Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Though it was a hard sell at first, I've come to love running.  I usually am able to run 5 - 7 miles twice a week.  But what I really love are my Saturday long runs.  I'm planning to do 10 miles this Saturday with a group of runners that I'm helping to coach in Rochester.

Lately on my off days I've been trying to get to the gym to do some weight training.  Though I had neglected this as my marathon training miles got longer & longer, I've been more successful in recent weeks.  That's pretty much been my exercise routine.  Running and weights.

I've known for a long time that I needed to introduce some new routines into the mix.  Now that I'm between races, I decided it was time to go for it.

What I imagined I looked like

I mentioned in one of my recent posts about trying yoga for the first time.  As I said, it wasn't pretty but it also wasn't too bad.  I'm glad I was alone in the privacy of my home... with the shades drawn!

What I really looked like

I plan to keep at it, even if only one day a week for now.

I'm hoping that this 56 year body will become a bit more flexible as time goes on.





Today I tried something new... spinning!  My wife loves to spin and has been "encouraging" me for a long time to give it try.  After many failed attempts on her part, she even enlisted a few allies at the gym to encourage me to give it try.  I really enjoyed it!!  Our instructor was great.  The music he selected was some of my favorites.  And I discovered some muscles in my legs that had long been neglected!

Bottom line is this... Old dogs CAN learn new tricks.  It may just take a little longer.  But if I can, so can you.  So go on and try something new this week.  You'll be glad you did!

Pastor Pat