Spence Smith

Here’s a subject that has a wide variety of opinions. Mine of course, is just
that…an opinion. I know that I don’t always eat the best, but about 90% of the time I eat great.

I’ve read a lot on the subject and have come to this conclusion. If
you are looking to get into better shape whether it’s for something athletic like running or triathlons or if you are just wanting to loose
some pounds to look better, the simple fact is this…it’s a neat little formula that has worked for centuries on end! Ready?

EAT LESS…MOVE MORE.

We live in a society, especially in the US, where more is more…not less is more. Big portions, big drinks, big everything.

Through out all my training for triathlons, the one question I get the most is I’d like to start running… What do I do?

Ahhh… well, let me tell you…

1. Set a goal…. Start with a 5k, which is 3.1 miles or a 1/2 marathon which is 13.1 miles.

2. Buy the right running shoes for you. Not just any shoe… but the right shoe. This means a visit to my favorite running store like, Fleet Feet, Endurance Sports, or ACME Multisport. If you aren’t in the Nashville area then ask around for a RUNNING store staffed by runners. Getting a proper fit for shoes is critical to your training and preventing unwanted injuries. If I catch you walking into Foot Locker or the Finish Line then I will come hunt you down… and make you buy me dinner at a really expensive restaurant!

You want to buy shoes from runners who know shoes. Its that simple.

3. Train with a friend, a group of friends, or a training program like Powered By Hope. Learning from each other helps, not to mention the accountability from your friends and the community you will build in the process is priceless.

For those who are looking to run in the Country Music 1/2 Marathon, Powered By Hope is building a community of runners (beginners to seasoned athletes) to support a great cause. Their training plan is easy to get into and well worth the effort. Training officially starts January 16, 2010 at Fleet Feet in Brentwood, TN

4. Find the right training plan for you. I use the Jeff Galloway system quite a bit to help me build my running endurance. It’s easy to get into and it’s not overwhelming. No one expects you to run far for very long when you are a beginner and there’s nothing wrong with a little walking. The goal is to finish.

5. Have fun with it! Take your time and learn to enjoy the benefits from your training and the people you meet along the way. The encouragement I got as a beginner was what made me want to keep going and eventually encourage others to experience the same joy and benefits I got from running with a group of people.

Benefits? Oh yes… You can lose weight.. That’s always a plus… but what most people don’t realize is how much your mind gets in better shape. Your moods level out, you tend to think more clearly and it’s a great way to relieve a bit of stress and bring focus to your day.

Take it from me. I went through a really big change in my life that was stressful, hurtful, and just down right sad…they call it a divorce. My counselor wanted me to keep running because it was helping me get through the really tough times.

I have to say… I’m much better for it. And now, all of this training I do – Swimming, biking and running… is now just apart of my lifestyle. It’s something I love to do… not something I feel like I have to do as if it were a burden.

So… You wanna learn to run? Go for it!! and if you have any questions about the your first running steps, shoot me an email. I can’t give you all the answers but I will tell you how I got started and few things I’ve learned along the way.

Before Christmas gets here, make a decision to do something for yourself while helping others. Go sign up with Powered By Hope and run the Country Music 1/2 Marathon. You will thank me later for it!

And while you’re read Born To Run… it changed my running life!

For the past few weeks I’ve been dealing with a knee problem as a result of running. It pretty much sucks. I’ve been training for a marathon and had been logging in some big miles when one knee really started to hurt. As I was getting over that small knee injury, the other knee started to hurt. It’s like one pain uncovered another pain. But usually when an injury happens like this, you can almost count on another injury to pop up because your body is trying to overcompensate for the original injury.

As I have been take steps to heal my knee without damaging myself, I’m reminded how tough it is to get through emotional pain and hurt. I’ve been thinking back to different times in my life when I have been hurt emotionally and felt the pain of having something broken in my life.

Sometimes life is really tough. For me, going through and getting through my divorce was probably the single biggest emotional hurt and pain I have ever dealt with. It taught me a few lessons that I’m actually able to see that go hand in hand with healing my hurt knee.

You see, most times when people are hurt, doing nothing and letting time do the healing feels like the right thing to do. But in my case and in the case with my knee, taking proactive preventative steps have made and are making the difference.

With my knee there are certain stretches and some icing that I do. Each passing day, these exercises bring me a little closer to healing. Everyday I can feel the progress. Then like yesterday, I can go out and try a few miles and see how things feel. Yesterday, it still hurt some, but not as much and as I ran I babied it till it was time to quit. Once we stopped running, I took some time to stretch and ice it.

Dealing with emotional pain and hurt has been the same way for me over the years. I have a hard time just sitting and waiting for time to pass. I don’t exactly buy the phrase, Time Heals All Wounds…I think if this phrase were to be correct then what you would find is Mental Stretches and Exercise Over Time Heal All Wounds.

If you sit around feeling hurt and do nothing about it, then you could find yourself a few years down the road never having made any progress in getting over the hurt you had experienced. But…if you stretch your heart and ice the pain a little along the way, then eventually you will be stronger. Dealing with your heart as the hurt and pain happen give you the confidence to be able to go the a better place emotionally. Granted for some, I know this process is huge. But in principle, it’s still the same. I know for me, it sometimes takes a little for me to deal with my heart, but once I do, things are a little better each time.

When you rebuild muscle or tendons, you are making them stronger to handle more the next time around. When I think of what my heart has been through, I think of rebuilding my heart so that I’m strong the next time around. A stronger body when you exercise gives you more confidence as you exercise and train more. A stronger heart and mind gives you more confidence as you go out and take on a new relationship or even when you are trying to just face the world.

A little bit of preventive exercise both physically and mental go a long way. The thing is, sometimes it doesn’t take much. Sometimes it’s as easy as a little bit of focus and determination to make it to the next part.

When I first started to run, I had a running coach who would say, When you are tired and want to quit, look ahead a find the next point you want to run to and let that be your goal to help you finish well. Then walk a little for a rest, look ahead and set the next goal. Eventually you will get there and you will have done it on your terms.

As you think about the hurt and pain in your own lives, think about those little steps you can take to get through. It’s a good thing to find a therapist to coach you through the hard stuff and give you a little direction and focus. For others, it might be calling on a close friend who might be able to help. And for some…it might just take a good run or some time alone to clear your head and help you focus on that next step.

But no matter what, doing nothing only prolongs the healing…now…time to stretch and ice my knee.

I’ve been running for a few years now. I’m not the fastest or the best at it, but I know how to do it and not hate it.

I talk to so many people who want to like even the thought of running. Any time I have a conversation about what I’m doing with triathlons, we end up talking about how they could never see themselves doing one of the three sports much less all three.

I always take the conversation back to when I started running.

Running for me was and still is therapeutic. My marriage was going down the tubes, I needed to lose some weight and I found myself loving the mental clarity and energy I had after a good run.

Getting through that first mile…No pun intended…was a milestone. I would think…if I could just run a mile, then I could go for two miles…and on and on.

The key though was finding a plan to go by and a group of people who were already running and beginner’s like me. It’s so much harder when you try to walk out your door and start running with no instruction or goals or way to gauge progress. This is what we call…Learning the hard way and hating it.

A great place to start with a group and a goal is Team In Training.

Life is such a process. So is running. You have to look at it in small steps and go from there. When talking about life people say, I’m just trying to live one day at a time. Well that makes sense to me. So why would you not treat running or anything else physical the same way?

Life has it’s ups and downs. So does running. Life has sore spots and aches and pains. So does running. Life has its rewards. So does running. After a little time the soreness starts to fade, the aches and pains go away and running…well now it’s just apart of everyday life now…as if it were second nature…go figure.

It’s all apart of the process. If you bite of more than you can chew then you will fail every time. Run with a plan, set some goals and experience life in a whole new way. You won’t regret what you will learn about yourself in the process.

I did it and now I’m doing triathlons. Never thought I would, but what the heck…might as well tri right?

What do you have to lose?

This past weekend was in one word AMAZING!!! My two brothers and I ran the Bolder Boulder 10k on Memorial Day in Boulder, CO with my dear friend Krissy Thomas. We had a blast together. I can’t believe they actually agreed to come run it with me. The altitude was fierce for us and very tough to get through. well…except for Shelby. He is the younger of the three of us. I heard him say to his wife " I really didn’t feel the altitude at all." Scott, my older bother, and I were dying!!!

The great part about this effort for the three of us was that there were about 100 people from Compassion International running it and I had already committed to run it a while back. In all, there were 50,000 runners signed up this year. Wow!!! There were people everywhere!

To start off the weekend though, my brothers met me in Denver Thursday and we drove down to Las Vegas, NM for the 50th Anniversary of the camp we went to as kids. It’s called Camp Blue Haven. We spent the weekend with old friends and got some great quality time with just the three of us as well. One of the highlights was hiking Hermit’s Peak. Hermit’s Peak tops out at 10,230 feet. It’s 3 miles from the trail head to the tip of the peak and a 3,000 foot climb. The last time I hiked it was in 1990!!! I think some one made the mountain taller! My lungs felt like they were going to explode. It was then I realized I was 17 years younger when I had last hiked it. So…here’s a picture of Hermit’s. The mountain looks like the profile of a man’s face laying down. If you can view it that way then the route we hike is up through the eye and out to the tip of the nose.