He's been called the Pied Piper of the Second Running Boom. Once an overweight couch potato with a glut of bad habits, including smoking and drinking, at the age of 43 Bingham looked mid-life in the face—and started running.
This is the time of year when many folks start to think about a lifestyle change. Here’s a couple of tips from the book “Courage to Start”.
Thinking like a runner | CourageToStart.com.
Filed under: Bingham, motivation, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | Tagged: 100days, Bingham, new year resolution, Penguin, walking | 1 Comment »
Today, December 16, is day 350 of 2011. That means that for the past 350 days I have moved, intentionally, for at least 30 minutes. It started as an idea to move for 100 days. That turned into a plan to invite others to join me. That turned into a phenomenon where 10,000 people signed up on Facebook. That turned into a habit, which, at day 101 turned into an obsession.
Some would say obsession is a bad word. I don’t agree. There are certain people in our lives that we want to be obsessive. I want my dentist to be obsessive. And the guy who works on my motorcycle. I want the pilot and first officer to be obsessive. You get the idea. Being obsessive has gotten a bad rap.
Once I got to the 100 day threshold I think I became obsessive. But not in a way that paralyzed me. In a way, the obsession liberated me. I no longer had to decide if I was going to exercise on any given day. I no longer had to wonder if I was going to find time to move every day. I was liberated from all the doubt. I was going to move every day. That’s all there was to it.
I’ve been honest with my movement. There have only been a couple of times all year where I jumped off the treadmill at 31 minutes. [yes, I always put in an extra minute] Most days I’ve done between 40 minutes and an hour. By my rough calculations I’ve covered about 1,000 miles. That might not be much for an elite marathoner, but, it ain’t too shabby.
In a little over two weeks I will have moved, intentionally, every day for an entire year. At 64 years old I will have done something that I’ve never done before. And, to be even more honest, it’s something that I may never do again. Or so I say today.
In the end it will come down to which emotion surfaces. If I feel satisfied and want to savor that satisfaction then on January 1 I’ll take the day off. If, on the other hand, I feel content, then I may very well just keep going.
You can join in for 2012 by searching for the 100 Days Challenge page on Facebook or by going to http://www.100dayschallenge.org What I can tell you for sure is that it will be one heck of a journey.
Waddle on, friends.
John
An Accidental Athlete is available in print and ebooks versions now. BUY THE BOOK
Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
What others are saying: Because of runners like John, the wall of intimidation has crumbled, and tens of thousands of Americans are now believing in themselves. John has helped raise self-esteem and self-confidence in people all over the world. Nothing is more important to a person’s well-being.– Dave McGillivray, Boston Marathon race director
John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, The Courage to Start,No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.
Order your copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.
Have a question for John? Write him.
Filed under: Bingham, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Training | Tagged: Bingham, new year resolution, Penguin, running, walking | 1 Comment »
In case you don’t recognize the photo, it’s the larval stage of the Isabella tiger moth, Pyrrharctia Isabella, also known as woolly worm. I spotted one yesterday on the trail during my walk.
Legend has it that the woolly worm, a tiger moth caterpillar, can portend what weather winter will bring. According to folk wisdom, when the brown bands on fall woolly bears are narrow, it means a harsh winter is coming. The wider the brown band, the milder the winter will be.
I’m no expert, but it looks to me like the brown band is pretty wide which would suggest a milder winter. I live in Chicago so what I consider mild might be awful somewhere else. There may be better ways to predict the winter weather but for now, I’m going with the Woolly Worm Effect.
What this really means is that it’s time to start rotating my running and walking gear. It’s time to dig out the tights – loose fitting, thank you. I’m not interested in going out looking like a kielbasa with glasses. I’ll dig around and find some of my heavier long-sleeved shirts, a light-weight fleece or two, and search for where I put my gloves and stocking caps last spring – when I told myself I would forget where I was putting them.
I’ll also find a couple of my favorite running jackets. I’ll have to sort through about 20 or so that are no LONGER my favorites, but I’ll do it gladly. Even the jackets that never get worn anymore hold memories so I can’t make myself get rid of them. So, they just hang there, unworn but not forgotten.
We’re lucky these days to have such great fabrics. Even in a climate like Chicago there are very few days when the weather makes it impossible for me to get outside. I’m careful to say that if I stay inside it will be by choice, not because I don’t have what I need to be safe outdoors.
More importantly, I’m going to get out as much as I can in the next few weeks. My world is changing every day. Of course, it’s always changing every day but it’s so much more obvious in the fall. I don’t want to miss anything in the fall. I don’t want to have skipped what turns out to be the most beautiful day of the season.
And I’ll take that as a reminder that every day – no matter what time of year it is – it’s important to get out there and live life.
Waddle on, friends.
John
An Accidental Athlete is available now. BUY THE BOOK
Here’s the direct link to the Amazon Kindle version
Here’s a link to the Nook version
Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
What others are saying: Because of runners like John, the wall of intimidation has crumbled, and tens of thousands of Americans are now believing in themselves. John has helped raise self-esteem and self-confidence in people all over the world. Nothing is more important to a person’s well-being.– Dave McGillivray, Boston Marathon race director
John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, The Courage to Start,No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.
Order your copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.
Have a question for John? Write him.
Filed under: Bingham, John "the Penguin" Bingham, motivation, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | Tagged: Bingham, chicago, fall, Penguin, walking, winter | Leave a comment »
The father of a very good friend of mine, let’s call him Bob, was a great guy, and a World War II Army veteran. We joked that he lived his life just 3 beers from Anzio. Anzio was the site of an Allied forces landing (Operation Shingle) and ensuing battle (known as the Battle of Anzio) during World War II. American forces (5th Army) were surrounded by Germans in the caves of Pozzoli in February 1944 for a week, suffering heavy casualties. We knew that when he popped the top off the fourth Pabst Blue Ribbon we were going to start hearing war stories.
I don’t know how old he was then. I was 18 or 19. My guess is, though, that he was then a lot younger than I am now. And I’m beginning to understand. Although I don’t drink Pabst Blue Ribbon [I did drink more than my share] I’ve become aware now that I’m well into my 60’s that I am often tempted to start telling personal war stories or stories about the good old days.
It starts innocently enough. Someone mentions a place, or an event, or a situation and it triggers some memory. I do my best to quietly listen while my mind races around my own experience. I doesn’t matter if it was a pleasant or unpleasant experience. Once my mind goes into that cave there’s no getting it back.
I see this most often around my grandchildren. Even though they are only 5 and 6 years old I somehow believe that I need to bring them up-to-date on the historical nuances of my life. Sentences that begin with “Did grandpa ever tell you about” are already met with rolling eyes. It’s only going to get worse as they, and I, get older.
There’s a t-shirt that reads “The older I get, the better I used to be”. For runners it should read “The older I get, the faster I used to be”. For the most part, it’s true. For most of us the fastest years of our running lives were the youngest years. Even if, like me, you didn’t start until you were a bit older you were still younger than you are now.
And maybe it’s OK. Maybe as we get older the stories that stay in the front of our minds are the ones we want to remember that most and the ones that we want to tell most often.
So the next time you start telling a story that no one seems to want to hear, think about Bob. In the end he wasn’t telling us about Anzio, he was telling us about himself.
Waddle on,
John
An Accidental Athlete is available now. BUY THE BOOK
Review An Accidental Athlete on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
What others are saying: Read your book, loved it, it was wonderful. It made me laugh, it made me cry. In it I saw glimpses of myself. I may be old and I may be slow, but I am an Athlete, I am a Competitor, I am a Runner! Wow, thanks John, for enabling me to see that! D W, Senior-Onset Athlete
John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, The Courage to Start,No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.
Order your copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.
Have a question for John? Write him.
Filed under: Bingham, John "the Penguin" Bingham, motivation, motorcycling, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | Tagged: Bingham, Penguin, walking | 1 Comment »
It’s gonna hit 100 degrees here in Chicago today. That’s the air temperature. That temperature, and the humidity, makes it feel like it’s, I think, 136 degrees out. I don’t care what anybody says, that’s hot.
But, I want to run or walk or do something active today. I’ve gotten out that last two days into the 100 acre wood and could probably do that again today. There’s shade on most of the path. And the temperature drops to, I think, 127 degrees in the shade. Look, you know it’s hot when the deer are standing neck deep in the small ponds.
What am I going to do? As soon as I finish this blog I’m going downstairs to Jenny’s Gym and walk/run on the treadmill. You read that right. I’m giving in. I’m conceding. I’m wimping out. I’m using my head. We say that there are old motorcyclists and bold motorcyclists but there are no OLD, BOLD motorcyclists. I think it’s true for runners too.
We runners and walkers tend to be a little obsessive about our activity. At least I am. And this year, now that I’ve hit the 200 day mark, I am especially obsessive. And cautious. I am not going to do anything today that risks my not being able to do something tomorrow. So, I’m heading downstairs and inside.
There will be people running along the lakefront today. There always are. Maybe they don’t have a choice. More likely they think they don’t have a choice. Their training schedule calls for a 5 mile tempo run today and – no matter what – they’re going to get it in. I get their commitment but question their judgement. It’s fine to be disciplined. It’s fine to have a schedule and sticking to it. But it’s not fine to ignore the truth about what’s going on around you.
The truth is that no matter what your training schedule calls for just getting out and walking is better than not doing anything at all. If, like me, you have access to a treadmill then you can adjust your schedule to something you feel comfortable doing on a treadmill.
Or, you can just take a day – or a couple of days – off. OFF.
You can’t finish if you don’t start. Please folks, let’s be careful out there.
John
John “
the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, An Accidental Athlete, The Courage to Start, No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.
Order your EARLY copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.
Have a question for John? Write him.
Filed under: Bingham, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Running, Training | Tagged: Bingham, chicago, illinois, Penguin, summer, walking | 5 Comments »
I’m taking a few days off to vacation with my family and to celebrate my son’s 40th birthday. I’ll be back next week with a brand new blog. In the meantime, please enjoy this classic.
http://www.teampenguin.com/chronicles_archive/20011029_white_line_fever.php
Filed under: Bingham, Half Marathon, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Marathon, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | Tagged: Bingham, Penguin | Leave a comment »
Ever notice how the simplest ideas can blow up in your face? You know, sometimes what seems like a quiet idea, something that will attract no attention and create no personal problems develops a life of its own and you find yourself hanging on to the tiger’s tail?
To review; I was injured for nearly the entire year of 2010. It started in January with a slipped sacroiliac joint. A failed injection then a SUPER injection and I was able to run and walk comfortably. Then came the cuboid subluxation syndrome, which I created on a motorcycle trip and then aggravated for months by running on it. By December I was ready to get back at it. I missed being active.
So, I challenged myself and my Facebook friends and fans to join me in committing to 30 minutes of intentional movement every day for 100 days. And, much to my surprise over 10,000 people joined up. Now we’re on to the 100 Days of Summer which is more about play than intentional movement. And here’s my problem.
I did the 100 days. I nailed it. Every day. 30 minutes at LEAST. For 100 days. Then, on day 101 I kept going. And on day 102 and 103 and 104. You get the idea. It’s now day 180 and, you guessed it, I’m still going. I’m just a couple of days short of being half-way through the year and I’m still on it. NOW WHAT?
OK, the WHOLE truth is that I’ve been walking, mostly, cycling every now and then, and mixing in some running when the mood hits me. But mostly I’ve been walking. And I have been enjoying it. More than that, I’ve found that I really look forward to it, the walking that is.
I’ve walked alone. I’ve walked with Jenny. I walked last Friday with fellow announcer Ian Brooks and I walked on Sunday with my friend Indro. I walked with them. Nearly no one ever wanted to run with me. I was too slow. People said they wanted to. I got invited by clubs to go “run” with them, but it never worked. I always ended up running – in the back – by myself.
Something’s different about walking. It seems, almost by its nature, to be social. And the pace lends itself to conversation. Or, when I’m alone, to contemplation.
I tell myself at the beginning of each new month that I’m going to focus on running. One of these months I will. For now, though, I’m on a roll and I’m not going to do anything to risk getting banged up again.
Yep. You guessed it. I’m going to try to move every day for an entire year.
Waddle on, friends.
John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, The Courage to Start,No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.
Order your EARLY copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.
Have a question for John? Write him.
Filed under: Bingham, Half Marathon, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Marathon, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | Tagged: 100days, Bingham, Penguin, summer, walking | 1 Comment »
Read about the joy of growing up in the 1950’s.
Summer vacations | The Penguin Chronicles.
Filed under: Bingham, Half Marathon, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Marathon, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | Tagged: column, summer | Leave a comment »
I’ve got to admit I’ve got a soft spot for Seattle, for lots of reason. Seattle was the first place I ever ran outside of the country roads around my home in Oberlin, Ohio. I was there as a part of an admission/recruitment team for the Oberlin Conservatory, staying at a forgotten hotel, and committed to changing my life with my own two feet.
Walking out of the hotel for that first run – or to be honest walk with a little running – I had no idea what would happen that day or, as it turns out, with the rest of my life. All I knew for sure was that I was wearing running shoes, running shorts, and a running shirt. I was, to anyone watching, a runner.
Of course I wasn’t a runner. I wasn’t even a walker. I was a pretender. Sort of. I wasn’t going to pretend to run. You can’t pretend to run. You have to actually run. But on that first day I was pretending that I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. All I knew for sure was that I was standing on a street in Seattle dressed to go for a run.
So I did. I turned right out of the hotel and started running. Uphill. For those of you who don’t know Seattle, it’s hilly. I probably got about 100 yards, uphill, from the hotel before my running plan fell apart. I started walking. Slowly. Uphill.
Eventually the sidewalk did level out some, and then went downhill. It turns out that running downhill isn’t that much easier than running uphill. So I walked downhill. I ran a little on the rare level spots, but, up and down I walked.
When I turned around, knowing then that the road back would be the reverse of the road out, I had to remind myself that I wanted to be doing this. There was a small, quiet voice telling me that this running thing would work. There was a chorus of voices telling me to go back to the hotel, get a giant order of pancakes and eggs with about 8 cups of coffee and give it all up.
I didn’t. I ran every day that week, in Seattle, Los Angeles, La Jolla, and even in the snow in Denver. I didn’t know why. I didn’t know how. I did know that, for whatever reason, as wrong as it felt it felt right.
Funny thing, now nearly 20 years later, it still does.
Waddle on, friends.
John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, The Courage to Start,No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.
Order your EARLY copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.
Have a question for John? Write him.
Filed under: Bingham, Half Marathon, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Marathon, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | 3 Comments »
It’s an old story. Men do things. Women want to do things. Men make it seem too difficult. Women prove them wrong. Here’s the headline.
Harmon, Illinois, June 13, 2011
Jenny Hadfield set’s new Women’s One-Day ElliptiGO Distance Record
Jenny Hadfield, author, writer, and extreme athlete destroyed the current 111 mile record today by riding 152 miles in 15 hours on the Grand Illinois Trail and Parks (GITAP) bike tour Century course. Not content to simply complete the demanding course, Jenny decided to ride the first half of the course a second time.
It was an extraordinary effort, and as Jenny would be quick to tell you, it was a team effort. It was a team that Jenny put together, that supported her, and in th
e end got to experience something that few ever get to experience. Jenny, along with her team, did something that no other woman had ever done. Like Amelia Earhart, Jenny Hadfield has made a statement for herself and, by extension, for all women.
It was also the second time that Jenny had set the record. Last September as a part of her 500 mile ride from Chicago to Toronto she rode 141 miles in a single day. But, it wasn’t considered “official” because it wasn’t part of a cycling event on a prescribed and measured course. This time it was. This time it was a squeaky clean effort. Signed, sealed, and delivered.
My part? I was the “crew chief”. What does that mean? I helped prepare the ElliptiGOs for the ride. [Yes, I’m a motor sports guy. We had the primary ride AND a back-up, fully prepared second ElliptiGO] I prepped the lead vehicle and the chase vehicle. I studied the course, prepared the maps, plotted the route on the GPS’s, and drove the lead vehicle. Deb Dean drove the chase vehicle, prepared all the food for Jenny and the team and set up all the aid stations. Kathy O’Malley and her grandson Tris Bucaro drove the media car and were the official photographers and videographers. And, Harry and Karly Spell provided on-course support and – yes – aerial support. Harry took Tris up in an airplane to get overhead shots.
But the day belonged to Jenny. She was prepared. She was serious. And she was successful. Somewhere around mile 90 I looked in the mirror and saw her body position change subtly. She leaned into the bars a bit more. Her face was a little more set. She knew then that she would complete the Century ride. She knew then that she would break the 111 mile record. The only question was whether she wanted to beat the record or shatter it.
She shattered it. We pulled in to get verification of the Century and then Jenny looked at her crew and said: “Let’s just do it again”. We piled into the cars and headed out. It was like Deja Vu all over again. We were out on the course one more time.
In the end, over 152 miles and 15 hours after we started, at the Fire Department of Harmon, Illinois, it was over. There was no crowd. There were no photographers. Just Deb Dean, Jenny, and me. She’d done it. She’d done what no other woman had ever done.
That’s often the way it is. Most of our successes are private moments. And that’s fine. At the end of the day, wherever that is, it’s what we are to ourselves that matters most.
Waddle on, friends.
John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist
Author, The Courage to Start,No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.
Order your EARLY copy of John’s NEW book An Accidental Athlete today.
Have a question for John? Write him.
Filed under: Bingham, Half Marathon, John "the Penguin" Bingham, Marathon, Penguin, Running, Training, Walking | 1 Comment »
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