#1: A hop, skip, and a jump to...a better transition??

During my movement preparation before the workout, I was integrating a couple of reps of lateral bounds with a mind-band around my knees.  The starting position for this movement is: balanced on one leg in a slightly squatted position. From there I jump off of that leg and land as quiet and controlled as I can on my opposite leg, finishing the movement in a slightly squatted position, then holding that end position for a moment.  A gentleman was watching and after a couple reps said, "What are you training for?"  I said, as I usually do, "Life...and running." "Really?  Running?  I've never seen that before."  [No surprise...I've been hearing that for seven years now.]  "Seems like that would be good for transitions." "Transitions?" I said, not sure if I'd heard it right." "Yeah, transitions.  Like when you have to balance and pull off the wetsuit or put your shoes on one at a time. I have to hold on to something when I do that."  "But what about in running?" I said, and pointed to a runner running around the track, and then said something along the lines about the very definition of running (vs walking) means that only one foot is on the ground at a time."  He wasn't phased.  "Well I ran 2:16," he said. "In the marathon?" He continued, "Yeah.  Didn't seem to hurt me much [then.]  Well, that was a long time ago."  We then said goodbyes and he gingerly took off for his jogging cool down and I put the finishing touches on my warm-up before joining the group for some intervals.

Performance POV // At some instant in your running stride you are on one foot.  What happens in the next instant?  You can, and should be in control of that.  The ability to balance on one leg strongly, sturdily, relaxed, is PARAMOUNT to injury-resistant and powerful running.  The ability to hop, or bound, on one leg strongly, sturdily, with confidence and coordination is also PARAMOUNT to injury-resistant and powerful running.

So often its the number of minutes or miles that are considered milestones in running, but ultimately it is muscles that make up movements and multiple movements make up running.  Can you balance on one leg?  Effortlessly? How about squat jump from one leg to the next?   Coordinated?  Stable?  Strong? Powerfully?  Let me ask you one more question.  Do you want to have control over whether you get injured or not?  How about eliminate chronic pain?   Insure yourself.  Train to achieve milestones that matter most, not with more time, but as a priority within the time you've already got.

#2:  Learn how to run?  I can't, I have 80 miles to ride.

Just after finishing the final interval, another gentleman came by me and said, "I could watch you run all day long.  I wish I could run like you." After thanking him I said, "What are you doing on Feb 13th?" "I'm running the half-marathon on the 14th," he said.  I mentioned that I'll be teaching a workshop about running and performance that day. "I have to ride 80 miles that day.  I'm training for California 70.3." He said as he jogged away.

Performance POV // I don't think he believed he COULD, ever, run like me and so he didn't entertain the thought or the impact that learning how to run, could have.  I know he could.  I've seen it 100 times now at MovementU and so have the participants. I'm not the fastest, or the most graceful runner, like those I love to watch:  Haile Gebrselassie and Deena Kastor, for example.  But I know what makes them run that efficiently and fast and I work toward that, piece by piece.  What I believe he saw was my symmetry, coordination, strength and power. THAT'S what makes up my running. I don't run a lot to run the way I do, I use my time to work on many things that add up to running.  I work on symmetry, coordination, stability and strength in order to HAVE symmetry, coordination, stability and strength.   I want him and others to know that I learned how to run in 2004 and since then I continue to take actionable steps to achieve proper, efficient running form. EVERY day.  I'm not the fastest, but I'm fast for the amount of time I have to spend on it, and  I've been free of chronic pain and injury for seven years because of it.  Sure there was a time when I ran very fast and efficiently without knowing much about running or the body, but as time went on little asymmetries got bigger, muscle weaknesses got weaker and I got injured.  If I hadn't learned how the body, or more precisely, the muscles of the body, were "born to run," I would've been one of those defeated 27 year-olds going around saying, "No, I can't run anymore...my knees."  I want everyone to know that it is possible to learn and create the change you wish to see in YOU.  

#3: Of course I'm OK! [But thanks for asking...]

After the workout I went back to my area where my towel was still laid out with my gear.  I laid down, grabbed my stretch rope with a smile, and I heard, "Are you ok?" I think I heard him right, but I just wanted to make sure. I asked, "Sorry, what?" He repeated, "Everything ok?" and then gestured to my rope wrapped around my foot as I was doing my usual AIS stretching on my legs.  "Yes, thanks."

Performance POV // I'm not sure if I said the next bit out loud or not but I was thinking, "I do this so I'm NEVER not ok!!" I'm on a mission to get more people understanding the body and being proactive with their time and achieving their best performances, instead of reactive once injuries occur.

If you'd like to learn more about you and your body's role in your running efficiency and injury resistance, come join us at MovementU!!

2010 has officially begun!  First race in the books.  I had kicked things off with this race last year and was excited to do it again this year.  Before the race I was trying to determine if I was more fit, less fit, or the same fit as I was this time last year.  I concluded that I was either as fit or more fit.  Turns out I was wrong, slightly, but enough to make a very hard race, seem a lot harder!  Finished in 2 hours 2 minutes and 5th overall.

Snapshot: Gorgeous sunrise, 60 degree weather, familiar faces, a couple of gel packs, my Under Armour custom race kit, some movement prep and we were jamming from the get go.

THE GEAR

Trail Shoes:  Under Armour Mirage
Sunglasses:  Under Armour Draft Multiflection
Socks: Under Armour DCE Speed Sock
Visor:  Under Armour Ventilator Mesh Visor
Sunscreen:  Kinesys SPF 30 Cream and SPF 30 Spray

THE RACE

The chant in my head was "make this feel as easy as possible - you still have X hours to go."  That only  seemed to work intermittently.  For the most part, no matter how hard I tried to go easy, the course was just hard, whether uphill or downhill.  On the uphills I was trying to keep my upper body relaxed, take shorter steps, land in my glutes and take things step by step, without looking up too much. On the downhills I was trying to keep tension and control in my core and my legs turning over under me as fast as I could so I could keep landing in my glutes and not jarring my legs/quads.  I did a pretty good job of it, although I could definitely feel when I would start to break form.  For example towards the end of a really long steep downhill I was starting to hear my feet slap the ground more, I couldn't keep them turning under me and I could feel my legs having to doing a lot more work.   At that point though I was unable to do much to correct it, I just didn't have the strength, neuromuscular reaction speed, etc. so I listened to the slapping and made a mental note that I would work on the things I needed to so that when I raced again, I would NOT be feeling and hearing it.  I had to walk/run some of the uphills, as did most people I saw.  A few of my friends and I were leapfrogging a bit in the middle of the course.  That was fun.  Getting slapped on the rear-end as one went by and then getting to slap him right back a couple miles later.  Surprise!  See ya!  I was getting passed on the uphills but caught back up and screamed by people on the downhills.  One guy even asked, "How are you going so fast downhill?!"  I said, "Ask me at the finish!"  And he did.  Here's my blog on downhill running if you haven't seen it yet.

Enjoyed the breathtaking views at the top but only briefly.  The course jets downhill quickly thereafter and I was really gunning to break the two hour mark like last year.  Just missed it, but had fun trying! 

THE END

Medals for all finishers, scrambled eggs, oranges, croissants and smiles at the finishline were all awesome. Props to Subaru for providing shuttles and helping raise funds for California Parks, including the one we ran in today:  Point Mugu State Park. 

Important to note:  Thrills, but no spills or twisted ankles!  After a year under my belt off-road, I think my footwork has gotten better and I'm glad.  Goal is to keep everything intact this year with a little more awareness and a lot more skill.

THE PEEPS

Generic Events puts on phenomenal races.  Highly recommended.  Their are 3 more races left in the XTERRA Trail Run SoCal Series and 3 in the NorCal Series.  Come play!! All details are at www.trailrace.com.

SoCal:

XTERRA Mission Gorge Trail Run - February
XTERRA Black Mountain Trail Run - March
XTERRA Malibu Creek Challenge - May

NorCal:

XTERRA Chanoko Xduro - March
XTERRA Redwood Peak Trail Run - April
XTERRA Marin Headlands Xduro - June

Next up for me:

Jan 24th XTERRA Crystal Cove 17K

How about for you??

Happy Trails!!

Before I race off into 2010 I wanted to make sure to reflect on all that went down in 2009...

It's hard to say what I am most stoked about.  Every bit of it was rad, whether it was hard or easy.  It was nutz at times, but it was self-imposed.  [Well that's not exactly true.  I'm driven by something much greater than myself, and I feel like I'm just here following out a bigger plan, watching my own movie.]   I created and enjoyed every minute of it.  The year confirmed a lot and I learned a lot.  The more I learn, the more I know there is to learn.  About myself, my sports, my field, the world, etc.

WHAT STANDS OUT // The thing that stands out most is just how MUCH I did this year.  All my years used to be like this one, until about three years ago when I found myself wanting to do a whole lot of nothing - learn how to relax and chill out for once.  It served it's purpose, but now I'm back at it, and I'm glad.  I prefer to have my journal busting at the seams with stuff, daily.  Life's too short.

THE OUTDOORS // I'm stoked on my new found appreciation for the outdoors and all that comes with it: the feelings (mental and physical,) the people and the places.  Sure I've always trained outdoors, but this year was different.  Adventuring on and really seeing and exploring the trails, the mountains, and all the fun that comes with them was special.  They haven't changed, but I have...and I'm so glad they're still there for us all to enjoy.

THE MAKING OF MOVEMENTU // I've had any number of 'ideas' in my life...a few came to fruition and the rest taught me something about myself or the world and snowballed into other ideas.  The Olympic journey was my first transcendent commitment as an adult.  Interestingly enough, even since before my Olympic journey ended I've been curious as to what my next "THING" would be.  During my break from triathlon I was very aware that I had no THING and for about three years committed simply to living in the moment, knowing that at some point my heart and soul would be driven once again toward something big and defining.  The mission of MovementU was born during a walk on the beach at the end of July this year.  The idea was crafted into words in August during hours and hours in coffee shops in Boulder, CO.   I launched the website in the second week of September during a video shoot at Saris Cycling Group in Madison, WI.  After many more race weekends and travels including Ironman Hawaii with Active.com, the first ever MovementU was held on October 24th, with the help of my family, near my home town in central New Jersey.  I couldn't have asked for more.

This year was a great learning experience.  Thanks to the sound business advice from so many of my awesomely successful family and friends as well as feedback I've received from participants, I know I'm on the right path and will continue to evolve it, staying true to its mission:  to enhance the understanding of the body and its true performance potential.  One of the goals is to eliminate chronic  pain and injury (possible!!) with motivation through education.

Here's my snapshot of 2009...

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2009 By The Numbers

25,000 miles on the Prius / 86 Blog Posts / 72 Videos Created / 44 Flights

33 Appearances / 24 Races / 15 States / 14 Interviews / 10 Stitches / 2 Countries

1 New Mountain Bike / 1 New Business / 1 Day of Skiing

1 Fractured Orbital Bone / 1 Torn Supraspinatus

Zero Chronic Injuries

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Teammates + Family + Friends

Thank you so so much...

UNDER ARMOUR

Active.com / Fitness Anywhere / Core Performance / ITP Foundation

B + L Bikes / Intense Cycles / CycleOps / SportQuest

Xterra Wetsuits  / TP Therapy / Kinesys Sunscreen

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There was SUPERBOWL NFLX and launch of Under Armour RUN Shoes!

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Adventuring + Training

Moab, UT + Big Bear, CA + Girona, Spain + Boulder, CO

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The TRX for Multisport Strength DVD was released...

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Think YOU have it tough when trying to find a port-a-potty pre-race?

Here is one of those makes-you-appreciate-what-youve-got stories, an excerpt from an email I got last week from a friend of mine in the US Marine Corps, Major Lauren S Edwards, who is currently stationed at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan.  Lauren and I went to George Washington University together.  She was a varsity cross-country runner and is now a part of the All-Marine Running Team.  On a brief side note, she recently organized a satellite Marine Corps Marathon in Afghanistan.  About 11 hours prior to the start of the Washington, D.C. event, Lauren and more than 230 runners headed out in a puff of moon dust for the first ever Marine Corps Marathon Afghanistan. The course wound around Camp Leatherneck, Camp Bastion and the fight line.  “I was skeptical as to how it would be received due to our very high op tempo at the time," Lauren reported, "but the (commanding general) was extremely enthusiastic about the idea. Not only did he give me the green light, but he also encouraged me to make the event as big as possible.”   How cool is that??  

 

**photos courtesy of DVIDS and taken by Gunnery Sgt. Kimberly Leone**

With Lauren's permission, here's the scoop.  The trials and tribulations of...having to pee in the middle of the night at Camp Leatherneck...

Things are well here.  The rain has begun which usually means the place is flooded and where there isn’t gravel, there is MUD.  I think the mud is most effective at night – in the middle of the night – when I have to pee. I race out to the port-a-john, trying to carefully dodge massive “peanut butter” mud – and search aimlessly for the port-a-john that has toilet paper (since I always forget to carry a roll with me.) Usually by this time I am doing “the dance" while still half asleep and trying to dodge additional puddles in the area.  I usually am able to trip my way into the shower stalls (since the power is often out,) turn on my flash light and grab some paper towels.  I usually “dance” my way back – jumping over mud and puddles in one step and trying not to slide around the inside of the port-a-john (muddy shower shoes) – while I attempt to lock the beaten up and bent door.  But, so far, success.  I make it. 

Other than that and the fact that our power is out many a night lately in my tent (so I just keep hitting the sensor in the Christmas Lights my sister sent – very cool how they light up my corner of the tent) and I wake up to see my breathe...things are good.  And not to worry – that little hassle is easily mitigated.  I have no less than four flashlights, headlamps, a lantern, or other light sources strategically stored around my little corner of the tent – all can easily be found in the dark – as well as my watchcap to keep my head warm.    I finally capitulated – and moved to the bottom bunk.  (I graduated to bunk beds after my cot kept breaking. literally.  I fell to the floor more than once…sheer comedy.)  My tent was collapsing so much and after I could feel the tarp from the top of the tent on the edge of my nose when I slept – coupled with getting caught up in the wire of the light when I rolled over – decided it was time to move.  Good news, though.  The maintenance crew came in and made a brace on the inside – so it’s fixed.  Sort of.  It's worked out.  In the frame of the rack above me I have wedged all the Thanksgiving photos of the family my Mom sent and other good little pics of my new godson as well as homemade Christmas cards from my nephews.

she continues...

We’re tired…but we’re doing well here.  The additional troops will keep us moving in the right direction – and I think we’ve remembered some of our hard-earned lessons from Iraq…we’re partnering and training with the Afghans now…instead of years from now…living and training side by side.  There are still some tough places where we haven’t quite “cracked the nut”, but in most places where we are, the Marines are welcomed.  We’ve been aggressive…and sometimes we’ve barely kept up, but hopefully, Inshallah, it will all have made a difference.

THANK YOU LAUREN!!  YOU ARE SOMETHING SPECIAL!!

Want a visual?? Here's a great highlight video ... had me rolling...