I put off running in the afternoon in order to practice clarinet for 2 hours. Right now, clarinet is more important than running (although both are activities that I "have" to get done everyday). It was a good decision to do so, because then I still could run in the evening. I can't practice after 9 pm or so because my parents get ready for bed and all that (yes, I am temporarily living with my parents...good times...just like the founder of Clif bar...what's his name?).
When it was time to go running, I really wasn't in the mood. "Damn," I thought. "I should have gone earlier..."
But, it turned out to be a pretty nice run. I expected it to be a death march of 15 miles, due to the fact that I had to run alone, around Aurora, which is basically a square mile block. I run the outskirts so I can stay on gravel and grass.
Around mile 12 the lower inner quad started hurting a bit. The feet started to hurt a bit too, which is strange, because at no point during yesterday's 25 miler was there any foot discomfort.
The total time, including a stop for water and half of a granola bar, an urination while walking sideways, and getting crap like gravel and leaves out of my shoes, was about 2:08. I was satisfied with this time. It is probably just around 8:30...a decent pace. I felt very relaxed and could see a lot of stars...I saw this cluster that I used to know what it was called, and got a glimpse of Orion's Belt low in the eastern sky.
The iPod is what got me through, I believe. I listened to these pieces:
Holst: "The Planets"
Stravinsky: "Petrouchka"
Stravinsky: "Le Chant du Rossignol"
Stravinsky: "Quatre Etudes"
Beethoven: "Piano Sonata 31"
What do you listen to while you run?
•••••
This past week was a good week for training. I got in some good long runs, an awesome PFT, and some recovery.
55 total miles
1318 abs
1028 push
222 pull
105 dips
440 haulers
140 neck
As for the vegetarian thing, I think it would be a good idea to eat mostly plant things. Meat is good twice a week or so, but only chicken, fish, and the occasional lamb. Beef...I'm not too sure that that is for dinner, after learning how the kill them at the packaging plants: spikes are driven through their skulls. Now, if it were a snake beaten senseless against a rock, Bear Grylls style, then I'm all for it. Let's go catch us an anaconda!
Hope you had excellent weeks as well! Run run run run run.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Saturday, Week 3.....The Long Run
Today was an incredible long run. It was a long run of 25 miles. I wore my watch for the first half of the run, just to see what kind of pace I was doing. The pace was a little slower than planned, but oh well. It took a little under 4 hours, probably like 3:52. When I started at 8 am it was 35 and I was in shorts, so maybe that caused the legs to move slowly for the first half hour or so...on the second half of the run, it had warmed up to the high 40s, so I ripped off the shirt and enjoyed the sun.
I took a couple walking breaks, which helped a lot, I think, with keeping the run non-taxing. I did not want to be sore tomorrow. My hip flexors got a bit sore after mile 18, but maybe that is because of the 660 abs yesterday. Regardless, the soreness was good, because it made me make an effort to not focus on the pain and just enjoy the run...
Which I did. It was an AWESOME run: nice weather, sunny, very little wind. I stayed at Lisa's in Kearney, so the new terrain was good to assuage the boredom. Her dad lives right on the outskirts of town, so if you run north for a mile you hit gravel roads.
It was very quiet, as there was no wind to carry sounds of cars and stuff like that. I passed this cow lot called "Moo Cow Lot," which I thought was a good name for a place where they lot the cows. For the entire duration of the first half, I listened to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" (a strange piece to listen to first thing in the morning). Before starting the second half, my iPod decided to not have enough battery, so I left it and just listened to the sounds of nature. Carried a water bottle and half of a power bar the second time out.
I sang some songs to keep me occupied, but only 30 seconds or so at a time so I wouldn't keel over from lack of oxygen. Saw a jackrabbit, too, I think. It must have been, because it's ears where incredibly large and it sprinted like a mofo when it saw me coming. Also saw some type of hawk. I made "caw" sounds at it. There were a bunch of cows, too. I made "moo" sounds at them.
Took a nice cold soak afterwards. It probably lasted 15 minutes, or maybe a bit more. I am not sure. I sort of fell asleep during it.
Now, it is evening, and my legs feel pretty good. Ate a lot of cereal and some chips and a gyro. It was the first meat I have had since last Sunday...and it was nothing spectacular. Maybe the meat just wasn't as good as they used to make it, or maybe I am losing my desire to eat meat.
Hope that your runs and other activities went great today!
I took a couple walking breaks, which helped a lot, I think, with keeping the run non-taxing. I did not want to be sore tomorrow. My hip flexors got a bit sore after mile 18, but maybe that is because of the 660 abs yesterday. Regardless, the soreness was good, because it made me make an effort to not focus on the pain and just enjoy the run...
Which I did. It was an AWESOME run: nice weather, sunny, very little wind. I stayed at Lisa's in Kearney, so the new terrain was good to assuage the boredom. Her dad lives right on the outskirts of town, so if you run north for a mile you hit gravel roads.
It was very quiet, as there was no wind to carry sounds of cars and stuff like that. I passed this cow lot called "Moo Cow Lot," which I thought was a good name for a place where they lot the cows. For the entire duration of the first half, I listened to Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" (a strange piece to listen to first thing in the morning). Before starting the second half, my iPod decided to not have enough battery, so I left it and just listened to the sounds of nature. Carried a water bottle and half of a power bar the second time out.
I sang some songs to keep me occupied, but only 30 seconds or so at a time so I wouldn't keel over from lack of oxygen. Saw a jackrabbit, too, I think. It must have been, because it's ears where incredibly large and it sprinted like a mofo when it saw me coming. Also saw some type of hawk. I made "caw" sounds at it. There were a bunch of cows, too. I made "moo" sounds at them.
Took a nice cold soak afterwards. It probably lasted 15 minutes, or maybe a bit more. I am not sure. I sort of fell asleep during it.
Now, it is evening, and my legs feel pretty good. Ate a lot of cereal and some chips and a gyro. It was the first meat I have had since last Sunday...and it was nothing spectacular. Maybe the meat just wasn't as good as they used to make it, or maybe I am losing my desire to eat meat.
Hope that your runs and other activities went great today!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday, Week 3.....Ready
Today was another off from running so I can get ready to run 25 tomorrow. Hooray! This will be the first LONG RUN of training...from now on it goes up by 5 each week.
Did 22 supersets this morning, for a total of 660 abs and 660 pushups. Later in the day I did a mow workout, in which I threw in some pullups while I was mowing. Usually I would take off the bag, run quickly and dump the grass and leaves under the bushes, run over to the tree, jump up and knock out 10 pullups, then run back to the mower and continue. Was going to do more than 2 sets of 10 each, but decided not too...don't want to be sore for tomorrow.
Abs: 660
Push: 660
Pull: 100
Very anxious to see how the long run goes since I have not been eating meat since Monday or Sunday...maybe it will go completely awesome...who knows? I will let you know tomorrow...
Run, run, bitches!
Did 22 supersets this morning, for a total of 660 abs and 660 pushups. Later in the day I did a mow workout, in which I threw in some pullups while I was mowing. Usually I would take off the bag, run quickly and dump the grass and leaves under the bushes, run over to the tree, jump up and knock out 10 pullups, then run back to the mower and continue. Was going to do more than 2 sets of 10 each, but decided not too...don't want to be sore for tomorrow.
Abs: 660
Push: 660
Pull: 100
Very anxious to see how the long run goes since I have not been eating meat since Monday or Sunday...maybe it will go completely awesome...who knows? I will let you know tomorrow...
Run, run, bitches!
Thursday, Week 3...Rest & Such
I took a day of rest today. I took it a little too far, and did absolutely nothing...well, not really, I guess...I started writing again...Tristan and I are going to write some profane collection of stories or a novel type thing, so I wrote for about an hour or so.
I also realized that I haven't exactly been following the plan I made for the 100 mile training. Evidently, I should be doing 6 miles instead of 5 on the easy days. Oh well. A couple miles less during the second and third weeks won't cause failure or anything.
I also realized that I haven't exactly been following the plan I made for the 100 mile training. Evidently, I should be doing 6 miles instead of 5 on the easy days. Oh well. A couple miles less during the second and third weeks won't cause failure or anything.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday, Week 3.....Depressing Pile & Mountain Lion.
Feezy today. Decided to run to the old farm house, where I used to live when I was about one years of age. The house was no longer there. What was there was a bunch of dead pine trees, parts of the house, and the dilapidated silo all shoved into a heaping pile. It was depressing.
Other than that, the run was okay. There was a nice, gradual hill. It probably took two minutes to run up it. The sun was really nice and felt good on my naked body. Wait...my shirtless body. Although, I did want to run naked. I haven't done that for a while now.
On the way back I was pretty sure that a mountain lion was stalking me through the cornfield. I could hear it about fifteen yards in, running along side me. The cunning thing was probably waiting until we got close to a group of trees so it could capture me and take me to its young.
Then I realized that it was just the wind blowing through the dry corn.
•••••
Ate a quesadilla and made some more of that Irish dish for lunch today. The quesadilla was mmm mmm good, and I was pretty sure that my cat Nacho was asking me in her strange meows if I was eating Campbell's.
Practiced the clarinet a lot today. 2.5 hours so far. I am planning on another hour tonight.
I plan to enjoy some Hennessy also. It quenches the thirst. It is a thirst quencher.
•••••
Now it is later. I just finished practicing for the third time today. Total time today was 3.5 hours! That's what I need to do! Really worked the Poulenc this evening...diminished returns on Rossini, sort of. It went better this afternoon. Tonguing is going really well...had some pretty sweet stacatto runs at 138 bpm.
My mom and I had drinks (she had some kind of Czech beer, I had some Hennessy) and chocolate after a supper of salad, home-made "garden burgers," and delicious green beans. I will try to get the recipe written down for you sometime...they are definately good.
•••••
I decided to take a rest day from PT. I mean, I have been doing at least 3 workouts a week for the past month or so...my plan from now is to do three weeks of regular, and then on the fourth, do a max out on Monday, rest on Wednesday, and supersets Friday. This should keep me fresh and ready for action.
Other than that, the run was okay. There was a nice, gradual hill. It probably took two minutes to run up it. The sun was really nice and felt good on my naked body. Wait...my shirtless body. Although, I did want to run naked. I haven't done that for a while now.
On the way back I was pretty sure that a mountain lion was stalking me through the cornfield. I could hear it about fifteen yards in, running along side me. The cunning thing was probably waiting until we got close to a group of trees so it could capture me and take me to its young.
Then I realized that it was just the wind blowing through the dry corn.
•••••
Ate a quesadilla and made some more of that Irish dish for lunch today. The quesadilla was mmm mmm good, and I was pretty sure that my cat Nacho was asking me in her strange meows if I was eating Campbell's.
Practiced the clarinet a lot today. 2.5 hours so far. I am planning on another hour tonight.
I plan to enjoy some Hennessy also. It quenches the thirst. It is a thirst quencher.
•••••
Now it is later. I just finished practicing for the third time today. Total time today was 3.5 hours! That's what I need to do! Really worked the Poulenc this evening...diminished returns on Rossini, sort of. It went better this afternoon. Tonguing is going really well...had some pretty sweet stacatto runs at 138 bpm.
My mom and I had drinks (she had some kind of Czech beer, I had some Hennessy) and chocolate after a supper of salad, home-made "garden burgers," and delicious green beans. I will try to get the recipe written down for you sometime...they are definately good.
•••••
I decided to take a rest day from PT. I mean, I have been doing at least 3 workouts a week for the past month or so...my plan from now is to do three weeks of regular, and then on the fourth, do a max out on Monday, rest on Wednesday, and supersets Friday. This should keep me fresh and ready for action.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tuesday, Week 3.....Basset Hound & Snake
Today turned out to be a good run. I didn't really want to go, but then drank coffee and got excited.
My handsies were cold, so I had to draw them into the shirt.
On the way back, a crazy pack of dogs started barking and running after me. Fortunately, one was a basset hound, and it's stubby legs couldn't keep up with my swift pace. The other two dogs were little mutt things, little whippet mixed with cat looking things. One got too close, and I "accidently" clipped its chin with my foot. Oops.
Bitches.
About three fourths of a mile later, there was this innocent little snake sprawled out in the middle of the road. I didn't want it to be run over by any trucks or combines, so I kicked gravel at it to try to get it to move off the road. Fortunately, it was scared of me and it ran off into the ditch. I have a soft heart. I don't want things to die.
I made some pizza today. I used these things:
1. Home-made crust
2. Cheese
3. Tomatoes
4. Garlic
5. Onion
6. Olives
7. Peas
Yes, you are like what place in hell do peas have on pizza? Well, they are good...I found a recipe in the vegetarian cookbook that used those little green things.
If you want to make home-made pizza, try using this crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup water
Salt
Italian Seasoning
Oil
Add that stuff together...add A LITTLE more oil if you need to. Roll the ball of dough out with a rolling pin...now put some crap on it and put it in the oven. Voila. There it is. That yummy looking thing. It is pizza. You just made it.
My handsies were cold, so I had to draw them into the shirt.
On the way back, a crazy pack of dogs started barking and running after me. Fortunately, one was a basset hound, and it's stubby legs couldn't keep up with my swift pace. The other two dogs were little mutt things, little whippet mixed with cat looking things. One got too close, and I "accidently" clipped its chin with my foot. Oops.
Bitches.
About three fourths of a mile later, there was this innocent little snake sprawled out in the middle of the road. I didn't want it to be run over by any trucks or combines, so I kicked gravel at it to try to get it to move off the road. Fortunately, it was scared of me and it ran off into the ditch. I have a soft heart. I don't want things to die.
I made some pizza today. I used these things:
1. Home-made crust
2. Cheese
3. Tomatoes
4. Garlic
5. Onion
6. Olives
7. Peas
Yes, you are like what place in hell do peas have on pizza? Well, they are good...I found a recipe in the vegetarian cookbook that used those little green things.
If you want to make home-made pizza, try using this crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup water
Salt
Italian Seasoning
Oil
Add that stuff together...add A LITTLE more oil if you need to. Roll the ball of dough out with a rolling pin...now put some crap on it and put it in the oven. Voila. There it is. That yummy looking thing. It is pizza. You just made it.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, Week 3.....PFT Spectacular
Today I did a PFT, minus the timed run. I did not plan on doing one, but I felt really motivated or something in the afternoon and decided that I needed to see how much improvement I have made since last time I tested. Here is how I did last year compared today:
July 10, 2007:
Pushups: 69
Situps: 84
Pullups: 8
October 27, 2008:
Pushups: 108
Situps: 98
Pullups: 22
39 more pushups = (57 % more)
14 more situps = (17 % more)
14 more pullups = (175 % more)
I am very surprised how much the scores went up in the past 15 months! Here is how much I improved:
Pushups: 2.6 a month, 0.65 a week
Situps: 0.93 a month, 0.25 a week
Pullups: 0.93 a month, 0.25 a week
As you can see, I improved very slowly...but it added up...so DON'T GET DISCOURAGED WITH YOUR GOALS! Over time you will improve greatly if you just keep at it...consider my pullups: I didn't even improve by ONE a month, but over a 15 month period I was able to build the strength to do 14 more!
So today was a pretty good day for PT. I am very satisfied and glad that I have somehow found motivation to keep doing it even though my main focus is running. Thanks to Anton for getting me hooked!
During the PFT, the pushups felt pretty good until the last five seconds, and then my arms pretty much collapsed on what would have been 109. Situps felt okay until about 70, then it was a struggle to keep the pace going. Pullups felt hard, but did better than I thought I would. Next time I will shoot for 110, 105, 24...situps will probably be the hardest.
Other stuff:
30-25-20-15-10-5 dips = 105
2 x 85 arm haulers = 170
2 x 30 all abs = 540
2 x 35 neck = 70
2 x all pullups = 100 (1 minute between each, 10 minute break between sets)
Pullups were sort of hard. In the last two sets I had to drop down so my arms would actually have strength to pull me up. Nice...that's they way it should be...pain and exhaustion...bring it.
Totals for today:
Ab = 658
Pushups = 368
Pullup = 122
Dips = 105
Arm Hauler = 170
Neck = 70
•••••
Later on I went feezy (five easy)...it was sort of cold, and I had to put my hands in my shirt. I wasn't about to wear gloves because only pansies do that (just kidding...it wasn't cold enough for a hat, so I figured it wasn't cold enough for gloves). During the run I threw in 50 pushups at each mile...twice I was able to finish all 50 without taking a break. That is good news. Good stuff, that's what it is. Plus, to make things even better, my left hip didn't bother me at all! The large amounts of stretching last night and the pre-run warming of the hip definately helped...I stretched a lot after the run, also...I need to make sure to stretch regularly...maybe get back into doing some yoga...that's good for the body AND the mind. It makes things more relaxed and seems to make the day slow down...
Today I decided that maybe I will try to eat no meat this week to see how it affects me. Ben is a stud, and he doesn't eat meat (I don't think). It's not like I am going to go vegetarian or anything, but I just want to see if a vegetarian diet would be more kind to the body. So for lunch I made some kind of Irish dish made from cabbage, potato, onion, garlic, and milk. It was pretty filling, even though I didn't eat that much. For supper my mom and I made udon noodles, and made a peanut butter sauce for it. Here are the recipes:
Irish Dish
1. Boil some potatoes to make them softish.
2. Sautee equal amount of cabbage in a large skillet with olive oil.
3. Add some onion and garlic to the cabbage.
4. Mash the potatoes, but not too much. Keep some chunks in there.
5. Add the potatoes to the cabbage and other stuff.
6. Turn the burner up to Medium High.
7. Put some milk in there.
8. Add some spices.
9. Let it sit there and get all brown and crispy on the bottom.
10. Eat.
Noodles and Peanut Butter Sauce
1. Cut up some veggies and throw them in a skillet with some oil.
2. Boil some noodles. Udon noodles are really good, so maybe get some of these.
3. Put a glob of peanut butter in a small bowl.
4. Throw some hoi son sauce in there. Use some soy sauce and honey if you don't have hoi son.
5. Mince some garlic and ginger and put it with the peanut butter and hoi son and mix it up.
6. Add a little water to make the sauce more saucier and liquidy.
7. Drain noodles and throw them in the veggies.
8. Throw the sauce with the noodles and veggies.
9. Mix it all up.
10. Eat.
I hope you like these recipes. There are both good sources of carbohydrates, and the noodle dish has good protein in there. Eat it sometime. I guarantee you will like them!
July 10, 2007:
Pushups: 69
Situps: 84
Pullups: 8
October 27, 2008:
Pushups: 108
Situps: 98
Pullups: 22
39 more pushups = (57 % more)
14 more situps = (17 % more)
14 more pullups = (175 % more)
I am very surprised how much the scores went up in the past 15 months! Here is how much I improved:
Pushups: 2.6 a month, 0.65 a week
Situps: 0.93 a month, 0.25 a week
Pullups: 0.93 a month, 0.25 a week
As you can see, I improved very slowly...but it added up...so DON'T GET DISCOURAGED WITH YOUR GOALS! Over time you will improve greatly if you just keep at it...consider my pullups: I didn't even improve by ONE a month, but over a 15 month period I was able to build the strength to do 14 more!
So today was a pretty good day for PT. I am very satisfied and glad that I have somehow found motivation to keep doing it even though my main focus is running. Thanks to Anton for getting me hooked!
During the PFT, the pushups felt pretty good until the last five seconds, and then my arms pretty much collapsed on what would have been 109. Situps felt okay until about 70, then it was a struggle to keep the pace going. Pullups felt hard, but did better than I thought I would. Next time I will shoot for 110, 105, 24...situps will probably be the hardest.
Other stuff:
30-25-20-15-10-5 dips = 105
2 x 85 arm haulers = 170
2 x 30 all abs = 540
2 x 35 neck = 70
2 x all pullups = 100 (1 minute between each, 10 minute break between sets)
Pullups were sort of hard. In the last two sets I had to drop down so my arms would actually have strength to pull me up. Nice...that's they way it should be...pain and exhaustion...bring it.
Totals for today:
Ab = 658
Pushups = 368
Pullup = 122
Dips = 105
Arm Hauler = 170
Neck = 70
•••••
Later on I went feezy (five easy)...it was sort of cold, and I had to put my hands in my shirt. I wasn't about to wear gloves because only pansies do that (just kidding...it wasn't cold enough for a hat, so I figured it wasn't cold enough for gloves). During the run I threw in 50 pushups at each mile...twice I was able to finish all 50 without taking a break. That is good news. Good stuff, that's what it is. Plus, to make things even better, my left hip didn't bother me at all! The large amounts of stretching last night and the pre-run warming of the hip definately helped...I stretched a lot after the run, also...I need to make sure to stretch regularly...maybe get back into doing some yoga...that's good for the body AND the mind. It makes things more relaxed and seems to make the day slow down...
Today I decided that maybe I will try to eat no meat this week to see how it affects me. Ben is a stud, and he doesn't eat meat (I don't think). It's not like I am going to go vegetarian or anything, but I just want to see if a vegetarian diet would be more kind to the body. So for lunch I made some kind of Irish dish made from cabbage, potato, onion, garlic, and milk. It was pretty filling, even though I didn't eat that much. For supper my mom and I made udon noodles, and made a peanut butter sauce for it. Here are the recipes:
Irish Dish
1. Boil some potatoes to make them softish.
2. Sautee equal amount of cabbage in a large skillet with olive oil.
3. Add some onion and garlic to the cabbage.
4. Mash the potatoes, but not too much. Keep some chunks in there.
5. Add the potatoes to the cabbage and other stuff.
6. Turn the burner up to Medium High.
7. Put some milk in there.
8. Add some spices.
9. Let it sit there and get all brown and crispy on the bottom.
10. Eat.
Noodles and Peanut Butter Sauce
1. Cut up some veggies and throw them in a skillet with some oil.
2. Boil some noodles. Udon noodles are really good, so maybe get some of these.
3. Put a glob of peanut butter in a small bowl.
4. Throw some hoi son sauce in there. Use some soy sauce and honey if you don't have hoi son.
5. Mince some garlic and ginger and put it with the peanut butter and hoi son and mix it up.
6. Add a little water to make the sauce more saucier and liquidy.
7. Drain noodles and throw them in the veggies.
8. Throw the sauce with the noodles and veggies.
9. Mix it all up.
10. Eat.
I hope you like these recipes. There are both good sources of carbohydrates, and the noodle dish has good protein in there. Eat it sometime. I guarantee you will like them!
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