Run, Forrest! run! (2011)

It just sits there. I know what it’s for. I know I should be using it more.
I bought it from a friend for cheap. He didn’t use it any more than I did. Probably less. We both need it.
When I first saw it sitting in his garage, a layer of dust accumulating on it, I queried him as to the price for his, “deluxe, over-sized belt sander”.

His perplexed look told me he didn’t quite understand my question. He was moving overseas and I had just bartered a band-saw away from him and he figured I was looking for more shop toys. “I know you never run on that thing, so I figured it must be a giant belt sander” I said as I motioned toward the treadmill in the corner of his garage. He let it go for a price I couldn’t pass up. My wife wasn’t quite as thrilled when I arrived home with it…

Now you have to understand something: I HATE to run. Running for me is torturous. I find it extremely boring and painful. I will, and often do, utilize any and all excuses not to run. The treadmill, though, is a bit different. I can do it at home, in any weather, while watching TV, reading a magazine, etc. No vests, no traffic, no rain/snow… I can do this!

As I age I find keeping up with the “kids” in the department ever more difficult. I don’t want to be the “old guy” that has to leave early when his bottle is sucked dry. I want to be the guy they see as the benchmark. So I run. Not far, definitely not fast, but I do run (OK, jog). Besides, teaching an air management class and being the first to empty an SCBA bottle certainly does not add to one’s credibility.
Plus there is that longevity thing; wanting to be around longer for my family. Face it; there is an elephant in the corner of almost every firehouse, especially volunteer houses: physical fitness. I recently wrote a paper on the need for live fire training in acquired structures and during the research found that neither the live fire training nor the acquired structures are really all that dangerous. As is the case in nearly all aspects of the fire service, the statistics show that cardiac events are killing the majority of us. No surprise, but a fact easily and often overlooked, or in the case of many volunteer organizations, ignored because the administration legally cannot or ignorantly will not address it. Easy solution: each of us steps up to the plate and takes personal responsibility. Do it for each other, for the service, and most importantly, for our families.
So, as I meander back onto my treadmill every other day or so, I will know that I am helping set a good example; I am looking the elephant in the eye.
It doesn’t take much: using the push mower rather than the rider, raking leaves instead of using the blower, walking or biking to work, walking during a lunch break or better yet, taking a walk with your family after work. Get up, get out, and move. Oh, and turn off the computer and stop reading this garbage!

For more info on firefighter fitness and some great motivational reading, check out The Fire Service Warrior blog.