It Starts With a List

One of the biggest culprits is going to the grocery store without a list. Supermarkets set up their aisles for impulse buying and quick hunger fixes. Breaking the behavior chain that leads to bad decisions often starts with changing routines. For example:

• Eat a piece of fruit before shopping.

• Create a shopping list template-keep copies in the car and add additional items as needed.

• Stick to the shopping list.

• Use coupons only for items on the list.

Learn How to Lunch

Workday lunches can be another opportunity for impulse eating to take hold. If you’re one of those workers who waits until 11:30 (after hunger has already set in) to decide where to go out for lunch or what to order in, you may find yourself often resorting to high-fat, high-calorie options like fast food. Here are some suggestions to make better choices:

• Have fruit at 10 a.m.

• Pack a brown-bag lunch the night before. This will also save money.

• Pack or purchase lunches on sliced bread. Rolls can have twice the calories of sliced bread.

• Salads are great, but measure the salad dressing or use vinegar.

Make Mealtime Meaningful

Sometimes, simple things can make a difference at mealtime. For instance:

• Choose carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic scale, such as fruits, veggies and whole grains.

• Take a supplement containing a white bean extract, Phase 2 Carb Controller, found in Natrol’s Carb Intercept, before eating a carb-rich meal.

• Count to 10 before grabbing something to eat.

• Make the slogan “The kitchen closes at 9 p.m.” a mind-set.

Today Is a Good Day to Begin

Making positive behavior changes to avoid impulse eating is an essential factor in health and weight management. Start today by becoming aware of those behaviors that lead you astray from your weight management goals. ]]> http://fitnesspaige.com/blog/2012/01/28/simple-tips-for-getting-fit-in-the-new-year/feed/ 0 http://fitnesspaige.com/blog/2011/03/04/dicks-fitness-resistance-tubes-recalled/ http://fitnesspaige.com/blog/2011/03/04/dicks-fitness-resistance-tubes-recalled/#comments Sat, 05 Mar 2011 04:22:07 +0000 koufie http://fitnesspaige.com/blog/?p=262 WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Almost 230,000 fitness Resistance Tubes sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods are being recalled voluntarily for contusion and laceration hazards, the government said on Tuesday.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement that the plastic clip that attaches the resistance tube to the handle can break during use, causing the device to strike the user

Four such incidents causing contusions, abrasions and lacerations have been reported to the Pennsylvania-based firm.

The recall includes Fitness Gear and Fitness After 40 branded resistance tubes and adjustable resistance tube kits and come in a range of colors.

The recalled model numbers, which can be found at the bottom of the package, are: FAF00004, STA00017, STA00018, STA00019, STA00020, STA00021, STA00022, STA00023, STA00063, STA00064, STA00066.

The resistance tubes were sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods stores and online at www.dickssportinggoods.com between October 2009 through November 2010.

Consumers should return the tubes to Dick’s Sporting Goods for a store credit.

(Reporting by Wendell Marsh; Edited by Jerry Norton)

The fitness community has lost its godfather yesterday due to complications of pneumonia.  Jack LaLanne died at the age of 96 as one of my fitness heroes.  LaLanne was far ahead of his time as he encouraged Americans to eat better and exercise more.  Way before fitness was popular by the masses, Jack was practicing the health benefits of exercise and eating good food while inspiring millions.

He published many books on physical fitness and had a hugely popular television show for over 30 years.

At his eulogy, Arnold Schwarzenegger joked that with Jack LaLanne in heaven, there would be no slacking-off for those who thought they could  rest in peace.

I’ve been working out since I was a teenager and have been a gym member for over 30 years. The longest gym membership I’ve had was with Jack LaLanne’s. It has since been bought out by Bally Total Fitness a bunch of years ago, but I still go there (almost) on a daily basis. 

After almost 18 years of working out at the same gym, I’m proud to say that I’m a firm believer of the Godfather of Fitness, Jack LaLanne.

RIP Jack, you had a great life and inspired many.

Oklahoma University researchers gave some of the 28, healthy, but sedimentary, participants a fat burning supplement containing, black pepper, niacin and capsaicin. The other participants, (they didn’t specify how many), were given a placebo after 30 minutes of rest.

After resting for an additional 50 minutes, they walked on the treadmill for an hour with an additional 50 minute rest period.

What did they find? The participants that took the thermogenic supplements burned more calories and experienced a large increase in their aerobic capacity.

Although this is not a long time study, these fat burning supplements are an indicative aid in your weight loss efforts.

These were the 6 lbs of ribs as I took them out of the package

This post is a continuation of “The Best Ribs You’ll Ever Eat” from Rachel Ray’s magazine. This was based on a recipe from her friend, Adam Perry Lang. She referred to him as being “the greatest BBQ chef to grace the planet.” His book is “Serious Barbecue.”

This will describe (and show) the procedure I used to make these finger licking yummies. Although, not shown here, I trimmed as much of the fat as I could from the 6 lbs. of spare ribs.

I preheated the grill to low (275 F).

In a medium bowl, I combined

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup mustard
• 1/4 cup sweet smoked paprika (I used regular paprika)
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 tablespoons salt (I used sea salt)
• 2 tablespoons peach-flavor galatin powder
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

BBQ ribs with brushed on sauce

I brushed the above sauce all over the following baby back ribs and placed them on the grill to cook for 2-1/2 hours.

During that time, I occasionally continued to brush additional sauce until I ran out of it.

Just before the 2-1/2 hours was done, in a medium sauce pan, I combined

• 1 cup of apple juice
• 1/2 cup of honey
• one stick (4 ounces) of butter

Heated it over a medium flame until the butter melted.

I originally started with two racks of ribs but cut them both in half to be able to wrap them in the next step.

I Cut eight pieces of aluminum foil large enough to be able to wrap each of the four sections. Each rib section needed two pieces of foil. For each rack, I created a pan with the foil and poured 1/4 of the butter mixture into each of the four foil pans. I then placed the ribs, meat side down, into each of the foil pans. I used the other aluminum sheet to completely wrap each rack as shown.

The four, foil wrapped, ribs were then, again, placed on the grill and cooked on low for another hour. After the hour was up, I unwrapped all four racks and cooked them, meat side up, for another 30 minutes.

During that time, I stirred together

• 1/2 cup of store bought barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 1/4 cup of water

I brushed the ribs, meat side up, with the glaze and cooked an additional 20 minutes.

She mentioned that she cut all the ribs off the rack and glazed between them. However, I didn’t do that. I continued to glaze each rack on the grill during the last 20 minute cooking time. As I lifted the ribs from the grill, a couple of the bones just fell off the meat. That was a great sign, yum!

For a full explanation from the original author, Adam Perry Lang,  check out his book by clicking here –>  Serious Barbecue

Rachel Ray referred to her friend, Adam Perry Lang as being “the greatest BBQ chef to grace the planet.” His book is “Serious Barbecue.” And, yes, this is an affiliate link to Amazon. If you buy it through my link, it won’t make me wealthy. I’ll get a measly .92 cents.

I have to say, that this was the longest cooking process I have ever gone through. The amount of time the ribs were cooking on the grill were 4 hours and 20 minutes. That doesn’t even include preparation time. However, those ribs were absolutely fantastic. The title says it all. They were the best ribs I ever ate. And I’m not saying that because I was the one cooking them either.

After eating them, my son wanted to know when I’ll be making them again. Even my wife, who doesn’t really care for ribs wanted to know the same thing. So I guess they enjoyed them as well. I’ll probably make them again next month as I don’t usually eat those type of meals too often and certainly don’t encourage my family to eat that way on a regular basis.

On my next post, (hopefully tomorrow), I’ll list the recipe with some photos to get you to try the best ribs you’ll ever eat.

Motivation Monday: What you should or shouldn’t eat before workouts

Reprinted from the Kare11.com website

Your fuel tank may be the most important part of your ability to perform so let me share some information with you!

Working out on an empty stomach is not the best way to burn fat. The best way to burn fat is to fuel your body with adequate carbohydrates so you can work hard, burn a lot of calories, and eventually lose body fat as a result.

Working out on an empty stomach can not only keep you from increasing intensity but if you run out of stored carbohydrate, you start burning up muscle not fat!!!

Likewise, after a workout is the best time to refuel with protein to help repair and rebuild your muscles.

To prove my point scientifically, I recently spent three days in Miami with Gatorade, who in conjunction with the Super Bowl, was conducting Athletic Performance testing on several NFL players, fitness trainers and bloggers from all over the country.

My experience began at the remote Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI). This spring, Gatorade will be introducing a new line of products (the G SERIES) providing nutrients to fitness enthusiasts and athletes. As a guest of Gatorade, we were integrating their product line into our testing. However, the lesson learned was how to properly fuel for successful workouts.

They were testing my personal fluid needs during exercise: the type of fuel use during exercise and the rate I burned calories based on heart rate. They measured my salvia, carbon dioxide expenditure, heart rate and fluid loss. The test basically validated what I already know and gave me some new advanced science to share with the clients, readers and athletes that I work with.

SERIES OF EVENTS:

When I arrived at the new age looking testing center, scientists Kim, Melissa and Amy took over. I first peed in a cup which would tell if I was dehydrated to start. (I was given an A in hydration!) Next, I took a pre test weigh-in (nude I must mention) and a body composition test in the egg shaped BOD POD. I have always wanted to try this so despite the fact that you have to wear an ugly red swim cap (hair displaces the air and can give an inaccurate reading), the BOD POD was painless.

PRINCIPAL #1: It is important to have adequate carbohydrate stores to “start your engine.” Eat something small prior to a workout that can deliver carbohydrates quickly to your system -like a piece of fruit.

At the testing site, I was given G Series Step 1 called “Prime” – a little 4 oz. pouch filled with a sweet but concentrated liquid (not gooey) that is the pre-workout fuel. Its 100 calories with a few carbs and electrolytes to basically “prime your pump.”

PRINCIPAL #2: Stay hydrated during your workouts. Drinking water is fine for workouts under an hour. Anything longer than an hour or in extreme conditions may require electrolyte replacement.

Then, I hopped on a Life Cycle bike and they hooked me up to head gear and a mask. Before securing the mask, I was offered a quick slug of G Series Step 2, “Perform” – either regular Gatorade or G2 – a little lighter in calories. Both deliver a small amount of carbohydrate and electrolyte replacement. (I usually hydrate on and off throughout my workouts but the mask was going to put that on hold this time.) Scientist Kim instructed me to bite down on the Star Wars looking mask, bringing back memories of my last root canal (ok – not really that bad). The hard part was having my nose pinched shut so I could only breath through my mouth… a little freaky at first.

The test lasted for 20 minutes. They kept increasing the tension on my bike every five minutes. My heart rate went up slowly and I could see the computerized machine graphing my feedback. I actually had the urge to go harder but scientist Melissa kept telling me to keep a steady pace for the best results.

As soon as I was done, I took a post test weigh-out (nude and it’s hard to get off sweaty clothes) to measure my sweat rate during exercise. My sweat rate was declared average and they recommended 4-6 oz. of fluid for every 15 minutes of exercise.

PRINCIPAL #3: Recover with protein (and some carbs) ultimately within 45 minutes of your workout for adequate muscle recovery. Good sources of protein can be protein powder, nuts, eggs, meats or dairy.

Last, it was time for G Series Step 3: “Recover” – a protein drink that is also a thirst quencher. I constantly preach to my clients that they need to get protein and carbs into their bodies post workout and hopefully within 45 minutes for best repair and recovery of muscles. I get lots of complaints from clients who dislike the chalky tasting protein drinks on the market and aren’t in the mood for a burger so soon after a workout. This “Recover” drink was a good answer to immediately delivering 16 grams of protein into my system for only 130 calories.

RECAP:

After all this, I got the chance to sit down with the Gatorade scientist and go over my results. I found out what I already know but reassured myself that I am doing the right thing with my own workouts and as important, sharing good advice with all of you! The whole craze of “how do I burn the most body fat?” has really caused confusion among fitness enthusiasts. There are two kinds of fuel our bodies use throughout the day – fat and converted carbohydrates. The media has bombarded us with the thought that you need to work out at a low intensity to burn body fat. This is true (when my heart rate was around 110 bpm which is low for me, I was burning equal amounts of fat and carbs as fuel.) But to lose weight, you just need to BURN UP CALORIES. The higher the intensity, the more calories burned in a shorter amount of time, the faster your body fat loss (weight loss) if that is your goal. (When my heart rate was 140 bpm and above, I was burning almost all carbohydrate which is just fine. My caloric burn rate was twice as high.)

SO MY MESSAGE IS ONCE AGAIN – The key to any exercise routine is setting your body up for SUCCESS.

Remember this FACT – Carbohydrate is absolutely necessary for effective exercise sessions. If you fail to “prime your pump,” your body may run out of carbs and you won’t magically burn fat instead, you sadly break down muscle tissue.

During your workout, I always remind you to drink water! And for optimal muscle repair and recovery you need to refuel with protein optimally within 45 minutes and no more than 2 hours after.

For you walkers, runners, and bikers, your exercise nutrition is a big part of your success. Therefore use this rule of thumb:

1. Pre workout – a small source of carbohydrate to prime your pump.
2. During workout- hydrate with water or replenish with a sports drink depending on intensity and duration.
3. Post workout – a quick and easy protein source mixed with carbohydrate.

(Copyright 2010 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)

This article was originally posted on the Kare11.com website

Originally posted by Mehdi from the http://stronglifts.com/ blog

Wake up early. Image credit: enrapture.

Most successful people are early risers. Think of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison. One reason why waking up early is correlated with success is that you get more work done in the morning. That’s one benefit of waking up early.

But how do you build the habit of waking up early without feeling like a mess in the morning? Especially if you’re a night owl? This post will give you 12 simple tips. Here’s How to Wake Up Early: The Definitive Guide.

1. Wake Up At The Same Time Daily. You’ll become an early riser by waking up at the exact same time for 30 days on. You’ll be less likely to sleep in and might even wake up right before your alarm goes off. Here’s how to get started:

• Wake Up At The Same Time. If you have problems catching sleep, lying awake at night while feeling tired, start by waking up at the same time daily. Even if it’s late. This will stabilize your circadian rhythm.
• Wake Up Earlier. I recommend at least 2 hours before leaving for work. I wake up at 6am to start working at 8am. Many early risers wake up at 5am or even 4am. Nap for 30mins around noon if you’re tired.
• Don’t Gradually Wake Up Earlier. You’re body gets used to waking up early fast. Don’t wake up 15mins earlier every couple of days until you wake up when you want to. Go directly for your goal wake up time.

2. Set Your Alarm. Use something loud, but not annoying. I use the alarm on my cellular phone (off at night) because I don’t like music, a radio or a buzzer. Use whatever works for you.

Put your alarm out of arm reach so you can’t hit the snooze to sleep in. You must have to get out of bed to stop your alarm.

3. Jump Out of Bed When Your Alarm Goes Off. The longer it takes you to get up, the more likely you’ll try to sleep in. And hitting the snooze to lay in your bed longer only makes it harder. Get up the first time your alarm goes off.

• Stop Rationalizing. Don’t lay in bed thinking of reasons to sleep longer. Get out of bed even if you feel tired. You need consistency to build the habit of waking up early. Don’t make exceptions.
• Stop Snoozing. Sleeping in for 10mins leads to another 10mins. Before you know it you’ve slept 2h more. And because you broke your sleep any extras are low quality and can make you even more tired.
• Leave The Room. Have a warm sweater or a bathrobe ready if it’s cold season. Then leave the room and don’t come back. Ignore the voice in your head that tells you to go back to sleep in.

4. Get Light Exposure. Light stimulates dopamine production which increases energy, motivation & productivity. Lack of light causes winter blues & tiredness. Unfortunately home/office lights aren’t bright enough. You need sunlight.

• Open Window Blinds. This gets you sunlight exposure when you wake up and during the day. If you work in an office: open the window blinds and place your desk so your eyes get sunlight exposure.
• Walk Outside. A 30 min walk in the morning sunlight will stimulate the production of dopamine. Do not wear sunglasses: UV is low at sunset. Your eyes will be safe unless you look directly into the sun.
• Use a Sun Box. If your place doesn’t have big windows to let sunlight in or if it’s winter/cloudy or if you can’t get outside in the morning, then use a light box like this one for 30mins after you wake up.

5. Have a Reason To Wake Up Early. Use your extra time in the morning to do things that matter. Not for surfing the Internet or doing other tasks that won’t make a difference in the long-term. Here’s what I recommend:

• Eat Breakfast. Key to building healthy eating habits: you’ll be less likely to eat junk food the rest of the day if you eat a healthy breakfast. Read the benefits of breakfast and build the habit of eating on waking up.
• Cook Food. Preparing your own meals gives you total control over their ingredients and thus over your results. Prepare breakfast and your food for the day on waking up. This takes about 1 hour.
• Exercise. You won’t miss workouts if you train in the morning: whatever comes up, you’ve already trained. Wait 1hour before lifting weights. This gives your spine time to dehydrate and lowers risks of lower back injury.

6. Write Your Goals Daily. Most people don’t have goals. And those who set some forget about them within weeks. By writing down your goals daily, you’ll never forget them and they’ll be your reason for waking up early.

• Set Goals. If you don’t know what you want: start with what you don’t want. Your goal is the opposite. Aim high, choose 1 goal and be specific. Example: “I don’t want to be fat” “I choose to have 10% body fat”.
• Know Why You Want It. Avoiding pain/frustration is the best motivator. Compare the pain of waking up early to staying fat/skinny, experiencing humiliation as a result and dying young because of your unhealthy diet.
• Write Your Goals 2x/Day. On waking up and before going to bed. Use them as affirmations (read Beyond Positive Thinking): “I choose to easily wake up at 6am”, “I choose to eat breakfast and exercise each morning”.

7. Build a Morning Ritual. This daily routine will get you strong for your day by setting the right context (read Power of Full Engagement) and is your reason to wake up early. Mix tips 1 to 6 and do them daily in the same order. Example:

• Wake up at 6am. Drink water. Open window blinds & windows.
• Eat breakfast and cook your food for day.
• Review your goals and write them down.
• Go the gym, come back, eat, shower, get ready for work.

8. Commit For 30 Days. It takes about 30 days to build a new habit. Commit yourself to wake up at the exact same time for at least 30 days — weekends included. Consistency is the only way to build a habit.

• Use Willpower. You’ll meet lots of internal resistance during the first 10 days. Use willpower to get through these. It gets easier once you begin experiencing the benefits, which is after about 20 days.
• Focus on 1 Habit. Changing many things at once usually leads nowhere. Start with waking up early, eating breakfast and exercising. Once you do this consistently for +30 days, you can build another habit.
• Be Consistent. Self-discipline isn’t something you’re born with. You build it. Waking up early will build self-discipline which you’ll be able to use to build other habits. It starts here. Don’t skip a day. No matter what.

9. Go To Bed When You’re Sleepy. How much sleep you need depends on your activity levels, sleep quality, diet, … But you’ll most likely need 8h sleep/night on average. Which means some days 6h, some days 9h.

That’s why going to bed at the same time each day won’t work. Focus on wake up time, not bedtime. Listen to your body and go to bed when you feel sleepy. Avoid anything that prevents you to feel tiredness. Tips:

• Get Downtime Pre-bed. Stop working, internet surfing & watching TV 1h before you go to bed. Read a book and go to sleep when you can’t read without losing concentration. Or do meditations and breathing exercises. If you think a lot in bed: write it all down so it gets out of your head.
• Set Bedtime Deadline. Staying up late makes it hard to wake up early. You’ll usually end up sleeping in and quit. Set a bedtime deadline and go to bed at that time even if you’re not tired yet. No matter what.
• Stop Trying to Sleep If You Can’t. If it takes you longer than 10mins to fall asleep, you’re not tired enough. Stop trying and keep yourself busy. Read a book or do some meditations. Don’t stress about it.

10. Get Quality Sleep. Deep sleep & REM are quality sleep. You’ll wake up more easily, need less sleep and have more energy if you have uninterrupted, quality sleep. Tips to improve your sleep quality:

• Stop Stimulants. Coffee, alcohol & nicotine mess with your sleep. Drink green tea instead of coffee, water instead of alcohol. Stop smoking.
• Avoid Big Meals Pre-bed. They’ll stress your digestive system and lower your sleep quality. Have a small pre-bed snack. Don’t wake up at night to eat: you won’t lose muscle, starvation mode is a myth.
• Avoid Drinking Pre-bed. Waking up to go to the toilet interrupts your sleep and lowers its quality. Stop drinking water 2h prior bedtime.
• Avoid Exercise Pre-bed. Exercising less than 3 hours prior bedtime can keep you awake. Schedule your workout earlier.
• Set Right Conditions. Good mattrass & pillow. Cool, dark & silent room (wear ear plugs & a sleeping mask if you have to). No electronics.

Check the Power Sleep Program for a definitive guide on how to improve your sleep quality so you feel more energized & productive while sleeping less.

11. Make Yourself Accountable. “If people commit orally or in writing, they’ll be more likely to honor that commitment. Even if motivation is removed after they’ve agreed, they’ll continue to honor the agreement.” – Robert Cialdini, Influence.

This is because you tend to care about other people’s opinion and don’t want to be embarassed for failing. Although I advise to stop caring about what people think, here’s where it can be useful.

• Tell family or close friends you’re going to wake up early for 30 days.
• Make a deal that if you don’t wake up early each day for 30 days you’ll do something you don’t want to do (like writing them a 1000$ check).
• Report to them daily for 30 days: call, text or email them. And if you skip once, stick to the deal you’ve agreed on.

If you’re thinking: “I’d never do that”, that’s because you know that making this kind of commitment will force you to follow through. Proof this works.

12. Stop Believing The Myths. I always thought I was an evening person. As a student I woke up past noon unless it was school. Then I started to wake up earlier to go the gym, but anything before 8AM was still killing me.

About a year ago I built the habit of waking up at 6AM because I realized that you get more done if you wake up early. I’ve been waking up consistently at 6AM since. And now I see that the whole “morning person” thing is a myth.

There’s nothing like a “morning” or “night person”. Human bodies can adapt to anything. You just have to be consistent to get used to waking up early.

Start tomorrow. Don’t deviate. You’ll become an early riser within 30 days.

Originally posted by Brianna from the Live Naturally Healthy blog

First, avoid the alcohol. Cocktails and beer are usually served at holiday parties, but they can be full of calories. When you drink, you also have a decreased will power when it comes to saying no to other holiday foods and your appetite will be stimulate, so you’ll eat even more than you normally would eat at a party. Having one drink on a special occasion may be fine, but don’t overdo it every time you head out to celebrate the season.

Another great tip to stick to your plan during the holiday season is to show up fashionably late after you’ve already eaten a meal. If you do this, you won’t feel pressured to eat an entire meal of junk foods or snack on cookie or hot chocolate. Of course, showing up late may be insulting at smaller parties, so make sure you are not rude to the party host.

Use the holidays to get outside as well. You can play in the snow if the weather allows, which actually burns tons of calories. Walking up the hill to sled and having a snowball fight are great ways to get your heart pumping as well as work off those candy canes.

If the weather isn’t cold or snowy, use your time to head to the mall. When gift shopping, make a number of laps around the mall and take the stairs instead of the escalator. Keep this in mind at parties as well—get up and move around as much as possible. Christmas caroling is also a great way to stay off of your rear. This will allow you to do some walking while spreading the holiday cheer.

Lastly, avoid gifts of food. Of course, you can’t tell people what to buy for you, but if you find yourself with a bunch of brownies or boxes or chocolates, why not share the love? You can take these products into work or even donate unopened items to your local food bank. These tips keep you staying slim, as you’re surrounded by goodies.

Before my knee surgery (back in July), I was running 3-5 miles per day, 3-4 days per week. Not bad for a 49 year old, I think. However, I can’t fathom running 100 miles.

Well, during my recovery time, I started reading about these extreme runners and focused on one guy, a New Jersey photographer. It turns out, he also had a knee injury and then hired a running coach to help him run this 100 mile trek after his recovery.

Before you decide to read his story below, I found out he just moved in to my town, on my street, about ten houses away. How ironic is that?

I think the story is very cool and tip my hat to Tom Sperduto for running this great distance and completing this incredible feat.

Running the Oil Creek 100 Mile Trail Run – A Journey to Define Me

100 mile “before and after” self portraits.

I have told many people who have asked me why I chose to run 100 miles that everyone once in their lives should have their very own ROCKY story. I knew the Oil Creek 100 mile trail run would be mine. I had no idea just how close it would come to that. This was my first 100-mile ultra marathon. It was my impossible dream. I now know nothing is impossible.

Preparing for this adventure was four months of the most intense training of my life. I lost close to 40 pounds since June and I owe everything to my amazing running coach, Lisa Smith Batchen, who trained me to complete the race. I could not have done it without her. I followed her coaching and guidance to the letter and I will never forget what she has done for me.

I had traveled to beautiful Oil Creek State Park during my training for a 30-mile run. I knew how tough the course would be. It had 35,570-feet of elevation change. Race day brought new challenges that I did not expect -ankle deep mud, wet and slippery ground and dense fog that made it extremely difficult to see while running at night. There were also unexpected joys. The aid station volunteers were like family. I truly felt love for them. Soup had never tasted so good and encouraging smiles never felt so warm.

Photo courtesy of Charlie Houpt

During the race I always knew that my wife Jen and our friends Andrea, Shane and JT would be waiting for me at aid stations. The thought of seeing them kept me going. While running, I listened to my iPod when I needed to and kept coming back to the same voice. My 4-year-old daughter Emily encouraging me. “You can do it Daddy, I can believe in you, I know you can run 100 miles.” Her voice would drive me to an emotional edge. I knew I would not quit. I would not end without running one hundred miles, even if that meant having to finish the race on my own. It almost came to that. I arrived at one aid station at 85.3 miles with six minutes to spare before I was pulled from the race. I told my wife “This is probably not going to happen. Whatever happens, I am running 100 miles. I am not stopping.” My wife and crew never stopped believing in me but they were putting plans in motion for how and where I could complete my dream past the 32-hour cut off time. To complete the race I would need to run faster. I think it was around mile 87 I simply let everything go. I ran as hard and fast as I could and I was screaming, crying on the trail. I was happy. The happiest place and time of my life. God was with me on the trail, nothing would ever again sway my belief. Nothing would ever be the same. “Trust Me.” A voice beating in my heart and my head mixing in with the sweet sound of my daughter. I was whooping and hollering and screaming with joy and laughter.

I’ll take you back to the beginning. I decided to run 100 miles with one purpose. It was my desire to seek God and know Him again. Every training run, every mile was a step for me back into the relationship I let slip away. Those who know me best know that the most powerful words I have ever read are Jeremiah 29:13 “If you seek Me with all your heart and all your soul, then you will find Me.” Everything was about this … every moment, every step was a desire to live those words.

I crossed the finish line with 13.5 minutes left before the cut off time. Everyone made a tunnel for me and I ran through it into my wife’s arms. Crying uncontrollably, I said the words to her I promised myself I would say four months before when my training for the race began. “Where’s your hat?” It’s what ROCKY said to Adrian after he went the distance. Somebody said, “The greatest display of heart and courage I have ever seen” while I was sobbing in my wife’s arms. Tom Jennings, the man who made the race and my dream possible handed me my 100-miler finisher buckle. It will hang on my wall in my “Last Wildcatter to Leave Pithole” award plaque for being the last place winner of the first Oil Creek 100 mile trail race. I will look on it often and I will always remember – I chose to seek God and he found me on the trails.

This post was originally posted on Tom Speduto’s blog