Tin Man Triathlon Relay

On Wednesday, Tyler, my new boss, asked me if I wanted to do the 5k run portion of a triathlon relay this weekend. I said sure and started trying to estimate a 5k time. My best guess was that I could go sub 18 minutes if I put together a great day. My plan was to go out 6:30/ 6:00/ 5:30 and come in right around 18 minutes. I had run the course before and new it was quick with a quality field of runners, both 5k and triathletes, to push the pace.
5:20 this morning my alarm goes off and I dress and head out to Cal State San Bernardino. It's funny, but when I wake up that early to exercise I always feel like I am one of the few committed crazies out there. That myth is frequently shattered and no more than today when I showed up and hundreds of people were already on-scene. Two things hit me pretty quickly as I got out of my car and walked over towards registration in search of my relay partners. First, this race has grown A LOT since I did it 4 years ago. And, second, the triathlete community is way more type-A crazy than the ultra-distance crowd. I know this, but was reminded of it as I watched all sorts of warm up routines and the parade of the newest gear. People jockey for the best place on the start line ( me included) and the energy is palpable at the start of a race like today. Nervous chatter abounds as everyone deals with nerves in their own manner. Ultra distance races, on the other hand, are way more mellow at the start gate.

Here's how the race unfolded. Right before the starting gun, Tyler pointed to a guy in a Triathlon singlet and told me to pace off of him (he would end up placing 3rd overall- more on that later). I saw an old friend Kylie Donia at the start and we had a brief conversation before the gun sounded, as we did  I was reminded of many of the friends in this fairly tight-knit community that I hadn't seen in a while.

The gun sounded and I was able to make my way through the traffic without much effort- including the 60+ year old, out of shape couple that pushed their way in front of me because they "wanted to feel what it was like at the front of the start line and would only be there for a few minutes". Arghhh..... get out of my way before I am responsible for straight-arming you to the ground and watching people trample you. Back to the race.... I look down at my watch about 1/2 mile in and it say 5:20/ mile pace.... not where I want to be, but I am trying to sit on the hip of the guy in blue that I was told to shadow. I stayed with him until about 1.25 miles and simply couldn't anymore at that point. Frustrated, I let him go and decided to run my own race.
1 Mile down and I am looking at close to a 6:30 pace. Exactly what I had hoped for but it was hurting more than I would have liked it to and I knew that wasn't going to be good.
Mile 2 hurt and so did mile 3. Blue guy was still in sight, but not within reach and I am wondering how they can design a course that is a loop and still mostly uphill. Logic tells me that it should be about equal, but maybe I was just paying too much attention to the effort. I never found a relaxing stride during this race, neither in my breathing or legs and I can usually do so in the 6-7 minute/ mile range. Not so today. I haven't done any speedwork since my surgery and today that fact was on full display.
I ran into transition, glad to pass the timing chip to Tyler, and breathed a sigh of relief ( after 5 or so minutes of huffing an puffing) that my part was over. I knew Tyler would match my effort on the bike and our swimmer ( who's name escapes me right now ) would do a good job and sure enough they did.
I am fairly certain that we won the relay category ( not that there were a ton of people in that category).
I was disappointed in my run time, but upon further reflection, I shouldn't be considering my lack of speedwork.
All in all, it was a fun day and it was good to see some old friends ( Coach Tony, Sinta, Kylie, Mike, and Barry). Tinman is a good race. It could use a few improvements like a bike dismount area and  better control of the transition area so that non-competitors are not in there free to take a $10,000 bike. But it has grown into a fun race with a competitive field that is worthy of your efforts and the monies go to the Rotary club that puts it on.

Splits
Mile 1   6:24:11 Avg HR 185
Mile 2   6:48:70 Avg HR 190
Mile 3   6:39:13 Avg HR 193
Mile .1  1:06:06 Avg HR 198

Total 5K Time 20:50

10th planet allstars DVD

This promo video features my 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu coach, Sean Bollinger. Looks awesome. I am going to order it. I should be starting back into jiu jitsu training in the next couple of weeks, just trying to figure out how to fit it into my schedule without effecting my family.

15 minutes that hurt

Tomorrow's push ups, in my quest to do 10,000 Push Ups, are going to suck. That is because I had too much time to think on the drive home from the meeting that I did tonight in Palm Springs ( an awesome meeting by the way). All the way home I was thinking that I couldn't wait to get home to do the grappling workout that I found a couple of weeks ago on YouTube. I've done it a couple of times before and it is awesome, it hurts like hell, and it can be done in less than 20 minutes.




It was put together by Randy Couture and here's how it works.
Without putting the barbell down you do the following:

Bent Over Rows 8x
Upright Rows 8x
Military Press 8x
Good Mornings 8x
Split Squats on Each leg 8x
Squat and Push Press 8x ( this one sucks)
Bent over rows 8x

Rest 60-seconds and repeat for 6 sets.

I've done 3 sets the first time, 4 sets the second time I did this, and tonight 5 sets. I think I can get to 6 sets the next time, but this thing seriously hurts and tomorrow I will wake up with sore shoulders, a sore lower back and hamstrings that feel like they've been beaten (if this is anything like the last times that I've done this).

My Garmin 305 says the whole thing took 14 minutes and 34 seconds and my heart rate maxed out at 179. I can already feel twinging in my hamstrings and I am still sweating 20 minutes later.
So, if you're looking for a great workout give this one a try. If a barbell is too heavy, this whole thing can be done with dumb-bells.
If you do try it, let me know if you agree with my assessment. I've posted the video below if you want to see all th proper form. This guy makes it look easy and with a pretty good amount of weight. I'm envious.

Nightime 150 HR Run - 4 miles

Here was tonight's workout. A workout given to me by Coach Tony (www.coachtony.com) when I was training for previous races was to take long, slow runs and focus on holding my heart at 150 bpm. Tonight I went back to that workout.
It does a couple of things. First, it teaches you to pay attention to your heart rate and control your breathing. Second, it "puts the miles" on your body. To me that means it beats up all of the small cartilige and such that needs to be strengthened while not putting too much stress on them. I always think of micro-tears in the muscles that heal up and become stronger when I run this run. Normally it is excruciatingly boring, but tonight was a gorgeous night so I just ran and enjoyed. 4 weeks from now I'll do this run again. If I am progressing in my fitness, I should be able to run the 4 miles faster and hold that 150 heart rate. I'll let you know how that works out.
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/5LY3UJIUGMU5Z6XPLP5COXSN3M

This Mornings short Bike Workout

Just got on back on the bike this morning for a little bit. Below are the details.
Click the link below to view the workout
http://www.trainingpeaks.com/sw/7TIXEE7OSIQREQ24GIL5KVKVVY

Announcing a new goal

I train a million times better when I have a goal or better yet an event that I am training for. It is too easy to blow off workouts and find reasons not too workout if I don't have some "death defying" event coming up. So with that in mind, I am announcing here and now ( and it's actually a bit scary to even type this) that I am returning to the Northface Endurance Challenge 50k run in San Francisco on December 4th. I attempted this race a couple fo years ago but had to pull out at mile 19 because of a knee problem ( this would later be the same knee that I ruptured my ACL- so we now think it was fairly well blown in that race). So, I've got some unfinished business with this run. And for better or worse, I now know what is ahead of me on this run, and it is brutal. My Garmin told me I had  already climbed 7,000'+ feet when I pulled out at mile 19 if that gives you any indication of how tough this will be. Below is a video taken on the course that shows just how beautiful the course is.


I am very excited to go back and finish what I started and even more so I am excited to have an event on the calendar again. I will keep you updated on how the training is going and I'll be using Training Peaks Software to log all the details.

For anyone who is considering it, there are a number of other distances that day as well. There's a 50 mile, 50K (32 miles), Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k, and a Kid's Run. Join us if you'd like. We can train together virtually or physically as suffering is always funner in groups.

How to tie you shoes

I just saw this video and learned something so I thought that I'd pass it along. Here's a way to tie your shoe to keep your heels from slipping. Great idea.

Super Proud of My Amazing Wife

So, Yvette got a call from some girls that she has been running with and some friends of theirs needed a runner for a Ragnar Run team that they had put together ( http://www.ragnarrelay.com/ ). This is a 200 mile non-stop run that goes from Ventura to Dana Point. She was running in a team of 12. Her 3 legs would total a little over 13 miles and she would get her first chance at night running, starting one of her 4 mile legs at 12 am through Van Nuys. She traveled with a group of 6 girls in a van for about 24 hours in order to do this and she knew none of them before the race. I was totally stoked for her and at the same time a bit jealous of the fact that I wasn't racing. Mostly though, I was just happy that she has gotten into endurance racing and enjoying the camaraderie that those events offer.

We followed her race on her Facebook posts and set out to pick her up on Saturday morning after her last leg of her run, a 4.9 mile jaunt through Wilmington at 7 m in the morning. She said she got to see more than one homeless sketcher just crawling out of their box to glare at her as she ran.
We picked up one happy and tired girl ( she only slept about 2 hours all night) on Saturday morning and put her blood soaked shoes into the car ( she forgot to cut her toenails so they cut into her feet) and took her to a well deserved lunch at Mimi's Cafe. She excitedly told us the stories of her adventure while we ate and drove home. Once home, she crashed out on the floor next to our 3 year old as both took a much needed nap.
I laced up my shoes and headed out for a run, filled with the excitement of her adventure. I headed out on an old loop that I used to train on that leaves my house and goes straight up for 2 miles before a slight reprieve then more climbing through the Etiwanda Wilderness Trail. I had to do the small loop in order to be home in time for showers before Family Mass at our church.
The details of my run are in the link at the bottom of this post. It ended up being 7.25 miles and I had a stupid high average heart rate, but all in all it was a great run.

A special congratulations goes out to Yvette and her "Big Rig" team. Great job love. I am super proud of you.

This Weekend's Taekwondo Test

All 3 of my kids tested for new belts this weekend at their Tae Kwon Do studio ( Performance Martial Arts Center ). Below are videos from Bella's and Diego's test. I forgot to record anything from Cruz's test. Proud Dad moments here.

10,000 Push Ups. Can you do it?

OK. So here's my current deal. My friend Chuck Goetschel posted that he had just finished his 10,000th push up. That got my attention. He then went on to say that he had done it by doing 100 push ups per day for 100 consecutive days. I thought to myself, "self, you could do that". So I responded that I was "in for the challenge" as he started his second hundred days.
Two things, I know, will result from this. First, I will pick up some muscle mass over the next 3 months. Second, and more importantly, I will use this sharpen my discipline. You see, doing 100 push ups is not that hard ( I currently break it up into 2 sets of 50), it's doing something consistently for 100 days that is the bigger challenge. It is also the reason that most people don't succeed in life. Most people do the right thing, occasionally, few people do the right thing frequently or consistently- at least that has been my observation and certainly my personal story (lest I sound like I am lecturing anyone but myself here).
Years ago I read that simply doing something like putting your shoes in the same spot every night would create a discipline pattern that would spill over into other areas of your life. I tried it and they were right. Then, over time, I got away from it. But, the day I started this push up challenge, I was instantly reminded of that success concept.
So, here's to 100 days of exercising my triceps, chest, back, shoulders, and most importantly my discipline muscle. I'll keep you all up to date as to my progress.
Join me if you feel compelled. If you can't do 100 at a time then do them in sets of 10 or 25.  Heck do them in sets of 5 and only do 50 for a total of 5,000 push ups- you'll still sound cool.

Feel free to email me if it helps you be more accountable.

Wishing you "your success".

Chris

My Knee is officially back

8 mile run this morning and my knee felt great the entire time. Now if I could just find my fitness again.

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for Untitled

Family Hike

Saturday it poured rain at the house. Sunday we woke to blue skies and a gorgeous day, so we decided to take the kids on a hike. The city just revamped a trail north of my house in the Etiwanda Wilderness. The put in some nice signs that explain the history of the area, some kiosks, and a couple of covered picnic areas and turned what used to be a quiet, lonely, and sometimes a bit spooky running trail of mine into a trail full of people. All in all, I think it is a plus for me as it adds some safety to an area that I love to run. What it certainly did, was make it more accessible to my family for a leisurely hike.
So off we went on Sunday for a 4 mile hike. The hike climbs the foothills and has a couple of steep areas, so I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about the kids being able to pull this off without being carried or a doing a on of whining. But that was not the case. Cruz, my 3 year old, asked to be picked up a few times, but after both Yvette and I refused a number of times, he gave into the fact that he would have to walk it; and he did a great job. Whenever it would get tough and he'd start to complain a bit, I would distract him by pointing out an animal or how high he had climbed. Like I said, he did great.
Diego never complained once and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. Isabella did was she always does and just excelled. She shared the adventure attitude and was full of questions for the 3 hour duration of the walk.
It was great family time and something I needed very much to recharge my batteries.

I look forward to the day when I'll be able to run that same trail alongside my kids and wife, but for now just walking and seeing it for the first time through their eyes was more than enough.

But, but, but.....but, I can't help it

It's back..... that crazy addiction that crept its way into my life a few years ago has returned and I just cant fight it. Nor do I really think that I want to at this point. This morning, I rolled out of bed at 5:20, threw on some shorts and my Garmin 305 and ran out into the night. And I've gotta tell you, it was awesome. It was only a short run today, 3.5 miles, but I am determined to run multiple times this week, so I am going to work on my weekly total and not go too big in one day. I plan to get in 4 on Friday and somewhere between 6 and 8 miles on Saturday followed by another 4 on Sunday. I want to see how my knee handles the stress of going multiple days. But I can say with certainty, that I've missed watching the sun rise through eyes blurred by sweat, and the feeling you get when a car drives by and you wonder what they are thinking about you out there on the road in the dark. I've missed the mental games that you play to keep yourself going and I've missed the conversations that only go on in my head while running. All of those old enabling voices were present and accounted for this morning, and I welcome their return. Here we go again.


Below is a video that a friend of mine, Chuck Goetschel did that documents an 24-hour run that he did. As I told him this morning, after watching the video, thanks for the "hit" that feeds the addiction.
Thanks Chuck for setting the pace.

Back to Running

I may have mentioned it before in this blog, perhaps not, but my wife, Yvette is a runner. She makes me so proud. I watch her get up and run 3 or more times per week with a group of ladies while it is still dark in the morning. However, she has always been frustratingly slow to run with.
So, this morning when we woke up in a house with no children ( they were at Grandma's house for the night as a gift to us so that we could celebrate our 11th anniversary) we decided to go for a run together. This was going to be my first real run on the road since my ACL surgery back in August.
I thought I was going to be running slowly, and likely walking periodically, based on runs we've done before. However, she's been training. So, we ended up running 5, very hilly miles complete with no walking. Wow, she's gotten a lot better.
That is very exciting for me. I love the idea of running with my wife and having some great conversations.
My knee did well. It is painful to run and every step is a bit of a mystery as to how painful it will be. Each time that right foot hits it hurts and every step is a different level of pain, but all in all it is bearable and my knee feels great after the run.
So hopefully, this means I can start working my way back. I actually put off running quite a few times out of fear, not wanting it to hurt so much that I wouldn't want to run anymore. So today quelled that fear.

Bahati: Out of Compton Television Trailer

This is an awesome video that Lance Armstrong just posted on twitter. Very inspirational.

Found it- The Best Shaver Yet for your Dome

When you first start shaving your head, either by choice, or in my case, necessity ( damned male pattern baldness) it is torture. You're grey, ashy, and worse, you cut yourself constantly. And, as anyone who's ever seen a head hit a windshield can tell you, when you cut your head it bleeds like crazy. More times than I care to remember, I've reenacted the shower scene from the movie Psycho with the red water circling the drain.

So, after years of using the same razor without many "accidents" I was apprehensive, to say the least, when Santa put the Gillette Fusion Power in my stocking this year. The only thing scarier than a new razor was a new razor that vibrates through battery power. Can anyone say, many cuts?

But, it looked cool, and although I thought the vibrating deal was just a gimmick to get you to use more Duracell batteries(a sister company of Gillette), curiosity got the better of me and I tried it.
Well, I can report now after a month of use, that it is the best razor I've used so far. The AAA battery still runs strong after a month of daily use, and although Gillette wants you to change the blade weekly, I've used the same one blade that came in the original package for a month and I'm still getting the closest shaves in my history with a razor. I've only had one nick on my head and that was totally my fault. I just got stupid.
The vibrating deal really does make it work better and I don't have to shave over areas of my head in 3 different directions to get close anymore. Usually one pass will do.

Give it up for Gillette. They've put a tutorial on how to shave your head and body. I'll include the head shaving demo below, but they've got "other areas" covered as well.

Give it a try and let shoot me your feedback.




and for those of you that are curious, here's another video that Gillette put together that is freakin hilarious.

Great Levi Leipheimer Video

Here's a really cool video that Levi just Tweeted.

Rainy Days in Southern California Traffic Rant

I shot this video while sitting in really bad traffic. Thought I'd share my personal therapy session.

Here's a Taekwondo Video that illustrates courage

This video illustrates courage in the sport of taekwondo, but not in the way you may think. This is about an Iranian woman's struggle to even compete in a sport in a culture that does not approve of such things for women. How many of these lessons apply to you?

How Much Are You Willing to Work?

Here is an interview from Newsweek of Tim Ferris, the author of the 4-Hour Workweek.

Striking a work-life balance was once an American obsession. Now all we want is work. Be careful what you wish for.




By Nancy Cook
Newsweek Web Exclusive

Jan 12, 2010

With the unemployment rate stuck in the double digits and with roughly 15 million Americans out of work, job security has become one of our most pressing concerns. Given this poor economic climate, workers need to find a way to become entrepreneurial and tweak the structure of their professional lives now more than ever. So says entrepreneur and author Timothy Ferriss in the expanded and updated 2009 version of his 2007 book The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich.



In his book, Ferriss urges readers to check e-mail once a week, shun meetings, skip phone calls, and work remotely as much as possible. This ruthless management of one's schedule ultimately gives one time to travel and pursue hobbies, he says. When the book first came out in 2007, it became a bestseller, in part, because overworked Americans loved the idea of unplugging the treadmill of their jobs and finding a better balance between work and life. After the recession, things have clearly changed for the millions of Americans who are desperately looking for work of any kind. Ferriss recently spoke with NEWSWEEK's Nancy Cook about his mantra of the shorter workweek and its place in the new economy. Excerpts:



COOK: Is the idea of a four-hour work week still relevant now that unemployment is at 10 percent?

FERRISS: The short answer is yes. Many people are still opting to use the same principles in the book to maintain their 40-hour workweek, or to reduce their hours from 80 hours a week to 40 hours a week while increasing output. Ultimately, it doesn't have to be complicated. The person who is able to reduce unpaid overtime will have a more dramatic lifestyle difference. Many of the questions that I asked [in the original edition of the book] are no longer hypothetical. How would your decisions change if retirement wasn't an option? If you look at many people, including many of my friends, their 401(k)s have dropped 30 to 40 percent. The timeline for what they were planning to do in retirement has shifted. That has a lot of people looking at Plan B options that they wouldn't have considered two years ago. The book is fundamentally about better results. For some people, that means removing financial constraints or becoming untethered from the office. For other people, that means becoming the most indispensable person in their company, which gives them the leverage to negotiate remote work arrangements. The costs of experimenting with the uncommon, when everything is perceived as failing, are fairly low.



Not to harp on this, but do you really advocate for people to work four hours a week when people are worried about losing their jobs?

I have nothing against hard work, as long as it's applied to the right things. For most people, that means doing basic things like time audits and seeing where you spend your time online and on the computer. It's not unlike calorie counting. People are poor judges of how much time they spend on various tools, and if you measure it, it can really result in some big changes.



A large section of your book maps out the way people can start their own businesses. How has your view of that shifted in this recession?

There are two things you can experiment with. The first is to create a semi- or fully automated source of income, enough to satisfy your target monthly income: the number that would allow you to have the experiences you want in retirement. With your financial constraints gone, you focus on what you want. The second approach is to do what you love. This can be hard. There's the consistent mistake or the illusion of the dream job. If you're surfing on Saturdays for three hours to decompress from a hard week, that's an enjoyable activity. It's different to wake up and give surf lessons from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Then, it's no longer fun. It's no longer an outlet. One way to completely eliminate the passions you have is to push them into the category labeled as work. The book is not written for everyone. I don't think any book really can be. It's really designed for people who spend the majority of their time in front of a computer or on the telephone. For someone who has a kid and a mortgage, the approach will be different than an IT manager who is on call on instant messenger.



That brings up an interesting point. How would someone with a family or a home or a more settled life follow your plan? Is this book basically for young, single people?

Chuck Holton recently won the video case-study contest on my blog. He has kids, and not only has he completely removed his ties to the office, but he has also taught his kids how to build these automated businesses. He has two kids; one is 12 years old and one is 13 years old. One is making $300 a month, and one is making $500 a month. He demonstrates that having kids is not a good reason or excuse not to do certain things. No. 2, he's demonstrating that he's able to reduce hours, travel, and have the experiences with his family not because he is uniquely Chuck but because these are learned principles.



What do you think entrepreneurship, like the kind you promote in your book, will look like postrecession?

The principal change that I see coming is that the cost of creating a business is massively scalable. A company that you would have needed $500,000 to start, you can now start with $2,500 dollars. The tools for testing business models before you invest in them are such that you can predict sources of income with as little as Google Ad Words. The barriers to entry are the lowest they've ever been.



Do you think that will make corporate jobs less attractive to people?

I got a comment on the blog recently from someone who got fired from a well-paying, "secure" job. He said it was the best thing that ever happened to him. Now, he's snowboarding and skiing his way around the world. The basic assumptions of people's longterm plans are so unpredictable. I find it very positive that people are focusing on the here and now and that people are making better decisions.



© 2010

Originally Posted at http://www.newsweek.com/id/230421