Groundhog Day - A Chance for a Do-Over

One of my favorite movies from the early 90's is Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. If you have never seen it, here's a link to the trailer. A brief synopsis is that it's about a weatherman who keeps re-living Groundhog Day over and over and over again. Once he figures out that he's stuck in what seems like a never-ending time loop, he starts to work towards having a perfect day. He gets to use trial and error to keep finding combinations that work in his favor in the encounters that he continues to have over and over once the day resets for him.

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, everyone has the best of intentions to keep them going throughout the entire year. However, plenty of studies have shown that life happens, excuses start to be made, and pretty soon a majority of those positive changes have been discarded along the wayside and given up for lost well before they even become habits and party of our daily routine.

There are several ways to successfully keep your New Year's resolutions. First, they should be challenging but also attainable. If there is no way that you can succeed or even get through the first couple of days, it will be a lot easier to give up on them. However, if you set goals that you can reach and that can be measured or monitored daily or at least weekly, you have a big sense of satisfaction that you have accomplished it as you do it. For example, my goal/resolution for 2012 is to do 100 pushups and situps each day. For some, this might be easy and for others it might seem impossible. It's been a challenge for me as I wasn't doing any prior to attempting this, but it has gotten easier as my body has gotten used to it. It's already becoming part of my morning routine and that's where being able to daily check it off my mental to-do list is helping me strive towards my goal.

Another way to successfully reach your goal or keep your resolution is to be accountable to someone about doing this. Every day, I post on Daily Mile after I've done my workout and the people who follow me on the site help encourage and hold me accountable to keep doing it. This adds powerful positive reinforcement to what I am trying to do.

Finally, don't beat yourself up if you have an occasional slip up along the way. For me, I know that there will come a day when my schedule makes it tough to find the 15-20 minutes I need to get my workout done. My body also might not feel like doing this some day, especially since I have a couple of marathons on the docket and you tend to be pretty sore and stiff after running one. However, I know that this daily choice has already benefited me and I want to keep it going.

So, in honor of February 2nd being Groundhog Day, let's give those New Year's resolutions a do-over if you have slipped up or if you forgot to come up with any. And, if you are doing great, give yourself a big pat on the back and keep doing what you are doing. I would love to hear what your resolution or goal is for this year and by posting a comment you are taking the first step to being held accountable to reaching your goal. Whether the groundhog sees its shadow or not, this is one prognostication we can all help each other do! Hopefully, we'll all be celebrating all the great progress we've made when February 29th rolls around and we celebrate Leap Day by jumping for joy. :)

Keeping Things Interesting

As we stroll through the sauna that has been Central Ohio weather this summer, it is easy to start dreading the longer training runs associated with upcoming fall half or full marathons.

I’m blessed with a good local group in Mount Vernon (The Running Buddies) who keep me accountable and stay after me to run. However, even with the group, it’s still hard to find ways to make the training runs not turn into something that is mundane. And, I can only imagine how bad it can get for those of you who are doing all of this on your own without the benefit of the social aspect of a group or running partner to help you pass the time.

Obviously, listening to music or even audio book files is one way to take your mind off the task at hand during a run, especially a long run. But even then, it is hard to get geared up to get out the door. You can listen to music in the comfort of the A/C in your house.

One thing that we have tried to do with our running group is to create themed runs at least once a month based on either a holiday that month or something different that is going on. We’ve had a whole list of them so far, and we create virtual shirts for them that every finisher gets tagged with on Facebook (see photo). It’s been fun coming up with wacky sayings and silly designs, but more importantly it has keep people’s interest. We also use those opportunities to invite other people who don’t regularly run with us, and it has been fun to see their interest level in running grow after participating one time (whether walking or running) in a 5K.

One other thing that I have tried to do is to meet up with runners from other nearby cities as my schedule allows just to run a different route (see top photo as a recent example). The Daily Mile website (www.dailymile.com) has been a big help with this as it will help you find runners who live near you, who are signed up for similar races, or who run the same pace as you. The running family is a great one.

So, as we push ourselves through the dog days of summer with the routines of the fall looming all too soon, what do you do to keep your training interesting and fresh? Happy running! Hope to see a lot of you at the start and finish line in Columbus in 84 days! Now, it's off to get ready for our Christmas in July 5K that fittingly starts at 7:25 p.m. on 7/25/2011. Maybe I'll even try to run it in 20:11. :)

On Your Mark...

First, let me start this post with a disclaimer....I am NOT a running expert. I am still a newbie when it comes to the amount of time I've spent, the miles I've run, and the races I've entered.

OK, with that in mind, for whatever reason I've been getting approached by a lot of people recently with questions on how to get started running. Maybe it's because my last post recapped my first year of running. Maybe it's because people know that I'm a guy with a pretty busy daily schedule who has somehow made it work for at least a year. Maybe it's because people think to themselves that "if Dave Parsons can run then so can I".

Actually, I'm fine with all three. :) And, with National Running Day being celebrated today (June 1), there is no better time than right now to begin that journey and take up running.

One of the first things that you need to do as you think about running is to have realistic expectations. If you haven't been doing much in the way of physical activitiy, running just one mile is probably going to be pretty tough for you. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't do it. It just means that you don't need to beat yourself up if you have to walk part or most of the way when you get started.

Along those regards, it would be helpful to follow a training program. There are many free ones available online. I've used different variations of Hal Higdon's programs and they seem to work quite well for me. My wife, Carla, has also followed his half marathon program and done three races of that distance successfully. For people just starting out, I would suggest either the 5K Walker's Program or the 5K Novice Program.

With realistic goals set and a training program in place, it is also important to get the right kind of shoes. This will be different for everyone. If there is a running store in your area, they can help you find exactly the right shoes for your feet. Wearing the right footwear for your stride will go a long way in lessoning the risk of injuries as you start this journey. Also, get good socks to help prevent blistering.

Now, you are ready to head either to the treadmill, a local trail, or just around the neighborhood. I would strongly encourage you to track your miles either on a spreadsheet, a journal, or one of many online sites or phone apps. While you don't want to be caught up worrying about time and distance at the start, it will provide a source of encouragement to you as you see the miles add up and the times get faster. You can also get great encouragement and a sense of accountability by posting your runs on sites such as Daily Mile, Facebook, or Twitter to name a few.

The best way to make running stick is to work it into your daily routine until it just becomes second nature and a part of your lifestyle. For me, that means getting up an hour earlier each day and running at 6 a.m. That has worked best in our schedule. Yes, it means that I have to get to bed a little earlier than I used to, but that isn't such a bad thing either.

One other thing that could really help you in this journey if you can pull it off is to find someone to run with. Even if it's not every day or even if you have to do this virtually through social media, it makes a big difference. When I started running, I did it alone. Sure, there were other people at the trail where I ran, but I ran alone. However, I had a friend, Jay, who was just starting to run, too, and we encouraged each other via social media. It didn't matter that he lives in Kentucky and that I'm in Ohio. We stayed after each other and helped each other get to the point that running had become a habit. We've since been able to run together on several occasions including in the first half marathon for both of us last October in Columbus.

And, that brings me to my final suggestion for new runners...pick out a local 5K race and pay to enter it. That's right, don't wait until you are experienced...do it now. Paying the fee will keep you accountable to your training. Just make sure to give yourself enough time to complete the basic training program. Remember, you can always walk it if you have to and a lot of the local 5K races are for charitable causes so you'll be doing something for others regardless. Trust me, though, you'll enjoy the race day experience and you'll be hooked once you do one. :)


To my friends who are more experienced at running than me, please add your suggestions to this post. To my friends who are left still looking for answers after this post, ask away and I'll do my best or find an expert who will answer your question. And, to anyone who reads this post and then starts on the running journey, please let me know because I want to support and encourage you just like so many have done for me. The running community is truly great at that!

With all that said, I leave you with the lyrics to, of all things, a song from the 1970 Christmas special "Santa Claus is Coming to Town":

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

You never will get where you’re going
If you never get up on your feet
Come on, there’s a good tail wind blowing
A fast walking man is hard to beat

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

If you want to change your direction
If your time of life is at hand
Well don’t be the rule be the exception
A good way to start is to stand

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

If I want to change the reflection
I see in the mirror each morn
You mean that it's just my election
To vote for a chance to be reborn

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

...get set...GO!!!