“Life is action and passion. It is required that you share the action and passion of your time, lest you be judged not to have lived.” Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Civil War Hero and Chief Justice of Supreme Court.

Clearly life is both. Passion without action is wasted. Action without passion is aimless wandering.

We don’t run because it is the passion of our time. We run because we find joy in using our bodies, we find solitude on the road and we get the benefits of more fitness and less fatness.

In my 20’s my friends and I spent as much time as possible at the beach. Lake Calhoun, in Minneapolis, is about 3 miles around. An elderly gentleman in great shape used to run around the lake. He was tan and healthy, but so old. Now, I estimate he was in his fifties. Back in those days, there were few recreational runners. If there were running events available to the general population, they were not publicized.

I began by thinking if that old man could run, so could I. Then, every fall I went into a hell bent program to get in shape for the downhill ski season. And if I wanted to be hired as a city firefighter I would have to pass an agility test. So my first runs, off and on, were around the beautiful city lakes in Minneapolis.

The hook was set a few years later in a citizen’s cross-country ski race. A local girl, about 14 years old, kicked snow in my face. That spring I started a running habit that I’ve never regretted.

I suppose I appreciate James Brooks because I am a Grandfather, a runner and a pilot.

Brooks is a WWII fighter pilot, double Ace, who flew 55 combat missions in a P-51 Mustang. Still running in his late eighties he and the P-51 are the subject of a great video, a Gray Eagles film by Chris Woods. View it at http://www.asb.tv/videos/view.php?v=1bf99434&br=500 (It is narrated by Peter Coyote)

This is a touching video about one of the remaining members of what has been called “the greatest generation.” It is about Brook’s relationship with his grandchildren, a reunion with other P-51 pilots and a his chance to fly “the greatest fighter aircraft” again, in his eighties.

It is easy for me to identify with flight footage shot over eastern Idaho in view of the Tetons. It’s where we recently enjoyed seven winters.

What is clear from the video is that, at his age, Major Brooks is still physically active and mentally sharp. We should all hope, as we age, to do as well.

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—Jack Rabbit Johannsen was a skier. He can be credited, in fact, for bringing the sport to the U.S. and Canada. As a boy in Norway he competed in downhill, cross-country and jumping. His lifetime of skiing accomplishments put him in the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame.
—Although he was a pioneer in downhill skiing as well, his strong preference was for what we now call Nordic skiing. He pioneered hundreds of miles of trails in eastern Canada. Most remarkable, he kept doing it almost until his death at age 111. At 92 he completed a 190k cross country ski marathon with his family. I first saw a picture of him skiing at the age of 106.
—His genes accounted for his longevity, certainly. But his long miles of trail skiing, even at an advanced age, must have left his heart and lungs in great condition. I don’t know how he stayed in shape in the summer. I would like to think he was a runner, but the truth is, there were very few recreational runners only a few decades ago.
—There is little doubt that cross-country skiing, which uses the legs and the upper body, is better aerobic exercise than running. Unfortunately, it requires snow, and compared to running it is equipment intensive.
—We can run whether it snows or not, and just about any time and place. That’s an advantage. What Jack Rabbit teaches us though, is that age is no excuse for not working out. In fact if we desire longer lives with better quality of life as we age, we should keep cross-country skiing. Or running.

—A great article about Jack Rabbit Johannsen (1875-1987) is at
http://laurentian.quebecheritageweb.com/article_details.aspx?

And remember, take a break read “The Milk Market” See reviews, a short summary, buy in print or ebook at http://www.themilkmarket.com

Your comments are always welcome. Email dennis@themilkmarket.com

—Let’s see: You ate like a pig—-You drank like a fish—You smoked like a chimney!
Exercise? You said “Sounds like work to me!” By the way, what happened to your health?

—It’s hard to understand why so many people can’t see how important it is to exercise. I don’t care what you do, but run, bike, walk, yoga, jazzercise or aerobics. Do anything that gets the blood moving, the heart pumping and the lungs expanded.

—The news today is of a study done at Duke University, reported by the American Heart Assn. Heart attack survivors who stayed in rehab (exercise) had a dramatically reduced risk of stroke or heart attack compared to those who quit.

—The body is made to work. Runners know. Beginning runners, feeling the aches and pains, might have a harder time but they will soon enough feel the benefits.
—Anyway, the message seems clear. Hit the road!

Comments are welcome. Email dennis@themilkmarket.com

Tired of the “same old, same old?” Read a thriller, “The Milk Market”
See Reviews at http://www.themilkmarket.com“

—I didn’t want to go. I didn’t feel like it. I wasn’t ready!
—I was not up for a run mentally or physically.
There were pressures. It was my day to run but there were too many things going on around me. Because time was short, there just wouldn’t be the freedom of an open-ended run. Not open to the time or distance of my choosing. Still, I had to go.
—Then I remembered. Attitude is everything!
The way I start a run determines what kind of run it will be. I have to get cranked up. To do that, I have to remember what it feels like NOT to run. And I have to remember all those who can’t run, even if they want to. My friend Jerry with his oxygen tank and COPD, for example.
—I have to remember driving along the freeway east of Livingston Montana, in the middle of nowhere, seeing a runner alone out on the road in the cold and wind. Free. I remember wishing I could trade places, if just for a few miles.
—It’s about the freedom. Being able to run in any direction, no one holding me back, no one pushing me. No restrictions. I love running for the freedom it gives me.
—So I have to remember to start with a “joyful” attitude. I am lucky. Even when I don’t have much time, I still have legs and lungs and a heart. Joy!

I had a great run yesterday and I feel great today!

All that I am,
All that I have,
All that I will ever be,
I owe to the love and generosity
of Our Father.
Thank you.

—Not long ago an acquaintance referred to me as an athlete. It took me by surprise. I have never thought of myself as an athlete. I am not a jock. My tennis and golf games give true meaning to the term “hacker.” In high school I did student newspaper, yearbook, speech and debate and yes, drama.
—I was just a sports fan. Jocks were in a class by themselves. But now with years of running behind me, including many marathons, can I really be an “athlete?”
—It makes me wonder where all those high school and college athletes are now. Chances are, like me, many have discovered a lifetime sport like tennis or golf. Some may even have become runners.
—You know there are others that, burned out by early competitions, have followed the path of least resistance to become couch potatoes. You and I have heard the story: “Too busy, bad knees, no wind, shin splints…. I could do it if I had the time. Sounds like work to me! Maybe after I quit smoking…..”
—Remember the line from the A. E. Housman poem, To An Athlete Dying Young.
“Early though the laurel grows, it withers quicker than the rose.”
—Perhaps “late bloomers” are the true athletes. Committed to your sport for a lifetime, going for a run or ride any time, any place, any weather, at any age, during times of stress and often when you really don’t even feel like it.
“Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honors out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man.”
—No one celebrates your effort. There are no cheering crowds at the end of your run. No one places the laurel of “champion” on your crown. But you are still there after the bloom of youth has faded. You are still running when many of those high school and college stars can only polish the trophies they earned as teens. And you are still running.
—I applaud you! You are a rose!

This post first appeared in www.runningmoms.com

—I am really proud of some athletic accomplishments. NOT mine, but of some of the women in my life. My daughter-in-law and youngest daughter just finished the Minneapolis Irongirl Duathlon (2-19-2) with several of their close friends.
—I know they had a great time. I wish I could have been there to celebrate with them.
—And my oldest daughter just ran a grueling cross-country half marathon in the woods near Marquette, MI.
—Congrats to Dani, Amy, Danielle, Brenda, Kristy, Christy and the rest of you. Each of you is a “Rose!”

INSIGHTS —CHOOSE ONE FROM 25 TOPICS TO THINK ABOUT ON A RUN:
• Never fall in love with something that can’t love you back.
• Attack hills!
• Never miss an opportunity to shut up.
• Never quit when you’re ahead.
• 3 STEPS: 1. Pray. 2. Trust Jesus. 3. Have patience.
• Your ears don’t work when your mouth is open.
• Never argue with someone who knows everything.
• Travel light.
• Hope for the best, expect the worst, enjoy the in between.
• Don’t even talk to someone who knows everything.
• Make dust or eat dust.
• Two heads are better than one, but two half-wits = one nitwit.
• No one knows everything.
• Husbands: Respect the person who owns 75% of your property.
• Write fast. Rewrite slow.
• Don’t waste time on people who don’t like you.
• If it’s not yours to judge, then it’s not yours to condemn.
• Redo the 3 steps.
• Training mantra: Make a promise: Keep a promise.
AND FROM HARVEY MACKAY:
• Dig your well before you’re thirsty.
• If writing a check solves it—-It ain’t a problem.
• Would you do it for $10,000?
AND FROM THE EAGLES:
• Call it paradise then kiss it goodbye.
• Learn to be still.
• We may lose or we may win, but we will never be here again.

I’ve written about running the first mile, how hard it is for most of us to transition our bodies to running mode, warming up the muscles and getting the heart and lungs up to speed. Unless running is much easier for you than me, I have suggested that the first mile be run at an easy pace, until your body is ramped up to your training or race pace.
But what about mile 2, or 5 or 10? What keeps you going when your body is saying “enough”? Or when you feel like you are running in overshoes? Many times during a run I have asked myself the question, “Is it worth it?”
Since I have been answering that question for almost forty years, I must be convinced that running is indeed worth it. But often I still need to motivate myself. Once in a while, it takes a trick. After all, at this point it is a mental game, so why not use any mental trick that, well, does the trick. Here are some of mine:
I look forward to a nice cool down walk for one. Or I just dwell on a reward at the end of my run. Sometimes I think about how I will feel after a long shower and a nice relaxed dinner with my family. Should I be gloating about dessert tonight? I am out here earning it, for goodness sake!

Harvey Mackay, who wrote “Swimming with Sharks” motivates himself by asking the question, “Would I do this for 10 thousand dollars?” It clarifies the value of the effort. That number works for me too. Nobody is offering us (or Mackay) that much to run, but if they were, wouldn’t it be easier?

But here’s one I can share with those who are old enough to remember classic movies. In John Ford’s 1939 film “Drums Along The Mohawk” starring Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda, someone has to get out of the besieged fort, through the French and Indian lines to reach the British army for help.
After the first attempt fails, Henry Fonda volunteers to give it a try. There follows a classic cross country run in which he is chased by three warriors who want to end his mission and take his scalp. In the hot sun, one by one his pursuers drop off exhausted and Henry gets through! He saves the fort!

When I start losing interest in my run, or when my body is telling me to slow down, I think about my pursuers. What will happen if they catch me? What will happen to my wife and friends at the fort? What will happen to my scalp? Then I can get just a little more from my legs and lungs. But that’s just me. Maybe mind games work better on me!
You’re welcome to give it a try when your run starts to drag. Go on! Try harder! Save the Fort!