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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—I thought I was special. There was an ICD, an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator sewed into my chest. There I was, still running marathons. More than that, I was feeling great. We were In Duluth, Minnesota, at Grandma’s Marathon a few years ago.
—The weather was perfect and I was running with my youngest daughter, her first marathon. We weren’t making great time, but she had an IT band issue and it was about my 17th marathon. I had nothing to prove. I was making jokes to ease her pain. I knew that an Elvis impersonator would be at about mile 18. I told her we would run until we saw Elvis, then we could walk for a while.
—Funny thing happened at a potty stop. Waiting in line, I started talking with another runner (about my age.) As we started edging around health issues and I was getting ready to mention my ICD, he told me about his heart transplant. Heart transplant? I thought it was enough to run with an ICD, to back up my cardiac rhythm.
—This guy had traded in his heart for someone else’s and he was still running marathons.
—Unfortunately, I never got his name or bib number. I would love to know how he finished. He and my daughter made me proud that day. She endured and so did he.

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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?

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—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!

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

Here’s the difference:
—BEFORE THE RUN–As I’ve written before, often it’s about the attitude at the start. Joy and gratitude help!
—DURING THE RUN–How I feel during the run is the result of a good warmup and proper stretching. Dressing right for the weather and being properly hydrated (instead of overwatered.) And for me, very little in the stomach.
—AFTER THE RUN–According to Dr. Steven Jonas in the Merck Manual of Medical Information, there are two possible types of muscle discomfort after exercise.
—–Desirable: delayed onset muscle soreness (doesn’t start until hours after intense exercise) Usually affects both sides of the body equally, more or less. Goes away after 48 hours. Feels better after the warm up for the next workout.
—–Undesirable muscle discomfort: injury, usually felt soon after it occurs, is worse on one side of the body, does not disappear after 48 hours and becomes more severe when exercise is resumed.

—Novice runners often interpret all muscle discomfort, even good discomfort, as a sign of injury.
—Experienced runners often advise “running through” or ignoring the pain. But that only works if the “injury” is delayed onset muscle soreness. A real injury may stop you in your tracks and trying to “run through” it will not work. Keep going, but if it doesn’t go away in a short time, it is a real injury. Fortunately, you won’t usually do any more damage trying to “run through” the pain.
—For some, a true injury is an opportunity to quit running. For the dedicated among us, it is motivation to proactively rehab the injury and to take greater care in the future with stretching and warmup.

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—So, is it enough to just keep doing the same thing day in day out, year after year? There is comfort in routine. (Unless you are overcome with boredom.)
—In my experience, you need to be seeking constant improvement just to maintain your fitness.
—As you age, if you are satisfied with the same old route, the same old pace, you will gradually lose your edge. I am not suggesting that your goal should be winning races, but if you keep pushing yourself, incrementally, to run farther, faster, better, you will at least maintain. At a minimum, maintenance should be your goal. And I hope you can do even better.
—How about a New Year’s resolution? Resolution means Resolve. By this time next year try to be a better runner than you are today. Aspire! Resolve!

Is it true? Our relationships are becoming wide and shallow?

We meet more and more people and make hundreds of new acquaintances every year. But few develop into friendships. Even fewer into deep friendships.

Everyone is so busy with their lives. There are just too few opportunities to relate for much more (or much longer) than a hello. We really need to give relationships a little more time!

Another problem, easy to overlook, is that there are so few good places to carry on a conversation. Few places intimate enough for two people or even two couples to share any depth. Without those kinds of places, how do we make friends or even maintain friendships? I mean where are the quiet places where there are no interruptions or distractions from television, kids, traffic, crowds or music?

I suppose it’s just me, but I long for the day when there were high back wood booths that put a couple of cherry cokes (or better yet a pitcher of beer) between two or four people. And a soda jerk or waitress who respected privacy, but kept the drinks coming. Then we could talk!

I favor the pitcher of beer. What would you expect from someone who named their dog “Barley”?

Comments? email dennis@themilkmarket.com
This is my response to a post by Jonathan Fields, the Career Renegade, “Awake at the Wheel.” I have enjoyed his posts at www.jonathanfields.com/blog/

—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!

Everyone should have a dream.
For John it was to rap.
He had the moves and rhythm
And he knew how to wear his cap.
—He dreamed of girls and pals.
—He dreamed of wealth and fame.
—He knew that he could make it so,
—He quit school to make his name.
—–I saw him last at Macy’s.
—–He’s now called “Sixty Cents.”
—–In golden bling, he lives his dream,
—–Rapping Christmas presents!

—I imagine that when you think of Las Vegas you think of sin city, the strip, what stays in Vegas…gambling, shows, big stars and all the other things that make it an icon. Some of these are positive, some negative but let’s face it Vegas makes a good living out of being outrageous.
—I didn’t run the Las Vegas Marathon on Sunday, but the newspaper report of the event reminded me of how much fun a marathon can be. The headline “It’s Just A Rolling Party” says a lot. The Marathon ran the Las Vegas strip which was closed for the event. There were 27,500 runners counting both the full and half registrants. Apparently, runners were in every imaginable costume including showgirls, the expected Elvis, and couples in wedding dresses and tuxedos. 85 couples either married or renewed wedding vows at a run-through chapel on the course. Oh, and Elvis lives! He is running marathons.
—Las Vegas knows there is no profit in same old same old. A vacation, or even a week end getaway for a marathon has to be to something unusual. Outrageous fits the bill. I understand. Not everybody loves it, but everyone has to appreciate it. I wish I would have participated.