LAZY!!!!

Lately I have been super lazy.  I hurt a my leg on a run the other day and since then I haven't done anything physical.  Well I did about 60 pushups but that's about it.  But this is gonna change, after I finish this post I gonna knock out some pushups and tomorrow I'm going to put some running miles in and start hitting the weights again.  

Some People!!!

Well some think they are the only ones who have ever contributed or sacrificed.  I am not gonna get to much into it but, I think the guy who during the last 7 years of his life, working his butt off, worked no less than 13 hours a day, for 5 to 7 days a week, has been deployed two times has contributed a little bit of something.  

And the funny thing is when we first started our business, I was the ONLY one working the business, with no complaints from me or anyone else.  But now I never contribute anything.  

Well this is me venting, so I'll stop now before I go off and really hurt some feelings.  I need to go run.

Injured

Well I havent been running for the last 3 days because I injured myself during my 11 mile run on Tuesday. Not sure what happened, I was running pain free until about mile 9 or so and then my knee and ankle in opposite legs started hurting at the same time. I iced my knee and ankle on wednesday, I should have done it again a few times today but I didnt even think about it. I am not gonna run again until Saturday, and then I'm not gonna run hard maybe 2 or 3 miles or go on a walk. But I hope this injury goes away soon. Peace

We Have Overcome!!!

Today is a day that will live on for generations to come. Today is one of those days that makes me even prouder to be an American. Today's activities is proof that one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dreams has come true. Today is proof that most of America, no longer judge by the color of anyone's skin, but by the content of their Character. Today has been a bad day, other than my run this morning I have really been in a bad mood, for personal reasons, but as I think about the events of today, I can't help but smile. Mr. President you are in my prayers. America has truly included us in the Dream. Yes we CAN!!!

Todays Provo River Run

Well, lately I have been running the paved trails because there is soo much snow on the real trails and I dont have snow shoes, but todays run was pretty cool, I started at the Shop Ko in Provo on University and ran the Provo river trail (paved) to Utah Lake and back for a total of exactly 11 miles in 1hr 49 minutes. I was only scheduled to go 9 miles today but felt pretty good and decided to go a little further. The run was good till about mile 7.5 when I had the sudden urge to go to the bathroom, then a mile later I had a small ache in my hip and ankle. It eventually went away but I was still faced with the bathroom problem. But I maintained my 10 minute mile pace and finished strong. Tomorrow I have a 5 mile hill repeat and tempo run scheduled, but I might cut it a little short due to me going over today.

1/12 - 1/18 Training Summary

Mon 1/12- Rest Day
Tues 1/13- 9 miles ran on Provo Canyon easy, 1:23:00
Wed 1/14 - 5.32 miles at Provo Canyon easy, 50:16
Thurs 1/15 - 2 miles at gym
Friday 1/16 - Rest
Sat 1/17 - Suppose to be a 12 mile run but took kids sledding instead.
Sun 1/18 - Day of Rest

Guess who said this????

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.



I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

The First Sledding Adventure

Well we took the kids on there first sledding adventure, and we had a blast. It was me and Lillie's first time sledding. I grew up in South Texas, so you can see why this is my first time. The first vid is of Lillie's first time and the second vid is of me and Lillie going at it. Amy and Brandon didn't get to go because Brandon cried like crazy because he was so cold. So instead of sledding, they stayed in our Super Van and watched Toy Story. Lillie had the time of her life, it was so fun. after our adventure we ate and the kids fell asleep in about 2 minutes.

Sapper Joe 50K

Yahoo!!! I just submitted my application for my first Ultra-marathon, the Sapper Joe 50K Trail Race. The race will be held at Camp Williams Military Reservation on May 23, 2009. The course will be a loop course and will have a altitude gain of 5500 feet. So it should be a pretty good run. I am really looking forward to this new challenge, but I need to find a marathon to enter so Ican use it as a training run. This is Awesome. I know I need to add more hills in my training because the first half of the race is uphill and this will really break a person down if they are not trained. So I am going to revise my training schedule tonight to add more hill training. Wish me luck

My Canyon

The 5 mile run today went great, but for some reason I am getting really sore in my right ankle and calf area.  Tonight I grabbed a galln size ziplock bag and filled it up with snow to ice it down an that seemed to help, but i think I am gonna have to start doing regular physical therapy and taking better care of my legs.  But other than that it was good, I saw tons of deer and ducks.  The scenery at Provo Canyon is awesome.  The canyon is so beautiful, I could run there all winter.  I just wish I had snow runnning shoes, I could actually run the whole canyon.  But in the mean time I cave to stay on the plowed stuff.  Tomorrow I have a 9 mile run scheduled, but my right leg is so tight, we'll see it that happens.  Until then See ya.

Todays 9 mile Adventure

My right shoulder has been killing me and I havent been able to move it since I played dodgeball at the gym 2 days ago.  I wake up this morning and turn on my side and I here this loud pop, I then realized my sholder has been out of its socket all this time, the initial pop hurt a little but I ws able to move again.  So now that I can move my shoulder, I decided I can do my scheduled 9 mile run.

Well I call my running partner Steve to run and we go to Provo canyon for the days run.  We started at the mouth of Provo canyon and ran to Bridal Veils waterfall, the run was great.  Bridal Veils is a site to see.

If you're thinking about running a Ultra Marathon

This is some info I found on the net, I modified it a little for newbies like me:

1. Publicly commit to the race(s) of your choice. In your case just sign up and then tell your friends, family, and co-workers about it.
2. Find out about the race course(s). Ultramarathon RDs are accessible and eager to talk about their course.
3. Start running. We’ll work on the details in a bit – but the point is if you haven’t run anything yet today you really should do something before we go any further!
4. Run comfortably. This is the easy part. You need this foundation for your training. No matter your overall condition. Find any non-paved surface for this, and choose places to run that help keep you motivated. If you’re buff, running shirtless on a beach may be the ticket. If you are introspective, a nice woodland trail is the perfect place to be alone with your thoughts. If you are a thrill seeker, find a rugged mountain trail. You get the idea. The hardest part of starting any training is structuring it for continued motivation. Don’t force yourself into a regimen that isn’t self-sustaining. Many people enjoy running with others. The key is to find a group that runs at the right pace for your needs. Your slow mileage needs to be easy – so don’t run with people who will push you during these runs!
5. Differentiate. This is the hard part.  Running 50 miles in a day is a problem that you want your body to solve. You might be able to just ratchet up your mileage on a weekly run until it approached 50 miles – but you don’t have that much time or energy – and even if you did this strategy might just break you down. It would be like climbing Mt. Everest by starting at sea level and walking, one step at a time, to the peak. Smart training means separating out the different components of the 50-mile problem, and then training your body for those components on separate runs! So here’s a rundown of 6 training components you could employ to solve the ultramarathon problem:

1. Slow comfortable running. We already started this, right? Thankfully these runs hit several components required during the actual event. The most basic requirement may be strengthening the connective tissues of the hips, knees, and feet that have to hold up to an all-day beating. Another very basic problem, though, is the metabolism of a steady supply of energy that will be rapidly diminished by your efforts on race day. The “total accumulated volume” of running, including your slow comfortable running, will correlate with strengthened connective tissue and expansion of energy metabolism (largely through fat-burning!) If your slow running is not so comfortable, break it up. If you are starting from scratch it is perfectly acceptable to mix walking and running. You can also split the slow running into different times of day – 15 minutes in the morning and another 15 in the evening, for example.
2. The long run. You will need to immediately begin to lengthen one of your runs each week – so that it stands out as “the long run.” Although you may be starting with a 20 minute long run, this run should gradually increase to at least 4 hours(!) when you are about a month away from the big event. This run works on your aerobic capacity, demanding the sustained rapid delivery of energy and nutrients throughout your body.  Use this run to practice eating and hydrating the way you will during the big event. You do not have to stick to the one-long-run-per-week idea, though that is the most common strategy. You can get by with one every other week – especially if the run is very long. You can also do back-to-back long runs on consecutive days.
3. The fast run. This is one that many would like to overlook. It’s also known as the “threshold” or “tempo” run. It basically involves running hard but steady at a pace you are just able to sustain for a given period of time. Starting from scratch you might try 10 minutes. The goal will be to lengthen this run to a full 60 minutes of leg-pounding, heart-thumping fun before your training peaks. Very fit individuals may stretch this to 90 minutes. Do your fast run once per week. More than that and you won’t recover, fewer than that and you won’t improve. A road race can serve as your fast run for the week, but don’t do one of those every week. The excitement around road racing can really engage your nervous system and wear you down over time.
4. Intervals. Interval training can stimulate rapid improvements in your performance on all your training runs.  It seems to target the neuro-muscular system, prompting nerve connections and synchronization that opens up the throttle for other runs. In other words, I’m not sure how it works! Do one interval workout per week, starting 8 weeks before your first big event. Intervals should be short and intense, but otherwise you can be creative. You should NOT start these until you have a good fitness base – which I would ballpark at 8 weeks of running if you start from scratch. You might start with 6 intervals of 2 minutes each and work up to 10 intervals of 4 minutes each. Give enough time between intervals so that your heart slows to a reasonable rate – usually 2 minutes will suffice.
5. The uneven run. You should run on technical or uneven terrain least once every two weeks. Once a week is better, and I prefer twice a week! This kind of running targets your core postural muscles. This run can overlap with your slow and/or long runs. 
6. Rest. You’ve heard it before – the body must be given time to re-build after you have worked to tear it down. One or two days a week should be rest days. Starting from scratch this means don’t run on rest days.  When you are fit a slow comfortable run can count as rest. In addition to weekly rest, you should also allow a longer rest period between phases of your training. After 6 weeks of solid training, give yourself a week of fewer miles and lighter workouts. It can be hard to slow yourself down when you see improvement – but better to slow yourself down than have an injury do it for you!

You have to stay motivated.  Run Strong, Run Long!!

Man I love Being a Soldier!!!

The pic to the right is a meical training we did.

So I had drill this weekend and I reinforced why I think everyone should join the Armed Forces for at least some time during there lifetime.  This weekend was totally awesome for me.  For those that dont know I am a NCO in the United States Army and have been in for 9 years.  To my readers who have been in the Army, you know that being in the Army can be both rewarding and stressful at the same time for both the Soldier and the family.

As an NCO in the Army my job is to lead and train Soldiers, this is what is the most fulfilling, Getting a soldier who is eager to learn and teach him something.  It is awesome.  I'd imagine this is similar t the satisfaction that teachers get.  But I'd have to say the satisfaction I get is probably a little better because when a Soldier learns something new, what he learns could possibly save his life or his buddies.  

Well this weekend I recieved a new Soldier who is fresh out of Basic training and his job schooling, so he is very new to the Army.  My platoon has just been 5 new medical vehicles and in the Army whenever you get new vehicles you have to perform maintenance and checks on it to ensure it is serviceable.  So today while the rest of my platoon was out taking care of other business, so me and my new Soldier went through and checked out three of the new vehicles.  

What makes this so awesome is that you have a fresh new Soldier who is willing to learn , at least acts like he cares, not always asking what time they are gonna get off and is willing to do what it takes to get better.  I Love being a Soldier, I Love having good Soldiers and its up to me to keep them good Soldiers.

Full Battle Rattle

In the Army we refer to having all your gear (kevlar, IBA, weapon, ammo, rucksack, ect) on as Full battle Rattle.  The reason Soldiers wear full Battle rattle is so they can be mostly prepared for anything.  Now I have been browsing some fellow runners blogs and some blogged about the importance of being prepared.  Now with is being the winter season, it's even more important to bring important gear on trail/mountain runs or you could die, plain and simple.

On my trail runs, even the short 3 milers, I bring tons of gear, cause honestly you never know what can happen out there. My pack is pretty heavy sometimes but honestly its not gonna hurt me.  Here are a list of things I bring:

• Camelbak (super hot water to keep it from freezing as fast)
  
• Energy Gels(1 for every 45min-hr of running, plus a few extra just in case)
• Trail mix bars ( usually about 3 or 4)
• 2 pairs of gloves (in case 1 get wet or it gets really cold)
• 1 pair of extra socks
• a few salt packs (restaurant kind)
• arm warmers
• toilet paper ( you know what thats for, Taking Care of BUSINESS)
• Multi-tool
• GPS
• Extra hat
• Chapstick
• Pen and paper
• flashlight
• lighter
• phone (just incase I have reception)
• Type 3 nylon or climbing nylon cord (LOL, same thing, just different names)
• Identification
• very light runners rain jacket
• .50cal machine (J/K, although I should bring one for the  bear and mountain lion)

Thats pretty much it, I guess I should carry a small first aid kit also.

But honestly, we should be more prepared for unplanned situations while out trail/mountain running, it could save our life. Peace  

Todays AWESOME Run

Toays run was awesome and adventureous, I startedout at the mouth of Provo Canyon, then ran to timpanogas park, where I started my ascent up the trail behind it, after reaching the top of the hill, I had a sudden decrease of motivation and decided to head back to the car.  On my decent down the hill I see a guy (Steve) running with his dog (Roxy) and we stopped and chatted for a few seconds, and there I was on my way back up that same hill, running with Steve and Roxy.  So we get to about the 1.8 mile mark and the trail is no longer plowed, I slow, but Steve doesn't, He keeps running and I figure if he can do it so can I.  Now for those that  dont know this is my first winter with snow, my winters growing up consisted of cold winds and rain.  So he leads the way and I about 10 minutes of running through snow that nearly came up to my mid thigh, I get a really good burning sensation in my hamstrings.  I realized at that point that running doesn't really invovle the hamstrings, and while it hurt a little, it felt great from a working out standpoint.  Man, I gotta do more snow running.  So we kept going and it was really cool because along the trail we were on there were deer everywhere.  It was almost as though we were running with deer, it was awesome.  So we finally made it back to the paved trail head, then back to the car.  The run was Great andd I think I'll do that one a little more.  Oh yeah a word of advice for those that have never run in deep snow before, you might want to wear long socks, have shoe gaiters, maybe some really thin nylon pants, because depending on how cold it is or was the night before the snow can and will cut your legs up.  Ask me how I know!!  Snow shoes could help to, haha.  Not having these item wont kill you, but having them will save you some discomfort.  today was suppose to be a easy 5 mile run day, but turned into really good 6.3 mile run.  Have a good Day.

The snow here is Crazy

It has been snowing nonstop for the last 24 hours and doesn't seem like its gonna let up, I am getting so happy, anxious and pissed at the same time.  I'm happy its snowing because that is that much water we will have here in the valley, anxious to get out there and get my miles in, but pissed because the roads are so unsafe to run on right now.  I need to get out of this house and run, not only to get my miles in but get my stress out.  Running for me is very relaxing, and I love it.  I have got to get out and run tomorrow.

Get your Weight up

From reading earlier post, most know that I am training for UltraMarathons, and for ultras, as you would expect, you will need lots of muscular endurance (ME), not just leg endurance but total body endurance, most do not realize that running envolves all muscles including neck, back, arms, shoulders and core.  Running long distances will take a toll on all body parts.  

For those that dont know, muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to work or contract over a long period of time.  So to help my cause I have included in my training routine, Circuit Resistance Training (CRT).  CRT is awesome, it really gets the heart rate up and allows the body to adapt to prolonged muscle use.  While I was in the Army we used CRT all the time,  it hurts, but it works.

I just bought this weight set off of KSL for $125 and I have to say that it was a steal.  As you can see its outside since my garage is not heated I figured why not just keep it outside on the patio, yeah its cold outside but who cares.  I am pretty excited to get my training routine going.  I cant wait for my first ultra on May 23, the Sapper Joe 50k here in Utah.

Saturday, Jan 3, 2009 Run

Went on my run today and totally wasted my first hour or so.  I went to Rock Canyon to run and there was about 7 inches of fresh snow there, so I decide to run anyways, figuring when I get to the  trailhead it would be OK (not sure why).  So I start running, get to the trailhead and the snow is still thick, I figured since I have run this far I might as well keep going, I ran about a half mile and said to myself, "what am I doing".  I turned around and ran back to my car to find another route to run.  

While driving I decide to go to Provo Canyon trail, where I know they groom the trail.  So my first 2 miles were horrible, I felt like I had a a hundred pound weight in my camel-bak.  but i fought the urge to turn around and go home.  I kept running and the scenery was awesome.  The river running next to me was very soothing, I saw a group of deer and with them was a very huge buck, man he looked tasty.  I ran from the parking area at the mouth of Provo canyon to Bridal Veils water fall but couldnt go any further because the trail was blocked and hadnt been plowed in a while, probably about a foot or more snow on the trail there.  So I turned around and made my way back.  

Terror Struck at about mile 6, can you guess what happened, Alright I'm getting into my "To much Information Part".  Well at this point in the runI have to go number 2 (if you dont know what number 2 is, dont worry about it).  So the trip back to my car seemed like it took 3 hours.  Normally I would have just walked off the trail aways and exploded in the brush but today I forgot to pack my TP.  An I was not about to go without that.  So I made it to the car and back home and all is we

Terror Struck at about mile 6, can you guess what, Alright, so this is the "To much Information Part".  Well at this point in the runI have to go number 2 (if you dont know what number 2 is, it's complicated).  So the trip back to my car seemed like it took 3 hours.  Normally I would have just walked off the trail aways and let nature take over, but I forgot TP.  And I was not about to go without that.  So I made it back to my car, made it home without incident, LOL, and All is Well.

I had plans to run an easy 10 miles but the TP issue cut that short, I manage to get in a slow easy 8.62 with finish time of 1h 27min, which gave me a very easy 10 minute mile.  I'm trying to work my way up to 50 miles at a 10 minute mile pace.  

The Plan

I got out of the Army last year and the plan was to go to school, get my degree and then get another J-O-B, but things changed, we were introduced to a new opportunity, the opportunity to make our own destiny, the opportunity to be Real Estate Investors.  We took that opportunity.  So far it is going well, we are working our first deal and we should be having a payday pretty soon.

Since I have been out of the Army I have been performing the Mr. Mom duties and for the first few months it was great but now its starting to beat on me.  Its wierd because I spent spent 9 years in the Army and at some times in charge of 40 Soldiers and it was not this stressful.  While the Army was very stressful, it has nothing on being Mr. Mom.

Bottom line is I am not cut out to be a stay at home guy.

1ST Run Of The Year

Well to break the New years in right I went on a run, I ran exactly 3 miles and it was Great.  The weather was awesome, it was about 30 degrees out but was nice and sunny.  I didn't have time to go to the trail, because we had to go bowling with the family so I ran a figure 8 loop around my neighborhood and was very suprised to see other people out running or walking.  I only ran 3 miles but it was so peaceful and refreshing.

I love running!!!!