Building Habits

Habits, good and bad, we all have them. If you think about it we are little more than the sum of our habits and nothing else. Habits are our brains internal productivity drivers, a network of routines and behaviors, developed over time, that we carry out with little or no thought what so ever.

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act , it is a habit." Aristotle

Consider your own habits for a minute; making coffee in the morning, checking Facebook, turning on the TV, pouring a glass of wine, brushing your teeth. These are all habits you have created over time, they are done without a lot of mental preparation. You do these things because it has become part of your routine:good or bad.



According to the mayo clinic exercise is vital to living and sustaining a healthy mind and body. It not only helps control weight, combat disease and other health conditions it also improves mood, relieves stress and promotes better sleep habits.

Charles Dickens in his essay "Night Walks" said "the sum of the whole is this: walk and he happy, walk and be healthy."

 So why haven't we all jumped up off the couch and started getting active?

The answer, SIMPLE.  It takes work, becoming healthy and fit doesn't happen fast enough. It is a life long commitment between you, your brain and your body to create a sustainable exercise habit and old habits die hard.

Here are a few tips to get started:

1) Start small and slow
Exercise doesn't have to be extreme. Start with something simple like a daily walk. This will get      

you out the door and moving, opening the door to other fitness goals. Taking the first steps leads to 

the next step.

2) Choose a time and stick with it
Find a time in your day that works best for you to commit to you and your health. Exercising at the
same time every day will become routine (like brushing your teeth) making it easier to stay
consistent.

3) Make your health a priority
People who exercise daily make better choices when it comes to their health. A short walk can
lead to better eating habits and a healthier life style.

4) Stop making excuses
Don't make excuses about not having enough time. There are 168 hours in a week. If you sleep 56
of those hours and work 40 of those hours there are still 72 hours to play with even if you have
to run the kids around.You can accomplish anything if you set your mind to it

The biggest key to creating and maintaining an active life is to understand it is a lifelong process. Becoming healthy and fit doesn't happen overnight. Set some goals even if it is just loosing weight, making it a habit. Working towards that goal will not only help you get fit quicker right now, it will ensure you make your health and fitness a priority, FOR LIFE!

It Rained.......

When preparing for races I have always followed the soldiers adage"Train as you Fight." Up and out early in the morning, into the rain, heat of the day or dark of night preparing for the worst, expecting the best on race day. Until recently, I had always been blessed with good weather at the start line. No one ever really expects anything less.

Rain had been forecasted for the entire weekend and it had rained all day the previous day, this race was going to be a wet one. Packet pick up Friday was at the Catawba Brewing Company in Morgantown, North Carolina, it was pouring. After sampling a couple choice beverages from their menu and grabbing a bite to eat, I turned toward Steele Creek Park for the night.

The 13 mile trip was slowed by the continued rain. The parks entrance was obscured in the pea-soup fog. I passed through the gate, my chin on the steering wheel, making every effort to stay on the road. It reminded me of a scene in a horror movie. I pulled off the muddy dirt road just steps from the start line and tucked into my sleeping bag for the night.

Runners slowly emerged from where they had been hiding from the rain, almost unwillingly assembling for the 0700 50K start. Mark, the race director, gave last minute instructions regarding course markings, creek crossings and cut off times. With an unceremonious "GO", we all seemed to plod off into the murky approach of dawn. It was still raining with everyone thoroughly soaked in the first 1/4 mile. People complained of the rain even made the effort to avoid puddles, I must have laughed out loud because the young lady next to me asked "whats so funny?" "This" I said "look at us."
I had done my due diligence, studied the course description, map and profile on the races website prior to the start. Using splits from previous years, I felt I had developed a pretty solid plan for the day if the rain kept up however I may have to reevaluate.

50k Course Map*

Swollen Steele Creek*

If it was not pouring; rain dripped from the trees as if it was. We splashed through puddles like kids on the playground, gingerly crossed swollen creeks. The wet smell of decay filled the autumn woods, on the climb to table rock we passed through hay fields, climbed wide grassy double track roads, meandered through the woods scrambling over rocks, slipping and sliding along grease, muddy trails. A few dirt roads and aid station tents our only reprieve from the challenging conditions.

You simply have to decide to get on with it during a day like this. To be honest, it was fun tramping through the mud, meeting other racers and friendly aid station staffers. I unexpectedly found myself at the summit before noon with no view, of course, but ahead of my original plan. I was pleasantly surprised!

Torrents of water raged down the middle of the trail cascading over rocks and roots as we waded on. As I slipped, slid and stumbled my way from the summit, I was cold and tired and extremely concerned about falling and really getting hurt. As I left the Table Rock parking lot aid station, I had the overwhelming feeling  that I had been moving too slowly and that I was in danger of missing the 1pm cut off. Wet, sore and tired, I put everything into getting to the next aid station before that time.

Passage of time between aid stations was a blur. I slipped and tripped and slid a great distance on my butt only to learn upon arrival that my concern was for not, the cut off requirement had been at the previous aid station. Because of my effort I found myself an hour ahead of my original plan and 10 or so miles from the finish. My focus turned to finishing and finishing better than I ever had. This was unexpected and unfamiliar territory really. The conditions where not going to get any easier and I was tired.

Fortunately, the next 6 or so miles where a mix of gravel roads and less technical trail making it a little easier to keep moving at a steady pace. I met up with Tim and we pushed and pulled each other to the last aid station in less than an hour. My exhaustion kept in check by the possibility of finishing this 50K faster than any previous 50K attempt. My entire body ached and was screaming that it had had enough. The last stretch to the finish overlapped the first 5 miles, I anticipated them to be as unfamiliar as they had been 7 hours earlier when we heading out. In another push and pull effort, Tim and I rallied together to ensure forward progress. We hiked up the hills, ran every downhill and with the finish in site ran as if we were vying for first place. He won. With more gas in the tank, Tim was able to muster a little more than I was at the end. It didn't matter at all.  I had just knocked over 2 hours off of my bet 50K time and I was elated!

 It was still raining as I struggled out of my wet clothes and pulled on my clean, warm and dry FINISHERS sweatshirt. Sitting in the warm car, I sat staring through the windshield as finishers continued to trickle across the finish line. My eyes heavy, I drifted into a nap before the drive home.

*Credit for the pictures goes to Table Rock Ultras

Epic Runs, Right Under your Toes

 Check out the "Favorite Trail" feature on page six of Trail Runner magazine and you will find the description of a beautiful, wide open, perfect trail in some distant Shangri-La eons from your back door. Additionally, the annual "5 best trail towns" article never mentions my state, let alone my town or trail. Read to many race reports describing those epic trails of races afar; perfect rolling single track, through fairy tale forests, sprawling views, endless landscapes and bottomless waterfalls and you may find yourself wallowing in a bit of the have nots. May I suggest that you stop and look around, you may be pleasantly surprised about where you run.

 For example I have run on the rolling rural roads of Warwick, New York. Routes all over town of varying distances, difficulties and beauty. One of my favorites,  Sandfordville's Cross Country course a rolling hay field on the edge of town perfect for tempo, speed or recovery workouts. Another dubbed the Ochs Hill climb, a mile long hill to the climbs name sake "Ochs Orchard" at the top a mosaic view of Warwick Valley rolls out below. While attending a family reunion in Illinois, I discovered the endless looping trail system of 1,550 rolling prairie acre Shabbona State Park, a multi use facility that I have yet to see more than a hand full of people use. In the bizz and buzz of North Miami, I discovered 1,043 acre Oleta River State Park and frolicked on trails through idyllic tropical mangroves on Biscayne Bay. Northern Virginias 700 acre Blandy Experimental Farm along highway 81 offers an ideal location to shake the legs out while driving back and forth between New York and North Carolina. I can even get a run in at the in-laws, my father in-law introduced me to the Struble Trail in Downingtown, Pa. While you are running this trail along the east branch of Brandywine Creek you may be actually following in the foot steps of Joseph Plumb Martin; read "Memoir of a Revolutionary Soldier".

 Get the picture? Look around where you are or where you are going and you may find a "Favorite Trail" right under your toes. Beats wishing you where somewhere else!

Finally, at it again

 I am certain no one has been perched on the edge of their seat waiting for an "I Don't Run Fast" blog post. My lack of consistency blogging is mirrored by my lack of consistency running over the last 6 months. Not doing either has developed into my daily routine a routine that I am not proud of. What is infuriating is that I know better. I know that I am the only one capable of altering my routine, yet I don't. WHY? Even acquiring a canine running partner that I have to take out daily at the same time I had always run hasn't gotten me back out the door.  I have become quite accustom to slipping back into bed rather than heading out for a run burying my guilt under a pillow.

Lets RUN

 This has been a really aggravating experience. I have written about motivation and tricks one can use to get out the door but I have not been able to do it myself. As a running coach I preach up and down about not making excuses about getting out the door but I am not practicing what I preach. I know better, WHY?

 Over the course of my own fitness journey I learned that it was easy to waste time trying to figuring out why than actually doing. So much time in fact that it becomes the excuse to doing nothing at all. Proving in my opinion that when it comes to taking care of ourselves that we can come up with almost anything consciously even subconsciously to avoid it.

 However today I did it! I got my ass out of bed an ran. I don't know WHY, I just did it. Its amazing the feeling of accomplishment the simple act of finally getting out the door provided. Unfortunately, I have lost a great deal of fitness during this recent hiatus but….. I am back at it. I will keep you posted.

Mr. Bingley