B+POSITIVE

One of the greatest things about runners is that most of them seem to have a very similar perspective on life.  I don’t think I have ever participated in a running event where I didn’t come away smiling, regardless of my time or the difficulty of the course.  That is because I always seem to meet some great people and the majority of runners have a blast.  I am a pretty quiet person. I used to be a lot more shy than I am now, but I still don’t have the ability to walk up to a person I have never met and just start talking unless I need to for some reason.  It usually takes another person to start the conversation but I don’t feel uncomfortable chatting with anyone once I start talking. I just finished the Disney Wine & Dine Half-Marathon on Saturday night and for those unfamiliar, the race started at 10PM and I finished shortly before midnight.  There also was lots of time to wait as there were 11,000 participants, shuttle busses to take runners to the sta...

My busy work season is winding down. I work from February to July to get 2 weeks of work done in August, which brings in more than ¾ of my income for the year. It is both a relief and sudden calmness that I totally enjoy. While I still have work to do, the next month or two is the perfect time for me to recharge my batteries to do it all over again next year. It went a little smoother this year, probably for two main reasons. First I am getting more efficient and gaining experience with every year that goes by. I learn new ideas that make my work life easier. Secondly, I was able to keep working on my running throughout the busy weeks and that relieved most of the stress that I usually take on. I sometimes worry too much about whether or not something was going to go as planned or not. While I had a couple of sleepless nights, most of the time I got good rest despite the long days and volume and importance of the work I accomplished. Exercise will do that for you. It is also football...

My father used to remind me when I was growing up to never quit once I started something.  Once I joined a little league baseball or midget football team, he said I should not quit the team, ever.  Along with that used to come the preaching of give it 110%, always do your best, and no one is better than you but you are also not better than someone else (his version of all men and women are created equal).  He wanted his children to not feel inferior to bullies or other intimidation, but at the same time didn’t want us to be the bullies and intimidators.  My father left a lot of great advice and was a strong man, both physically and mentally.  I hope I passed on that advice to my son and from what I can tell so far he turned out pretty good. Of course I also learned a lot from my mother who is 79.  She, even to this day, works out regularly and won an age group award last September in the Pittsburgh Great Race 5K.  She has given me great advice all th...

As I said in my inaugural post, running is my passion.  The feeling that I get from running is hard to describe.  Part of it is a sense of accomplishment, part is the alone time I get to think through my daily stresses, and part is a chemical process in the body that releases endorphins.  From what I understand releasing endorphins is the body's way of dealing with the work it is doing and to distract the mind from the pain a hard workout brings.  I could be wrong on this but I do get a "natural high" from running.  It makes my mind alert and gives me a much more positive attitude for the rest of the day and allows me to sleep better. As I age, everything that I have read says that I should not run every single day as it takes at least 48 hours for the body to repair itself from the damage running causes.  Giving the body a chance to heal also is supposed to make you stronger and more efficient for your next run if you follow the experts' a...

Welcome to B+POSITIVE! Not only is B+ my blood type but hopefully it will be a means of keeping your outlook on the plus side. I certainly need constant reminders to stay positive so I am hoping by writing periodically here I can help someone else stay up while reminding myself how healthy it is to live life this way. I believe that life comes at you emotionally in cycles and everyone needs some help from friends and family to climb out of life's valleys. I have experienced a few of those valleys over the years and without having a close family and some good friends I probably would have been stuck in a rut and developed illnesses. If you are ever down or need of something to perk you up I hope you visit this blog. I also believe that excercise is the best way to stay positive. For me running is my passion and when I get done with a morning run my day is started off on a great path. My mind is sharper, my attitude is better, and I am not as lazy. I run my own business and I dea...