Phedippidations

A quick "check-in" to update you on my right foot and plans to run again!

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere! And gie’s a hand o’ thine! And we’ll tak a right guid willy waught, For auld lang syne.

Here's a little pre-Xmas message for you to ponder as I hop around my house with my new "FrankenFoot". Also, I'll read some feedback messages left for me on the Apple Podcast page. Have a great Holiday (whatever you celebrate, or not).

In the spring of 1958, a friend of Hunter S Thompson asked for advice on how to live his life.  What follows is a letter that Thompson wrote him, during the very early moments of his writing career.

The universe, of which I am a part, is experiencing entropy. Change is coming, and I’m committed to eventually lacing up my shoes and running again. Because although I’ll one day become nothing more than an unstable collection of positronium atoms that will eventually poof out of existence…that day is not today, and I have time.

I’m long past the impulsive need for an invisible flying spaghetti monster in space called to answer my wishful mutterings  - the palindrome for that imaginary entity might just be something I do require:   I don’t need "God".   I need a Dog.

Sit back, relax and enjoy a delicious podcast filled with cheesy goodness delivered right into your brain.

Dear Eva: You were my sweetie. You took after your Lemon beagle birth mother, Honey. Your father was a tri-colored beagle named Joey (also your brother Indiana Jone’s father). Born on May 28th, 2010: you were the scrawniest of the litter of seven. I first saw you in a cage where your brothers and sisters were stepping all over you: I knew you were “the one”.    You, little girl, were a “scootch”: always excited to go for a walk, constantly sniffing for bunnies but never really wanting to catch one. You’re the only puppy I’ve ever known who, when a toy was thrown, would run to get the toy and then run away in another direction. You were my “little girl” Eva, Jones Walker and you were never one to “fetch”.  You loved to play during treat time, where we would “dance around the treat” until you were able to grab it (and not sure if you noticed, but you always won the treat). You loved to sleep on the top of the couch and in the morning would always make the effort to “army crawl” on your belly, up from the bottom of the bed to see us. Yours was a life of a princess, and you were always the one in charge. I’ll miss you every day. You filled our lives with such incredible joy. “Hey, Sweetie? Wanna go for a WALK?”. Tree-si-so.

It's been another year, and we've got another to look forward to. I hope all is well with you. Happy New Year - Run long and taper fellow runners.

Everything you see, every atom and sub-atomic particle of which your own body is composed: came, originally, from nothing.

You cannot lose weight without dieting or exercising.  1. Why? Because we are ugly bags of mostly water and store excess calories that we eat as fat.\ 2. Why? Because our bodies resting metabolic rate is finite and our capacity to eat high caloric food is less so. 3. Why? Because regulation in the hypothalamus and internal organs of the human body maintains an internal temperature of roughly 37 degrees Celsius or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit in order to sustain optimal performance and protect us from death. 4. Why? Because if our body temperature exceeds 107.6 degrees Fahrenheit for an extended period of time, our brain, heart, kidneys, liver, and intestines will become damaged.  So, you cannot lose weight without dieting or exercising.  5. Why? Because SCIENCE

The older we get, the lower our resting metabolic rate is, but we can counter that effect by maintaining or increasing our muscle mass. Now, if only there was a way we could do that through something like…oh, I don’t know, I’ll just through this out there in an unnecessarily snarky way…but first let me check, what kind of a podcast is this again?

My house Is out of the ordinary That's right Don't wannna hurt nobody Some things sure can sweep me off my feet Burning down the house

It seems intuitive that IF we slow down, focus and consider everything that goes into the act of consumption, we can have a better experience with food which will, through biological mechanisms we shall discuss today, help us to lose weight. Today we talk about the SCIENCE that backs up the SCIENTIFIC theory.

In Burning 60, I’ve spent a lot of time talking about how much and when I’ve been eating, consuming less than 1,500 calories per day during an 8-hour window.  But I haven’t considered HOW I eat, or the benefits of doing so mindfully. It seems intuitive that if we slow down, focus, and consider everything that goes into the act of consumption, we can have a better experience with food which will, through biological mechanisms not discussed in this episode, help us to lose weight.

“Good food and good eating are about risk. Every once in a while an oyster, for instance, will make you sick to your stomach. Does this mean you should stop eating oysters? No way.”― Anthony Bourdain

Our bodies have to work to eliminate alcohol from our bodies as quickly as possible, and it doesn’t help us build strong muscles or support healthy bones.  One might say (and many do) that alcohol is filled with “selfish calories”…because it forces our bodies to ignore life-sustaining nutrients so that it can focus on metabolizing…or, burning, alcohol. While I admit that there is, to some, a pleasant side effect of alcohol…the fact is that this toxin is a burden on our bodies.  Them’s just the facts of SCIENCE.

As a goofy little podcaster who has brought you with me through many long runs, road races and marathons, I have been less than proud to admit to you that I weigh 76 in excess of 174 pounds (the weight I should weigh for a healthy body mass index).  Although sharing the truth of my progress in Burning 60 is self-deprecating, I’m willing to put myself out there, or, to paraphrase the thoughts of a well loved traveler: “I’m not afraid to look like an idiot.” - AB

If there’s one thing I know about health and the wonders of metabolism it is that we need air to live just as fire needs air to burn. And when you have nothing left to burn you have to set yourself on fire.

One day we’ll come to realize that our effort at becoming healthy doesn’t end when we finally burn 60 or, to paraphrase the thoughts of a well-loved traveler: "There will be no moment of smug clarity as we realize how small we are, how little we know, and how far we have to go".