Thanksgiving Day 1

I have 9 days off work. I don't have any plans exactly. That is, I am not driving to any races. I don't celebrate holidays so no TG gathering. In fact, Thanksgiving is almost the mother of all worst cases for a vegetarian. Billions of turkeys slaughtered so Americans can overeat one more day. Drink to much and fight with eachother. Then take naps in front of the TV where a football game is on.

No thanks. I'll stay alone.

I've been reading some books on the environment and tribal outlook that Jesus must have been born and raised in. And about how Paul most certainly had a brand of Christianity very different than Jesus. The book I've been reading most recently is well written. But I realized this morning that I don't need any more information on that topic. I put it aside and wondered what I should do.

The idea of Plotinus came into my mind. I hadn't finished the Enneads. I had been much edified by Plotinus philosophy. So I got the book out and started where I left off.

Plotinus Ennead 5.9.7: "Knowledge in the reasoning soul is on the one side concerned with objects of sense, though indeed this can scarcely be called knowledge and is better indicated as opinion or surface-knowing; it is of later origin than the objects since it is a reflection from them: but on the other hand there is the knowledge handling the intellectual objects and this is the authentic knowledge; it enters the reasoning soul from the Intellectual-Principle and has no dealing with anything in sense. Being true knowledge it actually is everything of which it takes cognisance; it carries as its own content the intellectual act and the intellectual object since it carries the Intellectual-Principle which actually is the primals and is always self-present and is in its nature an Act, never by any want forced to seek, never acquiring or traversing the remote- for all such experience belongs to soul- but always self-gathered, the very Being of the collective total, not an extern creating things by the act of knowing them.

Not by its thinking God does God come to be; not by its thinking Movement does Movement arise. Hence it is an error to call the Ideas intellections in the sense that, upon an intellectual act in this Principle, one such Idea or another is made to exist or exists. No: the object of this intellection must exist before the intellective act [must be the very content not the creation of the Intellectual-Principle]. How else could that Principle come to know it: certainly not [as an external] by luck or by haphazard search."

I must have read this 10 times. But something clicked in my mind which I can hardly explain. For a few moments, I had an entire understanding of God and oneness. It was awesome.

So then I went out for a short jog. I hadn't planned much today. It was supposed to rain, and I am getting over the sniffles, so I didn't think I'd do much. I had a delightful slow jog of 7 miles for 90 minutes. The morning was very fresh. I loved it.

Coming home, I changed clothes and headed out to an AA meeting. I have 29 years of sobriety but still think AA meetings are fantastic. I am so grateful for my lovely attitude.

When I got home, I started workout number 2. This was an indoor cross training workout. 15 minutes on exercise bike. 15 min on elliptical. 15 min galloping sideways back and forth on the step platform. 15 min on the Nordic Track. 15 min on the Versa Climber. 45 minutes durability. Durability means something like circuit training employing weights and 2 floors. At the bottom of the stairs, I did one arm squat lift bends with a 20 lb kettle bell and pushups. On the second floor I did tricep dips and heel raises. I carried 2 x 10 lb olympic plates each time I went up or down the stairs. I don't know how many circuits I did in 45 minutes. I finished off with 15 min of rowing.

I'm sure those durability workouts, and cross training in general, will be my life saver when it comes to doing a 6 day expedition in Utah next summer.

Then I ate and read a book for a little. Then I walked uphill on the treadmill for another 90 minutes.

Here is what all that looks like according to fitbit:

The chart shows calories instead of steps because rowing and biking don't give any steps.5.5 hours today.

Is this training necessary? No, of course not. I just like it.

Worst Case RATS

My Vision Quest is an endurance event. The challenge is two fold: running plus camping. The race web page shortened the 4th run by 9 miles to 43 miles and still gives 20 hours to finish. Now my focus is on the second run of 39 miles. Can I finish that before the cut off of 12.5 hours? I looked at results of previous years. Some people did come very close to the cut off.

Here are the results of one female who looks like she might be comparable to me on day 1, 3 and 5. My day 4 will be 9 miles less than hers but I'll still have 20 hours to do it.

I know from my 50k race on an easy course 2 weeks ago that I could have put in another 8 miles in a little over 2 hours if I started to only walk. So given that day 2 of RATS has some climbing, I estimate: 7 + 2.5 = 9.5 hours. That leaves a 3 hour difficulty factor.

I think I can.

It is important to me think I can because during the event, I'll have the physical challenges. Believing in my self is paramount.

Lifestyle

I was reading this blog .

This impressed me alot: "There’s a lot of hand-wringing going on these days about the epidemic of “lifestyle diseases.” You know the list: obesity, diabetes, heart disease and by some accounts, depression and neurological disorders. A lot of people are doing good work in these areas but sadly, we don’t seem to be making much progress. These afflictions–also described by the World Health Organization as “non-communicable diseases–continue to kill millions of people worldwide each year.

So maybe it’s time to flip our perspective upside down. Instead of talking about “lifestyle disease,” maybe it’s time to start talking about “diseased lifestyles.” This simple reversal will yield some new insights. Instead of focusing on the illnesses that plague our bodies, let’s get to the heart of the matter, the way we live in the modern world.

The distinction is crucial. A “lifestyle disease” is a pathological medical condition of the body’s tissue or organs: the pancreas is exhausted from trying to keep pace with a flood of refined sugars, the abdomen is distended with pro-inflammatory adipose tissue, the coronary arteries are clogged, the heart is enlarged and the blood pressure is high. A “diseased lifestyle” on the other hand, is a disease of perspective, behavior and relationship; it’s the way we’re living that’s out of whack."

And then I went out jogging. I was thinking about what I do that is different from the Standard American Diet, and lack of exercise. But I was also thinking about A Course in Miracles and it's instructions for healing the mind. And also, I was thinking about my expedition next June. Specifically, I worry that some body part, like a knee, won't be able to complete the longest part of the race.

But then I began to visualize finishing the most difficult part. I could see myself coming to the small group of people at the finish banner, and choking up with emotion that I had completed the course.

I am sure I don't want to spend the next 8 months worrying about failure. I'd rather spend it feeling success.

Then, I thought about aging and end of life. And I thought, instead of worrying about the pain of diminishment, I'd think about the success of being ready to blow out the candle.

I can do this every day too. Oh sure, I'll have bad moods and crabby moments. But I don't have to have an overall approach to life that is worrisome about physical problems. It is consciousness that allows me to improve my outlook. But also, it relies on their being a higher consciousness towards which I can communicate and relate.

I suppose my life depends on that higher aspect. And now, I can only contemplate it, not explain it.

Vision Quest 2015

When I was young, I heard about Outward Bound, but no opportunity presented itself. Later, I heard of vision quests, but I wasn't a young native American boy; or didn't want to go on some New Age guru's program. Or maybe I was working but didn't have enough vacation to go someplace.

In 2015, that changes. I will be 56 when I go on my most difficult adventure. Completely outside the box. I'll spend 6 days on an expedition. I'm already signed up.

I can get in the best shape possible for me. I can do as much each day as time and course rules allow. I have to put on my mental. There will be pain, soul searching, despair, elation. But I look at it like this: I can so why not. I already have a week off with no pay approved.