Fun and Running

The past weekend started off good. I left for Bandera about 3 PM after I woke up from working the night shift.

I made it out there about 4PM and was getting set up to go for a little run and Joe and Mike showed up. I left out for a 8 mile run or so and ran all of the hills. It was a little tough but not bad.
Then later that evening, a freakin cold front blew in. Wind was howling like crazy. I was not ready for that crap at all. Ended up sleeping in my truck on the front seat.

I lay there all night thinking, screw this I should just take off. I don't want to run in this wind in the morning. It's going to be freakin cold. And cold it was in the morning. We left for our run in the morning. Alot of folks with Rogue training. The loop was an 11 mile loop with lots of hills. I ran all the hills, but got my arse kicked. I didn't take any gels and had just my two handhelds. I was having some issues with my blood sugar. I think it could have been because of the beer the night before. I only ended up doing 1 loop, but oh well. That was all I could put in on Saturday.

I left about 3 PM and came back to San Antonio. My buddy Rick came down from Ft. Worth and we went to Hooters. The B Team was working so we were unimpressed. We watched a bunch of the Pavel Training videos and then decided that we should go to the country bar called Cowboy's Dancehall. I know now why I quit going there. Too smokey, too dark and it just wansnt really much fun.

On Sunday we took off heading to Ft. Worth. Stopped in Lockhart for BBQ at Black's. They have the best sasuage in the whole state. When we got to DFW we met up with one of my co-workers at Bone Daddy's in Grapevine. I kicked back way to many brewskies, but the views were exceptional.

On Monday I had a class at one of our switching offices in Arlington and got to see the new Cowboy's staduim. Holy Crap that thing is huge. Jerry's big glory hole. Thats what they call it. I hope the Boys can do something this year.

Monday night we drove back, Harold and I from DFW back to San Antonio. I went out for a run about 845 last night and did about 14 miles. It went pretty good and I only took my two handhelds.

No kettlebells but I will try to work some in tonight!

Mowing the Yard and such things ...

If anyone wants to read about a real life bad ass! Then click on the link below. This guy ran 203 freakin miles. If you need to be inspired, read this and discover what is possible.

http://www.hillcountrytrailrunners.com/docs_reports/TexasIndependenceRelay_allen_2009/index.html

Yea, okay, homeowners association. I finally mowed my yard so quit sending me those letters.

Really, I haven't mowed my yard since August or so. I don't really remember when the last time I mowed it. We have not had any rain since then so I figured, "Why should I mow, the grass isn't growing?"

Looks pretty good once you mow it and I was able to take down those weed trees I had growing.

I actually did a little workout today against my own will, or with my own will, if I am not careful someone will be reading my will. My sister gets everything, so don't ask.

Here was the workout:

4 sets X 20 reps @ 165lbs deadlifts

4 sets X 10 reps @ 35lbs alternating military press kettlebells. (10 each arm)

4sets X 10 reps on the ab wheel

4sets X 10 Reps @ 55lbs one arm dead lift with long bar (both sides)

1 set X 10 Reps @ 70lbs kettlebells swings (10 each arm)

3 sets X 15 Reps @ 52lbs kettlebell swings (15 each arm)

2 sets X 10 Reps @ 26 lbs bag swings (10 each direction)

2 sets X 10 Reps @ 37 lbs bag swings (10 each direction)

3 sets X 10 Reps @ 5lbs indian club swings (10 each arm)

1 sets X 10 Reps @ 8 lbs indian club swings (10each arm)

Also some stretching. Umm, its good for you.

And here are some pictures of my Home Gym that is actually pretty portable.

Another Day Down

Well once again I didn't want to work out, but did it anyway.

2 sets of 5 reps of the same ab routine from yesterday, from the Pavel Beyond Crunches DVD.
2 sets 10 reps each arm Indian club swings, 5lbs clubs.
2 sets 10 reps each arm kettle bell swings with the 53lbs bell.
2 sets 15 reps of dead lifts with 165lbs.

Went for 10 mile run at slow pace. About 2 hours. Trying to rebuild my base a little bit.
I have not done any base building work since probably mid November.

Workout for Today

Today I did not feel like working out at all. So I decided that I would just do something.

I started out by straightneing out my garage so I would have some room to work out in.

Then I did all the exercises from Pavel's Beyond Crunches DVD. You can purchase this at
http://www.dragondoor.com/dv042.html

These exercies include:
one arm deadlift with the long bar
Russian twists with the long bar planted in a corner.
side bends with 5 lbs plate in each hand, hands above the head extended.
Janda sit ups, I only did the negative portion becuase I can not do the whole sit up yet.
Ab wheel. From a kneeling position.

I did 3 sets of 5 reps for each of these exercies.

I also did the following:

3 sets X 10 reps (each arm) kettle bell swings 35lbs.
3 sets X 15 reps Deadlifts 115lbs
3 sets X 20 reps Bag swings (10 each direction)
3 sets X 10 Reps Alternating military presses with 35lbs kettlebell.
3 sets X 10 Reps (each arm) Indian club Persian swings with 5lbs club.

Went for a 6 mile run, no water, no technology. After each mile I did 50 Hindu squats.

This workout is a little light, but it was better than sitting on my rear all day.

Hopefully tomorrow will go a little better.

A Little Run

Have you ever felt like, Hey I need to just go run. No conraptions, no technology, no hassels? That was how I felt, So I just laced 'em and went out for a little jaunt.

Went for a nice little 9 mile run Friday. A little fast it felt like, but that is okay.

Tomorrow will be some real fun.

Oh yea, I have just come to the conclusion that Barak Obama is a douchebag!

Let me say this, I hate that son of a ...

Day 1, 100 Something Left to Go

Well I guess I can officially call today, Day 1 of my training for Hardrock 100.

I ran with the Ladies on Schertz Parkway this morning. A slow 5 miles.

My training area today was an open field near my neighborhood just off of I-35 in Selma. The field is about a 1/2 mile loop.

After work I started my training:

1 mile pulling a weighted sled with 80lbs (2 loops)
1/2 mile with a 125lbs. (1 loop)
The loop is oblong so on the long parts I did forward walking and backward walking and on the shorter ends I did sideways walking.

I did 4 loops with my 26lbs Bulgarian Training Bag on my shoulders at a slow jog. At the end of each loop I did 40 bag swings. About 40 of the total swings were walking swings which are totally a real ass kicker.

I did 1 loop with a pair of 35lbs kettlebells in each hand. This is called the Farmer's Walk.

It really sucked, but hey thats part of it.

Not sure whats going to be going on for tomorrow, but I am sure it will be a real sonofa ...

When you can not run, Pump Iron!

Well, as you may know I have a broken toe! That sucks. Not that it really hurts that bad, but I am not able to run b/c I wan it to heal so I can run and prep for my next 100 miler.
I did run in the Texas Independence Relay this weekend and I do plan to start my training next week after I get back from snow skiing in Taos this weekend.

Also, since the beginning of this year I have been looking for alternative to the traditional "gym" workout. I have also been looking for some new training devices for running. Maybe some of them are gimmicks but, I don't really care. I will give them a shot. Here is a run down on some of the devices I will be using to prepare for Hardrock 100 and to just workout with in general.

Indian Clubs - http://www.revolutionclubs.net/
Kettlebells - http://www.kettlebellkettlebells.com/
Power Sled - http://www.competitiveedgeproducts.com/detail.aspx?ID=573&affiliate=33
Resistance Vest - http://www.resistancewear.com/
Running Chute - http://www.sparqstore.com/catalog/productdetail/model_nbr--77928/sku--7-7272/cm--Left+Nav/
Deadlift bar - http://oldtimestrongman.com/gerard_trapbar.html
Bulgarian Training Bag - http://www.bulgariantrainingbags.com/
Macebell - http://www.torqueathletic.com/ts1/details.php?prod=MP10

Some of these devices may seem unconventional but that is okay with me. I have spent way too much money on equipment so far this year, but hey I am single and dont have anything else to spend my money on. haha

Additionally, I have been looking into body weight exercises and calisthenics.
Hindu squats and push ups. Bear crawls and mountian climbers.

I will be working these into my runs along with the sled, parachute, and weight vest.
The dead lift stuff is for high reps upwards of 30 to 50 reps at about 130 to 180lbs.
The kettlebells and Bulgarian bags will be used for heart rate training and recovery.
My coach has also suggested the stair climber so I will be working on that also.
The mace bell and Indian clubs are just for fun. I may incorporate some sledgehammer training into my routine also.

You may be thinking, "What the hell is this guy doing, sledgehammers, macebells, deadlifts etc... Hell I don't know, but it sounds like fun to me!!

I will continue to do Bikram Yoga along with kung fu and tai chi. I really need to get back to the yoga studio. I have been sandbagging on this and I can really feel it.

Anyway, check back from time to time if you are interested in what is going on with my training!