Son,

This chronicling my new found attempt to get into shape has not gotten off to the start I had hoped for. There are bumps in the road of new exercise programs. Particularly if one has lived a sedentary life for about five years – and has begun the steep descent into the depths of aging.

My previous posts are beginning to show a pattern. I get a good plan, start working on it, begin to feel good about my health, then I overdo it – and I have to quit exercising for several days to recover.

Most people who know me think I am pretty smart. I had to laugh when I wrote that sentence. In the past two months I have risked my life for pride – and nothing else – how smart is that? It shows that behavior is both influenced by our intelligence and by our emotional state of mind. Smart sometimes loses.

My pride is fierce. My humility weak. The desire to achieve, to be better than the program calls for, coupled with a fundamental lack of patience and tolerance, has caused much grief in my life. I know this. I can articulate the dichotomy of pride and intellect – but altering my behavior is very difficult.

I walked today. My 200 x 100 rule was in effect. That means I walk 200 yards and jog 100. I forced myself to follow my rules today. Today saw two miles in 32 minutes. That was pretty good for me. A good sweat told me the walk was a success. 30 minutes every day should be enough – but I know myself – ‘should’ does not work very well for me.

Smart people who are entering an exercise program will set down a plan with graduated physical challenges, and just try to meet the milestone objectives.

I am revising my plan.

Dad