September 1st already. Doesn't feel like fall yet though. Shortly after dinner time here in London and the temperature is still 30C - feels like 35C when you factor in the humidity. After this summer that probably would be classed as "cool" by many people living south of the border. It has been a scorcher. I don't care about the heat. I made it home after my fiasco in Saskatchewan last week and the saga of the faulty ECM. Arrived at the yard by 7 AM on Monday and was home a few hours later. Tomorrow (Thursday) I'm back at it, booked on a trip to Vancouver.
I thought I'd post something a little different today. This post is about running rather than trucking. Although more and more I find that running is the thing that keeps me trucking. Like so many other things I have come to appreciate over the past decade running seemed to work its way into my life. I never went looking for it. Just like truck driving. So here I am, not just a truck driver, but a truck driver that runs. A fairly rare combination out here on the road. The trucking lifestyle is usually held up as the reason that so many drivers suffer a decline in overall health at a much earlier age than the general population. I think this is true. But in my case it provided me with the motivation to get my ass into gear and look after myself.
The problem with truck driving is that at the end of the day the mental tiredness you feel also makes you feel physically worn out. This even though you may not have done anything physically challenging at all over the course of your day. Exercise is usually the last thing on a drivers mind at the end of a shift. It's more like; "Shit, I only have 8 hours to eat, shower, and sleep before I have to get up and do this all over again". Well, maybe that's the case. When I look at the fact there are 168 hours in my week and I need 6 to 10 of those for my own personal use, it makes it easier for me to schedule the time I need for myself. I just make it a priority now. It's not easy though. Changing your habits is very difficult. We live in a world of fads and quick fix solutions to situations that have developed over a lifetime and become ingrained into our daily lives. Tough to change. Lot's of failures in store for us before we start to see results.
It's taken me a decade to go from a chain smoking, lethargic, Dorito fueled, chubby trucker to my present state of good health. I started this kick on my fortieth birthday with a goal to be in great physical condition by my fiftieth birthday. That's later this month. I'll be able to say I made it.
What I'm trying to get to here is that we need to find creative ways to look after ourselves out here on the road. There is too much at stake. Why on earth would I want to work my ass off for my whole life only to drop dead before I can have the opportunity to enjoy it. Yea, yea I know I might die tomorrow - blah, blah, blah......but I probably won't, and if I do at least I'll feel good up to that point.
So the whole Moosomin cluster I experienced last week could have been a real kick in the butt to me if I had let it. Why? Because one of the things I did this year was commit myself to running some road races - 5K & 10K - to keep me motivated out on the road on those days when I just did not feel like getting to that workout. I was going to run a 10K this past Sunday but I was not able to make it since I was stuck out in Moosomin. No one to blame there. But it didn't work out too bad at all. The purpose of entering a race was to motivate me to train and it certainly did that. Mission accomplished. Was I disappointed? Sure. But I've got a 5K planned for the end of October and there are many more races in my future. Lots of motivation still to come. :)
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