We Are In The Home Stretch

Today is the last day of November, 2008. One of my fondest memories with my dad was going to the horse races at Del Mar. Without getting into all the details right now, I'm pretty sure that the phrase "home stretch" comes from horse racing. That last bit of the race is so important - if you're going to finish. The home stretch is when you can actually see the finish line straight ahead. From where we are running our race we can see December 31, 2008.

Let's make sure we finish this race. If you have done everything the way you set out to do at the beginning of the year, congratulations and keep going until the end of the year. Don't stop and don't coast. Finish your race the way you've been running all year or even kick it up a notch or two - your choice. If you're like me and you're not as pleased with your performance as you thought you would be at this point, don't give up and don't give in. Keep going or find a way to dig down deep and boost your performance from here. That's a great way to end your race and your year.

I'm not going to go into the exact weight that I'm at right now. I can take comfort in the fact that the number on the scale is smaller than January 1, 2008. Marianne and I have been cooking a chicken soup all night. In Jordan Rubin's Perfect Weight America this chicken soup is on page 132 and he calls it the Perfect Cleanse. This cleanse takes 10 days and it is how we are starting our home stretch.
I haven't given up on this year, but I have had to modify my goals. I believe that we do need to be safe when it comes to our health goals and encourage you to finish the race safely.

I don't know how long the metaphor of running and winning the race has been with us, but I know at the very least it's in the neighborhood of 2000 years. If you think it might give you a boost, here's a link that compares running the race to living the life of faith.

Lastly, how much will you be walking or running through the end of the year? I encourage you to find the time. You can even do a half a mile at a time. I was at my son's soccer scrimmage right before we left San Diego County for Idyllwild the day before Thanksgiving. We would drop off our dog on the way and while we waited, I walked Mellow half a mile. That doesn't seem like much, but it adds up. It probably took me 10 or 11 minutes. If you do that even twice a day that's 365 miles a year. If that extra mile a day is in addition to whatever routine you normally engage in, that can mean losing over 10 pounds in a year. Over five years that's FIFTY pounds!

Be intentional about how much you will walk between now and the end of the year. I created a survey to get you thinking about it. Please take a moment to answer my ONE question Walking-Running survey by clicking here.