Weight training

Back in 2005 when I decided to join the gym and dedicate myself to becoming fit, I started out doing what most people do when they join the gym, I started lifting weights. Perhaps it was because I was approaching 40 that I knew I needed a strategy. Or the fact that my job no longer consisted of me "swinging a hammer", which kept me in much better shape then my lifestyle choices would have otherwise. I knew that I needed to be active to prevent myself from getting "out of shape" and feeling the age I was about to become. So, I joined the gym. I had belonged to a gym for years. I payed a lot of money the first 2 years and then was able to keep the membership up for some ridiculously low price, like $25 per year. But, I would go maybe once or twice every two years or so and that was it. It never stuck. I vowed that this time would be different. 

looking back, I guess there were a few reasons why I was able to start a routine that eventually turned into a lifestyle that I would never want to abandon. It wasn't that I had more will power. I believe that will power is rarely what's missing, I looked at the endeavor with intrigue. I wanted to learn about fitness and learn the science behind it. I bought a book and made clear goals. I had my workouts and I followed them. It became about that, not getting muscles or really being fit. Of course that was a great benefit from it and it's what started it, but you really have to enjoy it for it to become a lifestyle. It did enjoy it and it made me feel really good. 

I worked out lifting weights for about a year, when my daughter Brittany asked me if I would be interested in doing a 5k race. I had never been a runner and in fact HATED running my entire life. I had major leg surgery when I was 8 years old and aside from the pain from that, I was always told (and it's true) that I run funny. But, one of the things that I was doing as part of my workouts, was run/walking on the treadmill. I had gotten up to about 15 minutes straight by this time, so the thought of a 5k (once I figured out how far that was) didn't seem THAT out of the question. So, I told Brittany that I would do it with her. 

I remember the first time running went from something I dreaded to something I loved and WANTED to do. I had just finished 2 miles or so on the treadmill. I was sitting on one of those fitness balls and I was dripping sweat and my body felt so relaxed, like I had just gotten out of a jacuzzi. I've always had back problems and used to pop Tylenol like it was candy, just to get relief and to feel like I was feeling right then. I felt amazing and I wanted to ALWAYS feel like that. And it was natural. 

The rest, as they say, is history. I fell in love with running and have done a ton of races, did some triathlons, including Ironman, ran across America etc... But it didn't come without a little pain. I went through all the usual growing pains that come from your body adapting to the new stresses that come from running. Shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, etc... but I worked through them and look forward to (hopefully) running until the day I die. 

But wait! There's just one problem with all of this. That day that I fell in love with running? Just like a teenager falling in love, I dumped everything else in favor of it! Sure, I spent a little time with the weights for a few months. throwing it a bone, doing just enough so I felt like I was doing something. But as my races got longer and my running training schedule got more intense, the less I cared about any type of strength training. Who needed it when running made me feel so good? When I started doing triathlons, at least I was getting more of a balanced workout because of the swimming, but still, when it came time to strength train, I would gloss over it. I just didn't want to train with weights. I hated IT like I used to hate running. 

Too much of a good thing is not good and even though I have tried to convince myself that running is all I need, I know better. I have not been overall fit and am in dire need of strength training. So, I have taken these last 2 weeks that I have been recovering from the marathon to get reacquainted and fall back in love with WEIGHT TRAINING! 

And, I am happy to report, that with a few helpful tools, it is working and we are rekindling our relationship :) 

One of the things that has been really helpful is to have a program to follow. I have tried several apps to help me with this in this past and didn't really like any of them. This time, on Brittany's recommendation, I purchased iPersonalTrainer for the iPhone. It's an amazing app and it's only .99 cents. I look forward to training my 5 days a week and I can really feel the effects of the workouts. Also, they built a new gym near my studio in Burbank and it is a real pleasure to work out there. 

I guess what has become obvious to me (again), is what I preach to everyone else. I needed to make weight training fun for me again. It wasn't that I was lacking will power, it was that I didn't give it enough attention and find ways to make it interesting so I would WANT to do it. Now, hopefully I have done that enough that it will stick and it will be something I'll never toss aside in favor of a "new love". I think I have room in my life for both and I'll be better for it. 

Paul

Some thoughts on training

I've been analyzing my finish time in Sunday's marathon and (for once), trying to nail down what I did RIGHT! I've already talked about the fact that I followed Hal Gigdon's training program more carefully and did ALMOST all my speed work and didn't simply run slower to avoid injury. However, there was something else that was different this time around. I didn't overtrain! I did follow Hal Higdon's advanced marathon training plan, but I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the plan I was following lacked an 8-10 mile run midweek, like the plan I had followed before had. There were no mid week runs over 5 miles.  I'm certainly ok with doing higher mileage, but I'm thinking that this allowed me to do my speed work more effectively. I also refrained from doing a bunch of extra cycling. I did weight train, but I really did try and save my energy and focus for my MAIN goal which was a sub 4 marathon. 

Now, armed with this feedback, I am looking forward to my next goal and FOCUSING on achieving it. One thing I will say though, my legs are still very sore and I have only run one mile since the race. The lower inside of my right shin STILL hurts, so,  I do see the potential for injury.  I will have to keep that in mind as I shoot for faster times. In any event, I am excited! 

I think I will be doing The OC half Marathon on May 6th, where I would like to do around 1:45. My PR is 1:48:17. I think that is doable, given my splits in the full where I was definitely holding back because it was a full marathon. The half is and has always been my favorite distance so I am looking forward to really nailing it. My Niece Stephanie and her Husband Jake will be doing the 5k as their first race (which I am very excited about, and hope to be the first of many for them) along with Brittany doing the half. Then, most likely the Long Beach Marathon on October 7th, where I will try and take everything I learned from Surf City and try and better my time. These three races make up the Beach City Challenge and earns you a cool medal, so why not? I love these races anyway! Brittany has committed to all three and I am looking very forward to doing them with her. It is great to be excited about doing races agin. I realize how much I really miss it! 

I am also registered for the Malibu Creek 50k on March 3rd. When I registered, I had thought I would be working until mid March, then have a little time off. The plan was to do my tour (whether running or cycling) from Blaine, Washington to San Diego, CA as soon as I was done with this job. If I was to run it, I figured it would take about two months. I have been also giving serious consideration to cycling it and making it more of a laid back trip where I could have the flexibility to see all the great breweries along that route and see more things and meet more people along the way. I got a call a couple weeks back and got offered to shoot Motocross starting in May, with a couple shoots at the end of April. I shot Supercross for three seasons and love the gig, the people and of course the travel, so I took it. This changes my plans a little for a Canada to Mexico trip. Hmm... what to do? I could fit a cycling trip into that window, but I would have to back out of the 50k since I would need to leave in a couple of weeks. I will be done with the job I am working on, BUT, I started thinking about my training for the upcoming races. Yes, I would be riding the whole time, but it is certainly not the same thing. I don't want to just run these races, I want to better my times and really focus. I've also been getting more dedicated to strength training and muscle building and riding a bike from brewery to brewery WILL be a bit of a setback in that area as well. SO... I have a lot to think about. Right now, it is just trying to prioritize and decide what appeals to me the most. I would also be doing the ride (running it does seem out of the question at this point, given the time constraint) in the rainiest season. I haven't decided yet, I will just keep an open mind and let circumstances point me in the right direction. Either way, I have great things to look forward to and that in itself is a nice change.

Paul

Finally.... A SUB 4 MARATHON!!!!

Boy am I happy to finally be able to write this post. I finished the Surf City Marathon in 3:56:16!!

I went into the race hoping to finish in under 4 hours, but told myself that I would be happy just to PR. Well, I did both and PR'd by over 10 minutes. I couldn't have been happier.

The wonderful weekend started off on Friday, when my race buddy (and daughter) Brittany and I went to the expo. We love Expos and spent over 3 hours going to every booth, checking out the merchandise and trying all the samples. Unfortunately, our favorite vendor, Dirty Red Gear, wasn't there so I wasn't able to buy Brittany anything from her, but we did see some other cool stuff like this.

Which is something I say, but wouldn't wear. And, this

Which is something we both say, in fact it was printed on Brittany's bib for the race. She didn't end up getting any clothes but we did get new race belts from Hippie Runner and they worked great. They were lightweight and didn't bounce during the race. Yeah, we really do love the expos!

Leaving the expo, we had someone take a picture of us at the entrance and as we were going back to my truck, I looked into my window and caught this.

The inside of my truck was dark but the reflection in the side view mirror was glowing. It was phenomenal! Even better than what I captured, as when I finally got the door open and lined up the shot, the sun had set a little more and it was glowing a little less intense than it was a minute earlier. Nevertheless, it was a magical moment and a precursor of the weekend to come.

My start time for the full was at 6:30 and Brittany's was 8:10 for the half. With almost a full 2 hours between our start times, I wasn't sure if Brittany wanted to go that early with me, but she said that she wouldn't want to sleep in on race morning anyway, so my Dad was kind enough to drive us both down to the race to avoid parking issues and we got to enjoy a perfect morning together.

We got there so early, it was dark and there was hardly anyone there yet.

A few minutes before the start.

I was very nervous for the race. I trained right on my paces and managed to stay injury free, so I put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve my goal. In the past, I know now, that I had trained too slow. I had had injuries and started doing low heart rate training. Well, too much of that makes you... slow! So, I really stuck to my prescribed paces for a 4 hour marathon and this time would have no excuses.

I also decided that instead of going out at a 9:09 pace and trying to maintain that throughout the race (putting a lot of pressure on myself in those last 5 or 6 miles to not slow down) I would do what I know is not recommended and go out a little faster and bank a little time. I was pretty confident I could do this since I did my last 22 mile run at 9:11 pace and that was a training run and felt fine at the end.


Here are my splits with heart rate.

Mile 1 8:41 167
Mile 2 8:25 179
Mile 3 8:25 179
Mile 4 8:38 181
Mile 5 8:19 179
Mile 6    8:25 180
Mile 7    8:16 183
Mile 8 8:21 182
Mile 9 8:35 180
Mile 10 8:10 178
Mile 11 8:27 177
Mile 12 8:33 177
Mile 13 8:23 178
Mile 14 8:17 180
Mile 15 8:33 181
Mile 16 8:30 180
Mile 17 9:03 178
Mile 18 9:30 175
Mile 19 9:25 174
Mile 20 9:56 173
Mile 21 9:49 174
Mile 22 9:23 175
Mile 23 10:10 173
Mile 24 10:33 173
Mile 25 10:31 174
Mile 26 10:13 175
Finish 9:27 179

My overall average heart rate was 177, compared to previous marathons, this was 2-3 bpm lower, so I definitely don't feel like I went out too fast. I slowed at the end mainly due to fatigue in my legs, not overall fatigue and when I finished, I felt great everywhere except my legs. I felt much better than I had in any prior marathon. I had figured that if I could get to mile 20 by about 2:50 minutes, I would have an hour and ten minutes to do the final 6.2 miles. I got to the 20 mile mark at 2:53 and felt comfortable with that. I kept doing math in my head and knew what pace I had to maintain to come in under 4 hours. My legs were feeling heavy and I walked the water stations the last few miles and did a gel and some shot bloks that were provided by the race. By 3:30 I only had 2 1/2 miles left and was pretty sure I was going to make it. I did get a slight cramp in my left calf that luckily didn't turn into a full cramp, then about 5 minutes later, got one in my right calf. I thought, that might be the only thing that might actually stop me from my goal. Luckily it didn't. 

Running all of those "marathons" across the country really helped me mentally in the race. It has erased the stigma of 26.2 miles in my head. Yes, there are all the physical things that happen when running 26.2 at this faster pace, but I have run more miles so many times that I could tell myself that it was "no big deal". It worked enough to keep me going and not slow too badly. I only had one pace group pass me and that was the 3:55 pace group. I have had pace groups pass me in past races and it is so demoralizing. Watching your dream go past you literally sucks! But with a 1/2 mile left to go at 3 hours and 50 minutes, I was sure the 4:00 pace group wouldn't pass me this time. It was the best half mile of my life. I enjoyed knowing that I was finally going to break 4 hours and let myself smile and enjoy the crowd. I opted to not listen to any music this race as well. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it, but I sure did not miss it. I felt more present and was able to be in my head more, mostly in a good way. 

My Father came out and cheered us on at the finish. Brittany finished the half in 2:28:33 and her goal was 2:30. Mission accomplished for her as well! We met up with my Dad and went to the beer garden and met some friends, then, met a coworker of Brittany's who organizes the cycling volunteers and had a great conversation with them over some Stone IPA. Wow! what an epic day!

Now that I have finally ran a sub 4 marathon, I need to come up with another goal. I would need to shave 26 minutes off of that time to qualify for Boston. Somehow, that seems a little less out of reach now!

Paul