Running in the wind - Spring is here.

Spring is here - it is time to get off the bench, get a good grip on the ball, get in the game and let it rip. Blue Sky, Green Grass, Let's Play!


Motivation:

My good friend DJ Ed House gave me a new 2008 Summer Running CD. The first song on the CD is a mix of Seal's "Amazing" and it is the best. Ed has a way of knowing exactly what type of song would get me motivated to run and this one hits the spot.

Seal - Amazing

Everyone says you’re amazing

You say you don’t know how to do it now - So you run
It’s not that you’re bleeding, but you’re through it now - So you run
I know that you need it, you can’t live alone - So you run, so you run…

Everyone says you’re amazing now that you’re clean
Only you know who the real ones are, cause you’ve seen
There’s only one question I want to ask:
is it healing when you hear everyone say you’re amazing
Does anyone ask you?

Do you cry in your sleep and do you feel ok? - when you run
Thinking it’s Doomsday, you got to let it go - so you run
Pretend you don’t see it, that we can live a lie - when you run, so you run

Everyone says you’re amazing now that you’re clean
Only you know who the real ones are, cause you’ve seen
There’s only one question I want to ask:
is it healing when you hear everyone say you’re amazing
Does anyone ask you?

Cause I know that you’re real, amazing, amazing, amazing…
I want you to always feel you’re amazing

Everyone says you’re amazing
You’re amazing

Diary:

My week has been really busy - work deadlines, choir practice and performances, constant stream of chores at home that never seem to get done, putting together a podcast for the STC, workouts and when possible, sleep. I haven't had time to call people back who have called and written to ask how I am. I hope things get normalized soon, but I think this is my new schedule.

One error I made in the last message was indicating that I was TOO BUSY to finish my blog. I was busy, but that wasn't the reason. The real reason was that I was mired in my own self-defeat. This lack of inspiration made sharing any information just that much harder. It occurred to me through conversations with others that self-pity is neither attractive nor productive, so I should get over it.

What I am finding is that I am less unhappy when I am being challenged with difficult tasks. Maybe I don't have time to think about my problems, because I am focused on the mission of doing other things, or maybe doing these things is starting to be enjoyable. Singing again in a big choir is certainly making me happy. I think some of my happiest times were spent in St. Olaf Chapel Choir, and I didn't realized how much I missed this until I joined the new choir a few weeks ago. It is wonderful.

I am hesitant to say this, but I am also happy about my workouts. If am not sure I am saying that working out is fun, but it is starting to get me pumped up. The group fitness classes that were at first awkward and embarrassing are now a challenge and it is my goal to complete them.

One common thing that came up at BOTH choir and the fitness center was the fact that "anxiety" can be a big health concern. I found out that anxiety is a big weight-loss enemy, and while the correlations are not clear, there is evidence that anxiety affects the body's ability to release the strong ties to fat stores and be as efficient as possible. Then it was brought up in choir how singing can reduce stress and anxiety. I am looking forward to report on the long-term affects of my decision to join the choir.

I started using my Garmin Forerunner (GPS) watch again, and you will start to see new entries on the sidebar - results of my running for my 5K training. The first 5K is on May 10th, and you are invited to run or just come and watch. It is a 5k Run/Walk For Batten Disease at the Lake Phalen Pavilion in St. Paul, MN on Saturday, May 10, 2008. The 5K run starts at 10A.M.

NEW NEW NEW ! I decided that I will also be running in the Susan G. Komen Twin Cities Race for the Cure®. The run in at 7:30 AM on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 11, 2008. It will be held outside the Mall of America®, in Bloomington, MN. If you wish to get up early that morning, feel free to come and cheer me on, and learn more about Breast Cancer.

I saw the ad in the paper for this event, and I figured as long as I am training for one run, what is another run? Plus, I wanted to participate in a Susan Komen event for some time now, and I hope this is a motivation for me to do my best to prepare.

SIMPLE IS NOT EASY

I signed up for a Spring Training Session at the Fitness Center that is a 6 week running workout plan. I am hoping this helps me to prepare for the 5K running season. I also had my free personal training as part of being "member of the month" at the club. It was amazing.

The trainer, Karl, and I discussed his goals for me. One of the things he shared was that, while it is fine that I am training for a 5K, I shouldn't focus my training on only running. By running only, I am training all the same muscles, doing all the same movements, and not really gaining as much momentum as I might by mixing up my efforts to break down and confuse my body. We talked about how we were designed, hunter/gatherers, and the types of movements we were designed to make. I was glad that he spent the time to talk me through his thought process and training style.

I learned a new concept in the training "the Tabata Interval." I will share this with you now.

Dr. Izumi Tabata, a former researcher at Japan's National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya. Tabata analyzed the Japanese speed-skating team's workout to measure how effective it was. The workout consisted of six to seven 20-second full-speed sprints interspersed with rest periods of 10 seconds.

Tabata's study showed that when the routine was practiced five days a week for six weeks, an improvement of maximum aerobic capacity of 14% was achieved. This measured the body's ability to consume oxygen.
The routine also improved anaerobic capacity by 28%. This measured the duration the body is able to move at full effort.

The result of the Tabata Protocol is a workout that benefits both endurance and power, which is rare. Most traditional aerobic training, for example, running for 30 minutes has little effect on anaerobic capacity.

So after that knowledge transfer from my trainer, we started the workout:

We began with a Tabata interval on the stationary bike - 8 times (20 seconds at maximum speed, 10 seconds at idle speed)
Then we did 5 sets of the following
- Suitcase Deadlifts (20lbs each) x 5 times
- Pushups x 10
- Squats (butt hits bench, then quickly back up) x 15
- 2 minutes high intensity cardio (bike, elliptical, stairclimber, treadmill)
then we did a cool down walk and stretching



more later,

Chazz

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