I'll tell you some of the "stuff" I've been up to these days. I spent the morning at the office. I wrote, then edited what I wrote, then wrote and submitted a paper proposal for the regional ETS meeting in South Carolina in March, then drove to the Y for a workout, then came home and had supper. These days I've been eating a lot of rice and stir fry, so today I decided to have pasta instead. To top things off, I added some Korean kimchi, which I am addicted to. I've made 6 trips to Korea for two weeks a pop, ostensibly to teach, though the real reason was to get my digestive tract working properly again. I cannot get enough kimchi or any kind of Korean cuisine for that matter. Here's the deal: you can't effectively lose fat without regulating your food intake, whether you call it counting calories or meal planning or something else. Good health is just a matter of a fair amount of muscle and a low amount of body fat, and nothing more. Burning your muscles with tons of reps does nothing to improve your overall look (and health outlook) without creating a proper weight loss environment. In my opinion, you can only get so far with cardio and resistance training alone. You have to regulate your food intake.
Don't want to deal with all this? Then go ahead and put your feet up on your desk and pick your nose all day. Believe me, I'm an expert at this.
Above all, avoid kimchi like the plague.
My biggest challenge right now is getting into shape for my goal races this year -- 3 marathons and one ultra. Oh, did I mention returning to Zermatt in June for my 70th birthday? I might have one last Alp in me. I guess I'll find out this summer. This is not to toot my own horn. It's not like I'm fitter than most people out there. I just crave challenges. There's nothing like it.
Believe it or not, I've incorporated some indoor runs on the treadmill, like today's workout. (If you read this blog, you know I will do practically anything to avoid the treadmill.) What I need now is an AARP marathon training plan, you know, the kind that adds Depends to your race kit. It just so happens I have a longish run planned for tomorrow. I haven't decided where or how long yet because it's been so crazy cold. I love my life but I've always questioned the internal thermostat I was created with. Every time I run in the cold I question my sanity. Maybe I need to stick with the treadmill for the time being.
In my last bit of news, next month I'm speaking in a class at Liberty University on the subject of the Pauline authorship of Hebrews and its place in the New Testament canon. So today I began compiling a list of all the myths I've heard about the authorship of Hebrews, including the one about Paul never using the "he says" (legei) method of introducing Old Testament quotes. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that fallacy.
That's all I got. Time to feed Ishi his nightly carrot and check up on the goats. Or maybe I'll take a long walk in the cold because I'm crazy that way.