place of nathan.

[NOTE--No photographs are provided to spare you the gory image]

As I’ve mentioned a few times, I have been running a lot recently in preparation for a the Fort Wayne certified half marathon the end of September.
About a month ago I bought a new pair of shoes.

Then I went camping and I think broke (or at least sprained or bruised) a metatarsal (bone on the top of my foot).
About a week after this, I had a nagging arch pain, and I feared I was developing fallen arches, so I put arch supports in my new shoes (I probably mis-identified the broken metatarsal pain as falling arches, but I never put two-and-two together until now…)

In the past two weeks, I’ve been running five times a week, and five times a week I have a blister on my big toe.
It hurts!

So tonight is one of my days off, so I’ll let it heal, and then I am taking out the arch supports for Saturday’s 10-miler.

We’ll see how my big toe does.

It’s just a big pain in my BIG TOE.

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So I’ve been running a lot more lately, getting ready for the Fort Wayne certified (that means it counts) half marathon.
Last weekend Isaac and I went out for a long run, and it was the first time I’ve been out over an hour in two years, I believe. It felt great!
We are looking forward to another long run, 8 miles, this weekend. Should be greatly enjoyable! We’re planning on putting in the long runs in the morning so that we can get our bodies at least partially used to running in the morning (the half marathon starts at 7:30 a.m.).
Tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., I’m getting up and putting in a run with Jason. That should be a challenge! I haven’t been up that early since I don’t know when.

Hope you’re going to join us at the half marathon! You don’t have to run all that hard, you know. You can walk as much as you want–exercise is good for you, your body and your heart.

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This week as I rolled out a new Microsoft Exchange service for our Email (here @ New Hope), I knew I would need (if I wanted to fully use the available functionality) to switch back from Mozilla Thunderbird to Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.

It is still taking me some getting used to for sure! Nothing is quite as simple and straight-forward as it was in Thunderbird.
But I am thankful to have a calendar program that syncs to my phone and my Email all in one place.
Now, I just need to relearn Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. (Don’t you just love that long name?)

Last night’s roll out took me somewhere around 3 1/2 hours, and I’m tired today. I guess I need to go for a training run!
(p.s. I still miss my T-bird.)

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This week, Emily and I adopted a new pet dog, Fido.

We got it from Emily’s brother Joel.

At first, Emily loved the dog, but she’s since become a little freaked out by the way the dog seems to stare at her while she’s dressing. She says Fiedo gives her the ‘heebie jeebies’.

Anyway, here’s a photo of our new puppy dog!

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I’m curious…do you get enough exercise on a daily (or weekly) basis?

I’ve really been trying to exercise more this summer, and it comes and goes. I have done a better job of walking to work (8 minute walk one way), and also have been running (for the Fort Wayne certified half marathon in two months).

I think they say we’re supposed to get 15-minutes of vigorous activity at least 4 times a week. How are you doing?
Another question: How are you exercising? Walking? Running? Biking? Swimming? Basketball? What say you?

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This week’s poll question is about the Chicago Cubs…

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My long-time friend and running buddy Ryan (although he’s still about 140 pounds!) recently started blogging, so I figured I’d send some link love his way. Be sure to swing by and check out his stories.
This one-time English major has an Impromptview.

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This summer, I’ve been walking more and more to work and up town to the grocery or council meetings.

But it seems more than ever before, I’m getting offered rides left and right. Don’t worry, I’m grateful for the offer, but seriously, I’m walking by choice. I have a nice car, I can afford gasoline (although I’d rather not pay it), I actually have a driver’s license, I have affordable car insurance, and I’m not walking out of necessity.

Several weeks ago, I had one couple stop and offer me a ride, ‘No thanks,’ I responded.
‘Naaaa, get in Nathan. We’ll take you wherever you’re going.’
‘No, thanks, I’m walking for fun.’
‘No, get in, we’ll take you.’
‘No, really, I want to walk?’
‘Are you sure? Come on, let us take you.’
‘I chose to walk, I’m good. Thanks!’
‘Well, okay.’
‘Have a great day, and thanks!’

That is too funny!

Do more walking! (And don’t ask me if I need a ride, please!)

What factors are prohibiting you from walking more often?

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This weekend I went to the Three Rivers Festival Parade, and was standing there watching the parade route. The parade stopped in front of us, and I looked over and there was a guy looking directly at me.

Then it hit me: This was my man, my governor, Mitch Daniels sitting on a custom painted (with the state symbol) bike. I pointed at him and yelled, ‘Mitch, you’re my man!’

This guy has got to be the coolest governor in the nation. Who rides a bike in a parade? What governor would care more about turning a state around than getting reelected? My Man, that’s who!

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Last night I drank my first cup of coffee roasted from a local small batch coffee roaster, whose site I’m helping give a major overhaul.
Oh man…talk about good coffee! Very nice.
The coffee arrived on June 26, and was roasted on June 25. Seriously fresh coffee!
You should check out one of the best small batch roasters around, Utopian Coffee Company at utopiancoffee.com (obviously, the current site is the old one that’s getting replaced).

If you’re a serious coffee drinker, you’ll appreciate Utopian. (And if you think Maxwell House is great, don’t bother.)

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Earlier today, Guy Kawasaki twittered a link to an interview he did with The First Thirty Days founder Ariane de Bonvoisin. I had never heard of Bonvoisin or her company, which specializes in helping people adjust to change. (Read the Interview)

In the interview, Bonvoisin shares several insights, including offering nine principles that those who adapt to change well seem to follow:

1. They have a positive belief about change and are generally optimistic. I call these people “change optimists.”
2. They believe in the change guarantee: that something good always comes from change.
3. They know that they possess a “change muscle”–that they are strong, capable, powerful, and intuitive enough to handle any change that comes into their lives or that they want to initiate.
4. They refuse to become paralyzed by “change demons”–negative emotions that arise during change.
5. They don’t resist change–choosing instead to accept the reality of their situation.
6. They understand that their thoughts, the words they say and the feelings they allow themselves to experience during change have a direct affect on how easily they move through the transition.
7. They believe that life has a deeper meaning than what can easily be seen or felt, that something greater is at play, and that no change is arbitrary.
8. They surround themselves with a support team to help them move through change.
9. They refuse to get stuck during change. They keep moving and take care of themselves mentally, physically, and emotionally.

This kinda hit home, this is generally me–this is why I like change and welcome change (normally!). And in most cases, I am frustrated (not paralyzed, see principle 4) by the lack of willingness of others to move forward with change at my speed.

I do encourage you to take a look at First30days.com and start changing! Embrace it, baby!

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