What a wonderful run this morning!

There's a lot in play here, since I'm training for the Disney Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler in Oct. As their website loves to point out with the always-on countdown timer, I now have 110 days left to get in condition to run farther than I've ever run. Hey, I have no ambitions to do a marathon, or (yeah, right!) and ultramarathon (2 to 5 times or more the 26.2 miles of a 'simple' marathon). I just want to get be healthy – truly healthy and fit – and be able to comfortably run 5k's and 10k's. Many years ago, I used to run an organized 10k (6.2 miles) each month. That was decades ago :)

There were times when running seemed to trash my knees. The worst was 30+ years ago after finishing the Cascade Run Off; the last mile or two or three of downhill killed me, and I limped around for a day or two after that. A doc told me that if I wanted to be walking when I was 60, I should probably not run more than 3 miles at a time. I'm no longer certain that the advice should be followed.

Well ... now I've read Born to Run, and am in the middle of reading Eat and Run. I've had my running gait analyzed at Fit2Run in Tampa. I picked up some compression sleeves, compression socks, Skora BASE minimalist running shoes, and have a few other pairs of "regular" running shoes (main ones are Saucony Triumphs).

So what's the effect of all this gear and reading?

After decades of running with the Boom! Boom! of my heel-strike running, I'm now working on 3 fundamental changes:

1. Striking with the middle or front of the foot
2. Taking a short and more frequent stride (I used a metronome set at 90 beats per minute today for the first mile and a half to help me hold my desired stride .. 2 steps per tick)
3. Breathing through the nose (at least on the inhales) and focusing on diaphragmatic breathing (belly breathing). I thank vocal lessons, pranayama , and martial arts for making that easier to do!

And to make those things easier (more automatic) to do, I ran the first mile today in the Skoras. Since these are designed for "barefoot" running, one automatically does a mid- or front-foot strike (try running barefoot or in water shoes and you'll immediately notice that without the thick padding of common running shoes, there's no way you're going to want to slam down on your heels every time!).

The actual routine this morning (as per my training schedule to slowly ramp up to the 10-miler) called for running 2 miles. So I walked the first 1/4 mile and then jogged at 6 mph (10-min mile, so not what I would consider a run) for a mile. I then switched to the Triumphs for another couple of miles (went slightly more so that I'd jogged a proper 5k ...3.1 miles), and then did a 5-minute cool down walk followed by stretching. It all felt great!

I was tempted to keep going, but I know myself, and know all too well that I can easily tend to over train. My schedule calls for 30 min runs each Tue/Thu, and then a longer run on Saturdays. Next week (as per the schedule) is 3 miles, so my goal next week is to jog the first 1.5 miles in the Skoras before switching shoes. I also found that I do prefer using socks with the Skoras. On Thursday I wore compression sleeves and was barefoot in the Skoras, so today I tried compression socks – I'm experimenting. It's hard to qualify the why, but the socks felt better.

And I wish to thank Google Play Music, which I had going on my phone (via ear phones). I'm experimenting with Google's music service, and I quite like the mix that was streamed today. I have a lot of Green Day in my music collection, so Google's algorithm pulled me a blend of Green Day, Limp Bizkit, The Offspring, My Chemical Romance, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, blink-182, Guns N'Roses, Alien Ant Farm, Foo Fighters, Sum 41, The Ataris, Simple Plan. I've not heard of about 1/4 of those groups, and I pretty much liked it all. Sweet.

I should also state that I typically run on a treadmill. I like it. I can put on some tunes or a podcast, not worry about crazy Florida drivers or the Tampa heat. We keep the A/C at 78F during the day, so even in our workout room if I have the door closed, the temp doesn't get above the low 80's, which is much more comfortable vs. the normal 95F outside during the warmer 6 months of the year. And I like the flat surface – no crown of the road to mess with. But I will do some outdoor runs as well – as time goes on.

And with that ...time to clean up, grab a breakfast shake, and (if the thunderstorms don't start up) go hit the yard work! ...And I'm already looking forward to the next run :-D

Prepping for 10-mile run in Oct 2013: Day 1

I ran the Cascade Runoff 15k over 30 years ago in Portland. Since then I've only done 5k runs (along with various other things including martial arts, playing / coaching / reffing soccer, weightlifting - and a few years in there of doing very little!). Well I have now registered to do The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-miler in October (almost exactly 4 months from now). So it's time to get serious.

Yesterday Shirley and I went to Fit2Run in Tampa. This place rocks! Bobby, one of the sales folks there (none are on commission, and all are experienced runners /coaches and really know their stuff) spent a couple of hours with us. If you go, allocate an hour for each person. We talked about our individual goals and mentioned what (if anything) bothers us when we walk or run.

Next was standing without shoes on a device that displays an image (sort of like a heat map) to show where and how heavily each foot contacts the ground. Turns out that Shirley was not contacting at all in the arches (which she kind of knew already), indicating a need for orthotics.

Then we each had our running analyzed. Fit2Run has several treadmills, each equipped with a specially mounted video camera to record one's steps during a one-minute easy run. They make sure you have "neutral" shoes (no orthotics, no other adjustments) to get an accurate recording of how you really run. The recording is played back in slow motion several times, stopping as needed to analyze how and where each foot strikes, any rotation of the foot, etc.

And then with the knowledge of what, if any, orthotic is needed, and what general type of shoe would best accommodate one's running style and typical distances, we each tried on several different pairs of shoes (even though I have a pair that works fine, I prefer to alternate what pair I use with each run, and also replace the shoes after several months).

Final tally was a semi-substantial investment, but we had planned on this. We each purchased a pair of shoes, several pairs of good socks, some compression sleeves, and the orthotics. I also bought a pair of compression socks to give those a try.

My training: I may modify this, but for now, this is the schedule (2-page PDF) I plan to follow. For June I'll most likely do about 4 miles each Saturday, and then start increasing the mileage after that. Today I did 4 miles: total of a mile walked during warm up, cool down, and a little walking in the middle; 3 miles of running (really "jogging" is the more appropriate word, since I was going at a 6mph pace). The shoes, orthotics, and compression socks felt wonderful! I seriously would not have been able to do this without the compression on the calves, since I overtrained a little with some workouts a couple of weeks ago. Without the compression socks (which I used today) or sleeves (which I'd purchased earlier and used on a 5k last weekend), my calves would have been cramping within the first mile or less.

And with that ...it has begun! 124 days until the 10 mile run!

Down a pound..Arms are dead :)

Saturday is my personal weigh-in day. I'm down a pound from last week. Hopefully that's all fat, and maybe there's even a little added muscle. Regardless, this morning I did my normal Saturday workout: Body Beast "Tempo Chest + Tris". It's about an hour focused on the pecs and triceps, and doing a lot of s-l-o-w movements - push a weight up and slowly let it down. Those negative reps are killer!

To amp things up a bit, a little while ago I splurged and bought the Lebert Equalizer. I'd been doing chair dips, and that definitely hits the triceps. But doing real dips with the Lebert bars (which allows me to use full body weight for resistance) hits those poor tris so much harder! At present I find that after only 5 reps I have to put the toe of a foot from one of my bent legs onto the ground to lighten the resistence. Many years ago (meaning decades) I used to do dips with a 45-pound weight hanging from my waist. Oh well ...all things with time :)

The real evidence to me that this was a good workout was that on the final set (plank twists) it was a struggle for the arms to just hold the plank, let alone doing the twists. Ah, yes, I do believe by tomorrow the memory of this workout will be quite apparent (if the soreness hasn't begun to arrive by this evening). Bring it!

Solid mass added..time to lose fat

I want to dump 13 pounds of fat and reach 10% bodyfat. Reasons:

1. I hate feeling a little back fat jiggle when I run. Hate, hate, hate :)
2. My family has pretty bad heart health, genetically speaking. My dad had his first bypass operation when he was 40. In spite of "good" diet and exercise, he'd had a couple of bypass operations and a couple of heart attacks by the time he died. His dad had several heart attacks. My mom's dad died of a heart attack when in his 50's. Our family seems to be able to make cholesterol from bean sprouts. Each pound of fat lost has been shown to average a 10% increase in HDL (the good cholesterol), and exercise is the surest way to boost HDL (mine is now above 60, considered preventive for cardiac issues)
3. I was a fat kid until joining the wrestling team in high school. I've kept fairly active ever since (with a couple of periods of exception when work or school schedules were ridiculous). I never want to have a poor self-image again.
4. I admit to being middle aged and "they" say that it gets harder to lose fat / gain muscle as one ages. The time to get in my ideal condition is now. I've got years before I'm a senior citizen, and I want to ensure that I am in excellent condition in my later years to be as happy, healthy, and productive as possible.

The good news: I started working out hard very regularly, about 3 years ago. I lost fat, added some solid mass, and reached a point where I could fit into the clothes I wore at our wedding 30+ years ago. Since starting the Body Beast program 8 months ago, I've added 13 pounds of solid mass (as measured with our Omron body fat monitor)

The mildly bad news: Along with adding muscle, I added some fat. Any bodybuilder will talk about the phases of bulk and cut. Add muscle and then focus the workouts to keep the muscle and cut the fat. While I have zero desire to join the over-bulked bodybuilder corps, I do want to keep the solid mass and dump some of the fat.

The plan: 

1. Continue to lift weights a couple of days a week
2. Do a plyometric workout once a week
3. Do one or two cardio workouts daily. This will often be a few miles on the treadmill. I'll also incorporate High Intensity Interval Training ("HIIT"), and some shorter Tabata routines.

The timeline: My target is to dump a pound of fat a week. That seems like a very moderate and attainable pace. I'll post progress here. BTW, I did a Chest & Triceps lifting routine today and hope to be able to move tomorrow :)

My favorite hombrews so far

I started homebrewing (making my own beer) in October of 2012. I've had a few experiments that yielded sorry results, but overall am extremely happy with the fruits of my labor. Here are the labels for the three beers that are my favorite of what I've brewed so far:

Squirrel Nut Ale :) ...The first batch a very tasty nut brown ale. The second batch (which I started drinking a couple of weeks ago) was improved by soaking some oak chips in a little vodka and Crown Black, and adding that for the second week of fermentation. The result is a mild oak aroma, and a litle smoother flavor / finish compared to the first batch. The top part of this image, with the curved pink lines around it, shows the "necker" - the part of the label that goes around the neck of the bottle; the larger oval is the image that forms the main label on the body of the bottle.

Beelzebub ...A chocolate coffee stout. I start with a recipe for a dry stout (similar to Guinness Draught). Then in the second week of fermentation, I add some organic cacao nibs, and a lot of coffee (1/2 pound organic French Roast, soaked for 24 hours in filtered cold water, then filtered into the fermenting beer). The result is a dry stout with a little bit of coffee scent /flavor, and a hella nice punch of coffee!

Frisky Bunny IPA ...Lots of hops. An IPA should smell hoppy, have some hop bitterness, and have loads of hops flavor, and I am extremely happy with this one!

I love the flavors of these beers, it's great fun to share them with others, and it's quite a nice bonus that the cost per bottle of beer ends up a little under US$1. Good fun, good beer, and saving money!