Last year I was asked by the Wasatch Front Counselor Fair committee to come and present on staying balanced in a sedentary world. They must have liked it because they asked me to come back this year.

As many of you already know, I am very passionate about personal fitness and health. I also spend a lot of time working at the desk to manage and design websites. This type of lifestyle becomes taxing on the body, and without physical activity I would go crazy! That is why I love cycling so much and other fitness activities like yoga, pilates, running (not so much anymore due to knee stuff), etc.

I believe that in order to take care of our responsibilities, be it work, family, or other pursuits, we must take care of ourselves first. Why else do the airlines instruct putting on your own oxygen mask first before helping your child?

Fit people are more fit to help others. Happy people want to serve others. And when we take care of our personal needs we are more capable of building those around us.

So in my “Finding A Balance” presentation I cover the following:

• Why it’s important to focus on “you”
• Work life & related problems
• Solutions to stay fit in a sedentary environment

Resources:

• Core therapy exercises
• Powerpoint presentation with references & resources

22 years ago I fell 40 feet rock climbing in Ogden Canyon, shattering my left patella, breaking my tibia, and had my ear torn half way off. I had to have surgery where the doctor put in three pins two screws in my knee cap – surgery #1.

Two years after that accident, I crashed snow skiing and received a spiral fracture on the same tibia. A double whammy! The doctor put in a plate and 7 screws to support the spiral fractured tibia – surgery #2.

For more than a decade I favored my bad leg and avoided any major physical activity much more than hiking and some rock climbing… But running was definitely out. I got on an occasional ski slope, but the pain on the plate in the tibia was excruciating! So, about 8 years after getting the plate put in, I decided to have Dr Tom Bauman remove it – surgery #3.

This was a great decision. My pain reduced immensely and I was able to start new exercises such as running and cycling. From age 29 to 37 I’ve competed in more than a half dozen triathlons, finished two marathons, several trail running races, completed several 100 mile century rides, LOTOJA, and several other competitive cycle races. For the first time in my life I was able to become a very amateur endurance athlete.

In 2013 I started to experience some intense back pain and was diagnosed with spinal stenosis. This led me to reduce my running and to focus more on cycling. After several months of rehab I was able to forego a major surgery on my back. This was possible through lots of core exercises, massage therapy, chiropractor, and hours of yoga and pilates. I’m pretty sure this back problem is a result from my rock climbing fall I had 22 years before. Nonetheless, I had a great 2014 cycling season, and racing with the AtTask Canyon bicycle team has been a great experience.

Sometime around June or July of 2014 my left knee started to ache after long intensive rides and there was a strange grinding in my left knee. I went to the physical therapist and chiropractor and tried several homeopathic remedies to see if it could help with the pain in the knee. However, the pain continued, and so I succumbed to going to a doctor to get an Xray and an MRI. To my surprise, the x-ray showed that one of the screws was protruding through my knee cap had been grinding in my femoral knee joint – for 22 years! My response was laughter, I think as a mask of the anger I felt deep inside. After so many years this one accident in my life was coming back to plague me one more time.

I was referred to a Dr. Cooley who works out of the Park City IHC clinic and is at Tosh in Salt Lake City. He is an incredible doctor and came highly recommended by several athletic people and physical therapists. Upon his suggestion we decided to operate again to do in his words  “extensive hardware removal” from the left patella. surgery #4.

And Here I am today lying in bed in a straight leg brace and a super nice ice cooling system, and popping the occasional Percocet because the pain is so intense. I only hope that I can rehab and regain my mobility and perhaps even be a little bit stronger than I was before.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned through all this, it’s a lot of humility. I keep having to remind myself that this pain I feel, and these trials I have are to build better character and to make me stronger.

A little more collaborative creation. Glen wrote this short little mantra and I decided it reminded me of something you’d read in the Tao Te Ching. So I put the Wacom to use and brushed out some Chinese characters to display Glen’s wise words. The photo was taken a few years back while fishing on the Ogden river with my wife Angela. I will never forget those golden colors that blazed reflections on the water.

Text: Glen Gunnell
Photo: Tyler Toone
Chinese Writing: Tyler Toone

Here’s a little collaborative creative project that Glen Gunnell and I did. He did a blind scribble on the page and I had to come up with something. Well from that scribble the Dragon Samurai was born. It’s good to keep the mind fresh and the creative juices flowing.

Collaboration with Glen Gunnell
Text by Tyler Toone
Art by Glen Gunnell

Here’s my free-writing from September 30, 2014:
“I’m sitting in my car gazing over the valley as black clouds and streaming rain pours down upon the bustling city. Beyond the wall of rain the sun is brilliant white and yellow, and rays of sunshine pierce through giving a pristine, celestial glow to the world. I am in awe of this most magical site, and I’m glad to be sitting upon this hillside watching God’s creations and powerful weather patterns in action. Pausing you think, to take in such beauties is too often overlooked. I’m often guilty of this, but not today. Not today.”

“And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.” – J.K. Rowlings

I got some inspiration this morning listening to J.K. Rowlings commencement speech at Harvard 5 years ago.

Take a few minutes to watch or listen to this amazing speech.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

My friend Glen Gunnell recommended I read the book “Steal Like An Artist” by Austin Kleon, and it is a treasure box of amazing thoughts, ideas, habits, and simple truths. One chapter that rang true for me was “Step Away From the Screen.” I spend a lot of time in front of the screen, and while I enjoy it, there are times that I feel the life force being sucked out of me if I remain glued too long. Kleon quotes Lynda Barry, a cartoonist, “In the digital age, don’t forget to use your digits!”

“While I love my computer, I think computers have robbed us of the feeling that we’re actually making things.” – Austin Kleon

My Dad always told us to have a hobby or something that we can do with our hands. He always had his pocket knife or drawing pen, and during the years he suffered with cancer it was the drawing, sculpting, and carving that gave him the joy for life to keep a smile on his face in spite of the pain he had to endure.

Thanks for this life lesson Dad. I miss you, but every time I pick up a pen or my carving knife I think of the fun times we had.

You were a true artist Dad.