50th American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation Korti Skate race!

What are you grateful for today?

I got this ski for the second year in a row with my oldest son in the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation Korti Skate race!

It was the 50th anniversary an amazing race mostly because I got to do it with my son but also because it was a year where there was no natural snow to ski on.

As the age we need to challenge our bodies so we can keep doing things and improve our physical and emotional resilience to age itself. We also need to be very aware what's important in life can spend time with the people that are important.

#gratitude

Bike crash on Highway 61 North shore and how Giro saved my life!

Ever been in an accident you might not have walked away from?



This weekend I did a solo ride from Duluth to Two Harbors Minnesota on old HWY 61. It's a beautiful ride around lake Superior all right next to the lake and next to two-way car traffic.

Around mile 6 I had an accident. The first thing I remember was my head hitting the road and wondering if my Giro Sport Design helmet was going to protect my head from crushing.

Well it did, it took on the road at 15 miles an hour with a big guy inside it. My lung didn't do so well. The helmet cracked and took the impact. Talking with my doctor she said if I didn't have a helmet on I would not be talking to her today.

As I got up from the crash I saw stars and right away two different people stopped to check and see if I was ok. One was an off-duty EMT and she asked me a bunch of questions to make sure I was ok. - My faith in the kindness and humanity in people is elevated -

I continued 35 more miles to my destination for a coffee and then back to my car with some treats I picked up for my kids on the trip.

I found out this afternoon that instead of broken ribs I have a slightly punctured left lung. It hurts a lot but I am grateful it was not worse.

I am also grateful because my Giro helmet saved my life. Purchased at Erik's Bike Shop, Inc. as a gift from family on fathers day.

PLEASE wear a helmet!

What have you walked away from that if not for one thing protecting you it would have been different?

I am grateful for today!

More pics of the helmet after the crash are in the comments.

Changing life with kids at home and work and well everything at home =)

 

Above is a photo from MinneDemo drive in. 

It has been some time since I posted. Everything in life is at a distance including me thinking about staying in shape for some time. I have been working at home since March and it is not the end of August. My kids also ended the school year in March and are looking at this year at home as well. It has made a big change in how we all live life. The biggest positive is that we are all healthy and get to spend time together.

I have been getting in better shape as of late with getting back into longer bike rides (35+ miles at a time) and doing some running. About 2 months ago I injured my big toe on my left foot and have been unable to run for some time. Running along with biking is a big tool for me to keep my weight down. I have had to really shift my diet to keep the pounds down while I could not run much. One lifesaver was online workout classes first from my friend Doug at the Firm and then from Carmen at Lynx fit. I am still doing the classed online a day a week with Lynx Fit 7am Monday if anyone wants to join. I find as I get older I love and need the group fitness classed, partially so I have someone to yell at me and motivate me to keep going when I am not feeling like it.

Many of my friends laugh about the COVID 15 as in everyone has put weight on like when you start college. I agree that I fell into that bucket a little. Now is the time to keep the weight off and prep for the winter and probably not going back into a gym for some time. I currently have 2 treadmills, a full weight gym set up a kickboxing heavy bad setup, and 2 fluid trainers. I think I am going to get a TRX and maybe a low impact elliptical for this winter. Remember it's not just me but the whole family so 6 of us trying to work out at home.

My weight specifically has going up to 290 and back down to 280 over the last 6 months. I want to get down to 270 and am trying really hard. Sitting at a desk all day at a home office does not help a lot. I need to make sure I get up and walk around. I find myself sitting for 2-3 hour blocks working and sometimes not really moving at all.  I realize that as much as I need to keep moving I need to help my kids do so as well. With no recess and no fall sports, they are doing my kids will also need to be a focus of the exercise. What a crazy time where we need to focus on so many things we have not had to before. When parents become teachers and amazon becomes your shopping trip life gets real interesting.

If you have tips on what you are doing I am always looking. Things to stay in shape, help with kids online learning really anything.

I realize when I start writing how much I love it and how much I need to be connected to a community. I will do my best to blog more and I hope you are doing the best you can. Be true to how you are feeling and try to get outside and exercise as much as you can.

2020 and some new self care and Thankfulness

It has again been a while since I posted. My dad passes away in January of 2019. He had cancer and Hep C. It was a very trying time. I will address a little of that since I have talked here about me as a parent. I know that part of why I try so hard to be a good parent is because of my relationship with my dad. We did not spend a lot of time together when I was growing up. To start he was a drummer in a rock band and on the road all of the time. My mom and he split paths when I was 2 or 3. There was always a void that I did not understand and still work on to this day.  My mom did her best but there is a hole when kids don't have 2 parents around. As I grew up my dad got married and had 2 more kids and got divorced. He spent time with me here and there but we were not close. My dad drank a lot and the best times we had was when he was sober for periods of time. Again this is a big part of why I don't drink much. 

Fall of 2018 I spend more time with my dad than I had in a long time. But as it often seems to do cancer got the better of him. Slow downhill for months then a fast fade into death.I mourn my dad and the vision of a perfect future where he was sober and where we were close that never came to be. 

I never fell off my workouts but I did eat more of the bad things than I should have. Comfort food is not good for you but you do what you can when you are mourning.

I did the weight loss competition at the YWCA over this winter and I lost a pound from Thanksgiving to New years. I remember years where I would put on 30 pounds over the holidays. I hope those times are gone now. I have been focusing on self-care, more time away from screens and things that cause me stress. I have been trying to cut out sweets and stop eating in the early evening.

I am doing the Red Ribbon Ride again this year 225 miles through Minnesota to fight AIDS / HIV and lots of bike training leading up to it.

I will post more this year. I will also love myself more and slow down the insanity of life.

I hope you are doing well in your weight loss and care journey. Let me know if I can help with anything.

Peace,

Gabe

Happy Monday Bike Ride to #WeWork Minneapolis Love your life!!

Bike Riding Salad Eating Meditation following Dad - Calling all parents to get in shape

I just had this picture pop up on my Facebook Timeline. It was from the last Breast Cancer / Attaboy ride. I rode in most of if not all of both of these rides which are no longer happening in Minnesota. It seems fitting for a couple of reasons. The picture is mostly Jaycees and I get to be president of the Minneapolis Jaycees this year. And second I friggen hate cancer! We need more cancer riders until we find a cure.

I have been biking to work as often as I can. From my house in SLP to the Capella tower in Mpls and back is about a 15 mile round trip ride. I will often add in some weight lifting before I head home so I get a more full workout in we have a Steele Fitness in my building I get to use for free. What I find is that working out seems to keep getting harder and my motivation keeps getting pulled to other things. The changes of being a parent of 4 never cease to amaze me. Right when you think you are around the bend with kids and your life might be getting back to something more normal then the next thing changes. What a wonderful journey!

I am realizing that I need to control my weight more through what I put into my body than the amount of exercise I do. I need to eat more salad and lean meats and less of just about everything else. I don't have the time and my joints cant take the pounding that once kept weight in check. Here come the changes!

To keep calm in the face of family and work stressers I have been doing some meditation. More in the form of guided breathing and self centering. 4 in breaths and 8 out, repeat for a couple of minutes.I journal when every I can, mostly at night and in the morning. I try to always write out 3 things I am thankful or grateful for in detail. Its good to keep in mind what we have and not compare to what we dont have.

Fall is coming so my routine will switch again. Kids in school and back to activities. I will pull out my SAD light soon to fight the energy draining effects of the dark months in the North. If you don't have one I suggest them to everyone. Why not have more natural energy because of light?

With school starting I will also need to watch what I eat at meetings. I am going to be on the SLP ECFE advisory council again and a couple of other local boards. Look for family friendly events I will be sharing in the future.

Lots going on but I need to slow down. We all need to focus more. I hope your life journey and weight is progressing the way you want. Thank you for being part of my journey.

Cheers,

Gabe

Getting Older and Stronger with Kickboxing, Rock Climbing, Running and Biking.

Well heck I havent posted in a long time. I started a new job the end of 2017 and I did not do my weight any favors. I work out of the WeWork in the Capella Tower in Minneapolis. I love we work but they have really good snacks all of the time. Like gourmet pizza and cookies and high end appetizers. Like all the time every week. I gained over 20 pounds my first 3 months on the new job and have since taken that off.

I am keeping in shape doing the YWCA triathlons over the winter as well as Kickboxing once a week with my daughter. My oldest son discovered that he likes rock climbing so we started to do that at Vertical Endeavors in Mpls. I am also training for my 12th Red Ribbon Ride to end HIV and AIDS. The ride will be 103 miles the first day.

I have been cutting out all of the junk food as of late while increasing my running and walking outside. I am going to start bike commuting as many days a week as I can July 1st. As far as my diet goes I have been cutting down my coffee intake and taking apple cider vinegar in the morning and at night. Seems to be good for the health. My wife also started selling essential oils so I find myself using those daily for multiple different things. They seem to help and I want to be as natural as possible.

The kids are in the middle of a crazy amount of summer activities but we are finding time to keep tight as a family. I love the idea of Hygge and try to bring that into daily life as much as possible. We eat dinner as a family. No screens at the table and I light a candle. We talk about the week and our personal high and low points. Everyone is heard and we can help as a family if needed. I am also trying to take time every day to be mindful of how I am feeling and journal about what I am grateful for and be very specific.

In our fast and every speeding up lives we need to cut through the clutter and excess and do what really matters. To me that is my personal health and spending time with my direct family and close friends.

What matters most to you?

I would challenge you to back off on social media and screen use. Pick up a paper book and go for a walk outside. Look closely at new flowers and weed a garden. It will make you feel more connect and part of the world.

Cheers,

Gabe

2017 in review video 11 inside Mendenhall Glacier

My 2017 in video review video 8 Trail running!

My 2017 in video review video 7! Norther Pike fishing Ely Mn

My 2017 in video review video 5! Skiing in 360

My 2017 in video review video 4! Rock Climbing Vertical Endeavors (Minneapolis)​ with Angela Skelly​

My 2017 in video review video 2! Spinning for the Red Ribbon Ride​ with Friends including The Minneapolis Jaycees​ Angela Skelly​ Kathleen Sprole​ Eric Mize​

My 2017 in video review video 2! Spinning for the Red Ribbon Ride​ with Friends including The Minneapolis Jaycees​ Angela Skelly​ Kathleen Sprole​ Eric Mize​

My 2017 in video review video 1! Kickboxing with Anthony Meyer​ and Ciera at the YWCA Minneapolis Health and Fitness​ was a huge part of the year.

Sledding in the Snow with Kids, Kickboxing Zombies, Rock climbing and Running

I have been doing it!  My weigh is stable and I am down a little. I have been working out every day and adding weight to my free weigh lifts. Working in a lot of dead lifting both with dumbbells at home and with bumper plates at the gym. I love to hit the gym but I always need to work out from home.

We have had two snow bouts so far this winter and we have fully embraced them both. Getting out sledding with the kids is one of the real joys of winter. It's also a great way to be outside in the winter and get some exercise. If you don't think so just try it. Running up a hill with a sled, zooming back down and getting up so you can run up the hill again. What a fun way to burn calories while having fun with the kids in the winter.

I have also been getting back into kickboxing. I created a little drill on Friday where I pretend the heavy kickboxing bags are zombies and I have to fight my way past them to get to safty. Wow this is a crazy hard workout. I ran my kids through it this weekend and they not only loved it but thought it was very hard.

Watch the Zombie Kickboxing drill


Sunday we went to REI to return some items and the rock climbing wall was almost empty. We climbed for about an hour. Wow are my arms out of shape for climbing. But I love it so much and now my oldest son does to. We are going to climb at Vertical Endeavors next week for a day. Come join us if you want.

To really drop some weight I have been staying away from candy and sugar. I also added my kale smoothies back into my diet and cut my carbs. Its interesting how hard it can be to eat clean as a parent. My wife does not need to watch what she eats since she is naturally thin. My kids don't like most of the healthy food I need to eat and I end up annoyed and challenged. Will power needs a lot of enforcing over the holidays!

I know I will make it. I love to run and be active. I will keep in shape and fight the battle of the holiday bulge while enjoying all of my free time with the kids.

I hope you enjoy your time and stay happy with yourself.

-Gabe

Sledding in the snow with the Walking dead and Protein waffles lets Loppet together

We have SNOW in Minnesota. Seems funny to be as excited about it as I am but we have not had enough snow the last couple of years. The last 2 nights I have been out sledding with my kids. I really enjoy getting out, the snow makes everything so fresh and clean and white!!!

I want to do some fat tire biking this winter. I know the Loppet has some events for bikes and skiing. I am going to do them, who wants to join me?

Last night I made dinner, it was waffles. I usually make my own but my mom gave me a box of some healthy waffles. The box had a story about their invention and about how hole grains with protein are really good for you. The box also talked about how the modern day pancakes are nothing like the old school flapjacks from times of old. 

I added 6 eggs, and milk to the recipe and it was super. Served with honey or real maple syrup and fruit. It was a dinner everyone loved.

My recipe :

4-6 cups whole wheat flower

1/2 cup flax seed

1-2 cups Greek yogurt

2-4 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk (or more to how think you want them)

3/4-1 cup peanut butter

* if you want a really big protein boos add 3/4cup whey or other protein.

You can eat them fresh or freeze and warm up in the toaster.

I think like the waffles we have changed much of our food into processed garbage and we don't even think about the changes. We need to get back to cooking whole food that are not full of sugar or worse corn syrup.

I have been eating a lot cleaner this week and getting my cardio in. I purchased the 7th season of the walking dead for my daughter and we watched an episode last night while I walked on the treadmill. I love movies and walking. No better way to get in some low impact endurance cardio under the belt.

Tonight I am going to do the same. Sled, walk then clean for friends coming over Saturday. I will also spend some time writing Christmas cards. I love this time of year and now that my foot is feeling better I can really get my exercise groove on!

I hope you have a super weekend and keep up all of the great work!

Happy Friday!

-Gabe

Cutting weight and dead lifting some weight off, winter nights and SAD lights enjoying Christmas in the North #Minnesota

Losing some weight is always a good thing. I have been really hitting the weights and treadmill since I got over my gout attack. Ish I hope that never happens again. The NSAID I was on seems to have worked but I feel it was also making me put on weight. Or not =)

I have been walking on the treadmill at a 5-12 degree incline at a speed of 3-4.0 Mph. It really seems to help. I have been doing some spinning on my fluid trainer as well as hitting the free weights. I have about 400 pounds of Olympic plates and 2 bench's in my weight room. On of my favorites is still the 50 pound dumbbells. I will stand and do curl set after curl set with those while watching a movie.

I am down 5 pounds in the last week and have 3 to go to be back at my pre gout weight. Then on to the fun. My focus is not eating crap - like sugar or processed things. I will let myself do fruit and nuts and cheese at holiday events but I need to hold it to that. I am also not going to drink a lot of hot cocoa or drinks with added calories.

My kids are always a great help with my weight loss ....NOT

Part of my journey is realizing my willpower is about me. If my kids get sweets or make sweets or buy junk food its my responsibility to push them away and not eat the junk.

I still feel required to eat something if someone made a special treat for the holidays but I try to stay away from force feeding situations.

My grandma Betty always quoted me "a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips"  while this is a little morbid and mean I get it. As I get older the weight goes on a lot easier and leaves a lot harder.

What are your plans to stay fit over the holidays?

I will be doing a lot of pre planning, thinking about what I am eating, pushing away and exercising.



I will add next week how I have done but I hope to make it through 2 events this week and not gain a pound. I can do it!

Wherever you are on your parenting and self body love journey I wish you luck, you can do anything you put your mind to!

Gout attack - Thanksgiving - Bentlyville and a 2 hour spin

Well here we are. I did not post much in November or finish the Nanowrimo this year. I started a new job, I love it! I also had my first attack of gout and some other fun.

When should I start? I am now working in Downtown Minneapolis about 3 blocks from my old location. I am driving and busing to work and waiting until spring to start biking to work.

I have been trying to keep my weight stable or lose some. I had been on a roll but it gets tough as you know when you don't workout on a regular schedule. I had been doing morning workouts 3-4 days a week and kickboxing 1 evening with my daughter. Well mornings are out and the kickboxing class filled up for the session. We will be doing it again next session.

I worked out the night before Thanksgiving and was feeling pretty good. Then came my sore foot. Thursday it got sore, Friday it hurt more and was swelling, Friday night I work up in the middle of the night in pain. Every time the sheets touched my food I cringed.I went to the ER in Grand Marais the next morning and the DR put me on medication for gout. He didn't need to look to long since I have a family history through my grandpa and my mom. He gave me a non steroid anti inflammatory. He also said I could start working out a little when the pain was gone. He suggested cycling or swimming. Well I figured I would be back walking around that day or the next.

It turned out it took me a week for my foot to go back to almost normal. Saturday we stayed in Grand Marais but I didn't do much. Sat around and iced my foot. It was really hard for me since I love to walk around. I actually really have a hard time sitting at all. Then Sunday we packed to go home. We visited Bentlyville and the kids pushed me around in a wheelchair. I am sure this was a lot more fun for them than for me.

We made it home Sunday night and over the next week my foot got better. Saturday I did the 2 hour spin for World AIDS day and felt pretty good. Next up is for me to get back into weight loss and get to a comfortable weight.

The plus side is I have been hitting the weights more. My bench is increasing and my arms are really coming along. Now on to losing some tummy flab!

I just read an article about loving your body and I agree. I need to love myself and embrace that I can weight less or more but I need to not hate my body or the way I look. We all need to love ourselves more and then we can love others better.

Its not a war against food it a life with moderation. I will always keep trying.

We are in the month of December and more food and sweets gets consumed from now until new years than any time else. We can choose to embrace friends and gatherings with moderation and still have a great time. This goes for booze as well as food. Many of you know I don't drink much but for those who do, try to keep it reasonable.

I will commit to doing cardio 6 days a week for the rest of the year and a goal of feeling happy about my body. What is your rest of the year goal?

Wherever you are on your parenting or body journey keep up the good work. Nothing gets better without effort.

I am here for you!

Post 3 #NanoWrimo2017 Nanowrimo in progress write 50,000 words in November = Book

Post 3 #NanoWrimo2017 Nanowrimo in progress write 50,000 words in November = Book

Unedited!

The saying painted in ancient letters below the painting was  - “the biggest trick the devil every did was convincing the world that he did not exist”.

We throw up one final prayer for those we love and who have left us. Putting on heavy jackets we slowly move out into the cold dark night, snow has turned back into rain making it feel even colder. Raw tear stroked cheeks are drenched with freezing moisture from the sky. And we walk, walk in silence to a place where we will all talk more joyously. We walk through the night each filled with thought of loved ones remembered and thinking about life.

Funny how fast we can shift from mourning to jovial when given the proper time. We arrive in a great mead hall lit with candles and a warm fire billowing on each side, 4 in all.  A light music is playing from a pair of harps and mandolin players in the corner. Against the longest wall is a table filled with meat and cheese, drinks and deserts. Not a person enters without looking and smiling at the feast that is  to come.  A small bell is hit with a hammer over and over, the eating and talking commences.

I walk to the table, small plates and forks are piled. I take mine and move forward, roast beast with cheese, pickled horny toad with crumpets, elk with eel sauce and Asian worm chocolate cake fill my plate. It is so heaped that a chunk of roast beat falls off as I walk to my table. A lap wolf runs over to the meat on the floor and quickly gobbles it up. The table I sit at is huge twenty people around with a giant candle in the center surrounded by a hundred smaller candles. We greet each other with a wave and hello and seat to feast.

The laughter and smells make a mood so loving you would hardly know we had been praying on departed souls only moments earlier. A server brings by tea and mead and espresso made of dried beans excreted from a cat. I ask for a goblet of all three and back up to make room on the table. Even though the table is very large every square inch is covered with food and drinks and peoples elbows as they converse close to neighbors. What a joy it is to take the time to talk about loved ones and all that brings us together in the fabric of humanity.  We all eat and eat and eat until no one can fit another morsel into their gut. There is still much food everywhere but in fear of bursting everyone is done eating. The fires are stoked and the harp gets louder. The newly formed family begins to say good byes and coats are brought out by helpers. The rain has shifted back to snow and there is now a thin layer of ice coating everything outside.

As we walk back to our electric carriages we drift off in small groups and mutter about the night. It sure was a nice service, the meal was over the top, the conversations and people were great. We commit to come back again next year. There will always be more death and there is always a need for prayer and community. We are mindful that we take the time needed to remember those we have lost and spend time with those still here that will be for a long time and are close to passing over.

The journey home is not a long one, dark and dreary with a certain delight you can only feel after mourning is over. The night is young but it is black as pitch. The road is wet and slippery. We pass a few other people on their journeys somewhere into the night.

When we think back on places and times that

Day 2 #NanoWrimo2017 Nanowrimo in progress write 50,000 words in November = Book

Unedited day 2:

We find ourselves driving across a plane of life so full of noise and busyness that we can’t concentrate long to see the endpoint on the plains in front of us.  If we lose track of the long game of life we may ne be prepared for everything it has to throw at us but if we don’t allow ourselves to be consumed by the craziness of now we risk losing time all along. One of the hardest things to do as a human is to live in the now. Not in the past or in what we will be doing in the future but living in right now. The present is just that, it’s a gift and we will never have it again. As children time seems infinite, as old age sets in days fly by like sparks and time grows ever faster. Take time now to embrace the crazy, smelly, dirty, hard and fun. Life throws a lot at us and we need to try our best to take that lot and run with it.

I was once told that life is change and that growth is optional. I don’t disagree but sometimes its much harder to change and grow than we would like to admit. We get pretty stuck in our proverbial rut and even if its not going the way we want we don’t give ourselves the power to turn the steering wheel and head cross country into the jungle on that next adventure.

At a vespers service for those who have passed we take a pause, marked in a book the silence fills the great expanse of the cathedral. It feel good, right, a little strange in our loud and ever to fast moving world. Singers and a lone violin paint a chilling and bright background to remember those we have passed and speed them on to heaven with prayers. Together we weep for those we will not embrace again on this earthly plain. We know we will see them again in another place in another time maybe in another life. We dream that at the end of what is now, there is a better place, heaven to some rest to others. The ancient greeks would pass and walk the elysian fields the Vikings go to Valhalla and  everyone will go somewhere. Those with not faith in a higher power have a more morbid belief on what happens after we pass. A burning of the bones, worms eating and crawling through our brains. I prefer to have the happier though that we go to a better place and join our friends and family and maybe also pets that have passes before us.

We pray that those who passed not knowing god will be allowed to enter heaven through gods grace and our prayers as an entry key. Imagine a loved mother sitting at the gates of heaven and looking down into the black abyss of hell. Knowing at that point that there is a god and a devil.  Maybe she should have though a little more about it when she was on earth. Maybe she could have lived a better life. Lots of maybes but this one is not lost. As this mother sees the devil claim others she sees a light. Those who she spend time raising have given her the key and god has granted her mercy. Although she did not know god directly while she walked the earth she moved in his image. She worked all she could to raise her family, she helped the poor, she did not embrace a life of heavy sin. There is salvation and there is a solice knowing that living a good life can be just in itself.

The ancient ones painted a story depicted by pictures in an alley. The alley was in a castle long forgotten and in ruins. What was on the wall was a man who was dressed in robes helping the poor standing next to a man in a suit smoking a cigar.  The picture depicts the trick that happens in life when the good are so humble they blend in with everyone but the devil can also blend in with those who he is most like.