The Kindzia Blog

Conflict of Consistency - October 27, 2009

What's been bothering me lately is my struggles with personal consistency regarding my athletic pursuits.  Not necessarily in execution.  I've done a great job of working out this year and pursuing health.  My struggles are with mental consistency regarding purpose.

My purpose for working out or training isn't always with health, fitness, and staying active as the number one priority.  Rather, athletic achievement is sometimes my primary purpose.  Sometimes it is raw speed.  Sometimes it is pursuing my potential (whatever that elusive concept is because how would we ever really know if we reached it?)

The eBook Revolution - October 27, 2009

I've quickly grown into a big fan of eBooks since purchasing my own KINDLE DX from Amazon.com. 

In today's edition of USATODAY , a private school is taking some heat for eliminating the "old library" and moving forward with the new medium for information sharing (the eBook).

Shocked - October 26, 2009

I'm sitting in the terminal at Reagan National Airport awaiting my flight. I'm shocked at how much my legs are fried from yesterday. It almost feels like I did an another Ironman. I forgot how this feels and it's not pleasant.

I use to get satisfaction if my legs hurt like this. It meant I was improving in racing and actually was getting the fitness to trash myself. Now I don't even have to trash myself to have hurt legs.

I must have really believed that at this stage of my athletic career that I'm immune from post race leg pain. It's a rude welcome back to the realities of human physiology.

I appreciate the comments and emails from many of you yesterday. They really help me gather my thoughts and get clarity on my principles.

I did enjoy a few pieces of pizza yesterday and today I did enjoy a chocolate chip cookie. After a bit of food indulgences, I've quickly lost my desire to pursue any further dietary excess. A little bit did the trick.

That's not to be confused with being anxious to start zipping the lips closed for the next 7 weeks. I really need to commit to that aspect of race prep if I want to race close to my potential. Jon Adamson already wrote to me to "zip em' close and drop the excess pounds and the speed will improve.". I know he's right but knowing and doing are two different things.

If you get a chance, read Matt Erbele's comment on "failure, results, and learning.". Wise words for sure for any endurance athlete. Thanks for sharing.

Marine Corp Marathon - October 25, 2009

I hope to get some pictures soon from today but will need to get some from my Mom (the official weekend photographer).

I've done New York Marathon, I've done Disney, I've done Rock n' Roll San Diego, Nashville's Country Music Marathon and many more in Ironmans, etc..  I'm not diminishing New York.  It's a fantastic event and I could see why many call it their absolute favorite.  But I think I'm going to call the Marine Corp Marathon my favorite marathon and a must do for any doing the marathon circuit.

The mix of Washington, D.C., the museums, the history, the epicenter of world politics, and then mix in the military establishments and it's an amazing place.  Throw in a marathon which takes you through the beautiful areas of Washington, D.C. and you have the makings of an amazing event that is executed with perfection thanks to the United States Marine Corp.

I ran with Angela as planned (before she left me in the dust when we "shut it down.")  I did what I planned on doing originally which was a long training day.  I got my money's worth on the long training day.  Between walking to the race start area from the hotel (which was a great location), running the race, walking through the finishing area, back to the hotel, back to the finish area (to watch my sister and Lynn finish up), back to the hotel, etc. I'm pretty sure I logged close to 30 miles on my legs today.  Maybe a bit more than I bargained for.  OUCH!!!

Through 16 miles we were at 2:16:31 (including a 2 minute bathroom break) which was 8:31/mile (8:24's without the bathroom break).  Through 19 miles we were at 2:43:30 which was 8:36/mile (8:30's without the bathroom break).  We "shut it down" at the end of mile 19.  I couldn't have been more relieved.  By mile 20 my legs were toast (which shouldn't have come as a surprise as my longest run was 20 miles and that was weeks ago and I'm not in peak shape). 

For the next 7.2 miles I suffered.  No different than any other Ironman that I've done.  Between miles 20 and miles 24 I must have said, "This is stupid.  I'm never doing this again.  I'm done!" at least 53 times.  But then by mile 24 I was running by the Pentagon.  At that point, I was walking, happy, removed from the event.  I was an "active" spectator. 

I watched others push their bodies to the limits.  I saw people experiencing victory and pride.  I saw some crying in excitement as they knew the end was near. 

I also did my best to tell the Marines at each of the aid stations, "Thank you for serving."  I choked up and often had tears in my eyes on every single occasion.  Hard to explain?

I walked/jogged the final 7.2 miles.  Angela went on ahead.  She slowed down, just not as much as me.  She was anxious to finish.  I had mixed emotions.  On one hand, I wanted the pain in my legs to stop (which means get it over with as quickly as possible).  On the other, I didn't want my day to end.  "Maybe I should just sit down and watch for a few minutes?"

I wrapped up in 4:12:55.  We ran the first 16 miles at about 3:40 marathon pace and then first 19 miles at 3:42 pace before shutting it down.

The hard part is getting my arms around the beast.  I'm now confident that I can run a PR marathon on December 12, 2009 at Rocket City.  I'm confident that I could go sub 3:30.  But I'm not confident at all that I can run a 3:20 in only about 7 weeks.

I understand that ideal training protocol isn't to run a trial marathon 7 weeks before your main race (I get that).  And I also know the power of mental tenacity on game day when it counts.  But part of having mental tenacity is self-belief and tonight I'm not full of self-belief in my ability to go 3:20.

So now the question is, "Do I go ahead with the race, set a PR, get under 3:30 and learn from the training and racing experience.  Or do I postpone until I get closer to my goal of qualifying for Boston?"

Any thoughts out there?

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some pictures from my Mom of my sister Stephanie and our friend Lynn who both did awesome on their very first marathon and are sporting some nice Marine Corp finishers medal bling-bling.  They look good in the bling-bling.

By the numbers;

• 184.2 - today's weight (January 1, 2009 weight was 184.2).  Goal weight for 10/25/09 is 165.
• 243 - Total days trained in 2009
• 26.25 - Miles run today
• 303.00 - Miles on current pair of shoes
• 1,258.50 - Miles run in 2009

Proud Of You - October 24, 2009

Right next door to one of the Smithsonian Museum's (American Art and Portrait Museum) is the Verizon Center in Downtown D.C.  This weekend we found it fascinating that the Verizon Center was hosting a National Equestrian Competition and they set up temporary stables in the streets of downtown.  So while we awaited the opening of the museum, we were able to stroll up and down the city street to see all of the competitors getting their horses ready for competition.

The crew is starting to get nervous.  My sister is anxious, Angela seems nervous and Lynn is quiet but smiling.

We are in the final countdown mode and the hotel rooms are now covered in race gear, bib numbers, piles of gels and race day clothes.  Angela and I are going to shoot for a 3:45 marathon which is a bit mentally distracting for her.  Boston qualifying standard for her age group is a 3:50.  So 3:50 is sticking out in her subconscious as "really fast" as in "that's too fast - this is just a training run" (and what if I don't make it that fast or can't hold that pace?)  Would her run be a disappointment?  Would it be a failure?

I'm reassuring her that we are slowing down from her training pace.  She's done a lot of running in the 8:30/mile pace in prep for her Ironman.  I keep telling her that running a marathon is going to feel hard no matter what pace we run.  Let's be honest with ourselves, unless you are an experienced ultra-runner, once you get to 20 or 22 miles, the legs start hurting.  That's what we signed up for.

She point blank asked me, "Would you not be proud of me if I didn't run a sub 3:50?"  And I told her honestly, "I will be proud of you (and myself) if we keep this event in the proper perspective.  First, let's be genuinely grateful that we have the health and ability to run.  We take that for granted.  There are plenty of people (including a lot of Marine Corp Veterans) that don't have that ability anymore.  Second, let's enjoy the day.  The weather looks like it is going to be absolutely perfect for a marathon.  A low temp of 46 degrees and a high of about 64 with mostly sunny skies.  Third, let's execute a good running strategy and that includes smart pacing, no stupid surges, sticking to our pacing schedule, and being smart with our nutrition and hydration requirements.  This is a long catered run and we should make sure we take advantage of that.  Fourth, let's just do the best we can with the fitness that we have.  In the end, that's all we can do anyway.

Now me, I'm making sure I don't get wigged out with the results of tomorrow.  What if I start fading off and can't hold pace for a 3:45?  What will that do for my confidence as I will have to run almost a minute per mile quicker on December 12th?  That's a significant jump in speed.  But my fitness should improve over the next 8 weeks and my goal isn't to be in peak shape right now, my goal is to be in peak shape on December 12.

So that's where we are at; getting ready, enjoying the moment and settling nerves.  It's going to be a big, exciting and wonderful opportunity for us tomorrow and one that I've been envisioning for months and months.  I will be a proud participant (AND FINISHER) of the 2009 Marine Corp Marathon and I WILL post a picture of my finishers medal tomorrow (hopefully with the entire crew and their finishers medals too!)

Tired Legs - October 23, 2009

We hit up the expo along with some lunch downtown and then another museum.

It feels as though we've walked about 10 miles on hills the last few days. This kid has some tired legs.

My little sister said that running with her would only add pressure and make her nervous. A polite way of telling me "Go run with Angela or faster by yourself so I could enjoy my event."

So I think I'll run with Angela on Sunday. We plan on just doing a long fun run. I don't have the fitness yet to really trash myself but I'm sure just grinding out 26.2 miles is going to whip my butt.

Angela doesn't want to go too hard because she's still on track to make it to Beach2Battleship on November 7th. She's been doing her long runs at 8:30 pace including big day training runs. So we'll probably back off at least 15 seconds per mile and see how that feels for a while.

Not exactly textbook taper and training protocol, but as the season progressed, we really had to just start winging it to get something on the books.

Two Things - October 22, 2009

We spent a gorgeous October day in the nations capital today.  It was actually my first time ever doing one of those official "tours" where a bus takes you around town calling out the sites.  In our case it was one of those trolley tours.  What was cool about this trolley tour is that they had three different loops with about 25 stops in total and they allow you to get on or off the trolley anytime that you want and the trolley will depart any of the 25 stops at the top and bottom of the hour.

This was a very efficient way of seeing some amazing sites in a consolidated manner and allowed anybody to walk or sit on a bus to their liking.  Washington, D.C. is an amazing place and if you have never visited, I would tell you that it is HIGHLY recommended.  If you are a museum or arts fan, my guess is that it would take you a couple of weeks to get through everything that is available within just a few square miles.

This picture was one of my favorites.  I'm facing the Lincoln Memorial (amazing structure) and in back of me is the reflection pool, Washington Monument, and the Capital Building in sequence.  One of the most amazing things about this area is that you basically can see a national treasure almost at every block.  White house to the Treasury, Capital Building to the Supreme Court, Smithsonian to National Archives.

If there are two things that were resonating in my head as we walked home for dinner, they would be;

1. A strong feeling to do something that contributes to the greater good of society.  Everywhere you go in this place is a memorial about great people and their pursuit and persistence that ended up changing the world's history in one way shape or form.  Vietnam Memorials, Korean War Memorials, World War II Memorials, Martin Luther King, Jr., Presidents, Senators, Generals, scientists, inventors, world finance, embassy's, etc.  It's all here.  There are no shortage of people that have served the greater good and their example is contagious.
2. A strong feeling to do a rotation or a "living internship."  It's really easy in life to grow up in one town, go to school in that town, buy a house in that town, work your entire career in that one town, and retire in that one town without ever really traveling or experiencing different ways of life.  I know I have a reluctance to get out of my comfort zone.  And although there are times where I can justify staying wherever I am and being happy, I often feel that I could experience so much more by doing a rotation somewhere.  It could be a short rotation (maybe a month in a third world country volunteering), it could be a year in Washington, D.C., or a year in New York.  I have had a number of clients who have taken foreign rotations with their jobs and they all say what a positive experience it was on them and their families.  This trip is inspiring me to dream a bit bigger for my life.

By the numbers;

• 184.2 - today's weight (January 1, 2009 weight was 184.2).  Goal weight for 10/25/09 is 165.
• 2 - days until the Marine Corp Marathon
• 241 - Total days trained in 2009
• 0.00 - Miles run today
• 276.75 - Miles on current pair of shoes
• 1,232.25 - Miles run in 2009

Arlington National Cemetary - October 21, 2009

2:06pm - After a nice lunch in Rosslyn, we headed back towards the hotel and saw signs pointing to the finish line area for Sunday's big race. So we followed the bread crumbs.

Soon we found ourselves next to the Iwo Jima Memorial at the far end of Arlington National Cemetary.

As we wondered around looking at the headstones, we saw a procession of cars rolling in and meeting up with men in uniform. I am witnessing my first military service for a fallen hero.

Family is dressed in black and gathered around a folded American flag.

Taps is being played and the guns are soluting. I could feel the tears in my eyes but don't want to wipe them as that would only acknowledge my sadness.

Good One - October 21, 2009

12:06pm - Landed safely at Reagan National Airport, gathered our bags and headed outside to a beautiful fall day in our nation's capital.

I jokingly turned to Angela as if portraying a stranger and asked, "Hey purdy lady, would you like to share a cab?"

She quickly replied, "No thanks..."

Good one.

Travel Joys - October 21, 2009

8:06am - Officially all checked in at the gate for the flight to D.C.

Angela and I haven't flown much together so it's interesting to see others preferences on how they do things when taking trips.

I drove to the airport while Angela slept. She awoke to discover (to her great disappointment) that I parked in the Atlanta Airport economy lot. She asked how long of a walk it was going to be from my spot that I happily discovered in Row D-2,496 right on the Georgia/Florida border. I then was the recipient of a full feature presentation of the features, advantages, and benefits of "Park n' Fly." The main benefit apparently being "No walking necessary."

I didn't have much of a response other than stating what I thought was obvious, "Honey, I'm taking this trip to run over 26 miles, I need to lose a few pounds and I probably won't work out today."

My bag was 1 pound over the weight limit (there's a suprise) at check-in. I had to take the foldable massage table and big screen T.V. out of my bag and jam it into Angela's because hers was about 30 pounds under the 50 pound limit. The Delta check-in rep told me in a harsh tone to both speed up and slow down as I scrambled to make adjustments. "Which do you want sir? Speed up or slow down because everybody behind me in line is really getting pissed off!"

I then walked past a Georgia Lottery store right off the baggage check area and it was jammed with airport workers loading up and spending a large percent of their take home pay.

I wanted to stop to inform them that the lottery is just a tax on the mathematically challenged and that they are being taken advantage of by the state government but Angela wanted to keep walking.

I started looking for a Starbucks. I don't drink coffee but started to get the feeling that Angela really needed some while traveling with me.

At the security belt, they stopped me for two infractions. First, my hand gel exceeded the carry on size limit. Of course it did. I'm about to get in a sealed capsule of germs, bacteria, and viruses for a few hours with scummy people! I brought enough to soak in and pour a circle of protection around my airplane seat. So I had to pay $3.99 for a super small container at the airport to relace the giant size that I bought on sale for $3.49. The airline industry really doesn't care about H1N1 if you ask me...

And finally they yanked me for a strange electronic device that I was carrying in my backpack. I brought my mistress (Kindle DX) and at this point of the morning I was starting to get quite frustrated by all of the disruptions in my travel plans and sarcastically replied, "Yeah, that device is for people that read..."

Airport security folks aren't really fond of sarcasm. At least not as much as lottery tickets...