With the time change recently falling back and wreaking havoc on people’s internal clocks, this seems like a good time to discuss one of the most important aspects to fitness – sleep.  Somewhat symbolic of my own sleep habits, I’ll keep this post shorter than most.

Let’s face it, for many of us, this might be the most difficult of fitness habits to control.  Some of the reasons for that are real, others may just be excuses, but I just know that I can’t identify very many successful people who confidently say they often get all the sleep they need.

When you’re on a journey – no matter where you are headed – the journey changes you.  That’s the point of it.  To start in one place and end up somewhere else.  Journeys require patience and focus, but in the end, the hope is that they lead to growth.  While the results may be unpredictable, the path you take is full of choices that are entirely within your control.

As of today, there are 361 days until the 2025 TCS New York City Marathon, and I have every intention of running in it next year.  As I write those words, I can’t help but think about the fact that I’ve said that before – about nine years ago – but I failed to do it.  So naturally, as I start the countdown to 2025, I say with some level of caution, “next year will be different.”

Mapping the human genome was one of the greatest scientific achievements in our lifetime.  It revolutionized what we know about the human body, and it unlocked the potential for countless discoveries related to our health and well-being.  In many ways, our DNA defines who we are, but in so many others, we can all make sure it doesn’t.

I alluded to this last week, but I’m currently dealing with an elbow injury that came from overworking it.  It’s not serious, but it is enough to sideline me from many of my favorite activities, and there’s a lesson to be learned here, not about overcoming setbacks, but about avoiding them.

This year, almost out of nowhere, I became a serious outdoor rock climber.  My first time ever climbing was Summer of 2023 while on a cruise to Alaska.  I signed up for it because it was the most active excursion that day, but I was terrified of it.  I didn’t understand anything about it – especially the safety aspects – so I did the bare minimum almost as if I just wanted to be able to say I did it and be done.  After all, it was cool just that climbed for the first time at almost 49 years old, and I could check it off my “do something scary” list.

But something nagged at me afterwards.  I began to wonder how much I held back and whether rock climbing was really something I could do.  Or did I just want the photo?  Perhaps if I understood how it worked – the belay, the technique, and the repel – I might trust it enough to be able to try harder?  Or perhaps the minute I faced the opportunity to do more, I’d panic and be done — but with no regrets?  At no point did I ever think that I could fall so in love with the sport that it would change me (and my fitness routines). But that happened – or better yet, it’s happening.