I Dare

A Decent Week

2009-11-02T09:19:00.002-05:00

This last week was a pretty good one. I felt stronger each day I ran and was able to cap off the whole thing with a 9.75 mile run. I ran a very hilly course for this long run. It is a bear to say the least. Up, up and up and then down down only to go up, up, up again. I will keep with this course for my long run for the next few weeks as the half marathon is fairly flat and the hill training will help with my endurance. The end result was a 20.55 mile week. That is impressive for me these days. I haven't broken twenty with any regularity as of late and hope to make two in row this week. My long run is slated at 10.5 miles. Wish me luck.

Getting into a Groove

2009-10-27T23:19:00.002-04:00

It has been hard for me to get into a rhythm when it comes to running. Since I hurt myself last year I have had a lingering calf injury, that turned into a lingering hip injury, that turned into a lingering motivation problem. One thing just led to another and then another. I am ashamed to say that I let myself get derailed. I seem to be back on track now, but it has been a long time coming. I have not run a race in a year. I know a whole year, that is quite some time. The last race I ran was the half marathon at the Philadelphia Marathon last year.

So now I return to the scene of the crime. I believe I have myself sorted out but I have to stay vigilant when it comes to my running. Keeping on schedule can be tough when you have a busy schedule but it is easy to make excuses for yourself. The bottom line is that successful people do not make excuses they get things done. I have to admit my short comings when it has come to my running. It is true that I had some injuries but I could have been more diligent in working through it.

I have noticed over the last month that my ability to push my running has returned. I think I was flat out not working it hard enough. Now I am getting back into the groove, which for the record does not really start until mile 3 or 4. This was when I was ending so I was selling myself a bit short. Running is an endurance sport, to get the most out of it you have to sport your endurance. (I just made that up, but I like the way it sounds). So here is to a PR at the up coming half marathon.

A Couple of Weeks

2009-10-26T12:23:00.002-04:00

It has been a couple of weeks since the last post. It doesn't seem that long but I have been super busy trying to promote my business. On the running front I have been getting in 15 or so miles per week. I managed to get in an 8 miler last night even though I was jammed up this weekend. It seems that weekends have turned into times to meet with clients. But that is good thing after all. I feel I am on pace for the half marathon and should be in good condition for the November 22 race. Happy running.

P90X: D5

2009-10-11T00:35:00.002-04:00

Today I went for my little morning run and pulled a muscle in my lower right calf at mile 2 of 4. In the past I would have looked at this as a devastating injury. I mean it hurts and is a bit tender but I know the score on this one. I can't get any speed on it but it will carry me if needed. So I will move my running game indoors until it works itself out. So that means I will be doing 9 miles on the treadmill tomorrow. Not somethin I am looking forward to but I will do it.

On the P90x side I had to do legs and back today. But I had to take it easy on a few of the exercises due to the muscle pull. I did an honest workout and feel wiped out. but I can't sleep for some reason.

Day 4: P90X

2009-10-09T23:27:00.002-04:00

Today was the 4th day of P90X and the program called for Yoga. To be truthful, I am not sure if I will ever do this program. I am sure it is a fine program and has a good deal to offer. The down side it is a little over 90 minutes and I am training for a half marathon. I just will never have 90 minutes to dedicate to the cross training. Sorry, just the truth. That said today was a 2 a day. I started the morning with a 3.55 mile run and finished with the Cardio program.

The Cardio program is allegedly the least intense of the workouts. I think I would beg to differ. There are no breaks. it is only 45 minutes where the others are 55 to 57 minutes. The program starts a bit slow with some yoga. But the killer is the end and there is a part where you roll on your back and come back up and jump in the air. I think I threw up a little in my mouth on that one. This is a disgusting truth. But I knew I worked that is for sure.

I am 4 days in with a rough weekend ahead. Between meeting clients and taking care of errands I will have to put in a 4 mile run, a 9 mile run and two p90x workouts. I will report how that goes. I will do my best that is all I can promise.

Finally Back in the Swing Again

2009-10-09T16:13:00.003-04:00

The trip to Vegas really put things out of whack for awhile. I think I used it as an excuse to take some time off from doing other things. So my running is off a bit and I had started the P90X before I left and then took a week to get back to it. Well it seems that things are back to normal.

I managed a little 3.55 mile jaunt this morning. Well I think it was 3.55, it usually is when I take that route but my Garmin was quirky today and could not find the satellites until I had about 1.25 miles in. So I am flat out guessing today. That said the freedom was nice. I just able to push myself and didn't worry about what my watch said. It was a good feeling. I think I was fast, I felt fast. Well you know not Jesse Owens fast but fast for a middle aged guy on a Friday morning. So fast enough, fast enough to feel fast.

As for the P90X, I hurt ... everywhere. It is a nasty, nasty sequence. My abs actually quiver the day after the ab workout. I decided to start the clock over as I only had 4 days in before Vegas. So I have done three days, only 87 to go. (phhaa, 87 to go).

Vegas

2009-10-02T11:27:00.002-04:00

I was in Las Vegas over the last weekend and have to give a proper update. I was visiting my brother for a few days which was a nice change of pace. I did manage to run but my routine is all messed up and I hope to get back on track for the weekend.

P90X: Day 4

2009-09-23T09:36:00.000-04:00

I started the P90X workout this last weekend. I have been concerned that I wasn't getting enough cross training for my core and with a half marathon coming up in November I thought it was a good time to mix things up. I have seen the infomercials and did a quick ebay search to see what I could come up with. I managed a very good deal for the product and I would say that in the 4 days I have been doing that it really does work you. So far I have done:

Chest & Back: This is pretty intense chin-up and push-up program the next day I felt so dead.

Pylometrics: This is an hour of jumping. It is hard, really hard. It probably didn't help that I ran 8 miles that morning.

Shoulders and Arms: This is another tough work out much like the first one. It is hard.

Kenpo: Well I train in Kenpo but his is just a little cardio kick program and for me it is light weight. But it does make you break a sweat and that is good thing, any time you can add an hour of sweat to the day is a good thing. I also, ran three miles before I started. I was supposed to do yoga but that is 1.5 hours in length and I really needed to keep on my run schedule.

Overall I feel good and I think that if anyone keeps with this program for 6 days a week for three months they will have great results. I am hoping that two months will give me extra strength and spring for my half marathon.

I am in Vegas starting on Friday, I will let everyone know how it went.

What a week

2009-09-20T23:36:00.002-04:00

This has been a heavy exercise week. The running went well. I was able to run 4 times. I started with a short 3 miler, just a recovery run, on Tuesday. On Thursday, I did some mile repeats for 3.5 miles. Saturday, was a little longer as I was feeling good and managed 4.5 miles. I finished with an 8 miler on Sunday. This gave me a total of 19 miles for the week. This was a great total and I felt pretty good, well aside from being dead at the start of my run on Sunday.

Why was I dead? Well on Friday, I received my P90x kit in the mail. This is a very intense cross training program for those who have not seen the ads. I did the first installment on Saturday as well as having done my martial arts class. When I woke up on Sunday, I was tired to the bone. But I did my 8 miles like a good boy, it just was about a minute off my normal pace. I finished Sunday, with installment two of the P90x and now I am tired from my 5 workouts in two days. Whew!!! I mean it really I do.

I will say this so far about the P90x, it is as hard as you want it to be. Tough stuff if you want it to be. I started this as I was looking to build my muscles before the half marathon in November. Plus, if I can gain some more tone, I would be happy with that as well. I will keep everyone posted.

Injuries ... Again

2009-09-16T16:35:00.002-04:00

I was doing fine with my program and then I went to my martial arts class on Saturday and ended up with a weird injury. We were doing these drills where your opponent holds your leg and then you hop. The drill is intended to help you practice keeping your balance and prevent take downs. I am not sure how well this works. But it is a good concentration drill and hoping for a couple of minutes is difficult. It is very difficult for me. Since I did my marathon last year, my right hip is not 100%. When you are not 100% your body adjusts to keep the injured part from taking all the impact of an activity. This is what happened. As my hip was crying over the impact I was subconsciously turning away from the impact of the hopping and this meant I was landing to the side of my leg and I ended up with a bit of a high ankle sprain in my right leg. So as last week was a down week anyway, I took two days off to recover.

I ran last night without incident but sometimes things happen and you have to adjust. Today is for speed work so wish me luck.

A Decent Rest, but you know....

2009-09-11T10:41:00.002-04:00

I am not very good at resting. This is a rest week but I have a hard time cutting back. I was supposed to do just 4 easy runs this week. Nothing fancy and no real goals just get out there and be steady. I hope I don't regret it later but today I did some speed work. I did a warm up half mile and then did two mile repeats with a half mile cool down in between. My pace was 8:45. I don't make too much of this speed as I was on a treadmill and I tend to find that pace easier there than on the streets. Everything is harder on the streets. But it was quick and at the same time serves the recovery week theme. There was less impact on my body after all. But I did break the rules of the 4 easy runs. Oh well, I am sure I will be fine.

Next week I am back into action with tempo runs and what not. Well happy running.

Strong Week

2009-09-08T10:09:00.002-04:00

Last week was an excellent one. I managed to put in 19.61 miles, this is a big number for me these days. On top of that my Sunday run was pretty difficult. I happen to live part way up an incline that goes on for miles. I usually do not run north from my house as it is almost all hill. That is an intimidating thought to know that you are going to be running up and up with almost no break until you decide to turn around. But Sunday, I decided to take it on and went 3.5 miles up and then 3.5 miles down. I will say that I did like the last half better. The first half felt like I really did something difficult. Monday, my muscles complained over my motivation but Sunday was a good day to be a runner.

This week is a rest week so I will be toning down the miles to recover a bit.

August is Over

2009-09-01T13:34:00.001-04:00

I am glad August is over. For running it is the worst, it is a month to be survived more than anything else. Now that it is over, I think I will run much easier. I did a little three miler and the cooler weather really made a difference. I did 53 miles for August and considering that I spent the first week swimming I think that is good. I am going to shoot for about 75 miles for September. I think this is a reasonable goal and not quite 20 miles average per week. I would like to add 100 miles for October and another 100 for November. There is no plan for December. Here is to plans and hoping it all goes to plan.

A Good Effort

2009-08-31T12:49:00.002-04:00

I was able to put in 4 days of running last week, I had only been able to put in 3 the week before and my numbers were a bit down as a result. I will say this I was not as fresh for my long run this week as I was last week. There is something to be said for less running. But for my 4 runs I managed:

Tuesday: 3.0 miles - just a slow and easy nothing to write home about but it got the lead out of the legs

Thursday: 3.5 miles - a tempo run and I was very pleased with my speed portion and I have been doing much better on the hills.

Saturday: 3.0 miles - A steady but quick run; however, with my martial arts class later in the morning I was tired on Sunday.

Sunday: 7 miles - I started slow but found a nice pace at mile 4 that carried me the rest of the way. I was dead when I was done and didn't feel better until Monday morning.

Over all it was a 16.5 mile effort. I have been experimenting with some new shoes. I picked up a pair of END shoes that I have been mixing in on shorter runs for the past few weeks. I think I will write a shoe review later this week.

Seven Miles

2009-08-24T09:31:00.002-04:00

My long run on Sunday was 7 miles. The heat and humidity are a bear in August and I will say that I was suffering throughout this little ordeal. I have felt for some time that August you merely survive until the better running weather of September rolls around. The heat has been chewing me up even on these not quite long runs. I dropped 4.5 pounds from start to finish on Sunday. That is way too much dehydration for a run that is only an hour and change. I had to put down 80 ounces of water and sit in a cold shower for 20 minutes before I was normal again. Well as normal as I get anyway. I will say that I will be happy when this month is over and the cooler September air rushes in.

But I did manage 15 miles on the week, so not too bad for only three days of running.

Weekly: 15.0 miles

First Week of Training

2009-08-17T11:20:00.002-04:00

The First week of training went well enough. I managed to run 4 times last week and did well enough for a week one. I was especially proud of my efforts for the tempo run mid week but not so thrilled on the long run. It was very hot and humid and I struggled to get to the 6 mile mark. But it is in the books and I am looking forward to building on these efforts going forward. My speed was super slow and I felt destroyed when I was finished and needed 60 ounces of water before I felt normal again. My body was telling me "Dude, what they hell were you thinking."

This week I have a speed day instead of a tempo run mid week. I am looking forward to the mile repeats. It should be a good time. But first I need a nice calm recovery run. It is too bad that you can't just do a recovery run for other parts of your life when you feel over your head.

The Philadelphia Marathon is about 95 days away. I am pretty excited to be training for a race again.

Tempo Run

2009-08-13T11:04:00.002-04:00

With the new half marathon program I had my first tempo run in months last night. Wow, I forgot how brutal those can be. But it felt good to really push myself through the three middle miles of my run. Nice! I have a good feeling about being back on the wagon. Plus I was stagnating without a true goal.

Back to a Program

2009-08-12T10:39:00.002-04:00

I haven't really followed a program since I ran a marathon last year. I think as a result my running has not really progressed the way I would like it to. So as of today, I am back on a program and I will be registering for the half marathon section of the Philadelphia Marathon in November. I like the course, even if I did hurt myself running this same race last year. Truth be told, I was undertrained and I suffered the effects of that.

In other news, today is my birthday. I am 41 today. I don't feel as old as the number sounds.

Swimming Makes Me Tired

2009-08-09T23:08:00.004-04:00

My swim week is at an end. I should say I am tried. I swam 5 times this week and three days in a row at the end of the week. Swimming just saps my strength, I have a great respect for those that do this on a more constant basis than I do. I needed a nap this afternoon to recover from my week in the pool. This was a good move. My muscles feel worked but without the damage that a week of running can do to your body. I feel ready to get out there tomorrow and go back to my running program.

In other news, I was a dummy for a black belt test on Saturday. I can always go with a good ass kicking so I volunteered to get beat on a bit in the name of school spirit. It is always nice to be there for those moving up the ranks. Plus, as I always say a good deal of what training provides to you as a practitioner is the removal of the shock of actually being hit. If you can get over that you have a much better chance of getting through a fight.

It's About Pain

2009-08-07T23:26:00.003-04:00

I have not been as diligent about posting as I should have been. I think that blogging is an ebb and flow sort of thing. I have noticed that I have some nagging injuries these days. Mostly the culprit is my right hip. When I train heavy the hip lets me know about it. I am not sure if it is a result of my body telling me to slow down or the result of some injuries in my "bullet proof" twenties coming back to demand payment. I know I get a nice creak in my elbow from where I elbowed a man in the fist, while he was throwing a punch. (A dumb move on my part but probably singularly impressive to watch). The point of the day, pain management.

So here I sit attempting to battle to stay in as peak of condition I can get while maintaining a successful law practice. It is a hard balance. As I mentioned, I believe I will need to supplement my running with swimming to cut down on the wear and tear on my hip and calf. These are the two problem areas. Tonight I managed another 32 laps. To go with this I do manage to get my martial arts training in as well. To be truthful the running and swimming are tools to make my martial training more effective. That is the point, well for me it is. The running has its own goals but the reason for doing so was to be more effective on the mat. The surprising thing that running has brought is its own little addiction.

There is something that borders on spiritual about tapping the physical. It is the feeling of truly being alive and connecting to the universe. (If that makes any sense). I have never really be a very religious person, but sometimes when I am really in the heart of a great run or flying through techniques and I get that "perfect moment", I think at those times I truly understand spirituality. Because the feeling is beyond simple satisfaction, it is as if I have tapped into something more. To get there through, there is a pain barrier that has to be broken through first, at least for me. It may be because I am now in my 40's and I can't quite get rolling with out a little bit of discomfort. Once I get there it is worth the little pain barrier.

This has been a bit of an affirmation. Why do I beat myself so relentlessly? By most accounts I am a fairly intelligent man, some might debate it but I like to tell myself that anyway. The answer is that beating myself down is worth it. When I can get those singular "perfect" moments it justifies all of the pain. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Happy running or swimming or fighting or what ever your poison happens to be.

Some Time in the Pool

2009-08-06T10:53:00.002-04:00

I have noticed that I get some injuries when I train too much. A big suprise but true. To combat the tendencies of my right hip, left calf and right hamstring from yelling too much, I have decided to take a more reasoned approach to my training. This is tough for a guy who at some level enjoys chastising himself for not gritting through the pain. So I have decided to take a 3 week on one week off sort of routine. But my off week is a pool week. I am not a big fan of swimming laps, there is too much isolation in swimming. There is too much disconnect from the environment for me to ever be enthusiastic about it. But to keep injuries in check it is a must. So I did 30 laps on Sunday, 25 on Monday and 40 today. That is a lot of laps and I think it is good for me, even if it is boring.

As to the running, I am getting faster again. I dropped some speed after my illness. I think that lung infection really hit me hard in terms of endurance. I am only now getting back to a 10:00 pace. For a while I was around 11:00 to 11:30 for a time. Now I am back to 10:00 to 10:15. With a little speed work I should be ready for a half marathon in November. Here is to happy training.

Once a Runner by John L. Parker, Jr.

2009-07-23T23:45:00.003-04:00

I read a book, not a big suprise. I read a novel about running, okay a little unusual. I have seen Once a Runner a few times in the book store and I have picked it up and put it down. I was finally intrigued enough to buy it. The book itself has an interesting story. It was out of print but the demand for it reached a critical mass the the publisher put it back on the shelves.

The story itself is simple enough a college runner is quite simply trying to break the 4:00 barrier and to hopefully break a world record. A secret lofty goal and an impressive public one. I got the point of the book pretty early on. The book is about the cost of dreams and running can be seen as a metaphor for what ever your dreams are. If you want to succeed you have to give everything you have to achieve them. For our main character in the book he comes to realize that to achieve greatness he has to foresake everything else in order to achieve it. That is the cost, everything.

I found the book to be equal parts uplifting and grim. It is a triumph of the human spirit and at the same time a slap to those who think they can do it all. I think you can do it all, you just can't do it all well. Excellence equals sacrifice. We all on some level know this. I like this book and how often do you find a novel about running. Give it a try.

I Sit at the Cross Roads

2009-07-15T22:43:00.003-04:00

I believe that I sit at a cross roads in my life. Lately I have been looking back as much as looking forward and taking stock of not only who I am, an important endeavor, and how I got to be here. Recently, I was laid off for the second time since January. This was a hard thing for me to come to grips with, I have always been employed. This was since I was 16, always working. I never had an issue with work. It is an odd thing to realize that after putting myself through law school I have less job security than I did doing entry level jobs right out of high school. Odd, truly odd. But it makes you take stock of the reasons that you did things in the first place. The question becomes, why is it that I became a lawyer? How is it that I got to here? I do know one thing, I never wanted an ordinary life.

I know that I didn't go to law school to get a fancy job or a fancy title. I have always been possessed with a sense of justice. It has always been important to me to help people. I think I saw law school as an opportunity to have my life mean more than just collecting a paycheck. More than just showing up. I looked at it as an opportunity to be able to bring my principles into my work life and define my life on my own terms. When I say it that way it sounds pretty terrific. So here I am, a man of deep principle faced with a big decision. I can either go back to the corporate side of law and potentially look at the same soul crushing work or I can make a change. I think I have begun this transition already. However, this is a bit of a mission statement. I am now cutting ties and accepting responsibility for my own security. Truth be told in the legal profession the only security you have is what you give yourself.

So I will be from this point, on for good or ill, a solo attorney. It is going to be a tough road but I think I will have more satisfaction in my life as a result. As I go I have to just remind myself of what is truly important and repeat my mantra, "honor first". Because, in the end how we live is far more important that what we accumulate in life. For me it is "honor first", the journey is far more important than the destination. Here is a toast to the journey, I hope it is interesting.

An Update

2009-07-15T22:31:00.002-04:00

Has it been a month, I suppose it has. In that time I have finally picked up my running to 15 miles a week for two weeks in a row. I have been to my martial arts class and got seriously clawed up by a training partner who doesn't seem to understand the wisdom of the finger nail clipper. When doing grabs and locks you have to respect your training partners and that means clipping the nails to avoid unnecessary injury to your partners.

I have been excited over my running as of late. I was able to put in a six mile effort one day last week and that has been my longest run of the year. This is simultaneously sad and exciting. Sad as I ran a marathon last year and exciting to finally get things back on track. Whew!!!

Here's to hoping for better things in the coming weeks.

A Good Week, Finally

2009-06-09T08:56:00.002-04:00

It seems that I have been struggling for this entire year to get a good routine together. This week was finally one that I think I can build upon. I was able to get out of the roads four times for a total of 12.5 miles. The milage may not be breath taking by any stretch of the imagination but it was a solid start.

When life is chaotic it can be difficult to get things together. When my life became a bit chaotic my running also seemed to followed the same chaos. I am attempting to get things in a more organized framework and hopefully I will be able to follow up on this.

Currently, I am thinking of doing the Philadelphia Distance Run in September. It is a nice half marathon and I haven't done a race since last November. It feels like too long of a break, probably because it is. Here is to getting another number.