Doug Theis Leave your comfort zone.

Before dipping your hand into that bowl of M&Ms at the holiday party, think about what you’re about to do. A lot. A new study finds that people who imagine themselves consuming many pieces of candy eat less of the real thing when given the chance. The finding, say experts, could lead to the development of better weight-loss strategies.

Picturing a delicious food—like a juicy steak or an ice cream sundae—generally whets the appetite. But what about visualizing yourself eating the entire sundae, spoonful by spoonful? There’s reason to think that might have the opposite effect, says Carey Morewedge, an experimental psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Researchers have found that repeated exposure to a particular food—as in taking bite after bite of it—decreases the desire to consume more. This process, which psychologists call habituation, dampens appetite independently of physiological signals like rising blood sugar levels or an expanding stomach. But no one had looked to see whether merely imagining eating has the same effect.

More of the ScienceNOW article from Greg Miller

Dino Series‘ Tecumseh Trail Marathon is a tough race. 26.2 miles of trails through the hills of South Central Indiana. December weather. Frequently changing conditions. Team Ragged Glory members Steve Kincade, Nancy Gawrys and I (Doug Theis) made the decision to run it together and give it our best. We even laughed about bringing our on-foot towing system that we use in adventure races so we could have a little fun with some of the other racers.

In the days leading up to the 2010 Tecumseh, Nancy had to bow out because of a scheduling problem. And the weather forecast became threatening. The temperatures looked like they would hold steady at around 30 degrees. The weatherman called for 2-4″ of snow and sleet starting at 8am, 2 hours before race time.

Steve and I talked the night before the race about what we should do. We decided to make the decision the morning of the race. Neither one of us was thrilled with the weather forecast. I was especially worried about getting cold and wet. Since the race is a point-to-point, there isn’t much chance to bail out if you get in trouble.

On Saturday morning at 5am, the sleet/snow combination was falling steadily. The radar looked like it would be a full day of precipitation. If Steve wasn’t running, it would have been over right then for me. The bed was nice and warm. We could stay in Indy and run with Nancy early, then help her with her move. I was assembling a sophisticated list of reasons to skip the race.

More of the Team Ragged Glory blog post from Doug Theis

I’ve been thinking about my late father, Edward John Theis. The title of this post is one of his most memorable quotes for me. Although some think it sounds negative, his purpose was to remind me that the quest for excellence never ends, and that there is always opportunity to do more and to get better.

Ed Theis grew up very poor on the south side of Minneapolis during the Great Depression. He lived in a one bedroom bungalow with his parents. His father, Bill Theis, was an elevator operator in the Chrysler Building. Ed slept on the hide-a-bed in the living room. His family took in foster children to help pay the rent.

Ed joined the Army when he was 18, shortly after Pearl Harbor Day. During basic training, he met a man named Elmer Jones from Defuniak Springs, Florida. Ed and Elmer were stationed in Alabama, and one weekend, Elmer took Ed to Defuniak with him for a little down home cooking. Ed met Elmer’s sister, Bernice for the first time that weekend. They would fall in love and marry soon thereafter.

After the war, Ed farmed in Florida with Bernice’s family. But in 1949, a hurricane destroyed their home. Ed had been offered a job in Indianapolis by another war buddy, Orville Allen. Ed, Bernice, and their young daughter Gail packed their belongings and moved to Indianapolis. Indy was almost exactly half way between Ed and Bernice’s childhood homes.

Ed worked at an insurance company with Orville Allen until his retirement in 1982. He succeeded at whatever job he was given, whether it was management, data processing, or human resources.

During Ed’s retirement, he spent a great deal of time with my children. His kindness and generosity was noted by most everyone he met. A former alcoholic, he helped dozens of people with substance abuse problems through AA and through his eldership in the church.

Ed went home to be with the Lord in 2002. I miss his company and his advice. I honor his memory by trying to be as good a man as he was.

After the Urban Sprint Race this year, I was fortunate enough to sit in on one of the 2011 planning sessions with the race directors of the Indianapolis-based adventure races. Many topics were discussed, including cheating during an adventure race.

During the Planet Adventure Urban Sprint Race this year, an all-male team was splitting up to take advantage of the opening urban trek section. The team would send a fast member to the control, and the slower members would “cut the corner” and head off to the next control in the mean time. The rules of the race stated that team members must stay within 50 feet of each other at all times. The accused team ended up taking home winning trophies, but were later DNF’ed based on the evidence.

More of the blog post from Doug Theis of Team Ragged Glory

@TeamRaggedGlory is running 10-15 at Fort Harrison Saturday morning, November 20. Steve, Nancy and I are training for the Tecumseh Trail Marathon, put on by our adventure racing friend Brian Holzhausen and Dino Series.

Come play with us!