According to CNBC host Jim Cramer, the number one cause of bankruptcy in America is unexpected health care costs. One of the biggest challenges with health care reform is that every American will be required to have some type of health care coverage, but many of those individuals can't afford it and the country continues to age. While I admire the ideals behind health care reform, I thinks its implementation and execution could conceivably bankrupt our country - in the same way that … [Read more...]
November 20, 2012 By 3 Comments
Fighting the Good Fight – Against Myself
I recently shared about a sobering emergency room visit involving a cardiac issue I had. As a result of that visit, I've made some lifestyle changes regarding how I eat and how I exercise to ensure healthier outcomes going forward. I've been on WeightWatchers for three weeks now and went to weigh-in this morning. As of today I've lost another -2.6 lbs for a total loss of -9.2 lbs. So far so good. Additionally, I've committed to exercising everyday. To help me in that regard, I … [Read more...]
November 12, 2012 By 21 Comments
My Emergency Room Confession
I had no intention of sharing this recent episode in my family's life, but it's becoming such a large part - it's difficult to avoid. For starters, I've got an irregular heart beat which means my cardiac ticker tends to tock when it should tick. It's not been an issue - until recently. On Wednesday, August 29th at 6:45pm I had to call 911 to have an ambulance take me to the hospital for severe chest pain. They ran a battery of tests and kept me overnight due to my family history of … [Read more...]
May 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Running for My Life…
I've written several times here about my training and completion of six full marathons over the past three years. The photo insert is my most recent finish from last year. During that time, I've learned a lot about myself through running. Here's a post I wrote about 10 Life Lessons I've Learned From Marathon Training. One of the reasons I love running is because of it's similarities to writing. Both are challenging disciplines that require time, attention and practice. I believe that … [Read more...]
March 8, 2012 By 2 Comments
Fastest U.S. Marathon Sellout Ever
This morning I swung by the web site for the Marine Corp Marathon and saw that a record was set - the fastest sellout of a full U.S. marathon since endurance races have been held in this country. This type of thing probably doesn't matter to non-runners, but the press release below, posted by the event organizers, has some stunning facts. ================================ Marking the fastest sellout in the history of marathon events, the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) has sold 30,000 … [Read more...]
March 7, 2012 By 4 Comments
2 Good News Updates…
Two great pieces of news. First I just registered for the 37th Annual Marine Corp Marathon (MCM). This race will be held on Sunday, Octocber 28th and runs all over Washington, DC. I ran in this marathon two years ago and it was by far the most fun of the five full marathons I've completed thus far. I missed out on last year's running of the MCM because the race sold out in less than 48 hours and I dragged my feet - thinking I'd have time. Not so and that really bummed me out. This year … [Read more...]
February 23, 2012 By 13 Comments
Facing my fear and failure (again)…
My two biggest fears in life are the fear of failure and of disappointing people - I think many people can relate to those. But both of those fears combined into a queasy ache in my stomach yesterday as I walked into the local WeightWatchers office where I lost 35 lbs. - TWICE over the past three years. Needless to say, I re-gained most of that lost weight because I got lazy with the program - thinking I had "arrived" - not needing the support of others or the program itself anymore, … [Read more...]
January 16, 2012 By 2 Comments
Amazing Ping Pong Video…
As a kid growing up my family had a ping pong table in our basement that my friends and I used to spend hours playing on weekends. I always had fond memories of table tennis - so much so, my wife and I talk about possibly getting a table for our own rec room when the girls get a bit taller. In the meantime, we bought the Wii Resort game and controller upgrades when that option came available last year because its table tennis feature got great reviews. Now our oldest is not such a fan of … [Read more...]
November 18, 2011 By 2 Comments
10 Life Lessons Learned During Marathon Training
I'm training for my sixth full marathon, which will be the Shamrock Marathon on March 18, 2012 at Virginia Beach, VA. I ran this race last year and had a ball - it was incredible running along the ocean!To run that distance takes me between 4:30 and 5:00 hours. While training for a single marathon, there are hundreds of miles logged running and hours spent alone with your own thoughts. Nearly everyone I speak with thinks that's a boring waste of time, but it's actually when I do some of my … [Read more...]
November 17, 2011 By 8 Comments
A 5K With My Kid….
This past Sunday I had the pleasure, delight and honor of running a 5K (3.1 miles) race with my daughter. It was her third and the second that we've both run together. Check out the pictures of her accomplishment! For the past few months, our oldest has been participating in the Girls on the Run (GOTR) program at her school, which means she and a dozen other girls spend an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays doing various training runs and learning other life lessons. GOTR is a fabulous … [Read more...]
