Presidents Who Run...for Exercise

Earlier today I was organizing my next blog post when I was reminded that it was Presidents' Day. That got me thinking: What U.S. presidents have used running as a regular form of exercise? I set aside the post I was working on and started doing a little presidential research. Although I didn't find too much information specifically on presidents who go running, I did find information on presidents who realize the importance of exercise in its many different forms.

In the spirit of Presidents' Day, here are our exercising U.S Presidents:

John Adams (1797-1801) would skip school to go hunting and fishing. As an adult, he enjoyed walking and would do so for daily exercise, sometimes up to five miles.

Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) was a huge advocate of exercise. He enjoyed fishing, was the United State's first known spelunker, and would exercise daily, no matter the weather. Here are a slew of quotes by him in regard to exercising: Jefferson exercise quotes on monticello.org. 

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) often took a morning swim in the Potomac River. He worked until he could swim for 80 minutes at a time without touching the bottom.

Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) was a wrestler.

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) set the high jump record at West Point. This record held for 25 years.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) was, as most of us know, a very active president and pursued what he called "the strenuous life". He participated in boxing, tennis, rowing, polo, horseback riding and hiking. This active lifestyle was encouraged at a young age by his father to help him combat his asthmatic condition. (source: Wikipedia: Theodore Roosevelt)

Warren Harding (1921-1923) golfed twice a week and has a golf course named for him. 

Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) exercised every morning and would include throwing a medicine ball in his workouts.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945) was active as a child. He enjoyed horseback riding, polo, shooting, rowing, golf and swimming. He was also a college football player. (source: FDR Library)

Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) took a two mile walk every morning at 128 steps per minute.

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) played college football at Harvard. After a knee injury sidelined him, he became a cheerleader. While in office, he enjoyed golfing and had a putting green installed on the White House lawn.

John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) had back problems and would exercise and swim every day to help this health issue. He also sailed, golfed and played touch football.

Richard Nixon (1969-1974) played football while attending Whittier College.

Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977) was an extremely talented football player. He was named to the All City team in Grand Rapids, Michigan, played for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team and was offered contracts to play for the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. There is a detailed account of his football accomplishments on Wikipedia: Gerald R. Ford's football accomplishments. He was also an avid golfer. 

Jimmy Carter (1976-1980) played high school basketball and ran cross-country at the Naval Academy.

George Bush (1988-1992) was captain of the baseball team at Yale, played tennis and jogged.

George W. Bush (2000-2008) played basketball and was a cheerleader in high school. He is the first president to have run a marathon, and he credits running with helping him to quit smoking and drinking. Runner's World had the opportunity to interview him, and it's a great article detailing his views on exercising and how it has impacted him. You can check it out at this link: Running with President George Bush.

Barack Obama (2009-present): It's no secret that the Obama family is a huge advocate of staying fit. Here is an article on WebMD discussing this: The Obamas: First Couple of Fitness. (Note: I only skimmed the article, but it looks to be pretty interesting. (exclusive source: www.webmd.com)

The few links I posted above have some very interesting information. I hope you'll take a few minutes and check them out. In the meantime, happy Presidents' Day and I hope you've had time to fit in a good run...

Most of my information was found at http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/Presidents/, who also gained their information from other reputable sites. I have noted other sources that I used in addition to this site, as well as the one site I used exclusively, without classroomhelp.com. 

10 Things I Love About Running!

You knew it was coming, right? It may be overdone, but that's not going to stop me from posting 10 things I love about running. Come on, get into that Valentine's spirit :)

Out of all the shoes that I've purchased over the years, these are my favorite.

10. Going shoe shopping. I love going shoe shopping for running shoes. There's something about breaking in a new pair...

9. Running a fun race. I love heading out to an event and being with others who I know enjoy being there as much as I do. It a motivator to keep running.

8. The way I feel. You've heard this one a million times, I'm sure. It doesn't make it any less true, though! Getting those endorphins going really helps to boost me up.

7. I have more energy. Yeah, I know, another one you've heard before. But seriously, I can think of a million situations that, had I not been in shape, I probably would have been crawling on the floor for lack of energy.

6. Discovering new things. I love running new routes and routes that I know from a different context. When running a route that I drive often, for example, I get a who different perspective on it and notice details I may not have noticed before. Just slowing down the pace makes me appreciate it even more.

5. Quality time with me. My dad always told me when I was younger that running was great because you can just go and think about things. I didn't believe him until I got older and really got into running. My run is a great time for me to sort stuff out. It becomes a mental exercise, sometimes, as well as a physical one. Often times I feel like my mind is refreshed along with my body at the end of my run.

4. Quality time with others. It's always a lot of fun going on a run with my friends or family members. It's a great way to catch up.

3. Knowing that I'm doing something good for myself, so I don't have to feel guilty about doing it. It's healthy and helping me be a better person; therefore, there's no reason to keep going over all the things that I "should" be doing. Running is what I should be doing at that exact moment.

2. How it balances me. I believe that one should not get to engrossed in one particular thing, but be involved in many to stay balanced and less stressed. Running does this for me. Whenever I need a break from life I go on a run.

1. I love it because I can do it. There are so many people that don't get to experience what I do on a daily basis. Running opens up whole other world and I'm so thankful.

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! <3

Race Report: "Will Run for Paczki"

I'm sure that at some point today, if you haven't already, you'll be happily scarfing down one of those jelly-filled concoctions known as a paczek (pronounced "poancheck", which is the singular version of paczki, pronounced "poanchkee") in recognition of Fat Tuesday. For many, though, the celebration began way before today--and I'm not talking in New Orleans. Sure, they know how to party down there, but if you can't head south during this odd time of the week then you should definition consider seeking out a Polish community near you. My choice? Hamtramck, Michigan. The Polish celebrate Fat Tuesday with the best of them. In Hamtramck their celebration is kicked off with the Paczki Run, which was held this year on Saturday, February 9, 2013. To my surprise I had never heard of this race, despite the fact that I have ties to the area. I immediately checked my calendar and looked into signing up for this 5K.

REGISTRATION: 

1. Process: Very smooth. You had the option of signing up online at Active.com, sending in a paper registration as long as it was postmarked by February 1 (shirt not guaranteed after this date), or registering on site during the packet pick-up or day of the race. Pre-race packet pick-up was at the Talmer Bank on the corner of Holbrook and Joseph Campau in Hamtramck, a couple hundred feet from where the starting line was to be. I opted for online registration and it went smoothly. My sister Lauren, who was running with me, opted to register at the pre-race packet pick-up and she said that also went smoothly. On race day it seemed that on-site registration and packet pick-up were well organized. Pre-registrants had to find their bib number on the list they posted and then take it to the tent to pick up their packet. Pretty straight forward and typical process. Of course there is always the rush to get registered/pick-up a packet right before, and I think they announced there would be short delay in the start of the race. It was barely noticeable, however, and we were off before we knew it. 

Talmer Bank on the corner of Holbrook and Joseph Campau. The location
of early packet pick-up and  about 100 ft north of the start/finish line.

2. Price: Average. It was $25 if you sent in a paper registration, or used Active.com (don't forget there is an added processing fee!) The cost was $35 if you registered at the pre-packet pick-up or on the day of the race. I groaned a little because I was not able to postmark by Feb. 1 and so was forced to sign-up on Active.com (to make sure I got a shirt.) I am not a fan of Active.com because I feel they usually have large "processing fees", which I find to be ridiculous (I don't understand why I have to spend an extra $5+, but I digress...) In this case, however, the processing fee was only $3.25. Still more than I've spent on other websites that manage events, but much less than I've spent in the past when having to use Active.com.

3. Swag: You got the good ol' reliable cotton t-shirt, but with a twist! You were able to choose from four different shirt colors labeled after some favorite paczki flavors: Strawberry, blueberry, chocolate or apricot. Personally, I thought this was pretty creative! I can't recall ever being able to pick my shirt color, and I thought labeling them after paczki flavors was a neat way to tie it into the event. I chose apricot:

Love the shirt.

My sister did not get to choose her shirt color because she did not register earlier and was given strawberry--red shirt with white lettering. The chocolate shirts were dark brown with cream-colored lettering, and the blueberry shirts were a regular blue (not navy) with a light blue lettering. All four were nice colors. We also thought the shirt design was pretty neat. You can find photos that people have posted while wearing their shirts on the Paczki Run Event Page on Facebook: Paczki Run Facebook Page .

RACE:

1. Route/Conditions: There was nothing truly spectacular about the route. It ran through the never-ending residential streets that you find in the city. The roads aren't particularly narrow, however there are always people parking on the side of the road in the residential areas and also as a result there was only one lanes' worth plowed on the road. This made it seem a lot narrower than it really was. I didn't mind running on the snow so much (I live in northern Michigan so this is common), but others who aren't used to the conditions might--it IS winter here, though, so it's kind of expected :). 

Paczki Run route

2. Fans: There weren't too many people out watching, which was a little surprising to me considering we were running through a residential area. Guess everyone is still sleeping at 10am on a Saturday (truth be told, I might have been too if I hadn't been running!)

We're off!
(photo is facing east)

And we're back...
(photo is facing west, into the parking lot where the post-race activities took place)

3. Points of Interest: The beginning of the route ran right up Joseph Campau (the main street in Hamtramck) and right by the New Palace Bakery ... I was definitely tempted to stop in despite the fact that I was in the middle of running a 5K (you would have been too if you would have seen what was in the front window!) I made a mental note to stop in at this bakery after the race for some paczki.

 Two points of interest to me were the Ukrainian Catholic Church: Immaculate Conception, which my family has ties to, and the impressive St. Florian which is the dominant Roman Catholic Church for the Polish who are or have been a part of the Hamtramck community at some point.

Here is a small amount of info on Immaculate Conception (I couldn't find much online): Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church Facebook Page 

Here's some information on Wikipedia about St. Florian:

St. Florian Roman Catholic Church

View of St. Florian Roman Catholic Church from the starting line. 

Churches always provide much information on an area because they are often the center of a community. This was the case when Hamtramck was developing. I'm always drawn to them for this reason.

POST RACE:

1. Offerings: No medal here! Your in Polish country so your post-recharge includes a paczek and a beer! After crossing the finish line if you kept walking past the water table there was about twenty-five feet of pure goodness:

Feast your eyes on this...

There were also packets of granola being handed out, so if your not in to packing on the calories that you just ran off this is a nice option.

My sister and I grabbed the first paczki we came to, which happened to be strawberry. I wish we would have waited, though, because there were a number of flavors offered, including blackberry. If I'm able to run here next year I know now to walk to the end of the line of tables instead of eagerly grabbing the first paczek I see!

After getting and eating our paczki (sorry, when consuming paczki there's often no time to stop and take photos...not that our powered sugar covered faces would have been worth seeing :) ) we made our way over  to the beer tables that were situated in the large parking lot on the corner of Holbrook and Joseph Campau. With your white bib you were able to pick up one brew--you had your choice of the Axl Pale Ale or the Brik Irish Red Ale from Millking It Productions, out of Royal Oak, MI. There was also a dark beer offered, but by the time Lauren and I got up to the table they were out of it.  (I enjoyed the red ale and my sister chose the pale ale. I tried both and liked the red more--personal preference.) Those under age were given a yellow bib. Want something to tide you over before stopping at a restaurant in downtown Hamtramck? The Green Zebra Food Truck was conveniently situated right next to the beer table. We didn't eat here, but the menu looked great! There looked to be plenty of food and beverage for everyone. 

Here's Lauren holding our beer (one for each of us...I didn't let her take both!)
Behind her you can see that there's still plenty to go around.

2. Events: Also near the beer tables was a large heated tent--VERY welcoming in this cold weather! Inside there were tables set up on either side. One set of tables was full of paczki being handed out and I didn't quite catch what was on the other side...I think sponsors of the race set up here to offer information. The main attraction was the Polka Band (of course!) with rows of chairs set up for listeners, as well as an area for those who chose to burn a few more calories by polkaing:

Waiting to get into the polka tent. I think it opened at 11 am.

Bryan and Lauren waiting for polka to start...

More paczki!

We had a front row seat for listening to the polka band. They were great!

A couple people making room for more paczki calories...

Lauren, my boyfriend Bryan and I sat in the front row and listened to the band while Lauren and I each finished our beer. It was a great way to end the morning!

OTHER RELEVANT INFO:

This was a true family event. Both walkers and runners of all ages were welcome. Strollers and dogs were allowed, but they asked that you start behind the runners.

Here's Bruce sporting the blueberry shirt! I saw him lining up, so I can confirm that he ran, too. His owner was kind enough to allow me to take a photo and pet him. Such a nice pup!

One of the main sponsors of this event is Tour-de-Troit, I biking event in the Detroit area. They promoted this event on their own site. Here it is if you'd like to check out the Paczki Run or Tour-de-Toit: http://www.tour-de-troit.org/

There is a link to the race results on the Tour-de-Troit website that directs you to Run Michigan.com: 2013 Paczki Run Results . My time was 31:15. I ran the whole race with my sister who hasn't run in a while. The time maybe a tad slow, but she did a great job by running the whole race (no walking here!) It was nice to do an event with her. 

FINAL IMPRESSIONS:

I really had a great time participating in this event. The Paczki Run is kind of like a mini-festival, and is a great way to kick off the countdown to Paczki Day with the family. Great food, great music and great company. What more can you ask for? Honestly, I'd pick this Polish community over Mardi Gras any day of the week...

To those who are celebrating Fat Tuesday, Na Zdrowie!

Returning from a Blogging Hiatus

So, it's been a while...

I began this blog about sixteen months ago, blogged for about three months and then gave up on it. It's not that I didn't enjoy writing, but life became quite hectic and I decided that blogging shouldn't be at the top my "to-do" list. 

Now I'm back, with a new purpose and a new blog name (I wasn't very fond of the older one.) I want to share my running adventures with others who also enjoy running, and, honestly, I want something to help me stay motivated through the winter (I don't mind running in the cold--what I DO mind is that it takes me 10 minutes to get ready because of the clothing I have to layer on...it's a larger anti-motivator than you think.)

So here I go, my second go-around with this blog. Hopefully I stay a little more motivated this time. Please stay tuned for further shenanigans...