Like many runners and walkers, one of my favorite things about getting outdoors during spring and summer is enjoying the beauty of freshly blooming trees, plants, and flowers.

Back when I lived and ran in the country, seeing orange and purple “ditch” lilies and iris always gave me a nice boost while logging miles on the rolling hills of western Wisconsin.

Now that I live and run in the city, spring lilac blooms are one of my favorite sights. Not only are they colorful they are super fragrant as well.

Yesterday during my weekly Saturday morning long run along the beautiful Chippewa River, I remarked to my two running buddies that we should make it our goal to be able to identify all of the flora and fauna along the trail. I was mostly joking, though the more I think about it the more I think that this would be a very worthwhile goal.

Much of what I know when it comes to flora and fauna is thanks to running on a weekly basis for many years with my good friends Jeff and John. One was a forestry major and the other a wildlife manager so they were rarely stumped when it came to the ID of trees, plants, flowers, or wildlife seen on the run.

Now that Jeff and John aren’t running with our group anymore—we’re still good friends, they just have cut back on their running—I guess I’ll have to figure out another way of expanding my flora and fauna knowledge.

I’m sure that it would be well worth the effort. One thing that I’ve learned from logging miles is that knowing the names of trees, plants, flowers, and wildlife only increases the enjoyment when getting some outdoor exercise!

If I had to choose a favorite season to run and walk outdoors in it probably would be spring.

Its warmer temps feel so good after a long, cold winter.  The sight of green grass, budding leaves, and colorful flowers also lifts our spirit and puts an extra spring in our step.

While the trees and flowers get most of our attention when enjoying the outdoors in the spring—and rightfully so– they aren’t the only thing that marks its arrival. At least not for me anyway.

For me, one of the first harbingers of spring is seeing worms in my driveway as I head out the door for my morning run. This tells me that the ground has thawed enough for a spring rain to bring them to the surface.

While worms may not be as attractive as trees and flowers, from what I understand they help both of them to grow by aerating and fertilizing the soil.

So when there are worms in the road after a spring rain, I do my best not to step on them.

I guess in that way worms, like spring flowers, also help to put some spring in my step!

Seeing the beauty of nature has always been a big part of what I enjoy about exercising outdoors.  It just seems to have become a bigger part of it as I have gotten older.

Maybe it’s because I’m moving more slowly and have more time to take in the sights.

Like many outdoor exercisers, I’m sure, one of my favorite sights when out for a run or walk is sunrises and sunsets.  The sunrise shared here was especially memorable in that it felt as though I was meant to see it.

It came into view just as I was cresting a challenging hill on a route that I hadn’t taken in close to a year. It’s the route that I usually run when I want to push myself out of my comfort zone a little. So seeing the sunrise felt to me like a sign that I was on the right track by picking up the pace a bit.

Seeing this sunrise on what was the first day of spring also felt like an encouraging sign. After a long, cold, covid-filled winter, it felt as though I was being told that brighter days are ahead.

On the morning of my run, my spirit was lifted by the beauty of the sunrise.

The following morning, I returned with my camera and got some photos of it, making sure to raise my shutter speed the way that a photographer friend, Cherrita, advised me to do when taking a photo of a sunrise or sunset.

It must be a sign of getting old that I am becoming more interested in shutter speed than running speed!

This past week I rediscovered some of the joys of cross training with a spin bike.

I first gained an appreciation for spinning way back in the 1980s, shortly after I ran the first of three marathons that I have completed in my life. Running 26.2 miles all in one shot left me feeling pretty banged up. For a week or so afterwards running just didn’t seem to be a healthy form of exercise to me.

 So I invested in a spin bike so that I could get my daily aerobic exercise in a way that involved less pounding.

I gained an even greater appreciation for spinning about 10 years later, when I ran my lifetime PR for the half-marathon off of an exercise regimen that involved roughly 2/3s running and 1/3 spinning.

Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t stick with that training “formula” for more of my time as a competitive runner, because it brought me such good results. The main reason I didn’t is that overall I enjoy exercising outdoors more than I do indoors.

Spinning does have a number of benefits, though, which I rediscovered on two days this week when I decided to spin rather than run.

One of the big benefits of switching it up through cross training is that we work different muscles. For regular runners such as me, another benefit is that it gives our body a break from some of the “pounding” involved with running.

Another thing that I enjoy about spinning is that one can read while doing it. Not only does this help to take some of the tedium out of stationary exercise, it helps to boost our brain power. Studies indicate that our brains learn especially well during and immediately after aerobic exercise.

For a detailed explanation about this phenomenon and the many other mental/cognitive health benefits of aerobic exercise, check out the book “Spark” by John Ratey, M.D.

As I get older, my guess is that cross training is something that I will turn to more often as a way to keep moving. My plan for now is to substitute it for running once or twice a week.

Not only will this help to give my aging body a break, it will help me to catch up on my reading list as well!

For quite a few years now, part of my fitness routine is to give myself some extra rest on the weekend.

Part of this rest—along with spending quite a bit of time reading on the couch– is to give myself a break from one of the dietary practices that I try to follow during the week, which is to steer clear of excessive amounts of sugar.  

I’ve always had a healthy appetite for sweet snacks. As a kid, for example, I stopped at the corner drugstore almost every day while on my paper route to buy an afternoon snack of five Reese’s peanut butter cups.

If I still ate like that I’d be obese, have diabetes, or both. So over the years I have developed what I believe to be a pretty good practice for keeping my sweet tooth in check.

During the week I keep a pretty close eye on my sugar intake. On the weekends, I give this discipline a bit of a rest and indulge a little.

The key words here are “a little.” As most anyone with a sweet tooth will tell you, it’s often a challenge to have “just one” cookie, piece of candy, or other sweet treat.

It will be a special challenge during the coming weekends in that my annual order of Girl Scout cookies just arrived. Next to M & M’s, Dove chocolate, and Red Vines licorice, it doesn’t get much better than thin mints and peanut butter patties for a sweet tooth like me.

This year is a special treat in that I have what is for me a new variety to sample—s’mores. Based on what I’ve heard about them, it’s a fitting name in that it will be a challenge not to eat s’more of them than I should at one sitting.

I am confident that I can meet the challenge, however, thanks in part to being called out several years ago by a friend who saw my weekday/weekend dietary practice in action over an extended period of time. She pointed out that I was likely negating any dietary gains I made by avoiding excessive sugar intake during the week by taking in excessive amounts of it on the weekend.

The key, I have learned, is portion control. Several cookies is fine. Several boxes, not so much.

So during the coming weekends I’ll be doing my best to eat the s’mores and peanut butter patties one cookie rather than one sleeve at a time. But I’ll definitely be eating them!

The way I see it, life is too short not to eat Girl Scout cookies and other sweet treats.

Among the many things that I have learned through my faith and fitness practices is that they have a way of bringing joy into our lives.

I was reminded of this during a daily dog-walk with Caleb on a recent morning.

It was the middle of February, a time of year when “cabin fever” is often at its peak here in the upper Midwest. For even the hardiest of souls, the frigid winter weather around these parts forces us to spend more of our time cooped up indoors, which can often lead to our mood level dropping and our anxiety level spiking.

This February was especially challenging in that it brought a record 2-week cold spell during which even the daily “high” was below zero.

The fact that this cold spell came during the middle of a pandemic that also has been forcing us to stay cooped up at home for much of the time only heightened the feeling of cabin fever.  It’s no wonder that my spirits were in a bit of a deep freeze when Caleb and I headed out the door for our walk on this particular February morning. After all, it was 22 degrees below zero!

I’m glad we ventured out, because it raised my spirits to see Caleb complete our entire walk in that kind of cold. It especially made me smile to see him playfully roll on his back in the snow about halfway through our walk.

Our morning romp continued once we got back inside, as Caleb did something that he only does every month or so—he played fetch with his football.

It was the perfect cure for cabin fever, as there are few things that give me more joy than playing fetch. Especially when it’s after a walk in freezing cold with a herding dog who sometimes thinks he’s a retriever!

Today marks the final day of my participation in a 28-day February fitness challenge.

The challenge—put on by my friend Jen–was to devote time every day to the practice of physical, faith, and dietary fitness. Participants could choose one, two, or all of these areas to work on.

I chose to work on my physical and faith fitness, as my dietary fitness is in no need of improvement.

OK, just kidding. While I do a pretty good job of eating my fruits and vegetables, I am sure that there is plenty of room for improvement with my diet.

Maybe next time I’ll focus more on my diet. This time I decided that tracking my daily faith and physical fitness practices was enough.

Some of the things that I learned/was reminded of in the process are:

*The value of doing a faith and/or fitness practice in community.

 I first met Jen through a local running club. Her friendship has been a huge help in growing both my faith and running fitness.

*The value of having a workout partner.

On my morning and nightly walks, I am lucky to be joined by my buddy Caleb the corgi.

Not only does Caleb get me out the door for a walk every morning and evening, he provides me with great company and oftentimes entertainment while doing so.

 *The value of regular Bible reading.

 The more deeply ingrained God’s word becomes in me, the more readily available it is to help get me through the day.

I have found that inspirational Bible verses have a way of coming to the rescue just when we need them, much like the “wind” we develop through regular aerobic exercise comes to the rescue when the going gets tough during a run.

*The value of getting out for exercise in all kinds of weather.

During this February challenge, I ran and walked through snow, ice, and 20-below-zero freezing cold conditions.

I am convinced that braving the elements like this helps build both physical and mental fitness. Pushing through nasty weather in our physical training builds grit and fitness that empowers us to better push through tough circumstances in our everyday life.

Thank you, Jen, for inviting me to be a part of the February fitness challenge. It was a nice extra motivator to keep me moving during a time of year when cabin fever can easily set in.

Now it’s on to spring!

This past week I was reminded once again that there often is beauty to be found even in the darkest of times.

Here in Wisconsin, as in much of the country, we have been going through a winter cold spell. For over a week, the temperature has rarely risen above zero.

From what I understand, it has been one of the longest cold snaps on record for this part of the country. Even in the best of times, this would have a way of sending our spirit into a deep freeze.

The fact that this cold spell has come during a turbulent time of pandemic and political division has only made this cold snap all the more challenging.

Fortunately there have been silver linings in this cloud of cold, one of them being the awesome sight that my longtime friend Dave and I were treated to during a recent run along the Chippewa River.

Over the years I’ve run along the Chippewa hundreds if not thousands of times.  But to the best of my recollection, this is the first time I have seen what I have since learned is commonly called “sea smoke.”

It is the term used to refer to the fog-like steam that is formed when extremely cold air meets warmer water.

On this particular morning, the sun and sea smoke rising above the Chippewa River were a beautiful, spirit-lifting sight and a welcome reminder of the value of pushing through challenging times.

As it says in a good book, it was a reminder of the value of “throwing off all that hinders and running the race marked out for us.”

Sometimes that race can be pretty darn cold. But when we hold onto our faith, we can rest assured that there are warmer days ahead!

These days, I am especially grateful for things that bring me joy.

I’m sure that I’m far from the only one who can especially use a smile or laugh after nearly a year of being beaten down and stressed out by a global pandemic.

On this Super Bowl Sunday, some of the joy-givers that I am grateful for are dogs, running, faith, and funny commercials.

Yesterday morning, I enjoyed a 9-mile run with a long-time friend. It was a chilly minus five degrees out but that didn’t stop us from having an uplifting conversation during our run or the joy-giving endorphins from kicking in.

During our walk last night in even colder conditions, Caleb brought a smile to my face by running, rolling, and digging head-first in the snow.

This morning, I was reminded in a sermon of the encouraging gift of Christian faith that tells us that life doesn’t end with a funeral but begins with a resurrection.

This evening, I look forward to some good laughs from Super Bowl commercials.

If they happen to all be duds, I’ll just do an internet search for what currently is giving me a good laugh—the Dr. Rick Progressive commercials.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday everyone!

I definitely don’t enjoy shoveling or driving in it.

But I do enjoy running and walking in it.

My buddy Caleb also enjoys playing in the fresh white snow.

One of his favorite things in the world is to tunnel head first in it.

Maybe it’s a hereditary thing. Corgis are very fox-like and one thing that foxes like to do is to tunnel in the snow in search of prey—primarily field mice, I believe—that are hiding underneath of it.

I have yet to see Caleb come up with a mouse. But that has yet to stop him from foraging head-first in the white stuff.

It is something that I am grateful for because the sight of it never fails to crack me up.

Some of the other things that I enjoy about running and walking in the snow are:

*It brightens the landscape during a dark time of the year. This is especially helpful on evening walks and runs during the winter, when snow on the ground makes it much easier to see where you’re going.

*It gives us a chance to be a trailblazer by being the first one to make tracks in it. Maybe it’s because I’ve always had a thing for explorers, but I’ve always enjoyed the feeling of going where no one has gone before.

*It gives the landscape a fresh new look during a time of year when it often is drab and barren.

After an especially rough patch of winter, a fresh white snow feels like the fresh start that God gives us through his unconditional forgiveness:

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”

This weekend’s fresh snow felt like a special gift because a little over a week earlier I nearly lost my buddy in the dark. Since then I’ve been keeping a tighter hold on Caleb’s leash and giving him more time to play in the snow.