Marshall Ramsey

Learning from mistakes

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Marshall Ramsey

I saw an interesting tweet a few days ago that has been rattling around my head. It basically said that you shouldn’t give others advice until you work on your own problems. I guess on the surface that makes a lot of sense. You don’t want a doctor working on you who hasn’t finished medical school. But I’m not sure I totally agree with it. Why? Any wisdom I have came directly from me screwing up. And I think one of our greatest tasks is to help others. If I have to wait until I am perfect, I may never make it. There was only one perfect human. Everyone else is just fooling themselves.

In the past year, I’ve been angry. I’ve been depressed. I’ve had people not believe in me. I’ve lost my faith in certain people. I gained an unGodly amount of weight in a short time. And I lost it in an even quicker amount of time. I’ve had to reinvent myself on the fly. I’ve learned I had talents I didn’t know I had. Those talents are taking me new places. I’ve been on an incredible journey filled with screw-ups, mistakes, accidents and joy.

I’ve always joked if I became a motivational speaker, I’d be like Chris Farley’s Matt Foley. “I LIVE IN VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!” I don’t have all the answers like most of the folks you see on TV selling their seven point plans. I don’t live a perfect life. I don’t have a perfect family. I don’t accomplish things in a linear fashion. But I have a great life. I have a great family. And occasionally I accomplish great things in a very haphazard way.

Quick, I’m going to bellyflop on the coffee table! CRASH!

So if I say something motivational, realize it was born out of one of my mistakes. It’s just me talking out loud so I don’t make it again. And again. And again. Because if you truly learn from your mistakes, then I’m well on my way to becoming Einstein.

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Fit-to-Fat-to-Fit Blog: Starting something new

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Marshall Ramsey

I gained a couple of pounds over the weekend. Why? Because I ate a lot of food I normally don’t eat. Hot dogs and chili were the main culprits. I know, I know — lash me with a tofu noodle. But I wanted to bring it up for a reason. It was the exception and not the norm. I’m back to my fairly strict diet starting today. And I’m adding back situps and pushups. I fell off the “core” wagon and I think that atrophy has led to some of my back problems I’m experiencing. My back muscles are tight, causing problems in my legs as well. Of course, it could be the hot dogs. But I doubt it.

I ran a comfortable 11-mile run Saturday. Today, I ran an uncomfortable 5.26 miles. It was uncomfortable because my legs were tight and I could feel my IT band in my left leg rubbing a little bit.

So starting tonight, I will start with 25 pushups and 25 sit-ups. I will then take 10 minutes to stretch. Tomorrow morning, I will makes sure I stretch again before I run (more than I currently stretch in the morning.)

Monday is a good day to start something new. It seems like the right time to reset my exercise routine. I never want the thief of boredom or the thief of wear injuries to steal my joy from exercise.

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Monday Free-For-All

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Marshall Ramsey

Good morning! What’s up?

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Sunday Free-For-All

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Marshall Ramsey

Good morning! I’m going to be drawing all day today. Don’t want to be the servant who buried his talents.

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Fit-to-Fat-to-Fit: Sunrises and friends

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Marshall Ramsey

It was dark when I headed out on my normal Saturday route. I cut through the dark woods and ran to the Ridgeland Multi-purpose trail along the Natchez Trace Parkway. I stopped at the Overlook and took a few photos of the day’s birth. The inky sky was giving away to the faint pink and orange hues of the breaking dawn. I took a nice photo of the pines.

The good Lord is a fantastic painter.

I ran 11 miles this morning. I turned off the trail and ran along the Reservoir and out onto a jetty. The sun poked its head above the trees on the Rankin County side of the Reservoir. I was amazed at the speed of the sun’s arrival. It moved as fast as the second hand on my watch. People ask me the best part of running. Seeing a sunrise is probably at the top of my list. I stopped and said thanks for the ability to see another one.

I then ran along the boat docks and back to the Ridgeland Trail. When I got to the Overlook parking lot, I ran into some friends from my Paul Lacoste class. One of them was Clark, the guy who taught the core workouts. He thought I looked nice and slim and I thanked him for pushing me like he did. I realized I’ve missed doing the class. I plan on doing it again next winter.

I finished up the run strong. I got back to my neighborhood and looked at my Garmin. My heart rate was still fairly low — it’s amazing what cool temperatures will do for your body. I ran another mile.

Eleven miles. 1,700 calories. I weighed 195 lbs. Now it’s time to get to work. But I’m thankful I started my day with a sunrise and friends.

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