This Summers Journey

Over the last two months I have done almost no training towards my Ironman goal. You might think that I am disappointed with myself or that I have been lazy, but nothing could be more wrong. Over the last two months I have put my life on hold so that my wife could finish her master's degree in Environmental Engineering, and I couldn't be prouder!!! Oh, and then we promptly moved half way across the country here to Omaha, Nebraska and so I have had a little less than no free time.

This photo is of my wife after joining the Order of the Engineer, which is an organization dedicated to encouraging ethics in engineering. She is the hottie in the front row!

Now that the dust has settled on that excessively hectic time of our lives, it is time for me to pick up with my training.  My goal for this summer was to run a marathon, and I do not intend to let that slip away from me. It might be a little later than expected but I will be running the Kansas City Marathon on October 18th. I will also run a 10K and Half during my training just to spice things up.

I feel like moving to a new city is always an interesting feeling. I have been somewhat of a nomad ever since finishing high school. Over the last 10 years I have lived in 11 different apartments, the longest one of which was just over two years. I think moving, especially to a new city offers some really interesting opportunities, it is a chance to redefine who I am, how I want others to perceive me, and what I want to accomplish. Hopefully my life in Omaha will be defined by my faith, family, and hard working spirit. I am excited for my opportunities here and look forward to this wonderful adventure with my wife, son, and mildly irritating puppy.

My training schedule will start easy but pick up quick to hopefully get me back to where I was a few months ago as quickly as possible. Here is my training schedule for the next 5 months. Please feel free to keep me honest in my efforts.

So this memorial day I started with step one, an easy one mile run just to check up on my endurance and see how I am doing. I was a little winded but in much better shape than I expected. I know that there is a lot more left on my journey but I am excited to work hard and get healthy and fit while accomplishing one of my lifelong goals. 

I've attached pictures and links to the three races I intend on entering here in Nebraska during this training schedule. For any of my new friends here in the Husker State, there is an open invitation to join me in my races. Hopefully you guys are cranking away at your goals, and loving it as much as I am!!!

When an Ironman is Won

The process of training your body has a lot more to do with mental strength than physical. The last several months have involved a lot of soul searching to try to find passion for this new goal in my life. This weeks blog is more of my commentary on success and why I want to finish an Ironman. Please enjoy.

Why are some people successful in life? Is it purely nature? Do the talented succeed and the unlucky many fail because they are not blessed with pure athleticism, charisma, or intelligence?

I believe that people who are successful in one area of life are the same who are likely to be winners in other areas of life. I do not give much credit to natural ability when it comes to success. Successful people are determined, honest, hard working, and never quit. That does not change if you are talking about career, sport, religion, or anything else. Success is the result of an attitude, not a skill set.

Thomas Edison said that "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work". Most people will never finish an Ironman in their lives, not because they don't want to finish an Ironman, but because they don't want to be consistently training for years in order to be ready. They believe that an Ironman is a race where extremely talented people go to accomplish a great feat in 17 hours or less. But that is where they are wrong, and that is why they will never find success in this realm. An Ironman is not finished in 17 hours, it is finished in years. An Ironman is won on cold winter mornings where training is required but sleep is desired. It is finished in the mind first, and then in the body.

There are only really two types of people who begin training for an Ironman. Those who will finish and those who will quit. I do not really believe that there is a group who tries hard and cannot finish. Maybe they do not finish their first race, but it will not be their last. I believe that my success in finishing an Ironman is a three year process, not a day in the future where I will magically become strong, enduring, and confident.

I suppose there is a third group who suffers from big injuries or hardships, but since I cannot know if I will fall into this group they seem irrelevant to my personal goal setting.

I think that is why the idea of finishing an Ironman means so much to me, because I want to prove to myself that I am a person who is an can be successful. Not because of any preexisting skills, but because I have the mental strength to work hard and make my goals a reality.

Getting Back on the Horse

Me riding a Peruvian horse that was obviously
meant for somebody more.... Peruvian sized.

 Ah, the old adage. Sometimes getting back into a routine after some time off is harder than you would think. Or perhaps even harder than it should be. Winter break was not good to my Ironman goals. The week of Christmas I got sick and was unable to run for about five days. I got a run in after my illness but it was almost immediately followed by my one and a half year old getting bronchiolitis. So after missing another week I was toast. For the first 3 weeks of January I ran probably only three days all together.

 Back when I played high school football I had a small group of friends that I would go to the gym with. One of these guys had a saying that if he "missed a day, [he] would miss a month". I didn't know if I really agreed with him then but now I see that it was very true. When we miss one work-out, for almost any reason, we are telling our body that it is okay to find reasons not to work out. There is almost always an excuse to not work out. "I went to bed a little late last night", "I have a homework assignment that I should probably get a head start on", "I can just go later today", etc. etc.

 So about a week ago I decided it was time to fix it, I had taken a full month off of running and needed to start again. Unfortunately, my hiatus from running did not come without consequence. I gained about five pounds, I can tell that I have gotten a little out of shape, and I am having to reset my goals in regards to when I will run my first half marathon.

 The question began to ruminate in my mind as to how I could fix it, and for me the answer was increased accountability. I signed up for an Aerobics class on campus. It is slightly awkward since I have since learned that the only people who want to be healthy at 7:30 am on Monday and Wednesday are female. Not Kidding. I happen to be the only guy in a class of thirty girls and we are all trying to Zumba and hip-shake our extra pounds away. It is incredibly awkward. But, I now have a grade that is holding me accountable to working out two times a week. Even though this is not running, the habit of getting up early to exercise has generalized and I am now finding it easier to run.

 So since my goals are shifting I have decided to begin a marathon training schedule that will in its course also help me finish a half. Feel free to keep me honest. If I don't post a run (using the widget to the right) please call me out on it. I really want to stay on track this time.

 I don't know if this same method is available or will work for you when you have speed bumps in what you are working on, but I can say that addressing the issue and not quiting on your goals will always be worth it. Check out my stepping stones tab to see my updated goal checklist. Hopefully you guys are cranking away at your goals, and loving it as much as I am!!!

10K, Check!

Just another step on the path. A couple of weeks ago Cami and I competed in the Herriman 5K/10K/Half Marathon put on by Operation 61 and I finished my first 10K!!!

The race itself was through some beautiful neighborhoods in Herriman and was really enjoyable. We started running in the morning and it was freezing!!! I knew that my body would warm up as I ran, but I didn't realize it would take me about a mile and a half to get there. Once my body did warm up though I had a great time. Cami finished her second 5K and had a better time than her first. Right now instead of increasing distance, her goal is to keep running 5K’s and improving her times.

So on to the next goal. I am going to compete in the St. George Half Marathon on January 18^th. I think it will be a nice break to escape to the moderate climate of St. George in the heart of winter, and it will keep me honest to my goals instead of getting lazy and hibernating for the winter. I read on a website that I should only run outside when it is 25 degrees or warmer without special equipment. Since I don’t have money to spend on special equipment, I will have to move my running inside soon. Luckily since Cami & I are both students we can work out on campus for free which is awesome.

My half marathon training schedule is much more rigorous than my previous ones. Hopefully I can keep it up over the next few months.

Cami will be competing on Dec 7^th in Provo in a Santa Run 5K. As a part of her race fee she gets a full Santa outfit to run in, which she is very excited for. If anyone is interested in running either race with us let me know! Hopefully you guys are cranking away at your goals, and loving it as much as I am!!!

My liver!!!

 I am sad to report that my liver has betrayed me. All of my life I thought because I didn't drink and occasionally ate good things that we were friends. But it seems to hate me getting into shape because around 2.5 miles into every run it starts tugging on my diaphragm causing the muscles to spasm and making me feel like somebody stabbed me right below my rib.

 Anyways, that overly dramatic representation is how I feel about my stupid side splits. I did some research online and found out that there are two ligaments that connect your liver to your diaphragm, and when all of the bouncing happens that stress from the weight of the liver causes cramping. According to the internet the best prevention is to learn how to breathe better, by filling the lower lungs and taking full breathes. Hopefully that works because these things are killing me. (Learn more by clicking on my liver picture)

 Other than that my runs have been going pretty well. Saturday I was upset to start my run because I missed my phone's cue telling me to start. I realized that starting a run frustrated really effects my ability to run well. Luckily I cooled off pretty quick and was back in business.

 Speaking of phones, I guess I should give a shout-out for my running app. It is called Runkeeper and it is really good. It uses GPS tracking to tell me how far/fast I have gone and keeps a record of all of my runs.

  So the only other thing that I find worth noting here is that there is this old lady that crosses my path most mornings. I am impressed because by the time I'm in my 80's I don't know if I will have the will to go outside, let alone walk a couple miles at 6 am.

 And that is all I have for this week. I will be registering for the Operation61 10K pretty soon and the invitation still stands for anyone that would like to join my wife and I for that race, they have a half marathon, 10K, & 5K. Just let me know. Hopefully you guys are cranking away at your goals, and loving it as much as I am!

I Need New Shoes!?!?

So this week seems like it has taken a long time to pass. I wonder what it is about some weeks that fly by in an instant and some drag on forever. It seems like some mornings especially I just DO NOT WANT to run. The bed is comfy, the pillow is soft, and everything outside the blanket must be -20 degrees. I have decided though that barring real illness, I can't miss or reschedule a workout. I noticed when I was lifting weights for high school football, that once I made an excuse to miss a workout, it was so much easier the next time. I need to set and keep my standards pretty high as to what is a valid excuse, and when I just need to tell myself to stop being lazy.

I was surprised to see that the running shoes I bought probably over a year ago just started wearing out over the last month. I guess that is what happens when they actually get used. My 10K training schedule already has me running about 12 miles a week, and this is the first week!!! My body is feeling more and more healthy every day, and I don't really crave the fast food like I used to, even though we still eat it sometimes for time reasons. I'm excited to have one week down in preparation for my 10K but will soon be running the longest distances I think I have ever actually run, check it out. (Click on the image to go to the web site where I found the schedule, they also have training schedules for all different distances and abilities)

So today was an exciting day, for the first time I stepped on the scale and was in the 240's!!!! I actually weighed myself twice to make sure it wasn't a glitch before I silently celebrated trying not to wake our son. It feels good to see that my body is enjoying being taken care of.

My runs this week were really good. I pushed myself hard to improve my times on Monday and Wednesday, but today I took it a little easier and that was reflected in my time. It didn't help that there must have been a sewer backup or something because my run STUNK!!!

I have noticed that my back has not been bothering me as much lately. I think it has to do with me warming up my back muscles and getting blood flowing in the mornings. Hills still suck, even minor ones can have my crying for mercy. My breathing is much smoother and calm during my runs, at the end of my runs I'm not so winded that I can't speak.  :)

That is about it for this week. I am going to try to post some sort of update every week on this blog. If it gets too monotonous or boring I will back off, but I really appreciate the feeling of accountability that this blog gives me. Hopefully you guys are cranking away at your goals, and loving it as much as I am!

Day 1! Again

So I have decided that it is easier to think of each race training as it's own individual section instead of focus on the big picture. It is a lot easier to tell myself that I only have 53 more days till my 10 K than it is to tell myself only about 1095 days of training left. So I am starting all over again with my training at Day 1.

Today's run was good, it was three miles and I did it under 30 minutes. Started off slow because within the first 100 yards I realized that there was a rock in my shoe. I honestly debated just dealing with it but in hindsight that would have been absolutely miserable, glad it was taken care of early :).

As a part of training for my 10K, my wife and I have found a smaller 5K early September that we will do as a part of our training. It is called Apple Days and it is a local race to celebrate apple harvest and should be a nice relaxing race. After the race it says that we get to celebrate with apple pie and ice cream, you know... so we can gain back all of those calories real fast. :)

I am really getting excited about the 10K in October. Our first race was an event that was just for fun, but I am really enjoying the idea that my 10K is a race that has a cause. Operation61 is a charitable organization that is involved in trying to end human trafficking, especially of minors. They operate a safe home in San Diego where people who have been rescued can find protection, and they also are trying to do a lot of awareness events to garner public support. Check them out by clicking on the picture because I believe they are a really good cause.

If anybody in the Utah area wants to run the race with me let me know. It is October 5th in Herriman Utah (south side of SLC), and I will be running the 10K and my wife will be running the 5K. It should be a blast and it feels better paying the entry fee knowing that we are helping a good cause.

In good news I have officially lost 20 pounds so far on this journey. That puts me at 252!!!!! Only about 50 more pounds to go before I get to what I think is about my healthy weight. I guess a lot of hard training and eating better actually works, who'd-a-thunk it?