Boo

I don't accept the results of this vote. Collusion! Fake news! Miscellaneous shenanigans! And the Russians. Those pesky Russians!

Superman would win in a fight against Batman. However, Batman is cooler than Superman. Batman also had a cool car and banged more chicks than Superman. Thus, the Dark Knight gets my vote. (Shakes head in disgust)...I think we're forgetting someone aren't we? Young Boo's favorite superhero...

Great job Kate. You've laid the foundation for a rock-solid quit.

Good job Octain. Enjoy the lido deck.

Got in a quick workout this morning consisting of: Clean and Jerks, Kettlebell Swings, Turkish Get-Ups, Roll-Outs, and Farmer's Walks. Finished up with 15 minutes of jump rope.

Great job Martian. Congratulations on reaching the lido deck. You committed and have been rock-solid with the process from day one.

There is no way around it. Making the transition from smoker to non-smoker is a process. It takes a bit of time and there will be moments when you feel like something is missing. Good new is: It will happen. It happened for me. It happened for Doreen. It happened for each and every one of us who ride the Quit Train. Not only will you reach a point where being a non-smoker will be your new normal, there will come a time that lighting up a cigarette will be a strange and foreign concept to you. As for your relationships with family and friends...the people you love and care about will still be the people you love and care about. The cigarette has always been there in the past but played no part in your relationships with those people.

Welcome aboard Jill and congratulations on quitting. The fear will subside quickly. The excitement will continue. Enjoy the ride.

Prepare the lido deck, Catlover is coming in hot.

Great job Linda. Congratulations.

Some of you may be looking to start an exercise routine or get back to it after a layoff. There is so much information available, newbies can feel overwhelmed by information overload. As is so often the case, the simplest answer is the best answer. I read a story in a local weekly newspaper about a lady who decided to get healthy in 2018. In January, she made two simple changes: (1) She started drinking water instead of sweet tea and soft drinks and (2) She made it a point to walk more everyday. Fast forward twelve months and she has lost 68 pounds, she jogs 3-4 times a week, does yoga daily, and has recently started incorporating strength training into her regimen. This lady transformed her life in one year and it all began with two simple choices. This video by Elliot Hulse is over five years-old now and still ranks as one of the best videos online for someone new to health and fitness. (Language Warning! If offended by the occasional swear word, this video may not be for you.)

Took advantage of a brief break in the weather and got in a 6.6 mile out-and-back run on the Graysville Mountain Section of the Cumberland Trail this morning.

Happy New Year. Celebrate responsibly.

And that, friends and neighbors, is how it's done. Commit and succeed. Great job DD. Congratulations.

Looks like a clear trend is emerging in this vote. And my faith in Democracy has never been weaker.

Cash is easy to shop for during the holidays. He likes wrapping paper and empty boxes. He would get the paper in his mouth and shake it around for a bit. Then, for a change of pace, he would push empty boxes around with his head. He has simple tastes and is easily amused.

Let's not get caught up in majoring in the minors. If the pledge works for you, do it. If the pledge is something that you don't care about, forget it. The only compulsory rule for a successful quit is this: Do Not Smoke! "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." --Stephen R. Covey

Well, it's that time of the year again. The current year is winding down. A new year is right around the corner. And I'm splitting my time between thinking New Year's resolutions are a waste of time while simultaneously making New Year's resolutions. I'm either a complicated individual or a schizophrenic...you be the judge. My first resolution for 2019 is kind of an anti-resolution. I'm not starting a new program in January. In fact, I'm not going to do any program for a while. I'm going to go with a more intuitive approach to my workouts. I've been working out consistently for long enough now that I feel I should just know what I need to do on a given day. I am going to run a lot more this year. I hit the trails a couple of times over the last few weeks and remembered why I fell in love with trail running. A busy schedule led to me putting running on the back-burner. I'm looking to put in some mileage in 2019. I am going to stop looking for the best new thing in 2019. All the newest fitness trends and hottest programs, I'm tuning out all that noise from now on. Regardless of how many new trends come down the pipeline, we always revert back to the basics. They are the "basics" because they work today just as well as they did fifty years ago. The basics don't pop and sizzle like the latest trend they just produce results. And results are more important than hype. And I am going to stay consistent with my nutrition and sleep this year. Seriously! I mean it this time....stop laughing.

Thank you for the kind words and well wishes. Hope you all had a good Christmas. I had a good Christmas. Kind of quite and low key, which I don't mind at all anymore. That's not working out the way I had hoped. Heavy rains with much more rain predicted to fall over the next few days means flooded creeks, falling trees, and landslides in the mountains. Back in my younger days, I scoffed at people who stayed away from the mountains due to conditions like this. Then I spent a night trapped on a high point in the Cohutta Wilderness due to all the trails being impassable. That was when I realized it's a thin-line between brave and stupid. Mother Nature has made it abundantly clear over the years that she doesn't give a tinker's damn about my vacation plans.

Welcome aboard Jack. Congratulations on quitting. I like the sound of that. You are not going to let cigarettes rob you of one more second of freedom. Commit to the process and enjoy the ride.

Welcome aboard Kitano. Good call on ashing out that last one. Onward and upward.

With my holiday break from work set to begin tomorrow afternoon, I am going to be flying under the radar for a couple of weeks. I'll be getting together with the family at Christmas, traditional stuff. However, I like to use this time of the year to go off the grid for a bit. Spend a lot of time in the mountains...hiking, camping, fly fishing, climbing. Good times. I'm also taking a break from technology. The whole unplug to recharge thing. My girlfriend has convinced me that it is not feasible in this day-and-age to bury my cellphone in the backyard for the next couple of weeks. However, I will be spending a very limited amount of time using computers, phones, and all the other technologies that keep us so preoccupied. That means I won't be around here much for the next couple of weeks (hold your applause for the sake of my feelings please). Before I head out to points unknown, I wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here's hoping Santa brings you the loot you desire and the New Year does right by you. 2018 has been a good ride here on the Train. I will see y'all in 2019.

You can call her Janet. You can call her Daisy. You can call her Bigfoot. You can call her RunFree. An awesome, smokefree chick by any name. Good job DaisyFree. Congratulations.

I can't even remember the last time I had a desire to smoke. In fact, and this should not be mistaken for complacency on my part, I can't think of one scenario in which I would ever choose to smoke a cigarette again. Yep, what he said.