Author Archives: Hans Schiefelbein

About Hans Schiefelbein

In pursuit of a healthy and disciplined lifestyle. My goal is to help people attain and sustain their health.

30 for Sam (day 7 of 30)

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Day 7 of 30
As I was saying yesterday, people in this world are hurting. One of the friends I mentioned was saying he drives past houses on his way home and knows each one has a story and probably a struggle; maybe others know about it, but most likely not to the full extent. I said to my friend that I’m going to be as active as possible in his and the other situations. In the past I would’ve said I’d pray, but the reality is if I prayed once it was quick and less sincere than I’d like to admit, and there wouldn’t be much (if any) follow up. Not anymore. 

Katie and I watched a cheesy movie on New Year’s Eve: War Room. One of the main characters is an old Christian lady who inverted a closet into a prayer room where she can go to battle with the Lord, fighting the evil in this world. Lots of cheesy parts to the movie but that approach to prayer really struck a nerve with me. 

I told my friend that I would pray for him and that he would be included in my prayer journal. While I am all digital and as paperless as I can be, I will always keep a notebook close. The front part is for day-to-day thoughts and planning; the back is for my prayers. I’ve never kept a prayer journal but from all the success stories I’ve heard, the time is now to get mine established. Sam’s in there. So are the other two friends. 

run

2+ miles through Oregon. Weather felt great, didn’t want to stop but today (Thursday) was my Friday since I have the kids most of the tomorrow. 

from the blog

Nice strangers (who end up sending food?!) are the best. 

YAY for good people with kind hearts spreading the love.

prayer

God, strengthen and use me to encourage my friends when they need me. Keep me humble so as to be used by You and for You, not of my own efforts and abilities but through the Spirit inside me.

30 for Sam (Day 6 of 30)

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Day 6 of 30

My challenge to run for 30 days straight is becoming just that, a challenge. I had the kids longer than usual today and I hadn’t planned well, but I made it work. Out on my run, I appreciate the few minutes I have to hunk about Sam and his battle. If not for #30forSam I would not be thinking about him each day; that’s just reality. In addition to Sam’s story, I had two other friends with very difficult situations share their story with me; literally both were heart-wrenching. People in this world are hurting. 

Tomorrow I’m going to write a little more about my approach this year to these stories. Thanks for reading. I encourage you to pray with me. And let me know if you want to do a 2-mile run with me sometime.

run

2 miles up and down Thomson lane while kids do homework and chores (might be on to something here…)

from the blog

Jenny has great perspective and wisdom in this post from 1/3/16:

I’ve also been trying to teach myself that this cancer and GVH thing doesn’t follow calendar years, or take breaks for Christmas, or ease up when winter break ends and it’s time to go back to work. It just is. Day by day, little by little, it will get easier but progress takes time. I haven’t quite mastered this serene peace of mind yet, but I am working on it and that will have to be good enough

prayer

God, give us our daily bread. That which we need to make it through our day, give us that. All of this is from you, we take nothing of it with us when we leave this earth. You are the provider off all good things and I find strength in You. 

30 for Sam (day 5 of 30)

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I made a mistake. I heard part of Sam’s story, that he has Acute Myeloid Leukemia and that he won’t be able to fulfill his tradition of cross-country skiing his age in kilometers this year. He turned 30 on January 15th (last Friday), so his wife Jenny put together a #30forSam challenge. She asked friends and family to do 30 of “something” since Sam couldn’t be outside to continue his tradition. I was hooked.

I decided to do 30 days of running, learn more about his story, and then pray for his situation. The problem is I like to learn linearly, in order; I don’t like to skip ahead. I started back in June of 2015 and I was moving along when Katie (my wife) brought to my attention that other serious health issues are happening and that my blog posts are a little untimely. I made a mistake. Well intentioned, but I didn’t know the whole story.

A few things have happened since my post yesterday. Katie brought my attention to this and so I read ahead, some of the blog posts from this month. This lead me to a post about all the other friends and famly who participated in #30forSam – what a turnout!

Today I just want to say sorry for not knowing more of the story before writing this series of blog posts. I also want to point to all the great work of the afore mentioned #30forSam people – this list blew me away. Congrats to Sam and Jenny for the wonderful community of people you have cheering you on, supporting you in so many ways.

My posts pivot from here, but my commitment is in tact.

run

Indoor run again during a busy day at work, 2+miles on the Curve, this after a big 50-minute interval workout.

from the blog

Community: friends who spend their own precious time to support a friend, totally inspiring #30forSam participants.
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prayer

God, thank you for each person who participated in the 30-of-something challenge. What a turnout, what a story, what an inspiration. Friends and family are special. We need to be well-connected to these people in the good times so that we can walk step for step together during the difficult times.

30 for Sam (Day 4 of 30)

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Day 4 of 30
Today I was back at work and so I was able to do my run on the Curve machine in more normal running conditions. Long day at work (writing this after 10pm) means short blog post. 

run

2+ miles on the curve

from the blog

I read many different parts of the blog today and realized I need to digest more Sam’s story. I was trying to catch up in chronological order and pull my readers with me; I need to fast forward and even pivot my narrative. I’m thankful for Sam and Jenny’s story. 

prayer

God, use our stories to tell Your story. 

30 for Sam (day 3 of 30)

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Day 3 of 30

Five days into Sam’s 7-day chemo drip last June, his spirits were down. But he and Jenny needed to keep their heads down and keep going. Sam needed three blood transfusions that day, so they started connecting the dots. People were asking how they could help so they put a link at the bottom of the post to give blood.

I wonder if anyone did.

Jenny asked for something else – she asked for pictures to be posted on Facebook, “tag Sam.” In the process, she said, “now I’m really asking a lot.” I don’t know Jenny or her writing, but as I read the post today she seems sincere. “I’m asking a lot, for you guys who are mostly in really good health to donate blood (easy, one hour?) and post pics on Facebook (easier, 20 seconds?). It’s the least we could do as we support Sam from afar.
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Today’s high temperature in Oregon, WI was about 3 degrees. The wind chill was south of 10 below zero all day. In my mind, running two miles was the least I could do to support Sam from afar.

run

2.0 miles to Rome Corners middle school

from the blog

Sam, you’re a gamer!

Last night we celebrated solstice out on the 4th floor patio and played a game of HORSE with the deflated basketball out there. You’ll all be amused to know that he still beat me even though his left arm was hooked up to all his IVs the whole time.

prayer

God, keep a competitive spirit in Sam. I don’t know the struggle of chemo but I imagine the physical and the mental aspects are a scary one-two punch. Give Sam the strength to fight.

30 for Sam (day 3 of 30) from Hans Schiefelbein on Vimeo.

30 for Sam (day 2 of 30)

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Day 2 of 30
Simplicity is good, specially when you’re starting something new. Eliminate the things that will add complexity while you’re trying to establish a new rhythm. Today I did my second run in the #30forSam challenge of running 30 days in a row. I ran the same route as last night; sorry, no vlog entry today.

run

Same 2.2 miles as yesterday, up South Perry Parkway.

from the blog: Whaaaat is happening with Sam

So far he’s just been putting his head down and dealing with all of this with incredible grace.” – Jenny, 6/21/15

prayer

God, I read on the blog that Sam loves smiles. We need people in the world that value smiles. Please give those to Sam and help others around him value smiles in the same way that Sam does.

30 for Sam (Day 1 of 30)

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Day 1 of 30

Dear Sam,

Happy birthday! I’m sorry you can’t do your traditional cross-country ski, which this year was a 30k! I am taking the #30forSam challenge by running at least two miles for the next 30 days.

I appreciate your challenge and I am eager to hear more about your story. I heard about this on Tuesday from your wonderful sister Kate when I ran into her at Colectivo on Monroe Street. It took me a couple days to figure out my interpretation of this challenge and I’m looking forward to the next 30 days. I enjoy running, writing, and praying. So I’ll be incorportaing all three aspects to each day’s blog post. Today I even added a video, so technically this is a vlog!

#30forSam (1 of 30) from Hans Schiefelbein on Vimeo.

 

Each day I will engage with my body, mind, and soul. I will:

  • run at least two miles (physical)
  • learn about you and Acute Myeloid Leukemia through your blog (mind)
  • pray for (heart and soul)

Run

2.2 miles around Oregon, up South Perry Parkway

From your blog: 6/19/15, Reliving the past week and realities of hospital sleeping (Jenny).

Jenny wrote “there are myeloid leukemic cells in Sam’s bone marrow.” Simple words, powerful implications. And she ends, “Oh well, let day one begin.”

Prayer: God, I ask for strength.

For me this is day one of looking into Sam’s life, and I cannot imagine the struggle and the journey. And my response is a plea for strength for Sam.

30 for Sam

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Sam has a tradition. Every year on his birthday he cross-country skis his age. Today Sam turns 30, but there’s a problem. Sam has been battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and won’t be able to complete the challenge this year. Let’s put him on our back and get it done.

Here’s what we’re doing. The Sam Weis 30k challenge is where you do 30 of something. Not everyone can ski 30k, so maybe it’s a 30 minute walk. Maybe it’s a 30-mile week of running. Or 30 days of some type of activity. The point is to get in the game for an athlete that’s currently on the sideline.
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I heard about this challenge kind of late (Tuesday to be exact). A long challenge like 30 miles or even 30k is pretty tough at this point. So my contribution for #30forSam is to run at least two miles each day for 30 days. I’m streaking for Sam!

You’ve probably never met Sam. I’ve never met Sam. But Sam needs some smiles and some inspiration. I hope you will join me to and do 30 of something for Sam. On your social media of choice or in the comments of this blog, use #30forSam.

Thanks for reading.

Up and to the right

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We are a full week into the new year. So where are you at? Have I removed this blog post far enough to avoid the temptation of resolution talk? That was the goal.

And yet there is still a goal. There always needs to be a goal. What’s yours? Mine is to sleep more. What?! A health and fitness pro that wants to sleep more? Absolutely.

For about a year now I’ve trained clients (on average) at 5:40am Monday through Friday. I love the mornings. But it makes for a long day since I often also have clients mid- to late afternoon. I’ve done a good job of limiting the early evenings I work both for my health and for family time. Katie has (too often but necessarily) been telling me that I need to take better care of my body, and she’s right. The benefits of sleep have been well documented. As a man in pursuit of a healthy and disciplined lifestyle, I need to have a plan in this area of my life.

New tool: FitBit

I recently purchased a FitBit for a class I’m starting. FitBit, Jawbone, Microsoft Band, they’re all interesting options and they all have one goal: get you healthier. For me I don’t need more steps; I don’t need more flights of stairs. I need to improve my sleep and the past week I’ve increased my hours of sleep each night. Just having this single piece of data has really helped me this week. It breaks down my goal of a healthy lifestyle into a manageable task, and I’m winning!

This has gotten me very interested in data. I realize data isn’t for everyone, and it’s easy in my profession to talk over people with all the exercise science discussions. But at the same time Madison is a university town, there are smart, educated people here. I find myself always guiding the discussion back to their work and their family life – without goals and managing information, you wouldn’t succeed in anything that has meaning. Setting goals, knowing the numbers, and devising a strategy to improve those numbers are the keys to victory.