Deep Terrain

Deep Terrain

Being that we have a lot to catch up on, lets get down to some business, we have all been busy and hopefully keeping up with our routines. July is a busy month for vacations and it's easy to loose sight of your long term goals. I am happy to say every ones progress is going great. The trips to the gym are getting more frequent and our runs are getting longer.
Last Thursday Daniel and I decided to go on a semi-long run aiming towards 7-8 miles around Fremont. It was a huge success and we ended up running over 9 miles! The distances just keep increasing and it feels great. The last few miles we really hard and we did struggle having to walk a few times for a break. Regardless, it felt great to say that we ran that far.
The Half marathon keeps getting more and more into our reach.
At this point it is all about continuing the hard work and staying healthy. Keep building a little bit each time and you will see big results.

Sunday we ventured in Azusa in Southern California to do a little Bungee Jumping for Daniels birthday. Lucky for us there was a 5 mile hike up and back in some pretty tough terrain. We crossed rivers, climbed rocks, uphill climbs and some serious heat. We tried to run a bit on the way back on parts of the trail that were safe enough. Nothing will make you more tired than a 10 mile round trip hike in the sun; but, it was beautiful. The hike was very tough mudder for sure.
A few pictures for your enjoyment.

Kirk and I scaling down

Natures "Stairmaster 5000"

For those of you who are free on Saturday morning we are running at the beach again to do a little soft-sand training so bring your A-game.

Tough Cookies

How tough do you want to make your workouts?

Well, if you're doing the event Tough Mudders in October it should be pretty damn tough. Find any way you can to amp it up. When you go out for an average run around your area or hitting the trails hard you can make it more challenging if you do a few of my recommended challenges. Don't let your brain get used to any specific workout and do it different every time.

7 ways to make your workout tougher and challenge yourself

1. Run with ankle weights - this mimics the amount of weight your feet carry when you run through mud.
2. Drop and give me twenty - push ups are great for your upper body and core
3. Sprint intervals - sprint for 30-60 seconds at random times while your out jogging, this will increase your endurance.
4. Hill Interval - see a hill and get to the top. Try to run at least once a week in places with hill climbing involved to prepare your legs for the heavy climbing you will be doing.
5. Lunges - stop running, start doing lunges, twenty on each leg at least and keep running once your done, this will kill your legs.
6. Rock or log carries - see a big rock or log, pick it up and run with it for 1-2 minutes, this is a great one for mental toughness because it's always a very random way to surprise you.
7. Bear Crawls - get on all fours and crawl like a bear with keeping your knees off the ground, do this uphill, downhill and on every surface known to man. Doing this for just 50-100 yards can be very difficult.

All of these are only a taste of what you can do to change your style when you go out and run. We have been integrating these into our workouts on Saturdays. It takes longer to get through the run but you end up doing a whole body workout with these variations.

The group is improving every week, Coyote hills today was a great run with perfect weather. Another 6 mile run for all of us and we keep improving every week. Be sure that you are working out during the week as well as your long run on the weekend.

Go out there and get tough

Under the lights

"I run on the road, long before I dance under the lights."
- Muhammed Ali

We train and practice to be ready for events. We suffer and sacrifice so that the "other guy" across from you will know that you are the better of the two. Competition can drive us to new possibilities and motivate us to go farther than we thought. Competition is good, even if it is just with yourself. When you do something that someone said was impossible or that you thought was impossible, there is no better feeling than overcoming that, raising up your hands in victory and saying "I did it."

Over the weekend, I ran 8 miles, the farthest I have ever ran in my entire life. It felt great to really do something out of my comfort zone and now possibilities seem endless. Although, with this achievement I also was reminded of how sore you get from running this kind of distance. It can be a rollercoaster, one day your up and the next day your down. Just keep going!!!

Remember to get out there and run on the streets so that you will have the opportunity to dance under those lights and "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

Son of a Beach (Important Message for Tough Mudders)

This last Saturday we had a beach run in Alameda on a beautiful July 3rd morning getting there just early enough before the sun created a very warm day. With the smooth driving through empty freeways, beautiful weather and a bounty of parking, it would have been a shame to miss it. A light stretch and on to the sand we went. The pace on the soft sand gives you a much slower pace and your muscles work twice as hard when your feet sink with every step. The stretch of beach in Alameda is just under 2 miles; so, to keep up the distance we have been working for we ran the park trail for another mile before we decided to run back. The only drawback to running early in the morning was the low tide. The smell low tide creates with Alameda (who is known for their bird estuaries) is distinct and can make it difficult to breath. But, along this park trail was some beautiful apartments next to the beach with water views and a boat dock. It was a mesmerizing run.

On an impromptu tough mudder moment, we found a large log on the beach where Nick and I carried it together while running for about 2 minutes, after that, I filled two bags with sand and we ran the remaining distance in the sand while each of us carried a bag. It was a tiring run but we made it.

I have not been bringing my camera with me, it's hard carrying everything unless you have a backpack, I used my phone for two photos which came out ok.

This is Nick while running on the beach

This was a halfway point where Nick and I found a stretch of boulders and rocks with many sharp and pointy objects to avoid(another tough mudder moment).

Everyone who is running the Half Marathon in November, be sure you are running at least 3-4 days a week and cross training at least 1 day a week. Make sure to mix up your terrain, muscle memory is your enemy, be prepared for every type of surface.

Everyone who is running Tough Mudder, it's time to start getting tough. There are less than 100 days until this event and there WILL be a high elevation climb. Bear Valley Mountain has a base elevation of 6,600 feet above sea level and a summit elevation of 8,495 feet above sea level. Do not underestimate how hard this will be. Running and climbing uphill at a high elevation is extremely difficult. Make sure that uphill climbs are part of your training regime or you will have a very difficult tough mudder race.

Be sure you are doing planks, squats, push ups, and mountain climber exercises to mimic hill climbing.

Push through the pain

Do you ever want to give up? Is your body telling you you're done?

There is a difference between being tired and being injured.

Nick and I decided to tackle Lake Chabot this morning after work, we ran between 6.2 and 6.5 miles in rough terrain. It seemed like the hills just wouldn't stop. I was to say the least...exhausted and felt like I couldn't keep up. Nick did great and was doing his best to keep me motivated. During the entire run I felt tired and heavy.

My body was telling me, "you're injured, stop, you are too tired." I knew that I had to keep going and my brain was saying "suck it up."

It was a constant struggle going back and forth but after all is said and done, you must put one foot in front of the other and keep going until you are finished. I may have been tired but definitely not injured. It was like my body was trying to trick my brain.

What's the lesson here, just because you are hurting, doesn't mean you are injured.

Running an event or race requires a certain mental toughness, the more you have, the more you can push yourself to go the distance.

Olympic Style

I have been on a writing hiatus the last 2 weeks. Lacking the energy to write but still have been getting out there to run.
We ran Lake Chabot 2 weeks ago and are now running faster, longer and farther down the trail. Even after working all night, I love getting out on the trail and getting a good sweat on. We are running almost seven miles in tough terrain. Its easy to say the summer is off to a great start.
Last week we were down to two people, Daniel and I were the only ones who made it out for the group run. We decided to take on the Beast, the Green Monster, the King Kong of Fremont...Mission Peak.
With my excitement and amature attitude, I thought we might have a chance of running up the whole thing. We barley got 1/4th up the mountain, gasping and wheezing with no air in our lungs. We made a strong effort and hiked/ran up the mountain the best we could with no stopping or breaks. Getting to the top, we took in the view and ran full speed the whole way down, literally taking us only 12-15 minutes to decend. This was the biggest endorphin rush I have ever had. With my ipod playing and running as fast as I could, it felt amazing.
When you come to something that is bigger than you, puts you in your place and humbles you... take on that challenge and set a goal.
And set a goal we did.
On September 11th, we will again be running Mission peak, fastest time to the 3rd bench wins. Loser drives and buys drinks at the Englander that same night, not to mention a victory run down the hill Olympic style for the winner. We'll see you on the 11th.

We are on our way!

Lets Go!!

With each run you must be strong, have courage to push through pain and know that you WILL get through it. You may be tired, sick, can't breath, sore and in excruciating pain; but, each workout is one step closer to your goal and success of crossing the finish line.

This week was challenging, many of us are running more, going to the gym and getting up early to make sure we squeeze in that extra workout in order to meet our goals. That snooze button sure looks good at 5am in the morning but you still get up anyway, this is where we are now picking up our routines, making sure we do what we need in order to get where we need to go.

Progress is what you make each time you go out, even if you feel like you had a bad workout, be proud of yourself for trying. We all have off days or even off weeks where our workouts don't go as well as we would like. Try to stay positive and set a new goal if you have a bad workout. For example you can say "on my next run I will try to go 0.2 miles father, run 1 minute faster or go 10 minutes without stopping." Staying optomistic will get you inspired for your next workout instead of bringing your motivation to a hault.

We ran as a group at Coyote Hills on Saturday and everyone had a great workout. I was very impressed with all the hard work everyone is putting in. It was so hot running on the assfault and the sun was beaming down hard. Nick, Dan and I were keeping a faster pace than normal since the terrain at Coyote Hills has less incline on the perimeter than Lake Chabot.

The ladies ran great as well. Marisa, who only started last week, ran 6 miles in just over an hour, lets just say here legs were a little sore.

Kim joined us also, running over 5 miles!! We are all on our way to running the half marathon in November and hopefully a full marathon sometime next year. If we all keep up this pace, it IS an attainable goal.

If you want to talk motivation, lets talk about Nick "Running Wolf" who is always leading the pack and setting a faster pace. It is very difficult keeping up with him but somehow I was able to muster up enough oxygen to my muscles to stay within a 30 yard radious behind him. However, just when I think I can catch up, he runs faster. I strive to get on his level.

Start running 4 days a week and your endurance will increase a great deal. Great week everyone, lets keep running, lifting and training.

A question to think about: What is on your exercise bucket list? Is it marathons, triathalons, swimming, hiking or biking... and is it something specific? New York or Boston Marathon, Hike Half Dome, Swim from Alcatraz, SF to LA Bike tour, Iron Man Triathalon...

Post your comment of what it is; then, see how you can make it happen!