it starts in the kitchen...

     I use to believe the lie, which is, that if you work out, you can eat anything you want. I have learned that is not true, not only is it not true, but I think that it may be one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves. I went to my brother-in-law's wedding this weekend. Which is a great thing, but the not great thing is all the food I was faced with. I wish I could say that I chose the good things, but that is not the case at all. I ate horribly this weekend. Which, nothing is wrong with a cheat day, but I had a cheat weekend, not the best idea! I lied to myself, and I believed the lie, because I got up this morning thinking, I'll just go workout today and salvage all the unhealthiness. Well, something I have learned is that fitness truly does start in the kitchen. If you put bad things in your body, they wreak havoc, if you put good things in, they reap good things. So, today's workout was great, but I felt horrible doing it, the bad was wreaking havoc. So lesson learned, I don't think I will have a cheat weekend again, maybe a cheat day. I have put it to memory, fitness truly does start in the kitchen. 

Setting The Bar

I'm not too good at pull ups.

It’s not a motivational thing, it’s a gravitational thing.

At 205 pounds, gravity pulls harder than my arms and back are able to.

There is nothing quite as disheartening as looking up at a pull up bar and knowing exactly how this is going to go. I’m going to jump up, hang on for dear life and pull… pull… pull… and if I’m lucky, I’ll get to where my chin juuuust touches the top of the bar before my old buddy gravity begins to win his battle of tug-of war. Then I’ll drop back to the ground, catch my breath, wait for Flux Pavillion to drop the bass (it happens at 0:34), and jump up to start the process over again.

But just like Nick, I couldn’t beat a 10 minute mile a just few years ago. And after a few short months of sticking to it, I’m able to run several miles in a row at a better than 10 minute pace. If you’re not reading The Art of ManlinessThe Art of Manliness may I suggest you start? You’ll be seeing a lot of references to them in my posts. Specifically this article. I utilize a lot of these techniques when doing pull-ups now to strengthen my arms and back so that soon I will be able to crank them out.

had to change it up a bit tonight and work out on the soccer field
burpees in the dirt and pull ups on the goal

As a guy who can’t do more than 2 pullups in a row, I can think of a few choice words to describe today’s workout:

3 Rounds

10 burpees

5 burpee pull-ups

3 burpee pull-ups with knee raises

15 crunches

10 laying leg raises

5 hanging knee raises

I took my sweet time, but I got it done.

Fitness is all about goal setting. One of my many goals is to be able to do at least 10 pull ups before my child is due to be born on February 14th, 2014. I have a lot of work to do. But gravity isn't getting any stronger and all these miles we will be running ought to weaken his grip a little. With continued cross training, I ought to be there with no problems.

At the core of it all

Nick hangs on for the last few seconds of his plank

The most observant readers will notice a couple of things about the training plan. Yes, it is based off a plan designed by Jeff Galloway, an Olympic distance runner, but it has one key difference. We have taken out one of the weekly 30 minute runs and replaced it with cross-training. We did this for a couple of reasons. Most simply: we are already cross-training on Tuesdays with a group of guys we really like and neither of us want to give that up for the next several months while we get ready for the half. More importantly, however, is the significance of core conditioning for distance runners. And yes, for the purposes of this endeavor, 13.1 miles qualifies as distance running.

But why focus on your core when it's your legs that are going to be taking the beating? I'm glad you asked. Susan S. Paul, in her article on runnersworld.com says this:

“Especially with distance running, core muscles become very important in the latter stages of a race when fatigue sets in and form begins to fall apart.”

We use our core muscle groups for everyday activities. All the time. They keep us straight up and down while we are sitting, they keep us balanced while we are walking, and they keep us in form while we are running. And that is the key. The road is nothing like a treadmill, there are bumps and potholes and uneven surfaces all along the way. Keeping proper form is what allows your body to keep moving through all of that. We don't tip over or veer off course when we find ourselves on an uneven shoulder because we keep proper form. The trouble is, though, the muscles that keep us in form fatigue just like any other muscle. They may take a little longer since we are using them every day but in an endurance race, we need to have endurance all over.

The truth is that even on cross-training days we are running. Usually about 4 miles.

As we continue, you will be seeing some updates from us that include our cross-training and core workouts from our Tuesday group. You may learn some things and you may have good things to share. We welcome them in the comments below!

A fat kid's revenge...

     Hello, my name is Nick and I am a former fat kid. Now when I say that someone out there in the world is thinking to themselves, Nick that is a bit to strong, or Nick that is not politically correct. I would say to that, you are right, but I am talking about myself, so I am going to allow myself to call my former self, a "fat kid!" Besides, there were plenty of people in my past that would call me that, so I think I am allowed to say that about me. As a former fat kid I can tell you that as a child I hated to run. Not just hated running, but loathed it. Which is a really strong way of saying hate. I remember I hated it so much that whenever it was presidential physical fitness testing time, I would literally get sick to my stomach. For those who may not know what this is (presidential physical fitness testing) it is a series of athletic test to see where you rank with kids across America. If you did well in this testing you would get a badge and maybe even a medal, and you would get your name on a board in the gym area, it was a pretty big deal. Whenever this time rolled around, I got really nervous and self conscience. I was very self aware as a kid and I was aware that I was not great at physical fitness test. The test consisted of pull-ups, sit-ups, sit and reach, and the mile run! Yes, I said it, the infamous mile run. Oh yeah, every chubby kids nightmare, the mile run. I remember this as if it was yesterday, I remember the PE teacher blowing the whistle for all the kids to line up, I distinctly remember trying to come up with an illness that would get me out of this torture; Unfortunately, I also wasn't very good at lying. So the whistle would blow and I started off really strong, I even kept up with the athletic kids for at least 31 1/2 yards and then my legs would burn, my heart would beat out of my chest and I would get cold sweats! Then the walk/run torture would begin. As if my body feeling like it may explode at any moment was not enough, then the athletic kids would begin lapping you. I remember their faces as they would lap me, they looked as if they were enjoying this torture, while i was struggling every step. Then as I would draw near to the end of the torture, everyone else was sitting and enjoying their cup of  water. Then finally I would cross the finish line, last, yes, last. Then the PE teacher did something that added to my dismay and embarrassment, they would yell out your time, "...14:32 Nick!" That's right, it took me almost 15 minutes to run one, single, solitary mile. That is why a few months ago when Grady asked me if I would be interested in running a half marathon, I almost threw up in my mouth. Because all those feelings from my childhood came rushing back. The embarrassment from finishing last, the looks from the athletic kids, the yelling out of my time by the PE teacher. I felt like I was reliving my childhood all over again. Then it hit me, I am not that fat kid anymore. Truth be told, over the last few years, I have really gotten into great shape due to diet, cross training/cross fit, and being consistent with the previous. This could be an opportunity for the fat kid to get revenge! So I agreed and the journey began. Truth be told, running is still a challenge for me, but it is a challenge I am willing to face head on. Also, I have some homies who are in the fight with me. I take encouragement from, Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Running really is making me sharper, the guys I'm running with are making me sharper! Doing something that challenges you to the core, is very hard, and it requires much of me, but I think it is worth much, besides, this fat kid is getting his chance to get some revenge! So half marathon, challenge accepted. 

2 weeks to go

Well, here we go.... not yet. But soon. 

It was a momentary blend of weakness and machismo. My good friend Nick and I were talking at the office with my wife, Megan (yes, we all work together. I'm sure there is a good sitcom in there somewhere but for now we'll have to settle for a blog). Somehow we got onto the subject of running and the Disney half marathon that happens every January. Then I learned a lesson the hard way: don't open your mouth with your wife present.  Without even a second thought I effortlessly claim "I'll run it". With that, Nick learned an equally important lesson: don't ever open your mouth with your friend's wife present. He retorts with pride "I'll do it with you". The next few days were a blur but that weekend we found ourselves in Nick's living room dropping about $175 a piece on entrance fees to this thing. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is!

To understand the weight of this you have to know that neither Nick nor I would consider ourselves runners. We are both well over the ideal weight for a distance runner and prior to that conversation the furthest I had ever run was a 3 mile challenge I set for myself that had me cursing the pavement and hills the whole way home.. As soon as I realized this was real I began to regret it.

It didn't take long, however, for me to realize that I was going to enjoy this. My father-in -law, who has run several races and will be running this one with us, pointed me in the direction of Jeff Galloway for a training program and Nick and I began to hit the streets together. It turns out that we weren't so bad off!

Our first run was a little over 3 miles and we did quite well. A few breaks for a little walking and some definite gasping up a monstrous hill but we made it. Since then we have done some longer runs and some cross training along the way. All in all we are up to about 6 miles without needing to stop to walk which is about 3 miles ahead of schedule when considering the official training schedule doesn't start for 2 more weeks.

I will be using that next 2 weeks to do a few more light training runs, mix in a few cross training workouts, and get this blog updated and ready to go. I hope you enjoy the updates along the way but most of all I hope you learn that big things happen in small steps.