A Cry for Health!

There are many benefits to exercising, we all know that, but one benefit that might stand out above all the others is the overall improvement in health. I know that is obvious, but why don't more people exercise? Why don't more people take a simple approach to life and eat well and exercise? If it is obvious, then are people lazy? unwise? etc. Now, I am not using this post to judge and ridicule people, but I am using this post to get people going and exercising!!

Wisdom is knowledge practiced! We hear over and over again the benefits of exercise and healthy eating, yet I sit and see so many people waste their life away as they indulge in fast food regularly, as they sit on the couch and waste away like a potato. The hard part in this is watching members of my family doing nothing to improve their lives, but the contrary. Call me crazy, but I want to be able to run with my grandchildren, not just hold them. I want to wrestly with my kids and grand kids without being sore. I want to be able to look back on my life and not regret how I treated my body. If you don't have desires to exercise personally, do it for your family. They deserve to have you around as long as possible.

One final note, I understand sometimes life hands you some band lemons! I could get in an accident and lose the ability to walk, or develop a chronic illness, but these are not passes for letting yourself go. On the contrary I believe this should kick start you even more! Prove to yourself that road blocks might get in the way, but we have the ability to pass them!
So as the title of my blog states, Get up, Get out, and "Exercise"!

What a runner!

I was looking at articles on Runner's World.com and came across an article that bmakes me want to do more and realize I am not even close to the runner I want to be! Motivation, it works I tell ya!

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--13460-0,00.html

Long Time

Well, it has been a while since my last post. I don't have any excuses for that. I went on vacation this past week and enjoyed my time there, and didn't have any desire to post!! This week the training hits home again and I am going to be hitting it hard. Two Saturdays ago I did a 12 miler and really enjoyed it. This week will be a 13-14 miler. I need to go out and map my course. I really look forward to it.

On another note, for those who have never read the book: The Complete Book of Running, go out and get it! It is a fantastic find with many gems in it for training and overall betterment of running. I highly recommend it!

Double Digit Running

This week marked the first week of double digit training in my marathon training. I decided on a very challenging but enjoyable route. I started at our house in the Bountiful benches, then made my way down to 1850 N. in Centerville. The challenging part was not getting to 1850 north, although there were hills on the way, it was getting back up.

On the way back there were two major hills. The first is just before Parrish lane in Centerville. The next I will call death hill: 4th north. I made my way up the hill and had a great pace for most of it, but as time went on the strength began to give way and jello legs started. What made it hard was the fact it was my last mile or so of the run. My calves are feeling it, but that is ok. I need the strength training and the cardio beneft.

Nutrition and Injury Prevention/Help

I came across this article and found it very useful and had great information. Injuries, even is very small and simple, are common occurrences in running. Anything to get a leg up is great! Hopefully you enjoy the article as much as I did.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-300--4843-2-2-2,00.html

Enjoyment of Running

I sat chatting with a friend of mine from my MBA program last night after class. He ran in high school and started back up again recently. As we chatted, we started to talk a little bit about the enjoyment of running. If we push ourselves too much and burn out, do we still enjoy it? If we aren't training hard enough and setting goals, then what is the point? These two questions are on my mind, and they represent a fine balance between training and enjoyment.

I personally believe setting goals with fitness is key to success. You want to reach milestones and build a stronger self. At the same time, these goals need to be realistic, yet challenging. I don't think waking up after not running for ages, setting a goal to do 10 miles, and going is a smart idea. I do believe that setting a goal to increase distance, or setting a better mile pace is realistic and smart.

The reason I bring this up is this morning I set out on my run, and decide with the leg issues I am having, to keep it a comfortable, good run. I was surprised to see my pace was not much slower than my aggresive training. Overall, I think because I enjoyed the run more, and made sure I was comfortable, I was able to maintain a great pace. So when you go out, listen to your body, set good goals, and enjoy it! If you don't enjoy it, you are doing it wrong and should revaluate how things are going...

Saturday Long Run

This week was the 9 mile mark of my training. I had a 9 mile course in mind, but wanted to really run Bountiful Blvd and hit those hills for training (the Park City marathon is very challenging with hills and the course). So yesterday we set out to mark the course for my run this morning, and show my wife her 5 mile course yesterday.

As we marked the run, it blew us away to see how far 4.5 miles in really was. It doesn't seem far, but when marking a run you pay attention to every mile, and like staring at a clock to make the time pass, it goes slow. The run started right about the Bountiful Temple and went all the way down Eaglewood Golf Course. The hills were great, in fact I enjoyed going up the steep ones more than the gradual rise after the steep portion. The downhills of course were good, as training on a downhill is vital to good racing as it uses different muscles then flat or uphill running. I also of course used a Gel pack at the mid way point. I enjoy using those to train and understand how my body will handle calories during a run.

Overall I paced at 9 min 25 seconds. I am actually not too unhappy with that. I want to trim that to average under a 9 min pace, and I will get there. The reason I am not too unhappy with that is when I awoke this morning my run was planned for about 1:30 pm. Well, some changes in plans caused me to run at 8:50 am. I had a nice big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast not to much more than an hour before. Plus a nice glass of OJ and water, so I had a full belly. I could feel this at the beginning of the run, even hear the water sloshing in the stomach. So I still pushed through and really enjoyed this run.

Next week I am running with a great friend of mine who keeps a faster pace than me. She will help me stay on my toes and have a good run!

Cross-Training

I think a lot of runners miss out on one of the most important parts of a good training program: cross-training. Cross-training helps a runner round out their trianing, and focus on muscles and areas of the body they might have been missing. Understandably, when training for a marathon or race, runners focus directly on running, but overall I think they may miss the mark. I have attached an article I read a while ago about achieving your best shape by doing triathlon training. I incorporate a lot of this in my workouts, and the benefits are fantastic! Read and study this, and see if you can take anything away...

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-263-266-2192-0,00.html

Running Combination

Is there a better combination than running and yoga? I have a gym at work and the instructor is amazing! The way yoga eliminates the toxins in your body, stretches places you didn't know could stretch, and the overall feeling it brings are unbeatable.

After a long run, and throughout your week, I strongly suggest you build some yoga into your routine. There are plenty of yoga DVDs available at an inexpensive cost, and you can get a good mat for about $25.00.

If you need any yoga suggestions, let me know and I am happy to help!

Monday Morning Runs

What to do on a Monday morning at 6:00 am? I could stay in bed....could get up for work....read a little...etc....or I can do that thing I need and want to do most, RUN! I really enjoy a good Monday morning run. I am not sure why Monday gets such a bad rap. If you start the week off right and with a good attitude, then you are in a for a good week in my opinion. When I say right, I mean a good workout (not necessarily running, but something). When you get up early to do a workout, you are starting the week off by setting your own schedule. The alarm doesn't drag you out of bed to get to work, but you get yourself up for a workout before work. You then can have a pretty clear mind heading into the work day. You also set the tone for what your days going to bring: act or be acted upon. If you choose to set your own schedule, your day will have a harder time taking over and you will determine what your day will bring. If you allow your day to control all you do, then in my opinion you are doing it completely wrong!

Update: So where am I on training and my work challenge? With training, I am doing great. My weekday runs are getting easier and easier, even with added distance. My Saturday long runs also feel easier. As I did an 8 on Saturday I noticed a lot of energy at the tail end of the run, and for the rest of the day. Not only that, my legs are adjusting. Having been a big weight lifter for a long time, my legs were not used to the demand running brings and the trimming effect it will have on them. I am starting to see the great benefits running brings to your overall fitness, not just a cardio. As for my weight loss challenge at work, not quite sure. I was on pace at about 1-2 pounds a week, which puts me at about 24 pound weight loss by the end of 12 weeks. I weight today before a good yoga session, so we will see...