Garbage

 There are days when you just feel like garbage. Yesterday was one of those days. I woke up too early and from the first feeling something was off. I went for a run. Typically I may feel out of sorts before a run and feel great once I return. That did not happen yesterday. The results are comical:

I have a trip planned to Austin for The Running Event. In my mind the trip was next week Wednesday-Thursday-Friday. I got home from my run, started my day and realized The Running Event was Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday. I’ve got the big 55,000 person race I’m working on and 3 races this weekend in Athens, Greece. I planned all that work out with the trip in mind. Then I got to planning my days in Austin. I contacted my Uncle who lives there to make plans. I contacted one of my good friends in the running industry to plan a run and I called my friend for a ride to the airport. Then I got working overtime on that 55,000 person race. The pressure was on to get it done before the flight on Monday. All day I had that little pit in my stomach. Get the work done!!! 

Late in the afternoon Mary comes home. I tell her about my mistake and that I leave on Monday. She says “On Veterans Day? I am fairly sure you have it on the calendar for next Monday the 18th.” You see we have a paper calendar hanging in the kitchen. That’s crazy, right? I go to the The Running Event website and sure enough the event starts on Monday the 18th. Then I check my flight and yes, I fly out on the 18th. I reverse all my messages to friends and family. 

All of that stress about getting the work done is gone this morning. I have 4 races to finish by Friday. No problem. 

Run 50 min 5 miles

I put one foot in front of the other and that’s about it. The saving grace is the location. I ran along the beautiful coast and took in the deep blue water of the Pacific. 

Strength: 30 minutes. 

I worked on something I learned on Instagram. The proper way to do a pull up. I followed the instructions. It worked. I really enjoyed doing pull ups yesterday. 

Friday Folies

 The end of the super busy time of year. Today is Friday and I’m home. Since the beginning of August I have been home on Friday-Saturday-Sunday less than I have been gone. 

• Falmouth
• Mexico City
• Berlin
• Chicago
• Toronto
• NYC

In between those I’ve also had events in. 

• Tokyo
• Amsterdam
• Valencia
• Marseille
• Frankfurt
• Warsaw 

Only 5 more events to go. 3 this weekend and then two in December. 

It feels good to accomplish work. Today I’ll pay all the bills associated with all of these events. That feels good too! 

Workouts Yesterday 

Run 57 min 6.2 miles 

Flower Fields (picture above) The area used to be covered in green houses growing flowers. Today there is a golf course and homes but most importantly trails. I warmed up to the first trail head. Then I worked the hills hard. There are 4 hills. They vary in length and pitch. The longest being one kilometer and steep at the end. On the way home I ran the last kilometer with some tempo. 

Yoga: 15 minutes at lunch time. 

Run 20 min 2.1 miles 

Shakeout 

November 6, 2024

I am opening this blog again. I will attempt to do this daily. I write in a journal daily but I would like our son or our grandkids to be able to read my musings. Yesterday was the US Election. Like my wife always says, “we get the government we deserve” 

The US and maybe the world has always had a boogeyman or boogeymen. This year in no rank order: 

• Immigrants - This country was built by immigrants. There was a time that the Irish and Italian immigrants were the boogeymen. Today it’s brown people from Central America. Watch the economy tumble when we deport the immigrants. 
• LGBTQ - We have come so far in accepting this community. We have friends in this community. The fear mongering will only drive the young community back into hiding. What a loss to our culture if this happens. 
• Women and their rights - I am standing here knowing I am the man I am because of the women in my life. There are too many to list and too many to thank right here. At the top of the list though is my wife. She is an inspiration to an entire flock of people. If you listed all the things Jesus would do, you could use Mary Jewell in place of Jesus and the list would match. When we accept the women can lead, and women can govern we’ll become a stronger country. That stars with all the young men out there right now. Give up your ego and treat women with respect and reverence. You will become a better man for it. 

Yesterday after a crazy weekend of work in NYC. I ran 6 miles in 57 minutes. I started off feeling great but then lost energy midway through. I pushed on and kept to my program. To adde mileage I’m doing it organically. Finish a run x.5 miles or less I stop. If I finish a run x.51 or more I keep running until I hit the next mile. Yesterday day my run ended at 5.54. I added on to make it an even 6. 

Later in the day I did 15 minutes of Yoga. 

It’s a good life….. 

Double the Trouble - Double the Fun

One week ago today we arrived home. Cooper {black lab} and I had spent 4 days getting to know each other driving from North Carolina home to California. In June of this year Cooper was picked up by animal control on the streets of Clarksville TN. After spending just 4 days with him Iˇve determined that before being picked up Cooper was a survivor. He survived living on a farm, in the back country or on the streets of Clarksville. He can dumpster dive like no dog I have seen, is quick to peel gum of the street and has a nose for anything edible. He also has a rather vicious protection mechanism that I found just after meeting him. 

None of that dissuaded me from brining him home. He is not 100% Lab but his general disposition is 100% Lab. He is sweet to the core and aims to please. 

The guy who picked chose Cooper from the shelter did a great job taking care of him. That includes training him. Less than two months after he had brought Cooper home he moved to Fayetteville, NC and had to enter the Army school of his dreams. He had to give Cooper up. Our son who grew up with Labs quickly decided to adopt him. The only problem is his young wife could not handle the pressure. Young Labs can be a handful and young nervous labs just overwhelming. He bonded immediately with our son but his wife told him she could not. Mary (my wife) was on the way to visit after a long stint abroad. When she arrived she fell in love with Cooper. Two days after she got home I was on a plane to pick him up. 

This week we have focused on the things he knows. Sitting, staying, heeling and come when called. We have also been training him on rules of the house. Because he aims to please he picks up on everything after once or twice. 

For me personally it has been a grind. Berlin and I were on easy street. Morning walk with friends and an afternoon session where she could run and play with friends until she dropped. Today the morning walk with both dogs is a half hour earlier. We are trying to avoid other dogs and people. It has been working fine but it is a half hour earlier. Then in the afternoon, Berlin and I do our normal afternoon play session. After I get Berlin home I turnaround and take Cooper out for an extended leash walk. 

Three walks a day plus my running or riding is really taking a toll. By the time I actually get to dinner I am fairly exhausted. I know this is temporary. We are working on giving Cooper a life he deserves. One where he doe not need to fight for his meal or fight to defend himself. Essentially give him the life Berlin has. There is a slight rush to all of this since I am leaving for Europe on September 1st for a week and then again at the end of September for 3 weeks. 

He is a special dog and I can`t wait for the day Berlin can share him with all of her friends. Double the trouble but also double the fun. 

Injury Recovery

 It took 3 weeks to recover from the heavy ankle sprain. It is the longest in recent memory I have had to hold off running. I started back 3 weeks to the day after the injury. I found that more flexibility in the shoe felt better than less. I managed 17 miles total for the week. My account of how I did it is below. 

Patience 

There is no other world that comes to mind. As a younger man that word did not exist. I am not sure you can have patience in all things when you are younger. Since my plan is to be running for years and years to come I know time off would not hurt me. Be patient. 

Don`t Rush 

Early on in the three I rushed to therapy. It only made the swelling and pain worse. So this is what I did. 

1. Started swimming right away. It was hard to swim with a stiff injured foot but it was not painful. 

2. As soon as I could put my foot into a bike shoe I got on the bike trainer and pedaled for 45 minutes every other day. I was not building or maintains fitness just moving the legs. 

3. One morning I woke up and my first step out of bed was not searing pain running up my leg. I gave it two more mornings to make sure it was real. Both of those days I stepped on the floor pain free. 

4. From there I started riding out doors. 

Swelling and Pain 

The swelling and movement pain continued. I would wake up in the morning with limited swelling and pain. Then both would grow through the day. That is when I started the actual work. 8 days out from my first run I started taking Aleeve. I kept it in my system 24 hours a day. In the evening I would soak my foot and ankle in an epsom salt bath. 6 days after that process the swelling was gone. Most importantly it would not come back during the day. I stuck with the protocol until that first run. 

Not 100% 

4 weeks into this the foot is still there. It doesn`t hurt much but I can always feel it. Never in my wildest dreams did I know how uneven our world is. Running down the road is treacherous. My left foot and ankle feel every divot and crack in the road. Stepping of or back on a curb requires thought. I must remain patient with my running for now. Never pushing the pace or the distance. 5 miles was my longest run last week, maybe it will be 6 this week. 

The morale of this story: 

Always wear a light when it is dark. 

Two Parents one Child and Far Reaching Lives

 

My wife and I decided to wait 5 years after we got married to have children. In both of our cases our parents rushed to children. In both cases the marriages didn`t last and it was the kids that felt it the most. 

Our son turned 24 this week. 

On Father’s  day he sent me two messages :

• Thanks for the genetics
• Thanks for guiding me to athletics

I am not sure what he sent his mother on Mother’s Day. I was in Prague that day doing my work. They are the best of friends. They talk virtually every day. If I were to guess what he said or what he will say one day. 

• Thanks for the World View you gave me. 
• Thanks for the daily education on things that matter. 

Before his 5th Birthday

• A trip to Texas
• 2nd Birthday in Mexico
• 3rd Birthday in Spain
• 4th Birthday in Puerto Rico

After his 4th birthday I gave up long distance triathlon racing. I had a couple of goals and completed them. I wanted to go under 10 hours and I wanted to qualify for Kona. I qualified twice and on both occasions let it roll. I had already done Kona twice before he was born. There was more to it than that…

I stopped long distance triathlon racing so my wife could begin her doctoral work. She did not stop teaching she simply piled her doctoral work on top. I agreed to take up the slack with our son. This is where he and I developed the very tight bond we still have today. 

Ankle Update

The searing morning pain is gone and has been gone since last Sunday. The swelling at my ankle and the lateral moment pain is still there. I tried running on Tuesday. The run felt good and there was no pain. After the run though the throbbing was debilitating. I will not do that again. Since then I have been soaking my lower leg in Epsom Salts. Each day the foot is improving and the swelling is receding. I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. 

Disciplined

 I love to strike up conversations with US Veterans. I share a kinship with them not because I am one but because our son is making a career out of the military. On Sunday there was a guy standing in line in front of me and he had a hat on that said 101st Airborne. That is the group our son is attached to right now. It was an easy conversation to strike up. He did two tours to Vietnam. His first was in 1968 at the start of the Tet offensive. He said on that first tour he was surrounded by men who had dropped in on Normandy. The 101st made a name for themselves on D-Day and long after. 

I did some quick math to determine this guy who was standing in line to enter the competition pool was 76-78 years old, happy and fit.

 The picture of the puppy above takes me back to a discussion I had with my step mother. She is a wonderful woman and I would not be who I am without her in my life. The puppy is replacing Buster the dog she and my father got just before his passing. My visit to meet the dog was also a couple days past my fathers birthday. My step mother brought something up that was totally out of the blue and also disturbing in a way. She said “your father was such a disciplined man, he always wished you kids would have more discipline”. 

My Dad spent 2 years in ROTC and then 2 years in the US Army. He was an officer and he learned discipline there I guess. I didn`t reply to my step mom but I have to say her comment has been eating at me. Talking to a 76 year old Vietnam Vet brought her comment to the surface again. My father did not see his 76th Birthday. 

Our father left our family when I was 8 years old. He and our mom sat us down and told us they were divorcing and that he was moving out. He first moved not far away then he moved with his new wife (his former secretary) to Bogota, Colombia, where I was born. There they had my little sister. My memory of my father from basically birth to 18 was one of absence. In the first 8 years he was always traveling. His stories of travel were legendary. Then of course he moved to Bogota before internet and cell phones. 

Discipline 1

One of my vivid memories of my father was drink in one hand and cigarette in the other. On nights he was home for dinner, he would always come home and pour a martini. I was young and did not pay attention but I am certain it was the first of a few. He would not give this practice up (he later switched to beer) long after his first heart attack. 

In my teenage and adult life I have not shied away from alcohol. I spent a number of nights in college stumbling my way across campus doing a face plant in my bed. I still like to tie one on from time to time with my wife or our son. But never did I come home from work and grab a beer and rarely if ever on a daily basis do I have more than a single beer or glass of wine. My discipline of wanting to start the day fresh and raring to go far outweighs any desire I have for alcohol. 

Discipline 2 

Both my mother and father smoked. I believe he introduced our mother to smoking. We sat in smoking sections on trans -continental flights, our parents threw parties at our house where everyone was smoking. My dad would smoke while playing golf. He finally quit when he married (3rd Marriage) my step mom with the puppy. I think I was 18 at the time. 

This one was easy. Not a single one of his kids or step kids smoke. We were so turned off by what it represented that none of us ever started. 

Discipline 3 

The heart attack that killed my father was massive. It was the second. Between his first and 2nd my Dad and I became the best of friends. We rarely went a day without talking. He helped us raise our son. He became the father my wife Mary never had. My step sisters and their cousins all regale what a wonderful man he was and how much of a father he was to them. 

I train my ass off, watch what I eat, get regular blood tests, take my HRV daily and wear and Oura Ring. People always ask me “what are you training for”. My answer is always “For the rest of my life” The discipline I have for this borders on obsession. I want to be that 76 year old guy standing in line waiting for the pool to open. I want to run at night with our son even it means falling on my face from time to time. I want live longer than my disciplined father who died way to early. He was 72. 

Injured Runner

 

There are two types of running injuries. 

• Stress Injuries - These are the most common. There are people just predisposed to running injuries and those who get their trading balance wrong by running too much at tempo or faster and not enough slow and easy. I personally can count on one hand the number of stress related injuries in my years of running. 
• Impact Injuries - these are less common. Trail runners get them often when they hit a rock, root or anything else at an odd angle and hit the dirt. For me it takes two hands and maybe more to count the number times I have been injured this way. 

The picture shows my latest one. I was in Tennessee helping our son and his wife move to North Carolina. We had eaten dinner and watched a movie when my son said “Dad, do you want to go for a run?” By the time we got to the parking lot where we would run it was almost 9:30 pm. We headed out down a a bike path without lights (Next time I will choose to wear a light). The trail lead into the dense forest where it was just the two of us and the bugs that frequent the dark. We were having a glorious run, just chatting about life. We hit the turn around at close to 3 miles and headed back. There were two obstacles on the path. There was a bridge and at each end there was a poll in the middle ensuring nobody would drive a car on the bridge. That was it, stay in the middle of the path and all would be good until the polls. Early after the turn around I some how ended up on the left edge of the path. Without warning, my left foot hit the edge of the path which was raised 3-5 inches off the ground. My ankle gave way and like a rag doll I went down. 

I twist my ankle often enough to know I bend but rarely enough to hobble me. I got right up and started walking. My son told me not to rush it. I walked a bit and although I knew it wasn’t minor I started running. It felt ok over the final 2.8 miles but by the end of was throbbing really good. Aside from that I was bleeding down my right leg and left hand. Later I would find road rash on the front of my right hip. 

I was partially right on this one. I did bend and for sure did not break any thing and also did not snap any tendons or ligaments. What I did do was heavily strain the lateral side from my foot to just above the ankle bone. 

By Wednesday morning as I helped load the U Hall (that I drove to NC) my foot ankle and calf swelled to almost tripped their normal size. Over the next 4 days and we work driving and finally unloading the truck all I could do was manage the amount of swelling. 

Home now I can feel the healing process at work. In general I heal fast. Only time will tell how fast from this one. 

It was a dumb mistake on my part. That said I would not change a thing about it. The opportunity to run with my son far outweighs the pain in my ankle. If he asked me to run today with my ankle the way it is I would go. I am grateful every chance I have to run with him. 

Are You Running Too Hard?

 

I was listening the the Rich Roll Podcast with Camille Herron one of the greatest ultra runners we have ever seen. During the podcast Rich asks the ball of energy Camille about her training knowing that she was a bit of a stat freak. She said based on Strava, 86% of all of her running is easy. When Rich asked what her easy pace was she said “somewhere between 8 and 9 minutes per mile”. Later in the show they were talking about her coaching service and Rich asked her “What is the #1 problem when you meet a new runner” Her answer is the same answer from virtually any running or triathlon coach out there and it is not new. She said “most run there easy days way to hard”. 

Also this week I read the new book from Steve Magness, Do Hard Things. The one thing I got from the book fits right into what Camille was saying. I will paraphrase: People are constantly looking at the pace or race time they want to run. What they should do instead is bring the floor up to meet them. In other words, you have to understand where you are right now before you can set a time or pace you want to run. 

On the Track

I do my track sessions on Wednesday. I go to the local middle school which has a dirt track. We have access to mondo tracks but for some reason I prefer the solitude of the dirt track. On my plan was 12 x 400 with a 200 float rest. There are two keys to this workout. 12 hard 400s and the float. I know if I run too hard I won`t be floating by the end and will probably stop floating around rep 6. So I set out on the first 400 at a comfortably hard effort. On my third of fourth effort the best runner in the county and maybe in the state in my age group starts a workout. I stuck in my head, do your own workout. We exchanged a few words then continued our workouts. I was doing great. I was running about 6 seconds slower then the last time I ran this workout but I was was also executing the 200 float. On the two times he and I were on the same straight I noticed something. We were running the exact same pace. I was energized by that. Not because I think I am that good but because I was actually executing a workout as planned and still running reasonably well. I had not reached for a time I had brought the floor up to meet my feet. 

Shoe of the Week 

Saucony Endorphin Pro 3 

In my regular work I track all shoes but since last year I have tracking super shoes. Over the last year that has been one dominant shoe, the Nike Vapor Fly Next %. That is no secret. The #2 shoe is always the Alpha Fly Next % also from Nike. Number 3 is the Endorphin Pro from Saucony. With the Endorphin Pro 3 I think Saucony did everything right and it could lead them to jump of the Alpha Fly Next % to the #2 spot in the rankings. What did they do?

1. They increased the amount of foam under your foot. Their Power Run PB foam is a Pebax based foam just like the foam Nike uses in Zoom X. The increased the stack height to the absolute maximum allows by World Track and Field. 
2. They stripped the upper down to the bare minimum. When you put your foot in the shoe you can instantly feel the speed. 
3. They continue with why I think they are so high on the charts. I think with every other super shoe on the market there is an obstacle you mush get over. With the Alpha Fly Next % it is the super high arch support. With the adios Pro from adidas it is the unstable feel a slower speeds. With the New Balance Fuel Cell RC it is the rather strange lacing system. With the Saucony from the start, you put them on and run. There is nothing you need to get used to. 

Race Predictions

 

The other day I was texting back and forth with a friend of mine. He had just run a 10K race and won his age group. He made the standard comment “I started out way to fast” which I will cover later but one comment really struck me. He said “when I heard the split at 5K of 19:20 ish I thought I was running slow. The race predictor on my watch says I should be able to run 6:04 pace and I ran 6:19 pace” 

The above picture is from my Stryd foot pod. These race calculations are based on all of my recent training. To my knowledge it is basing these numbers off my critical power of 264 watts or 3.99 watts per KG. My 1 mile run would have to be run above that number to hit the time listed. My 5K would have to be run at that power for the entire 5K and so on down the road. 

Notes about Me

1. The 3.99 watts per KG is kind of high. It is based on me being at race weight of 146. I am not there right now. The question would be should I go down the slippery slope of trying to get to race weight?
2. Every predicted time on that list would be a new PR. I am fairly confident I could train specifically for one of those races (I have never trained specifically for any one of those events) and maybe I can set a new PR but those times I am not sure. 
3. I don`t ever pay attention to these numbers. In fact I didn`t even know they were there until my buddy talked about his GPS Watch. 

My reply back to him was in three parts. 

1. There is no way you could accurately track your mile splits on that course using GPS, you would have to use a Footpod to get more accuracy. The course he ran is on a bike path around a lake. The path follows the contours of the lake which almost looks like a leaf off an oak tree. Many virtual u turns and lots of short ups and downs. GPS would struggle to keep up. 
2. Everything would have to be perfect on the day for you to hit that pace. You probably played Pickle Ball last night and there is a couple seconds per mile right there. I am not suggesting you don`t play pickle ball. 
3. Starting too fast is a chronic problem of yours. You need to train that into yourself. Years ago I coached a friend to a PR in the marathon and a Boston BQ. She told me about her tendency to start fast. Once a week I had her do a medium length run 7 - 10 miles on an out and back trail. I have her a split at the turnaround and then a split for the finish. As we got closer to the event the run got a bit longer and the differential got a bit larger. So say we stated with 30 minutes out and 28 minutes back. Maybe we ended with 45 minutes out and 40 minutes back. The goal was to go out easy enough to be able to run back comfortably faster. She negative split her marathon and had a great race. 

Morning Routines

 

In general I have the same routine year round. It is possible I have talked about a morning routine here before but as always I try to improve it over time. The two variables that have an effect on my routine are my travel and my wife. During the summer neither has an impact. My work travel starts in February ends in June and then resumes in September to the beginning of December. My wife is on her normal summer trip. This year she is gone for a month in Egypt working on her Arabic while teaching English to Sudanese refugees. During the school year her alarm goes off at 5am. 

The Routine

Wake Up - I don`t use an alarm. I wake up when I wake up. During the summer I am usually up around 5:30am. That is when the first light of the day creeps into the room. 

Measure HRV - I grab my Polar HR Strap (the best in the market) lay down on the floor downstairs and take a measurement. It takes roughly 5 minutes. 

Make Coffee - I get the coffee brewing. 

Cold Shower - I sleep hot. During the summer it is hot. The only cooling we get is the regular cooling outside and a ceiling fan. Even in the winter I still sleep hot. So the Cold shower is what I have found to wake me up. It is a miserable feeling jumping into a cold shower but I always feel revived when I get out. 

Coffee - Once out of the shower and dried off I have my coffee. I mix in one scoop of Bullet Proof Collagen Powder and a half a teaspoon of Lion`s Mane. The Bullet Proof is protein that my body needs and the Lion`s Mane is to get my brain functioning. 

Snack - If I am doing a standard run or a swim I skip the snack. If I am doing a hard/long run or intervals on the bike I have a snack of GF toast with peanut butter and honey. 

Write in my Journal 

Dog - By 6:15 we are out the door on a walk. We have a small canyon in our neighborhood where she can run free. I do some hip mobility and stretching as I walk along. The walk is usually 20 minutes but can stretch to 40 if one her friends is also in the park. 

Usually around 7 I head out the door to work out. Nothing is exact in the process. Today for instance I think I left the house to run my normal 10 on Sunday at 7:40. 

Shoe of the Week - Saucony Endorphin Speed 3

Available in August

$160

The Endorphin Speed is the best shoe to come out of the Super Shoe craze. The Power Run PB foam is just plain fun under your foot. The Speed Roll  in the forefoot just ensures your roll off the toe is smooth and the TPU plate offers some resilience. It is not nearly as stiff as the carbon plates in all the super shoes. Put all of this together and this shoe just feels outstanding. The Endorphin Speed and the Endorphin Speed 2 had the same midsole with some upper modifications. The Endorphin Speed 3 has a new midsole and a new upper. 

Honestly I don`t think anyone will notice the change in midsole. It is visually different but functionally the exact same. That is a good thing. 

The upper is a very good update. If I had any complaints on the first two versions it was that the uppers stretched too much. Both the original and 2nd version got a bit sloppy at the end. The upper on the Speed 3 won`t do that. It will hold up and probably won`t stretch too much. 

Every day I run around the world in places where there are runners I see someone in the Endorphin Speed. On Thursday on a one hour run at mid morning I saw two runners. One was in the Endorphin Speed 2. Today while running down the coast for the start of my 10 miles I saw at least 2 people running in it. There is no doubt in my mind this is the hottest shoe to come out over the last 3 years that is not a super racing shoe. Go to any running store near you and try it on. I bet you go home with it. 

The Swedish Way

 

Earlier this year I put myself into the best shape in a couple years. My main purpose was to race the 70.3 Oman. There I did not have the fastest time but given the long travel 3 days prior and the 12 hour time difference I was very happy. Most importantly I was energized after the race and no drained at all. Clearly I had done something right. I noticed through all of my work travel this year that the fitness carried as well. No, I was not and that supreme fitness but I was good. 

There was something missing though. Maybe it was all the travel or maybe it is my age, I could not recover like I used to. My sleep score on my Oura Ring said I was simply worn out. My resting HR rate would be higher than normal or my sleep would be restless. My body temperature would be high or my HRV would be low. 

My former coach Gordo Byrn said he was going to work on getting extremely race fit again. He was going to use the Swedish protocol of 5 days on and 2 days off. The more a read up on the benefits of doing this the more it made sense to me at my age. I have been on it now for two weeks. 

I will update more as I get into summer. Realistically I am training for life and the extremely busy back half of the year. 2 - 3 trips to Europe with one keeping me from home for slightly more than 3 weeks then a quick turn around to NYC. 

July 2019

It’s been almost a year since I last posted on this blog. Time does fly. A few stats before I dig into the topic. I must report that Niki is doing great. I know a number of people reading this also follow me on Instagram and know our dog Nike had a big scare with rat poison. We almost lost her. Lucky for us she’s made a full recovery.

1. 130,000 - That’s the number of miles I’ve flown since the last time I posted. 
2. 10 - That’s the number of pounds I added since the last time I posted and more importantly the pounds I’ve struggled to lose. 
3. 37 - According to Strava that’s the number of activities so far this month. Those activities include running, cycling and yoga. 

130,000 miles - It’s the work that I do. When I worked at Road Runner Sports I was the source of information for the brands. I would spend a great deal of time being prepared for every meeting I had with them. I wanted to be really knowledgeable about who what buying what and why. It turns out they wanted that kind of information too. When I left RRS and started working for the brands I still wanted that information but it was hard to come by. Nobody around the world could provide us that information. Yes, there were sell through reports from retailers but that was not the real picture. Just because a shoe is selling doesn’t mean the true end user, the runner, was buying. One year about 9 years ago I was heading to Kona for the Ironman World Championships. A friend of mine, John Duke asked me to help Newton with their shoe count at the race. I enjoyed that day and through the years have simply taken over the entire process. About 5 years ago New Balance contacted me and wanted to know if I could take my process and apply it to the NYC Marathon. That’s 2400 athletes in Kona spread out to 50,000 athletes in NYC condensed. I figured it out presented my ideas and they hired me to do 7 events the next year. The process today is not even close to that first year. The data is deep and rich. In the last year I’ve been to the following events, 5h Ave Mile, Bronx 10 Mile, Reebok Women’s 10K, Ironman, Kona Beijing Marathon, New York City Marathon, Shanghai Marathon, New Balance Indoor Nationals, London Big Half, New York City Half, LA Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, Brooklyn Half Marathon, Westminster Mile, London 10K and the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. The database is not in the millions of runners and the clients are the whose who of running shoe brands.

10 - At the end of last year I stepped on the scale which I rarely do. It said 160lbs. That kind of scared me. When I did my first Ironman which happened to be in Kona I weighed 129lbs. When I had my best string of years between 35 and 40 I weighed 145lbs. I was comfortable at 150lbs. I was not comfortable at 160. Over the last 6 months I’ve done a great deal of “training” and feel myself getting faster but I hadn’t lost a single pound. 3 weeks ago I made a big change in my daily diet. Low Carb/High Fat. For that three weeks I probably went too low on the Carbs. I could feel in in my workouts. My weight however reacted. I dropped 7lbs. It’s a work in progress but I’m quite happy with where I am today. I have a plan, my wife is bought in and I feel better today than 2 months ago.

37 - My fitness is a funny thing. When you get to a really high level of fitness it’s very difficult to feel fit. I like to feel fit. When I’m traveling around the world I do my best to keep that feeling. I save most of my running for the road, ride indoors during the week to save time and swim when I can which is usually twice a week. I maintain my 15 minutes of yoga ever day. Now that I have more time I’m able to up the workload which brings me to 37. My week right now looks like this, 3 runs with one on the track, one long on the trails and one off the bike. The bike is the big time consumer so I’m choosing frequency over single ride distance. This past week I did two rides of 2:15 or so and 3 rides of one hour. Swimming is where I feel my fitness good or bad. When I’m swimming well it feels really good and I feel quite fit. Right now I manage 3 swims. All three are master’s workouts between 3,000 and 4,000 years. One is done at the local 50 meter pool which I love. I’ve been in the 1:35 per hundred lane and it’s beginning to feel too easy. I’ll move to the 1:30 lane for one or two workouts next week to see how fit I’m becoming. When I’m really really swimming fit I can comfortably swim in the 1:25 lane.

That’s it after a year. I’ll try to stay a bit more current.

It’s a good life........

High Intensity on the Bike

Today I went out on the bike during the eclipse to do some high intensity work. We have a great flat section of road in Fairbanks Ranch to perform the work. The overall ride was 2 hours and the workout looked like this:

8 x 30 seconds max effort.
2 on 4 min rest
2 on 3 min rest
2 on 2 min rest
2 on 1 min rest

I was absolutely cooked by the last one. I hit 174 on my heart rate on one of the efforts and 170 on all the rest.

As I was riding home I was trashed and zoning out. My mind was on other things. A cyclist came by me on one of the hills like I was standing still. It snapped me out of my thoughts and over the next mile I kind of chased him. I caught him and we started to chat. His workouts made mine seem casual.
He's training for the masters track worlds.

Friday he did motor pacing on the track at 45 miles per hour. Each time for 500 meters.
Today he was riding 85 miles at 18 miles/hour.
Tomorrow he's back on the track. From a standing start he gets up to speed. The moto comes by and then sits in. He chases it for 500 meters. They repeat this often. He's 53 years old.

It's a good life...

Run Test June 27, 2017

Before I get to run testing, this Friday we are heading to Hawaii to see this boy or should I say man. He's based there with his Marine unit and we haven't seen him since he shipped out in February. The longest time we've ever been apart. We already have a plan to run and can't wait for the other things we are going to do with him. That tattoo is new and it's the single cover to the song Vicarious by Tool. More impressive than the tattoo is the size of the arm. 

Today was run test day. I've been really bad at consistently doing any kind of testing. I've committed to doing it because it's the only way of knowing if what you are doing has any effect. I've settled on a loop that's easy to get to and basically closed to traffic. There are two roads you have to cross and every once in awhile you have to stop for cars but it's rare. For those of you who know San Diego North County running the look is the Rancho Santa Fe Golf Course trail. It's 4.53 miles and it's not easy. It's rarely flat, there are a couple sustained climbs one sustained decent and then a bunch of sections that are either 2% going up or 2% going down. Most of it is on wood chips and some of it is thick. 

The one thing you may have read is as you get closer to 50 your ability to recover is the biggest change in your running or endurance activities. I've really started to notice that this year. That's why I'm playing around with the length of a block. It used to be I could go on 7 days rotation but there isn't enough rest anymore in 7 days. So right now any long or hard stuff is separated by 8 days. This includes 1 day completely nothing and one day with no legs. This test proves that maybe I need more recovery. I'll keep at it test again and decide. 

My current pre-workout drink. What I like most of all is out fast it clears through my body. 

The Test

Today.                                                                   1 Month Ago

M1 7:18                                                                7:11

M2 7:57.                                                               7:35 

M3 7:15.                                                               7:09 

M4 7:15.                                                               7:13 

.53. 3:39.                                                               3:43

33:25.                                                                   32:53

The first 2 miles seemed dramatically hard today. It was much hotter today and the sun was bright where last month it was cooler and overcast. Next time I'll be sure to go earlier when it's cooler to see if that is the key. Overall I'm pleased for a couple reasons: 

1. I did the test
2. I was really dizzy during the first mile and instead of baggin it I stuck to it. 
3. I felt much stronger on the hills. 

It's a good life....

Dave

Swimming Into Shape

I know this isn't a swimming photo. It's the hill I finish every ride on. It's another good test about feeling in shape. When this hill is easy then I'm getting there. 

I love swimming for the simple fact that when I'm in shape in the pool, I'm in fairly good shape everywhere else. I'm not a sit in an swim kind of guy. When I go to the pool my intentions are to go until my arms feel like they are falling off. My swim program is simple, 3 master's sessions each block which currently is every 8 days. Because it's not set on 7 days the swim days are not consistent. This creates some problems in that there are no easy swim days.That's what I want "I think" anyway. The workout today: 

Just the Main Set

Base +5.                                   Base.                          Base -5

100                                           100                              50.         Round 1

200.                                         2x100.                         2 x 50.    Round 2

300.                                         3 x 100.                       3 x 50.    Round 3

400.                                         4 x 100.                       4 x 50     Round 4

The total swim was 4500 yards. I led the lane, the base was 1:30 and I just made it on 40 seconds for the 50's. Not in fast swim shape but just leading a set like this was confidence building. 

It's a good life....

All Twisted Up

For the last week or so I've felt stiff and twisted. No workout seemed great or bad but every one felt odd. I realized at some point it was time to go see the chiropractor who has kept me straight for years. The first thing he says, "It's been since August since you last visited". I said "I feel that". He measured my hips and said I was off balance by 2 degrees. Put me on a scale and 2 degrees translates to just over 10lbs more weight being carried by my left side. He adjusted me and said "You are going to be dizzy". I was the rest of the day. Nothing felt good. Not sitting, not standing and certainly not talking.

I woke up feeling totally new. I often wonder how people go around feeling like that their entire life. I'm so grateful for my friend CM who introduced me to Dr. Kenny who saved my running years ago. He's been fixing me ever since.

It's a good life...

Sunday Long Run Then Rest

Sunday I went out for a run. Because of some mid morning commitments I ran early. I woke up at 5 and was running at 6am. We were out of coffee so I ran on a half a banana and water. 70 minutes into the run I felt like I was barely moving. I had a bottle with an electrolyte mix in it (no calories) and I had one Hammer Gel packet. I downed the Hammer Gel put my head down and started running. It was a hilly local trail run and I wanted to work the down hills. I ran the uphills telling myself to stay engaged in the hill and I ran the down hill open free and as fast as the hill allowed. The miles started to click off and before I knew it I had covered the same distance 12 minutes faster. The back half of the run was purely float state. It was enjoyable and it set me up for an outstanding day.

Resolutions

I was in a Starbucks yesterday talking to the two Baristas. They asked about my resolutions and told me there plan. The younger one said" I've made mine but they usually fall away after a month". The older one said "I didn't make any, I don't want to fail".

I work three different jobs. One of them is more passion than job because it doesn't pay to well just yet. I work these three jobs because of one big part of my life our Son Marco. I made a commitment 2 years ago to spend the most quality time with him I could and enjoy his last two years of high school with him.

With that I really only have one resolution with a huge amount of action items.

I want to run once a month with Marco until he ships out to the Marines.

The action items:

1. Continue to hack by body. It's been used and abused and although it's not broken it's of the age that stuff happens. 
2. Give Mary the first priority attention she deserves. Believe me when I say the relationship with Marco is great when the relationship with Mary is great. 
3. As my friend at work said to me just the other day "Dave, I have one thing to say to you, Breath Mother Fucker" I've been following the Wim Hoff breathing method for a few months now. I've tried all kinds of mediation and I've found this to really work. I test stuff daily and the two metrics that get tested are HRV (Heart Rate Variability) and Stress level. When fully engaged in the Wim Hoff method my HRV goes really high and my stress goes away. In fact yesterday the stress was a complete flatiline that barely registered on the graph. On  a side test I test blood glucose each morning. Wim sasy the breathing changes your body chemistry. Three times after crappy food the night before my blood glucose has been super high upon waking. All three times I did the deep breathing and dropped by blood glucose by as much as 20%. I'd love to find out if this is a fact. 

It's a good life....

My Running Form Review

2014 Team Time Trial

Fresh off a year of undue stress. 

Failed Attempt the week prior of Ironman 70.3 Tahoe where fires canceled the race. 

A concussion suffered the day before should have caused me to drop from the start line but this is the team time trial where bragging rights and family pride are on the line. 

 2015 Team Time Trial 

A year reducing unwanted stress

10 weeks of running at or below MAF unless it's a race

No concussion! 

1. My arms are in the same position as is my head. 
2. In the picture at the top (blue shirt) my hips leaning back preparing for the next step. 
3. In the more recent picture my hips are driving forward. 
4. In 2014 I got passed by an adult just before this picture was taken. 
5. In 2015 I was passing people (kids) and was the first adult across the line. 

It's a good life....