Seriously, WTF am i thinking?

Salutations!!! Yet again its time to blog. I have so much on my mind i think its time i get a bit out before a serious pinata style headache takes hold. 
 First off, little dogs... Yep, that's right I'm throwing down here. I have friends with little dogs, i have friends who have friends with little dogs, my point being - i am not biased. I like Brock-Lee, I really do. BUT... Why do small dog owners feel its OK to bring their dog with them into stores, work, and even friends houses without some sort of prior consent? I mean seriously, if i took a Great Dane to Starbucks with me, or into the mall, or hell, over to a friends house, people would lose their shit! But because your dog is the size of a rodent, it's OK? Well then, how about people with pet rats, gerbils, ferrets, and the like? Is it ok that they have a rat in their purse at the grocery store or in the mall? I ask you, small dog owner, would you be ok with your friend coming over for coffee, and just letting his pet rat run freely through your home? Probably not. Now lets also consider the man with small dogs... Great, you feel comfortable enough with your masculinity that owning a small dog has no effect on you. Good, all men should be comfortable with themselves, in any environment - even if it's less than masculine. BUT, why is there so many male senior citizens with small dogs? I'll tell you why - years of being pussy whipped by their wives. It's not their dog, it's their wives dog. But like any human, the more you spend time with ANY animal, the more you grow to love it. SO you end up with old guy, with two teacup poodles walking them and picking up their shit, while the real boss sits in the truck and waits for the work to be done. SERIOUSLY - take the wife out of the picture, and those dogs would never have made it through the front door - and you all know it! Ok I'm done with this topic.
Moving along... I'm busy, and i mean really busy. I shared my schedule with my employer yesterday, and she quite honestly looked at me like i grew an extra limb while we were talking. So, when i got to the gym last night, i took a few minutes between sets to write down all the things i have to do today, and every day, and took real stock of my life... I will share with you now my day(s). Oh and i know, we are all very busy, so don't think this is a "my life is way busier than yours" thing, ok? It's just stupid on what i am fitting into days lately. Ok, so... Get up, get out the door - we can all understand what we do in the morning to get out of the house so no need for details here. If it weren't for my girlfriend lately i would add get two kids ready and out the door as well. Then work all day - same as you, each of us has different work loads, but a job is a job. And yes i know, shoveling gravel all day or roofing is harder on the body than sitting in an office, but lets just call a job a job, ok? (And for the record my day job is VERY physical 7 out of 10 days). Days over, go home, make dinner, then to the gym, go for a run, come home. Make lunches (again easier lately as my girlfriend has been a tremendous help), clean up. Somewhere in there i get about 2 hours downtime to hang with the kids - awesome right? ya i know, but its all i can spare them these days. And repeat - 6 days a week. Yep, 40+ out of 52 weeks a year i work 6 days a week. NOW this is where the WTF am i thinking portion of this blog comes from. My typical schedule, plus stuff i didn't list like grocery shopping, house cleaning, book keeping for my business and business association, etc etc etc, i sign up for a Sunday football league as well. Not a big deal right? Well with my current training schedule, that means i have to do my long run - which will be in excess of 12km before the end of March, then play football for an afternoon... OK, totally doable, if not a bit exhausting. So what genius thing do i do next? I sign up for a mens roller hockey league on Wednesday nights!! So ya, i run 5 days a week, work out 6 days a week, play football, now hockey, and i haven't even touched on things i should be doing... My boys and i ride every summer motor-cross. Then there is sports - as in my boys will also be in something this year. And how about home improvement?! I seriously need to paint my new place (2 years old now), and have so much organizing and cleaning to do i just might have to take a day or two off of my job just to get it done before spring cleanup is finished. And finally lets not forget my friends... I love them. They are all of my life - without them i would be lost, broken, and have no family. I could not go through life without there support, laughs, and friendship... WHEN DO I GET TO SEE THEM! So ya, WTF is wrong with me? Why do i feel the need to do all of this, all at once??


Anyway, clearly i have a few spare moments here and there - otherwise i wouldn't have time to blog. Truthfully, i wrote most of this last night around 3am - did i mention I'm not a good sleeper? Anyway, a quick 15 minutes at work and i was able finish and publish this. Clearly some proof reading is in order, but maybe i will edit this another time - time permitting of course. 


And now to the training portion of my blog... I ran yesterday, gonna run today. Prolly run tomorrow too. Still no fuel band - not available yet. New shoes are good (had them a year now, just started using them Sunday). that is all. Oh totally forgot - remind me next blog to discuss my "menu"...


C

Week 4 - gagets galore!

Ok so as i promised here is some news from the world of "run more, then run some more, then workout and run some more" training schedule.

 It has been exactly 3 weeks completed to the day as of yesterday, and i must say my cardio is improving as well as my endurance. I must admit i am slowly but surely becoming more and more addicted to running, AND all the gadgets that come with it.

Yes that's right, if you're a techno-geek like i am, the more flashing lights, LED's, bells, buzzers, whistles and GPS's you can get your hands on the better, especially if they can all be on you while you run!! So far in my quest to run a half marathon (or 3), i have utilized my already well used IPOD and IPhone 4. First new addition was the Nike+ GPS watch... Ok so this thing does EVERYTHING you might need to track if you run... Distance, GPS route mapping, speed, pace, average pace, lap counter, split time, calories burned, wireless connection to a heart rate monitor, running motivators and reminders, and believe it or not - tells the time! That's right it does it all! What more can a guy want?? I am so glad you asked :) Nike has come out with a new gadget that is simply a must have for ANYONE who would like to know how many calories they burn daily. Now i am not talking a simple "free in the box of Special K cereal" type of pedometer here, I'm talking a wrist band that has built in a 3 axis accelerometer with live calorie count (converted into some weird Nike+ points thingy), that you wear on your wrist. It has built in USB that you connect to, program and report to the Nike+ website daily. You set goals, etc, etc, etc... Damn just look yourself k?



http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?l=shop,fuelband&sitesrc=glfl_fuelband

COOL RIGHT?!?!?!

OK so why do i need one after getting the watch? Not to mention the absolute need now for a heart rate monitor to that connects via blue tooth to said watch ;) Well here's the deal. You ever do the whole BMI thing to figure out your daily caloric needs? Well the BMI is BS! It's based on some weird non muscly body type thing, where if you've ever worked out in your life, and are not an absolute cubicle working, couch potato living, not athletic type person EVER, then their comparison chart says you are grotesquely over weight regardless of muscle mass... SO this clever little bugger will track your every move (except for bike riding, flying and sleeping), and tell you your caloric base - EVERY DAY you wear it! So if you're like me, where you track your food, your workouts, your runs, your calories, your EVERYTHING, then this sucker is the thing you need...

So why does Nike have to sell it for $150?! Damn the watch was $200, the phone was stupid priced, the ipod wasn't cheap. Add water belt $53, good running shoes $150, running clothes $250 (I'm not talking multiple sets either - I'm talking ONE shirt, short, jacket combo), and other odds and sods, and I'm going to need a sponsor just to run comfortably!! Add to this BS i will need triathlon shorts, shirt, kayak gloves, and a good pair of cross country runners - just to pull off the Tough Mudder in June! Seriously not going to be able to afford half of this - even if the paintball season is spectacular.

Anyway, i digress... The basics still exist - i walk out the door and i run, and run, and run some more. I also workout - which is suffering truthfully, because i just don't have the juice to get a good quality workout in with all the running. I am hoping as this progresses i get more energy to ramp up the gym aspect of this training regime.

That's it for now, maybe i'll see you on the track. And hey, if you feel like sponsoring a nobody - i am very interested in spending other peoples money ;)

In the beginning...

Well here i am. Almost two whole weeks into my training schedule and things are as they should be. I seem to be doing ok for finding time to get my runs in, if not a bit rushed in the back half of the week - definitely work schedule conflicts, but between me and my business partner it seems to be working out for now. A little later in the training schedule and it might get more difficult given the length of the runs - we will see. So far no issues what so ever - my usual runs are as long if not longer than the beginning of this training regime so its not much of a challenge - so far.  I can say i usually do not run this many times in a week though - so clearly my endurance is going to improve as this schedule continues.

Changes - things i've done, noticed and am experiencing early on. Firstly my diet is improving. Its not that im really heavily watching what im eating - although i do and always have recorded my daily intake of food. I've just noticed my preferred  foods aren't what they usually are. I really am enjoying more fruits and yogurts than before, maybe because they don't mess with my stomach so much when im running, and im so damn hungry all the time they make seriously quick snacks. I've also noticed that im most hungry in the mornings, and by the time the evening comes i've eaten my fill from grazing all day. It doesn't necessarily help with the late night snacking - bad habits are habits for a reason, but it does help with my portion control around dinner time. I've also changed my workouts in the gym. Its not that i train any less hard, but rather i've just changed what my workouts entail. Usually i would train two body parts to excess - completely tearing down the tissue and overloading them so i could get  them to grow and become bigger. Now i train my entire body each night. I choose one exercise per body part and do 4 sets per exercise. Its not as exhausting to each body part, but as a whole it completely exhausts me. I can honestly say i am more sore the next day from this style of work out then i was when i was doing 2 body parts at a time before. I don't believe this new method will promote any kind of muscle growth - i am not expecting to add inches to my arms or my chest and back. I am expecting to be more balanced, completely fit, and ready for the obstacle portion of the Tough Mudder. Size will have to wait for the fall i figure - when looking good on the beach is less important, and im not expecting to run for 3 hours at a time. As per usual, the increase in activity has granted me more energy which i believe is becoming an issue when it comes time to sleep. Its not that i don't feel tired - hell i feel exhausted, its more that when i am sleeping i feel restless. I get aches from the days training, and my mind doesn't seem to switch off for any serious length of time. No sooner do i fall asleep and i wake up for no reason, or with something on my mind that i forgot about during the day.  The lack of sleep will catch up with me im sure, and with exhaustion comes sickness, so i better figure out something quick before it damages my training regime. 

Speaking of my schedule - here's a photo - probably hard to read, but its just the days i run, what i run, and how. Add to it i try and work out in the gym at least 4 days a week - if not 6... So far i've averaged 4 but it is early on. Anyway here it is:

I know probably really hard to read, but if you can zoom in you'll see what its all about. I have been crossing off the days as i complete them, and using a different method of crossing them off if i miss a day. And i know its not up to date - its an older photo - but you get the idea. Last week i had to swap Thursday with Friday, as i just couldn't get it together in time. Still added up to the right amount of KM at the end of the week so it was ok. Finally i must say i am spending WAY more time stretching after a run  than i used to. From what i've read its seriously more important in the later stages of the training schedule, so i better get on it now. Well thats it for now, hopefully i can update again soon. 

Oh one last note - completely unrelated to this thread... If you ever want something from someone you aren't exactly on good terms with, being polite, humble and easy going will get you far more than being a bitch - even if you're mad. Just saying...

... And go!

So again i've let this blog of mine lapse - too long since i've posted... Well i can say i've been pretty busy and just haven't found the time, but that's BS because everyone can find time, so im going to go with lazy and distracted. Anyway, time fly's by and and next thing you know it been like months instead of days or weeks. Sorry.

So topic of the day - racing. And not car racing, bike racing, motocross racing, drag racing or any other high speed attempt at death. Foot racing - as in i am running, er planning on running not one, not 2, but 3 half marathons this year. I know right - go big or  go home. Seriously, i don't know what the idea was, but it all started with the Warrior Dash. A short 5km race through Whistler mountain, with an obstacles and beer! Then i saw the Tough Mudder, and it looked as cool but longer and a bit tougher obstacles - but fun. Then i saw it was 21km long! Thus this begins my saga of running 3 half marathons. Here's the plan... I have to train for a half marathon (21km) because that is the distance of the race, but here's where my thinking takes a bit of an odd turn. How well will i do? How can i train for the one race, go all the way to Whistler, get there and discover im no where near ready to race 21km of obstacles in the mountains. I think i would rather die than give up and quit before the finish line. So what do i do? Well, how about run one half marathon first - exactly one month before, on flat ground, and see what happens. If i can do that, then i know i can cover the distance in Whistler, and then its just training for the hills and obstacles. So thats two half marathons... On in preparation for the other. Should be good right? Well after talking about running these two races, someone asked if i would run the "Run for a Cure" on their behalf. They can't cover the distance do to illness, but want someone to "represent", so... thats it - 3 half marathons, one year... More than a bit daunting to me to say the least. BUT i have a plan!! I've purchased a book from the running room on specific instructions for training, preparing and surviving half and full marathons - read it cover to cover - and now i have an 18 week training schedule. By the 3rd month i will be running an average of 45km weekly, and be up to runs as long as 18km once a week! Crazy if i can do it - but sounds absolutely ludicrous! So with all this running i still have to cross train in the gym, otherwise these obstacles won't be easily navigated. What does all this mean? It means i am going to be in the best shape ever! So as another form of accountability, to make sure i don't wander from my training schedule or meal plans, i've decided to post my weight, runs and training info here - as often as possible - at least weekly im hoping, and see exactly what transformation takes place. So if you want to see me succeed, or perhaps fail horribly, continue to follow and see where this takes me.

Oh ya, the Tough Mudder is a fund raising thing, designed to raise money for wounded soldiers, so this is the plug section of my blog. If you want to come up to Whistler and watch the shenanigans,  register on line at https://register.toughmudder.com/register/default.aspx?event=8330 and come watch (it is a $20 fee to watch the race, and it will cost more if you don't buy tickets in advance). You can also donate here http://www.raceit.com/fundraising/donate.aspx?event=6581&fundraiser=r2630840 (if you donate $50 you get a $15coupon off your spectator fee). The donations will help me reach my goal so i don't have to pay more to race (it already cost $125). Anyway, watch me suffer, help a soldier, enjoy the after party!

Ok, so the stats... Weight 215lbs
                           Last run pace 6.04/km (easy steady run)
                           Best 10km time - 51:43
                           


So thats it for now, check in and see whats what from time to time. Week one of 18 is almost done. When i get some more time i will discuss my trip to Cuba, the awesomeness of it and my friends, and all other things interesting and mundane.