back at it again

sorry it's been a while.  it's not that i've been busy.  i've just been lazy.  my bad.  i am training more and more, but i also hit a rough patch at work.  that's another story that i won't talk about because at this point it's a lot of "he said, she said".  let's just say i'm putting all that crap to the side, and i'm focusing on me and annie.  some day, i'll leave here and hope it's soon.

anyways, i'm more that half way through training now.  in the time i haven't been blogging, i would say that not much has happened, but i would be lying.  i am racking up a lot of mileage and staying relatively injury free.  my right knee did start to bother me a bit last weekend on my long run and then, the run after that.   i wasn't until late in the run on saturday.  then it went away.  it was very slight.  the following run after that i was a bit weird, but i was also wearing in my new sneakers that i bought back in august.  breaking in new shoes can be a little uncomfortable.  by the way, that long run was the longest i have ever ran.  15 miles.  i was really excited about that.  i think i was really fine physically most of the way until about the last 2-3 miles.  that's when i really started to feel sore.  afterwards, i recovered rather well.  i was not as sore as i thought i'd be.  i didn't expect it in the first place because it was a long slow run.  if i had ran harder, i know i would have been suffering.  well, this weekend i will top that distance by a mile.  that's when i know, in the actual race, soon i'll be about to count down the miles by single digits.  that'll be going on about 24 hours from the writing of this post.  the workout not the race.

what else has happened, in the past month?  oh, i ran a half-marathon. two weeks ago.  that was fun.  it was my second one.  it also happened a year after running my first.  it wasn't as fast as my time last year.  i came in 4 minutes slower this time.  however, i think i ran a whole lot better this year.  my pace was steady.  i never felt like i was going shut down like last year.  so, i think the overall effort was a lot better.  i think if i had ran last years race again i could have ran under 2 hours.  the course was very flat.  this course i was on here, was mostly flat, but there was this bridge that took a lot out of me.  i had to cross over it and then back.  coming back over the bridge was a test.  i really slowed down at that point.  i think if i had been able to cross the bridge the opposite way it would have been easier.  my legs would have been fresher.  coming back over the bridge was steeper than first crossing it.  does that make sense?  so, basically i went from taipa>macau>taipa.  if crossing the bridge macau>taipa>macau, it would have been easier.  the macau side was steeper.  i also had planned on running slower than last year because i wasn't exactly training for that distance.  i had i been a bit smarter i would have trained for that distance and then adjusted to train for the full.  however, this being my first full, i wanted it to only about the full.  i actually used the race as a training day and a measuring stick to see where i was at in my training and i was very happy with the result.  i wanted to run around 2:15.  i did 2:10.  i had i good idea of what time i would finish at near the end of the race.  so, about a half-hour to the finish, i knew i was going to come in faster that the 2:15 time.  so, to conserve myself the the following week of training i slow down a little and cruised to the finish.  i had a 15 mile run to do the following saturday morning, and i was surprised that my legs were as fresh as they were that morning.  plus, i had to work a evening shift doing maintenance the night before.  unfortunately, i have more of those night sessions to do the night before a training run.

if, i had been diligent i could have written a play by play of the race but now it's been almost 2 weeks i can't remember much.  give me few days.  i might have something.  don't hold me to it though.

i'm also starting to think about what i'm going to do next after this race in february.  i definitely need to have my right shoulder looked at.  good thing is it doesn't inhibit my running.  i'm going to try to do some strength exercises to see if it helps.

"failure is not an option"?

so, i was watching this tv series called "the challenger: muay thai" the other night.  how many of us have heard this before? "this is my last shot.  failure is not an option for me"?  perhaps in some cases the word "lose" is substituted for "failure".  either way that's the cliche i've heard quite a bit from these people who compete in these over the top reality game shows or whatever you want to refer to them as being.  you end up watching these people who think that or want you to think that their journey is over if they don't succeed on what show it is that they are competing on.  it must be the "in" thing to say.  i've heard it so many times.  i laugh every time i hear it.  poor pitiful things.  seriously, have you exhausted all other means to the point that if doesn't work this time that all is lost?  you waste this chance and now you have to give up?

do you know what i think?  i think that anyone who says that has already given up.  you lose, big deal.  pick yourself up and try again.  you can't win all the time.  i think it takes a bit of arrogance to make a statement like that as well.  anyways, in this case the guy who made the statement got his butt kicked.  so, i guess losing was forced upon him as being an option.  i bet he was confused that he didn't win.  what does he do since he left himself no options?  i know, i know.  it's a figure of speech.  i get it.  blah, blah, blah.  i've also noticed that every time i've heard that statement, the person making it sounds a bit melancholy.  they know that the possibility of failure exists, and it's about to happen and they sound scared.  it's hilarious to me.

we all want to win and be the best at something.  we all want to succeed, but we can't be afraid of failure. that's how we learn.  we look at the mistakes that we make and try to adjust so we don't make the same mistakes again.  it's how we learn to persevere.  it's makes us stronger and our desire grows stronger as long as we are willing not to give up.  we pick ourselves up and keep going.  when you win all the time, you never learn to pick yourself up when you begin to lose.

so, as i'm training, i think about can and can't finish.  while i'm optimistic about finishing, i'm still concerned about not finishing.  will it be the end of the world if i don't?  i know it won't be, but i need to  give myself the best chance to finish.  if i don't, it's not the end of the world.  i'll try again.  i don't owe anything to anybody in this.  i'll try my best to be the best that i can be.  if i fail, then i will strap my running sneakers on again and keep trying until i do.

Macau 30th International Marathon

one month from now is the anniversary date of when i ran my first half marathon.  it was in west palm beach, florida at the palm beaches marathon festival.  it was quite a stepping stone in my life and quite an accomplishment.  many of you who have seen all of my posts online last year have seen all of the workouts i posted in working up to it.  that was a great moment.  i had been running for about 15 months at the time.  i had made a lot of improvement over that time and had enough confidence to try and run in a long distance event.

i had run several 5k races by that time.  i skipped right passed running a 10k run to a half-marathon. i originally wanted to run a full marathon, but i had missed my window of time to properly train for one.  undaunted, i did my research and found a program that could get me prepared to run the race.  i was also able to find one that was relatively close by where i would be to run in.  i allowed time in my busy touring schedule to adjust training weeks so that i didn't miss a day of running and go back a week or 2 because i had a show to move and a week off work traveling to montreal and then to home in texas.  the timing worked out great.  i was well prepared for the run and finished with a huge smile.  i was a bit sore at the end, but recovered rather quickly.

this leads us to today.  it's been almost a year since i've ran in a race, but i've stayed in shape the whole time.  in my lead up to the hong kong marathon, i decided to run in the half-marathon event at the 30th macau international marathon.  it fit almost perfectly into my training calendar as well.  during week 8 i was scheduled to run the distance anyways.  however, the race occurs during week 9.  this is okay.  i'm able to shuffle the weeks around to make the run fit into the training schedule.  it'll take some juggling to get it, but i should be okay.  the question is whether i go into this and try to set a PR or not.  i think about this on every run i go on right now.  right now, i just want to get in the race and just run and not worry about a PR.  this course is no where near as flat as the palm beach course either.  i cross a bridge twice which has quite an incline.  if i'm looking at the map correctly, then there's quite a hill i have to climb at the end.  so, those alone can cause me to slow down considerably.  i'm not worried though.  i feel like i'm running stronger than a year ago.  i'm getting my mind right and staying focused on my pacing and trying to control myself to keep from starting to fast.  this one should be a fun race.  i've ran the distance before and am confident that i can have a good run.  i'll need to save myself for the rest of my training.  so, i'm not too worried about my time in this race.  i would actually like to try to run a negative split.  that's when you run the second half of the race faster than the first half.  so, i'm practicing that on my mid-week semi long run.  i've been running a hill nearby my usual route at least once a week as well.

so, i am 30 days away from racing after a year.  see you at the finish line.

what's your excuse?

this weeks totals:
distance: 20.32 miles
duration: 3:22:33
avg page: 9:58/mi
calories burned:  2829

monthly totals:
workouts: 16
distance: 68.31
duration: 11:33:08
avg pace: 10:09/mi
calories burned: 9610

totals since september:

workouts: 26
distance:  116.44 miles
duration:  19:45:12
avg pace: 10:11/mi
calories burned: 16142


wow, that's becoming a chore, but i like to share.  keeps me on track and accountable.

so, i'm meant to write yesterday, but i was being lazy as hell and haven't been inspired to have any commentary.  then as i sit smelling the aroma of the apple crumble i have in the oven and while watching hell's kitchen, i wonder what is your excuse?

i used to make excuses.  my main excuse was that i was too busy working.  i didn't have time to go to the gym and work out.  i didn't have time for a relationship.  i didn't have time for friends and family.  i was so busy that i missed out on a lot.  i missed out on a lot.  at the same time, i got more and more out of shape.

i have always believed that we do have 30 minutes out of our day where we are absolutely not doing anything where can peel our asses of the couch and take that time to do some type of physical activity.  i just never did it.  i used "being tired" as an excuse.  i worked too many hours in the day.  you name it.  i had every excuse in the book.  that was until i decided that enough was enough.

maybe it's that fact that i'm not getting any younger, and i want to be as fit as i can possibly be.  there are some things i can work on.  i still need to shore up my diet, but it's getting there.  it may not be totally clean, but i'm not over eating, and i don't indulge a lot.  however, when i decided it was time to get in to shape, i decided it was time to stop making excuses.  now, i'm not saying that there hasn't been moments when i missed some time when i should have been working out.  i have a perfect excuse for that.  just kidding.  i just had to readjust my schedule to get back in to it.  it took me a little while to figure it out, but i still found the time.  that time is early in the morning right now.

yep, i know i mentioned it before, but that's the time.  early morning workout.  i don't stay up late.  i go to bed and get as much sleep as i can.  then wake up and take care of business.  i know the majority of you won't wake up until much later. you can't tell me there isn't a moment in you day whether it be in the morning or night that you don't sit on you butt for a while watching tv or even reading this right now.  i don't know anyone who gets home from work and goes straight to bed and then wake up in the morning and go directly back to work.

come on! get up and get moving!

running on an island

this weeks totals:
distance: 16.06
duration: 2:34:20
avg page: 9:37/mi
calories burned:  2256


so, it's been about a week since my last input.  i don't really have much to say.

so, my workouts this week show a lot of promise.  i felt pretty good.  so far doubt hasn't crept into my mind yet.  I'm sure it will as I'm due to have a few bad workouts here and there.  that's to be expected.  however, each time i finish i feel more encouraged.

things have seemed to calm down a bit.  i don't talk much about my running anymore at work.  i just do my thing.  not many people there are into running like i am.  oh, well to each his own.  i do work with some out of shape sorts though.  some could use a workout or two.  there are a bunch that are in great physical shape as well.  there are a few others though that do run or are trying to do more it.  that makes me happy because now i can have some one to talk to it about.  i am the only one in my department that does as much as i do.  I'm very familiar with the situation though.  it's just as when i first started.

when i first started, i didn't think it would grow into something i would thoroughly enjoy doing.  i realized that i was never going to be the best at it which makes me continue to run.  since i started this alone and without help from anyone, i was okay with the solitude.  the more i ran the more i felt i was alone on an island. because there wasn't anyone there that i could exercise with, i felt more and more isolated.  there was no one there that would get up and join me early in the morning for a workout.  no one wanted to give up a couple of nights a week of hanging out and staying up late to wake up in the morning.  in my line of business, that just how life is.  so, going to bed early and waking up early to run made me "crazy". if i had a dime for every "I'd only run if....(fill in the blank)" i heard, I'd be able enough pairs of running shoes to last me a lifetime.

at least that's what people would say.  i was crazy for getting up early to run.  most of them refused to wake up before 10.  they don't even think about getting up between 630 and 7.  so, i would get up do my run, and i could be back before anyone woke up from the night's slumber after going for a long run.  i learned after a while that running can be a very lonely venture.  however, someday when I'm back stateside maybe i can find a running club and have people to train and run with.  i hope by then my wife will be able to keep up with me until i start training for another race.  what i did discover at races was how friendly a lot of people are at these events.  it's that common bond that we share in the moment.  you can show people how much you enjoy running on all of these social sites and such, but i think at a race it really comes out.  with me, it's more so because i don't feel as bad as i do when I'm flaunting all the success I've had online to people who are obviously tired of hearing about it.  we wouldn't do it if it wasn't something we loved to do.  i feel like i go back into civilization when I'm at a race.  no longer am i on that island.  i don't feel so bad now that I'm on that island again because i know I'll be joining civilization again soon.

finish this!!

this weeks totals:
distance: 16.64 miles
duration: 2:51:59
avg page: 10:18/mi
calories burned:  2363

now that we got last week's numbers out of the way, let's get on with this.  sorry, it's been a few days.  i meant to post after my last run which was saturday.

i don't know how long i can keep this up.  you know, thinking of something to write.  so, the frequency of the writing may be reduced to a summary of the week or what else is on my mind about this ordeal.  what's on my mind this time?  finish.

finish.  it's a simple term.  it's signifies completion.  i've committed myself to doing this.  i'm excited and nervous at the same time.  i'm excited because it's something i've never done before and look forward to doing.  hopefully, i'll be able to do it more than once as long as my body can take it and stay healthy.  speaking of which, i hope it stays that way so i can run hong kong.  i'm so pumped for this.  i'm almost so pumped that i'm afraid that i' may not complete the race.  

i'm going to be so nervous until i cross that starting line.  from that point on, i will try to focus on the run, but i want to have fun while i do it.  hong kong is such a big city.  i'll get to see quite a bit of it by foot, of course.  haha!  i'll be the only person i know that has ran that race.  

what makes me more nervous is not crossing the finish line.  i talk a lot about my training.  i am sure people are very tired of hearing about it and seeing my posts online.  you know what?  screw them.  i'm on facebook as much as the next person.  i see post after post.  some are cool.  some are... whatever.   i don't think much about what other people post.  i shouldn't say it like that.  what i mean is that when i see post after post of what some one did last night or a picture of someone's feet with the ocean in the background,  i don't say to myself, "oh here we go again" or "can they post something different."

the more i talk about it, the more pressure i feel to have to complete the run.  i feel like i'm obligated to do it just to save myself some embarrassment.  you know what?  to hell with that.  i'm going to do the best i can.  if i can't finish, i can't finish.  there are plenty of factors that could cause me not to cross that finish line.  if i make to the starting line, it will be an accomplishment.  then, from there i just got to stay on my feet and not give up.  i'm working hard to get to the starting line.  i would more disappointed in myself if i didn't try.

Shoe Life

when is it time to buy new shoes?  

i'm not talking about when the new "jordan" shoes come out.  i'm not referring to getting the new black on red instead of the barely a month old red on black "lebron james" special edition hightop.  believe me, i have a rant saved up for that, but this is about my quest but really, when is it time to get new shoes?  we all have that favorite pair of shoes that we wear practically everyday until the back of the sole, at the heel, starts to separate from the rest of the shoe and appears to talk to the people behind you.  i'm no exception.  it's hard to let go.  especially me.  instead of recycling them so some less fortunate than my self can give a pair of my old shoes a bit of some extra life, i hold on to them thinking i can still use them when i do some dirty work.

i can be very picky when i comes to shoes, but i digress.  we're here talking shoe life.  so, in the past if you had asked me, i would have thought people were crazy for having to change their running shoes after 6-9 months of constant running.  i thought shoes could last a long time.  yeah, i know the sole wears out and stuff like that but how long does it really take.  for those of us not swimming in money, it seems logical that it should take a long time to happen.  at least we hope it does.  shoes, quality shoes, cost money.  it's not like we can go out and spend money on a new pair of shoes every month.  a year?  yes.  this goes back to my rant about sneaker endorsements by spoiled athletes who make more money the more we buy a shoe for no other purpose than that to walk around with their name on our feet.  oops, there i go again. 

over the past 2 or so years, i finally got it.  i got why people, runners for example, have to change shoes.  when i started the shoes i owned were decent.  i mean they were meant for running and even though i had them for a while at that point, but i didn't know as much as i know now about this hobby of mine.

okay, okay...  sometimes it's an obsession.  

i continued to work out in these shoes until my feet just couldn't stand them anymore.  i might as well had been running in dress shoes that have no insoles.  the soles are as smooth as skis. (i used present tense here because i still wear those shoes.  see what i mean about hard to let go.  the pair i bought to replace those, i donated.  those were still good enough for someone else.  the older pair i might as well keep them until they dissolve.  they won't do anybody any good.)

anyways,  since then i had bought 3 pairs of shoes.  so, we're talking about an eight month average.  last year i did a lot more running.  my life schedule got out of whack after the beginning of the year and running took a backseat for a while, but i never stopped working out.  so, i have bought 3 new pairs of running shoes over that time.  i'm still wearing the second pair.  i have not ran as much as i had in the first pair, which lasted 7-8 months.  i think they could have gone farther but the reviews i had read about that pair had said they have a relatively short lifespan.  i had started to notice the symptoms of when it's time to start looking for a new pair.  my first half marathon was not too far away.  i liked the pair i had so much that i bought the exact same shoe.  the difference between them were like night and day.  i felt refreshed when i put them on.  however, wearing new shoes to run can be painful.  they have to be broken in slowly over the course of a couple of weeks.  well, that's what i've read in all the magazines and websites.  whatever.  

well, i have a new pair sitting in my room waiting for me to put them on and start running.  i tried to get a 3rd pair of the same shoe but when i went to the store to get fitted that shoe was no longer made.  so, soon i will have to bid farewell to the "brooks defyance 3" and welcome my new "brooks glycerine 9" pair in the near furture.  i can't wait to run in them actually, i still have a lot of quality time left in my other pair right now.  there's a reason why i have bought a pair so early.

now, shoe life.  i seen a lot of argument over when to wear a new pair of shoes.  i'm not going to get into it because of the large difference of opinion.  i'm no expert.  i go by feeling.  if i feel i can't work in the shoes anymore, then i'll switch.  this time however might be a little difficult to tell because my insole is not going to wear out anytime soon.  it's a kinda plastic insole called "a-line".  they are supposed to keep your feet straight and inline with you knee.  i've had few feet, ankle and knee problems while wearing them.  that being said, i never had those issues before and i hope i don't have them in the future.  anyways, those insoles will last quite a while.  i want to ween myself off of them though.  so, when i start my switch i will not be putting those in the new shoes.  they might slide around anyways.  

why?  i have had a gait analysis done each time i went in for new shoes.  each time the shoe size got bigger.  strange, i know.  i thought i was a size 9.5-10.  then, when i got my first pair i was measure at 10.5.  for the next pair, the guy at the store didn't have the same pair in 10.5 and had a hunch.  he brought back an 11.5  and i tried those.  they felt large, but i was more comfortable with those over time.  i had more toe room.  speaking of toe room.  the new pair which i have yet to wear are 12.  what?  i get that i need to get a shoe that will allow for my feet to swell.  isn't that too big.  the salesman said, "no".  he even showed me on the show measuring thingy when he was first checking my size.  i wouldn't have believed it if i didn't see it.  i still won't feel comfortable getting shoes that big for anything other than running though.  they are a bit big in my opinion, but i like wearing thick socks too.   in theory i should not get the black toe nails that people talk about.  i saw somewhere that it is related to shoes being too small.

oh man, i was supposed to talk about shoe life.  honestly, i still don't know how long running shoes last when that's what they are specifically used for.  i don't wear my running shoes casually like football players don't wear their cleats casually.  i expressly use them for running.  i wish i would have kept track of the mileage on my current pair, but i estimated them to have about 200 miles of running on them.  i can easily put another 200-300 mile on them before it's time to retire them.  i guess.  the sole on them have significant wear on them though.  i do know that i can put some more distance on them for sure.   a lot of distance.  i may have to retire them before february though.  i need to do some more math to figure out when that may be.  so, from here on, i'll estimate about 200 miles on them and keep track of the mileage i put on them.  

now, i just wish i knew how much time i had left on my nike foot pod that keeps track of my pace and distance blah blah blah.  i've had it for a while and went a while without using it but never got rid of it.  the battery has to die soon.  i may have to switchback to my gps watch though.  it's just that it takes forever to get satellites here.

i think in a later post you may end up hearing my rant on celebrity athlete endorsed shoes or anything endorsed by an athlete for that matter.  maybe i can gather my thoughts on a long run.  we'll see.

i also want to do some research about the life of running shoes.  that can be my independent study.  hahaha!!!

rain, rain go away!

i couldn't think of a title for this post.  so, i thought the cheesiness of today's title would suffice.  however, it could not be further from the truth.

we're still pretty much in the midst of the rainy time of year.  i cannot stand the rain.  i have learned to deal with it though.  no, problem.  it wasn't too bad today anyways.  the humidity kicked my tail.  i had a lot of trouble breathing at the beginning.  i was soaked to the core from that more than the light sprinkle that happened half way through the run.  unless it pouring outside, a ligt rain isn't going to bother me.

it was when i was in portland that i had quickly accept the fact that i might have to deal with the rain.  until, then i had either ran most of the time on a treadmill or in picture perfect weather.  until, then i had spent the fall and winter in southern california.  i'm not complaining or anything.  the weather was amazing.  during the fall of 2009 i was running through venice beach.  well, at the time i was just finishing a 12 week walk to run program which led to my addiction to running.

anyways, portland.  the pacific northwest.  when isn't it raining?  it was early spring that i was there.  so, it was still a bit cool outside.  i have never been the cold weather type of person.  that spring was the first time that it had really rained when i had been out on a run.  i lucked out most of the times, but there was one time it was very wet and cold.  i was about 1/2 mile away from where i was staying when what had been drizzle the entire time turned in to a  rain shower.  i kept moving and was determined to finish the run.  undaunted, i carried on.  i had no where to duck from the rain.  my t-shirt was laughable.  all of my clothes where like they had been dipped in a pool.  i was freezing.  i thought more about finishing my workout than being wet or cold.  i would be there in portland that i run my first 5k ever.  i was hooked after that.  3 weeks later i would run another.  on a harder course and set a PR in the process.

it wouldn't be until the fall of 2010 that i found out i prefer to run in cool weather.  it's the only time i like to bundle up.  even then i'm not wearing much as far as clothing is concerned but i'm not going to freeze when i'm outside.  i was in calgary this time last year.  by this time last year i was going on the longest runs i had ever done.  i had also been waking up extremely early to get the workouts in because i had no idea how the runs would take me.  i just new i had to go out and run.  when i finished, i finished.  during my time there it just continued to get cold and i loved it.  i took almost 2 miles before i was completely warmed up.

i had also, unknowingly, finally had control over my breathing when i run.  i don't know how it happened, i just noticed.  maybe it had something to do with the fact that i was running at altitude.  anyways, i found that properly clothed for the weather helps me to continue to train without too much hinderance.

so, rain or shine, hot or cold.  i will be out there training.  okay except maybe for the heat part.

end of the week totals and it's my 20 yr high reunion

this weeks totals:
distance: 15.86 miles
duration: 2:45:37
avg page: 10:27/mi
calories burned:  2289



totals since september:
distance:  64 miles
duration:  10:58:40
avg pace: 10:18
calories burned: 9091


today was the last day of my first week.  i'd say i got through it rather well.  now, i have extra logged miles to look forward to each week.  i feel good though.  i am excited.  my applications for both races i signed for have both been accepted.  so, i am locked in.  one step closer to my goal and one week down as well.  i decided to include totals from before the actual program started.  technically i did start training in september to get myself ready for this first week.  i needed to make sure that i could do the workout.
if i can keep this up, i'll just do weekly totals until the end of the month where i will include monthly totals and grand totals.

i had a long slow run today.  i think maybe i went a little too slow but i'm just feeling it out right now.  the goal is to finish not beat a world record.  that's the goal of any regular person running their first marathon. "complete, not compete".

i did have a bit a of scare last night.  well, more like an over reaction.  i've been working hard towards preparing my self for the challenge ahead.   it's a goal that means quite a bit to me.  will i complete it?  i'm not sure, but i'm going to give it my my best.  however, during a cue in the show last night, i was moving moving a set piece, my knee was hit by a plate that a part of the piece.  this should not had happened if the person that was next to me would have gotten off of their fat butt and moved like everyone that runs that track.  this forced me to adjust and as i was doing it, my knee took a painful shot.  i was livid.  i have been talking a lot about wanting to do this.  i have to finish this.  as much as i talk about it.  i think i need to play it down more and keep it to myself.  that's why i share here now.  this is for those who care to follow.

that being said, my 20yr high school reunion is this weekend.  as a matter of fact, as of this writing my classmates are attending a football game that i'm listening to right now.  it's unfortunate that i can't be there and that the team is not doing well.  sounds like they are about to be handed their first loss of the season.  when word went out that this was going to happen, there was no set date or anything at the moment.  i was so ready to attend.  that was also when i was still in japan or even before that.  i could have gone because i had the the time to do it, but i made a move career wise and it didn't play out for me.  now, i'm outside (way outside) looking in.  i'm living vicariously through social media.  i hope there are some great pictures posted.  i could have shared some interesting stories about my life since high school.  i always thought i'd be that guy that would have had the most uninteresting life after high school.  that's totally not the case.  well, at the 10 year reunion it really was.  it was like i haven't done anything with my life.  i was just waiting my turn, i guess.  now, what a difference 10yrs makes.  the stars aligned, and i was able to do some stuff and have a lot of fun.

anyways, what does that have to do with running.  i get to think a lot about things when i run, but when i finish, i never remember any of it.  i just remember if it was a good run or bad run.  today's was good though.  i was able to finish pain free.  i was relaxed the entire run i tried to keep it slow.  i didn't go out fast.  i did what i was instructed to do according to my training program.  the long days are supposed to be slow.  that's where i help my body to last through the long arduous task of the marathon.  i'll get excited the closer i get to the race and when i do the long runs and accomplishing distances i haven't done before.

Podcasts anyone?

well, here's the deal.  i weened myself off the ipod last year about this time when i was working.  some people like to listen to music when they're are in the gym or out for a run.  I'm split between the two.  allow me to explain.

let's start with the ipod, mp3 player or what have you.  maybe you still have one of those Sony sport CD players that are supposed to absorb impact or excessive shaking or an old school Walkman cassette player.  transistor resistor radio?  anyways, what ever you have doesn't matter.  my point is that the mp3 player has created quite a trend in how we approach fitness.  they are small and unobtrusive if worn correctly, which some people spend about an hour trying to get the headphone/ear bud cable in the right spot so it doesn't get caught on every handle, hook and person on the way to the weight machines or treadmill.  me?  after spending eternity unravelling a handful of spaghetti,  i like to run the cable down my back and inside my shirt.

then there comes the choices in music.  what gets people, who choose to listen to music when they workout, motivated?  what pumps them up?  is it hard hitting heavy metal?  more often than not, for me, when i lift weights i prefer rock music.  could it be dance music?  you know, something with a consistent beat and very steady rhythm that you can set a pace to when on the run, studio cycle or, elliptical.  there's plenty to choose from.  I'm always curious to know what people listen to when they workout because it can definitely influence your mood.  my choices may be way different than someone else.  regardless of what anyone listens to is not important.  it's about keeping yourself motivated and keep you moving.

while we're mostly talking about being in the gym right now.  let's continue there.  it's about the only place where i may choose to turn on my music playing device.  as i have said before, i am more likely to listen to some hard rock/heavy metal.  there's just something about it that gets me pumped and makes me feel more aggressive about getting at the workout and take that aggression out.  sometimes it's hip hop or maybe even country.  the thing is for me, sometimes it depends on my mood.  also, what drives me to put in my headphones is largely dependent on the music being played in the gym.  there's music that i just don't care for.  if i wanted to hear music in a dance club, I'd go to a dance club.  so, i just put something on to block it out.

music can also be very distracting.  every once in a while one of "my jam's" will come on.  I'll start singing along with that and forget that my rest between sets is over.  not good.  i feel it breaks up the rhythm and i lose focus.  so, i just suck it up and mentally block out the monotonous pulses of the dance music being played all around the gym.

speaking of distracting.  music has been detrimental to my running.  i tried to run with the rhythm of the music.  i've tried music with a wide range of beats per minute.  i've realized that it's pointless because while have rhythm to spare, no matter what i do i can't sync my foot strike.  not everyone can maintain a rhythmic pace through out an entire workout.  there are hills to consider.  there's distance to think about.  there's plenty there to throw you off of your game.  you speed up and slow down naturally in different parts of a run.  then there's music that just doesn't work for running.

at the beginning i said that i had to ween myself off my ipod.  in turn, my runs became better and more consistent.  i could focus more on my body, form, and breathing.  it's also a bit safer to hear things around you.  it's also helpful to turn the volume down as well and run against the traffic so that you can see cars coming or stay on the sidewalk far side from the street.  however, the sounds i hear in macau are less than attractive.  there isn't much to get away from as you would in most other places like a place with scenic views and wind blowing through the trees.    so, i find myself sometimes needing to block out some of the sounds from time to time.

calling in the podcasts.  i never really listened to them before. i thought i'd give it chance and catch up with some sports talk while i was at it.  so, far i don't have to worry about listening to music that i may catch on and try to run to the beat and throw of my pacing.  it's less obtrusive.  i can still hear my surroundings, but i still won't listen at a high volume.  if you ever seen how people drive and act around here, you'd do the same.  so, i'll keep on with the experiment.  i can listen to the scott van pelt show, page 2, jim rome is burning, real time, page 2, and the absurdity of "the onion".  i'm going to keep on looking for interesting things to listen to especially when these runs start to get longer.  i hate coming up with musical playlists.  genius on itunes is okay, but it puts songs i don't really want on a list sometimes.

what do you listen to?

welcome to my blog. here's my story

hello all!  with this being my first post, i thought i'd go back a little bit in time to catch people up on how i got to where i am.  now, i'm going to try to keep this about my running and not about my personal life.  so, what i hope to do is describe what i did each day or week for my training runs.  mostly, i think i will put up my training results to have a record of what i've done.  so, together with you all we can see my progression and countdown together how many days are left until the big day.  however, there may be times when my personal life may creep in to this journal.  i'll do my best to keep it short.  i've told this story to many people already who have asked, "what made you decide to get in to shape?  and "why running?"

for the latter question, i reply, "why, not?"

"but running is so hard?"

i say, " nothing worth doing if it's easy."

"isn't it hard on you knees?  don't they hurt after you run?"

"no and no"

"my knees always hurt when i run"

i asked "do you even know how to run?"  oddly enough when my knees hurt it's because of something else.  not running.  i feel absolutely no pain in my knees when i'm on the road even if the are sore when i go out for a run.  weird i know but that's how it is.

anyways, let's get to the first question.  2 years ago i decided to get into shape because i was not well.  i was always tired.  i could barely make it through the day.  so, one day i was sitting on a couch eating left over chicken wings and pizza from the night before and noticed how beautiful it was outside.  i also happened to be channel surfing and came across one of those weight loss tv competitions.  granted, i wasn't as big as these people but i was certainly on my way.  as i looked outside, i became upset with myself.  i decided that that was it.  i had to get active.  i want to be able to go outside and have fun.  i didn't want to be tired all the time anymore.

i've tried working out before.  i've had some success but not a lot.  sometimes it was just too hard on me that i would just stop because i was sore.  those days waiting for the soreness to go away became weeks and months.  i'd go back to being lazy.  not this time.  i told myself that i had to start from square one.  it had to be as basic as it could be.  i knew how to workout.  i would always try to go hard and fast thinking that was the way to do it.  not this time.  so, i needed to challenge my self.  i needed to work towards something i knew i had a lot of trouble with.  running.  i knew i could not run for more than 5 minutes without feeling like i was about to fall over.  5 minutes felt like an eternity.  i knew what i had to do.

i found a walk to run program.  it was 12 weeks to get yourself to run non-stop for 30 minutes.  30 minutes?  at that time i couldn't fathom running that long.  even in my best shape, when i was younger, i would have to walk a bit before i could finish running for 30 minutes.  this was a good thing for me to try.  12 weeks.  6 days a week.  what?  i had to make a commitment to train for 6 days a week.  i kept telling myself that i wanted this.  i needed this.

it was very easy going from the start.  slow and methodical and it really worked.  the progression was so easy that i didn't realize the changes i was going though.  my energy kept building and by the end of the 3 months i was easily running 30 minute workouts.  i was still a bit slow and it was tough, but i could do it. i just had to go out and run all the time.

after i finished the regimen, i felt lost.  i had reached my goal.  what was next?  i just continued to run.  i enjoyed every moment.  i would just challenge myself to run a little farther or a little faster.  for around 4 months i kept on running around 4 times a week until i decided i was time to try a 5k race.  i had already been working out at that distance.  so, it would be a piece of cake.  i had so much fun in the race that i was very excited to learn that there was another to follow about 3 weeks later.

after those races, i was at a loss again, but i continued to run.  by this time i was thinking about the marathon.  the training is intense and with work it was difficult to get on the right schedule to actual participate in a race.  when i made my decision, i had no time to train for a full, but i knew i could run a half marathon.  around this time last year, i was training for my first half marathon.  when i completed that goal, i knew i was hooked.  i was so excited.  i wanted to run another, but i had loads of scheduling problems because of work in another country.

now, i have found the time due to some major life changes and have got a confirmed date to shoot for and i'm chronicling my journey.  come along with me if you'd like.  i'd appreciate the words of encouragement.  my major concern now is to stay healthy and injury free through this whole process.  oh and of course finishing the run.

see you at the finish line!!!