Slingshot

Every year since 2010 I have started training for some big race during the dead of winter. I always feel the same at this time of year. I feel slow, I feel  held back and I start to get depressed and wonder why I lace up my shoes and get out there and put my body through it , when I could be on the couch in my warm house watching a movie, or reading a book or playing chess online.

Another reason I love running in the snow, scenes like this

I look at it this way, I have to endure the cold, the snow,slush, wind and plain crap that this area of the world throws at you this time of year because when the weather changes, gets warmer and the crap goes away.....

I can fly

I have decided to liken this time of year to someone pulling back on a slingshot and when the weather gets more to my liking ,is when I release the weapon and I come flying out. Once the weather breaks my times get faster, my energy level gets higher and then I realize why I train outside in the bad weather.

As I get older it will become inevitable that I will break down and get a treadmill because I am sure this running in the cold is doing some sort of damage long term to my body. But for know I will press on , for now it is about achieving my goals and living my dream .

Don't Blog Angry

 Today I was going to write my part 2 of the assault on our freedoms, but I have decided to make a new rule and not to write anything here while I am angry. So today I have decided to take a breath and let all that happened just soak in and worry about it later , be clear headed.

You should never blog angry , because your arguments will  most likely be torn apart and you will look foolish. When you are angry and you feel the need to write a blog , post a video of Family Guy:


There are many things that have made me angry these past couple days such as :

1. The realization that I have to live another 4 years with Obama as president
2. The Baltimore Ravens are in the Superbowl
3. The wind chill is below zero degrees and I want to go running
4. My attempts to make the band Duran Duran the official "Fab Four" from England has gone unnoticed

These are the 4 biggest things among others that have put me in a foul mood. Blogging sometimes helps, but today as I sit here writing this, it is not helping . So maybe I should just walk away or maybe I will just post a picture of my brother in my mother's nightgown:

Now I feel better

The Assault on Freedom -Part 1

I see the pictures

These are the pictures that people post on their Facebook pages that show Adolf Hitler surrounded by children as he tries to gain support of the German people by saying his programs will create a better country in the future for our children.

I do disagree in the comparisons that people use to compare Hitler's plan to Obama's plan. I don't believe that Obama plans for our country are the same as Hitler's. This is not to say that Obama's policies are good for our country, they are not. I believe his intentions are good based on what he believes, that government is the answer. I believe that the more the government gets involved in our lives the more freedoms we lose.

So the assault on our freedoms is not intentional, it is happening because we (as a country) have elected people who believe that government is the answer . As our government programs such as welfare, food stamps and Obamacare grow larger and more people rely on them for their survival , this makes for a bigger government and we as taxpayers have to fund this government which means we all have to pay more in taxes, and that will increase.

The people that are on these programs vote. The majority will vote for people who support these programs and these people will get re-elected. As the people who depend upon government programs increase, the more people who vote for these policies will increase, which will only increase the size and power of our government .

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day , teach him how to fish , he will eat forever" is a quote that always comes to mind when I think about what these programs should be about. They should be about getting people back on their feet and getting them back out to work . I am not saying to eliminate these programs (except for Obamacare... that needs to go).If you want more revenue for our government , we need to cut taxes , give businesses incentives (tax breaks , etc.) to hire more people and get people back to work so they are paying taxes which will then create more revenue. These programs will then not have to be funded as heavily as they are and we then could use that money to pay off our increasing debt. Everyone wins.

This is the first in a series about the assault on our freedoms. Please comment below 

Change Is Easy....To Say

You are the one that chooses if the change in your life is a success or Failure

Last night I watched the "Biggest Loser" . I haven't watched the show in a while, but I have always drawn some inspiration from it. It is neat to see the people on the show change over the few weeks , both in their confidence and physical appearance. Granted there are professional trainers there in your face the whole time yelling at you and pushing you to achieve your goals . It is still neat to see the change.

Last night, there was a participant who walked off the show . She was given the choice to do the exercises or leave the show. She chose to leave. It really got me to think about what it really takes to change something about yourself and the hard work that it takes . She kept saying on her exit interview she didn't know how hard it was going to be, both mentally and physically.

Many people talk about changing an aspect of their lives, whether it is losing weight,quitting smoking, changing jobs or anything like that. For the majority of us when we get to the point where we want to do something about it, we find excuses not to do it. Then we convince ourselves that those excuses are valid.

Talking about changing ourselves is the easy part, the hard part is the day to day decisions that we have to make to make that change a reality. Change is NOT easy, but becomes easier when you realize that most of the excuses you make to go ahead with the change are not valid and you push through it and create a culture in your life for believing in success, not failure.

So before we throw away those New Years resolutions, think about the reasons that you are not going to complete them. Are the reasons excuses to make you feel better about yourself when you fail?

The First Page, 2013 Resolutions

This was posted on a friends Facebook page , I love this!

Today is January 1st , the first day of 2013. Every New Year's Day brings forth hope to many that they can change their life around. What better day to do it than the first day of the year right? Here are a few of mine, but first before we move forward, we need to take a look back.

• 2012 was a year of changes. I won't go into many details, but it seemed as if someone kicked me down  and every time I got back up , I felt the boot kicking me down once again. There were many lessons to be learned from last year, and by the end of the year, I was still being kicked, but this time I did not go down.These are the lessons learned that I will try to carry into the next year. 
• I have also learned to rely on the strength of the people that are around me, my family and my friends. I needed you all more than ever and you came through. 
• My mother is one strong woman! I knew that already, but it was reaffirmed.
• I was reminded everyday how important my marriage to my wife is to me. God gave me the greatest gift when He brought her into my life . 

Now for what I need to work on in no particular order :

• Pick my guitar back up. It seems that my life over the past few years has made a movement back to things I did when I was in high school and college , music and performing was a big part of me then, and I believe will be a part of my future as well.
• Finish my upstairs bathroom. It can no longer be my personal bathroom. My son has shown that he has the same talents as I have . We need two bathrooms. 
• Help others. Many people helped out this year when my Dad passed, the best way to honor his memory and to repay others is to help those in needs.
• Qualify for the Boston Marathon. I need to run 3 hours and 15 minutes at Buffalo or Erie to do it. ( I did state that in an earlier post that I would run The Wineglass Marathon , but it conflicts with another race that I need to run) 
• Continue trying to better myself. Need to continue to do whatever it takes to be a better Father, husband, son, brother and friend

That is it, I look forward to a new year of scanning my head and sharing it with you! Happy New Year!