue. I am quite happy to know that our 6 year old already recognizes a leader, particularly one of the ‘good guys’.

Leaders are everywhere. All around us. Even in the mirror. Yep, that’s right. We are ALL leaders. Some are more vocal, while some are the quiet and reserved type. Leaders can lead without even really knowing it, or they can stand up on soapboxes and shout to the masses.

As active people, at whatever level, we are Leaders. Our actions serve to show other people who are looking for that ‘reason’ or ‘proof’ or ‘support’ that it CAN be done, and it doesn’t have to cost a lot of money for special dieticians, gym memberships, or fancy clothes. Wellness and improved fitness is pretty much readily available at our fingertips 24/7. Lead the way.

From the front. Lead from the front, not the back. What do I mean? Put another way I could say, “Lead by Example”. What kind of an example are you setting? Is it one that others could follow? Is it one that YOU should follow?

I often look at my actions with these questions in mind, and I must admit that I am not always able to answer in the affirmative. During those times, I try to think more about what I am doing and how I could do it better. For me, that doesn’t mean better than someone else. It means better than I was yesterday.

What does “better” mean for you, and how do you project yourself as a Leader?

Thanks! –g-

Relentless Forward Motion

As you may know, I am training to blow away my half marthon PR on 3JUN12. Adam from http://www.theboringrunner.com/ has been putting me through some rigorous training, and I am a much better runner because of it. Looking for a good, personable, online coach? Check him out.
Yesterday I had the dreaded (read: much anticipated) 12x400s on tap. I had planned to do them at a local high school track, but things being what they are, we ended up going about half an hour north to watch our nephews play baseball. Turns out it was in the town where I went to school (1-12) and right across the street from the school (yes, one building. but more than one room, so we're good, right?) in a newly created field. I'd cleared it with Tracey, and headed over to the school to try to create a .25 mile loop on the playground. There is a service road that runs around the outside, and I found that if I ran that, looped around the swing set and back onto the road, the entire loop made for .25~.26 miles. Instead of a 200m rest, I stopped the garmin and walked along the covered....walkway? that surrounds the school. Lotsa memories there, good and bad. I think that I set off TOO FAST on my first three, so decided to scale it back a bit for the middle six and then try to blast out three fast ones at the end (sounds like my last trip to Taco Bell). As you can see, the last 3 weren't as fast as the first three, but lemme tell you, the effort was all there!!! Yowza!
There were many times during this workout when i just wanted to quit. I mean, really. Those stupid "why are you doing this" demons kept creeping back into my mindset. But I did not let them. I focused on each lap, my breathing, my turnover, the memories of having played on that field for so many years. I rescued 3 balls from the swampy ditch that borders the playground, too. That was fun. On my last lap i was really reaching for the stars, trying to get that same 1:30 that I started had managed at the beginning; but it was not to be. I left it all out there on the playground as I had so many times in the past playing 'boys chase the girls' or soccer, or kickball.

Never quit. Never give up. Relentless forward motion.