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. 

Five Good Things

We need good things right now. Otherwise we might all start drinking Lysol!

Music
I love music. I’ve been addicted I think since I watched and heard my sister playing the guitar and singing. I learned to play the guitar when I was 10 and still play most days. The COVID-19 stay at home rules have created some amazing music on YouTube. This one by Neil Finn jumped out.

Running Shoes - You all know I work in running shoes. This video interview of Danny Orr is priceless. I’ve known Danny for a number of years. We worked at adidas at the same time. Running Shoe Marketers always come up with phrases to talk about things. Danny introduces the Democratic Shoe. That is a keeper.

Podcasts - It’s a podcast but it’s better on YouTube. Lance Armstrong (Yes I know, you might hate him) has the best cycling podcast on the planet, The Move. With no races Lance and the other guys decided to go back in time and review the Spring Classics. This one is from the Tour of Flanders and the interview at the end will make you smile.

Running Shoes - I’ll write further about this, but the best running shoe released in the last 6 months is the New Balance 1080 V 10. As you may or may not know I do a great deal of work with the brand right now. This shoe simply shows they have been doing their homework. It’s really difficult to update a model. You don’t want to piss off the current runners using it but at the same time you want to sell more shoes. They managed to play those two sides really well and I’m thinking by the end of this year this shoe will be in the top 5 on every YouTube shoe reviewer channel. 

Random - Sunshine - I live in San Diego County. We take the sun and the ocean for granted. They are part of every day life here. When it’s taken away we can get depressed though. The Sun has been rare this year. The cloud of COVID -19 has been doubled with the clouds blocking the sun. We had an entire week of rain a couple weeks ago. Not just rain but full on raining. We had 7.8 inches during the week with 3.5 on the last day. That’s close to an entire year of average rainfall in a week. The ground can’t handle that much water at one time and remember we usually see the sun. This week the Sun came out. Add to that the temperature is rising. This weekend it’s supposed to be 80F which is actually hot for us. I’ll take it. I hope you find your Sun too! 

Five for Friday: Getting Strong

This has become my morning routine. I have taken my cold shower and then bundle up. With a book or kindle in hand I read for 30-45 minutes. Niki always joins me and it's the only time she's allowed on the couch. On this particular morning she was extra close because she knows she got me up at 3am to go outside. The day before she had dug up a gopher and before I could snatch it out of her mouth (It was still alive and ready to bite my hand) Niki crunched it in her jaw and the swallowed it whole. That's my girl.

This time of year is always loaded with new and improved weight loss/muscle building stuff. If you look at all the things on the market it's no wonder we are still an overweight society. It's overload and there is too much to choose. I'm confident the market is confused. For the last couple years I've been working on simplifying my strength work. Consistency has been my problem but once I'm consistent it's simplification I'm after. Over the last few weeks I've tried to get back to the gym and some normal weight training but it's so much hassle. Waiting for the single squat rack and then feel like I'm being rushed through it is just no fun. It's back to simplification for me and here are my top 5.

1. 3 days a week every hour (roughly 5 times) I get up from my computer and do 5 full tension ab crunches, 5 full tension full motion push ups, 3 full tension to straight arm pull ups and 20 deep body weight squats. Full tension is tight abs and butt. Tight as if I'm preparing to get kicked. 
2. 2 days a week not any of those three, I do the following. 5 X 10 kettle bell swings. 5 turkish get ups with the Kettle bell. 3 x 10 Kettle Bell front squats, 3 x 10 20lb ball slams. 
3. I wake up and have 20-25 grams of protein in my bullet proof coffee. 
4. I have 20-25 grams of protein after the big lift sessions. 
5. I use the book Ready to Run, find the tight spots and work, stretch or voodoo floss them out every night. 

I'm loving this routine. I feel healthier and stronger than when I go to the gym. I'm inspired to stay consistent because I watch my son Marco go into the garage at 8:30pm and listen to him work for 30 minutes. He does this 4 nights a week. He did a PT test Tuesday and executed 70 military push ups. 

If you are interested in the Kettle Bell routine I use or others visit www.strongfirst.com this webite and the book Simple and Sinister totally confirmed what I was feeling. The kettle bell swing done correctly may be the best strength work I've ever done. I have one  l5lb (Turkish get ups are really hard) one 30lb and one 50lb. Those are not the small incremental changes you see in the gyms but that's because that's the protocol. If the weight you are using becomes too easy don't make it incrementally harder make it harder. 50lb swings are really hard right now. 

It's a good life....

Five for Friday: The Run Test

Wednesday was Run Test day. Here are 5 things I learned while testing my current run fitness.

1. It's more fun to have a rabbit with you. I did this test alone on the same course I did last time with my rabbit Andrew.
2. I've been running too easy when I'm supposed to be going hard. My hard has been at a HR of 155 when it should be 166 or higher according to my test. I thought as I got older that those upper limit heart rates would come down but they haven't.
3. Shoe choice is important. In my run test in late November I wore the heavily cushioned Saucony Triumph 12 and in this most recent test I wore the bedroom slipper New Balance Zante. Crazy as it is my feet felt better in the Triumph running "fast".
4. Running Form - It's really important. I concentrated heavily on my form during this test. I would not do that in a race but for this I felt getting that slight forward lean and high cadence was important. It felt really good doing this.
5. I will not test at 8am again. My run finishes going north on the coast highway. The southbound traffic is heavy at this time of the day. It felt like I was running into a stiff wind. This is not an excuse for my slower time it's just the reality. I've rather have a quiet place to run in windy conditions. The coast highway is a great place to run but not at 8am on a weekday.
6. I'm adding a 6th because it's quite important. I get up every morning and measure my reading (I do this while I read) heart rate and heart rate variability on the Sweet Beat Ap. My HRV on this morning was 12 beats lower than the day before which is roughly my average throughout all my testing. What this told me was to take the day off I was not rested/recovered. What I did instead was execute the test. 

As for the test itself, I'm encouraged. I was 20 seconds slower and I attribute that to my rabbit and my HRV. I know with a rabbit or in the middle of a race with some rest I'll be much faster. I also need to invest in better tools. For years I was the guy everyone came too for direction and comments on technology. I was really tight with Timex, Polar, Garmin, Nike and adidas. I never had to pay for anything which was a perk. During this test I held my phone. The system is one of the best I've used but holding my phone in my hand is crazy and I don't want to run with it on my arm. I need to find that watch Polar, Timex or Garmin that will give me what I want. Time/Pace/HR all on the same screen. I know it's out there but instead of them coming to me I need to go find it. It's much harder to trust these things when you have to pay for them.

It's a good life...

Five for Friday: 2015 the First 90 Days

I'm fairly sure that this was the first Cross Country Race for our son Marco. Today he's set his sites on the California State Meet in November 2015. Before we know it, he will be on his way to bigger and better things post High School. My first 90 days of 2015 are focused on that day when he walks out of the house or we drop him off after he graduates.

1. Marco was born 9 weeks early. 99.9% of him was perfect. We've known over the years that he has an issue with his eyes tracking together. He's been through a couple rounds of vision therapy and he's at it again. My focus is to work with him for 10 minutes a day for the next 90 days. I told him this morning that if he did that his last 3 semesters of High School would be way different. School would open up to him rather than it being a daily fight. 
2. Men - Marco like any boy needs men in his life. He needs his father but he needs other men who can mentor and show him how to become a man. Over the next 90 days it's my hope to find another mentor for him. We think we have a lead right now one one. 
3. Risk - Boys need risk in their lives. They need to do scary things. We are going to do risky things over the next 90 days. Still trying to figure those things out. If you have anything you did as a kid that scared the heck out of you, let me know. 
4. Income - I have had income since August. That's not exactly true, our investments are always (virtually) making money. But I have no regular flow of income. Over the next 90 days that's going to change. Either my businesses will take off or I'll accept one of the offers I have. 
5. Strength - Physical and Emotional it's been my weakness and it will not be any longer. I will be strong. 

It's a good life....

Five for Friday: Where to Find Dave

Happy New Year!

It's 2015. Finally I'm working in real time and not future time. I started working in 2015 in October of 2013. Today though my focus is the next 90 days not the next 18 months and that feels really good. With that bit of information I thought I'd share where you can catch up with me for at least the next 90 days.

1. Right Here - This will become a bit more personal about my life etc.
2. Shoe Ranger - Still in Beta form this will be up and running in the next two weeks. Here you will be able to read shoe reviews, read up on shoe news and learn in the Shoe Clinic. You'll also be able to use a new tool with new secret sauce.
3. Retail Brand Sync - Do you have a store or a brand you need help with? I'm using my expertise to help brands and retailers reach their dreams. I often ask both the same question "What do you want to be" and I either get a brand marketing statement or an "I don't know". Every once in awhile I get a real answer and it's here where I come into play. My expertise is taking that real answer and helping you make it a reality. Most of the information on the website will be free and frequent.
4. Facebook - Dave Jewell
5. Twitter - @superdavejewell

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

Five for Friday: My 5 Favorite Runs

Running has taken me to some amazing places. It's hard to have 5 that are tops but I'll give it a shot.

1. Grossenseebach, Germany with my dog Scout. We had some really good times running in Germany. We would run from the house and just explore the multitude of trails around the area. I think our longest run was two hours together but most were 45 minutes to an hour. She was always ready to go and just loved to chase deer, hares and the occasional chicken. The area is famous for it's wild boar but we were lucky to never run into one of them. I will always remember those runs.
2. Coast Highway Cardiff with Marco - We don't run together much anymore. He has his running buddies and quite frankly our paces have crossed paths. I used to slow down for him and now I'd have to run well above my comfort zone to run with him. I haven't changed that much but he has. We've had some amazing discussions on our runs and that's what always makes them great.
3. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado - I've had some epic runs in that park. Once I was tracked by a mountain lion. That was fun. On another occasion a 90 minute run turned into 3 hours with a good 30 minutes in one of those classic summer thunderstorms.
4. Eldoret, Kenya - Just outside of the city we started a run at a measly 8,000 feet and finished 15 K later at 10,000 feet. We were treated to a feast by the runners at the finishing camp. What was so cool is we were 50 runners strong. I was given a 15 minute head start and I finished 5 minutes behind the last group. I loved every second of that run.
5. The first run I ever went on. I was tired of the routine of Snickers after school and decided one day to lace up a beat up pair of Nike shoes I had and go for a run. It hurt so much that I went running the next day.

It's a good life....

Friday Five: Morning Practice

With more time on my hands I have been working on quite a bit. I have established a morning practice that is geared 100% to getting fired up.

1. Cold Shower - I roll out of bed, brush my teeth and jump into a cold shower. My entire body and mind come alive. 
2. I drink a glass of water then a glass of Branched Chain Amino Acids. 
3. Then I make coffee. If it's a workout day then it's Bullet Proof coffee if not then normal.
4. I read to learn. Typically it's a book about finance or mind/body improvement. 
5. I take the dog for a walk. On the walk I do 5 minutes of deep fast breathing,5 minutes of gratitude (out loud) and 5 minutes of positive self talk. 

This process starts at 5:10 and is done by 6:15. At this point I am focused, relaxed and ready to attack the day. 

What's your morning routine?

It's a good life....

Five for Friday: The 5 Best Things This Week

This week like no other I sat back and observed my life. These are 5 things that stand out in the week. 

1. Over a great deal of the last 10 years or so I've used running especially running hard to forget the frustrations in my life. Now and especially this week my mind is racing during my running. I'm excited about the possibilities I'm creating and while running I'm refining those possibilities. 
2. They paved Rancho Santa Fe - We are talking about one of the most wealthy communities in the USA and for years the road have been down right dangerous. As a cyclist you simply had to learn where the holes were and on certain downhills you had to know the exact line to take. On Wednesday I was riding and prepared myself for one of the obstacles and then realized that I was on fresh pavement. There was not obstacle. 
3. Making running a better experience for everyone is one of my life long objectives. This week I am confident I moved one step closer to that. This excites me. 
4. I stepped in a Gym and enjoyed it. Oh how I hate gyms. Waiting for the squat rack or watching men use the bathroom and then not wash their hands. I know that's just gross but believe me it happens. I hate gyms. But I went to the Gym had a great workout and got out without being disgusted. I find that to be a huge bonus. 
5. Coffee - Not the drink but the activity. I randomly went to a Pete's Coffee and ran into a long time work friend. He of the sales world and me the former buyer. We talked for 20 minutes and had a great time. The next day I went to Cardiff Starbucks which I rarely go to and ran into one of the power brokers in running. It was totally random and totally good. 

It's a good life....