My New Workout Routine

Our workout room.

Over almost the last two decades I've run over 800 miles each year, and most years over 1,100, with a few years topping over 2,000. Back in 2012 and 2015 - 2016 I was in the best shape of my life and ran a 2:50 marathon in 2012 and would have ran sub-2:50 in 2015 and 2016 if the course of the now defunct Milwaukee Marathon had been measured correctly. You can read the race reports (three parts) here.

This year, however, I'm doing something totally different with my training. This winter, I plan on running hardly at all, and instead focus on resistance training and pedaling the bike trainer for cardiovascular fitness.

I don't love the trainer — it's not as fun as running and the trainer also squeaks (something I've trying to fix).

Although the trainer is a little boring, I have been watching some decent TV, which makes the time go faster. In my next post I'll share some things I've watched while pedaling.

Be well.

My Kiddos

Photo by Sydnee Bikett

Today my oldest kiddo turned ten. Nine days ago his sister turned six — kindergarten and fourth grade. It's amazing to think about how much has changed in the past ten years. Three houses, a new city, and so many things the kids are doing that they couldn't do a few short years ago.

Back in 2020 I was caring for both my children at home during the COVID pandemic. I set up a daily schedule for the boy. We played submarine in the girl's room, dinosaur school (a game in which I would say things like, "Every dinosaur hop until the end of the bocce ball court") at a nearby park, and narrated some artwork for the baby.

Now the kids are playing together. The boy loves to read his own, the girl loves Dogman comics, and they both watch "The Magic School Bus" together.

For the past ten years I've been so blessed to get to spend so much time with my children. Now, I have a new job, which means I don't get to spend as much time with them, but I will cherish the time I do have — playing games, reading books, and spin-throwing my daughter onto our bed (it's been her favorite lately).

Ten years of being a father, and I can't wait to see what the next ten years brings.

A Question of Morality

When I started this blog back in 2010, I never thought I'd write a post like this, but it's too hard for me to be silent. I don't want to get into politics or debate, but I do want to share my observations on what is going on with Homeland Security in my state, Minnesota.

It had already been chaos in the state, and things hit a tipping point with the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis. I've seen a lot if videos of the shooting (they're hard to watch), and the different angles of the videos tell different stories, but the best resource I've found is a multi-video analysis found on  CNN here. Watch the video and make your own conclusions, but however you look at it, I can't see how you can say that the shooting was justified.

Then, before any of the facts came in, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called Good, a, "domestic terrorist." You can read an article about that idea on the Brennan Center for Justice website.

And while the murder of Renee Good was tragic, it's far from the only problem associated with ICE in Minnesota.

People are scared. ICE has been arresting and detaining people based solely on their skin color or their accents. They often will stop people who appear to be Latino or Somali and ask to see their "papers." 

Again, I don't want to get into arguments or be political, but I wanted to make people aware of the real fear that residents of Minnesota are feeling right now. And as a Christian, I want to emphasize a few things. I'll start by sharing a Bible verse: "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt (Exodus 22:21)." If you want to read more versus on this topic, read this pdf from The Iowa Conference of the United Methodist Church.

I also want to emphasize that I don't condone violence or profanity toward ICE agents. God loves ICE agents just as much as he does anyone else. Even throwing snowballs at ICE agents should not be done. However, peaceful protests are more than appropriate.

Despite what you see on the news, there are many peaceful protests happening. Singing, chanting, and marching — all without violence or aggression toward ICE agents. You can read about some of these protests at the Star Tribune article, "Singers, Musicians Come Together to Perform at ICE Sites."

That's it. I've written what I wanted to write, and I'll come back with more lighthearted posts soon.

Thanks for reading.

Goals for 2026

The last couple of years I haven't done new year goals and instead did goals for my age. This year, though, I got behind on my blog posts, so I'll go back to new year goals. 

The ideal way to set up goals is to use the SMART method, the model I've used in the past. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time. 

I have so appreciated all your support with my running and with my mental health. It's been so nice to hear from you, both online and in person — sometimes from total strangers.

Here's how my goals this year shake out:

1. Run under 3:20 in the marathon

I've got a new work schedule that will give me more time to train in the morning, and I'm going to do some weightlifting too, so I'm optimistic that I'll hit this goal.

2. Eat three sweets or less per week. 

3. Do 40 minutes of strength training per week.

4. Break twenty minutes in a 5K.

If I stick to getting some good cardio work on my bike trainer, run a ton in the spring and summer, and put in some solid strength training, I think I can do this one.

5. Twenty blog posts.

More than I've written in years, but I'm hoping to write around two a month, so this should be doable.

6. Drink two or fewer alcoholic beverages per week.

So there they are. Challenging goals, but I'm optimistic that this could be one of my best years yet.

Goal Results from my 43rd Year

So I got a little lazy at the end of my 43rd year, but I started a post about my goals, so here it is:

I said in my post about my goals for my 43rd year that this was going to be my healthiest year yet. Unfortunately, I didn't have the greatest year, both mental and physical health-wise.

1.  Eat/drink one sweet a week or fewer.

I gave up even tracking this one after six months. Laura said I should have made a more reasonable goal of something like one sweet a day. If I'd have made that goal I would have reached it. But, aiming for one sweet a week I scored around 10%.

2. Drink one alcoholic beverage per week or fewer.

Check!

3. Run a marathon.

I ran the Twin Cities Marathon and raised some money for Team World Vision. I didn't run faster than last year and my motivation and execution of training didn't go so hot, but in the marathon itself I ran way better than I thought I would. A score of 100% here.

4. Break 20 minutes in the 5K.

I ran a 20:42 in an Eagan parkrun, so I made it 97% on this one.

5. Run over 1,111 miles.

I've been run/walking for a couple years now, so it's hard to say how much I've "run." I've also been doing a lot of walking to prevent injury, so I decided to modify this goal (it's my blog, I can do whatever I want) and take my total number of miles counted by steps this year and divide by two. That came to 2,311.4 miles which, divided by two is is 1,155.5. I'm only going to give myself 100% instead of 1.04% due to my "cheating."

6. Hit race weight by May and stay there.

We were moving and our scale got put away, but I didn't hit my goal by May and I've been eating a lot, so I'm going to have to give myself a zero on this one.

7. Write 14 blog posts.

Not quite. 86%

8. Average one hour of strength and mobility per week.

Sixty-seven percent on this one.

So my total for my 43rd year comes to 67%. Not a great year, but my goals were lofty, so I'm OK with my results.

Be well.

Bipolar Glossary

 As I've been writing about mental illness for a while now, I realize I sometimes use terms that may not be understood. A good resource I've found is the Glossary of Bipolar Terms on the Dummies.com website.

Here are some of the highlights from the website that I use a lot:

hypomania: An elevated mood that doesn't qualify as full-blown mania but typically involves increased energy, less need for sleep, clarity of vision, and a strong creative drive. These changes are noticeable to others but don't significantly impair daily function.

major depressive episode: An extreme low mood that lasts at least two weeks and is characterized by symptoms such as despair, fatigue, loss or increase in appetite, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, an increased need for sleep or inability to sleep, and thoughts of death or suicide.

mania: An extremely elevated mood typically characterized by euphoria, excessive energy, impulsivity, nervousness, impaired judgment, irritability, and a decreased need for sleep.

manic episode: A period of elevated mood, either euphoric or irritable, typically characterized by impulsivity, nervousness, impaired judgment, irritability, and a decreased need for sleep. The period must last at least one week (or shorter if it leads to hospitalization).

Another term I use often is mixed state, which is not on the dummies website. You can find it on the Mayo Clinic website, 

Bipolar Episodes with Mixed Features. The basic definition of mixed features (from the Mayo Clinic article)  refers to the presence of high and low symptoms occurring at the same time, or as part of a single episode, in people experiencing an episode of mania or depression.

Mania Part 1

It's been a rocky few weeks. I've gone through a manic phase, a couple hypomanic phases, and a couple depressive phases.

I started writing this post when I was manic, so I heavily edited it to give a synopsis of my last manic episode.

• I started to applying for many teaching jobs in several different districts.
• I was sleeping a lot less.
• My father-in-law asked me if I’d watched a movie, and I said, “no.” My kids reminded me that I did watch the movie with them and I made them frozen lemonade. I still have no memory of this.
• I signed up for a $250 Linkedin premium subscription. Fortunately,  I noticed an email after my episode was over and canceled it before the trial period had ended.

Mania and hypomania feel so good sometimes. The endorphins, the rush of dopamine and endocannabinoids — it feels so good. The goal-driven behavior, the creativeness — it all feels so good.

But it can get out of control fast. Posting things I normally wouldn’t on Facebook, long-winded and disconnected emails, talking rapidly and sometimes disjointedly, interrupting people. At the time of my mania, I cannot always recognize that I’m crossing boundaries or making people feel uncomfortable. Other times, however, I can see looks of fear and confusion, and realize I’m doing something wrong. Recognizing those looks is one thing that helps me cope with the mania.

I haven’t had a full-blown manic episode in over ten years, but a couple weeks ago I did. These manic episodes feel especially good after a period of depression. When I’m depressed and I move into a manic episode, I have energy for things I did not before. Playing with my kids, doing laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, writing, and running can all seem insurmountable during a depressive phase.

Then, a manic episode comes along and life feels easier, but there are some problems. Mania makes it hard to focus. I sometimes start cleaning a bathroom, then stop halfway and start doing laundry. Next, I forget about the bathroom and the laundry and start cleaning the kitchen. After a few hours, I have a bunch of incomplete tasks with nothing finished.

One way I try to cope with both mania and depression is making lists. I think it annoys Laura a bit to have Post-Its all over the counters with my to-do lists scribbled on them. It honestly annoys me a bit as well. Besides, when I’m depressed it’s likely that I won’t get to more than a couple things and spend most of my days lying on the couch or in bed. When I’m manic those things often get done partially as I flit and flat from one thing to another without focusing on any specific task. 

In the past, I’ve said that I’d rather be depressed than manic. Lying in my bed or on my couch doesn’t bother anyone too much other than not getting anything done. When I’m having a mixed state of depression and hypomania, I’m also easier to deal with because although I have a lot of energy on the hypomanic side, the depressive side usually keeps me under control.

Laura often reminds me that I’m not going to feel depressed forever — that good times are going to come again, but for the past couple years I haven’t believed that. I thought it was going to be normal to rarely want to do anything fun with my family or my friends. I’ll go several weeks feeling balanced, productive, and connected to my family, but there have been a lot of times when everyday tasks like cleaning or playing with my kids have felt very difficult.

I hope this latest manic episode will be the last, but if it isn’t I hope to be able to employ even more coping skills to cope with the manic symptoms.

I also hope to find a healthy balance and stay in a state productiveness and connection.

Be well.