“It’s 8:30pm and cold outside, my heart is pounding, my legs are burning, and my feet are moving without an end in sight. 1 mile, 2miles the time between each increasing with each step, and my head is filled with thoughts of 3 years prior when I use to be able to run 4 miles without skipping a beat.” It’s only after the run that I realize that I actually broke 3.1 miles in only 9 days. The decision to run came after a trip with my family to a local restaurant where I realized I had consumed more than 900 calories in one sitting and I had almost no physical activity to account for such a huge meal. Now for those of you that actually know me, you also know that I am in no way “big” by any stretch of the imagination, but 3 years ago I could have run a 5k in less than 18 Minutes and I had let myself digress to someone who would rather sit on my computer for hours and hours rather than exercise. To run again was an easy decision, in order to run I didn’t need any equipment nor did I need any formal training past the knowledge I had acquired 3 years prior when I was running 5 miles every other day. Let me begin with the first day:

(As a disclaimer I would like to say that “From the Couch to 5k” program by Cool Running says over and over again that you should not push yourself to reach 5k as quick as I did. In fact almost every trainer would have chastised me for the speed in which I made it to 5k due to having not run for over 3 years. Over the last 2 days I have been icing my calve muscle because I believe I have overdone it slightly, and therefore would once again recommend that you do not go from the couch to 5k in 9 days, it can be very dangerous for your body and can actually cause major problems down the line if you do not know exactly what you are doing)

Day 1 – Day 9: One of the biggest things I had going for me when I first started 2 weeks ago was a mindset that only comes from a veteran runner, the ability to tune out the pain and keep running until your physical body send the danger command. It was actually an interesting experience on the first day when I realized I couldn’t run anymore and had barely even scratched the surface of what I would have been able to do 3 years before. One big change I made this time around compared to 3 years before was the fact that I made the commitment to run every day instead of taking the “every other day” approach I had used back then. One of the key reasons for this decision was the fact that 3 years ago I was also lifting weights and other physical activities that kept my body in a constant state of exhaustion that would have hurt my running more than anything; had I run every day back then. This time around I was going to only run, or at least only run until I was able to get back into good shape and got my “Body Fat Percentage” back under 17%. (considered to be the average for someone that is “fit”)

One big thing I would like to point out is that I had run previously, and I still believe that the reason I was able to do everything I have done up to this point was because I have run before and there is still a part of me that remembers what it was like back then. From day 4 to day 7 I set the rule that I wanted to run for at least 12 minutes which ended up being a huge benefit for me when I ran for 15 minutes on the 7th day which allowed me to increase the amount of time I wanted to run on the 8th day.

On the 8th day I decided to run as far as my body would allow and so I set off with this goal in mind and kept running until I truly felt I couldn’t run anymore, which ended up putting me right at 2.7 miles with a time of 23 minutes. On the 8th day my mind was filled with questions regarding how far I was running, I ended up adding .5 miles to the run simply because I got close to the “end” of my run and looked ahead at a fork in the road, and decided to take the “long way back.” In hind site it was probably that decision that pushed my body farther than it needed to be pushed and ultimately caused me to have unneeded days of rest, but it did allow for day 9 to happen, the day I reached 5k once again!

The difference between a person who never runs and someone who can run 10 miles is their ability to control their own bodies, and almost nothing else. Sure you have to get in shape in order to run 10 miles at a time, but I have learned that if you are able to control your mind during a run you will be able to do more than you ever thought possible. I can remember when I was young there was a Reading Rainbow that interviewed a marathon runner who simply said that he can run 20+ miles because he is able to look past the pain and anything else around him and focus on the goal at hand. In order to get up out of our chairs and unhealthy lifestyles we must look ahead and set some goals and then set out to complete those goals no matter how hard it may be.

Day 10+ : Since running 5k I have had a few problems with the muscles in my legs which have caused me to either 1) rest a day when I felt I should be running or 2) Ended up not running more than I had to. I don’t regret going from my couch to a 5k in 9 days, in fact it has pushed me to get even better as time goes on, but I do believe over the next few weeks I will be in a constant fight with my own body as it tries to catch up to my strenuous workout I have thrust upon it

On my 11th day of running (yesterday) I was able to run 3miles but realized once I had stopped that my right foot was numb from a short supply of blood and was slightly nervous about the situation because my calve muscles have been in “recovery” for the last 3 days, but it ended up that my right shoe was tied a bit to tight cause an inadequate amount of blood to get to my foot by the end of the long run. If you would like to know more about how to make running and working out fun and an active part of your lifestyle just ask and I will be more than happy to help. Keep up your exercising and until next time, Chao!

P.S – Doing what I did can also be very bad for your heart, and can cause heart attacks.. once again: Don’t Do It!

On Wednesday, October the 21st 2009 I walked into one of the local stores in Florence, Alabama and left with the movie “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” from my local Redbox Kiosk. This may not seem like a big deal to some but the problem happens to be much deeper than it appears, let me explain: 1) I had rented my copy of “Transformers 2″ online at Redbox.com. 2) Although I had already rented the DVD online I still ended up having to wait behind 3 other people who took over 5 minutes each. 3) They were taking so long because all 3 of them came for a copy of “Transformers 2″ and ended up leaving with another movie, or no movie at all because I more than likely had rented the last copy of “Transformers 2″ online just 30 minutes prior to this moment in time. With that being said I will now begin Part 2 of “Redbox Etiquette” :

3) Look Ahead – For almost everything we do in life we have to stand in line, and the same holds true when you want to rent a DVD from Redbox. When you are standing in line at the Redbox Kiosk with the intent of walking home with a DVD all you need to do is simply “look ahead.” This can be as simple as looking at all of the movies your kiosk has featured on it’s side, or you could even glance at the Redbox screen while the person ahead of you browsing through the DVDs. This can give you an idea about what is available in the Kiosk and most importantly it can cut the amount of time you spend browsing through the movie titles in half or more! You can usually see the screen from a good distance away (I can usually see the movie selections 3-4 people back) so take the time you spend in line and use it to your advantage!

4) The Blockbuster Mentality – Ok let’s go back 2 years, and think about how renting DVDs use to be and then look at how some of us can’t shake the old “gatherer” mentality. When I spent $5 on a movie I took my time and made sure I got a movie that was worth the $5, because if I’m going to spend as much money on a movie as I did my dinner tonight, I’m going to make sure the movie is worth that money. I would walk around rental stores from 15 minutes to 45 minutes depending on how many “new” movies had come out since the last time I was there. This is no longer that case boys and girls, we are renting our DVDs from Redbox and it only cost us $1! Time after time I hear people complain about the 1 person who stands at the Redbox kiosk for 15 minutes while the line of 10 people behind him keeps growing and growing. In 15 minutes I could have searched every movie in the Kiosk’s inventory 9 times over and by the time they finally leave with their 1 obscure movie I’m almost positive they have as well! Let’s lose the gathering mentality and learn to quickly rent our DVDs once we are standing in front of the Redbox Kiosk, that way everyone can enjoy the “Redbox Experience” with much more ease.

Ground Rules:

1) As a rule it should take no more than 4 minutes per movie.

2) Use the online service! (There is a reason the website is plastered everywhere on the kiosk, and it ask you for your e-mail!)

3) Show some respect to those that are returning DVDs.

4) Enjoy movies you would have never considered before Redbox.

In Conclusion – Over the last 5 months I have seen movies I would have never even considered before Redbox came to my town. It’s amazing what kind of movies you can find when you start letting yourself enjoy every movie in your local Redbox. Just because a movie looks like it wont be good, doesn’t mean it’s not a great movie and at $1 a night it’s worth a shot. Over and over I have been able to cut down on the amount of time I spent at the Redbox Kiosk because I go with 1 movie in mind, the 1 movie is out of stock, and I just revert to “the next movie that sparks even slight interest I will rent” mentality. Surprisingly the movies that I rent on the fly have ended up being more memorable to me than the ones I “pick” before I leave my home. Renting with Redbox makes renting DVDs fun again and with over 15,000 locations, it keeps getting easier and easier to enjoy a Redbox near you.

Part 1 of “Redbox Etiquette” can be found here: Redbox Etiquette (Part 1)

For those of you that don’t know what “Redbox” is, let me explain: In the south east and other parts of the United States a new way to rent DVDs has gained popularity very quickly, I would even gander to say quicker than Netflix ever did. It’s a very simple system and even my Grandmom has started using it, there is a kiosk of DVDs which looks like a big Vending Machine. But the biggest things that defines the Redbox system is the cost and the online system, you can browse all of the Videos in every Kiosk at Redbox.com and then Rent the videos online with the cost of renting @ $1 a night with 0 contract. You can rent a DVD for 1 night and return it the next day and it will cost you $1 and nothing more, no hidden fees and no hidden agenda by Redbox. At $1 dollar a rental I have watched a plethora of DVDs that I would have never watched back in the $5 rental days. After numerous rentals and standing in line time after time I feel as if there was a need for something on “Redbox Etiquette”  before the number of Redbox users skyrockets beyond it’s already massive base. Let’s begin:

1) People Returning DVDs and you aren’t 100% sure what DVD you are going to get this time – What do most people do? If you guessed they completely ignore the person returning the DVD then you are correct, and most people might say that they got there first so it’s only proper, I have a problem when the person returning the DVD is either a) obviously in a hurry b) cutting it close to 9:00pm – I have seen someone returning a DVD who got in line at 8:38pm (the DVDs are due by 9:00pm) and have to stand in line until after 9:00, to which they walk away having payed for another night or c) Family, Family Family – If it’s obvious the group standing behind you isn’t happy, the baby is screaming and needs to get home, the mom is flustered, I beg of you, Please Let Them Return The DVD!!! Returning a DVD takes all over 30 Seconds, and it’s only right to think about those standing in line.  Let’s show respect to our fellow man, and actually look out for one another instead of having our blinders on and forget about everyone else around us.

2) Redbox.com – There is a website and every kiosk is connected to their servers, you can browse the titles in the kiosk and you can even rent them online. I cannot stress enough how much people need to start using the online part of Redbox, and it’s even more of an issue if you want to rent a DVD that has been released in the last 2 weeks. You can go online and click on the Movie you want to watch and actually “check up” on all of the kiosk in your area to make sure they have that Movie in stock. The system used when you rent online is also a time saver because you don’t even have to go into the menu system of the kiosk itself, you just click a big button on the front menu and swipe your card and out comes your movie. On a final note, when you rent a DVD online the Kiosk automatically removes the movie you rented from the list of available movies. This means you will always be able to get the movie you picked, no matter what!

Part 2 of “Redbox Etiquette”: Redbox Etiquette (Part 2)

Yesterday I decided I was going to go to every organization in the Florence / Muscle Shoals area and apply at every single place I could possibly find. Needless to say the day started out excellent with at trip across town by foot, as I ran for the 6th time in 7 days! I’m hoping to get up to 5 miles a day, but we’ll just have to wait and see how long that takes.

The next part of my day consisted of me getting ready to talk to the companies around town. I put on a nice button up shirt and some slacks and finished out a few applications I already had. I drove to the local Toyota dealership where I proceeded to fill out the application and turn it back into the lady at the front desk, at which point I also realized that I had locked my keys in my car.

I’m sure locking your keys in your car right after applying for a job and then the company you applied to bailing you out and getting into your doors unlocked is a great “first impression” but at least I got to know more than just the secretary right? I finally got back into my car and started driving back to Florence when I noticed an Enterprise Rent-A-Car and decided to stop in and talk to the Manager there.

Unfortunately the Manager mentioned that he had been trying to get the corporate managers to give him an opening for another position but it didn’t seem likely for awhile. Although in the process I did learn that he was very good to his employees and treated them with great respect and felt that his high volume of sales was even more proof of why you treat your employees with respect.

As I was driving once again back to the Florence area my phone rang, and I did not recognize the number that was calling me so I answered it and it was the District Manager at the Enterprise in Chattanooga, TN and gave me a short phone interview and asked me to come in for a full interview next Monday! After 4 months of searching for a job I finally got my first interview next Monday! I ended up going grocery shopping, cooking dinner for Erica and then watching Heroes.

To finish everything off last night I fixed up my website to be just my blog, and I finally installed Snow Leopard on my Laptop! Needless to say it was a very good day, and hopefully things keep getting better from here.

Hello, my name is Aaron Calvert and I am a Public Relations Professional living in the Huntsville / Florence area. I worked with Big Brothers Big Sisters for over a year and a half and have worked with the media and other marketing channels for over 2 years. I have produced many Newsletters that have been published in The Shoals community, I have been on: The Fix FM 91.3, WAPI AM 1060, and Star 94.9 and I have also helped plan multiple events in Florence, Muscle Shoals and Huntsville. I hope to update my blog for anyone reading, just so you can know what’s going on in my life and hopefully learn a few things as well.

My E-mail is aaron.g.calvert@gmail.com if you need to get a hold of me. Or you can follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/anothertomorrow

I’m currently working on a podcast which can be found @ www.twitter.com/failedup

If you would like to find out any more information please send me an e-mail.

Aaron Calvert