Truth Be Told

Best DNF Ever!

Posted on March 6, 2015 by Kirk

Starting out in the early morning fog in Cool, CA, I was cold, but comfortable. Fourmidable - 4 Fourmidable - 6 This is my first time running Fourmidable, although I volunteered to sweep an 8 mile section last year, and I am curious to see if my Achilles is healed enough to handle the tough 50k course, consisting of four major climbs.

The course winds its way over some of my favorite trails, and some I have never run before. First finding its way down to No Hands bridge and across towards Auburn. My favorite part of running local races is seeing familiar faces at the aid stations. There is no disappointment today, as I think I know everyone out there. After the first aid and a porta potty pit stop, I’m off across No Hands and on towards Auburn. I have comfortably settled to the back of the pack and maintaining my planned easy pace. The field is small and filled with fast runners, so it doesn’t bother me at all to be running with some good friends.

Fourmidable - 10

On familiar trail and cruising along the rollers along the river, we take time to enjoy the scenery and take plenty of pictures. We pick up a little altitude and turn onto another trail I had not seen before and enjoy spectacular views.

Fourmidable - 28

Fourmidable - 11

Fourmidable - 20

The first climb to the Overlook is a rude awakening to what our illustrious race director has in store.

fourmid This is one of those trails I have never run before and I wasn’t quite ready for it when I came around the corner. Arriving at the ADO aid station to more familiar faces, I was ready for the long downhill to the base of Cardiac.

Then it is back up again, on one of the toughest climbs in the area, but that is what I’m here for.

At the top of Cardiac, I realize that, although I am on pace for my planned race time, I am going to be getting home later than I had hoped, and I had plans for the evening, so I pick up the pace along the aqueduct trail and back to the ADO aid station. From there it is back to No Fourmidable - 36 Hands bridge and up the infamous K2 Training Hill. Outside of some climbs that I have done in the midst of semi- or non-supported races like Euchre Bar Massacre and Meow Marathons, this is the toughest hill I have ever climbed. For me, it’s only purpose is to make other hills (like Way Too Cool’s Goat Hill) seem more doable by comparison.

Cresting K2, and starting the descent towards Knickerbocker, I determine that I am not going to make it home in time if I complete this race. I usually leave race days clear of anything welse, but this was out of my control. So, at mile 21, I make the choice to take a left where the course goes right and find my way back to the Cool firehouse. Approaching the finish from the wrong direction, several friends ask me if I’m ok. Actually, I feel better than I have in months. I wanted to see if I could handle the hill. I wanted to know if I could maintain a pace. I needed to see if my Achilles and plantar fasciitia would hold up.

Truth be told, sometimes when you win, you lose; sometimes when you lose, you win; and sometimes you can learn all you need to learn without finishing the race. It’s taken me two weeks to get around to writing this, so I’ll be back at the Cool firehouse tomorrow morning. I’ll be running my best. I’ll be running for my friend Steve… But that’s next week’s blog.

Posted in DFL>DNF, Sports, Truth | 1 Comment

Recovering with supplements

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Kirk

As some of you may know, I have suffered from an unfortunate string of injuries over the past couple of years. Starting with a badly bruised knee cap, which led to over-training to compensate for lost time. This, combined with a moderate sprained ankle, resulted in plantar fasciitis and compensating from that caused Achilles Tendonosis in the opposite ankle. I have tried everything I could think of and taken advice from a lot of different people (including other runners, doctors, massage therapists, etc.) to speed the healing and recovery. I’ve changed shoes, changed inserts, and added inserts to my daily shoes. I’ve learned a lot from my research and the advice others have given me, so I’m hoping some of you will benefit from my learning.

First, there are many things I could have done to avoid the injuries in the first place. Like not rushing to train when I had missed training time, thus over-training. Stopping when I got hurt. Stretching better. An acute injury, like a sprain, or a bone bruise, will heal in its own time. On the other hand, fatigue injuries can be avoided. Once injured, however, recovery and avoiding further injury become the focus.

I am not a doctor, nor a physical therapist. What I am is a runner who has experienced injury and learned what helps the recovery process and what does not.

Total rest does not help Achilles injuries nor Plantar Fasciitis. To heal, these tendons need increased blood flow. Stretch, massage (Trigger Point worked well for me), and mild running. I was very tight each time I first started running, but it would loosen up as I warmed up. I stayed off of pavement and stopped if the pain started coming back. Shorter and less frequent runs seemed to help more than taking an absolute break. I also found that a good sports massage therapist can really work the right muscles and ligaments. The pain experienced during really deep massage gives great relief over time.

After about a year, a friend mine suggested some supplements that might help. Although the FDA does not back these claims, there is a lot of significant research that indicates some supplements aid in healing joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. My friend happens to be a representative for Young Living Essential Oils. The company offers massage oils and supplements to aid in general health and 3234 well-being. The combination she suggested is specifically designed for bones, ligaments, and muscles (BLM). I decided to give it a try.

The suggested dosage for my weight is 1 tablet 4 times daily. A 90 count bottle costs $53.62, retail, and will last me about 3 weeks. There is an option to open a wholesale account and purchase it at 24% discount ($40.75). More information here. You do not have to sell anything in order to remain a member and receive the wholesale pricing. The included information claims that results will start being evident in 4-6 weeks, so I obtained two bottles and started taking the suggested dosage in addition to my regular supplements. I also continued my running in moderation, as well as stretching, trigger point massage, and foam rolling my calves.

I am not one to follow blindly in most cases, so I did some research outside of the Young Living website, into the ingredients and what they claim to do. Here it is:

Manganese Sulfate – believed to aid in bone and blood health
Glucosamine – for healthy joints, tendons, and ligaments (I give this to my dogs for the same reason)
Callogen – promotes cell growth
MSM – reduces swelling and pain
Balsam Fir Oil – aids in relaxation (I can find no research supporting the ingesting of this)
Wintergreen – pain relief, in particular nerve pain
Clove – reduce inflammation and pain

My Results

After 3 weeks, I had not noticed any significant change. I started the second bottle and at the end of the 4th week I started to notice that I was not waking up with the pain and stiffness I had previously experienced. My recovery after a run took less time and I did not have as much pain during the run. I still feel some mild discomfort, especially when I run on pavement. The most discomfort is during the first mile or two of my run, but then it subsides and only mildly returns when I stop running. This continued to improve for the remainder of the second bottle.

I did not notice any side effects, although my frequency of burping greatly increased and there is a strong influence from the cloves and wintergreen.

I’m not going to claim that the supplements healed me, but I’ve been out of them for about two weeks now and I have noticed an increase in morning stiffness in my ankle again. It certainly appears that the BLM supplements have been a significant part of my healing process.

Truth be told, it is important to realize that these injuries happen over a period of time and healing usually takes time as well. Be patient. Take care of yourself. Staying healthy is easier than recovering.

Posted in DFL>DNF, Sports | Tagged essential oils, injury, running, supplements, young living | 2 Comments

Brooks Pure Grit 3 Review

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Kirk

In case you missed it, here is my review of the Brooks Pure Grit 3, as it appeared at Ultrarunnerpodcast.com

Summary: The Pure Grit 3, from Brooks, is a solid all around trail shoe with effective traction and protection. It is light enough to race in and durable enough for training.

Pros:

true sizing
light weight
solid construction
responsive
great traction

Cons:

ineffective sock liner
tongue slides to the side
not a true minimal shoe

First Impressions: I’ve been a fan of Brooks for several years and I have had good results running in both road and trail offerings. The Pure Grit 3 is light, but seems to be a solid trail shoe with fairly aggressive tread. Brooks effectively created an aggressive appearance with the Pure Grit 3. The red and blue with the bright yellow sole just looks fast, in the same way we bought shoes as kids because we were sure they would make us run faster or jump higher.

I use an alternative lacing to accommodate my high instep and I noticed the Pure Grit 3 has that built in with a wide stretchy band over the instep while the laces skip that part. I like the fact that they used flat laces; they seem to cut into my foot less.

Let’s give these a try.

Build: Lacing them up for the first time, they fit like a lighter version of the Cascadia. Certainly not a minimalist shoe, there seems to be more cushion that what I expected for the weight, but closer to minimal than the Cascadia by a significant margin. The shoe feels light, but solid. Brooks sock liners are never enough, so I put my SuperFeet inserts in there. The padding on the collar and tongue add to the comfort and the sole wrapping up on the toe and the reinforced heel protect the foot and preserve the durability of the shoe.

Ride: I was able to run the shoe on many different surfaces; hard dirt, rocky trail, DG bike trail, up and down hills, etc. I made a point to not avoid rocks and the rock plate offered adequate protection, although I was starting to feel it after 5 miles of purposely looking for rocks to step on (I wouldn’t recommend that), but you certainly don’t have to make any effort to avoid rocky terrain. On every surface the responsiveness of the shoe was impressive. They provide stability on uneven single track, as well as comfort and responsiveness on various other surfaces.

The Switchback Challenge is a highly technical 6.6 mile tail course (7.4 if you miss a turn) that truly put the Pure Grit, and me, through its paces. This seems to be the shoe’s element and they were nimble and comfortable through the turns and over the rocks.

Another big variation from the Cascadia is the 4mm drop (as opposed to 12mm). This significantly increases the responsiveness of the shoe to the trail, while maintaining a fair amount of cushion in the forefoot for comfort. The band over the inseam did exactly what I had hoped and held the shoe firmly in place, while saving me from any painful lace impressions on that area of my foot.

Stats:

$120
4 mm drop (19mm stack at heel)
10.1 oz (size 9) Brooks lists it at 9.9 oz

Final Impressions: Brooks markets their Pure series of shoes as minimalist, but compared to other minimal shoes available, I found these to barely fit in that designation. However, if you are wanting a durable trail shoe that is a little closer to minimal and a little closer to 0-drop, without being either one, this might be the shoe you are looking for. I enjoyed running the trails in the PureGrit 3. I could feel the trail without the discomfort I find in more minimal shoes. It is just plain fun to run in these. The light weight made me feel like I could move as one with the trail and I’m pretty sure they do make me faster. I plan on putting a lot more miles on these.

Find out more at http://www.brooksrunning.com/

If you’re thinking about purchasing these shoes, visit your local running store. If you’d rather purchase online, please consider using this link as it’ll drop a few nickels into the Ultra Runner Podcast bucket. Thanks.

Posted in DFL>DNF, product reviews | 1 Comment

Back Of The Pack Frustration

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Kirk

I still love to run! Races, on the other hand, are starting to frustrate me.

The back of the pack is filled with a different type of runner. The back of the pack crowd often sign up for a race without training. They trot along having conversations with the people around them. They don’t worry about form. Often you can hear them slapping their feet onto the ground like they are wearing wet flippers. They hold their phones in their hands so they can listen to their music without headphones. Occasionally, they will take a phone call and have a conversation during the race.

When I first started running a few years ago, I was in this group and I hated being beat by people who obviously had poor running form and little or no conditioning. Yet, there they were, some of them, faster than me. I knew that the only way to avoid their distracting conversations, music, and foot flapping, was to train harder and get faster and stronger.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to win anything and if you are one of those conversating, foot flapping, music sharing runners, good for you! I’m glad you are out there having fun and enjoying this great sport. I’d just like to run with those that take the running part a little more seriously, at least during the race, but I’m just too slow.

But here I am, back with the back of the packers, running slower than I was last year, even after my initial injury. I have gone right past slowing down from injury, to slowing down from lack of training. My lack of training is now hurting me more than my injury.

I ran the Folsom Blues Breakout half marathon last Saturday. My time was 28 minutes slower than it was last year. My Achilles was a little sore, but my quads were burning the last 2 miles and I had to slow to a walk a couple of time just because I was out of breath. I’m carrying almost 20 pounds more than last year, which doesn’t help. My Plantar Fasciitis is better, but my Achilles hurts, especially when I run on pavement.

I still love the run, the people I run with (or behind), the beer after (if there’s any left), and the swag. A few years ago I couldn’t imaging running a marathon. Now I’ve completed a couple and two 50ks and a 50 miler. I just can’t imagine not doing more of that.

Truth be told, I have to find or create time to train, and I have to heal completely, so I can move back up in the pack. I’d like to be able to keep up with some of my friends, and get away from the back of the pack.

Posted in DFL>DNF, Sports | 4 Comments

Organized Chaos

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Kirk

Now 1/4 of the way through the school year and I’m still not really clear on exactly what Common Core is, but then, neither is anybody else.

I have made two significant changes in the way I teach. The first involves putting the students in groups and letting them figure things out for a while. More often than not, they are able to come up with a solution or a reason by discussing among themselves.

The second change is waiting. This is difficult for me. I have to give the students time to figure things out. I feel like I only have so much time to cover so much material and, if I wait, we will never get there. The waiting makes them think, however, and getting students to think is really my primary goal. Another challenging aspect of this is that students have been conditioned to wait for someone else to give them the answer. They believe that if they wait long enough, the teacher or another student will tell them the answer and they won’t have to figure it out. It’s really a game on both sides and by me out-waiting the students, they are the true winners.

I’m accustomed to having a fairly controlled class where I present material while the students take notes. They copy my examples and then try a couple on their own and we check them and then they ask questions. This is not the way it goes anymore. Now, I present a problem and they discuss how they might solve it. Being teenagers, the conversation quickly and easily diverts from the topic at hand. My task is to cruise around the room from group to group, providing prompts, questions, and encouragement. I can’t stay too long at any one group because as soon as my attention is focused on one, there is at least one other going off on a tangent somewhere. To the casual observer, it probably seems completely out of control. Often, it does to me as well.

At this point (midterms) I’m not seeing much of a difference in the grades of my students over previous years. It’s hard to say if they are learning more, but they are not scoring higher on tests. I am seeing an increase in what I consider to be good (or productive) questions and more often than not, students are able to answer those questions.

Truth be told, there will always be some great new method for teaching, but I believe the significant changes in students’ lives come from the relationships they develop. IF I can connect with them on both an intellectual and a personal level, I have a better chance of helping find success in whatever they attempt. The biggest benefit from common core, may be that students learn how to better teach themselves, so they will continue to learn when a teacher is not present.

Posted in Education, mentoring | Comments Off

Posted on October 12, 2014 by Kirk

I’ve been thinking this week how we all want more… more time, more money, more talent, more attention, more stuff. Then a couple of things occurred to me.

First, we don’t really have anything accept by the grace of God. He alone determines the number of our days. We are born with our talents that we choose to develop or not. We, by providence or by a series of choices, are at the station in life we now are now. What we do with what we have is more significant than how we can get more, since, for the most part, getting more is not really an option.

I’m reminded of a video I saw recently (I tried to find it for this, but I can’t locate it at the moment) where a person pretending to be homeless first goes to people in a fast food restaurant and asks for food. After being turned down by those who had just bought their own food, he goes to a homeless person around the corner who has just been given a meal from the same restaurant. He asks the homeless man for some of his food and the homeless man shares it happily.

There is a lot to learn from this social experiment, but one lesson is that those with much seem to hold on more tightly to what they have than do those who have little.

In Malachi, God tells the prophet to tell the people to “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse and see if I won’t pour out a blessing that you won’t even be able to receive it.” Growing up Christian I’ve heard the claim that if you pay your tithe that God will provide for you in financial ways. You won’t get sick. You will get or keep your job. Your car will last longer. And so on. The problem is that when things go bad financially, as they can and often will, people holding on to these false promises think that God has turned against them. But God never made those kind of promises. Jesus taught that He came that we might have abundant joy. He did not promise us an easy life, good health or prosperity. He gave all that we could be free from sin and death, but He also taught that those who follow Him will suffer.

Yet, we have the opportunity to have true joy, whether we are suffering or not. Paul taught that he learned to be content in all circumstances. God makes that possible in that we can do al things through Him that gives us strength. Which leads me to my second thought.

It is only by realizing that we really have nothing, that we are able to more easily let go of that which we think we have. Realizing that God provides our time allows us to use it to serve other for His purposes. Realizing that all of our possessions are provided to us through the blessings of God allows us to use our assets to provide for others through charities and the local church. God gives us all we have and asks for us to trust Him by returning 10% to Him. Once we learn that He can do more with 90% than we can do on our own with all of it, this becomes a much easier task.

Truth be told, I have to learn this lesson over and over, because I am always wanting more, but my greatest joy comes when I trust God to provide what I need and let go of things I can’t have. Someday, maybe I’ll get it right.

Posted in morality, Truth | Comments Off

Losing My Religion

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Kirk

It’s been almost three weeks since my double race weekend. I know a lot of my running friends do races on Saturday and Sunday on a regular basis, but I never have… until now.

Running at 9000 feet is never easy anyway. Add obstacles and ice water and mud and electric shock and you have Tough Mudder. My goal was to finish and keep something in the tank for my race the next day. There were some tough climbs and some really tough climbs. Going trough mud and over logs and up walls and ladders really worked my arms. I have very little in the way of upper body strength and I did not spend any time in the gym getting ready for the obstacles that I would face. I had to skip a couple of the later obstacles that required all arms and I also skipped the 20 foot jump into the 12 foot mud bath, since I’m not a strong swimmer. There were a couple of ladder wall climbs where I could use my legs to help my arms. The Arctic Enema and the Electro Shock Therapy obstacles were the biggest psychologically. Jumping into a giant ice bath and duking under water literally takes your breath away. Just when I thought I had done all I could, I’m faced with the 50 foot curtain of electric wires to run through. Just before running through, they spray you with ice cold water. Not all of the wires are the same voltage. The first shock was a twinge on my arm. The second made me dodge slightly left. The third threw me to the ground like a rag doll, slamming my face into the mud. When I stood up I couldn’t see, but I forced myself to stagger forward to the finish. I soon discovered that my contacts were somehow shriveled up by the 10,000 volts of electric current I had been zapped with.

I woke up early Sunday morning more sore than I could have imagined. We made the drive part way down the hill to Fresh Pond. I had signed up for the 20 mile run. I wanted to know if I was recovered enough from my injuries from the year before (Plantar Fasciitis, Achilles) and if I had worked my way back to ultra strength after taking time off to heal. My goal was to run the 20 mile course in 5-ish hours and then sign up for a 50 miler the end of September.

6 hours later I made my way across the finish line, pleased I had finished, but disappointed in my time and how tired my legs were.

I love the trails around Jenkinson Lake and the views that you get there, but the trail is tough and I now had to re-evaluate if i could be ready for a 50 miler in 6 weeks.

The Achilles was very sore and my legs were just dead. After taking an entire week off, I came to the disappointing decision to not sign up for the Sac River Trail Run 50 in Redding. I realized that I just wasn’t going to get enough miles in before then.

Unfortunately, I have not felt like running much since then. I have run a couple of 2-3 mile runs and a 7 mile run.

Truth be told, I don’t really feel like a runner right now. I’m starting to not look like one either. It seems my weight comes back at the same rate my motivation disappears. I hope I get the desire back soon… I feel like I’m losing my religion.

Posted in DFL>DNF | Comments Off

And now, for something completely different

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Kirk

The first two days of the new school year under my belt and I have to say I’m pretty excited about it, but last week I might not have said so.

I’m sure a lot of you have heard at least something about Common Core State Standards. In theory, it all seems like a good idea. Shouldn’t an Algebra class in Sacramento teach the same things as an Algebra class in Iowa? I have had students move into my school mid year and they can’t transfer their knowledge because the classes are so different in scope and sequence. It certainly seems that if all the states had the same standards, then students would be better prepared for their next step, whether its college or trade school, or a career.

There are two entirely different sets of problems with the whole thing. The first is what most people have heard about. The federal government has too much control over the minutia of our lives. I’m not going to disagree and what has the federal government ever done really well anyway? The second set of problems is significantly more important. No one, up to this point, has been able to tell teachers exactly what Common Core means to the classroom. The early implementation at the elementary level has largely been chaotic. Most students and most parents do not even understand assignments that have been sent home. In an effort to encourage students to think “outside the box,” teachers are presenting assignments in a manner that is just confusing. They don’t seem to understand the difference between allowing different thinking and forced confusion. The idea is to let students learn in ways they feel comfortable with, but too often it has been about forcing students to be uncomfortable.

Clarity snuck into our pre-service meetings this year. Other than the fact that we had three days to change everything, I finally began to see some benefit potential for the new way of learning… and that it isn’t really new. Many of the teaching strategies that I learned in my credential and masters programs, and have been discouraged from using in my current assignment, are exactly what we are being asked to do now.

So, I rearranged my classroom in groups. The first two days have been a total divergence from what I have done for the past 10 years or more. Rather than present a rule, show a process, deliver an example and then let the students try on their own, my new process is to present a problem and let the students develop a method to solve it amongst themselves. The different groups communicate and find multiple paths to the same solution. They talk to and encourage each other. The students dictate how the material will be taught. Not what is taught, but how it will be taught. The students show me where they are and I can then take them from there to where they need to be. Students have less homework and more responsibility. Students learn to learn.

Truth be told, I’m still not excited about the federal government managing my classroom, but I am excited about the amount of learning that will go on in that room this year, by me as well as my students.

Posted in Education, mentoring | Tagged common core, teaching | Comments Off

Form Focus, aka: Starting Over

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Kirk

It really feels like I’m starting over from the beginning. I try not to care about pace, but when I am falling further behind those I used to run with, it’s really difficult to not care. I have three choices at this point; run with slower runners, run faster, enjoy the solitude. I’m trying to do the latter, but I’m doing some of the first as well.

I have made a few mistakes in my recuperation, but I think I’ve done some things right too. First thing I did wrong was my resting strategy. For plantar fasciitis, complete rest is a bad idea. The muscles will heal tighter and cause other injuries later when running is resumed. THAT explains the Achilles problems! I should have used more massage and continued running shorter distances. What I did was to rest during the week and continue the long runs on the weekends. I should have reversed that.

I’ve tried rotating my shoes. This was not a completely bad idea, but the Mafates (Hoka), with their additional cushioning, provide a much more comfortable ride and less Achilles pain. Playing soccer in Luna sandals was a bad idea (two broken toes). Shorter runs in the Cascadias (Brooks) are ok, but the Mix Master Move (Merrell) and Lunas are too flat and do not provide enough cushioning. The Mix Master actually has the same drop as the Mafate, but the cushion difference is significant. When I am completely healed, I hope to run more in the Lunas and the Merrels, but running without pain is more important.

Meanwhile… focusing on chi running and improving my form. I have found that it quickly becomes more natural to me. I have developed a habit of rotating my focus. Mid-foot strike/ lean, posture, breathing, cadence… repeat. I find that my lean determines my speed with much less effort than trying to move my feet faster. I try to keep a steady cadence and adjust speed with lean. I’m not very good at it yet, I forget to lean and my pace is slow. As I improve, my cadence will increase slightly and my lean will improve. My next race is a 10 mile trail run that I’ve run before, so it will be a good test of my progress.

Mental recovery is more difficult. Over training was my nemesis last year. I am not going to be able to return to old form and condition by forcing myself to run further or more often. It will only cause me to prolong my recovery or injure myself in other ways.

always happy to run

kids on mid ridge

So I run short runs with slower runners… these slower runners. They won’t be slower for long, but I love running with them. the conversations usually go like this:

“Sean, do you want to go run?”

Gabriela: “I do, I do!”

Georgia all smiles at the Twilight Run

Sean: “I guess. How far?”

Me: “Not too far. Georgia, do you want to go?”

Georgia: “No.”

Me: “Well, you’re going any way.”

And we go. And they love it. Although Georgia will never admit it.

These runs are shorter and there is no pressure to keep any given pace. It gives me an opportunity to spend time with my kids and focus just on form and breathing.

I still love running with my friends, even though I can’t keep up for very long. I am finding that I can maintain pace a little longer now and I don’t get as far behind as I was a couple of months ago. The key, mentally, is to not let it bother me that I am running behind.

Single track running through the trees with no one but God is the ultimate in trail running. Sometimes I have music, but other times I enjoy the solitude and the quiet.

I can work more on cadence and lean on these runs. Sometimes I get so into the running that find myself on unfamiliar trail (read: “lost”), but I have found my way back… eventually.

For any of my readers who have been with me for a while, you may remember my post from the beginning of the year (For The Love). I am re-finding the joy of running in these moments.

Truth be told, sometimes its best to slow down and look around; enjoy the moment, enjoy the view. Speed may or may not return. My faster friends don’t seem to mind that I can’t keep up and I still get to the end in time for watermelon and beer… that’s why we run anyway.

Posted in DFL>DNF, Sports | Comments Off

Changing Minds, NOT!

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Kirk

Some of my regular readers may have noticed a diversion in my writing from the political arena. While some of that is because I have been focused on running and healing and, thus, my thoughts have also been focused on those things.

I have also been focusing more on mentoring and affecting positive change. No one I have ever met has changed their political opinion because of a blog or facebook post. I had my friends on the right arguing with me. I had my friends on the left arguing with me. While I still have strong political opinions, I would rather spend my energies in more constructive efforts.

Without disparaging him as person, I believe that President Obama possesses a significant character flaw in that he does not recognize when something is not working and, rather than correct it, he insists that it is working. Even if one agrees with the leftist ideals, it is hard to find anything that is working in the present administration as he said it would. The preferred method of dealing with issues has become to blame others or deny failure; i.e. Affordable Care, Benghazi, IRS targeting, immigration, weakening world image in regards to Putin and Iran, etc, etc…

I believe our nation is in decline. I believe that Obama wants to change our position in the world and, although his intent may be noble in his mind, in my perspective, he has done more damage to our country, both domestically and on the world stage, than any other single person in history. I believe his vision for what the United States should be is not good for the world. I believe that the U.S. has always been a world leader and President Obama wants us to be more like part of a world committee.

I do not believe that the Republicans have a solid plan to repair the damage, nor am I convinced that some of these same issues would not have appeared had we elected Mitt Romney. I am fairly certain, however, that it was a bad idea to elect someone without any previous leadership experience and I feel Romney would have handled many of them more effectively. (I should add that Romney was not my choice either.) Barack Obama is an excellent campaigner, but a poor leader. In my opinion, he has demonstrated this repeatedly.

Truth be told, I don’t think he is a bad person, but I’m fairly certain he is a bad presidient.

Posted in Politics, press and media | Comments Off