Today’s Penguin Motivation

Posted on January 24, 2012 by John "the Penguin" Bingham
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FROM THE PENGUIN CHRONICLES ARCHIVE: READ MORE

There are hundreds of reasons to start running. The litany is familiar to all of us. Running promotes better health, a stronger heart, a more finely-honed physique…

Those who have been runners most of their lives may not know exactly why they started. It just seems that running has been a part of who they are for as long as they can remember.

For those who come to running later in life, the reasons for running are not always as lofty as health and fitness. Some of us started running because nothing else eased the pain of living.

Some of us came to running not out of a sense of accomplishment and pride, but as a last resort. We turned to running for healing, safety, security and nourishment. We came to running not out of success, but out of failure.

As I’ve come to know more runners I’ve been touched by the stories of what running has meant in their lives. Many are running from tragedy, from divorce – running, truly, as if their lives depended on it.

This was certainly the case for me. My 40th birthday came and went. The mid-life crisis I’d heard about seemed to have missed me, or so I thought. I had achieved my way into a lifestyle of excess that was weighing down my body and spirit.

The signs of success were all there – a frustrating job, a floundering relationship, the dismal prospect of pushing the same stone up the same hill for eternity. Relief came only in moments of mind-numbing self pity induced by too much food or drink.

Making my life increasingly complex wasn’t working. Adding layer upon layer of responsibility and debt had produced only the trappings of upward mobility. I discovered that I owned very little of my life. Most of what I turned to for comfort and reinforcement actually owned me.

Time to run

It was time to get back to basics. It was time to rediscover the joy of earlier years. It was time to find myself. It was time to run.

How amazing it was to set off on an odyssey of self discovery without a guide, with nothing more than my body and my mind. What I was going to learn was not to come from a book or the words of a teacher or therapist, but from my own feet. Each step would reveal a new insight, a new thought, a new feeling.

Freed from the shackles of a life of convenience, I learned quickly that my body could be my friend or my enemy. Pushed gently, it would reward me with speed and endurance. Pushed too hard, discomfort became pain.

I also learned that my spirit was not as broken as I thought. Digging down deep for the final 200-yard kick of a 5K, I unleashed an almost primal energy. Struggling, weary and exhausted, through a five-hour marathon, I hit a vein of emotional strength that I thought was all dried up.

So if you see me running wildly through a race, don’t be worried. Don’t be surprised at the sight of my persistent and plodding style. Don’t expect the smile to ever come off my face.

I have seen my failures. I have faced them as best I could. And now, Im running from them as fast as I can.

Waddle on, friends.

John

An Accidental Athlete is available in print and ebooks versions now. BUY THE BOOK

Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

What others are saying: Because of runners like John, the wall of intimidation has crumbled, and tens of thousands of Americans are now believing in themselves. John has helped raise self-esteem and self-confidence in people all over the world. Nothing is more important to a person’s well-being.- Dave McGillivray, Boston Marathon race director

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The Year of the Dragon

Posted on January 18, 2012 by John "the Penguin" Bingham
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P.F. Chang's Dragon In the Chinese horoscope, 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. [The new year starts January 23]  The Dragon symbol is of an intelligent and laborious worker who never puts aside work though sometimes this leads him to excesses. The water Dragon has enough courage to face challenges and easily finds weak points that stand on his way to success.

So far, so good. Except that I was born in the Year of the Rat. Which is not all bad since People under the rat sign are usually smart and wealthy and will work for success. They are sanguine and very adaptable, being popular with others. They are clever and adorable, personable and materialistic. They are also by nature thoughtful, sensible, judiciously and curious. That ain’t awful.

So far, though, 2012 has been the year of the Dragging. As in, dragging my butt out the door or on to the treadmill. I’m doing it, but I can’t say that I’ve got the fire in the belly that I hoped for.

Quick rehash; skip this paragraph if you already know. January 2009, slip my sacroiliac joint, spend six months seeing doctors, getting injected, doing therapy and not much else. April-September 2009 too stupid to see a podiatrist about the pain in my foot because I was sure it was plantar fasciitis, which is was NOT. It was a dislocated cuboid joint. January 2011 start the 100 Day Challenge by walking, stick with walking every day for the entire year.

Now it’s January 2012. My plan was to stay with the 100 Day Challenge but reintroduce running to the winter schedule and – I hoped – cycling [road and mountain] to the spring and summer schedule. Everything went fine, I stared running one minute and walking for 4 for 45 minutes, for – oh – about a week. Then somehow – SOMEHOW – my back started acting up again. AAARRRGGGHHH. Back to walking.

Today I ran/walked again. It felt great. And then I did something I almost never do. I stretched. On my back, one leg at a time, pulling on the strap and holding it and repeating. Maybe, just MAYBE, my hamstrings really ARE tight [as Coach Jenny keeps saying] and I really should do just a little bit of flexibility.

I really want to run. I want to run/walk the Penguin in the Park 5K at the end of March. To do that, I’ll have to train. To train I’ll have to be able to run. To continue to run, it looks like, I’ll have to work on my flexibility.

It’s a start. Yeah, I know. Next comes full-body flexibility and core strength. Baby steps. With any luck this will be the Year of the Penguin.

Waddle on,

John

An Accidental Athlete is available in print and ebooks versions now. BUY THE BOOK

Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

What others are saying: Because of runners like John, the wall of intimidation has crumbled, and tens of thousands of Americans are now believing in themselves. John has helped raise self-esteem and self-confidence in people all over the world. Nothing is more important to a person’s well-being.- Dave McGillivray, Boston Marathon race director

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A Year of Living Actively

Posted on January 2, 2012 by John "the Penguin" Bingham
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2011 was quite a year. I’ve been a runner, or what I think of as a runner, for 20 years. I’ve run 45 marathons, I’ve done more half marathons and 5 and 10K’s than I can remember, I’ve done duathlons, triathlons, and even a couple of half Ironmans. But what I did in 2011 means more to me than all of that combined.

In December of 2010, after the most frustrating athletic year of my life, I decided to move, intentionally, for 30 minutes a day for the first 100 days of 2011. I wasn’t concerned about what I did, or how well I did it. I just made the commitment – to myself – that I was going to move every day.

I discovered in the first couple of weeks that I couldn’t run every day. The old aches and pains started coming back and I knew that if I didn’t get smart in a hurry that my 100 days would be over almost before it began. I changed my strategy. I decided to walk for at least 30 minutes a day through January. I figured I started running again come February 1.

In February, I figured I start running on March 1. In March, I figured April, after the 100 days challenged ended. But a funny thing happened. I discovered that I really like walked. Not just kinda liked it. I really liked it. Instead of having to have a training plan and schedule, I could just put on my shoes and go for a walk.

I walked in the woods near my house. I walked at 3 a.m. in rural Princeton, Illinois. I walked in Phoenix, and Seattle, and San Diego, and San Francisco, and a lot of other places. I walked in the dark, in the sunshine, in the heat, cold, and rain. It didn’t matter. I walked on the treadmill with a cup of coffee in my hand.

I’m a runner. In my heart, despite the fact that I’ve never been able to be competitive, I’ve been a runner – and a racer. I’ve pinned on the race numbers. I’ve stood nervously at the start lines. I’ve crossed finish lines exhausted, exhilarated, and humiliated. So for me to walk for 100 days was more an emotional challenge than a physical one.

Looking back, now, I can see that this was a journey that I had to take. I’d often talked about how important it was to live an active lifestyle. What I meant, though, was that it was important to be a runner. I talked about the importance of moving. What I meant, though, was finding ways to go farther or faster.

Now that I’ve done it. Now that I have moved intentionally every day for an entire year, I’m ready to take on a new challenge. That challenge, for 2012, will be to rediscover my identity as a runner. During the Runner’s World Pace Team years I ran a bunch of marathons, sometimes 6 in one year. My body wasn’t designed for that.

I’m going to train for, and race in, some 5K’s. The goal will be to set a “modern era” personal best. At 63 I don’t have the faintest idea what that will be. So I’ll go in search of that answer.

More importantly, I’ll move every day. I’ll train some days. I’ll recover some days. I’ll be eager some days. I won’t want to do anything some days. I’ve learned, though, that every day counts. This year, all 366 of them.

You can be a part of it. The rules are simple. Choose to move, intentionally, for 30 minutes every day for the first 100 days of 2012. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it ON PURPOSE.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/100-Days-Challenge/177540202277120

Waddle on, friends.
John

An Accidental Athlete is available in print and ebooks versions now. BUY THE BOOK

Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble

What others are saying: Because of runners like John, the wall of intimidation has crumbled, and tens of thousands of Americans are now believing in themselves. John has helped raise self-esteem and self-confidence in people all over the world. Nothing is more important to a person’s well-being.- Dave McGillivray, Boston Marathon race director

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2012 100 Days Challenge Chart

Posted on December 30, 2011 by John "the Penguin" Bingham
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A HUGE thank you to Margie Lynch for this.

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Getting Ready for the Challenge

Posted on December 20, 2011 by John "the Penguin" Bingham
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I’m tempted to call this the 2nd Annual 100 Days Challenge because it is, in fact, the second year we’re doing this. That being the case it might make sense to give everyone a bit of the history of the Challenge.

I was “banged up” for most of 2010. In 20 years of running, walking, cycling and other activity I’d never really been injured. I had some aches and pains early on when I tried to do too much too soon, but nothing that lasted more than a few days to a couple of weeks.

When I tweaked my sacroiliac joint in January of 2010 I set in motion a series of recovery attempts and setbacks that lasted until June. Somewhere around May 1 I popped my cuboid joint out [riding a motorcycle, not running] and didn’t get that diagnosed until September.

By December of 2010 I knew that I needed to get back into a routine of activity and I knew that if I was responsible to other folks it would help. I went to my Facebook page and with the push of the “RETURN” key the 100 Days Challenge was born.

In the next few weeks I’ll be posting my thoughts on the 100 days, and the year of being active. But for now, I just invite you to join me in the 2012 Challenge.

The rules are simple. Choose to move, intentionally, for 30 minutes every day for the first 100 days of 2012. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it ON PURPOSE.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/100-Days-Challenge/177540202277120

If you got an iPad, or Kindle, or Nook, you can download “An Accidental Athlete” to keep you inspired.

 

 

 

 

Apple Store

 

 

 

Amazon Kindle

 

 

 

Nook

 

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The 2012 100 Days Challenge

Posted on December 15, 2011 by John "the Penguin" Bingham
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Welcome to the 2012 100 Days Challenge. We had over 10,000 people start the 2011 Challenge. We’re hoping for more in 2012. I will be posting my activity, and I invite you to post YOUR activity at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/100-Days-Challenge/177540202277120

The rules are simple. Choose to move, intentionally, for 30 minutes every day for the first 100 days of 2012. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do it ON PURPOSE.

You can move for 30 minutes once, 15 minutes twice, or 10 minutes three time. It doesn’t matter. Just move on PURPOSE.

I had a great time in 2011 discovering what I could do and what others were doing. I invite you to do the same. And who knows, you may end up doing what I did and move EVERY day for an entire year.

Waddle on, friends.

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