The Century Club

This morning at boot camp we tackled a challenging workout routine called “Century Club” created by one of our new instructors, Cara.  It’s a great workout in that it works out every part of the body and keeps everyone moving with cardio.

The “Century Club” utilizes the following exercises:  Squats, Sit-ups, Slap-Jumps (jump and slap knees with your hands), Push-up to plank and lunge walk.  The routine starts with everyone doing 40 reps of each exercise and then running a lap around the track.  Then everyone does 30 reps with a run around the track.  Next is 20 reps with a lap and finally 10 reps with a final lap.  By the end of the workout, everyone has completed 100 reps of each exercise and run a mile!  Welcome to the Century Club!

For myself, I really enjoyed the routine as it is one of those workouts that feels very satisfying when you finish.  I have been trying to make sure that I do leg exercises a couple of times a week so I appreciated the squats and lunge’s.  This weekend when I was running with the Renegades, one of the runners complimented Jason and I on our hill running and attributed it to our boot camp workouts.  We take a lot of pride in running hills so this was nice to hear. 

Tomorrow is an off day as we have an instructor meeting in the morning and it will be most welcome!  The only workout I will have is coffee curls!

A Little Adventure

For the last two weekends in which I have had a long run on Sunday, I have followed it with an “easy” run the following Monday.  I had been taking the following day as a rest day but my schedule has been such that I need the Monday run to keep my miles up.

I have read advice that said follow-up a long run (of course, long run usually meant a marathon) with a short run the next day but for some reason never tried it myself.  I’ve found it really seems to work well.  I do feel a certain amount of fatigue at first but after about a mile, everything seems to loosen up.  In fact, I probably felt stronger at the end of this mornings run than at the beginning.

This mornings run was also fun because we headed out on unchartered territory.  Susan, one of our GBI runners and long time boot camper, set a course from a local school and took us on a route that none of us had been on.  What was interesting is that at one point we were on a road that runs behind my neighborhood that I’ve seen on a map and always wondered how to get to it because it didn’t seem to connect to any of the streets in my neighborhood.

So it was a little adventure that took us down roads we only pass occasionally without ever checking them out.  I’m sure I said “I always wondered what was down this road” a couple of times during the run.  There was also a few “so if I keep going down this road, eventually I’ll end up at…” comments as well.  We call Susan our human GPS because it doesn’t matter where we are, she always knows where she is!

We also have two friends, Judy and Erin, that have recently joined us and are just getting their running legs back.  They have completed two 4+ mile runs now and are both doing great!  I think one of my favorite things about running with a group is being around people and getting to see them conquer their goals.  Very inspiring!

The rest of this week will be like last week:  boot camp tomorrow for a great cross-training workout, Wednesday is an off day, Thursday is more boot camp and I get to lead the workout and Friday I lead the run day around my neighborhood.  

Stats from this morning:  GBI-Glenwood (2)-4.8 Miles by eyerh66 at Garmin Connect – Details.

Start at the Big Peach!

Well, I had to listen to my body yesterday morning and skip running.  It was a day of catching up on rest and relaxation.  I am happy to say it really paid off this morning.

I met the Renegades for a 10 mile run (actually 9.75) from a store called Big Peach, which is one of the major run stores in Decatur.  I go to BP to purchase all my shoes, socks, GU and any other misc items.  The people at BP are great and really know their customers.  They recognize me when I walk in; they remember what kind of shoe I wear as well as what I have worn in the past.

I enjoyed doing a run from BP also because it is very close to my house.  Sometimes the Renegade runs will occur 30-45 minutes away which is OK but it’s a special treat to have it close to home.  I can sleep later and I don’t have to plan to have an immediate after run snack in the van after the run.

This morning I felt really strong!  My friend Jason who is an instructor at boot camp as well as a GBI runner joined us and we spent a good amount of time running with a long time Renegade, Michael.  It’s funny how when I first started running I hated for anyone to talk to me because it would take all my breath which I did not have to give.  Now I love talking and passing the time.  I especially enjoy listening to the Renegades as most of them have run multiple marathons and it’s interesting to hear their stories.  They welcome new people into their fold and make everyone feel very welcome.

What I especially love about group runs and boot camp is that I am what could be termed a introverted extrovert.  This simply means that while I don’t require a lot of social time with people, the small amount that I do need is taken up with awesome people and friends who have the same passion I do for running and being active.  Running or working out with great people every day is a blessing and really keeps me motivated.  It also makes me want to reach out to others to share this passion.

As I build towards the half-marathon, my confidence is really starting to increase.  I am slowly increasing my distance on the longer runs and am feeling strong as March 18th nears.  The thought of extending my endurance and the challenge has me really excited.

Stats from this morning:  Renegades-Big Peach-9.75 Miles by eyerh66 at Garmin Connect – Details.

Yawns and Eye Rubbing

Have you ever had one of those mornings where the evening before you were blogging about “finding your balance” and then you wake up feeling completely flat? 

Last night I started experiencing “stomach issues” around the time I usually go to sleep and was up for a while.  I also woke up a couple of times during the night which made for a restless sleep.  Let’s just say I hit the snooze more than usual when the alarm went off this morning.  My stomach issues felt stable so I slowly pulled on my running clothes and headed out. 

Usually the ride to the starting point to a run is a time to psych myself up with some tunes but it was all yawns and eye rubbing on the way to meet everyone.  When I arrived, we had a good sized group forming and this energized me a bit.  There were a couple of new runners and a few that we had only seen once or twice.  The more the merrier! 

Someone mentioned my blog post from yesterday regarding balance and in the state of mind I was in, I hadn’t even thought about it.  This after being excited about this small break through the day before!  

We headed out on the road and I felt like I was just lumbering along for the first mile or so.  Not sure this was reflected in my actual running but that was the feeling I had.  It was also a little breezy this morning and we started out running into the wind which made it hard to think about exactly where my balance was centered.  

The lumbering feeling finally went away but I definitely didn’t feel like I was gliding along like I did the day before.  At about the half way point, my stomach started talking to me and it was being very chatty.  I didn’t feel nauseous or sick, just a little off from the constant, one-sided conversation.  Not sure what my stomach was trying to tell me but it didn’t sound happy! 

The last half of the run was pure grit and determination!  OK…that’s over doing it a bit.  With my energy level low and very little focus on my stride, I had to really focus to keep up a good pace.  By the end of the run, I was actually pleased with my time and pace and I felt some measure of pride for keeping it up when I wasn’t feeling my best. 

On the way home, it occurred to me that the occasional run where you just feel flat but do it anyway are where you really make your gains mentally as a runner.  By the time I got home, I was feeling pretty good about the fact that I ran 4.5 miles without really “being into it”.  Now I know I can do it and that’s very satisfying. 

Tomorrow was supposed to be a rest day as I have a Renegade run for 10 miles on Sunday but I just may have to go out and do a short run to see if I can find my balance again!

Stats From This Morning:  GBI-Dancing Goats-4.5 Miles by eyerh66 at Garmin Connect – Details.

Finding Balance

Since starting my blog, if an obvious subject hasn’t come to mind during a workout, I take a few minutes afterward to think about what struck me the most.  This morning, nothing came to mind until a couple of hours after boot camp when I had a deja vu with my stride.  

Janice, one of my fellow boot camp instructors; led us on a workout we call “Pyramid This!”  Normally, the workout takes place on a soccer field where we have six lanterns set up in the shape of a pyramid with a lantern at each corner and on each side.  The workout begins at one corner where we do an exercise starting at 10 reps then work our way down to 9 reps, 8 reps…ending at 1 rep.  We then either build back up to 10 reps with the same exercise or change to a different exercise that still focuses on the same body part.  Once the exercise is complete, everyone sprints around the pyramid and continues to the next lantern where another exercise is performed.  

As we were about to start the warm-up, Janice told me she was going to change it up so we would do a combination farlek which would take us on a running tour of Decatur and then do a pyramid exercise each time we stopped.  Change is good and I was all for it!  The workout was great as we did pyramids of push-ups, sit-ups, V-ups, dips and fire-hydrants.  

As we ran in between exercises, I became really focused on my stride.  Normally I have to bring my attention to it but this morning I felt really into what my body was doing while I ran.  The predominant feeling was that I felt really light as if my feet were barely touching the ground.  I usually feel pretty comfortable with my stride but this was something different.  It felt like I was using less effort somehow. 

After the workout, I really didn’t think about it again until I was walking around the campus where I work and I had the same sensation.  I usually walk at a pretty good clip and as I crossed the quad the feeling was there once again.  I felt really light!  

I thought about this for a while and then it occurred to me:  Balance!  

Why balance?  Allow me to explain. 

My wife Angela purchased a Wii Fit yesterday and last night she showed me how to set up my profile.  As part of the setup, the system has the user do a balance test on the Wii board.  While you stand up straight, a red dot appears on the screen with an outline of your feet to show you where your center of balance should be.  You move your body slightly without moving your feet to find your center.  When I finally found my center, it felt like I was leaning slightly forward.  As the system ran through the rest of the setup, I really stayed focused on that feeling and tried to maintain it. 

Once my profile was all set, I sampled a couple of the yoga moves that Angela had tried to see how it all worked.  Once again, as I did the moves my center of balance was off and I had to adjust by leaning forward; or I should say what felt like leaning forward.  I realized after the exercise that what felt like leaning forward actually felt much more comfortable.  

So thinking back to my stride this morning, I realized that I was leaning slightly forward into the run instead of what always felt like straight up and was obviously leaning back.  The funny thing is that I always thought I was leaning into the run but obviously I wasn’t and it took the Wii Fit to show me the error.  It’s amazing how a small adjustment can have such dramatic results and I really look forward to putting this into practice tomorrow on a longer run!

I Think Dean is Stalking Us!

Since today is an off day, I thought I would share a funny story from October of last year at the Northface Endurance Challenge in Pine Mountain,Georgia. 

For starters, Dean Karnazes is one of a handful of people that I find inspiring and have always wanted to meet.  When I first saw the Northface Endurance Challenge with special guest Dean Karnazes advertised in Runner’s World, I immediately signed up and sent the link to several friends.  I had never run a 10K trail race at that point so I chose it over the 5K to give myself a goal. And I thought it would be cool to meet Dean.  My friends Paige, Susan and Gary also signed up for the 10K so I was psyched!  As the race fell on a Sunday, my wife Angela and I decided to make a long weekend of it and drove down to Calloway Gardens (Calloway is in Pine Mountain) on Friday afternoon. 

Once we checked in, we decided to go for a drive around Calloway which was surprisingly deserted.  As we drove around enjoying the scenery, we came across a man running along the side of the road.  He didn’t have a shirt on and was obviously in great shape so I joked with my wife that maybe it was Dean Karnazes out for a run.  As we started to pass him, he looked at me and I looked at him and I said “Whoa!  It IS him!”  and “Wow!  He is really small!” 

We drove ahead and stopped at a small farmer’s market that was situated by the beach area of the garden.  As we walked around, I noticed Dean running by and then he stopped to look at some of the tents.  My wife kept saying “Why don’t you go say hi and I’ll get your picture?” but for some reason, I couldn’t get myself to do it.  It wasn’t so much that I was nervous as I couldn’t think of anything to say or ask.  I didn’t just want to say “Hey Dean, I’ve read all your books!” or “Hey Dean, I’m a big fan!” or any other number of things.  If I was going to talk to him, I wanted to say or ask something significant and I couldn’t think of anything.  So Dean took off down the road and we headed to dinner. 

Fast forward to Saturday morning.  Since I wanted to rest Saturday for the race and my wife and I are huge college football fans, the plan was to get breakfast and camp out in front of the TV for the first part of the day and go to the race festival in the late afternoon.  As we returned from breakfast, the weather was so nice that we completely opened our front curtains and left the door open.  I was sitting near the door and someone walked by and kind of glances in the room.  It was Dean in full running gear!  Our room was next to the stairs and he was obviously headed down to the parking lot.  My wife and I just looked at each other in the shared thought that obviously Dean was staying on the same floor we were. 

About 30 minutes later, Dean walks by again and a few seconds later we hear a door close and realized he must be just a couple of doors down.  A few minutes later, he passes by again, glancing in as he passed to head down the stairs.  I told my wife “I think Dean is stalking us!”  She suggested the next time he passed by, I should stop him and talk to him.  He did pass by several more times without any pause from me. 

My friends were driving down Sunday morning so we headed over to Calloway to meet them and ride the bus to the festival and starting line of the race.  And, of course, we see Dean on our way to the parking lot.  It was a nice, cool, sunny morning and perfect for a run.  The call for the 10k racers came, Dean said some words of encouragement and we were off!  The course was very technical with lots of hills, rocks, streams and narrow paths but also very beautiful.  There were a couple of tumbles along the way as Gary hit his head and Susan twisted her ankle but everyone toughed it out and we all finished within the two hour cut off.  After grabbing some water and a post-race snack or two, we relaxed and enjoyed the festival. 

As we headed back to the bus for the ride to Calloway, who do we see about to get into his vehicle?  Dean!  I’m not sure if anyone in our group knew what Dean looked like so in a loud whisper I said “Look!  It’s Dean!”  My wife again implored me to say something and once again I shrugged it off and started to explain to my friends that I couldn’t get myself to do it.  At that moment, Paige yelled “Hey Dean!  Can we get a picture with you?”  Dean laughed and jokingly said “I’ll miss my flight but sure!” 

Dean was very gracious and asked which race we had run and how we liked it.  He then took a picture with us (below) and encouraged us to come back next year and run the half-marathon. 

Me, Dean, Paige, Gary and Susan

 I just received an email from Northface with the information to sign up and as Dean challenged us to step up to the half-marathon; I am going to do it!  Now I am looking forward to seeing Dean so I can say “Last year you challenged us to run the half in 2012 and so I did!”