So, you are looking for more ways to keep your heart healthy and enjoy the outdoors. The thought of entering some local 5K races then enters your head. Can you do it, though? Or will you pass out and flop to the ground after running just 300 yards?

Ultimately, it takes practice to be a successful runner, but there are some tips you can follow right away to have a better chance of making it to the finish unharmed.

Here are things to consider before you start your race:

PRE-RACE RUN!
Yes, a pre-race run! I know what most people think when they hear this advice. Why would you want to waste some of your energy before the race even starts? What a crazy and bizarre idea! Hear me out, though! Running for about 7-10 minutes before the race will ensure that your body is 100% warmed up and ready to go! Plus, another huge factor to think about is that the first 5-7 minutes are often the toughest minutes of the entire race for many of us. Sure, the first 30 seconds is easy, but then reality starts to set in very quickly after you have only run for about 100 yards. You quickly start breathing harder and the legs start feeling tighter. This moment of discomfort eventually fades as your body gets in a rhythm later on, but why go through that? If you run the 7-10 minute pre-race run, those aforementioned feelings of tightness and hard-breathing will be taken care of before the race even starts! You put that moment of discomfort behind you! Would you rather suffer in a pre-race run? Or would you rather suffer immediately after your 5K race starts? I am not saying the entire remainder of the race will be a breeze, but this will make your life MUCH easier if you do this pre-race run!

HILLS!
If you have access to any type of hill or elevated area, then do some uphill sprints a day or two before the race. Do as many as you can until you cannot move your legs anymore. This will build endurance and will also help your overall speed on race day. I can personally attest to this strategy.  Last fall, I ran hills prior to 4 of my 5K races. In the other 4 races, I did not do any hill-running beforehand. Of those 8 races, my 4 fastest times all happened after running hills!

GOOD TUNES!
You certainly do not need to use music when running, but a lot of us can’t function without it. Personally, I can’t stand to hear myself breathing when running. Music is a great motivator and can get you going when your tank is on empty! Just be careful with your choices. Do not start the race out with your fastest-paced songs. In the start of the race, you are already going to have a lot of excitement and adrenaline, so why waste your best songs on that moment? The energy is already going to be there! Instead, start the race with a “medium-paced” song. Use your best upbeat, quick-moving, and motivating songs for the middle or the end of the race. Use those kick-butt songs when you REALLY need them!

START POSITION!
Many 5K races have designated areas for people to start based on their average finish times. People that usually finish in under 20 minutes will all be in the front.  The people that usually finish in 35-45+ minutes will start in the back. Problem is, though, that is not monitored by the event staff. They do not enforce any laws or punishments for people that line up in the wrong areas. Many racers (especially the new ones) will just start as close to the start-line as they can without even paying attention to the recommended skill levels of each area. If your goal is to finish the race as fast as possible, do not start the race in the middle of the pack. You will end up wasting a lot of your energy trying to zig zag your way past many slower runners in front of you. In some cases, you may find yourself passing by some WALKERS! With that said, go ahead and start close to the front. Even if you think you will finish in 30 minutes, do not be afraid to line up next to the runners in the 20-25 minute area. You may even find a good pace runner to follow. Just don’t try to follow a runner that is way above your level or you will be paying the price very shortly!

​Much to the disappoint of many people in this country, Donald Trump looks like he will once again be the Republican candidate for President during election day on November 5, 2024. When asked about the possibility of Trump becoming President for a second time, many people have indicated it would be a pure disaster. I have heard many say that another Trump presidency would lead to many things, including:

“The end of democracy as we know it!”
“The country will be ruined!”
“Racism will get even worse!”
“He will encourage more events like January 6th!”
“Trump will destroy any progress that has been made by Biden!”
“Trump will cause a huge divide and promote violence!”

And the list goes on. It is likely safe to say that many of these people would love to not have to worry about Trump as President again. One would have to wonder, though . . .

If you genuinely and honestly think another Trump presidency will destroy the country, then would you take any available option to prevent that from happening? I am going to also assume that most Trump-haters would prefer that if a Republican DID win the election in November, then they would want it to be Nikki Haley instead of Donald Trump.

If that is the case, then why is there not a stronger effort to stop Trump from winning the Republican primary? I’m not hearing of many Democrats that plan on voting in the Republican primary. Why not? If Trump is truly that dangerous, then why isn’t there more talk about Democrats taking part in these primaries?

For the record, there are 16 “Open Primary” states, meaning you can vote in the Republican primary even if you are a registered Democrat (or not affiliated with any party).  Then, of course, there are “Closed Primary” states. In these states, you can only vote for the primary of your party. There are eight states that have closed primaries, one of which is Florida. 

This is where the effort needs to come in from Democrats if they truly believe Trump will bring the world to a crashing halt. Democrats and Non-Affiliated voters can actually temporarily change their party to Republican and vote in the primary. The only catch is that they must beat the deadline, which, in a state like Florida, is 29 days before the primary election. If you do not beat the deadline, you cannot participate in the Florida Republican primary.

Look at the numbers in Florida. As of December 31, 2023, there were approximately 5.1 million registered Republicans; 4.3 million registered Democrats; and 3.5 million non-affiliated voters.  So, even if Trump were to dominate and win over the “genuine” Republican voters by a margin of something like 60% (2.6 million votes) to 40% (1.7 million votes) against Nikki Haley, there would be an easy opportunity for him to be overtaken. There would still be approximately 7.8 million votes out there! If even just a third of that non-Republican crowd took the time to change their parties and vote for Haley, they could easily make Trump’s path tougher. The same strategy could be used in various other states.

Some have said that this strategy would be too difficult to pull off. Is it? Sure, maybe 30 years ago, it was impossible. Times have changed, though. With us being able to connect to so many people quickly and easily via social media platforms and other online resources, this strategy would CERTAINLY be possible.

So, what will it be? Do Democrat voters (and some non-affiliated voters) think Donald Trump will destroy the world if he becomes President again? If you truly believe that, there are options!

​If you are in the early stages of dating a guy, you likely are trying to figure out as many things as possible about him. Even as you learn more and more on each date with him, there are always more questions you need answered.
Many answers to your questions will show themselves during the first night you are at his place. You will see how he decorates, how he cooks, what kinds of food he buys, how he takes care of his yard, how his house smells, etc.
One of the most important things to figure out is if your new boyfriend is a slob. 
Naturally, the first places you will look for signs of “SLOBNESS” will be in his bathroom and his kitchen. Chances are, even if the guy is a slob, he will likely use this night as one of the rare nights he puts the effort in cleaning both of these rooms as diligently as possible, so you may not get your TRUE answer to his “SLOBNESS METER” by looking over these rooms. Obviously, if the bathroom and kitchen ARE MESSY on your first visit, then this guy has no shame at all and you probably will not be coming over for a second visit.
So, if he took a rare moment to finally clean his bathroom and kitchen to impress you, then where do you look? You could find signs of slobness in the bedroom closet, or even under the bed, but by the time you make it to the bedroom, you might not be as concerned about those things. Red wine and passion could be taking over the mood at that point!
So, what are other options to verify his slobness before you even think about going to his bedroom? Easy answer! The MICROWAVE!! It would be extremely hard to assume that a very neat and tidy guy would have a microwave that looked like it had 30 different meals blow up in it at the same time. It would also be extremely hard to assume that a slob would have a squeaky-clean microwave without even a crumb or an old spec of spaghetti sauce leftovers stuck in the corner. Have you ever met a slob with a clean microwave?
Your new boyfriend is so concerned about cleaning his bathroom, kitchen, and bedroom (and maybe even vacuuming and sweeping floors) before your arrival, he won’t even remember to clean out his microwave.  It will be one of the last things on his mind. So, when he exits the kitchen to use the restroom, just take a moment to have a quick peek inside that microwave. Do so with caution, though! The results could be frightening! OR, the results could be pleasantly surprising! What will it be? Is your new man a Neat Freak? Or is he a SLOB?! Best of luck!