How to be the perfect man, part 1

Send this to your wife on a random Wednesday, just because.

Because I'm geeky like that...

I keep track of my workouts pretty religiously. When I was doing a lot of weight lifting, I would write down my max set (weight and reps) so I could track my progress. Rather than round up or down for a class I taught, my handwritten workout log would say something like "Step aerobics, 51 minutes." Never 50 minutes. 51, thankyouverymuch.

Now that I track my workouts online, it's much easier to chart yearly totals. For example, running. (This is totally not a hypothetical example. I already graphed it this morning, out of curiosity.)

I started running in 2005. Since then, I have run 4,859.5 miles. The breakdown is:

2005 - 708.6 miles
2006 - 601.6 miles
2007 - 594.0 miles
2008 - 886.5 miles*
2009 - 725.8 miles
2010 - 654.0 miles
2011 (to date) - 689.1 miles

Assuming about a 60 mile December, I'll be around 750 for the year. Not bad, I guess, considering I did one half marathon and way fewer races in general.

*Not surprisingly, my highest year was 2008. I'm not surprised because that was also the year that I lost a TON of weight (and looked damn good, if I may say so myself) and saw times on the track and in races I may never see again. Dare I say there's a direct correlation (for me at least) between total miles and paces? It sure seems like it.

What am I, nuts?

I have done one marathon in my life. It was on the bucket list, and I did it. At the time, I thought maybe I'd do a marathon every other year, and Andrew (IronEx aka Coach Andrew) would do Ironman races in the alternate years. Fun plan, right? Every year one of us would train and both of us would go to fun destinations to cheer for each other.

Except every time I tried to train for another marathon, I crapped out within the first few weeks. I soon realized that I really did not have the mental capacity to train for a marathon. Nor the interest, quite frankly. So instead, I started concentrating on triathlons, half marathons, and other fun stuff.

Except I know I could do better if I did another one.

No, nope, no thanks. Don't wanna.

Except yesterday I found this. And I can't stop thinking about it.


SAN DIEGO ROCK & ROLL MARATHON
June 2005

RACE RECAP

Waiting for the starting gun: Anxious, excited, and ready to go.

Still waiting: Sweet! One of my favorite songs is playing! (Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim)

The gun!: It took 2 minutes to get to the start line, but once we got there we started a slow jog. There were so many people that we couldn’t go much faster at first. And awesomely, the song playing is now Beautiful Day by U2!

Mile 1: Feeling good! A little faster than I planned on going, but so far, so good.

Miles 2-4: Same as Mile 1. Feeling good, doing about 9:40 to 9:50 per mile.

Miles 5-8: Slowing down a little bit, but still feeling strong. This isn’t bad at all!

Miles 9-13: The crowd isn’t as thick, and we’re going at about my goal pace of 10 minutes per mile, maybe a little slower. Perfect.

Mile 13.1: Wow! Halfway done! Right now we’re at 2:13:56. If we keep up this pace, I’ll meet my dream goal of 4.5 hours!

Miles 14-18: It’s starting to hurt a little, and I’m definitely slowing down. But that’s OK. I expected as much.

Miles 19-20: I definitely miscalculated my long run in training. My 20-miler was more like an 18.5-miler, because I don’t remember feeling this bad during or after it. But there’s my TTES coach! She says I look good! I know she’s lying, but I’ll take any encouragement I can get right now.

Miles 21-22: Someone please kill me now. I’m serious. Just shoot me.

Mile 22.5 or so: Andrew ducked into the bushes. I. Can’t. Run. Another. Step. I am now walking.

Mile 22.51: Drat him! He’s back already! And he’s holding my hand and encouraging me to, what?, run????? Are you joking? I’m done. Didn’t you hear me? I can’t run anymore. I’ll just wait here on the side of the road until someone comes by with a car. I don’t care if it’s not until tomorrow. That’s fine. Leave me alone now.

Mile 23: Why won’t he leave me alone? I want to WALK, dammit! Not run!

Mile 24: Oh, the pain!!!!!! Every joint in my lower body hurts — hips, knees, and ankles — plus my right elbow is bothering me so I’m now running with my arms straight down by my sides.

Mile 25: Mile 25! Only 1.2 miles to go! Let’s finish this #&* thing!!!!!! Suddenly I get a burst of adrenaline and speed. I’m positively inspired!

Mile 25.5ish: We’re now in the Marine base. There are people everywhere. I never saw the sign for Mile 26, so I don’t know how close the finish line is. Gotta keep running.

Mile 26.1: I hear music! Beautiful music! It’s Where the Streets Have No Name by U2! Bono is calling me to the finish line! I. Can. Do. This.

Mile 26.2: I DID IT! I RAN A MARATHON! I AM A MARATHONER!!!!!


Oh boy. Am I seriously considering this????

Remember the Want To Do list?

I'm making slow progress!

- Get to yoga once a week -- Yes! 10 weeks in a row!
- Transition to early morning workouts -- Yes! My new schedule is: teach Monday and Wednesday at 6 a.m., swim Tuesday at 6 a.m., and run Thursday at 6 a.m. (Plus other stuff on the weekends plus one evening yoga class per week and any additional/bonus workouts I'm able to squeeze in.)
- Spend more time with family, friends, and pets. -- Yes! This one is tough due to scheduling, but I'm really making an effort.
- Mentor a child -- Haven't started yet, but I reached out to an elementary school principal to see if she has any students who might be a good match.
- Go to the Winter Classic -- YES! We got tickets!!!!!!!!!!

No meetups with Bono yet, but I can wait. It will happen. (I will meet him. Oh yes. I will meet him.)

Breakfast of Champions

Last night Mom and I went to a local holiday tradition (yes, I know it's not the holidays yet, but this event used to be called The Christmas Shops so I always associate it with Christmas). One of the country clubs hosts it every year and invites local and regional high-end vendors to participate. There are holiday themed tables (ornaments, etc.) and lots of other stuff to buy, presumably for holiday gifts but I always end up looking for stuff I want, haha. Handcrafted jewelry, clothing, small home/decorative items, designer olive oils, silk ties, beautiful children's toys, etc.... It's really a nice event, and each vendor donates 20% of each sale to local charities, most of which benefit children.

All of the food vendors offer samples -- bonus! So we were sucked into a vortex of yumminess by little bite size squares of homemade toffee when I saw what the vendor called Drumsticks.

Are you ready for this?

A pretzel rod covered in caramel. And then dipped in milk chocolate. And THEN slathered with chopped almonds, walnuts, and pecans. DROOL.

Yeah, I'm eating it for breakfast today. Don't judge me.

Thought for the day

I almost always regret a missed workout, but I have never once regretted working out.