Time and Distance: A Kid's Perspective

This was a conversation between two third graders today:

Bianca: "Ooh, I am going to tell my real dad about you and he is going to give you a ticket for not wearing your helmet on your bike!"

Dan: "I can't wear my helmet. I left it at the skate park and my mom says it's too far to go get it."

Bianca: "How far is it?"

Dan: "It's like 2 miles!"

Bianca: "You need to go and get it."

Dan: "I could ride my bike there, but that would take like 3 hours."

Bianca: (Laughs.) "Not three hours... you could ride to Virginia in 3 hours!"

I AM WARRIOR!

Yesterday my brother, Mark, and I ran the Warrior Dash near Lake Wales. It was incredible! It's described as 3.02 hellish miles with about 12 obstacles along the way. Kari and Mark's wife, Nicole, came to cheer us on and take pictures. The race is arranged into waves of a few hundred people every 30 minutes on Saturday and Sunday. We had a 12:30 time and were both driving in to meet up around 11:00. The fun started when we happened to find each other in the massive parking lot (think thousands of cars), parked just a few cars apart. And then Mark and I ended up in matching blue shirts and black shorts, totally unplanned.

There were a lot of costumed runners: superheroes, girls in prom dresses, jailbirds, a penguin, a bride (I don't know how she got through the mud in such a big dress), etc. Here at the start you can see some spartan-like warrior running backwards in front of me with his sword and taking pictures.

The race was more challenging than I imagined. I actually thought it was harder than a half-marathon. It was a different kind of challenge. With the half's, I was also better-trained, but the Warrior Dash still required more muscular strength and heart-pumpingness. I felt like I was out of breath the whole time; whereas with long runs, you can get into a rhythm and cruise without feeling that taxed.

About a quarter mile into the race, we turned a corner, out of view of spectators, and hit a 100 yard stretch of mud. Mud like I've never seen. There are no pictures of this mud. It is not on the Warrior Dash website. I don't know if people would sign up if they saw this mud. It was thick, black, heavy, and deep. I plunged into the middle, thinking I could just power through. My leg sank with mud above my knee. As I tried to pull my leg out, it felt like my shoe would pop off. After a few steps like this, I thought I would try to spread out my body weight and crawl. Bad idea. Now my legs and arms were stuck. Runners were stuck everywhere. Shoes were left here and there all along the course. I made my way to the edge where the mud wasn't quite as deep, but it was still challenging.

By the time I emerged from the pit, I was out of breath and black from my shoulders down. We proceeded to run, but I soon discovered that almost the whole running trail was that fluffy, sugar sand, like you can find at a beach, but gray. The sand clung to my mud shoes, forming heavy little bricks. I've run the distance of a marathon, but here, in the very first mile, I needed a walk break. A few obstacles in, we had to swim across a cold pond. The cold didn't really bother me, though, as I appreciated being able to get some of the black mud off my clothes and shoes.

Besides that initial mud pit, the constant sugar sand was the hardest part to overcome. Mark was so impressive. Nothing seemed hard for him, and he was zipping through the sand. But he was such a good sport, waiting for me when I got behind and didn't complete an obstacle without me. He always made sure I was okay and I watched him for a better strategy as to how to tackle an obstacle. At one point near the end, there was a pyramid of large concrete pipes - like something they would use in construction. I opted to walk across the lowest one, as I watched Mark leap onto the top pipe, run , and jump off like a kid on a playground.

We finished the race leaping over fire and then crawling through "nice mud" under barbed wire in front of the spectators. This is nice mud because it is liquid on top of a gummy mud bottom and you can actually move through it.

It was so fun to finish with my brother and celebrate together. After it was over, I immediately thought I would do it again. But I'd train better. I want to do it and be able to legitimately keep up with Mark. We hung out for awhile, got Kari a smoked turkey leg, and then tried to hose off as much mud as possible for the ride home.

And I want to thank my ever-encouraging wife, Kari, for making this happen. When I first learned about the Warrior Dash over a year ago, I wanted to do it. I always put it off, not sure who I could run with, not sure if I could do it. Kari never stopped prodding - lovingly pushing me to make my dreams happen. She never thinks my goals are too big, and shows me every day that abundant life comes in the journey of trying to meet your goals. When I first mentioned the race to Mark in November, I even spent the next month wondering if I could still do it. By the end of December, I was still hee-hawing. I am so glad for Kari's, "Do it. Just do it. Call Mark and sign up today."

However, as much as I love it, Kari does not want to get dirty.

Getting Healthy: Not Just a New Year's Resolution

I have never been one to make or keep New Year's Resolutions. So, I'm not going to start. But Kari and I are starting a new commitment or re-commitment to getting healthy. We've been talking about it for months, years maybe. We were pretty healthy when we ran the marathon in February 2010, although our eating was out of control. When I ran that many miles, I could get away with stuffing my face with Little Debbie's and anything I wanted.

But the marathon ended. My running ended. But the eating didn't. I gained almost 20 pounds in the months after the marathon. For the most part of 2011, we tried to get back into running. In September, we even got up to 5 miles. But the process has been painful, discouraging, and choppy. I did not exercise with consistency and let stress dictate my eating choices.

We lost some weight in 2011, but have a ways to go to be truly healthy. And happy. I need to lose weight for so many reasons. I tend to carry my weight around my belly: aka, heart attack fat. Those awful words should be motivation enough.

I also need to get healthy because the things in life that I enjoy the most involve activity. When Kari and I vacationed in Vermont in 2007, we explored Montpelier by running (literally) for over 8 miles. I like to hike, bike, and climb. One of our dream vacations is to go to the Grand Canyon and hike to the bottom of it. I don't want to miss out on life because I am not strong enough or conditioned enough to do something. I don't even want to physically struggle with the "chores" in life, like mowing the lawn, cleaning the tub, or fixing up the house.

I also want to live long with a high-quality of life. I don't want to be chained to medication or sidelined with knee pain. I don't want Lupus to get control of me. I don't want to develop diabetes. I love food so much (part of the problem) that I don't want out-of-control eating now to force me to eliminate entire foods later. If I cut back on the cake now, will it allow me to have a small piece every now and then the rest of my life?

I want to have children. I want to be healthy enough to conceive and grow a healthy baby without complications. I want to be able to take care of and play with all of our kids. And I don't want to pass my issues with food onto our children.

So, here are some changes that I am committing to. They are kind of listed in order of importance to me, but can occur concurrently. I am not waiting to master Step 1 before I move onto Step 2. But I also know that I probably can't get a grip on Step 7 before being comfortable with Step 1. Through all the steps, I know the main work that I need to do is to understand why I struggle with food. I don't want to use food for comfort anymore. When I feel stressed, I want to break the link that makes me automatically want chocolate. I still want to enjoy food and cooking, but I don't want to abuse it and be addicted to it. I need to pray and receive help from God, because I know I can't do it alone. I'm glad Kari is here to help, too - although she can be a little dose of Jillian sometimes. As she said to me the other day, "You can whine about it when I'm kicking your butt in circuits today."

Step 1: Increase exercise to 4-5 days per week. Vary routine to include weights, circuits, boxing, biking, and running.

Step 2: Decrease dessert to 1-2 times per week.

Step 3. Increase vegetable intake. I already eat 2-3 fruits per day. Most days I get between 1-3 vegetables, but I know I can do better. I want to use my Vitamix more to get more green leafy vegetables into my diet.

Step 4: Eat out less. We probably go to a sit-down restaurant once a month, but we tend to get fast food once a week (pizza, Chipotle, Chick-fil-A, Chinese take-out, Five Guys, etc.). I think something is out of whack in my life and priorities if I need this much convenience food.

Step 5: Control my portion size.

Step 6: Decrease processed foods. The main problem here is snack bars, like Luna bars or granola bars. I eat one a day. They are just so easy. And I also like crackers and pretzels. I've also been giving in to my love of chips lately, too. I don't eat them every day, but I think we've had at least one bag of chips in our pantry for 8 months. Chips used to be a rare occasion.

Step 7. Add vegetarian options for dinner that are bean-based, not cheese-based. It's easy to go vegetarian when I'm eating a pizza or grilled cheese, but those foods aren't any better than eating meat. I don't know how this step will work. We eat vegetable soup for lunch most days, but if I don't have some kind of meat at dinner, I feel like I haven't eaten. I get angry. I know it has to be mental, so my mind needs to start telling my body that beans are not the enemy.

I am blogging this to help me with my commitment. It's easy for me to sabotage my goals if no one knows about them. So, now they are published. You can ask me about it. Encourage me. But please, I already have Jillian, so try to be more Bob.

Fall Favorites

Back in the beginning of October, I woke up and told Kari how excited I was that Fall was finally here: college football, cool weather, the Saturday Morning Market, holidays, etc. Then, I got sad that October would be over soon. She said, "What?! It's October 1st! Don't worry, you have the whole month to go."

It's hard to believe that it's now January. And that I haven't blogged since September. So, here is a recap of some of my favorite things from this fall. And I'll tell you up front, although college football is one of my favorite things (especially when I get to make a special snack, like Ultimate Nachos or chicken wings), it will not make the list because I did not get to watch one Gator game that we won. Not ONE. I heard that we beat Ohio State today, though, so I will take that as a consolation and wait for next Fall.

Here are the Fall Favorites, in no particular order:

1. We got bikes! After a few days of test-riding, we decided on the Trek Neko S. We had to wait a week for the bikes to come in, but were at the store 2 hours after they came off the truck. I hadn't really ridden a bike since 1993, but that didn't stop us from riding to the Saturday Morning Market (9.5 miles round trip) for our first ride. In our 2 months of being bike-owners, we have ridden downtown multiple times, which includes a meandering path right along the water for about 2.5 miles. We even got to ride downtown for First Night, the St. Petersburg New Year's Eve celebration, and avoided the crazy traffic and parking.

2. This is also about biking, but deserves it's own slot. Over our break, we woke up on a Thursday and decided to ride to Weedon Island (approx. 14 miles round trip). The weather was perfect with clear, blue skies. Kari packed us a picnic and planned the route. We did a short hike to a 45-foot overlook tower, where we ate our lunch and enjoyed the views. On our way out we even saw a huge gopher tortoise.

3. Sister Weekend in Orlando! My sister, Jen, and I took a weekend trip to the Caribe Royale in Orlando in mid-October. I got to order French Toast from room service and the room had two TVs! The pool with a waterfall was warm enough for a swim and a trip down the 75-foot slide. We went to Downtown Disney to see Cirque du Soleil La Nouba - an incredible show that everyone who comes this way should see. I hope to take Kari to see it one day.

4. We went to the Saturday Morning Market's opening day in October. This was unusual for us because October is still normally too hot for me to be outside for very long. But this October started cool and dry. I love buying local organic produce and perusing all the food vendors. Kari picked out a great fig empanada from Empanada World.

5. On both Thanksgiving and Christmas break, we put some effort into home improvement. We painted the kitchen bright orange, which we had bought the paint for back in July. Kari did an amazing job reaching all the hard places above the cabinets.

And we just finished up hanging up pictures on our hallway wall. We've lived here over two years and finally have some pictures up! We are just waiting for Snapfish to deliver a photo of Kari's sister's kids for that one empty frame.

6. We took our last trip to the Lowry Park Zoo with our annual zoo passes. It was a longer than usual trip because we don't plan on getting passes again until our children are old enough to enjoy the zoo. I said goodbye to my Siamangs at Primate World, but didn't spend much time there because that's where I spent most of my time this year. My favorites from this trip were the Clouded Leopard cubs, which were chasing, playing, and climbing all over the place, the frogs in the Discovery Center, and riding the camel. If you ever get a chance to ride a camel, do it! And sit in the back. The camel's hump is very soft and it is so neat to sit up that high. (It makes me think that a goal for 2012 might be to ride a horse for the first time.)

7. We went to Jen's annual Pumpkin Carving Party before Halloween. It is always a fun event to kick-off the holiday season.

8. The week after Thanksgiving, we put up our Christmas tree, decorated the house, and made Christmas cookies.

9. Nature-running near Tallahassee! We visited Kari's dad for a long weekend and got to run the trail at Leon Sinks with Kari's step-family. It was fun and challenging to run on a trail instead of our usual neighborhood road and sidewalks. It kind of felt like boot camp, jumping over roots and pushing it uphill through sand. The many sinkholes along the trail served as picturesque resting points. We also ran and hiked about 6 miles while Kari's dad rode his bike through the woods to find Shepherd Springs. There was not another person in sight or sound of traffic in earshot. And the night stars at Shell Point (quite far from a busy, bright city) were incredible.

I loved this Fall, and already look forward to next year's - I'm especially hoping that the Gators can win a good game or two. But in the meantime, I sure do love this cold Winter weather!

My family will think I am crazy

Growing up in Jamaica, we often had lizards that got in our house. Big lizards. Giant lizards. With the bright pink croaking things on their necks. When I was under 5, I liked the lizards and tried to catch them to take them for a walk on my self-made leash. But I soon learned that lizards were, in fact, vicious creatures who were trying to hide in my shoes, jump on me as I walked into a room, or bite my face while I was sleeping.

None of these things ever happened. However, once in second grade, a wayward lizard somehow managed to crawl onto my shoulder while I was sitting quietly at my desk doing math work. I felt a little tingle on my crisp, white uniform blouse. I glanced over and saw two eyes staring at me from 3 inches away. I jumped out of my seat, waving my arms wildly, until it flew off into the bookcase. Stranger than that, though, was that Mrs. Samuels didn't even notice.

So, my whole family has always had a thing against lizards. In Jamaica, it wasn't uncommon for us to be crouched behind my dad as he aimed his BB gun into a bedroom to take down a giant lizard that was poised for a nighttime attack. My sister has been known to empty a can of Raid on a lizard that was on its way to try on her shoes. And you should have seen us trying to get into the house with a lizard (or worse, a frog) sitting in ambush (or eating mosquitoes) above the front door. We would all gather our thoughts, make a plan, stay focused. Dad opened the front door and shout, "Go, go, get in!" as we scrambled, sometimes squealing, with our hands over our heads, rushing into the foyer. The door slammed behind us.

When we moved into our house two years ago, the only drawback was that our house was a lizard haven. There were more lizards on our porch and hiding in the shutters than anything I had seen before. I got used to them, and even grew to appreciate their insect-eating ability. But I still didn't like them and freaked at the thought of one getting into the house.

Until I met this guy:

I spotted him one day and noticed his little pink-orange head. Then I saw him again. And again. He was always hanging out on the garden hose. Soon, I realized that I was looking for him. When I went out to grill or to water my plants, I wanted to see Pinky. I discovered that he lives in a small hole on the water hose cart. Today I was kind of upset when I went to say hello after work and he jumped into a nook in the hose where I couldn't see him. Kari says that he's scared. But how could he still be afraid of me when I am not afraid of him anymore? We've even had a photo shoot.

I'm trying not to get too attached. I don't even know how long lizards are supposed to live. He's wild, I tell myself. Wild, but definitely not vicious.

Spontaneity, months in the planning

If I have had the pleasure of your company in the last several months, then you have probably had the pleasure of hearing my Vitamix infomercial. Last May when I was visiting my sister, Jen, in Naples, she was showing me the wonders of Sur la Table and Whole Foods when we stumbled upon a Vitamix demonstration. I am always up for free food samples, so we decided to stick around for a little. After tasting the piping hot tortilla soup, the juice made from whole limes, apples, spinach, pineapple, and other fruits, and a frosty cool fruit and kale (yes, the green leafy so-healthy for you kale) sorbet, we were both wooed.

However, we both walked away from the demo sans Vitamix. It is quite an expensive kitchen appliance and it was hard to make that kind of an investment so quickly.

But the Vitamix itch did not go away. Jen and I both could not stop thinking about it. And then I started noticing it everywhere. Gwenyth Paltrow, featured in my Bon Appetit magazine, touted its magnificence. I read an article from pro chefs about how it is a kitchen must-have. And you really can't look at them in a store without a current Vitamix owner stopping to sing its praises and encouraging you to fork over $450 for 3-minute sorbet. It is more than a blender. It is not a gimmick.

So, last weekend, Jen called me on Saturday afternoon and said she was at Whole Foods and the Vitamix guy was back. They were on sale until Sunday. But I had been back at school with students for a week and swore that I would not do anything but rest for that weekend. That first week of school is exhausting like no other...

Thirty minutes later, Kari and I were in the car and heading down to Naples. We have never packed so quickly in our lives. After a few hours, we were all standing in Whole Foods watching Kari be mesmerized by the fresh veggies turning into hot soup in 5 minutes. And it is not only fast, but it is also convenient. There are no parts to unscrew and wash like the traditional blender or juicer. It comes with an 8 year warranty. Did you hear that? 8 years for a kitchen appliance! I think my parents go through 2 toaster ovens a year! The Vitamix is supposed to easily last 30-40 years with its powerful, industry-standard motor. I could go on and on - it's a whole other blog just to consider the health benefits.

But now if you want to hear my informercial, you can come and see a real demonstration. Saturday night, Jen bought the last red model available, and Kari and I took a brushed stainless! Sunday morning, Jen returned to Whole Foods with my mom and she also ended up with the stainless. With Jen we made Baked Potato, Bacon, and Cheddar Soup, impossibly creamy hummus, salsa, sorbet, and fruit and spinach juice. And this weekend, Kari and I have made Roasted Pepper Alfredo Sauce and a strawberry and key lime sorbet (it was supposed to be juice, but I put in too much frozen strawberries, so we had sorbet for breakfast - either way it's still healthy!).

Now my countertop babies are making friends.

Summer Camp

During one of our last weeks of summer vacation, Kari and I got to go to Summer Camp! Well, not really, but that's what it felt like. My brother and his wife went to Hawaii for a week and Kari and I had the privilege of watching their 3 kids for a week. It was awesome! There is Chris, 14, who was helpful and easy as he was pretty independent. The last time I babysat Chris he was 5 years old, so it was cool to see him grown up and into his own things. And then there are Kai, 7, and Marley, 6. Thus, the feeling of Summer Camp.

We had Experiment Day at my parent's house with my sister, Jen, and the kids. We made Oobleck, a volcano, and ice cream in a bag. Marley loved playing with her Oobleck (a mixture of cornstarch and water that acts as both a solid and liquid) for days and Kai was the reigning survivor in the volcano explosion (his paper clip man didn't get hit by lava). We also challenged our observation skills with a little detective game.

We also had field trips to the zoo, bowling (Kari won with an impressive 119 after taking a 10+ year break from bowling), and an awesome water park that is actually part of the county park system. At the zoo, the lions were actually running around and playing! I don't know if I have ever seen a big cat awake at a zoo before. It was pretty impressive.



And during the animal show, they brought out a big and a baby sloth, which were super cute. I had never seen a real sloth before as they are really hard to spot in their zoo habitats. I think Kai and Marley were equally impressed with their shaved ice. Marley actually later that week asked to go back to the zoo to get an icee.

The water park was all day fun. Kai was tall enough by 1/2 an inch to get to ride down the big slides - which Kari took him down as the twists and turns in an enclosed tube kind of scared me. We enjoyed the lazy river, jumping off the diving boards, and playing in the kid's pool, which was equipped with big spray guns, all kinds of waterfall spouts, and these floaty things that you try to balance on and then get knocked off.

Our last day there we stayed home and had Carnival Day. We mimicked a fishing game with some of my Dad's wiffle balls, played a pyramid knock-down game, and pinned the karate belt on the Karate Kid (think Pin the Tail on the Donkey with life-size kid cut-outs).

The daily life stuff was some of the most fun for me, though. The kids were all so easy and listened to any directions. Plus, they let us sleep in! They would wake up at about 8 and would play quietly until Kari got out there around 9 to make breakfast. Almost every night, we would play outside before bath and bed. Four nights they rode their scooters for 2 miles while Kari and I ran. It was fun running while hearing them talk and watching them play.

And before bedtime, we had storytime every night. We got to share some of our favorites, like Monkey with a Tool Belt, Catching the Wild Waiyuzee, and I am Dodo. Sometimes Kai and Marley wanted to read the books out loud and they both did excellent. Kai even read Swim, Little Wombat, Swim! all by himself. One night they asked us why we like storytime so much and if we read out loud at home - and we do! Kari loves being read to - from children's picture books to our current ongoing read aloud of Anna Karenina (I think I figured we will get that done in about 5 years).

My parents also helped us out a lot by having us over for dinner multiple times. They also treated everyone to a sushi and Chinese food buffet, which was Marley's special dinner request. Jen also got to hang out with us and provide gourmet mini-cake donuts and a giant mall cookie cake.

Another blessing was getting to take the kids to their karate class three times. We could watch through a glass wall and I was so impressed with their focus and intensity. All three of them did great and I am sure will be able to beat me up in another year.

Now, summer has been officially over for a week. I miss the kids and am so thankful for our week of Summer Camp.