I’ve said before that I don’t do New Year’s resolutions, but this is going to sound like one. Image borrowed from Lifespan Fitness. For the last three months, I have been inhabiting a new vocation as a full-time church pastor. I’ve also been a part-time college instructor, teaching on Zoom. My pastoral call is 45... Continue Reading →
Everything is totally under control (not)
We’re closing in on nearly three months since my last blog post. Three months during which life zoomed along, barely under any kind of control. (Seriously, I even had dreams about trying to maneuver an out-of-control car: one night, it was rocketing down a winding ramp from the upper floor of a parking tower, with... Continue Reading →
A conversation with ultracoach and runner Loretta Tobolske-Horn #rolemodels #ageisnotabarrier
Banner photo above by Howe Stern; Loretta Tobolske-Horn at Desert Solstice, 2020. “I’m almost 50 and I’m not getting slower. I’m getting smarter...” In this “blogcast” I talk to ultrarunner and coach Loretta Tobolske-Horn. Loretta turns 50 next month, which is close enough to make her a 50 is the New Forte role model! Photo... Continue Reading →
A random act of blogging
(That image above is Lucas Cranach's "The Fountain of Youth.") (Yosemite Sam, for you youngsters.) First, a little rant. After encountering the umpteenth reference to an "anti-aging" expert, or vitamin, or diet, or serum, or face cream, or pill, or mask, or… WHATEVER… I found myself sputtering like Yosemite Sam. AGING IS A BIOLOGICAL THING.... Continue Reading →
Streaking
There she be. Proof that I completed the “spring streak” challenge, albeit with some mighty short walks - sometimes the bare minimum of 1 mile and "change"! When I couldn't get out to walk during the day, I hopped on my rower or my stationary bike for 20 to 30 minutes. Those intervals are recorded... Continue Reading →
Climbing the walls
February turned into a pretty good month. For the last five years, during the weeks leading up to my annual mammogram, I get a little bit crazy. My sleep - which is never good - gets horrible: a series of short, light naps interspersed with a dozen or more full-wake-ups every night. I become forgetful,... Continue Reading →
“Go ahead. Tie one on.”
Yes, I'm totally stealing that - no, I'm QUOTING that! - from a wellness poster/campaign that ran in the hallways and stairwells of a Kaiser Permanente office where I worked years ago. The poster charmed me so much I threatened to steal it (but didn't; I was completing a PhD in ethics at the time,... Continue Reading →
Let’s get physical
How many of you remember Allison Roe? Though her reign as a leading female distance runner in the early 1980s was brief, it was impressive. She won the Boston and NYC and Seoul marathons in 1981, and broke Mary Decker Slaney's course record in the iconic Atlanta Peachtree (10K) road race the same year. This... Continue Reading →
I’m an ultra-walker
(Update: no idea how that weird Facebook link got into this page, but it's gone, now!) One full year ago (October 30, 2017), I told you about a health assessment I took that estimated my biological age to be five years older than I actually was. The estimate gave me some extra dings for having... Continue Reading →
Stranger in a Strange…Body
As I hope I've made clear since back in the early days of this blog (we're one year old today!), I'm not a fitness expert. I'm just a person trying to stay fit and healthy while navigating some of the typical hurdles of middle age (slowing metabolism, muscle loss, new distributions of fat cells), as... Continue Reading →
10K tune-up
My 10K tune-up (walking, not running) was a comedy of errors. The parking lot turned out to be nearly 1.5 miles from the starting line, and I pulled into the lot with just 15 minutes to spare. My best walking pace lately has been around 15 minutes/mile, so I was already in trouble. When I... Continue Reading →
Gettin’ realer
Almost exactly two months ago I mentioned the goal I've set for myself this year. (Cripes, that was just two posts ago, too; "real life" has not been friendly to my blogging aspirations this winter.) And that I was working with a physical therapist in hopes that I might get myself running again. Not surprisingly,... Continue Reading →