Macro Blogging

With all of this micro blogging, it is getting harder and harder to find time to do long form posts. I do believe, however, that blogging in long form definitely has its place and isn't going anywhere. I just wish I didn't procrastinate as much and sat down to update this blog more often. But, after updating my facebook page, twitter and dailymile page, I am pretty much "updated out" and struggle to think of anything I haven't already said in a more "stream of conscience" way. But, like I said, long form blogging is different and in this case, gives me a much better way of talking "in long form," which if you are reading this or know me, you already know I like to do. So, here's an update on what's been going on.

Chris and I have 2 episodes in the can for the "Run For Liberty"

Chris is busy cutting episode 3, which will focus on my switch to the Vibram Five Fingers and how that has affected my training for the Long Beach Marathon. The first couple of episodes have been a sort of introduction to me and the run. I am very excited to get more specific about different aspects of what we will be doing as we travel across the country. I am anxious for everyone to meet Chris and hear his story and why he wants to take this journey. We are talking about lots of different things we will be filming and highlighting as we venture across the country. It is looking like we will be roughly following Route 66 to Chicago, then to New York via Washington D.C. In a somewhat new development, we'll be touring as many Craft Breweries, or "microbreweries" as we can along the way. A true slice of Americana. Also, please head over to the map on the website and add yourself, as we are still planning the route and we are more than willing to detour a bit for a good tweetup or run with some friends.

As I said before, when I first told you all about this crazy plan, this is a journey and I can only see the first few feet of the road that lies ahead. As I walk down the road, more presents itself and it is this part that is truly fascinating. The trip is taking turns that I never anticipated and we are still at the beginning. Perhaps the best part is, the idea for this run started in, quite frankly, a VERY negative place. But, as time goes on, those negative feelings and reasons for the run are slowly evaporating and what drives me forward is positive. Although I am running for Liberty, my own and the actual Statue itself, in many ways I have already found it.

Thanks again for following me and if you want more updates than the one a month like I seem to only manage now.... well, you know where to find me!

Do I ever shut up?

This morning Chris and I did our first radio interview about the Run For Liberty. I had commented to Chris that I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to say. Well, in typical fashion, all Cindy had to do was ask me a question and I had no problem filling an entire hour with my blabbering. Chris made lots of comments after we were done, about his participation (or lack of participation) in the conversation. He's a funny guy! Next time, I'm gonna shut up and let him do more of the talking. We shot it as well, since we phoned in the interview from my studio.

It was great talking to Cindy Rakowitz about the run. She is a wizard at Public Realations and we had a great conversation about new social media and how things like Twitter and facebook will play a part in our adventure across the country. Cool stuff! We also touched on how micro blogging such as Twitter, makes long form blogging seem like more of a chore. I certainly does take more effort to sit down and post to a blog, as opposed spitting out quick bursts of thought on Twitter. This is clearly evidenced by my lack of posts here. Maybe it is because, anything that I write here, seems more permanent and "on record" Hmmm.... Long form blogs are still great for posting pictures and links and forming larger ideas. Besides, sometimes it's just too hard to say what you wanna say in 140 or less.

You can download the interview as an mp3 or listen in iTunes. You might as well listen, instead of me rehashing it here. Hell, I had a whole hour to talk about it, and believe me, no one else got a word in edgewise.

Paul

Vibram Five Fingers

I finally broke down and purchased the Vibram Five Fingers. I have been eying these babies for a long time. As most of you know, my daughter Brittany is a barefoot runner, and I have ran barefoot on occasion. But, since I have done the majority of my training on the treadmill at a local gym, and they don't allow bare feet on the gym floor, I have had to put off releasing my feet from the shackles of modern footwear.

Yesterday, Brittany and I went down to Sport's Chalet and I snagged the last pair of Vibram Five Finger "Classics" in Black!!! YES! I had thought that I wanted the KSO (stands for, "Keep stuff out") but after trying them on, I decided on the "Classics" and am glad I did!

I ran 4 miles barefoot on Monday, purchased the VFF's on Tuesday. Ran 5 1/2 miles in them that evening and loved it. I got up this morning and ran 2 miles in them at the gym (without incident) and finished up the with 3 more miles this evening with Brit. In addition to all of this barefoot running, today also was my first "2 a day". I will be breaking up my days into 2 runs a day on my Transcontinental run. So, I will start to incorporate this into my training schedule periodically until after the Long Beach Marathon. At which time, my mileage will be ramping up drastically.

Chris and I have been busy shooting lots of footage, documenting the process leading up to my run. We are editing episode 2 and it should be ready in the next few days. It is proving to be a truly organic process and continues to evolve on a daily basis. I really do hope that people will find it as interesting as I do, seeing where it will all lead. I know where I want to go, but am so excited to see how I am going to get there. Even though this started as my run across America, I have become just as excited and interested in Chris's reasons for going on this journey, and looking forward to all of his knowledge of the places we will travel through along the way. It really is so much more than some idiot (me) pulling a Forrest Gump.

Tomorrow, Sep. 10th 7 am, Chris and I will be interviewed by Cindy Rakowitz on Voice America. We'll talk some more about our plans and it will give you guys a chance to learn more about Chris. If you can't tune in live, then you can download and listen at your convenience.

As always, You can follow me on Twitter and here is Chris's Twitter account. Or add me as a friend on facebook and (if you dare) Chris's facebook page.

Episode 1

I am exhausted! I don't know what will be more tiring, shooting, editing, website building and blogging or doing the actual run! Episode 1 is finally done and posted here. The "Run for Liberty" website is coming along slowly but surely. I would love to write more but, I'm beat. On top of sitting in front of my computer for 8 hours today, I did a 10 miler and I have a 20 miler tomorrow for a total of 54 miles. Not a bad week.

Paul

8 weeks to Long Beach

I am half way through my training plan in preparation for The Long Beach Marathon. I really do love this point in a marathon training program. I love high mileage! I feel pretty relaxed most of the time and find it very easy to sleep :) This week I will run 54 miles and it will look like this..

Monday: 4 miles- easy

Tuesday: 10 miles

Wednesday: 5 miles

Thursday: 45 min tempo

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 10 miles- marathon race pace

Sunday: 20 miles

I am feeling really good and I have been training at the paces that would indicate a sub-4 marathon. That would be sweet! I will be visualizing a 3:xx:xx on the clock from now until Oct. 11th. And, of course, praying for great weather!

We shot more footage on Sunday for my "Run for Liberty". I, once again, was not at a loss for words as I rambled on about all things running. I really do love this sport and get VERY excited when I talk about it. We have enough footage for our first piece and Chris is editing it now. It should be done in the next few days. I am working on the website in the meantime. I am more than excited to get this first clip up!

I am looking for a Trainer and Nutritionist to help me prepare for the run. It's not easy, since this type of endeavor has it's own specific challenges. You can't open up the Yellow Pages and find "Transcontinental run" under "Trainer". In any event, I think it will be similar to training for an Ironman, as opposed to training for a 5K. I will need to get my body used to staying aerobic for anywhere from 6-10 hours a day, pretty much everyday. And preparing my body for the pounding it will take day after day after day. And then, of course there is the nutrition part. I see a LOT of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my future! By the way, why is it that so many runners and triathletes love PB&J? I digress.... If anyone knows of a trainer or nutritionist that might be qualified in this area and is not camera shy ;), please let me know.

Paul

180 Days

180... That's a nice round number. It represents a half circle, the amount of days in a child's school year, an "about face" and a change of direction, or in this case, the number of days till I start my "Run for Liberty"

I have decided on Tuesday, February 9th 2010 as the start date. But, as with anything in this journey, it is subject to change. I have a nice little countdown app in my iPhone so I can obsess on the date. But more importantly... PLAN!

We shot some more footage yesterday and hope to have the first webisode edited and posted within a week. Until then, I am working on my website and hope to have more information about the run ready to go live at the same time the webisode is done. I've also booked my first interview on the show "Stars of PR" with Cindy Rakowitz on the Voice America Radio Network! It will air at 7 am on Thursday, September 10th.

Progress!

Paul

One step at a time

"One step at a time" best describes my approach to planning my upcoming run across America. I have a very specific goal... To run from Huntington Beach, California to the Statue of Liberty. That part is specific and concrete. The rest however, is not. That is what is so exciting about this endeavor!

I have always been very goal oriented. I think in big, overall goals and concepts and (usually) am able to break those down into smaller chunks that are more easily achieved. Until all those smaller goals eventually lead to the ultimate goal. I have had pretty good success with that approach. This one, however, is pretty big and is taking a bit more... ummm.... FAITH!

As anal as I am, and as much as I would like to have every aspect of the run planned out, to ensure success, I have quickly realized, that would be virtually impossible. I must just keep taking steps. Perhaps that is the ultimate allure of doing it.

It's not really the running part that keeps me up at night. I pretty much know how I'll train for that. I have a good idea how I'll go about consuming enough calories. I can visualize (very important tool) tweeting updates and posting my progress to my blog and facebook. Those things feel real and doable. It is the other things that I can't see yet. The things that I can't ...... CONTROL! What a great lesson this will be.

I have given considerable thought as to what I should post, how much to post and where. With so many ways to communicate, it is hard to find the right medium, for which information. Plus I don't want to burn you all out :) I have decided that this blog is read by my more intimate group of friends, so I feel comfortable sharing more of my "thought process" than just the facts and statistics of the run itself. This gives me the opportunity to share some news while I am still working on the website, which will be much more official looking.

So, here's where we are at so far.

The run will start February 8th. I will be leaving from the Huntington Beach Pier. I am attending the 2nd annual reunion with this group of old friends, and some of them will be running in the Surf City Marathon on Feb. 7th. They have expressed interest in seeing me off, so that sounds like a pretty cool way to start the journey. We will have to wait and see which distance I will run, since a full marathon may or may not be a good idea the day before what lies ahead.

I will be doing the run supported. Chris Swenson, a guy a work with and a good friend will be driving the support vehicle. But, more importantly, he will be filming the run for webisodes and most likely a documentary. We are both in production and have the gear to shoot it in High Definition. This is a BIG plus! It will look fantastic! We are fully prepared to do the trip using my Xterra as the support vehicle and load it up with our supplies and tents and do it on the cheap. The ideal scenario and goal, however, will be to travel in an RV with a designated driver, so Chris can concentrate on shooting and editing the webisodes. That's where the faith comes in.

I do have a message and a purpose for this run, which I will be articulating as time goes on. I spent a couple of weeks thinking about how I could get sponsors, so I could have a more comfortable place to rest between runs. I started feeling pressure and realizing that my reasons for doing this run may be compromised if I had sponsors that wanted to temper what I have to say. Boy talk about a moral dilemma. The minute I decided that we could plan the run on the cheap, and any added luxury would only be welcomed with acceptable compromises. It was as if a giant weight had been lifted. So as of now this is the plan and it feels doable.

Yesterday, we did our first shoot for the first webisode. We are editing it now and should have it done in the next week or so. This should shed some light on my reasons for the run. For now, I will let "Run for Liberty" speak for itself.

I am excited to be documenting my progress in this way. I think it is important to show the process. In the past, all you might hear is "So and so, is running across the country". That seems impossible! The question is, how did he get there? or even more important, how did he START.

I'm an average guy with a big dream. Unfortunately, too many people believe that they can't do big things. That the other guy was "born better" or is "luckier" or "more talented". I have all of those doubts. I have that little voice in my head that says "the guys who have done this, were better runners" or "you're not good enough" or "what if this, or that happens?"

I invite you to join me in silencing that voice!

One step at a time.

Paul