I've Been Thinking

For some reason I was thinking tonight about boundaries & comfort zones. They are actually closely related if you think about it. We set boundaries in our lives based upon where we feel comfortable. Just when you begin to get a bit uncomfortable, BINGO - you hit your boundary, your limit, the edge of your comfort zone. Sometimes it is a warm blanket & some times it is something else.

I believe that in order to grow, we need to get out side our comfort zone. However this may not be as easy you would like. Maybe we can start by expanding our zone rather than just busting through it. I mean there is no point of just jumping off into something way out there.

Well, I'll make it a wrap for now. Just know that expanding your comfort zone as you move towards a total break out, is a good first step. You have to crawl before you can walk.

Life is full of opportunities to test this as God often pushes us into uncomfortable situations in order for us to lean on Him. When we do so, LOOK OUT; GREAT THINGS HAPPEN.

God Bless You & go get uncomfortable.

If It is Freezing, It Must Be Saturday

Holy Frostbite Batman!

It was GREAT running weather all week but nooooo, it has to be

F R E E Z I N G on Saturday morning during our weekly long runs.

Mother Nature seems to have a cruel sense of humor. We huddled up at Veteran's Park & tried to stay warm before heading off into the wild & windy morning.

Despite the frigid weather, there are still those who choose to wear shorts. I guess when the ol' thigh muscles get moving, they generate enough heat to stay warm. As always, it is always good to see & run with K1. Too bad we couldn't use the pair of K's in last weeks Poker Run.

It seems that in weather like this, it could be easy to stay in a warm bed or at home with a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate.. But then again, this would be telling yourself that "you cannot run in cold weather" - a self set boundary. I can tell you that standing out @ Veteran's Park before we headed out i did indeed have those thoughts. Luckily I got my wits about myself & stayed out there freezing & ready for a good morning's run.

We headed out onto Riverside Drive going North (figures as the wind was in our faces!). After about 5 minutes, there was no feeling in my nose & I pulled up my turtleneck up as far as it would go. WHOOSH - there went my hat - one of many times it would blow off. Across the 11th Street bridge & then South on the West side of the river.

Heading South was much better as we were out of the wind. Time to unzip the jacket for a bit. It is always nice on this part as the ducks are plentiful & often times the Tulsa Rowing Club are out on the river. After crossing the old wooden bridge, we made our way over to the Pedestrian Bridge & back across the river.

The wind was fierce crossing the river & I took off my had so that it wouldn't end up IN the river. It had already blown off (3) times already. Near the end of the Pedestrian Bridge it was obvious how windy it was as the fountains were covering the bridge in a C O L D mist. (it was actually icy as the mist had frozen on the bridge.

From here we looped around & then took off North again. At 21st Street was the first water stop aside from the usual water fountains. WOOSH - that darn hat again. I am thinking of getting some Velcro.
At this point, I am getting tired of having to stop & pick up my hat. If it were not so cold, I would stuff it in my waistband.

We made curve around Peoria Ave. & then looped around & headed torwards 6th Street. Every time I run by this area, I have to stop & thank God for life & my ability to run. The other thought is that if it is my time to go, at least I would not have to be taken very far.

Up 6th Street & then back South on Boston Ave. took us back to Veteran's Park. By now I was a bit warmer & ready for some carbs which Kathy always has ready for us. Fig Newtons are my favorite but I will take anything that is out.

A bit of final fellowship & conversation about the morning's run with good friends & then off for a hot cup of coffee.

Cold Morning Run and Men's & Women's Brains

I will start off by saying that this mornings run was FRIGID! Well, after we got started I warmed up but after the first loop, we stopped for water & all that sweat began to freeze. I sat out the 3 miler & just waited for the 5 mile Poker Run (good thing I do not play poker, I had a horrible hand of NOTHING). Regarding "knowing no boundaries", I believe that I may have found one of mine - FRIGID WEATHER!. Well actually if I dressed differently, I would have been fine. See there; just when I thought I hit a boundary, I was able to talk myself out of it & came up with an answer. This is the same in all things in life not only in my life, but also yours. If we just look at things from a different perspective, we often find that our "can'ts" are "won'ts" & that we may often trying to justify our reason for not dooing that thing.

Now - regarding TZ's Women Driver video in his BLOG, hilarious. I am sure that the women out there will supply him with a stupid men's video. This however, reminded me of a video that I just received that explains HOW men's & women's brains work. This explains a lot of the driving video.

And as always, live your life under God's guidance & knowing no boundaries. K2

The Night of & the Morning After

Sleep, who needs sleep. Again, it gets down to self limiting beliefs. "What the mind can conceive, it can achieve" - Napoleon Hill. The Broken Arrow chapter of the Knights of Colombus Council 6606 smokes meat (ribs, brisket, bologna & chicken) every year just prior to the Super Bowl. As always, I take the late shift (10 PM Friday to 6 AM Saturday). I like to let others sleep & work the shift that nobody wants. What a blast!

I will say that I do have a plan in mind. I generally run Saturday mornings so the plan was to work the lat shift, & then head down to Riverside for our Saturday morning marathon training. I gotta say that as the night wore on & it got cooler, I was thinking of that warm bed. But my irrational side won out & I headed down for our run.

The group gathered @ 73rd & Riverside at Helmrich Park & was eager to get going as the sun was not totally up enough to warm us yet. WHAT WAS I THINKING! I should have been home in bed. I had not slept since 5:30 AM the previous morning.(Shut Up I told my rational mind. You can do whatever you sent your mind & heart to).

It was great fo have the K-Team (K1 & K2 both Kens) in good spirts & good form. As we headed off, I relished in the thought that Life is Good. Crisp morning air, Great friends, Great exercize & overall, Great to know that we don't always get what we want, but we get what we expect. I expect GREAT TIMES & I get exactly that. In life, the boundaries or limitations that we seem to run into, are more often than not, reflections of our own mental attitidues projected in our reality. If yu change your attitide, you ultimately change your reality. I know that I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to & I have every intension of doing just that. You can as well. You have the capacity; God gave it to all of us. Don't waste it. Desire to run up to the Pearly Gates at the end of your life, worn out, cut & bruised having used all of what we have been blessed with. This shows that we have used our God given talents & abilities. Don't be timid & shy being careful not to "damage the merchandise". God will wonder why you wasted the talents & abilities He blessed you with. We will all have to answer for our lives. Be sure that you have left nothing on the table.

God Bless you all.

Pushing Through Frustration

It is good to be blogging again after a long hiatus. Things have been C-R-A-Z-Y both at home & at work. With the start of a new year, we all rekindle our drive & commitments to bettering ourselves; loose that weight, take that class, run that marathon, etc. You get the idea. This time of year has the gym absolutely packed with new faces diligently working with resolve to achieve some pre-set goal.

It is unfortunate that most of those people will fade into obscurity after about 30-45 days. The excitement of the moment, the big resolutions and up being taken over by life's events. That report for the boss that needs to be finished, the recitals & sporting events that need to be attended all seem to take precedence over our goals. Albeit, these things are all important, but without our internal resolve to follow through with our commitments, to break through those boundaries that we see as keeping us from obtaining our desires, we are unknowingly cheating our loved ones, our colleagues and most importantly; ourselves of a critical trait. The trait to overcome obstacles, find solutions to perceived problems, find the resolve & inner determination to press on against seemingly insurmountable odds. All of this says more about ourselves than we know. It teaches our family, our colleagues & ourselves that WE CAN. WE CAN run that race, WE CAN finish that report on time, WE CAN loose that weight, WE CAN!

Now that I am back from my first-of-the-year business trip to Dubai & Cairo, I am re-committed to working towards pushing the limits, breaking through barriers, knowing no boundaries. I have several ultramarathons planned for this spring so watch for more details.

Additionally, I will be 50 this year & I will be making sure that this is by no means going to limit me. Society may lable 50 year olds as "old", but that is purely a mental label & one that you can definitely overcome. Again, better than 80% of limitations ARE MENTAL. I have seen runners with (2), that is TWO prosthetic legs running a marathon. I am sure that this man will not let a conventional mindset limit him.

I see this through all of my global travels in people overcoming HUGE challenges. Nobody told them that they could not do something, they just decided to JUST DO IT!

Brrrrrrr!

Hey there fellow Polar Bears. It was GREAT to take my "first" plunge on the 1st of the year. Nothing like ice cold water to make one really feel A-L-I-V-E!
Crazy you say? I say you need to get outside your comfort zone in life in order to accomplish or achieve anything. A boat cannot discover new lands until it looses sight of the shore. In this way, one cannot discover all that God has planned for their lives until they break out of their self limiting boundaries.

This is a new year & often time for new beginnings & new resolutions. Why not resolve to be a new person this year; to set goals just out of your reach, to stretch yourself to a point to be a bit uncomfortable. God has blessed each of us with unique gifts & I believe that we owe it to Him to use those gifts & not waste them.


I know that when I am in front of the Pearly Gates of Heaven in front of Almighty God, I want to be sure that He knows that I used ALL of the gifts that I was endowed with & did not sit quitely by the sidelines of life making sure not to "break anything." Get your bible out & read the parable of the talents to get my point.

May 2009 really stretch you & may you break out of those self limiting shackles.

Onward my fellow soldiers!

2009 - A Time to Break Out!

Good day everyone.



It is a GREAT day to be alive, eh? Although 2008 is quickly coming to an end, do not forget the birthday celebration tomorrow, our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the "Reason for the Season". It is not about buying that latest gadget or outfit, but about being all we can be with what God blessed us with & TO SHARE IT with our fellow man (& woman). There are plany of people who will not celebrate Christmas as advertized so it is up to us to bring Christmas Cheer to them!

For those of us who are still stuck within our own, self set limitations, know that God madse us to be all that we can be & to do all we can do. We should not limit ourselves based upon our own perception of reality. Often we are looking at the world through rose colored glasses. You never knew of a tree that only grew half way did you? No, it grew as tall as it could grow. As we sit down & begin to write down our goals & what "boundaries" we wil break out of in 2009 (you are writing them down aren't you?) be sure to S-T-R-E-T-C-H yourself. There is no sense in just doing something that you are comfortable with now is there? We all need to reah outside our comfort zone.

I wish all of you a Blessed Christmas & may you break out of all of your limiting boundaries in 2009 & beyond.