Sheep

Here is something I wrote on a wall on a local radio station Facebook page in response to a statement Rush Limbaugh made:

"Rush, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck say these things to get you to listen to them. They are first and foremost entertainers. What expertise do they have on these matters? It is the same as liberal talk show hosts. They say things to get people hot so they can tune in. People do and the repeat this stuff as fact. Stop being sheep people, God gave you a brain use it."

"Rush is right"- No, he is not

These hosts do not have political backgrounds, they come from things other than politics. Rush Limbaugh used to work with the Kansas City Royals, Sean Hannity (based on what he says on his show) has a background in serving tables, bar tending, construction and being a chef, Glenn Beck is a Comedian. I am not saying that you shouldn't listen to them, but don't take their words as the complete truth. They are not the news (even the news is not the news anymore), they are entertainers that need listeners to increase their ratings so they can get bigger and better sponsors, so they can make more money.

I do listen to Hannity on occasion, but I have started listening more and more objectively. If I were a liberal that was invited to come on that show, I would refuse. You will get bullied, your words twisted around and mocked.

If you listen to these programs, do yourself a favor, be your own fact checker. Look up the facts that these hosts or liberal hosts are stating for yourself and form your own opinion. If you take these things they say and repeat them without checking it for yourself, you are just sheep following the herd.

I know, I was a sheep following the herd.

Why I Run

Today is the day before they announce the people who will make this years New York City Marathon. Once again I have entered the lottery, but I don't expect that lightning to strike twice( I got in last year). While I wait ( for some reason I am a bit nervous, not sure why), I thought I would share some of the reason why I run.I know I have written about this before , but sometimes it is good to revisit it.

A couple days ago  a server at a local restaurant that my family frequently visit came and asked me if I was running "The Color Run" that is coming to Buffalo in August. I told her most likely not, although those types of races look like a lot of fun , they always seem to land while I am training for something else and I am afraid that I will get injured .She then said to me that she always tells the story about how I got back into running
Back in May of 2009 after a night of heavy drinking my sister called and said she signed up for the Wineglass Marathon in Corning N.Y. She convinced me that I should run it too and in my drunken condition , it was pretty easy to convince me to do pretty much anything, so I signed up. I forgot about it until the next morning when I saw the confirmation email and saw there was no refunds, I believe the first words out of my my mouth were "oh crap".

Picture of me during a night of drinking,
no that is not my real hair

At that time I was turning more and more frequently to alcohol to help relieve the stress and increasing depression that I was feeling. I was allowing the stress of life beat me and turned to drinking to help ease that stress. I was becoming less and less like the person that I used to be. People wanted "the old D.J.back" and I couldn't figure out how to get him back, so I drank.

I started to train, it was not easy . Although I was a pretty good runner back in high school ,20 years had passed and  I was not in the best of shape . A funny thing happened , I started to make better decisions in my life, my marriage and the old D.J. started to come back. I finished that marathon and became hooked on running. Now 5 years later I have run 6 marathons , and countless other races . I have not heard " I want the old D.J. back " in a very long time . I do not rely on alcohol anymore to relieve the stress of life, I rely on my family, running , my friends and my own attitude to get through things. I do like to have a drink ( or drinks) once in a while, but I do not let it control me like I used too.

My brother and I after the 2013 NYC Marathon, it was always my dream to run this race.
It was even better running it with the Wouk!

So I run to be me.

I run so I can be the person that my wife and kids say they can be proud of .

I run to show that no matter how far you fall from who you really are , you can , with effort, get yourself back .

I run to try to inspire others, it is the only way you can truly repay those have inspired you.

I run to feel healthy , both mentally and physically .

I run to make new friends, I am so thankful for the ones I have made.

I run to honor those who can't run for whatever reason

I run to give thanks to God for giving me another chance at a happy life

If I don't get into New York , I will return to the Wineglass Marathon to celebrate 5 years of the best decision I have ever made while I was drunk!

God

Here is something that I wrote on a friends wall on Facebook. about people's relationships with God. Please let me know what you think.

 I think everybody's relationship with God is different and how they show it is different. I don't think there is a cookie cutter way to be God's servant. Some people feel closer to God in a Church setting , while others feel closer at home with their family. I feel closest while I am running . Some people are very open about their relationship , while others are quiet and let their actions speak for themselves. I think one's relationship with God is their own and should be left that way unless that person needs help . Too many Christians have a way of expressing their way on to people and sometimes that ends up pushing people away.

Review of "14 Minutes: A Running Legend's Life and Death and Life " by Alberto Salazar

14 Minutes: A Running Legend's Life and Death and Life by Alberto Salazar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love to get into successful runners heads and see what makes them tick, what is the edge that makes them succeed . This is why I bought this book. in 1985 I was a freshman in high school and was just getting into running. My brother Tom , who was a star runner at the school I went to always talked about Salazar. I graduated high school in 1989 and that is also when my running career faded.

Fast forward 20 years to 2009, I started to run again and have been very interested in the mental aspect of running. I recently ran the New York City Marathon and did not fair to well. I have been questioning my mental toughness and have been looking for answers, and "14 Minutes: A Running Legend's Life and Death and Life " definitely helped. I bought it because my brother used to rave about Salazar's toughness and I thought it would give me some clue to what i was missing.

Throughout this book, Salazar gives many examples of his grit, his confidence and his faith. All things in which I have been lacking lately . I will try to use what i learned from this book to help me succeed as a runner and to better myself personally.

View all my reviews

I Am Afraid of Success

It was around mile 14 this time when I felt it start to break down. The whole race I was with my brother running what I thought was a smart race and then it happened. I started to feel a cramp forming and instantly I started to panic . In my head the excuses started to form to why I was going to fail. I wasn't hydrated enough , I didn't eat anything, my training wasn't up to snuff and many more. Some of these may be true , but the biggest obstacle was my lack of mental toughness. I am just not strong enough to succeed in my head. I give up too easily.

I told my brother to go on , that I would be fine  I was for a while but then it all fell apart. I finished the marathon with my second worst time ever and my brother ended up smashing his personal best. When we talked about the race he told me that he felt the pain too, but he just kept going . If he were to slow down or stop it would have gotten worse . Although I am proud of him, I am envious of his willpower to overcome the adversity and triumph .

This is an issue for me. I can hit all my goals during training . I can feel good about my training , but when it comes to race day , everything falls apart . Here is another example.

This summer I was running an 8k in my hometown. I started off great then it again started to fall apart. A friend of mine passed me going up the hill , she tried to encourage me , but it didn't work. After I got up the hill I got my legs back and caught my breath. I had a chance to catch my friend, I physically felt I could do it, but I talked myself out of it and finished well behind her.

Physically , I think I am a pretty good runner. I am in shape to accomplish many of the goals I set for myself , it is just that when I toe the line to try to achieve the goals , something in my head always prevents me from doing it. Sure I may place in my age group and win some awards , but something always prevents me fro unleashing my full potential during a race. I am trying to figure out what that is and how to prevent it.

My best guess is that I accept failing too easily. I have gotten used to not achieving my potential that maybe I am afraid of  success . I look at my brother and my friends and although I am proud of their accomplishments , I am envious of their mental toughness and I have to find out how they are different from me.

That is my goal for 2014, is to build my mental toughness . I set up my race schedule to do that. I chose races that I can beat personal bests and to build confidence , I will be changing some of my training to do things that I have not done before , that I might have been scared to do. I will be using a lot of techniques that I learned long ago as a theatre major to block out the world around me and focus on the task at hand. I will not worry about others around me , but continue to focus on the goal.

I will force myself out the door , even when I don't want to go for a run. I will (and have) run in snow storms, ice storms, excessive heat and rain.

This will be the year that things start to change.

2014 Tentative Race Schedule

I think I have it set for next year, I want to focus on the Half Marathon a bit more, I feel that is my best event , so here it is. I may add more.

• March 1,2014 Shamrock Run (8K) in Buffalo NY (Corn beef Sandwich!)
• May 3,2014 GBTC Grand Island Half Marathon in Grand Island, NY (Flat,Fast Route)
• May 25,2014 Buffalo Marathon Relay (4 member team relay) in Buffalo NY (Go team "The Runs")
• June 28,2014 50 Yard Finish 1/2 Marathon in Orchard Park NY (I am the 2 time champ of my age group)
• July 19,2014 Laurel Run (8K) in Silver Creek,NY (My favorite race of the year!)
• September 14,2014 Erie Half Marathon in Erie PA ( Reubens with Aunt Marge and Carrie!)
• October 3,2014 Wineglass Marathon in Corning, NY ( This was my 1st Marathon in 2009 Seems appropriate to go back 5 years later!)

I would like to do the Olivia's wish run (5K) as well but I am unsure of the date. I was also really looking hard at running the Chicago Marathon , but there is a family obligation that weekend and can't do it. I also wanted to keep things local this year .

I hope many of my running friends can join me for any of these events . Should be a fun year!!!!

What My Head Scan Revealed Today

A few things that are circling around in the old noggin this morning.

• There have been times in past years where I have broken out the Christmas music and listened to it as early as the day after Halloween . This year I have not, but if you want to, do it. If you don't want to then don't. I have heard many complaints about a local radio station playing Christmas music beginning early November . If you don't like it don't turn it on, the radio station most likely has done the research and that research most likely shows that people tune in when they play that type of music .

• Speaking of Christmas, I have always felt that it was an employee morale killer to keep your business open on Christmas day. I think that businesses that are able to close , should. However the argument for keeping certain businesses open on that day is that it is one of the busiest days of the year . So we have no one to blame but ourselves because although we say it is wrong, but we use the service that these businesses provide on December 25th .

•   For the first time in my life I have to work on Christmas day, I work in health care and we can not close on that day. I am a little bummed about this , but will go in and try to put a smile on the people I serve faces , because where I work is home for them and they deserve nothing but my best , if I can make their Christmas special , it might make mine special too.

• I am suffering a bit from the post marathon blues, but not as bad as I thought. I mostly have been looking ahead and I can't get the Chicago Marathon out of my head. The more I research it the more I want to run it. 

• The Cleveland Browns are fun to watch. However, this talk of playoffs are a little premature. We have too tough of a schedule remaining . Years of disappointments have taught me not to get too excited , to enjoy any success on a weekly basis, because the following week it can all fall apart. 

• Lately any political talk has given me an upset stomach. If you know me , you know I love to talk politics , but lately when I hear it I reach for the Pepto.

That is about it for right now, I hope everyone is having a great day!