Corbin's World of Fun!

Well hello there

2012-02-08T22:21:00.002-05:00

So, its been a year and that's fine. I have finally made peace with what this space is and what I believe I will use it for. It is a personal space in of course a public venue. I guess I will be fine with letting those few that stumble onto this see into me a bit more than they really want.

Still recruiting docs, making shoes and trying to be the best human I can be. lets have some fun

Mike Watt is a Bass God

2011-04-14T22:08:00.000-04:00

Went to the Mike Watt show last night at Radio Radio. He and his band the Missing men played their latest punk opera and then finished the night off with some classic Minutemen tunes. So great. The band was tight. So tight that I can't remember the last time I have ever seen a band so tight. Just amazing.

If anyone does not know who Mike Watt is I strongly urge you to go and listen to some Minutemen. One of the greatest bands of all time and maybe the best embodiment of the Punk ethos. DIY and we will claim ownership of our own art. Or what we claim to be art is art. Mike always finishes a show with the command/call to arms "start your own band, paint your own picture, write your own book". Truer words have never been spoken.

It was so great to hear that and be in the presence of Mike because I was with good friends. One who is finding and following his own vision. Just like I am closer to mine than I have been in many years. And I thought of another dear friend who is struggling and looking for direction. My advise to him a couple of weeks ago. "follow your vision and dreams. Everything else be damned."
On my feet last night was the first pair of shoes I have ever made. Sure they are a bit ugly and don't fit that great. But I made them. With my hands, sweat, and vision. And with the same elements I will create many more over the next few months and years.

I can't think of a better thing to say than to copy the words that Mike is saying on another stage in a club somewhere tonight.

Start your own band. Paint your own picture. Write your own book

These shoes are made for walking

2011-02-13T17:29:00.000-05:00

Just about finished with my first pair of shoes. A couple more hours of work and then some finishing and they will be complete!

Want to know how to make your own shoes? Check out Sharon Raymond and the great work she is doing to get people up and running making footwear. I am so excited about the potential.

So many things I want to talk about over the coming weeks. Some topics jumping out of my head:

MovNat
Minimalism
Music
Craft
Bikes and more bikes!
Permaculture(especially zone .5/0)
Nature Awareness/skills

Very excited. Can't wait to get started

Time for change.

2011-02-06T10:51:00.000-05:00

So many things have happened, are happening. Let me think:

I have a new job! I left New Balance after almost 9yrs at the end of 2010. I am now working at a Physician recruiting firm here in town

Well thats the biggest change. What does this mean for me? One thing is that I am doing a completely new job in a very different industry than what I have been doing for the past 12 years. There are some very cool upsides however.

I now can ride to work(almost 1hr of training a day just by commuting!)
Way less hours working(from 100+ to 40ish!)
So much more energy and less stress
I need to calculate this but I bet I will get a raise in my "real hourly wage" Your Money or Your Life

I am also realizing a long held dream of starting my own business and becoming a craftsman. Next weekend I am attending a weekend shoe making course and plan on having my footwear company up and running by the end of the year! So far these are the leading choices for names:

basic footwear
sko designs

What do you think? If you like one or the other let me know! If they suck, thats great but you then need to offer a better one!!

Upcoming events with Corbin:

Running Clinic with PR Fitness on February 27th. PR Fitness
Mini-Marathon, Indianapolis on May 7th
MovNat clinic, Indianapolis on May 8th. MovNat

Very excited about the MovNat clinic. I have been fascinated with MovNat since seeing the first video's and am very pumped about learning more.

Ton's of great stuff happening that I look forward to sharing with you.

Let's Rock!

Corbin

New ideas, maybe a new blog

2010-09-21T22:27:00.000-04:00

I have been having some ideas on things that I find, and I think you would find fun. This may mean that the format that this blog has kept will not be the right one for this new direction. Still looking to flesh out the ideas that I have been working on. Will keep everyone posted!

So now what?

2010-06-29T23:07:00.000-04:00

So, I have now done the Mt. Washington Road Race and am pumped to get going again. So now what?

I have really felt the urge to get back to my roots as a cyclist and am itching to race cyclocross in a serious way this fall. Maybe ending the season with the Gravel Grovel and the Tecumseh Trail Marathon?

What are you doing this late Summer/Fall?

Mt. Washington Road Race

2010-06-23T21:20:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I completed the 50th Mt. Washington Road Race in New Hampshire. I have known of this event for a few years and given my not so secret love of mountain running it had always been on my life list of races I would like to someday do. Well, I can now check it off of my list.

My friend and colleague Pete Crawford and I were casually chatting a while back and the topic of Mt. Washington came up. Turns out that Pete also had the race in his list and suggested that we enter the lottery as only 1000 participants are allowed each year. Of course last year we did not get into the race. It seems as though you can sit on the list for many years without success and I was not surprised by the outcome.

Early in 2010 Pete and I were talking and he asked if I would be interested in joining him in the lottery. I said sure, of course concluding that we had little chance of getting in. Well, early one morning the first week of April I received a text. "we got in".

Suddenly my head was spinning and my heart pounding. Crap! I gotta get in shape! Cool I am going to get to run up a big mountain with a great history! Fear and nerves overpowered the cool for a while. I quickly put together a training plan and went to work on what I thought would put me in the best position for the ascent.

Training for the race went well for the most part. I can always improve my consistency, and my nutrition was not yielding results until I really buckled down and did the 30 days challenge from Whole9. I ended up loosing 15 pounds in the last month leading to a 205lb weight at the start.

Pete and I decided to drive to Mt. Washington. The trip was a bit over 1000 miles for each of us and we would meet in Columbus, Ohio and from there drive Pete's Prius. Good choice due to spending less than $200 on gas for the entire trip! Driving went well the first day and we stayed in Albany, New York. This was my first time in New York and I must say it was beautiful, rolling hills and big green valleys. Too bad the city gets all of the attention.

Rising early we drove on to New Hampshire and enjoyed a casual lunch before driving in to pick up our packets and getting our first view of the mountain. It was big...

Getting to the mountain the day of the race was easy and we parked and started looking for our ride down the mountain. They only allow so many car's to the top so we arranged a ride down with a wonderful couple. Thanks Lee and Suzanne for all of your help!!!

After a short and uneventful warm up it was time to get to the starting line. I did not feel great during the warm up but I know that for me it means little because I have had great races while feeling horrible early and horrible races where I feel like a rock star during the warm up. I saw Pete right before the start and wished him luck and then made my way to the back of the pack. The Cannon went off and away we went. The leaders were packed together as the turned the corner and started the ascent. One guy had gone fast off the front and lead for the first 1/2 mile or so, I am sure he paid the price for that exuberance.

My goal was to run more than I walked. That goal was quickly revised when we turned to the first steep pitch. Everyone was walking around me and going the same pace. From experience I know that when it is steep I can hike as fast as run with less effort. I started hiking.

The first couple of miles went by quickly. I would run the lesser pitches and the rare 10 feet of flat spot. It was hot at the start and I was soaked thru with sweat, with the lack of humidity compared to recent weeks back home I did not feel overly hot despite the increased sweat rate. I took 2 Endurolytes before the start and had 4 with me, as well as 3 gels. I took the pills at the 2nd and 3rd rest areas as well as two of my gels. By the 3rd water stop at the 1/2 way point I was starting to feel the effects of the heat and was hoping that I had not lost too much salt.

The halfway point also gave me an opportunity to look at my pacing. I went thru in around 1:08 I think. The same moment that the women's winner was crossing the line! Not a big deal but it was pretty obvious to me that I would not finish under 2:00 hr. That was the finishing time that the calculator had projected based on a reasonable 5k time for me.

Inside 4 miles we were still under tree line. Right past the 4 mile marker we went around a spur and the trees suddenly evaporated. A long, steep line of gravel road stared right back at you. And when you glanced up you saw racers thousands of feed above you. The corner is called something like "the holy cow corner" or something to that effect. Rounding it and looking up certainly has that desired effect. This race was going to start getting hard.

Right at about the 5 mile marker I felt my first signs of cramping. A bolt went through my left quad as I pushed off. Ouch, that's not good. Keep going, Focus on the next person and pull them in...

The next 2.6 miles were more of the same. I had to stop for a second at the last water station at mile 6 to make sure I got my last gel and plenty of water in. By that time I was cramping all over but was determined to keep moving as fast as possible and compete as best I could.

Right before the 7 mile marker I saw Pete and he had his video camera.

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/6870bff7d77406043fddd273766fc332/video/15357374

The last 1/2 mile felt so long. You could see the finish but it never seemed to get any closer. I tried to run the last flat section but cramps put an end to that quickly. Pete and I shared a good laugh at that. Oh, and did I tell you that the steepest section is right at the end! It is and it does deserve its moniker as "The Wall" because when you see it you feel like you need a rope and a belay.

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/6870bff7d77406043fddd273766fc332/video/15357363

I could not have picked a course that would exploit my weakness's any better. My power to weight ratio is not high and I suffer on climbs especially steep ones. 7.6 miles of steep climbing was perfect, and I enjoyed every step and cramp. It was an honor to share the mountain with 1000 others from the champions to the back of the packers like me.

I learned much. I promise not to forget the lessons.

Last post

2010-03-10T10:29:00.001-05:00

Hello,

So, as you may have noticed I have not been blogging much. And I have just decided that this is causing me undo stress that I don't really need.

At this moment this will be my last post on this blog. I may start another someday.

Thanks!

New Year, New Decade, New Me? Does there need to be?

2010-01-01T20:07:00.001-05:00

Jeez, that title came off better than I imagined... I have been thinking and writing a lot today... Not sure if I am gonna tell or make any big proclamations on this blog... I think actions speak louder than words and I talk enough.

LAST POST OF THE YEAR!!! ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!

2009-12-31T18:01:00.000-05:00

Last day of the year, and I bet the last post of the year! Like everyone else I have been thinking back on 2009 as well as planning and dreaming about 2010. 2009 brought many changes in my life. Some positive, others... Well, not so much. This should come to no surprise to many of you that I have not reached a # of my goals. Even goals that were stated here on this site.

So, with all that being said and thinking of next year I am planning on some big overhauls to the blog. Use it as an avenue to explore thoughts and ideas, track some training and play. And overall enjoy myself.

I hope everyone had a great 2009 and look forwared to talking with you in 2010

2009-12-23T19:49:00.000-05:00

Avatar

Rhonda and I went and saw Avatar this evening. This was actually a "date"! Fun to get out for a couple of hours and just try to relax..

We viewed the recently released Avatar. I know a lot has been said about this movie. For one it is the most expensive movie ever made($300million) However I must say that I feel a profound sentiment for the story.

I know that it is naive and silly to think that our meta culture will learn anything from this. It is the same meta culture that allowed it too be created. However, I hope that people can take home a feeling, study and learn that certain things about this movie are not exactly science fiction! Mycelium networks for one....

hmmmm....

2009-12-22T20:00:00.001-05:00

Well I am on vacation for the next couple of weeks. Got lots of things bumping around in my head.. May be a good time to work on putting them down on this blog..

Talk soon,

Day 4

2009-12-06T10:55:00.000-05:00

Great yoga class at Wendy's: www.healingspirityoga.com

Felt awesome to get my groove on

Day 3

2009-12-06T10:54:00.002-05:00

Well, this has not been much of a Intensity week. However I did do a bit of yoga:

Relationship yoga: 2hrs!

Day 2

2009-12-03T20:20:00.002-05:00

Shit..... Slept in because I was not feeling to well this morning...

Put yoga off.. and off... and off.. I'll do it when the kids go to sleep...

Kids did not go to sleep till 11. No yoga for Corbin

Shit

My 30 day Yoga Focus: Day One

2009-12-01T22:41:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to do a concentrated block of Yoga practice for quite some time. And a few months ago I thought that the month of December would be a great time to do a concentration on Yoga. This worked out even better since I had planned on just completing the Gravel Grovel and would be in a nice recovery month. The Gravel Grovel did not happen for me this month but the yoga focus still made since.

Day One:

5 Sun Salutations A
5 Sun Salutations B

Started the Ashtanga Primary series of foward bends

Worked on Hero pose

Then I worked into a focus of Pigeon Pose and some poses to loosen and work on my shoulders and back that has been hurting me recently.

Modified closing sequence

40 minutes total time.

Peak Oil Bloomington, Yoga, hanging out with the kiddo's

2009-11-28T22:29:00.000-05:00

Good day!

Started the day off early because my back hurt so bad I could not sleep.... Rhonda dug into it for a while and loosened things up nice...

Great Yoga session today... Been too long and it felt great!

Just read the Peak Oil proposal for Bloomington. Well put together and with some very feasable solutions to some upcoming big problems. Will anybody listen and implement?

Buy Nothing Day!!!!!!!!!!

2009-11-28T06:57:00.000-05:00

Well a successful Buy Nothing Day yesterday. Instead of riding the Gravel Grovel(sorry not enough training... Anyone have the results?) Rhonda and I hosted her mom and sister for Thanksgiving dinner. A nice time and a nice visit.

There is so much information hitting the world about Peak Oil and everything else that I am really wanting to talk about. I will put together my thoughts to share.

Big week with the social life! In addition to hosting a Thanksgiving dinner we also hosted Kevin and Monique from owlcreekprograms.com (very awesome people) and we will be hosting our friends Rob and Marly tomorrow night. Whew

Thanksgiving Workout

2009-11-26T20:17:00.000-05:00

Went up north to the Parents for Thanksgiving dinner. Nice visit.

Just got done doing a nice ski walk at Batch. 37 degrees with a stiff breeze. Welcome to November finally!

32 minutes total. Felt good to get reacquainted with effort again

Videos

2009-11-24T08:18:00.000-05:00

Videos

2009-11-24T08:08:00.000-05:00

Videos

Ouch

2009-11-15T07:49:00.000-05:00

Why has my back been hurting so much? It is not a "typical" lower back pain but tightness across a band of something that stretches across my shoulders. Ouch. I was up at 4am this morning because I just could not sleep.

I really need to focus on mobility and yoga to see if I can get this cleared up!

well well

2009-11-01T20:39:00.000-05:00

Its been a long time and I really have missed this.. I have lots of things to write about if I can only make the time to do it... Of course that is the case with many things in life right?

Been riding, working, relaxing

2009-10-12T22:12:00.000-04:00

HI!

Riding as much as possible to try and get ready for the Gravel Grovel www.gravelgrovel.com

I also have some longer posts planned. Just need time to sit and write them!

Permaculture class, right of passage, passing of a family member

2009-10-08T20:39:00.000-04:00

Well, today I started doing some of the work to get my Permaculture Design Certificate. Rhonda and her team are teaching a weekend course this winter and I am missing most of the first weekend. So, since Rhonda is taping some lectures for another student I am sitting in on the talks... More later

We are also in planning stages of Maya's right of passage ceremony into adolescence. We are working with Mark Morey to help plan this. I think this will be incredible..... More later

I am sad to say that my Aunt Ida May passed away yesterday. Both she and my eldest Uncle Joe have been ill for some time. Services are this weekend up in Russellville where my Aunt and Uncle have lived for many years. Ida May was 83 years old.

10/7/09

2009-10-08T20:34:00.000-04:00

So I thought I would post an interesting and effective workout I did today:

Steve Maxwell's 22 minute Kettlebell workout:::

1,2:Around the body pass

3,4: Halo's

5,6: figure 8 passes

7: Good morning stretch

8: Windmills, left arm

9: Squatting around the body pass

10: Windmills, right

11: Squatting around the body pass

12: Single Arm swing, left

13: Turkish get-up, left

14: Swing, right arm

15: Turkish get-up, right

16: Side lunges

17,18: Snatch, l&R

19,20: Clean&press l,r

21: Swing-catch squat

22: Deck squats

Never put the bell down during this workout. I did it with a #35 kettlebell

alright, alright

2009-09-30T23:46:00.000-04:00

Hey! I will write something....

I am inspired but its late... Listening to Born to Run and flowing good thoughts while Rhonda works on the next issue of Permaculture Activist.

Gonna head to Youngstown tomorrow to hang out with Dick Beardsley. Don't know who he is? Look him up and feel inspired!

Whew...... USAF is over and done

2009-09-20T20:51:00.000-04:00

Nice, I spent the day cashing in part of my Fathers Day gifts! I was gifted the "perfect day" consisting of Breakfast out, my choice of Yoga Class, Climbing, Zoo(Maya's preference) and some Slacklining. As well as a catered picnic, and a massage...

This weekend(starting Thursday) was the USAF Marathon. This is the biggest and most important event on my calendar this year. We for the 4th year was the official Footwear and Apparel sponsor and I had been working on the event since February. The event went off pretty well and I am honest in my relief that it is over... Events are not one of my strong suits and I was pretty stressed the past few months about it.

Today we went to breakfast at the Bakehouse, then I was treated to a very good massage from Rhonda and Maya... Oh that is so what I needed!!!! I also snuck in a really nice nap and ate a wonderful beef stew with a New Belgium 1554 brew!!!!

Last night kicked it all off... After coming home I went out for ice cream with my family and my parents. Saw a family friend who gave us a melon the size of a bowling ball. Watched The Big Lebowski and drank White Russians...

Tomorrow is a "high intensity" day... I am thinking barefoot hill intervals over at Bachelor

well then

2009-09-15T22:14:00.000-04:00

Jeez time flies,

What did I do the past 8 days?

Well, I went up to Brownsburg and worked out with the crew at Chris's house

Columbus Scottish Festival

Family dinner and slacklining at Mom and Dad's

Dayton Oh

Getting ready to go back to Dayton for the upcoming USAF Marathon!!! Phew I will be very happy when this event is over and everything is a success......

good day 9/7/09

2009-09-07T22:48:00.000-04:00

So, here is my day:

take Rhonda to Sanskrit class and play with the kids at the park

Can tomato sauce for the winter/spring

Read Exuberant Animal out loud while Rhonda spins and weaves

Go on a barefoot hike with the family at Lake Griffy

Grill local burgers and Brawts as well as veggie kabobs with Fat Tire ale

Go slackline with the family after dinner.

Do some yoga and stretching after getting home

Find out that Michael Franti and Spearhead are coming back to play Indy Oct 1!

Pretty damn good day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9/6/09

2009-09-06T20:29:00.000-04:00

Pretty tough the last couple of days with workouts. Worked on the yard/gardens yesterday so that was my workout.

Today was my No Intensity day. Cleaned the house and going to do some joint mobility....

Great visit by one of Rhonda and my closest friends April Simma. We have not been in the same room all together for many years. However the feelings of love and warmth and mutual respect flowed without interruption. Is it not cool how real friends no matter how long it has been you can just pick up seemingly right where you left off? We will not make it such a long time again.

Lets get real

2009-09-04T21:14:00.000-04:00

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-08-23-the-fallacy-of-climate-activism/

9/3/09

2009-09-03T23:15:00.000-04:00

In Dayton, Ohio.... in a hotel....

Tired and sore this morning. Nothing abnormal just the result of really good work. I am gonna do some yoga and some AIS stretching and hit the sack. I have been flipping between two Mel Brooks movies and LA ink. Interesting combo

So, I had been waffling a bit on a new tattoo. Rhonda put me straight so I am back in the search for good ink. Any one know someone who does a really good Lotus Flower?

9/2/09 Wednesday Worlds Cyclocross

2009-09-02T21:27:00.000-04:00

Pain... I think that is what a well rode cyclocross race is supposed to feel like. I was at threshold within a minute of starting and did not back out of it until the race was done. Just like I wanted

The course was great. I think we had nearly 20 riders tonight. Of course I was off the back right from the start but I fought and rode as hard as I could, I feel very good about the effort.

1:46 total riding. Too the race, race and then home

Hmmmmmmmmm.....

2009-08-31T23:06:00.001-04:00

Discuss?

8/31/09

2009-08-31T22:50:00.000-04:00

Nice strength and power workout this afternoon. Felt much better than yesterday and I really did some good work...

After a awesome dinner of Paleo meatballs, sauteed mushrooms, and Kale chips Maya and I headed out to the park to do some slack lining before dark.

We each did much better than ever with Maya almost making it all the way!

8/28/29/30

2009-08-30T22:30:00.000-04:00

Uh, hard to remember the past few days...

Worked out this evening and my daughter came with. I did not feel too powerful but Maya sure had fun! Climbing trees, and ape bars galore!!

We had a blast playing in the grass chasing each other around doing Ape, Crab, Lizard, and Bunny walks!

After another flying tackle by Maya she sat up and asked if I was ever embarrassed playing in front of other adults. I admitted to her that I sometimes was and asked if she was. She responded with no and I said that most "adults" don't play. But I thought that the world would be a better place if more did. She giggled with delight and rabbit ran to me with a big hug.

So, actually it was a pretty good workout

8/27/09 No Intensity

2009-08-27T21:54:00.000-04:00

Joint Mobility upon waking.

Walked 20 minutes to the dealership to pick up my truck...

Maybe some AIS stretching before bed?

Soundtrack: Cat Power Pandora channel

Training 8/25/09

2009-08-26T22:46:00.000-04:00

Wednesday Worlds Cyclocross:

First ever Wednesday Worlds Cyclocross event!

15 riders from Cat 1 to me met at the Sample Gates and rode to the pre-made course. Cyclocross is usually 45 min + 1 lap. I had planned to ride the race as a strong workout and just give my all. I am a bit handicapped because I was using my single-speed and everyone else was using a proper cyclocross rig.

The race started a bit later than I had planned so to save time and get home I decided that I would not ride the entire race. I warmed up with a few laps of the course and then I did 20 hard minutes while in the race. I did go down once as I was trying to nail the line on a fast corner with traffic coming up behind me. I was lazy and a bit tired and stayed in the saddle for the turn and slid out. No biggy just racing.

Nice tough course with a good bit of technical/power riding and long fast straights. I felt pretty good during the effort and was reminded once again of how much I do love riding and racing my bikes.

Training 8/24/09

2009-08-26T22:43:00.000-04:00

Nice Strength and Mobility session:

Beginners Mobility session (taken from Ido Portal)

Pullups and Ape Bars + balance work added to the circuit

Followed by Kettlebell work:

Swings
Clean N Press
Windmills
Swings
Double Kettlebell Front Squats

Cooled off by walking and doing vibration drills to remove any excess tension from the system..

So, I don't think I am gonna do Tecumseh

2009-08-26T22:35:00.000-04:00

After my conversation with Chris last week a I had a long chat with my wife. As for many of us our spouses know us much better than we really know ourselves.

We both agreed that I should put the endurance focus on the back burner for a while. For years I have been mesmerized by body weight feats of strength and flow. This fascination has lead me to Circular Strength Training, Functional Training, MovNat, etc. However as I said before I have had a hard time blending it with my endurance focus. So, with that being said I am for the next few months going to have fun and focus on other aspects of my physical training.

For the next 28 days I am going to focus on Flowfit. Flowfit is a CST practice that involves the 6 degrees of motion in a circuit. I am going to focus and have a goal of doing 15 rounds in 15 minutes of Level II flowfit by the end of this next month...

Can an old dog learn new tricks? Does he even want too?

2009-08-22T20:42:00.000-04:00

I had a great conversation with Chris Roche the other day. Chris used a hybrid Crossfit and endurance program to get ready for his recent ultra.

I am struggling with changing my training to a "non-traditional" periodization concept. I have played around for a few years dabbling into CST as well as a Gym Jones/Crossfit type approach. However I have always tried to fit that into my Endurance training. Never wanting to give up the idea that I am an endurance athlete.

Of course if you see me you would never guess that. I know that Crossfit/MoveNat/CST would get me in greater shape than the minimal endurance work I have been doing the past few years. Urgh!

Any one have any words of advice???

High Intensity Day/Hill work

2009-07-30T14:57:00.001-04:00

Ran at the Batch today:

16 minute warmup/drills

1:30 up
1 up
2 up
1:15 down
2:30 up
1:30 down
1 up
1 down

15 minute cool down Just under 1 hour

So, Lets talk Tecumseh Trail Marathon

2009-07-30T14:53:00.000-04:00

Did not think I was going to run Tecumseh this year. Endurance Mtn biking was to be my focus this season but with the new gig...

So, Tecumseh is back on the schedule! And, I am starting to work out for it. My main training will start August 31st. That is when I start the 3 month program I created based on the periodization plan in Consistent Winning. I will talk more about the program in future posts but I think it should be interesting

Start of a busy month!

2009-06-16T21:03:00.000-04:00

Gonna be a busy month of work. On top of me starting to think about my training block leading up to Tecumseh.

There are some cool trail races coming up and my friend Jim is putting on a free Mile race in Bloomington July 19. Tons of fun!

Two years Later

2009-06-15T21:55:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been two years since I started this little adventure. Sorry about the lack of posts but have not had a ton to talk about.

Just got back from the IU Permaculture class supporting Rhonda. I was asked by her mentor as well as Rhonda herself to join the teaching crew. So I have a lot of work to do before then. Namely finishing a PDC!

I have now gone 2.2 weeks without a soda. My longest time ever!!!!! I really think I have gone a long way to licking this addiction. Now 100 more to go!

Jeez, kill me now.....219/27%

2009-05-10T17:51:00.000-04:00

Crap.....

I could come up with tons of excuses, etc... But at the end of it all I am just not getting it done. Not getting it done on a few fronts...

Thanks for letting me vent.

Soundtrack:

Talking Heads: Physco Killer

Dinosaur Jr!!!

2009-04-15T17:31:00.001-04:00

So, I treated myself to a bit of a early birthday present. Last time I saw Dinosaur Jr was ahem... 17 years ago.... Yes, it is a bit gross to think that I have been around long enough to say (in old mans voice) Yea, I saw them way back in 1992!

Well to say it mildly they did not disappoint! The original line-up was in place with J., Lou and Murph kick'n the drums. And man were they LOUD!!! I am no expert but 4 4x15 Marshall Cabinets and 3 huge amps may have been a bit too much firepower for the Bluebird. It is D. Jr so would you expect anything less?

J. can really play that guitar! He has always been a "guitar god" of mine and it was cool that I found myself standing next to him watching the opening band. Pretty relaxed and excited to go rip it up.

Good night, great band!

Great Run

2009-04-15T17:25:00.001-04:00

So, last Thursday I had one of my best workouts in a while.

Did a 2x10 minute Tempo out at the IU XC course. I ran barefoot(of course) and it was excellent!!! The ground was good and spongy and everything felt really good.

Animals seen:

Meadowlark

Coyote(twice)

Pair of mating Kestrels

Pretty cool considering I was right on the edge of a 100,000 person city!!!!!! Very cool indeed

Sorry for the delay

2009-04-06T22:23:00.000-04:00

Last week was just a touch busy:

over 1000 miles driven

5 days, 2 states, 1 big whig from Corporate

16 meetings

Yes, I was tired after that!

Great workouts outside!

2009-03-25T20:52:00.001-04:00

Have had some great workouts so far this week! I have been going to a local park and it has really been nice just being outside, barefoot and playing... Really nice

Great weekend! 211/26%

2009-03-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

Great weather! My nephew Owen's 1st birthday was this weekend and we all went to my sisters in Ladoga for the party! Great fun as Quincy's birthday was last week as well!!!

Got home and went to the part to do my High Intensity workout. Got some great play done on the creek trail. Saw Cedar Waxwings flirting in the trees! Found out that the creek has seen human activity for nearly 10,000 years. That really sent me over the edge and just makes what I have been experimenting with there just all the more special....

Today we cleaned like mad and Rhonda had some friends over for a visit. I took the kids to the part and we played and had a good ol' time! I heard kids asking Maya where her shoes were, and I got some interesting stares from parents not approving of my footwear. Damn skin...

As for the weight/bodyfat... Kinda surprised by the gain in weight. Rhonda and I have both noticed a positive trend in body comp.. Maybe some water weight gain hypertrophy? The scaled did indicate that I was dehydrated which will push up the bodyfat% a bit...

Oh well I feel much better than a couple of weeks ago

Toledo/Fort Wayne/Cincinnati/Dayton

2009-03-18T21:50:00.001-04:00

Where is your work taking you this week?

208lb/25%

2009-03-18T21:49:00.001-04:00

Hmmm... I thought I had done a bit better this week. Oh well it is still a bit better then previous weeks...

3/10 Intervals

2009-03-11T20:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday before Maya's play I ran to the local middle school for some hill intervals:

45 min total

4x2:30 at level for max'd at 195bpm.

A bit sore from yesterdays workout but really felt better the 3rd and 4th interval.

Oh, and I did the whole run barefoot! It was awesome!!!!!

3/9: Strength!

2009-03-11T20:43:00.000-04:00

Great workout today:

Inspired by movnat.com and monkeybargym.com I went down the road and got an incredible workout/experience in.

100 m farmers walk with my duffel of rings and carrying 2 45 lb kettle bells:

Warmed up with Joint Mobility work and light calisthenics and a walk/run/tree climb/exploration of the local creek and trail

Got back to the equipment and did some skin the cats and other movements on the rings and then:
4x5
a. Kettlebell clean
b. Push Press

4x5
a. Front Squat
b. Deadlift

Finished the workout with more quadruped movement/tumbling/hiking/tree climbing/wading in the creek.

Great workout and even better experience. This is what I want my physical practice to be about. Movement, nature and feeling strong in my animal body.

Nice park day, hanging out with the family

2009-03-08T23:00:00.000-04:00

Good day at the Baird residence!

Slept in a bit

made coffee

cleaned the house a bit

Went to the park instead of my scheduled run. Just "monkeyed" around on the apparatus/playground equipment while Rhonda and Caden went for a walk. Felt good to pull and use my body in ways that I miss and have not done in a while. Saw an old friend of mine with his son and we had a chance to catch up.

Got home played with Huxley and Maya got to play outside with the chickens.

Rhonda and I (mostly Rhonda) cooked "Chicken Stew" from the Sally Fallon cookbook and it is awesome. Like a chicken beef burgeon!

nice ride, nice day

2009-03-07T22:29:00.000-05:00

Got out this morning for a nice ride. It was awesome to ride outside with out being all bundled up! Rode for an hour so that I had time to come home and help with re-mapping the gardens and let Rhonda get out for a run.

Maya, Rob, Caden and I went for a fun slack-line session this afternoon and then we had a nice quiet evening. Good times.

Interval workout/Half Pyramid Bike Thursday March 5

2009-03-05T08:27:00.001-05:00

10 minute warm-up
30 secs steady-hard: 1 min easy
60 secs steady-hard: 2 mins easy
90 secs steady-hard: 3 mins easy
120 secs steady-hard: 4 mins easy
150 secs steady-hard: 5 mins easy
180 secs steady-hard: 6 mins easy
10 minute cool down

This workout is only half of what Progression 1 of a threshold pyramid that the US XC team uses. I was on the trainer this morning and did my best to get a good workout in. I found it hard to get to the proper HR zone. Not used to the "hurt" on the bike at the moment. Zone 3 felt hard, until I pushed myself into the proper zone and held it there and the memories of surviving what I thought was"pain". I made friends with it again and enjoyed the hurt... Ah...

Playlist:

Nine Inch Nails: the slip

Interval workout/Tuesday March 3rd

2009-03-05T06:35:00.000-05:00

On my way home from Toledo I stopped by the Englewood Metropark outside of Dayton. After a nice warmup I completed a 3x4min level 4 interval workout.

Felt pretty good despite a bit of tightness in my hamstring. Only did three intervals because I did not want to push it too hard due to my lack of training.

209/24%

2009-03-02T21:00:00.001-05:00

a bit better. Still not getting anything in the way of workouts in.

210.6/25.6%

2009-02-23T22:12:00.000-05:00

So, tough week again with Booking deadlines and lots of travel. Oh, and throw a nice cold in there to make things really fun!!!

Great strength workout today!

2009-02-16T21:45:00.000-05:00

10 minutes of Joint Mobility work
15 minutes Flow Fit
30 minutes of vaious Kettlebell moves
swings
presses
windmills
Mr Spectacular

Felt good to work out hard. I think my key race may be bumped up a bit!

209/26%

2009-02-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

Just as I was afraid of. I looks like I am atrophy'ng a bit...

Michael Franti and Spearhead!!!

2009-02-15T22:00:00.001-05:00

Friday night I took Rhonda for a birthday/Valentines date to go see Spearhead in Indianapolis. If you are not familiar with their music do yourself a favor and check them out at www.spearheadvibrations.com

Awesome show and tons of fun for R and I! We do not get out too much and it was really nice to get some time to just be. Very nice indeed...

Good Tempo hill climb on the treadmill tonight!

2009-02-11T21:37:00.000-05:00

2x10 minutes at zone 3 effort on 11% grade. I hate treadmills but tonight with the weather it was the best choice. The good thing about treadmills is that it allows me to run extended climbs that I would not be able to run otherwise. Good practice for my budding Mountain Running career!

35 minute intervals/35 AIS stretch

2009-02-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

Felt good to get out this morning and run a short interval workout in the rain. 2/4min

AIS stretching routine after the run

101st post, Weekly weigh in...

2009-02-09T21:46:00.001-05:00

So, last post was my 100th! I guess that means something?

Did not weigh in until 10pm. So, not a very valid weigh in.

210
25.5%

That is what it is... I am in Youngstown, Ohio tonite and looking to head to sleep early!

Strength: 2/7/09

2009-02-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Just completed a good strength session down in the basement....

Warmed up with some medicine ball swings and light Joint mobility

Same 22 minute kettlebell workout but with a #35 bell. Pretty tough!

2/4/08 Tempo

2009-02-07T10:59:00.000-05:00

Short tempo run tonite on the treadmill.

2x5 minutes at 10% grade. Felt good to climb but I can tell that I have not been running much!

30 minutes total

Boston for work

2009-02-07T10:57:00.000-05:00

So, I went to Boston this week for some training. Busy days all 3 days and I learned a lot. Now I just have to get practicing and try not to forget too many things!

I snowed while in Boston and I was very tired. So I spent most of the time while not training working and resting in the hotel.. Got sucked into Forrest Gump one night, gosh I am a sucker for tear-jerking stories!

2/2/09 workout:Strength

2009-02-07T10:54:00.000-05:00

10 minutes Joint Mobility
10 minutes of Flow Fit flow 2
22 minute Kettlebell circuit: http://www.maxwellsc.com/articles.cfm?art_id=3015&startrow=1
25lb bell

Felt pretty good to knock this one out real quick..

Maybe making things public will help...

2009-02-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

Or maybe it will just be embarrassing...

So, I thought I would start including my training details into this blog. For the 2 people that read this with any regularity I am sure you will find it fascinating!!!

I have also struggled with weight and body comp issues for most of my adult life. I am committed to making lasting changes but things like the last two months get in the way. So, starting today I will include my most current weight and body fat% that I take on a weekly basis:

2/1/09
209.5lbs
25% body fat

Training:

Short 30 minute run with Campy this morning. Having had so little training since December I just wanted to get out and move a bit. The weather was awesome and Campy did well. Really had a hard time keeping my perceived effort and still keep a quick and poppy stride... it will come..

Shout outs!

Jordan Fife and Stephen Haas:

Jordan ran a 4:01 mile at IU on Friday night. I believe it was his first race since last summers Olympic trials. Good Effort Jordan, I wont hold it against you that you run for Brooks. You are after all a ISU grad!!!

Stephen ran the qualifying time he was looking for yesterday in the 5000. 14:01 was his time an d that should qualify him for Indoor Nationals. Stephen was sick earlier this week and has an opportunity to go couch surf and train in San Diego for a couple of weeks. Good job Stephen now get out of the snow and ice and get some miles in!

Winter Outdoor Retailer '09

2009-01-27T22:22:00.000-05:00

Another OR in the bag! Came in to help set up in the middle of a nice Inversion. Ick! The booth was new and not ready so I left with some co-workers to eat at the Red Iguana. Gotta eat at the Iguana. OR tradition.

First day was busy with appointments. We had over 100 appointments and that was good because the traffic was very slow compared to years past. The first day felt like Saturday...

Went to one of my favorite Sushi restaurants in town Tsunami with one of my bosses and GT and Sean. Great meal!

Friday we met with the Playmakers crew and then took them to Market Street Grill for dinner. Great as always and is anyone noticing a trend.... Lots of eating!

We had a Live Band Karaoke party that evening that went off well! Everyone seemed to have fun and we donated lots of money to the OIW foundation for wilderness protection. Somehow I just did not hear my name called for that last song. Although they did have DEVO and I was very tempted!!!

After the party some co-workers went it to the Port o' Call for a nightcap because they are closing it in March. On there way out they were witness to a Police Action Shooting across the street! Good reason to head back to the hotel I say!!!

All in all I think it was a good show. Many retailers are really excited about what we are doing on the product side and I had more than one very positive meeting! Got a chance to catch up with some friends in the Industry and tried not to eat to much... I only ran twice due to the inversion and I really don't like altitude!

POCAR 2009

2009-01-27T22:05:00.000-05:00

POCAR

Well, what do you say! You try hard but sometimes things don't work out! That is the story from last weeks POCAR race at least for the team I was with!

It started off great. We were in the 3rd wave and did a good job of plotting and hitting our first 3 points. The last two were tough but we thought we would be in before nightfall. Things were good and everything was great!

Busted hump down a trail to the road to catch the next attack for point K2. We took the road because it seemed the easiest attack and would be quicker than bushwhacking thru some tough underbrush. It just happened that the trail dropped us a 1/2 mile ahead of where we thought we were. Did not notice until we almost hiked a mile to the next road intersection.... Damn... I guessed that the mistake would cost us two hours and I just about nailed that one on the head.

After bushwhacking thru the toughest underbrush I have ever encountered we finally found our way back to TA1 at 8pm... Took some time to get water, our next points and re-pack our packs. Left TA1 at 9 and into what looked like it was going to be a long night. Only 5 points but very long shoots in-between. We were estimating 2 hrs per point. Before our nav mistake in section one we were hitting controls every 45 minutes!

The first control looked easy. Take the road until it turns onto the trail. Go 400 meters and it should be on a re-entrant off of the ridge. Boom no problem! Wrong. We and another team took the wrong ridge... Re -check... Hike back to last known point... Go again.. Hike back to last known point... Find the control! Shit it's a decoy!!! Damn course setters. Shoot again...

To get to the point we spent 5 hours looking for the control. 5 hrs!!! We would have moved on but the rules stated that if you missed a point you were dis-qualified! At the end there were 3 teams combing the hill looking for the control.

Finally at 3am we decided to call it quits and hike back to transition. I was leaving for OR in 48hrs and to be honest I should not have raced due to the amount of time I will be gone from home this month. That being said I had a blast and really enjoyed pushing and spending time out in the woods...

Gear used:
Peal Izumi balaclava(night)
Pelican Headlamp(have to get model, it rocks!)
Ultimate Directions Speedemon(sales sample, has issues)
Marmot Dri-Clime windshirt(get one)
Lowe Alpine Ninja Hoody(I have one you do not!)
New Balance Cacona base layer(gotta represent)
Under Armor long compression shorts(evil)
Layers long underwear(old and stinky)
Patagonia Guide pants(get some)
Smartwool socks
SealSkin waterproof socks
New Balance 909 trail runners(worked great)

Anybody want a car?

2009-01-19T18:51:00.000-05:00

So, I was driving home from the movies with the family yesterday and noticed that the car was acting funny. Knowing that I was going to be gone for many days this next month I told my wife that I was going to take the car into the shop today to get it looked at...

Sometimes I would just rather be ignorant. So, on top of the oil change I have a worn out transmission and two front axles. It will run me just a bit over $2000

What would you do?

What is it like to loose your keys for 5 hours?

2009-01-19T10:51:00.001-05:00

POCAR was fun!

more later

I think I am going to be cold...

2009-01-16T20:40:00.000-05:00

So, in about 12 hours I will be starting the POCAR race. It is a 48hr. Orienteering race here in S. Indiana. brrr

After the holiday's getting going again with training...

2009-01-01T22:22:00.000-05:00

So, I made it thru... Did you? The holidays were not bad, got to spend time with family and share good laughs and lots of good food! Had the 8th annual euchre tourney again last night and once again Rhonda did not win. I say that because I am no help. I do not even play cards!!!

This week was also my first week back training after Tecumseh and preparing for next year. Or I guess this year now... I am doing something a bit different than in years past. This off and early season I will be training with a bigger focus on Intensity work. If anyone is interested in checking out what I am working on look at http://www.endurancenation.us/ I am planning my year off their philosophy.

Oh, and speaking of year. I plan on doing the Dino 18hr adventure race in May but I am not sure who my teammates will be as of yet. Then after a discussion with Rhonda about whether I should run a 50 miler this year or do a 24hr Mountain bike race we both decided that I should give the 24 hour race a good shot. Both of them are on my life list and I am not getting any younger!!!

Did I say that I was glad LAST week was over?

2008-12-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

Well I am glad that this week is drawing to an early close. I am really looking forward to a few days without checking email constantly and putting out fire after fire...

Training has not gone well. Good thing I am in the off-season! Really tough with being busy, tired and cold and wet outside. Just want to stay inside bundle up and read. God I love to read!

In fact I am always looking for good reads so if anyone out there has any recommendations I would love to hear them. In fact I may just start posting the occasional fave of mine! We will see...

I am glad that week is over!

2008-12-15T22:26:00.000-05:00

Wow,

Usually I have no problem taking a good amount of time off after a big race and a long year of training. For some reason however this year is different. Not that I have not tried, forced myself into being slothful and irresponsible with my diet, but it was hard.

I actually made sure I ate very poorly. Did not want it but I felt like I needed to for some reason. And even though I felt like training and doing some work I was way to busy last week to really put the time in. Oh, yeah I have a lot to learn in my new job. And one of the first things is there is bit of paperwork involved.

So, I think that I am going to take the rest of December and train kinda easy and unstructured. Swing some weights around, do some yoga, go for a run or ride, if it snows ski a bit..

Not sure yet what races I want to do in '09. Some ideas:

The rest of the Bloomington Cyclocross Series
January Runners Forum XC series
Dino Series Trail races
Dino Series Mountain Bike
Xterra Tri
Dino Adventure Race
Other Adventure race
Sugar Creek Canoe Race

So that is some of the ideas. Nothing set in stone.....

Tecumseh Trail Marathon

2008-12-08T22:08:00.000-05:00

Well, now that I am not so sore...

Had a good race experience on Saturday. After some travel issues I family was able to get to sleep for a couple of hours before waking to get ready to head to Yellowwood to pick up my packet and number.

Bumped into Chris Roche and we headed to the bus for the ride up to Morgan-Mornoe and the starting line. Since we were not supposed to leave things on the bus I only brought a trash bag for a vapor barrier. It worked great as the start line found us in temps in the teens with a nice wind. Oh, and snow. Did I mention the snow?

Siren went off and away we went. For the first couple of miles we were on a gravel fire road and I was able to cruise and mine my own pace. Finally getting into the singletrack were I was able to drop some people on the descents. Let the yo-yo game begin!!!

Ran real easy thru the first 13 miles. Crested Indian Hill at 2:38. Compare that to the 2:27 that I ran earlier at the Knobstone 1/2 and I felt pretty good about the first half of the race.

Trail conditions seemed worse the second half. Very slick and my legs were getting tired so I was not able to attack the trail like I like and was not trusting of my legs and feet in technical situations.

Rallied late to bring a group of runners in the last 3 miles. Of course only to have two of them kick past me in the last mile! But I was able to pick it up as well and pass three myself.

Finishing time was 5:35:53. A bit slower than I would have liked but I feel good about the effort that I put out. I faded 19 minutes the second half. Could have been better, but could have been much worse...

Big shout outs to my friends:

Josh Trissler:
Winner in 3:12. I talked with him today and he went thru the half in 9th place. Negative split and a good 5:30 last mile got him a much deserved victory!

Jim Kirkham:
A bit banged up from his 3rd place finish at Knobstone. 48th place and a 4:05 clocking!

Tracy Gates:
If anyone knows Tracy you know she knows how to run trails! Fighting back from a couple of down years due to injury. I saw Tracy at the finish and she ran 5:10. Going to HUFF in a couple of weeks!!!!

Chris Roche:
I tell you. For a guy whose longest run a couple of months ago was 13.1 miles Chris did great! Really showed what he was made of finishing in tough conditions knowing that he was not having the performance that he had hoped and trained for. Good on ya` for fighting thru! You always remember the epics!!!!!!!

And a special thanks go out to Pam! From keeping us company at the start, to braving ice and snow to get to the finish and letting me stink up her car as I tried to keep warm at the finish and driving me back to Bloomington. YOU ARE AWESOME!!!

So, whats your special animal?

2008-11-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

Some call them totem animals, or your spirit guides...

I think mine are birds of prey. Most common for me are Red Tailed Hawks. I always seem to look over at just the right moment when driving to see them perched on a tree or fence post.

I also see them when I need to be reminded to give thanks and breath. Or when I am trying to make a decision in my life.... Yes, I saw a hawk today.....

What is your animal?

New Job, new challenges

2008-11-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

So, a few posts ago I alluded to some pretty big changes. Well it turned out not to be exactly the changes I was planning but big anyway.

I was leaving New Balance... That's right after almost 7 years with New Balance I had a new job and was leaving not only New Balance but the industry in total. Or so I thought....

Then, some interesting developments at NB happened and I was made aware of an opportunity that I had turned down coming back to me... And now I am still employed by NB....

So, as of today I am the Running Specialty sales rep for Indiana and Ohio! This is a big step in many ways from the work that I have done the past 6 years. I am looking forward to and excited about the challenges ahead!

Jeez life is crazy!!!

2008-11-26T22:35:00.000-05:00

Well, last week was supposed to be my peak training week. However due to some family emergency's the week of training was pretty light... Ugh! I had how life steps in and screws up the best laid plans

Hey, Lets tailgate at the XC Nationals!!!!!

2008-11-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

So, I know that the folks at Flocasts and Saucony are heading to Terre Haute and planning on having fun. I am planning on joining the show as well. So, if anyone is reading this and wanting to hangout and do some tailgating before the races let me know!!! Not sure if Beer is allowed but we may be able to sneak some in!!!!

Long Run, November Rain...

2008-11-16T21:47:00.000-05:00

Travelled North to Eagle Creek State Park to get in a run with Chris Roche and company. Chris had invited a few people to share in the journey and I thought it would be a good opportunity to run on some new terrain and an opportunity for a training partner. Since Matt left for D.C. I have not had too many opportunities to train with others...

Chris was a bit under the weather this past week so we took a conservative approach to today's workout. In the end we were gone just shy of 3.5 hours and really received a good bit of training stimulus....

Knobstone is coming up quick and I am not going to meet my weight/body comp goals. I have been lax in my diet,especially keeping tabs on what I have been eating. Tons of excuses could easily be used but the bottom line is that I did not get it done. However, tomorrow is a new day...

This next week is scheduled to be my heaviest week of training. Then I will spend the next couple of weeks slowly tapering and preparing for the race. I thought that I may be starting a new job with a new company tomorrow. However I am going to remain at New Balance and am looking forward to some new and exciting challenges and opportunities!

Everyone Relax, I got to vote!

2008-11-04T07:45:00.000-05:00

I know that everyone was freaked and looking to hold a spot in line for me today to vote. It's o.k. you can relax. I arrived at 5:30 and was only the 30th person in line!!!!

So, my duty is done.... Now I can relax and watch the chaos unfold the rest of the day.

Great Workout Sunday, busy Monday!!!

2008-11-03T20:57:00.000-05:00

Awesome workout on Sunday. I completed 19 miles just under 5 hours using the 20hike/10run pattern that I talked about earlier. I really received the stimulus that I was looking for and helped program my body clock to my race time.

Today has been very busy. I was looking to vote this morning but the line was HUGE!!! I am going to the polls as soon as they open tomorrow to try to get in before I have to head down to Louisville for work... I am very happy that turnout is good but I am also scared that I will not be able to vote due to the wait. This is important everyone go vote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will save any political rants for another day. If there is anyone reading this and wants to hear of a certain topic or have ideas on what they would like for me to ramble on about let me know!!! I am looking to make this a bit more formal in terms of topics and ideas to explore...

Big, Early day for me tomorrow!

2008-11-01T20:42:00.000-04:00

So, my hip got a bit out of whack last week at the Knobstone race (can anyone say weird electrical currents running down my quad). So I have had a pretty light week of training this week and have been watching my diet accordingly.

So, tomorrow instead of the prescribed 22 miler. I am going to do a 5 hour hike/run. I have used these workouts over the past few years with great success. I plan on speed hiking for 20 minutes and running for 10. If everything feels good after the 4 hour mark I may try to run the complete last hour. But its no big deal if I do. I will be interested to see how many miles I can pump out in 5 hours tomorrow....

Oh, and yes it is big news.......At least for me.

10 days? Wow time flies!!!

2008-10-27T22:01:00.000-04:00

Yikes!!!!! Time gets away when you are having fun!!!!

Very busy with work events and trying to run... Key word is trying. Although I was able to run the Knobstone 1/2 marathon trail race this past weekend. It was a nice tuneup for Tecumseh and I performed pretty close to where I thought I would.

I really need to get some bodywork done on my left hip though. Ick

Big stuff coming my way. Can't talk about it yet but needless to say it is one of the bigger things happening in my life in recent years!!!!!

Busy week, gotta find a way

2008-10-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

Whew,

I write this from a hotel room in Detroit Michigan. I have been up here since Wednesday and I managed to drive up here without my luggage. That was a first!

Last Saturday night I got a good 3 hour long run in. I ran a .9 mile trail in town and did a total of 15+ miles. Over 12.5 of those were at close to marathon goal pace. The run went well and I think it should go a long way to helping me prepare for Tecumseh.

I have had to scramble to pick up a pair of shorts/shirt and shoes to run in my I got it done. Now I have to go and do a 3x10 minute threshold session at 1/2 marathon pace.

Busy week, workouts are going well

2008-10-08T22:39:00.000-04:00

So, I have been running alot. Sunday's long run did not go as planned with my hamstrings and calf's feeling really tight. So, I did a ton of foam rolling and stick'.

Feeling a bit looser. Good workouts so far this week. I have a very busy weekend schedule and it is really going to be a chore to figure out how to schedule things.. Good times

Wonderfull movement! Take a moment and really observe

2008-10-03T10:01:00.000-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_eTg6gMTE0

Great Mile repeats last nite, Bit tired today...

2008-10-01T21:27:00.000-04:00

Really nice workout last night. 4x1 mile @ 10k pace. Felt really nice and loose. Good feeling although my calv's felt pretty tight. Need to go see Cassie and get a massage.

Today I ran 45 min easy at Morgan Monroe before coming home. There was an IFA meeting tonight so I knew if I did not run before getting home than it was not gonna happen today.....

Nailed a tough long run, The King lives

2008-09-28T21:12:00.000-04:00

photo: Photorun.net

Well, Geb still has it! Another world record for the marathon in 2:03:59!!! That is pretty darn fast indeed. I remember watching Geb run in the 92 olympics when I was an incoming college freshman. My best friend and I watched him kill the 5k and then went for a fun and inspired run of our own. All the time imagining our own olympic glory.

So, have you every been afraid of a workout? I have but I must admit that it has been awhile. However I was pretty intimidated leading into this mornings long run..

5k easy
5 miles 90sec@10k pace 90sec. easy
2 miles easy
3 miles hard.

Well that added up to a half-marathon and I must say I rocked that bad boy!!!! All during the workout my mental dialogue was negative and saying that I could not do the work. That I did not have the fitness, speed, etc to get the job done. However at the same time I was telling myself just one repetition more, just one more mile...

I was elated at the finish. I did not back down to the "radio" voice. I fought thru and the true voice of strength and integrity won.

So, now my training for Tecumseh starts in earnest. I am signed up and ready to roll...

Here is a book for you to check out!

2008-09-21T21:36:00.000-04:00

So, Rhonda and I have both read some of Ken Wilber's work. I sometimes find it a bit tedious but at the same time it sure beats a sharp stick in the eye...

Rhonda saw this book last week during our date at Borders. We picked it up and I must admit that even though it does have flaws I found this book very helpful in trying to tie the strings of life all together in a practice.

So, for all of you Project crew, as well as anyone else who cares to explore. I do recommend checking this title out...

1st long run for Tecumseh prep

2008-09-21T21:33:00.001-04:00

Well, after sitting up most of the night with Caden I finally got around to heading up to Morgan-Monroe to run the Low Gap trail. One of my favorite trails in the state....

Ran pretty well and felt tired but not horribly so. It has been a while since I have run over 1.5 hours so it will be a bit of a shock to my body. Oh, and I also got stung by a hornet...Ouch!!!

Busy week with work at the USAF marathon. It is marathon season which means I am very busy with work at the moment. I am looking forward to the next few weeks...

good strength work, long day at work

2008-09-16T23:53:00.000-04:00

Got my first strength workout in since messing up my back. I did not complete the entire workout because I did not want to over do it. I felt really good during the entire workout though and am excited for Thursday.

Long day at work with me leaving for Indy at 8:30 to meet with the staff of St. Vincent Sports Performance to drop off some test shoes. They are doing really cool work there. Would be pretty cool to partner with them.

Then after spending the afternoon with the crew from Running Company I sped to Terre Haute to have dinner with my sister-in-law, a student at ISU and to clinic the staff of Pacesetter Sports.
Got home at just before 11. Long but pretty common day at work for this time of year....

Boston, Back, Calf, ouch.... waiting....

2008-09-12T23:29:00.000-04:00

Got back from Boston yesterday evening. I was invited to participate in a meeting with some of our Running Specialty accounts from across the nation. It was a good meeting. Or at least I hope that our dealers got something out of it.

My back and calf were very sore all week. Tried to do some mobility every day to keep somewhat loose. Ran a couple of times but stressed my calf a bit each time. Really trying to get well so that I can get training again. Starting to get nervous about my training for Tecumseh...

One cool thing about the trip was that we were staying at the Hotel Commonwealth. This hotel is right across the street from Fenway Park. We were also able to go to a Red Sox game on Wednesday night. The game went 14 innings!!! I only stayed to the top of the 12th and then had to head back to bed. The Red Sox lost and many of my co-workers were pretty tore up about the loss. I guess the game was important or something....