Back to the Track

After a successful inaugural run on the Advanced 10k Training Team last year. I came back this year with a fire in my belly. Last year I learned that I love track training and speed work. More so than any distance training that I'd ever done. Unfortunately snow has kept us away from the track for most of the our training so far. Two weeks ago there was a break in the weather and we went out for the first time. I ran hard and at the front of the pace group the whole night. Then it we got snowed out again last week. Remember the snowpocalypse that wasn't? Thanks Wxrisk!

In any case this week was short sleeve weather and I showed up prepared to run just off the front and take it a little easier. We finished our strides and just as I was noticing that one of our two coaches hadn't made it out, I heard the coach that was there call my name. I looked around a bit bewildered at first. Of the 40 plus people on our sub team (45-47:00), maybe 4-5 people know my name. The second time I got called, I made my way up to the front of the group to find that the other coach had nominated me to the lead the front pace for the night.

Baaawhhaaaatttt?

I am awful at setting and holding a pace. It is part of the reason I do training teams. I got a Garmin 220 a week ago to start working on it. I'd run twice with it, but not on the track yet. I mashed buttons wildly after agreeing to the task put to me. I got the GPS up and running and we were off like a flash. For the first 200m I was out ahead of the group. Adrenaline pumping I assumed the rest of the group was just starting slow. Till I heard the cries of "Too fast!". I looked down at my watch and I was running at a 5:50 per mile pace. I was supposed to be between 6:25-35.

I popped my chute and faded back to the group. After that I worked with the other front regulars and had a much more consistently paced evening. I owed it all to them and told them so, but still got thanks at the end of the night. It was not as bad as I assumed it would be and made me think about coaching some year that I want to take it easier.

Weekend Review: Oct 19th & 20th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

American Gods
Loved this book. I got a recommendation from Ethan a while back. Then I went looking for a new book last month on the NPR list of Top 100 science fiction/fantasy and saw it again at number ten. #10 seems like a lot of hype and thankfully American Gods lives up to it. The premise, story and prose are all top notch. Fantasy in a modern setting is more of a genre Crystal enjoys, but this hit on all cylinders for me. I really enjoyed guessing at who the Gods were before they were revealed. I listened to this in audio and it was a full cast production. It add even more to the tale. Best book I've read this year.

GTA V
The single player in this game is far and above any other GTA story on offer to date. The up and coming criminal to king pin tale is out. They'd done it enough times and done it well where it would have been passable this time through. What they offered up instead was leaps and bounds beyond what they already did really well. Following three established characters from the start meant working with in the life already live, not meeting new NPCs every hour so you could play errand boy again. It worked really well. It lost it's head of steam about 3-4 hours from the end, but the plot was still paced masterfully.

GTA Online also came two weeks after the single player. It was much less polished. There is a lot not to like. Poor UI design, lots of loading screens and tons of grinding. If you can peel away the bitter rind though, there is a juicy center worth playing. The co-op is good, but really short and not repeatable. The racing is really fun and earning XP and cash to put into nicer car mods is rewarding.

Tabata
In late Spring of this year I heard about a type of high-intensity interval training called tabata. It boils down to eight exercises (e.g. planks, burpees, etc.) performed for 20-25 seconds with 10 second breaks in between. A set of eight is called a tabata and you usually do 4 to 5 tabata in a session. A full session will kick your ass. I've never wanted to quit something physically more than I tabata every week. I introduced it to Crystal in June. We were into it for three weeks till a knee injury at Jumpology put me out of commission. Last month I signed up for a tabata class at work. It was like starting all over again and now I wasn't hand picking the exercises that made it easier. I love and hate it. It is challenging in a way that cycling and running have never been. When I finish it is massive sense of accomplishment.

Weekend Review: Apr 13th & 14th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Monument 10k
Success! 48:10 is right down the middle on my goal time of 47 to 49 minutes. I started the morning by picking up Mike and his bike. For the second year in a row we parked 30 some blocks from the start line and road our bikes in. We avoid the traffic/parking nightmare and get a nice warm up in before we have to run. At the start line I was a ball of adrenaline, coming out at 7:15 in the first mile. I settled in at around 7:45 per for the next two and put in a split time of 23:52. Faster than I wanted for the first half and I suffered on the back half because of it. Five to Six was a wall of pain and exhaustion and the last quarter mile sprint was agony (pictured). Then it was over, I ate a banana, a sugary sports drink or two and I felt fine. I was really happy with my effort and credit all of it to the Advanced 10k team. I have the Hardywood 4 Miler in less than two weeks and the Carytown 10k in three. I don't plan to beat my new PR, but who knows. I'm in the best running shape of my life and only spent two nights chugging beers and eating cake post Monument.

Planet Money
For some reason I have been avoiding my next audio book (The Twelve) and listening to loads of podcast instead. Probably because once I get into it there will be no time for podcast. Planet Money is not new to me, but I eventually burned out on it when I was fully subscribed. This time around I have been selectively picking episodes that sound interesting. So far so good, some great examples follow:

• Ep. 449: Hidden Digital Wealth
• Ep. 290: North Korea's Illegal Economy
• Ep. 435: Why Buying A Car Is So Awful

Kaden Turns Four

He technically turns four this week, but we had his party and did a bunch of other stuff in honor of the birthday boy. Outside the standard weekend review of media, we packed our Saturday and Sunday to the ceiling with activities.

Run
Saturday started with an 8 am run for me, the final advanced team tempo run before this coming weekends race. It was 8 miles in full, all on the race course, 6 miles of tempo in the middle and 1 mile on the front and back to warm up and cool down. I think I am ready to put in a personal record, how much of a PR I won't know until I hit the 3.1 mile turn around and have to pour it on.

Soccer
Post run I rushed home, showered, re-clothed and took Kaden to his second soccer game of the season. He played last Fall for the first time in a 3 yr old division. It was a building process. The first game was mix of kids whining and crying their way through a thirty minutes of parenting hell. Over the course of the season Kaden slowly got it. Don't take the ball from your teammates, be aggressive on defense and score dem goals. This year there has been no transition. He is still in the 3 yr old division and there are still plenty of kids clinging to their Dad's leg the whole game, but he is out for blood having tons of fun.

Pool Party
Following the game we jumped in the car and zipped out to the Goochland YMCA for Kaden's 4th birthday party. We passed three YMCA's and drove 30 minutes out to "the country" for his party because they have an awesome pool set up. It is an outdoor pool covered and heated in the Winter by a huge bubble. Inside there is a massive (30'x30' maybe?) area that gradual goes from 1' to 3' deep. It is the perfect setup to allow kids to play, while lightly attended (they provide a life guard) and the adults chat pool side (I got in with Ward). An hour in the pool and an hour in a large party room with pizza and presents. All for a cheap-ish price tag. All the kids and the adults had a great time.

Sunday
Saturday was busy and Sunday was no day to catch up on rest. We made a big family trip to Panera for lunch and then to Toys R Us for the birthday boy. We got him a new bike and helmet (he out grew the old ones), booster seats for both of our cars (die in a fire toddler car seats!) and a new Lego set. We spent the afternoon at home assembling seats, the bike and Lego. By the end of the weekend my back was shot, so I went out for Habanero (dat beef tongue!) and spent the rest of the night Advil-ed up and stretching.

Weekend Review: Mar 16th & 17th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Tomb Raider
In 1996 my second computer or maybe third whirled up the original Tomb Raider on it's bite sized hard drive. It was the same time frame as the Nintendo 64, so polygonal platforming was still in it's larval state. I have great memories of that game. The new game (reboot), released in February 2013, doesn't evoke memories of that past though. You don't raid any tombs per se, but that is because Crystal Dynamics is too busy doing their best Uncharted impression. Which, as it turns out I wanted way more Uncharted, so good job guys. It's an action movie in video game form, with better combat than the series it apes. Quality stuff, my game of the year currently, if you count Far Cry 3 as a 2012 game.

The Passage
On my new audio book odyssey I kicked off The Passage a few weeks ago and wrapped it up late last week. Fantastic wordsmithing from Cronin the whole way through. Making even the mundane bits feel like a part of a living world. I slept on this book for a long time, chalking it up as a vampire story. It is that, but one that it masterfully written and with not much in the way of tired tropes. It instead focuses on interesting characters, their relationships and the trials they face in a changed world. All that and the audio bit is great too.

Advanced 10k Training Team
Last year I trained for the Monument 10k on my own. Just running the YMCA training team schedule as best I could out of my house. Then I hurt my knee (dumb basketball) and was off my legs for a month. By the time I got back on them it was like I hadn't actually trained at all. I finished at 52 minutes and then went on to do the Carytown 10k with minimal training and a 51 minute finish. This year I decided to fully dedicate myself to the event. I was all set to join the YMCA group, when I heard about the advanced training team. Put on by the Richmond Road Runners at $65 a pop for members, it is worth every penny so far.

The team is broken up into goal times starting at sub-55 and down with two coaches to a team. I'm in the 49-47 minute bracket and really enjoy the company when pushing my running limits. Wednesday nights we have track training at Sports Backers Stadium. Intervals of 200m all the way up to 3200m this week. We sprint around the track at break neck speeds (7:10-7:00 pace) and it is great. Saturday mornings we run out of a church on Monument. Different loops each week for 6-7 miles. We start with a warm up mile or two, then run 3-5 miles of tempo (race pace) and cool down with what distance we have left. It is tough stuff.

Weekend Review: Feb 9th & 10th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Mistborn : The Final Empire
In late 2007 and early 2008 I discovered Audible and rediscovered audio books in the process. I churned through a massive collection and then stopped. This week I went back to the audio book with a recommendation from Ethan. I dropped my podcast habit cold turkey and dedicated that listening time to Mistborn. The Final Empire is more or less Dark Sun, but with cooler magic system. Setting does not make a book though. The story told is one of intrigue and character arcs that really drew me in. So much so that I started the second book the day after I wrapped up the first.

NIKE Men's Element Half Zip
Getting nice gear for my bike has always been secondary to my other hobbies. I still make do with a cheap windbreaker I bought 7 years ago when Winter riding comes round. Picking up a long sleeve Road Holland this Summer taught me the value of good gear this Fall though. Now that I am dedicated to running this year more than ever before it was time to gear up there too. My first and best purchase was the long sleeve shirt above. With a short sleeve base layer and it I have braved low 20 temps and windy evenings. It is super light weight, minimal seems and keeps me toasty. I forget it is there, which is exactly what I want from my athletic gear.

Nardwuar
I visit a number of different resources while hunting down new raps (e.g. stereogum and rapgenius). The Reddit /r/ hiphopheads is the most recent as of the Fall. Last week I saw a number of links to interviews by Nardwuar there. He a loud, awkward, but self confident interviewer dressed like an eccentric golfer, interviews some of the biggest names in hip hop and brings along gifts (usually vinyl) that speaks to their origin and musical influence. It makes for some really candid moments, something usually not seen in music interviews. His rap interviews have been collected in this Google Drive doc, but the link above is enough to get started with.

13 in 13

Friend of this blog and friend of me, Mike put a bug in my ear last week about his goal of thirteen hobbies in 2013. A noble, if not dangerous endeavor. Considering my life is already stupid full of hobbies I don't have enough time and money to keep up with. So add thirteen new ones to the mix you say. Sure, what could go wrong. Note: most of these aren't new, that would just be crazy!

1. Running
I started back up with running in 2011 and full on committed to it in 2012, but I plan to take it even further in 2013. I am already signed up for more events and more miles than last year and will have to commit even more time to training for those. My gear situation is in a better space and I should have more time to get out and pound the pavement as Ward gets older. Richmond half here I come!

2. Drawing
I've drawn more in the past year at the request of my three year old than I have in the past ten years. I used to always have a pad of paper close at hand. From grade school through sometime in the middle of college I logged thousands of hours doodling. Then I stopped, almost cold turkey. I think it is healthy for me to get stretch my creativity muscles. It is why I write here and why I will try to start up drawing again this year.

3. Table Top Gaming
Another thing I already do, man this is straight up cheating. I barely rolled any dice in 2012 though. I wrapped up my last campaign in January and went dark till a single game of D&D Next that I hosted in the summer. There were a handful of games at Chuck's house too, but I have been missing my roll as DM all year. 2013 should see the return of my DM cape. Though I have no clue under what system and with what group of regulars.

4. Mountain Biking
I spent a large portion of the early aughts on a mountain bike. Either as a weekend warrior on local single track or traveling a regular amateur racing circuit. It is what started my adult love affair with cycling. I already have a regular road group every Sunday, but in 2012 we dipped our toes into trail riding. I only got out for three rides, but it sparked that flame again. In 2013 I need a working bike, but I plan to get out more frequently.

5. Stretching
The only time I stretch regularly is when I get hurt. Pull something in my back, stretch till it is better. Fuck up my knee playing basketball, stay off it and stretch till I can go again. I know stretching and strength training regularly would probably help prevent these sort of injuries in the first place or at least make them not as bad, but I never make time for it. 2013 is the year of the loose hamstring!

6. Gundam
In the back half of 20 doz I finally scratched my Lego itch with Gundam. I want more of that this year, maybe a model a quarter? Making for a collection of five total at the end of the year. I could totally get down with that.

7. Data
Capturing data for my 2012 annual report was done with very little of the year left. I was beholden to what services I use that capture data for me (Steam) or those that I log as a matter of course anyway (GoodReads and DailyMile). In 2013 I plan to capture more and better data. The Fitbit was my first stab at that and already was a failure. I'm looking at Daytum right now and a few other options to make this goal as pleasant as possible. There is always Excel.

8. Camping
Crystal and I used to camp. Then we had kid number one and took a hiatus  Just when we were getting into the sweet spot of camping with him we had another one. It turned out last year that I camped for three days, thanks to Cycle NC, but our family did not make it out. This year it might be a segmented portion of our family out and camping, but we will set a few tents up either way.

9. Hiking
Unlike camping we can get out and hike with or without the overnight stay. There are plenty of places to go locally and even more when you expand the radius to within a hours drive. It is great family exercise and even more so for me when I throw Ward on my back.

10. Fish
When I told Crystal about this one she thought I meant fishing and turned up her noise like I was describing my last trip to the restroom. I quickly corrected that I meant cooking fish. While I will never claim to have mastered the other core proteins (chicken, beef, pork), I certainly have a firm enough handle on them. Fish however escapes me. I want to grill it, smoke it and bake it in 2013.

11. Bike Maintenance
Rolling in from a long bike ride and shoving my bike into our sun room for another week has become a bad habit for going on two years. The most love my bike gets these days is a few gasp of air in the tires 15 minutes before I am supposed to ride. I'd like to start a regiment of regular cleaning and care on my road bike and full on repair for my ageing mountain bike.

12. Brunch
Many of these activities require that my lovely bride either participate (see: Hiking) or in many cases facilitate my time away from the family (See: Running). So this one is for her as much as it is for me. When we don't have a 1-3 month old in the house we occasionally are gifted a date night by from our parents. Post date night we occasionally get brunch and it is fucking great. I don't know how many date nights we will see in 2013, but when we do we will brunch. And when we don't I will make it!

13. Music Exploration
I like raps. Besides not listening to rap because my children are in the car (I introduced the eldest to Beastie Boys this Fall) I exclusively listened to rap in 2012. That is a bit limiting, I guess. I don't exclusively watch shows about spaceships or only read comics about super heroes, so why just rap? In an effort to expand my cultural horizon I'll reach out this year and sample what the music world has to offer.

Annual Report 2012: Exercise

(Click to Embiggen)

My year in exercise has been up and down. Always maintaining a through line of running and riding, but plagued by injury and life events that left me a little disappointed by the end of 2012. Overall miles were up over the prior year, but 2011 was a diet and return to exercise year. If you compare both years from May to December, 2011 is up 275 miles on it's younger brother.

Running
I had a banner year in running events in 2012. Participating in 4 times as many as I did in 2011 and improving my mile pace in each event. Shaving 10 seconds per mile from March to November. On the other hand two knee injuries (stupid Basketball) to the same knee (stupid Football) took me out of the game for multiple weeks at a time and even kicked off a month of physical therapy in June. I might have gotten back on the streets in the late fall in winter, but instead there was a steady drop in all activity and a rise in cookie and beer consumption (not pictured).

Riding
I have never been an event/charity guy for bikes (mostly racing), but April was the most miles I've ridden in three years running (Sept. 2009: 200+). I have Cycle NC to thank for that. It made for a great weekend of cycling and some intense long miles at fast paces (mostly flat). When the knee injuries took me out of the running shoes they took me off the saddle too, but I was pretty consistent with Sunday rides all year. Something I have to give big thanks to my regular group for, I hit a 9 Sunday streak from March to April. 2012 was also my return to mountain biking. A sport I miss all the time and want to do more of ever time I get out on the trail. Two crashes this year too, but lets breeze by those before my wife bans me from the bike.

Weekend Review: Nov 10th & 11th

Every weekend there are new sights, sounds, and taste to consume. There are other sensory inputs that tickle my brain too, but saying there is stuff to feel sounds creepy. This is a weekly journal of my weekend endeavors. Enjoy!

Richmond Marathon 8k
I signed up for this event before Ward showed up. Back when I could get as much sleep as I wanted and plan a workout with relative ease. My training fell apart two months ago and I started regressing. Eating poorly, sleeping poorly and in general feeling poorly. Then I got sick Thursday night. I was all ready to pack it up and skip the whole thing. Except I had already paid and promised to drive Mike to the race. So I chugged NyQuil, went to bed early and reluctantly got up at 5:30a Saturday.

It was cold at 7a when we crossed the start line, but my legs felt surprisingly good. Mile one through three were easy, 3-4 torched me, but the home stretch was the best. One fourth of a mile before the finish was all downhill toward the James. I sucked cold air into burning lungs, as my jog transformed into a controlled sprint. Leaning all my weight into the descent as I started zipping past other runners. It took all of my concentration to not turn my sprint into a tumble of bloody limbs, but it worked. 41:17 at the line. 48th of 157 in my division. 8:15 a mile, my fastest pace in an event all year (prev. 8:25 and 8:20).

Wreck-It Ralph
Sunday afternoon was lazy recovery. Post Saturday run and Sunday morning ride (a poor choice), I took Kaden to see Wreck-It-Ralph. Pixar's newest film about the world of made up arcade game characters. I appreciated the video game references (they go to Tapper for happy hour) and he enjoyed the slap stick comedy. Overall it was not the strongest Pixar film I have seen, but that should not be a knock, they make good shows. He loved it though. I came home Saturday with a medal from the 8k that very much resembled the medal Ralph wants to win in the movie. We played all night. He has Ralph with the medal and I as Fix-It-Felix with a yellow Fisher Price otoscope standing in for my golden hammer.

Update
Thanks to Chuck for a major correction. The film was made by Disney, not Pixar. That explains why it felt more Cars 2 than Ratatouille. Subpar in the story department.


Good Job, Brain!
Not that I want for new Podcast, but somewhere in the 24 hours that were Octoberkast, Will, Norm and guest were discussing podcast they listen to. Good Job, Brain! was the only one that stuck with me. Part quiz show and part interesting fact/history lesson. The host are entertaining and funny. It may end up being something I download à la carte instead of subscribing to though. On a per topic basis. Podcast are getting me through these early baby months and it is nice to have a few extra around.

Summer Rides

I've been hitting it consistently this summer on my bicycle. Getting out almost every Sunday morning with a new group of cycling friends and occasionally my old crew too. We get rolling early to beat the heat and get back to our families with our afternoons intact. Shedding just over 40 pounds since April has been the biggest catalyst for this resurgence on two wheels. I am faster, stronger and healthier than ever. The weight loss has lead to more cycling and more cycling has lead to more weight loss.

After years of shifting away from road cycling trends (spandex, light bikes and HBMs) I am slowly coming back. Not to say I don't love rando and touring style cycling still, but at 16/17 mph paces it is hard to justify some of it. I have donned my ancient mountain bike racing jersey (2011 to 1999) and need to hook up the computer I bought back in January. It feels good. I am in love with cycling all over again. The now twelve year journey continues.

Below is just a sampling of the rides I've been on this summer...

• Moonlight Ride from Sports Backers
• Fort Harrison from my place
• Ashland from Mike's place
• Hanover from Hanover Courthouse
• Goochland from West Creek

Total running/riding miles since June: 424 and counting!

Four Hour Body: Part Deux

I hit 24.0 lbs lost and a 5% loss in body fat yesterday morning. Exactly five weeks to the day that we started this experiment (Four Hour Body) and with no changes in exercise. So far it is going really well.The cheat days cause plateaus and even small spikes up, but they are the mental break we need. Not eating fruit went out the door after the first week. I can't quit on apples and bananas, but I'm still avoiding white carbs and sugar.

Mainly it has forced me to pay attention to what I eat and how it effects me. We weigh in everyday and track it religiously via a shared spreadsheet. Tracking our stats and competing on them seem to be the best motivators. Even with forging her own diet path Crystal has lost 15 lbs. She started eating cereal for breakfast and taking a tuna sandwich on wheat for lunch three weeks ago. Both major breaks with the diet as written, but it is still working.

The book states "this diet is not meant to be fun, it is meant to be effect" and that does hold true. It is not fun. Modifying it slightly does make it less effective, but in the long run it makes it sustainable. We are heading toward life style change not a month and done trial at this point. Which is just fine with me. I don't want to fall off the wagon completely because I couldn't chomp on a mango.

Our cooking habits have changed understandably. Well, I should say my cooking habits have changed. My wife is brilliant, funny and attractive, but cooking is not a life skill she picked up. So as before the diet and during it I do all of the cooking. I have been keeping our meals to a few core ingredients and mixing it up with cabinet full of spices:

• Meats
• Grilled chicken
• Steaks
• Chicken chili
• Vegetables/Legumes
• Roasted asparagus
• Roasted cauliflower
• Grilled zucchini/squash
• Canned green beans (a Kaden favorite)
• Baked Beans
• Great northern beans (see: chicken chili)
• Fruits
• Apples
• Bananas
• Mangoes
• Grapes
• Grilled pineapples

It requires more planning than going out or making something from the freezer, but a big batch of chicken chili can feed us for three nights and only takes three hours to prepare. Our grocery bill has gone up, but that comes with more fresh produce in our diets and sustainable weight loss. Well worth the few dollars more a month.

Four Hour Body

I have never gone on a diet. In the past I have changed what and how much I eat to lose weight. It has worked to some degree, but without rules I have always slipped. Making excuses to eat too many of the things I know will keep me round. Exercise has always been sporadic for me. Starting and stopping in fits with bike riding filling the gaps.

Three weeks ago I listened to the Nerdist podcast with Tim Ferriss. I'd never heard of him before, but he was an interesting enough guy on his own and wasn't shilling anything out right. He made a name for himself as an angel investor and eventually wrote the Four Hour Workweek in 2007.  The follow up to his first book was The Four Hour Body. Which briefly became the topic of conversation on the podcast.

It ended up being compelling enough to try. So I bought the book and hit the grocery store for what I have so far deemed an experiment. Crystal decided to join me in our quest for science and so far so good. After two weeks of "slow carb" diet and no exercise we are down 10 and 13 lbs. respectively. Better than that we are down 2% and 3% body fat, again respectively. The experiment is working so far. Our cravings are gone and we plan to introduce a bit of exercise in the coming weeks.

I don't plan to drone on about this, but there may be a few more post on the topic in the coming months. Results and the like.