The Secret Life

The Typical Tuesday

4:00am Wake Up
5:15 Pool Time :45 to 1:00
6:30 Breakfast with the High School Runner - First drink of coffee!
7:30 Depart for Work
11:00 Ride for 60 minutes
6:00PM - Unless driving the High School Runner to CAP - Head for Home.
6:30 - The Tuesday Run
8:00 - Dinner
9:00 - Either Drive Home from CAP or Crawl into bed to read and wait for the family to come home.
10:00 - Sleep

A huge shout out to my Big Brother Bob. He's headed to the Dr. today to find out if it really is ALS or possibly something else....Thinking about you Bob!

It's a good life....

Driven

Worth watching: The Back Story. 2 Time Footlocker Cross Country Champion. Sub 4 minute miler in High School, Champion Triathlete. Bike Crash..........

Watch this Video



It's a good life....

The Sunday Run

It's always good to run with people. It's even better when it's a family affair. The Jewell family ran for cause today and it was all a good time. This picture was taken after the run which shows just how much fun it was. The High School Runner ran 8 miles and doesn't look like he broke a sweat.

It's a good life...

What's On My Head

I'm inspired by my friend Gordo often. I think together we are constantly trying to be better today than we were yesterday and better tomorrow.  The media available to us today is overwhelming. Facebook, Twitter,  and then all the news agencies on line. By the time my day is done I feel like sometimes I know more about everyone else than I do about my own family. There is too much going on in my life right now to handle it all. 3 weeks ago I stopped updating my company Facebook. I got on there3 years ago because I'll do anything for the company I work for. I've stopped and I don't miss it. Last weekend I decided to stop Facebook all together. I've posted once and that is to spread the word about a Run for Boston and that's it. I am down with stopping all together. Sure if someone contacts me directly through Facebook I'll reply but that's it. My focus needs to be on seeing and talking to friends, and on my family.

Over the last week my body began to break down. All the effort on mobility, stretching etc wasn't working. When the bottom of my left foot starts to hurt I know it's a bad thing. Well it was killing me. So I started last night with a massage from the Pope. Best Massage Therapist ever. Then today I paid a visit to the best Chiropractor Ever (Just ask Kobe). The results were first shock from the chiropractor and then dizziness for me. I've not been that dizzy after seeing him for years. All that means is that the correction he made was massive. The reason it was massive is because I was wound up like a top and he spun me around. Tonight my left foot feels normal again and tomorrow I'll feel like a totally new guy. I'm going to keep it that way.

So good by Facebook. It's been fun but you need to go.

It's a good life....
Dave

Running Shoe Dirt: Nike Zoom Elite 6

Quote of the Day: "I don't believe in stretching so I don't want my picture taken in a stretching pose" - Professional Triathlete

That same athlete also said he doesn't believe in lifting weights. Now there are too many experts out there and what works for one athlete doesn't always work for the other but that seems a bit crazy talk. The purpose of stretching and mobility work is to keep your range of motion so that you remain injury free. The purpose of lifting weights is to keep you strong over the last bits of a race when your body tends to break down. So in that sense I would listen to the two guys who won more Ironman World Championships than anyone. They both spent time stretching and lifting weights. 

Again I'm not an expert just someone who thinks a great deal. What I do know is running shoes and so I'm going to write about running shoes. I'm not going to write about Zoot footwear because that would not seem right. I may or may not write about adidas footwear because I used to work there. I plan to write about shoes I love. The purpose of this writing is not to be a shoe review or anything but just a pure love for running shoes. 

A bit of insight from my part. 

• If the shoes fit me, they won't fit you - I have a narrow foot and if it fits me well it's not going to work for most. 
•  I've been told my feet have memory. We are going to test it in this process. 
• I'm interested in the big brands but I'm also interested in the smaller up and coming brands. 
• All of this is coming out of my pocket. Sure it will be good R&D because I build shoes for a living but if I was asking my company to pay for them, it wouldn't seem right to write about them. 
• From time to time I'll ask my son or my wife to do the running in a shoe and give you their perspective. If the shoe fits my wife and she really likes it, you will too! 

I walked into the store with only one idea. I'm going to spend $110 for my first test shoe. There were 5 or 6 to choose from but it's fitting that I start with the Zoom Elite from Nike. Before Zoot, before adidas, I ran in everything. Some shoes once and some more than once. When I needed to feel great on a run, when I needed to float I always went to the Zoot Elite. So it's fitting that I start here. I bought it last night and immediately went for a run.  I'll run in it for the next 2 weeks or so and then give a full report. 

It's a good life....

Music That Moves You - Gary Clark Jr.

Guitar players rule!

It's a good life.....
Dave

Why do you run, ride, swim, race?

Tuesday Run

The running has been tough this week. The emotions from the events in Boston are still fresh. At times I am always reminded of how great this country is. Just the banner at Yankee stadium to the singing of the National Anthem at the Bruins game proves that no matter what our beliefs are we are all proud to be American. But then the images of Martin Richard and the 2 women killed bring me back to the sadness. But run I still do because that's what is right with running. Every runner would want the same thing if something tragic happened to them. They would tell everyone to go run. So it's with that thought that I write about my Tuesday Run.

Purpose - Form with Leg Speed.

The Run starts with shoes. I don't wear socks because we make our shoes so comfortable to run in  without socks that I can go without socks. Special note these shoes are a work in progress. They have no launch date and may never make it to the market. They are basically a "What is possible model" Well that's not exactly true. The upper is something we are launching in 2 months on the Ali'i. The midsole and outsole will be launched on a different shoe in 2014. 

 The run starts from the office down the road I call "The Freeway" those cars are easily traveling at 60mph on this suburban road. 

 After a short 7 minutes I land on this trail. This is why I somewhat like where the office is. 

 This is where the run officially takes place. I'll put the total workout below but it's on grass and barefoot. I have been doing this long before the barefoot running craze came along and I will do it long after the buzz dies down. 

 Best yet is if I decided to do Hill Repeats this hill is perfect. If you make it to the top at full gas you will end up on your knees. 

But back the the barefoot grass workouts. I did not invent this. Coaches around the world use this type of workout. It's a way to feel leg speed without killing the runner.

Warm up to the grass is 10-15 minutes.
Shoes Off
Form Drills
1. High Knees
2. Butt Kicks
3. UCLA's or high skips.
4. Kareoki

The work 8-10 Strides - 20 - 25 second "Sprints"
The first 4-5
Concentrate on high knees proud upper body, perfect form.
The second 4-5
Perfect Form all out sprints.

Warm Down 10-15 minutes

Running doesn't have to be hard to be effective. This is a great run to use as a second run of the day or a run off a hard bike when your legs are trashed. The Strides should revitalize your legs. If you are new to running or just getting back into it these are perfect to practice perfect form and they give you that leg speed without totally working you. If you are worn out from this run, you are probably not running with perfect form and are probably running too hard.

It's a good life...
Dave

Why I run?

I run for Chelsea King who was simply trying to get a run in.

I run for Martin Richard who was waiting for his Dad to finish the Boston Marathon.

I run for Marco Jewell who inspires me every day.

I run for Bob Jewell my brother who was recently diagnosed with ALS.

It's a good life....
Dave

The High School Runner #4 Running with an Olympian

The right place, the right time, memories for a lifetime. Olympic Silver Medalist Javier Gomez and The High School Runner went for a 60 minute run. When they got back Javier simply said "He's Fast, I couldn't run that fast when I was his age" The ran 3:50/K on the way back.

All the things the High School Runner does makes me proud. But believing that he's mature enough and humble enough to run with an Olympic Silver Medalist makes me smile.

It's a good life...
Dave

The High School Runner #3

There are too many examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things to not think that we all have something special inside of us. Greg McMillan



Stats
800m: 2:19 New
Mike: 4:59
2Mile: 10:31
Long Run: 11 Miles

As every runner knows there are great days, good days and just flops. Today on the track was a good day. As a freshman runner there are lots of things to learn about racing and our High School Runner is learning them on race day. In the mile the pace was slow. 1:14 at the quarter and 2:31 at the half. He learned that you can get lulled into that kind of pace and when it's time to go as the smallest kid on the track out kicking Seniors is just probably not going to happen.

He then came back in the 800 and set a new PR by 8 seconds but there is lots of learning on this the hardest race in track. That's right I said it. To run this well you have to run the first lap fast and the second lap faster. Very hard to do when you are a Freshman eager to run fast. When you run 64 for the first lap it's hard at this age to come back faster. But a PR is a PR and he should hold his head up high.

It's a good life....
Dave

Change is Good

One of my favorite things about the travel I do is traveling to new places where I get to run, ride or swim. One thing I've learned by doing so is that you don't have to travel long distances to make your run, ride or swim feel fresh. Just the change in scenery can make all the difference in your mood and in your pace.

The picture above is from Mission Bay - San Diego, CA. I've run here often. This is quite close to the Runner's Bathroom where runners meet to run. But it's been 3 years since I ran here so the run I had felt new to me. My workout was simple.

30 minutes/ 4 miles at a comfortable pace. Followed by running form drills, then 8 x 80 meter strides all with perfect form. 1-4 moderate, 5-8 full gas. 5 minutes to cool down. This workout is a steady run obviously with Leg Speed/Form work to follow. The more I do this at the end of longer and longer runs, the better I feel in my real long runs. Although I did not do it this time I typically do all of the drills and stride work barefoot.

It's a good life....
Dave

Do You Want to Be a Professional Triathlete? - Revenue

A few years ago I wrote a post "I'm a Pro Triathlete" and it's still in the top 5 all time on this blog. The other day I was listening to an interview with Sarah Piampiano on the podcast Jim and the other Guy and she said something that struck a thought. She said "Most Business succeed or fail in 2 years so I've set a 2 year business plan". It's such a simple thought but one I'm confident most with a Pro Card don't think about. I'm qualified to talk through this because I lived with a pro who's the reason I'm not a coach Tim Sheeper, and I lived with Murphy Reinschrieber and saw it all.  Let's look at the math of a simple business plan.

Revenue
Less Operating Expenses
Less Fixed Expenses
Equals: Gross Income
Less Taxes
Net Income

Revenue
First step is to know the available Revenue. How much total money is available to an athlete.

1. Local Events
2. Regional Events
3. National Events
4. International Events
5. Sponsors
6. Outside Job

Questions to ask yourself

1. Can I clean up Locally? - Add total available 1st place income. An offshoot question of this is do I live in the right place to make enough money locally? 
2. How much realistic money is available Regionally? - Add that to Revenue. Same offshoot question is there enough regional money? 
3. Is there a national event in the area and do I stand a chance of making money? If Yes add it, If not don't do the race. 
4. Same in #4 for other National Events
5. International - Unless you are going to move there for a time and call it local don't do it. 

The two big elephants in the room are Sponsors and Jobs. I feel like most athletes look for sponsors first in the entire revenue stream and then most Pro athletes have a job too. 

Sponsors - Do not I repeat do not expect income. Product yes, bonus maybe but do not expect income. You have to kick ass at the national level to make income here, and you have to kick ass internationally to make really good income. Another point on this. Just because you get the points to race the World Championships doesn't lead to sponsor dollars. 

Outside Job - The two year business plan does not call for a job. If you really want to make a go at being a professional triathlete a job can't fit. Remember this is a 2 year plan to make it work. You can last 2 years with no job. You can't become a really successful Net Income positive Triathlete with a job. 

This alone is probably scaring many off. But this why most people don't go into business for themselves. There is a risk of failure. You can't be afraid to fail. You have to be willing to fail. Only then can you become a professional. 

In the next installment we'll look at expenses. 

It's a good life....

Dave