This is the last song.

After some thought. I need to move on from blogging about running. It is my passion and my love but, alas I do not have the time or the interest to write about this. I eat, sleep and breath running except for the 8-9 hours a day I spend working. It is and always will be one of the things that I find a true calling and passion in. I still hope for the day when I can wake up and all I have to do is run, or coach, or apply my running skills to teach others. Maybe there is a future in that somewhere down the road. Until then, I will happily wake up and run, go to work and dream all day about that next run, don  my favorite running shoes and head out the door or up the stairs to the treadmill. Thinking about that rush, that first step, that first bead of sweat sliding down my back, that first wipe of the towel or that last drink of water. Every run has it's ups and downs, it's highs and lows, some literal and some figurative.

I have fallen short of both the goals I set out to do but; the question remains to be asked....did I fail? Absolutely not! I put forth everything I had. I left it all on the road and trail this year. I may not have raced as much as I did in 2011 but the time I put in to training was on par with the IM I completed. The pain, the time, and the sacrifice are all worth it. I'll never look back at 34,54,84 and say to myself  "I wish I would have spent more time at work".

I find an outlet in sharing my passions and skills with others. I'm going to start something new. Keep an eye out.

-A

Goin' Home

What a gorgeous day I had to ride today. Felt very thankful to have a good friend to ride with. Better yet was the time to think. It was super nice to pedal again, to sweat, and cover the miles. I missed the trees, the sounds and the smells. One of things I found that I missed most was that burn, and that ache in my legs. I felt tired and I could keep pushing through. It was a different hurt that I sorely missed (no pun intended).

It was a nice ride with Ryan today, a guy I've come to know since late last year. I'd have to say, that he's definitely someone I look up to. A figure person in my life, and he's accomplished so much and come back from a nasty plaguing injury. He also has one of the most down to earth families I've ever met. A group of kids that are as fun and mature as any I've ever met. They are to me, good people and since the first time I have met them have made me feel like a member of the family. 

I don't mean to take away from the tone of the blog but, I've been doing along of searching through my life lately. What do I want? What do I miss? Where is my future going? Who do I want to be? It's hard to be in a moment and recognize the potential of that moment (woah, I know).  That said, I'm still figuring out where I want this life to take me, I only have one to live, so I better start living.

A few things that I do know are that I want to keep moving, running, biking, swimming, playing, stretching and being. I know that I love food, and to cook and to share. If there is one thing I love to do it's to share my passions and my love for exercise, food, and  hospitality.  Maybe there's something to that. Who knows?

Workouts

I'm not going to flood the blog this time around. I will however just give a synopsis and highlight my favorite workout of the week, and share my high points. This week was definitely supposed to be the cool down week after last weeks extended tempos and hard long runs. 

Tuesday was insane and with the heat and weather we've had, I swapped Tuesday with Thursday and did my speed work then. I also rode 45 miles with a new friend. Val is a cool lady who's studying dietetics, and has a very cool life to share over the miles.

Highlight: Thursday's Speed

I was pretty exhausted from the Wednesday's 13.5hr work day, I followed that up with helping a friend move for 4 hours, and made it out of bed with less then 5 hours of sleep. I was sure this could only end in pain and diminished results. I was able to put the workout together. The goal was 10x1k at 3:50 or better. Turns out  I felt a little better and I tried shooting for low 5:40's I had 2 bad one's and I averages around 5:40 for the good 8. 

Highlight #2: Saturday Long Run

I woke up stepped outside and it was like walking into a cloud, and it felt like breathing through a paper bag. I only imagined how well this would go. The last few runs that have been like this have been very crappy, and I've had fueling issues. 

This run was better, I saved the suck for the end. The intended work out was to do 20 miles with the last 6 at pace. I managed the last 4.5 slightly better then expected, especially considering the temperatures. I headed out the door at 5:30 and ran the 4 miles to the library and met up with Seelye and Gooch. It was good to catch the group and run at a comfortable pace, and to have company. I forgot how much I missed running with a group, maybe I'll do it more often. :)

It was nice to catch up with these guys, I really appreciated the company and comradery, it was nice to share a laugh, and have some time to relax and let loose! Thanks guys!

Tonight's song is one that reminded me of the ride today. The wind chimes and the "I'll follow the sun" type of feel. I feel like I'm missing my home, my comfort and my rock. It's not meant to be sappy or sad. It's meant to describe the moment and how music is parallel to my feelings.

Until next time!

Next week I'll be riding a 100 mile ride in Metamora, IL. I'll share the race report and hopefully share some photos! 

Harvest Moon

Ah what a crazy week. I hate to put all of my workouts for one whole week into one post but, I literally have slide into Sunday. It's been a busy weekend. very little sleep but lots of my type of fun. I tackled some big numbers this weekend but we'll get to that later. Let's go all the way back to Sunday (I know that was a while ago) :).


Sunday Workout




Matt and I made our way up to Cannonsburg on Sunday to go try out some shoes. It was a nice recovery run and felt good to get up the ski hill a few times. Nothing to crazy with pace or time, or distance. Just running for fun. No focus on this run. Just out there to move and be with friends.

I do not envy anyone that did that loop 5 times this weekend. Not my idea of a good time. I love the trails and I love ski hills but doing it 5x is not my idea of fun. I think if I ever do an ultra I want minimum loops and either a point to point or out and back. Loops would drive me insane.

Monday Workout
Monday was not fun. Not because my legs hurt or because of heat. I just had to do both workouts on the treadmill. I don't normally like to double up morning and night on the treadmill. I really like running in the am on the road and evening on the treadmill.

I did 7 miles in 45:58 which was nice to break 46 for the first time in a while and have it feel comfortable. It was nice to warm them up and stretch first. I was able to start off for about 1 minute at 7:00 pace and then I plugged the pace down and I was able to stay very comfortable.

The 4 after work was 27:32, it was just barely below 7:00/mile pace which felt good but knowing I had speed yesterday I really tried to hold back. Little did I know that my plans would be foiled once again!

Tuesday Workout
I got up at 4:30 and got my stuff together and headed out the door. I got to the track nice and early. I was able to get a nice warm up in, it was dark. Not just morning dark but, a demon storm form the 7th level of hell type of rain. OK it wasn't that terrible BUT, it couldn't have had worse timing. I barely got .5mi in with rob before I had to shut it down. I would have pushed through in rain. Lightning is something I do not run in. It just scares me. wah.

This meant I had to put the workout in on the treadmill AFTER work, I hate speed workouts on treadmill, you have to be unreasonably consistent and I like to push the last .10 ro so and it just feels fake on a treadmill, anyone else feel that. Ugh.

This workout was a bitch, I ended up doing it at the Portage Y and that gym is a frickin' hot box. The fans suck, one treadmill stopped working on me and the tv that was on was a joke. I had 3x3mi. at 5:55 or better. I really had to break this workout into chunks to mentally get through it. Does anyone else hate Rachel Ray, her TV skills suck..anyways,  was able to do 17:42, 17:40, 17:39. I was happy to keep it realistic but, my legs were toast after this. I went through 22oz of water after 35 minutes. I was soaked.

Wednesday Workout


I was happy just to get off the damn treadmill. This particular morning was gorgeous. I was supposed to recover but my legs were happy for 6:50's the whole darn time. I can't complain, I am smooth as butter at this pace and it doesn't tire me anymore, which tells me I'm getting faster.

Thursday Workout
16 miles, 16MILES, 16 FRICKIN MILES, in the middle of the week! Are you kidding me, I thought it was a darn typo. My legs felt good, I was tired from not sleeping much but, still holy smokes.

I was again plagued by time crunches, it was raining hard when I got up and packed it into the car and got the 8 in and grabebd coffee for my work crew before 7am. That was a VERY early day.

The evening consisted of another treadmill run, not my favorite BUT, I was able to watch some dumb humor TV 1 episode of Futurama and Tosh.0 awesome!

I ran faster in the evening then the morning 53:50, and 54:10. Not much of a difference but, my back was starting to hurt form my crappy chair at work and I didn't want to try and kill it.

Friday Workout


This was a very comfortable run, I enjoyed! Pace was on the money and I was comfortable the whole way through. I was just really hungry after the last 2 days of mileage. I was definitely ready to rest at work and have a chance to enjoy a day at work rather than feel stressed out. I was able to catch up on a lot of things Thursday so Friday was very quiet.

Saturday Workout
"damn it's cold" were my first thoughts getting out the door. I did my usual grab some toast and Nutella and head out the door routine. I wish I had coffee to begin with though. I got out the door later then I had planned but 6am is still 6 am on  the lake. It was a gorgeous sunrise and an even better temperature once the day picked up.




The goal was to do 7 up 7 hard and 7 down. These last couple of runs I have not been able to turn the ratchet down on speed in my long runs, which I am really struggling with. I can only turn it down 15-20 seconds and even then I can't hold it consistently. I really need to get back with the running group. I just need a group of guys to run with again.

Saturday #2
This was undoubtedly the silliest thing and most fun thing I have done in a while. Rarely do I just go out and run a bunch of miles for fun but, I will ride them.

I met up with Ryan and Flint to help them finish out a 150mi. ride. That's INSANE, 100 usually has people knocking on the wall of fatigue but 150 makes mere men look like chumps. I love this stuff, it mad eme feel really good to bring some fresh air and fast wheels to the party. They were happy too, we managed to put a roughly 19+mph average out this ride. We were having a ball cracking jokes and catching up. IT was good to ride again, like really really good. I think I need to get back into it. I missed it!

Sunday

Thanks to Dan and Jiggs (Julie Reisner) for putting on a great charity 13.1 event. I was able to be lead Sag for the event and really enjoyed riding with Peter, he might hate me but, I made him run about .5 mile off course, because I didn't know the course (oh well!). I had a ton of fun sprinting between packs and cheering these guys on! Great fun!

Thanks for a fun time, it was good catching the crew!



For your viewing pleasure!

Love and Happiness

The Beginning

I thought I'd finally get a post up about myself. What I am besides running. I expect this post to involve plenty of photos. Perhaps a chance for you to get to know who I am outside of short shorts and a tshirt...

So this about the time I decided to get my life together. Not that it was in any sort of disarray but, I was unhappy (notice blank stare and chunky face). I'll start my story here: Freshman year of college. Most people put on the Freshman 15, I put on the freshman 30. I wasn't even in the dorms, I was just lazy and too overwhelmed with life, girls and school to care about my looks. [Insert comments about over all bodily upkeep and facial hair...]

I hit an all time high of about 208lbs. I remember that I would go to the gym and lift weights and be able to bench 150. I remember thinking I wanted to hit 200 some day. I also remember that cardio was not in my regimen, errr existent in my life.  I simply didn't enjoy sweating, not as much as I do now. I remember being bigger (fat for our intensive purposes), and sweating when I slept. Ick.

This is basically the story of freshman year, cheese doodles, thinking I knew how to be an engineer, taking "hard" classes, oh hardly...developing my inner caveman. I was an odd fellow back in those days. I smoked a pipe, no seriously; I was hip before it was hip to be hip yo. I wore some serious flannel and really enjoyed bagels.

The change wouldn't hit me until Christmas of Sophomore year. I am sitting here thinking so hard about when  that change came and what caused it, what was that deciding point. When did I decided to exercise? When did i decide to become a vegetarian? Who influenced me? When? Where? Why?



The Awakening


I know when it happened, and where but the why is evading me. I decided that I was fat. That was like admitting you're an alcoholic,too food. yeah. I was never raised to eat "healthy" or even understand what that meant. I simply put food in my mouth, not thinking about what it was, or how it would make me feel or it's calorie content. ( I got big somehow, it was not due to hunger, trust me). I remember that summer before when I first started interning, I remember taking my dad's old schwinn. Check it!

Anyways, I was taking it in for a tune up, in an attempt to get healthy and try to lose some weight. Needless to say this was not my first 2 wheeled love. I had this honey too and a dirt bike. You get the idea. I loved the speed, adrenaline and fun that came along with this. It always inspired a sense of freedom and bit of care free life.

The true piece of life that caught me off guard was the fateful day with the schwinn varsity. I was taking it in for a tune up and while I was waiting for them to bring it back to me (so this was after it was tuned up). They were rolling it back, I was bored at looking at all the bikes I could never afford so I went and looked at the pamphlets. Who doesn't like pamphlets!

It was then that my life would change. I went from fat slob to iron man, runner, and beyond. OK maybe not. I picked up a pamphlet for The Shermanator Triathlon. I was intrigued. Having been a swimmer in my young years (I was like 7, rockin a speedo) [Sexy and I know Ittt...] I knew I could run, albeit slow but, I could do it. As I was looking at it, they rolled the bike back. I paid and threw it on my car. I kept the pamphlet. I took it home and put it on my desk. I left it there and looked at it every few days. I finally decided to start running, trying to run the required distance atleast once, swim the distance without stopping, and bike atleast the distance.

The concept of brick training, transition practice, and wetsuit skills were lost on me at this point. Unfortunately my debut (dehboo for those in the cycling world), was not going to be what I thought it was. I laugh now thinking back as to how badly I floundered, and how much I thought I needed and how much I over thought the whole process. Unfortunately tragedy would strike and I'd never actually make it to that first race. Ok so tragedy struck twice...ugh.

Remember that Schwinn Varsity? Remember how it worked and I could ride it. Apparently bikes and cars don't play well. Who'd have thought? I was in my neighborhood finishing a ride and a car backed out unreasonably quickly. Enough to cause some tire chatter on their part.. I was forced to lock the brakes up, in  super n00b fashion I locked up the rear end, threw it into a curb in this slow motion n00b-esque praying mantis motion. I had not heard of clip ins or the concept of cycling apparel so... I hit the curb at about 15mph tossing me onto the grass. I tacoed the wheel and bent the rear triangle. Needless to say the bike was not worth repairing. It made lawn art for about 2 days before it was picked up.

Shaken but not stirred (See what I did there :) ). I picked up the next bike in the garage. Fit and fine tuning were not in my vocabulary so I just picked up a bike I could ride. This story sucks a little more but, I'll keep it short. I was finishing a ride very close to home (again with the close to home business). I was riding down portage road right before bacon in the bike lane. I was sideswiped by a teal saturn at about 45 mph. I took off his mirror with my elbow, and he sheared the crank of the forbidden fuji. I mean clean off.

Besides a very sore elbow (OW), a broken bike, I had a mere scrape on my leg. notice the black tired rub. I didn't actually end up falling over. I had earned some bike points form the bike gods after the last joy and thrill.






 So now I'm left with no bike, and all this athletic ability, what do I do? I run the 5K instead, which was really good for me because I was able to get an idea of what not to do in a race and watch the pros do it right. It was one of the most exciting experiences of my life. Oh yeah, I won my age group at a race for the first time. Which would insert a deep seated love for the sport.

Sweet Hat  Right? GO AMERICA

Part of me regrets this photo.

From here the journey began. I'll stop here for today and continue my story some other day.

Locomotive Breath

This has been an intense past couple of days. Things finally calmed down on Friday but, I definitely was starting to feel a little burnt out. Not from running rather, from work. The pace has been very intense and very demanding. Mentally I've been working through a few things and that hasn't helped with my focus.

Thursday was intended to be an easier day to recover from the harder effort on Wednesday. I woke up Thursday stiff and feeling very tight in my legs and butt. This told me a few things, running when I woke up was not going to be worthwhile. I also knew that recovery was worth it's weight in gold with the a hard run coming Saturday.

Thursday Workout
It had been a really long week and I made a point to get to the gym at normal time. I got up to the treadmills and my favorite one was calling my name. I had my thermal water bottle and my sports beans all set up. Having not had food since lunch I needed a little snack. Those 8 miles were super interesting. I just got really lost in thought and I was able to push the pace and just "be". I thought about writing this post directly after I was done running. I got lost in the moment and got into that very comfortable pace and position. I was able to just push it down to about 6:40 pace for the 8 miles.

I remember getting off the treadmill and had to snap back into reality. I seldom get so into a run that I can literally push everything away and make my world quiet.  It was a good feeling and I hope I can continue my focus on more runs.

Friday Workout
 I talked to rob by text afterwards and told him I had a good run; he asked how I felt and how my legs were holding up. His feedback to me was to see how I felt in the morning. I got up on Friday and my legs felt surprisingly fresh. I'm finally starting to feel like I am making some gains again. One of them is big on recovery. I've found that a diet with lots of greens and water has been really good for me. Greens are extremely good for you and can be whipped up into any dish. I'll try and post some food dishes on here soon.


My original plan was to run the 10 on the schedule. However, I woke up and I just really felt like I needed more sleep, knowing I had 18 to run today. I still got up and put 6 miles in and got home. IT was an excellent morning for a nice cool run. The best part was the french vanilla coffee I had when I got back to home base. Waking up with the smell of the lake and sunrises in the morning are something I'll never miss.





In case you did the math, I only got 6 in. I had planned to split up the run since I split them up. After getting off of work. I simply got too busy going through my day and by the time it came to dinner. I really just wanted to chill out. I decided to scrap the run and have a good dinner instead. Delicious teff flour quesadilla with rice, squash and tempeh NOM NOM NOM!


Saturday Workout
Today was rough. I had high hopes after the first loop. That was until I tried to get my turn over going, I simply couldn't get my legs turning over. The reason why would become apparent much later to me. Food food food. I continue to struggle with eating. I try to get out the door too quick it seems.

I put down half a banana and some nutella and ran out the door. literally.I only took in another 200 calories the rest of the run. Which was dumb...I burned almost 1800. I needed at least 500.


By the time I hit 16 I was done. I had hit that low point/ that wall and that last mile felt like a death march. I was sure I was in the 8:00's and surprised to be under 7:00.  I was happy to be around 6:08 but was not what I was looking for.


Today's workout was supposed to be 5 miles up 8 at sub 5:55 and 5 down. We can clearly see I failed at the middle 8 but once I knew the wheels were going to fall off I tried to hang on the best I could. I think I did remarkably well considering my stupid fueling choices.Honestly. I'm very happy that the last 5 were 6:40's average. 







There have been a few things have developed as some aches and pains. One that I feel all to many runners deal with. Back pain, my lower back has been killing me lately. I have been working on strengthening it but, I  think I need a  better chair at work and work more on my form when running.


I'm tapped otu and ready to crash. maybe tomorrow I'll work on getting some recipes up.



Ian Anderson - Master of the Jazz Flute!

Spanish Castle Magic

Today was one heck of a day for me. Mentally and physically. Work has been stressful for me. I really need to learn when to just say no.

That said, the last few days have been rigorous and draining. Monday was only 6 miles but with a beach day on Sunday, I definitely felt the combination of heat and dehydration during my run.



Workout
6 miles today. The schedule has me at 6 miles around 7:00/mi pace and I think I was able to keep that. I felt pretty good most of the time, with the exception of my legs. They felt very tight and stiff. I felt like my quads forgot how to fire correctly. I'm not unhappy with this run, especially after as hard as I pushed it on Saturday and the 15 mile ride on Sunday. I was happy with that 6:40 middle mile. Some-days it's the little victories!



Workout
Rob had me doing 2x workouts today and Tuesday's always start with speed. It's that good feeling, legs and lungs burning, and apparently my skin too after how hot it was! I think it was 80+ humidity at 5:45am...awesome. I did 4x1000 and to be honest, it didn't hurt that bad. Legs were very comfortable and that 5:30 and 5:32 were very comfortable. Rob wanted me to shoot for 5:50...whoops.

Rob and I had a really good talk after my workout. I told him that I felt like at 4x1,000 wasn't as taxing as I was hoping. He smiled and simply chuckled and said "just wait Simmons". Oh, great. In all honesty, there are few people who I'll show up and bring my A game for 100% of the time. As many of you know, Rob can make anyone who's having a complete crap day, have a great day in less then 5 seconds. He's a great friend and a better coach.

That said, he told me that if I can keep myself together and simply meet the necessary numbers; I'll definitely meet my goals and probably better them. He said that this month shouldn't "hurt" and I should feel really good going into August. I'm amped for August and ready to put down the miles. I miss the 2/days and the long long runs. I hope I'll be bale ot get back to running with Brandon, Ken, and my local crew. I simply have been too  busy.

Workout #2
This workout was meant to be short and move out the lactic acid. It was supposed to be active recovery but everything felt really good and I simply put down 4 miles at 6:55 pace. It's been really nice not seeing the 7:00 mark most of the time. This would change on Wednesday as you can see....




Workout
12 miles of pure HELL Hills, get it? enough joking 2mi w/u 8 miles of hills and 2 c/d. My legs felt like lead for that first mile and I literally could not stop yawning as I rolled down the first decline and into the old neighborhood.  I wasn't trying to push the uphills, I was simply trying to work on keeping my arms in and moving them more when I hit the hills. I kept thinking about Rob saying "be efficient. keep you arms in".  This definitely kept me more comfortable and I was able to put power to pavement. I haven't done many hills lately, if any since Chattanooga. Look for me to hit this course more, I enjoyed it and it provided a good challenge. Check the elevation, is this really Kzoo?




This was a rough run. I finally figured out why my legs have felt like junk. I haven't been rolling. My legs were so ungodly stiff I felt like Forrest Gump. The heat didn't help either, again with the 80 degree temps at 5am. I had my trusty 22oz handheld and I tapped it out at mile 10. Had I not had it, I'd be hurting pretty bad. I was very under slept and I could definitely feel those 1,000's in the hammies. Sneering back at me. I had a banana and nutella for breakfast, which was barely any calories for me and I was using Gu Chomps (Peach Tea) which are amazing! I took food at 3,6,9. The only reason is that I had a meeting until 10 and I would not have a chance to eat. THAT SUCKED. I really needed food this morning. It was hard to recover. Luckily I didn't have to cross train or do active recovery tonight. So I've been trying to relax and hang.


This song was in my head and on in my car on the way to and from workouts and work today. Dig that vibe ya'll!




I'm nodding off just sitting here typing. Until next time..

Long Road to Ruin

Today was a very hectic day at work. Just a knock out, drag out, couldn't do a darn thing write right kind of day. I was happy for the appointment at 2 so I could get out of the office for a minute. Thursdays are always crazy. Working 12+ hrs yesterday didn't help either.

That said I didn't post yesterday due to the long day at work so here it goes.

Workout
Rob had me doing 8 miles at an easy and comfortable pace. On days like this I try to just put my watch on and ignore it, until I have to start calculating distance. I felt really good during this workout. One thing about getting up this early to run is that I simply cannot get food in me before I run. I have to eat after otherwise things don't go well...you get the point; it's either up or out, no matter the timing or amount of fluids I drink. Which means most of my runs are built on last nights dinner or if I remember in the morning fog to grab a gel, I at least have something to work with.


SNAP! I figured out how to embed! POW

I was able to push it in that last mile. I was definitely feeling Tuesday's Tempo workout in the legs by the end of this.

Workout
Today's workout was nothing short of draining. After working for 12+hrs I was mentally and physically drained and thinking of doing anything under 7:00 pace left me feeling a bit overwhelmed. When I read the schedule the night before and I had to go under 6:00; I was ready to chalk today up to recovery.

1mi w/u
2x2.5mi @ 5:55 or better pace
1 mi c/d

This normally wouldn't be a big deal for me but, I've really been putting the hurt on today, and I had to turn on the beast mode and make things work. Had I not used the treadmill I would have been in a different world of hurt and probably wouldn't have kept me pushing through those road bumps. It's an amazing thing to push through those little mental bumps. It doesn't compare to those draining 20+mi. I'm ready to be done but, I have this huge climb in front of me kind of issues. It's those, I am really hurting and I just want to slow down a little bit. It'll make my legs feel better, I know it will! (it doesn't!) I had to say to myself "SHUT UP LEGS" and keep pushing through. This gave me strength, it gave me a push, and the confidence to keep going. I kept counting down the time and breaking it into actual times and distance. "9 minutes left, you can do anything for 9 minutes", ".5 mile left, that's just 2 laps". These are the games I play to keep going, and soon enough it's done.

I was even able to put a little stink in that last mile the workout looked like this.

1 up 6:49
2.5 (5:58, 5:54, 2:57 (5:54 pace))
2.5 (5:55, 5:49, (2:50(5:40 pace))
1 down 6:55

I had to take my car in for LOF and a mysterious front end clunk, so I rode home and snagged a ride around the lake too. My mom also got me a present. She got me my 2012 Martian Marathon photo's, which was my first big win.
It's time for bed.