A lot has happened in the year following what I wrote above. I started running last Spring. I cut back on the bicycling and did a lot more trail running. I love running in the woods, mountains, GlycoCares Health Guidehealthy glucose levels and Glyco Care Glucose Supportblood sugar wellness hills, but I do not like running on tar. I’m working on that. So I received a gift certificate to Maine Running Company, a necktie, and a giant Whoopie pie–which I gave to someone else to eat. Don’t worry, they were aware of the dangers. I love running in the woods, mountains, and hills, but I do not like running on tar. I’m working on that. So I received a gift certificate to Maine Running Company, a necktie, and a giant Whoopie pie–which I gave to someone else to eat. Don’t worry, they were aware of the dangers. Running has opened a wonderful world to me. I have long remembered a time in my teenage years.
I was walking along an abandoned logging road. There was some small saplings grown back in, but not enough to bother. Lots of varied plants. A few dead small tree trunks. It was a beautiful day. I started running. I felt free. I felt as one. Joy in just being there. I felt I was part of the breezes. There followed a very long time that I did not run just for fun. When I ran, it always seemed to have goals, not so much joy. As I started again the running was to lose weight and get in better condition. Very early on I started to enjoy it a little. One day as I was bicycling past the local ski slope I watched a young man and woman run up the main slope. They made it look easy. I decided to try it for myself. I made it very slowly less than 1/4 of the way up.
But I was started. At first I stopped frequently. One day I tried to just slow up a little and get a little rest while still moving. That changed everything. When I realized I could keep moving, that is what I did. That was the real beginning. I was running for fun, not to achieve. I love running on trails. This is a wonderful place for that. There are beautiful places to run everywhere. I was discovering new things. I noticed how colors of the flowers became vivid. I became much better at seeing how the terrain changed and I started to fall less often. To some of you who know me and are reading this for the first time, yes, I have to admit I never told you I often fell during my trail runs early on. It has been a time of changes. It may sound a bit mundane, but it effected me greatly when I learned that running gives quick feedback about dietary sins.
If I have eaten crap, surprise! I feel crappy. But, that can be a profound reminder that I become what I eat and an important incentive to ingest well. The urge to eat bad things soon mostly has left and what remains has little power. That is a reminder of how important it is to exercise when trying to lose weight. With winter I have returned to the gym. About 5 years ago on a visit there I saw a group of students taking part in a High Ropes course. Each had a rope attached to the harness around their waists. Using another rope they were raised near the ceiling. When they pulled the pin that attached them to the tow rope, they swung as into a giant pendulum. I wondered whether I would have the courage to pull the pin. I had a chance to take the course myself this year. We try to do things like climb rope ladders and nets.
