Bad news – summer is over. Even though the weather feels like summertime, fall is here. Fall means back to school for both of you boys. School is all about learning, so I will focus on that topic. As you know, I visited the Netherlands for my summer vacation. I was exposed to a new culture and wrote a few articles about the experience. I described the highlights of Visiting the fascinating country of the Netherlands, and What makes the Dutch people special compared to others. Last week I shared three principles that I learned while visiting Holland. This week I will describe when a simple solution is not the best answer. Next week I will highlight how I applied one of those Dutch principles to better my own life by solving a nagging problem.
My simple problem is maintaining an acceptable weight
One Dutch principle I learned is that sometimes a simple problem may require a sophisticated solution. For the Dutch the problem is water. If they do not address this problem more than half of their country disappears. My simple problem is my weight. When careless I weigh too much and suffer the consequences. This problem is common in America. Most of us are overweight, and not enough of us are doing anything about it. Just so it is clear, neither one of you has to worry about your weight right now. Both of you are fine. Also, I am not writing this article to condemn anyone who is overweight. Rather I want to describe the simple approach I followed to help control my weight. It worked when I was younger. It may not work for others. Also, I am not a doctor. Take this advice for what it is. One man’s approach. Nothing more, nothing less.
My weight was not really a problem when I was younger
I grew up playing sports. Oma insisted that your Uncle and I stay active. We both played soccer and swam competitively. The combination of those two sports ensured that we stayed in shape. Soccer requires running. I learned this while playing junior varsity soccer at my high school. Our coach was a former soccer player/cross country runner. He ran us to death after each practice. I hated it, but boy did it work. Our team was in much better shape than our opponents. You could tell the difference in the second half of each game. Swimming burns a lot of calories and makes you really tired. Neither Perry or I ever had sleep issues growing up. We were usually asleep a few minutes after going to bed.
The 82d Airborne required tough physical conditioning
After college graduation, I entered the Army. Staying in shape was obligatory. When I served with the 82nd Airborne Division we did physical training almost every single day. Airborne operations are tough on the body. It was critical that all of us were in great physical condition. While there I learned the agony of long runs. One of my company commanders used to run the officers for many miles every week just to test our mental toughness. I remember following him all over Fort Bragg, wondering where we were, and when we would be done. As much as I hated his approach – it worked. I took that mentality with me to my next assignment.
I learned to enjoy running while drinking German beer
My next assignment was an armor brigade in Germany. This unit was mostly tankers, not infantry. Tankers are not much into physical conditioning. They do not need to be. You drive tanks into battle. Why worry about being in shape. I started to exercise less but noticed one problem right away. I was gaining weight. Two reasons – german food and beer. The food is rich and the beer is world-class. Both contain tons of calories. Good for my taste buds, bad for my waistline. Simple solution, I began running more and enjoyed it much more. Better scenery than the pine trees of North Carolina. On weekends many German towns host a volksmarch. It is usually a 6-10 mile hike around the town and surrounding area. In the end, you get a beer and a prize. A few of us would participate in these marches by running the route. Great solution.
Running around Europe helped keep off the vacation pounds
Running in Europe was great. I was able to mix running with site-seeing. Uncle Bill and I would run while we were traveling around Europe. It helped counter the extra calories we ate and drank while on vacation. We went on many trips together to include Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, and Switzerland. Bill was always in much better shape than me which made each run with him an adventure. I still have fond memories of trying to keep up with Bill in the vineyards of Burgundy. The steep hills were killing me while he just smiled the whole way. One year a few of us decided to run the Paris marathon which was painful, but a lot of fun. It was my first marathon and my first time in Paris. What a great way to see the city. I could barely walk afterward but really enjoyed the experience.
Chasing cadets around Charlottesville kept me in shape
My last duty assignment in the Army was serving as an Army ROTC instructor in Charlottesville, Virginia. While there I recruited and trained UVA students. We did a fair amount of physical training with the cadets which was challenging, but I enjoyed it. Nothing better than trying to keep up with students who are a decade younger than you. The young men, in particular, went out of their way to test my ability to run fast. I am happy to report that I did a decent job hanging with these young bucks. One year during the Army Ten-miler several of them tried to leave me in the dust. They did for the first half of the race, but I managed to track each of them down, one by one, before the finish line. They learned never to underestimate a ranger’s ability to keep going despite the pain. Running in the Charlottesville area is also demanding – lots of hills. All of this strenuous exercise paid off. I was able to control my weight and get in the best running condition of my life. My running personal best times are from this period.
Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite Soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other Soldier.
Second stanza of the Ranger Creed
Running became my de facto method for controlling my weight
I separated from the Army in 2001. After becoming a civilian staying in shape became more challenging. My schedule was tighter due to a long commute, hard job, and dad activities with you boys. Many weekends were jammed with soccer games and household duties. Running became my de facto method for controlling my weight during this difficult decade of life. I would run in the morning before work with the dog, or sometimes during lunch at work. It was rare that I ran in the evenings. All this running helped me maintain my weight at a reasonable level up until my 40th birthday. I should mention here that I did not pay much attention to what I ate. Most of it was not good for me. Also worth noting that I stopped drinking for most of this period. It was a personal choice based on requirements to be a leader in the church we attended. Not sure if that was a great decision, but it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.
My physical decline started after my 40th birthday
A few things changed that affected my ability to maintain a reasonable weight after I turned 40 years old. First and foremost – my job became much more demanding for the next five years. It was a rewarding experience, but I did not have as much time to train. I had a bigger mortgage to pay than before. My work became a higher priority than my running. Second – I was getting older. The wear and tear on my body were taking its toll. I started playing adult soccer which did not help. I enjoyed playing, but every season I seemed to have a different injury. Third – my relationship with your mother started to sour. This added stress did not help matters.
Reality started to hit in 2013
I got a reality check in 2013. My annual physical did not go well. Our family doctor informed me that I was overweight. What did I do? I increased my running mileage. It worked. My weight dropped and I ran a decent Army Ten-miler that year. What didn’t I do? I did not change my eating habits. I continued to eat like crap which would become a real issue. The reality was that I was using a simple solution to a simple problem. At the time it made sense to use that approach, but it was not going to work much longer. Next week I will talk about what happened and when I realized that I needed to think more like the Dutch to solve this simple problem.
