About This Year's Race Plan

I am a person of meticulous planning.  Yes, I have to have my goals well documented in order to execute them properly.  My race schedule is no different.  It is with this in mind, that all of the "big" races for 2013 have already been selected.

Starting off, early in the year, on January 12 & 13 I will travel to Walt Disney World to do Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge.  For those that are not familiar with this race, it's a Half Marathon (WDWHalf) on Saturday and a Full Marathon (WDWFull) on Sunday.  It's a repeat for me, I was here in 2010.  My wife Monica will be joining me for the Half on Saturday, My brother Hernando will be there for both races.

On March 16th, we (both, my wife and I) will be traveling to our Nation's Capital to run the Rock 'N Roll USA Nation's Capital Half Marathon.

April 16th brings me to Lynchburg, TN to run the Oak Barrel 13.1, one of the most popular Half Marathons in Middle TN.  My daughter Juliana will be running this one as well.  I'm thinking the popularity of the sponsor has something to do with this... maybe?!

The first triathlon of the year takes me to the Rev3 Knoxville on May 5th.  This one is a bit special for me because my oldest daughter, Juliana will be racing this one.  This will be her first triathlon. Ever.  She's a runner and has decided to follow mom and dad into the world of triathlons.  We're so proud of her.   I'm in for the Half Iron Distance, she's in for the Olympic Distance.

August 5th brings us... and I say "us" because it looks like in this one, my wife, daughter and myself will be racing the Ironman 70.3 Steelhead in Benton Harbor, MI.  It has not been determined yet if the wife and daughter will be collaborating in the "relay" or if they're venturing into the 70.3 arena.  My bet is on both doing the whole thing solo.

And last but not least, I will finish the year with the New York City Marathon.  I was scheduled to run it in 2012 but because of Sandy and the eventual cancellation, I deferred my entry and took the automatic option for 2013.

There may be a race added here and there, mostly short distance races 5k, 10k's or Sprint Tri's.  Decisions on these will be left probably to the last minute.

Come on over this blog's facebook page and click "like"... Easiest way to keep up to date with my "Journey Beyond Ironman"

About The 2013 Challenge

It's that time of year when we all scurry around trying to make New Year's resolutions, that for once, we hope we can fulfill. More often than not, somewhere mid February, these resolutions have been long forgotten.

Most of you, if not all of you that follow this blog, at one time or another made a conscientious decision to better yourself; physically, mentally and/or emotionally. You knew, or quickly learned, that taking that first step was the most important in the process.  Or so you thought.  You didn't realize how difficult it would be to keep taking those small steps that would lead you to where you are today.  You wrote your goal, you set your plan, you followed a blueprint.  You went through the aches and pains of following through and getting things done. You may have had some help, you may have flown solo, but you did it. You learned how this is really done.

Now, I challenge you to join me in "The 2013 Challenge".

Each and everyone of us knows someone who needs to, and knows they have to make a change. Most gyms are filled with these folks early on in the year; our friends who have great intentions but very soon find excuses, reasons and pretexts as to why they can't continue.

Find that friend, extend a hand, show them how they too can do it. Challenge them to do it one step at a time, one day at a time.

It won't be easy, but as they say, it'll be worth it.

This is not a contest, its not a game.  You will not be held accountable.  This is just between you and you. Only you know what you can do, only you know what you should do, only you will know what you have done.

Will you take the Challenge?  Someone out there is hoping you will.

So, go on now. Be that friend your friend is looking for. I have mine picked out and if you (my friend) are reading this you know who you are. I'm coming to get you.

About Hydration Made Simple

Just about everyone knows the benefit of proper hydration.  Whether you are an athlete or not, this is one of the staples of good health.  Before I get to the meat of this post, here's a quick reminder:

The amounts of water that is recommended to drink is staggering.  Well, staggering if you don't drink enough water.  Actually, the recommended daily intake of water is determined by a host of factors... body weight, activity, weather, etc.. again, we're not here to talk about this...

For me, it's recommended that I compliment my daily intake with 64 oz of water. "Compliment" because water comes from a bunch of different sources, mostly the foods we eat.

I always had a hard time trying to drink up.  Took a bottle of water with me around all day long, and it usually made it home at night.  Hardly touched.

I think the issue was that I was looking at the 64 oz and figured "I could never do that".

So I broke it down to it's lowest common denominator, or to an amount that I could easily put my hands around.  It turns out that if I drink 4 oz per hour for 16 hrs a day, I would consume my recommended amount.

Second problem was to figure a way to remember to do this each and every hour.

Here's the solution:

This Nalgene water bottle holds exactly 32 oz.  As you can see, I made hourly marks on the bottle every four ounces.  After drinking the 2 pm portion, I refill the bottle and it's ready for the rest of the day.  This bottle is BPA free, made in the USA and there are no plastic bottles to throw away.  Added benefits.

It was difficult at first getting used to drinking all this water.  The timing of being away from facilities had to be just right.  But now my body is getting used to this new routine.

Yes, it was as simple as that.  Take the big picture (64 oz) and break it down into manageable pieces ( 4 oz /  hr).

Come on over this blog's facebook page and click "like"... Easiest way to keep up to date with my "Journey Beyond Ironman"

About 26.4.26 Final Public Thoughts

"Final Public Thoughts" because from here on out, I need to quietly and privately reflect on the events of yesterday, the week behind it and December 14, 2012 and how they affected me, my family, those around me and our county.

All across the country everyone has been paying tribute and memorial to this horrible day in history.  We, in Nashville were no different.  You can read my account on how this came about by clicking here.

As predicted, the running and triathlon community (and I would venture to guess that a few non-runners were present as well), responded in a manner and fashion worthy of high praise.  Total tally was 1012 runners, running over 10,000 miles and over $30,000 in donations collected.  This does not take into account the on-line donations.  Final count to be announced soon.

The angel assigned to me, or the one that I randomly picked, I can't remember how it happened, was Dawn Hochsprung, 47.  She was the school principal.  I promptly put her in a pocket designed for the iPod shuffle my running hat has.  Today I would carry my angel here, not my iPod.

My wife and both our daughters had joined the run.  They were there early in the morning for we had a job to do.  After we all had our angel assignments  we proceeded  to inflate 27 balloons with helium   Yes, we chose to inflate one for the "mom" as well.  This was my daughter's idea.  We all agreed. 

These balloons were to be released right before the run started.

I took all 27 balloons with me and weaved through the crowd handing one each to random runners.  It seemed like everyone wanted a balloon, but when I explained that we only had 27, everyone understood.

These are two video clips that were made from yesterday.  They captured the spirit of the event, so I will not go into detail because I'm afraid I can't do any better than this.

I've become aware of a couple of occurrences that took place before the run  that have left me wondering and scratching my head a bit.

1).  As we lined up ready for the start, the balloons were scattered throughout the crowd.  As they were released, it appeared that the wing gathered them all together as the floated up to the heavens.  I thought I had imagined this, but several folks mentioned the same thing to me.

2).  My brother lives in Florida, outside Tampa.  He had been following the events that led to this run.  Being a runner and a new triathlete he wanted to help.  He signed up and committed to running 26 miles.  His longest run ever.

Since he couldn't be here, he decided to make his own angel.  This is what he did...

And because he couldn't be here, I picked up an angel for him, and this is it...

He did not know I had him an angel, I did not know he made his own. When I told him and we realized the coincidence, we didn't know what to say.

3). This morning as I was going through facebook, I read a reply to a post.  It appears that my friend Shari's angel was Benjamin.  Again, and angel picked or assigned randomly.  Shari was one of the first people to get a balloon. I picked one from the bunch.  Shari's balloon was Benjamin's.

Additionally, upon discussing this new found information, my wife Monica told me that the same thing happened to her.  Both angel and balloon were one and the same... Chase!

4).  My sister noticed:  "Funny you would get the principal's name since you're very much a teacher/mentor to so many..."

I don't know what this all means, perhaps you could make some sense of it.  I am not a believer of coincidences per se; I believe that there's a greater power in control.  To me, this was obvious yesterday.

As I try to decompress and move forward, I'm taking with me the fact that I now have my very own guarding angel.  From here on out, every race I run, every event I participate in, I will carry the brave Principal's memory with me and I know that just as she had her student's back that December morning, she will have mine.

For Charlotte, Daniel, Rachel, Olivia, Josephine, Dylan, Dawn, Madeliene, Catherine, Chase, Nancy, Jesse, Ana, James, Grace, Anne, Emilie, Jack, Noah, Caroline, Jessica, Avielle, Lauren, Mary, Victoria, Benjamin and Allison...I will never forget and May You Rest In Peace!

About "Normal to Excellent"

Last week at a regular scheduled semi-annual visit with my doctor he ordered a host of "tests" to run. So many that when I arrived to get blood drawn the nurse came in with so many vials that you would have thought I was there to donate blood, not to get blood work done.

And why so many tests, you may ask?  Well, this was the result of conversation with Doc regarding how I was feeling; overly tired, sleepy, etc...  I had never experienced this at this level before, when I had it was very manageable.  I would just take a day or two of extra rest and problem be gone.  This time around, this feeling just kept hanging around.  Of course you can imagine my concerns.

I arrived at the doctors office this morning with a lot of expectation.  Not sure what I was going to hear, I expected the worst.  Not sure what the "worst" was, but I was ready!  Bring it on, I thought!

When he came in to the examining room, he had a big smile on his face.  Maybe he always carried that smile; he's been my doctor for over 25 years, maybe I just hadn't noticed before.

After all the normal pleasantries, he opened my file, which by now it looks like volume "R" of Encyclopedia Britannica, and quickly began to hum and scratch his head.  "Ohh oh" I thought.  "What is he looking at?"

"Well" he said, "Everything looks good.  No... everything looks great!"  Now I was the one with the smile.  He proceeded to tell me that "Each and everyone of the numerous tests he requested came back "Normal To Excellent"; physiologically there's no real reason for you to be feeling the way you are."

So what was the problem?

After some discussion regarding my peculiar situation, he concluded my visit by saying:  "You're not as young as you used to be.  Listen to your body and take an extra day or two or three of rest.  You can't be out there running and cycling and swimming with kids half your age and expect to keep up with them."

So, there you are!  Proof Positive once again that Exercise, Diet and a Healthy life style is the way to Go!

About 26.4.26

If you live in the Middle Tennessee area and you happen to be a member of its outstanding running community, or one of your friends happens to be a runner and is on facebook, perhaps you have heard about the amazing event that is taking place this coming Saturday at 8 AM, here in Nashville.

On Monday afternoon, Robbie Bruce had the bright idea to involve a few of his friends in a 26 mile run in memory of each of the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy.  So he texted his business partner and friend to solicit feedback.  Two texts later the decision had been made.

Later on that evening, my daughter recruited me to be one of the 26 runners that would participate in this event.  Yes, the idea was to have 26 people (individuals or relay teams) each run 26 miles. Each person would also donate $1 per mile.  These funds would go to the United Way of Western Connecticut.  WOW.. How awesome.  Immediately I agreed.

I posted on facebook my intentions to participate.  I read Robbie's post about the "why" of this event and it made all kinds of sense.  He has a 7 year old son and a mother and sister who are teachers.  He felt the need to do something.  I agreed.

Immediately all of us who had committed started recruiting.  We needed to find the 26 individuals or enough to fill relay teams.  Before we had a chance to take a deep breath the ball started rolling.  Everyone who could or though they could committed to running.  I think by the end of that night the initial goal had been reached and surpassed.

Within the first 24 hours the numbers had jumped to over 200.  And they were rolling in faster than could be tracked.  A facebook page was created for the event so folks could get the information needed.  This event had taken a life of its own.  People were asked to go here and agree to "attend".

Information was coming out rapidly.  All TV Stations in Middle Tennessee reported on the event yesterday, as did the local newspaper.   People were getting excited.  The numbers kept growing.  Changes would have to be made to the original plan.

As of this writing 640 people have committed through the fb page to participate.  This number has grown to a point where the original route has been changed.  We are now running from Nashville's LP Stadium.  The Nashville Running Company had originally agreed to host the event.  WOW, who knew! Thank you Lee Wilson for being there willing to do this.

Folks can run, walk or a combination of both.  They can do 6.5 miles, 13 miles, 19.5 miles or all 26.  As a matter of fact you can do any distance you want. There will be no starting gun, no timing chip, no finish line.  This is being done to "remember and support".

We expect the number to surpass 1000.  We just do.  We have no doubt, just how many past that will be an awesome number to see.

Additionally, many runnres who will be out of town, or that have heard of this event, have pledged to run their miles on their own and make a donation on line.

You don't have to run to participate.  A page has been set up so donations can be made.  Click here to go to this page.  There's also a option to purchase bumper stickers or tee shirts. Click here for more information.

A personal message from me to the Nashville and Middle Tennessee Running Community:  I am proud and honored to be associated with such magnificent, caring and giving people.  I am thankful that you folks have allowed me the opportunity to get to know you through these past few years.  You encompass the true meaning of Love.  Thank You!

About Winter's Ab Workout

Having had to nurse an aching back for the past few weeks, my winter workout/challenge has been delayed for a spell.  Two years ago I started, what I hope now is a trend, to dedicate the winter months to a specific workout.  First it was P90X in 2010 and the 100 Push-Up Challenge in 2011.

Today I started with the following chapter.  I found out last year that the most productive work I could do to help with my swim, bike and run was to work on my core.  This I have always heard, but had never really put into full and constant practice.  I would do stuff to work on the mid section but never really concentrating exclusively on this.  I am not ignoring the rest of my muscle groups, I'm just going to focus in this area for the next thirty days.

Here's what my routing will be, each day for the next 30 days...

1).  50 CRUNCHES.  Ideally, the crunches would be done freestyle.  However, due to my bad back I have to do the assisted type.  I will do the Ab Machine Crunch.

2).  15 PUSH UPS.  Perfect Form Push Ups.

3).  1 MINUTE PLANK.

4).  30 SECOND PLAN EACH SIDE.

5).  10 ROLL OUTS

6).  1 MINUTE BRIDGE

7).  15 PUSH UPS.  Perfect Form Push Ups.

8).  1 MINUTE PLANK.

9).  30 SECOND SIDE PLANK EACH SIDE.

10). 50 CRUNCHES.

11). 1 MINUTE RAISED (STRAIGHT ARM) PLANK.

12). 10 ROLL OUTS.

13).  2 MINUTE BRIDGE.

14).  50 CRUNCHES.

This routine is performed without stopping in between exercises.

After finishing this routine, I will do:

1).  PRESS UPS:  Press up and hold for 8-10 seconds.  Repeat for a 10 count.

2)  CHILD POSE:  Will hold for about two minutes and repeat two times.

Please navigate over to this page's facebook page and click "like". 

(Thank You to my G+ friend Neila Lott for the inspiration for this workout)