Fathers' Day; Off the couch and talking politics

Let's start by remembering Dad on Father's Day, June 20! It's not what you buy him (Dad's appreciate the thoughtfulness of gifts... yes we do!), but more importantly that you want to honor Pops by spending time with him. Take Dad to church to honor & spend time with our Heavenly Father too! Both Dads certainly want to spend time with you!


As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; - Psalm 103:13

OK, so we've picked a great marathon as our goal, the Calif. Intl Marathon. I have a great fund raiser to run for, the Ishimwe Center. Now we'd better be running more and more to get into some kind of reasonable shape.

How does one get into shape? By having fun exercising. Step 1: Start by getting off the couch, or push away from the table and head outdoors. Step 2: Walking or jogging around the neighborhood or block in the cool of the day, maybe with a spouse, friend or loved one, or, like my brother AK, take the dog for a walk (AK’s dog is Buddy, and one of the cutest dogs on planet Earth today). Step 2a (“Advanced”): Try discussing politics while you walk or run. Discussing politics may actually simulate running for extra miles as your heart starts beating faster, your breathing becomes quicker, and your mind racing as you discuss. Then before you know it, you’re back home. AND… you may have solved some national problem such as the BP oil spill, or illegal immigration, or Calif. State budget woes, or your own kids’ issues, or even world peace. Try it! Step 3: If you are already running more and more, then it’s time to vary what you do. Personally, I’m goal oriented. I like to run a course (courses?) that have a known distance. We run from our house and head south down Meridian Ave. Mile 1 is to Braham High, mile 2 is to Blossom Hill Rd, Mile 3 is to Almaden Roasting Co, mile 5 is South Hills Church, etc. You get the idea!  Turn around at any point and head back. You may like to time your run and keep track (at least mentally) of how well you did. Then next time you’ll know how long it takes and can give you a goal to match or exceed! That’s one way to go. Another is walking or running the Los Gatos Creek trail. I start at Campbell Ave. and head toward Los Gatos. No cars, pretty scenery, great people watching. More on that another time. So what are you waiting for? Go do it! Have Fun! As you may have heard me say…”Start early, and start often.”

Ever want to map out a run and see how far you walked, or road your bike or maybe even ran? Try a free web site on the World Wide Web (say this very slowly and clearly to friends and elderly alike, then watch their facial expressions). The link is: mapmyrun.com This site even has iPhone and Blackberry apps if you are looking for the next cool tool. - JB