Blog Posts From The Penguin Chronicles Tagged With team

The Birth of a Column

John -the Penguin- Bingham — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:18:47 GMT

Some of you may have noticed that the "No Need for Speed" column was not in the February Runner's World. This is a funny time in the publishing industry, and I'm certainly no expert on magazine publishing, but it looks like there's some sorting out going on. I'll be in the magazine 10 times this year. Look for the column again in the March issue.

With the April column I will have completed 13 years as a columnist with Runner's World. That's 156 columns. Considering that I was worried that I wouldn't be able to come up with ideas for the original 8 columns for which I was contracted, that's not bad. The funny thing is that, rather than it being harder to find ideas, I now find that I don't have the time or space to write about everything I want to.

Thanks goodness for Blogs.

In May of 1996 the column was called "The Penguin Chronicles", a name taken from the reference in the first column to images of runners always being gazelles or eagles and I felt like a penguin. A legal challenge from Penguin-Putnam Books convinced the US editors to change the name of the column to simply "The Chronicles". As a side note, the column remained "The Penguin Chronicles" in all international editions of Runner's World.

With the new editorial and publishing staff the column got renamed "No Need for Speed", and Gil Eisner's wonderful penguin characters were removed. In some ways that shifted the focus of the column, or at least seemed to, from the original concept of sharing the "joy of movement" that I discovered as an adult-onset athlete to being an advocate for going slowly. The truth is, I've never advocated going slowly. I've only advocated finding your own pace - fast OR slow.

As I recently wrote, after running for 15 years running is like an old friend to me. I like running. I like being around running. Like a relationship that has matured over time my relationship with running has come to a place of comfort. I don't need to impress myself or anyone else any more.

But, even after 15 years I still have the same sense of wonder and mystery about running - and myself as a runner. Every day I learn something new. Every run reveals something that I hadn't seen. That's what makes running so wonderful.

What I'm discovering is that the Web 2.0 medium - this blogging, Facebook, Twitter, medium - is more like what it was in the beginning for me. And I've found I really like it. It's liberating to be back where I was before 17 people decided what words would be read.

Stick around, folks. I think this is going to be a fun ride.

Waddle on, friends.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start"

Eat more, Exercise less, Have great sex

John -the Penguin- Bingham — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:28:53 GMT

I guess I'm beginning to obsess about the whole weight thing. And, I'm blaming Oprah so that I don't have to take responsibility myself. The show yesterday featured a bunch overweight teens, discussed their eating habits, and more importantly tried to get to the source of their hunger - not the physical hunger but the emotional hunger. It was sad, but enlightening.

One of her guest was David Zinczenko, author of the "Eat this, Not that" books. He is, I suppose, a colleague of mine since we both get our pay check from Rodale, so I may be biased, but I thought what he had to say was fantastic. The misinformation, myths, false beliefs, and out-right untruths about food and weight loss are staggering. And I'm no better informed than most.

For example, one of the "tests" was - are you better off eating a multi-grain bagel with cream cheese or a glazed donut? GUESS WHAT? The bagel and cream cheese has nearly 4 times the calories. And "multi-grain" doesn't mean anything except they use multiple processed grains. Good grief.

No, you can't eat 4 glazed donuts and break even, but it does point out how often we ~~c-main~~ think I'm doing the right thing only to find out I'm really not.

And he talked about eggs. I love eggs. I like almost nothing better for dinner than scrambled eggs. But, eggs are bad for you. Right? NO. They are a good source of high quality protein and are fine - in moderation - in an otherwise balanced diet. GOOD GRIEF.

Anyway, it got me to thinking that if I want to get rich, I should write the book: "Eat More, Exercise Less, Have Great Sex" since that seems to be what everyone - me included - wants to be able to do. It seems to me that nearly all of the popular diet and exercise programs have some element of the eat more, exercise less, have great sex philosophy.

Or maybe I'll write the book "Six-Pack Abs in 6 minutes a week" I don't know where it got started but clearly having great looking abs is a prerequisite for good health. COME ON!

I'm angry. At myself. At the industry that encourages people to believe the unbelievable. And, at the running community that still looks down it's nose at people - like me - who are trying to change their lives with their own two feet. We have so much to overcome that we just can't be bothered trying to shave 3 seconds off our 5K times. AAARRRGGGHHH!

I am recommitting today to standing up for the joy of movement. ANY movement. And to always, ALWAYS, searching for the truth.

Waddle on,

Dawn of a new day

John -the Penguin- Bingham — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:40:00 GMT

Well, it's hard to start to talk about anything today - January 21, 2009 - without commenting on the events of yesterday. The inauguration of Barack Obama was certainly one of the most memorable days of my life,

In January of 1973 I marched, as a member of THE U.S. Army Band, in the inaugural parade for Richard Nixon. This was a very difficult time for the country. As we marched we were booed, and had things thrown at us. I just kept thinking "HEY! I'm just a trombone player". But, the contentiousness was everywhere.

Yesterday seemed 180 degrees from that day. People seemed united. People seemed relieved. People seemed ready to believe that hope is an appropriate emotion again. I hope that they're right.

It occurred to me that hope is a necessary ingredient for change, whether that's change as dramatic as President Obama was describing, or just the simple, personal changes that lead us to a different lifestyle. In any case, one has to have hope.

As I face down the demons of food and drink, and weight, I think the first emotion I'm going to have to find is hope. If I am hope-less then I don't think any wishing and planning is going to do me any good at all.

So today, I'm going in search of hope. I'm going to look back at where I've been before I look forward to where I want to go. I'm going to find that ability to believe that change can happen. That change will happen.

At least, I hope it will.

John

Wednesdays With The Penguin

John -the Penguin- Bingham — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:18:00 GMT

So far, so good. I actually showed up on the first Wednesday to do the blog. It's not that I don't want to blog, it's just that I'm not sure I understand what it is that blogging does.

These days it seems like everyone with access to a computer keyboard has their own private space on the internet. I'm sure that all of us think that our lives are simply the most interesting lives ever, or at least we think that our uninteresting lives are of interest to others, but I'm not sure. As one who lives a fair part of my life in public I'm mostly convinced that my life is interesting to me and me only.

But, that's not to say that there aren't things that I'd like to say. Again, as a professional writer, there are things that I'd like to be able to say without the interference of editors, and copy-editors, and editorial boards, and advertising folks, etc. So, this is going to be much more free-form and MUCH more "real" than anything that makes it into print.

If it interests you; great. If not; I understand.

Today is about getting back into the groove. Over the past month I've moved and survived the holidays. I also turned 60 which seems to be a major age threshold for me. I haven't "had" to be "the Penguin" in over a month, but, Friday when I show up in Orlando for the Disney World Marathon weekend I will be "all Penguin all the time" and I'm looking forward to it.

Finally, I'm going to go back to the beginning and start writing a blog called "The Recess Bell". It will more general fitness based and will focus less on running and more on finding your own play.

So, that's it for this Wednesday, January 7, 2009. Enjoy the week. I'll see you next Wednesday.

John

Home and Away

John -the Penguin- Bingham — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:50:11 GMT

It may be hard to believe that I could be home, and away, at the same time but that's what this past weekend was all about. The our biggest race, the Chicago Distance Classic now less than three weeks away I've been out pounding the pavement in the Chicagoland area.

Saturday I was up in Barrington with the folks from Dick Pond's. Sunday I was in Naperville for the Grand Opening of the new RoadRunner Sports store, and tonight - Monday - I'm at the Dick Pond store in Schaumburg.

Speaking of the CDC, this year is shaping up to be the best EVER. Registrations are ahead of last year, I've driven the course several times and it's FANTASTIC, and the post-race party is going to rock the city. If you're anywhere near Chicago you owe it to yourself to experience this race.

On the COMPLETE other side of my life, Jenny and I spent a couple of days last week on the Kyle Petty Charity ride. It benefits the Victory Junction Gang Camp - where we put on our Run to Victory in December. The HIGHLIGHT of the ride was getting to do two laps at the Road America track in Elkhart Lake. OH MY!! I used to go there to watch the motorcycle races. NOW I REALLY can't believe how fast they were going.

OK, back to work.

John !charityride08.jpg!

Land of the Midnight Sun

John -the Penguin- Bingham — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:49:45 GMT

OK. I think I've been on the road too long.

This trip started last Saturday. I flew to Seattle, drove to Tacoma, spoke, spent the night, drove to Seattle, drove BACK to Tacoma because I forgot my hanging bag in the hotel room, drove BACK to Seattle, spent the night, drove to Bellingham, spent the night, drove BACK to Seattle - and stopped at a Wal-Mart to buy a garment bag-, spent the night, FLEW to Anchorage - which is where I am right now.

SO! I check in, pull mail, get caught up a little and then start thinking about a run. I look at my watch, it's nearly 3 PM. I want to run at 4. THEN I THINK. I hope it doesn't start getting dark while I'm out there.

WHAT A MAROON! It's June 20. I'm in Anchorage, Alaska. The sun sort of goes down at - oh - 11 PM. Too many miles in too many days.

A couple of good things, though. While in Seattle I caught up with Mark Conners - formerly of Spenco - now with BodyGlide. Mark supported me early on when I was trying to get this whole "penguin" thing going. Without his help I never could have toured in 2000 and 2001. It was great to see him again.

Of course, I am a HUGE fan of BodyGlide. My number one rule is that anything that CAN rub together WILL rub together. If they sold BodyGlide in 50 gallon drums I'd probably have one. I use it liberally on all those sensitive areas that tend to rub or blister. It's great stuff and should be in every runner's bag of tricks.

OH, yeah, I got in my run, am back at the computer, and guess what? THE SUN IS STILL OUT! Go figure.

Most of the TEAM will get in tomorrow and then it's off to the TnT Pasta Party and race.

Waddle on,