Since I've had a few friends inquiring about my running schedule, I decided to post it here.  As I looked around I noticed that plans varied a good bit depending on whether you considered yourself a novice, intermediate, or expert.  I ventured into the intermediate territory and found that within that group there were still many options.

Some schedules focused on really pounding out pavement, ensuring you get many miles under your belt during preparation.  On those plans, the weekly long runs tend to be much farther than your target race distance.  That is not the type of plan I was looking for.  Rather, I wanted a plan that varied routine day to day.

In the end, the one I chose gave me the variance I wanted.  It may include running nearly every day of the week, but it also changes up the expectations by varying between interval, distance, and tempo runs, not to mention the cross training day.  Anyway, here is the one that I decided to go with.  It was an eight week plan that I found on running.com.  I only made minor alterations to stretch it to 11 weeks.

* I apologize for the pain, but to make it fit on the page I had to shrink it to this size.  Just click on it to open up a full size picture.

Political Shout Out

If you know me well, you realize that I do not claim a party affiliation. I support candidates, not parties and I always vote a split ticket.

The latest politician to storm onto the scene deserves a shout out for sure. Scott Brown just seized the 41st Republican seat in the Senate. That was quite a task considering who recently vacated that spot. The seat in question was not only held but basically owned for 47 years by the late Ted Kennedy. If you don't know who that was, you may stop reading...

Brown's victory marks a huge shift in the power struggle in Washington. The "super seat majority" held by the Democrats is no more. When that majority was originally established, I was happy about it due to the fact that I assumed that some items may actually get passed. The gridlock that typically exists in Washington, although very necessary, is quite annoying because it seems that nothing ever gets accomplished. I thought that the super seat majority would be beneficial to help alleviate some of the gridlock and push some items through, but after seeing the way things have progressed I'm happy to see that majority dissolved.

Perhaps Brown's victory is more of a testament to people wanting to stop the Health Care Bill than it is to his own merits, but either way the seat is his. Congratulations to him for that. In addition to the actual victory, I have to say that the one item that deserves a little attention is his statement concerning who that seat belongs to. It was one of the best comments I've heard from a politician in a while and deserves repeating. When asked if he would be the one to sit in Teddy Kennedy's seat (to block the Health Care bill), he responded:

" with all due respond, it's not Kennedy's seat and it's not the Democrats' seat. It's the people's seat.."

Awesome! That is why Scott Brown deserves today's political shout out!

A Few Good Ones on Quality

The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.

- Tony Robbins

The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.

- Martin Luther King Jr

In the race for quality, there is no finish line.

- David T. Kearns

Life is Good!

This was quite a weekend. A few random things:

I finally took down my Christmas tree. I know, I know. What a slacker for waiting three weeks after Christmas to do so! My kids suggested that we just leave it up until next year... uh, no.

Some of us attended the World Beer Festival in Columbia on Saturday. I had previously heard about how much fun that event tends to be, and I was not disappointed after making my first appearance this weekend. Not only did I fully enjoy myself, but I will definitely be attending this every year!

Working out is going very well. I still have something pulled in my left pec, however I can do many other exercises to avoid that muscle and still make huge gains, and that is exactly what I've been doing. Also, my running is going very well. I just started week two of an 11 week training schedule in preparation for this year's Bridge Run and I'm feeling great!

Also, right now I'm amidst a long weekend. Jackson and Alex are of school today for Martin Luther King Day, so I took the day off to spend time with them. We've enjoyed the day thus far playing basketball at home, hitting the gym, and lunch at Chick-fil-A. Now is trampoline time and later this afternoon will either include bowling or Edventure. hmmmm, which to choose...

Last but not least, I'm riding pretty high right now due to my personal life. Since it really is personal, that is all I'll say about this issue right now, but it will suffice to say that I am extremely happy. More so than I have been in a while. Like the title says, Life is Good!

Making the Turn

2009 was an interesting year for sure. Lots of changes for me, especially near the end of the year. I wont delve into all of the changes, but I really feel that I'm "making the turn". In what way? The answer is that there are many ways; socially, emotionally, athletically, and even professionally just to name a few.

Just to go into a few aspects of change:

I couldn't be more happy with where I am in my life right now. Of course some things are still working themselves out with my separation, but now that it's said and done, we're both happy with the results and we're able to be ourselves more now than we have in a long time.

Professionally, I'm learning so much and starting to feel pretty good about my new position. Not that I didn't feel good before, but my excitement over my job previously were based on how I thought I'd like it. Now it's due to me actually doing my job. Still lots of learning, but I'm also enjoying the actual position.

Athletically, I'm in a wonderful place right now. I'm working out a lot. I'm playing basketball once a week. I'm running. In addition to what I'm doing now, the cumlative effects of what I've been doing is really what I'm excited about. I really feel that in the last six months I've transitioned from an ex-athlete trying to stay in shape into an athlete again. That is teh epiphany that I had earlier today and that was what originally gave me the inspiration for this little post.

I'm in a very good place right now and yes, I'm making the turn!

I Have Heat!

It was a humbling experience. What do I mean by that? Well, anytime you are shown that your suffering is from your own ignorance, you have to feel a bit humbled; at least a little less smart than you felt just before being shown how ignorant you were. That was what happened to me.
After all was said and done, I was without hot water for 11 days. I had heated water on the stove for the boys baths twice during that time. The rest of the time, luckily they were with grandparents or with Stacy. For myself, I had mainly showered at the gym. We managed but it sucked. Not only that but I was beginning to get pretty annoyed with the handling of the situation by Lowe's. The fact that they give the plumber a 48 hour window to schedule the inspection, and another 48 hours to turn the paper work in, in addition to the time between when the scheduled the inspection and the inspection date, is quite annoying. In the end, it was that other company's fault, but the time frame that Lowe's allows is a bit much in my opinion. Luckily they have wonderful people working there that I was able to discuss with and they made me feel better. That being said, I did end up leaving to buy from someone else.
After getting a few verbal quotes, I had one other company come out to give an official quote on replacing the unit. Before he gave the quote, I asked him to see if he could figure out what was wrong with it. When I found out the cause, I felt like an idiot. When I originally went out to relight the pilot light and failed, I did not fail due to a broken unit. I failed due to my ignorance on the product. It apparently has a safeguard that requires you shut off the gas completely, before you can turn it back on and light the pilot. Wow. I had messed with that thing for hours and had never turned it to the OFF position (which was not marked). He simply turned it off, waited 20 seconds, then lit the pilot. Finished. 11 days of no water and it was just the Pilot light. Wow.
I may have felt stupid, but one ignorant moment is way cheaper than replacing a hot water heater!

Sans Heat

Wow! My 11 day break from work was awesome. Christmas Eve, Christmas, Weekend, 4 days of vacation and New Year's Day followed by another weekend. I don't think I've ever had that many days off in a row. Of course I had great intentions of what to get done and in the end very little of that list was completed. That being said, I really enjoyed my break... with one exception. When I got up on Monday, Dec 28th and attempted to shower I had a very bad realization: NO HOT WATER!!!
My thoughts: No problem. Surely the pilot light was just blown out. If I relight it, I'm good to go.
Let me back up a moment. About 6 months ago I had to have my hot water heater serviced because it was leaking. They fixed it, but also told me that it was on it's last leg. I noted that and moved on.
So Monday I attempted to light the pilot, but to no avail. The problem was obviously something bigger. My heater is outside, encased in a hot water heater "shed". The shed it a tin building that looks to have been made about 50 years ago. Looks awful and dilapidated. I took the front cover off revealing the hot water heater and the install date of 1988!!!! Holy crap! That thing has been humming for 22 years!
I called it in and they said they could be there in the morning. Then I thought about it and said to myself, if I pay all this money to fix it now and then replace it in 6 months that will totally suck. So I decided to cancel the service call and head to Lowe's to buy a new hot water heater.
I went in, picked one out and attempted to buy it. Why did I only attempt? Well it's simple; to purchase a gas hot water heater you must first pass an inspection certifying that your house is up to current codes. So the next step was to schedule the inspection. Lowe's made a call to get me on the list and said that the company would call me within 48 hours to set up the inspection. Really? 48 hours. That is ridiculous. As it turns out, I'd have been happy with 48 hours without hot water, but it didn't stop there. They took the full 48 hours to call back. When they called me (on Wednesday), they informed me that it would be Monday before their next available appointment! Wow! Seriously?!!!! I accepted the appointment and met them Monday morning for what turned out to be a 5 minutes inspection. Luckily I'm up to code. I was informed that he was taking the paperwork to Lowe's and once they processed it, Lowe's would call me so that I could finally purchase the hot water heater. Today is Wednesday. Still no call. The paperwork HAS to be in their system by now. I'm going by this afternoon to buy it. If there is any problem with it, I'll probably go elsewhere. For now, I'm still Sans Hot Water.

As a side note, one may wonder how I would bathe during this time. Well, when the boys are at my house, it's a task to warm water on the stove and transport it to the bath tub. That takes a lot of warming!!! However, when I haven't have the boys I have spent much time at Gold's Gym. Whether I work out or not, I go every day to get that shower. Ha! It has made me work out a lot though, so that is a nice little bonus to this annoyance.

The Countdown to Christmas

Christmas is approaching at an alarming rate. We're 2 days away and I'm not ready! The boys' presents are stashed away, but unwrapped. Tonight I guess I'll do some wrapping. Also on the agenda is more house rearranging. Last night I started the process of switching my living room with my dining room. Yeah, probably not the best time to do it with the hectic Christmas stuff going on, but I decided it was a good time to make the change. I only did a little bit of moving before going out last night. So my house is now in disarray, I have at least an hour of moving furniture planned and I have to wrap presents before going out again tonight. The kids are home tomorrow so time is running out. What a crazy, yet fun time of year!

Busy Weekend

This weekend was lots of fun.
First off, on Saturday I had my second of two personal training sessions. This time we did legs. If the first session was any indication what was in store over the next few days, I'd struggle to walk by Monday night. hahaha. Funny, but oh so true.
Saturday night it was a night on the town. We had a good time and ended up watching Dallas ruin the Saints' hopes for that perfect season. I loved it.
When I awoke on Sunday morning, my legs hurt but it was only one day later so they true soreness had not set in as of yet. My plan was to use my legs all day to work out the soreness before it set in. How did I plan to do this? Well, by golf and basketball of course!
I joined friends at Lexington Country Club for a round of golf. I had never played there before and was looking forward to it. Rob suggested that we walk it and since that is just what I needed, I agreed. We had such a good time. My score was definitely nothing to write home about, but we enjoyed ourselves. After the round and a little food it was time to head home. Unfortunately, I only had about 15 minutes at home before heading out to play basketball. I play pickup ball on Sunday nights. Well, recently I have. I'm still one of the "new guys" and I've been trying to find my shot. Last night was my best showing yet. Still a little rusty, but I was able to do most of what I wanted to on the court and my teamed fared very well. After 2 hours of ball following the 4 hours of walking the golf course, I was spent. I had achieved my goal of working out my legs, but was now totally beat.
I made it home in time to watch my Vikings get beat up on by a bad Carolina team. Not a good day for my teams. Green Bay and Minnesota both lost. An unfortunate item for me in what was otherwise a great weekend. Now it's off to a short work week before Christmas. Still have presents to wrap and presents to buy. It will be a busy few days!

Oh My God!!!

I've always said that 2 days after a hard workout is the worst. How in the hell did I forget that fact?! Yesterday my shoulders hurt. Today I would swear that someone stabbed them repeatedly... so much pain... better lead to so much gain!

Personal Training

Wow! What can I say? I showed up last night for my personal training session. Remember, this is was my freebie for signing up at Gold's Gym. Actually, I found out last night I get 2 free sessions, the first of which was the one that I used last night.

A few thoughts I had before showing up.
(1) I've been in and out of the gym my entire life, so I hoped to gain insight into some new exercises that I had not done before more than I wanted a "workout guideline".
(2) Many of those that sign up for the free sessions have never really worked out before and so their sessions tend to be more of an introduction to the gym. Having already been in decent shape before showing up, I assumed my routine would be quite different than most.
(3) To continue the sessions would be expensive and I have no intention of doing more than the free sessions.

I walked in to find Tony, whom I had originally scheduled with. He walks over with a huge smile on his face and said, "I actually have a conflict so I've asked Bobby to handle your session. I told him that he can't wait to see you because you are in phenomenal shape and that he should really be able to break you down pretty good and show you some new stuff." Excellent! That is what I wanted to hear, although I disagree about the phenomenal shape compliment. I consider myself just somewhat fit. Also, if I were the trainer and I was trying to sell personal training to someone, my lead in would probably not be "hey, you are already in phenomenal shape!" ha!

So I sat down with Bobby and talked about my goals and how we could vary workouts to keep my body confused so that I would have continual gains. Meanwhile I'm realizing that although Bobby knows what he is talking, so do I. Due to my past experiences I already know everything he is telling me. Of course it's nice to have it reiterated to you. Oh, back to the subject of my goals. I would love to put on some muscle but not get too bulky because that would conflict with my competitive running. So my ultimate goal is to get shredded, totally cut up. Also, I want to focus on building my shoulders. Even back when I was pretty big and strong during my football days, my shoulders lacked the size I wanted. In addition, I'd like to get my body fat back down in the single digit range. I've only been there once in my life and would love to achieve that once again.

We continued talking and he measured both my weight and body fat percentage. This is key for me because it will give me a basis for comparison. I'll note this and come back every few months to see what progress I've made. For the record, I currently weigh 221 lbs and have 18.7% body fat. Not good by any means, but also not bad. About two years ago I had over 26% body fat (and in men, over 25% is clinically obese!). I'm definitely headed in the right direction!

Then it was on to the gym floor. The plan is to do 30 minutes of weight training and 30 of cardio on an average day. Yesterday was no average day by any means. It took much less time to totally annihilate my muscles.

Since this was a first assessment, he said we'd do a mix of upper and lower body, focusing on shoulders. When he walked up with 15 lb dumbbells I almost laughed but knew what was in store. I wont go into details of the super-sets, but it will suffice to say that rotating multiple exercises, having little to no rest, and doing high reps was brutal. Before I was done, I had dropped from 15 lb dumbbells to 5 pounders. Wow. After multiple stations with almost no rest my arms were spent so we did some leg extensions and lunges. That was it. 25 minutes of weights and I felt like I had completed 2.5 hours. Did it work? Well, I'll tell you this; my shoulders are extremely sore today. I may have been broken off yesterday but today I'm reaping the benefits. Oh, and I did 20 minutes of cardio as well. That was plenty!

In addition to having a great (and quick) work out, I was introduced to some new exercises. I couldn't be happier about that fact since it did address my original intend. Now I have some new items to introduce into my workout routine. I am going back on Saturday for my follow up session. I hope to learn much more!

Oh, one more thing. They gave the sales pitch for future sessions. VERY EXPENSIVE. If you don't know what you are doing or if you lack the drive to make yourself stay in the gym it's probably worth the expense, but in my situation it's just not worth the money. I'll talk to them every few months to get a feel for my body fat percentage, but that's about it.

All in all, yesterday was a great session!

Gold's Update

Working out is going well and it really feels good to be getting back in the groove! I've been a member of the gym for 6 days, and have been in for 3 workouts. Not bad considering I was out of town for part of the weekend. After only a few visits, this is what I see:
(1) After years of half-ass workouts, I feel both invigorated doing the real thing again and blown away by just how weak I've become!
(2) I can see already that my body is responding. Give me 6 weeks and I'll be a new man. That's 3 weeks this year, and three weeks in the crazy January New Year's resolution craze.
(3) 5:30 is a crazy time to work out. Yesterday was my first visit at that time. Not only did I struggle to find a parking spot, but the free-weight area was jam-packed. Wow, I can't imagine how it will be in January.
(4) The future is bright!

Not only do I feel slight signs of progress already, but I also have my free session with a personal trainer tomorrow. That came free with sign-up and I figured, "hey, why not?". I, like many, fall into ruts and do the same routine nearly every visit to the gym. I figure this free session will shed some light on areas of my body that I neglect as well as give me an introduction to the parts of the gym that I don't use often. In reality it's only been a few days, but I'm excited about my progress to come!

Starting Anew

Perhaps you see the title of this post and assume I'm going to be talking about Starting anew after 9 years of marriage. Not the case. This is about something much less significant.
I'm talking about working out. Two years ago we switched gyms to join JCC. Why? Well they do have a pretty decent facility, but the real reason we joined was to get a huge discount on their summer camps for the kids. My joining we received the discount and we also gained a gym, which I fully intended to use. Guess what? I was just like a large majority of those with gym memberships; I hardly used it. In the two years, I bet I used the gym 10-15 times. Ridiculous.
Two items prompted my change. First off, the family membership we had a JCC was no longer right for me. I needed a personal membership somewhere. Secondly, I've been watching the new Gold's Gym go up for the past few months. I had full intentions of checking it out when it opened. Well, I passed by there on Tuesday and saw a "now open" sign so I called to checked it out. As it turns out, they were actually opening on Wednesday morning. Excellent!
Wednesday I had the day off from work to play in a golf tournament. This left the morning open as the perfect opportunity to check out the new facilities. I took the tour and was blown away at how much they had available at that location. It was so much better than what I was used to; many more machines, many more free weights, many more options included 160 classes per week. I think I'm going to check out an ab class first, but I digress. I immediately signed up and got in a quick workout before golf. That turned out to be a bad idea in terms of my golf game, but I couldn't be more happy about the new gym membership.
Now the big question: will I use the membership? You're damn right I will. I'll tell you many reasons why:
(1) the gym is right around the corner from my house so it's much more easily accessible
(2) it's top of the line. I was a member of Columbia Athletic Club a few year back which is close, but they didn't have the availability of weights and machines, so this will be much better.
(3) I already have a decent fitness base with all of the running I've been doing.
(4) I've said for years that if I were a single guy, I'd be a gym rat. Guess what? My current situation has provided me the opportunity to prove that I meant what I said.
(5) after so many years away from real lifting, I've gotten soft! I used to warm up with the weights that I struggle with now and that is very disheartening, and equally motivating.
(6) relating to #4, I have the free time to pursue the fitness that I've wanted for years.
(7) very important - when the kids are with me, they have an awesome facility for them too. Cool movie area, Nintendo Wiis, and actually stuff to do to keep them busy and have fun.

All that being said, I'm totally pumped about my new gym. After so many years of not working out like I should, getting back in it now is like starting anew, and I cant be more excited about it.

It Does the Body Good

For years while I participated in athletics I stayed banged up but really never had to sit out of competition or practice. Why you may ask. Well, the truth is that I frequented the Chiropractor. It's amazing not only how much better your body feel, but also how much better it operates when:
(a) you feed it healthy foods
(b) you exercise
(c) you ensure that your body is properly aligned

Many times I read in magazine articles or on websites about the importance of nutrition and exercise, but seldom to you see emphasis on body alignment. I will tell you the truth, if not for chiropractic appointments I would have sat out many a practice in pain. Many people don't give chiropractic work the credit it is due and give more focus on "fixing something" that may not be the root cause... which often ends up leading to pain killers and/or surgery. Luckily I have a family that has always believed in the body possessing much of what it needs to heal itself... but this only works when you take care of your body. I am digressing but I think you get the point. If you have proper alignment, your body works better, feels better, and heals itself better.

After I ended my collegiate sports career I no longer had the strong dependence on chiropractic. Basically I had aches and pains but nothing like when I was banged up from football. That being the case, I quit going. I always wanted to go back, especially when I'd have nagging pains come back, but I was... for lack of a better term, lazy. I didn't make it a priority. If you've been following my blog long, you've heard me mention my hip pains that flare up when I run a lot. Well, those pains, as well as some back and neck stiffness, finally prompted me to return to chiropractic. I went on Wednesday for my first time in years and man did it do the trick. I left feeling so much better and I fully intend to stay committed to going. I owe it to myself to take care of myself. Nutrition and exercise only do so much.

The visit was not just a quick crack or two. It consisted of x-rays, stem therapy on my neck, stretching and cracking all up and down my spine and a discussion of what is needed. Two big items came up. First, my pelvis is rotated. Bang! That is what is causing my hip pain when I run. That issue is what we're going to work on in the coming weeks, attempting to get it rotated back and get full movement rotating both ways. This alone will be worth getting in there.

Also, the doctor noted on my x-rays that I have an old football injury. Many with neck pain from car accidents are familiar with problems with their C5 vertebrae. This is the most common neck injury from vehicular accidents. It just so happens that it is also one of the common injuries to football players due to the repeated head collisions. Anyway, my x-ray showed that this vertebrae was misshapen and causing disc issues. It was not so far gone that it is a huge concern, but it was way too far deteriorated for a 32 year old man. Scary. I had never been aware of this and although there is nothing I can do to revert the injury, I can avoid too much deterioration now that I know about it. I am so happy that I made the leap to get back in there and look forward to a happier, healthier future due to it.

If you've never ventured into chiropractic, it could be very well worth your time to check it out.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Last night was an eventful night in many ways. I'll go into a little detail about three of the items and yes, you guessed it... good, bad, and ugly.

First off is the good one. I cleaned up my middle room in the house and designated that the Christmas tree room this year (since that room was basically empty at this point in time). I climbed up to the attic and retrieved all of our Christmas decorations and after dinner the boys and I put up the tree and decorated it. They had a blast, telling stories about the ornaments they made and previous years. It was very fun and they loved it. I took a few pictures but my camera is at home so pics will have to loaded later.

Next, the bad. A while back, October 5th if I'm not mistaken, a roofer had to fix a leak in our roof. Since then all has been well... that is, until last night. The torrential rain was too much and the leak sprung yet again. I found a small puddle in the kitchen and the ceiling was wet. Unfortunately I did not find this until the rain had stopped and I don't know where the leak is, but the roofing company WILL be coming back to fix it.

Moving on to the Ugly. In this transitional period that I'm in, I've tried to make work on the house a little, making it my own. Although that is great, I've yet to do some of the standard items like get the place straight! I have moved furniture around, but the place is a total wreck. This morning I realized how bad it was. Tonight I'm attacking it and eliminating the ugly!

So there it is; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Until next time,
O