When my son ran high school cross country, the coach went to a certain amount of effort to not only get the runners in shape, but to also give them enough variety to keep their enthusiasm up. His senior year she found a place that the team always called, "the hill". I've heard it described many times not only by my son, but by his friends.

Last night my son said, "I think I'll go out tomorrow morning and see if I can still run the hill. Do you want to come?" It was too good a challenge to pass up, besides I was curious to see the hill. It's in an expensive residential neighborhood. The road starts out steep, as steep as any road I've seen in the mountains. About half way up it becomes a moderate grade. At the top there is a big cul-de-sac.

I looked up the incline and thought, "What am I doing here?" After some stretching, my son took off, digging in with each stride. I started with a jog. All too soon I was winded and my lungs were burning. I walked the rest of the steep part, and then began to run again. I took a lap around the cul-de-sac and started back down. The view going down was fabulous. My son was waiting for me at the bottom. "When we ran here for cross country," he said, "after we ran the hill, we took off down that road. It winds around but it's not too steep." I said, "Let's go!" It did not bother me that by the time I got to the car he had cooled down and wasn't even breathing hard. I had seen the hill, and I had run a respectable part of it.

If you are Type O, don't neglect the "intense physical exercise" part of this lifestyle. It is every bit as important to the way you feel as eating beneficials and avoiding avoids.