Resolutions

I've never been the person that makes New Yr Resolutions, but rather I'm always trying to do something better. LOL I figure if I made a list to OFFICIALLY start working on in the new year I might actually realize how messed up I am and who needs that kind of pressure. :P I'm just say'in......

So do you like to make New Years Resolutions?? Do you follow thru with them usually?
If I was to make a triathlon related resolution it would be "To work on my confidence when I race!" A less sport specific one might be "Remember to treat everyday as important as the next!!!"

If you're interested in a little history re: New Years Resolutions. Click here: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-New-Years-Resolutions&id=245213

Wishing everyone the Best 2009 possible!!

Stretching Stretching and more Stretching!

So how many of you actually take the time to stretch? I know we all think about it and agree that we absolutely should be stretching more.....but have we set the time aside to actually do it? If you are like many of my clients, then your answer would be NO! And previous to my knee issues a year ago I would have answered the same exact way! (you'd think I'd have know better after a BS, MS, massage school and being a Personal Trainer---HA...EASIER SAID THAN DONE!)Fast forward to today and I will tell you that I stretch so much you'd think I was trying out for a circus act. hee hee :O) It's amazing how my body has gotten use to its daily lengthening ritual/routine and without it gets very cranky.

Being thats its 2008....if you surf the web for 5 mins you will most likely be able to read a hundred different articles saying that stretching is good for you, but then in the next 5 mins you will probably find a hundred different articles saying the stretching is worthless and shows no benefit. Lets just say I'm not going to get into a debate with anyone about it unless you REALLY want to.....but I will point out "IT WORKS FOR ME". Personally for me flexibility is imperative for getting my muscles and joints to move thru their full range of motion. (which tends to be important while swimming, biking or running) I also feel its worth stressing that stretching should be done PROPERLY! If not, a person can potential do more damage than good. Now I could bore you with all that goes on when a person stretches their muscles -- From how the sacromere moves, what a z-line is, what happens within the myofibril , how our friends the actin and myosin filaments are very important...... BUT I WON'T! We can have Anatomy 101 some other day. :P

I like to think of flexibility and stretching as a joint union. One facilitates the other!Some stretching techniques are: Static Stretching, Ballistic(Dynamic)Stretching, Passive Stretching, Active Stretching, PNF-Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation,CR- Contract-Relax and CRAC - Contract-Relax-Agonist-Contract. The latter techniques being done by a PT, Massage Therapist or Personal Trainer that is certified in that particular modality.

My recommendation for some books on the subject are "Sport Stretch" by Michael J. Alter, "Stretching" by Bob Anderson and then "Stretching Anatomy" by Arnold Nelson. No book is perfect but each one of these offers quite a bit and the first 2 have lots of easy to follow pictures for those of you who like to skim read and look at pictures. YIPPEEEE! The anatomy book might seem less relevant than the other two but I have always been of the opinion that you can never know too much. We're endurance athletes and we put ourselves thru countless hours of grueling training. It might be nice to know a little about what we are affecting in the way of muscles, tendons, ligaments, lions, tigers and bears... oh my. (Oopss sorry I got side track there for a moment) If nothing else we can when we have to visit the doctor say... "Hey Dr, I think my Anterior Tibialis hurts".....which could also be said as " Hey Dr, I think I have Shin Splints".

:)This of course coming from someone who should have been a coroner...and absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED anatomy lab in school. (I think I took 6-8 lab classes total)

HELL YA, give me a good autopsy to ID some muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, organs etc....and I'm like a pig in slop! I mean REALLY who doesnt wanna see the pretty green color of the gallbladder?? AAAH HHAAAA HAAAA

Ok, so now that I've grossed everyone out.....GO STRETCH!

Running In My Head: Trying to be a BETTER Runner

Oh the pain of it all. What to do , what to do......(looking up at the running gods and screaming) WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO to be better? Better, of course translating to mean becoming faster and more efficient.  So how...well short of becoming Usain Bolt we can try....  speed work, drills, core strengthening , strength training and then the hardest thing for a lot of us to do is to learn how to RECOVER!

Perhaps you have recently added speed work into your running schedule because you want to change up your routine or maybe you've come to realize that the leg mechanics are such that you put less strain on your knees and other joints when you're running with a good stride (longer than when you plod along) - less contact on the ground or maybe its just that you are plain tired of being passed by people who are older than Moses. Whatever your reason....EXPECT SPEED WORK TO HURT! I recently had a friend tell me that running should be easy and if its not I'm not doing something right. Uhhhhh, I call BS on that one!  After talking to my coach about my frustration with my own running,  he pointed out that I have an altered perception of what my running needs to be.   "Sam, its going to hurt and its going to feel like crap"...."Not every run is going to be perfect and you will gut thru it!" "But in the end the pain will be worth it and you will see improvement." ( I paraphrased what he said obviously) See,  now here I was out there running feeling like a gangly praying mantis moving down the street when in fact I'M SUPPOSE TO FEEL LIKE A GANGLY PRAYING MANTIS!! Yipppeeee, I feel so much better. Note to self....learn to love the Praying Mantis in me.

Since my coach and I spoke about my running, which happens to be my weakest leg of the tri...I have been taking what my coach said to heart and in fact I repeat the "Sam, its going to hurt" in my head when I wanna puke doing Fartlek intervals. I haven't experience it yet but I can only imagine that anything I'm feeling now doing my speed work is NOTHING compared to how I'm going to feel competing in my Ironman race hopefully in 2010.  

Back to speed work......I'm starting to like it!  Doesn't feel good on any level while I'm doing it but afterwards the sense of accomplishment I get is UNREAL. Granted I'm no Olympic hopeful, but for me who at one point couldn't run any faster than 12-13 min miles ( which is close to walking ) I'm thrilled that I can sustain a 8 mm interval pace in my longer run with drills also thrown in for good measure.  I like the hill repeats, I like the drills, and I like the fartlek, I like the repeats.....keeping in mind what I mean by like of course.  (wink)

Gotta love those drills.....they really seem to help because they help loosen up my legs and make them turn over faster when I ask them to, which of course will come in very handy someday. 

Yet another piece of the puzzle is my core strength.  My core is already strong but I'm working even harder at it especially my oblique muscles.  I know that with improved strength comes better stability, better stability will help usher in improved form, improved form will help me get better/faster with less PAIN!   Now thats an idea I can wrap my head around. 

In the same realm as core strength comes strength training and pick specific exercise that are going to benefit what I am trying to accomplish both in my running and my being a Triathlete.  I know quite a few runners that only run but IMO would benefit greatly from upper body work for improved stability and endurance as well as taking their lower body muscle to a new level, a better level that can only help take seconds if not minutes off their PR's.

So wish me luck as I hit the pavement harder than I ever have and remember...it's not suppose to be all sunshine and roses while you're out there......it's suppose to hurt like hell sometimes...but don't you believe you won't remember those times sooner than the times when you barely broke a sweat!

Train hard out there and always believe in yourself!!! 

On a personal note:  I know I tell my running partner how much I appreciate his help and how much his patience means to me and how I couldn't do some of this without his support but I wanna tell him again!  "HUBBY....you rock!!!!!  I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes and when I finally cross the finish line at my first HIM next yr and then finally my IM distance...you will have been a big part of that."  Oh yeah and I'm sorry if I ever threw up on you, spit on you and or blew my nose in your direction while we were running.....I SWEAR I didn't mean too!  ;P

In Times of Reflection-Frustration-Worry-Question

What do you do? Read a book, visit a friend, referrence an inspirational thought/quote, watch a movie, sit quietly alone or maybe even get in a grueling 2 hour workout?

I don't know about most but I have a book that I write down quotes in which I have come across over the years...there are hundreds that have given me instant as well as continuous inspiration and insight. -- Here are just a few of my favorite, please ENJOY!

"Friendship is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies."
"Dreams are the touchstones of our character."
"Pain is only a state of mind."
"Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up!"
"Actions, looks, words and steps form the alphabet by which you may spell character."
"Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from indomitable will."
" If you're going to be a turd, go lay on the lawn!"
" I generally avoid tempation unless I can't resist it."
"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"
"When I'm good I'm very good, but when I'm bad I'm better."
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away"
"Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake."
"For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed but my soul."
"There are not many things in life so beautiful as true friendship, and not many thing more uncommon."
"Don't follow your dreams; chase them."
"It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves."
"Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances."
"I was never afraid of failure, for I would sooner fail than not be among the best."
"People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost."
"Life is nothing without friendship."
"Nothing is predestined: The obstacles of your past can become the gateways that lead to new beginnings."
"Be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle."
"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
"Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity."
"There are no failures - just experiences and your reactions to them."
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

What is wrong with this guy?

The guy I'm referring to is Bear Grylls from Man vs. Wild. I'm convinced there is something very NOT NORMAL with this man.
Some of the stuff he does.....OMG. Don't get me wrong I like adventure like the next gal but shessshhhhhh, chewing on a Zebra or sleeping inside a camel!! Uhhhhhhhh, I'm thinking NO..I won't be doing either of those anytime soon!!! But then again if it was between life and death...would I do it? Maybe...Let's just hope I never have to make that desision, and besides where would I find a camel in Las Vegas? A luxury SUV sure....those are a dime a dozen. LOL

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-adventurous-palate.html

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-bear-meets-camel.html

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/man-vs-wild-urine-defroster.html

Bouldering @ Calico Basin

My friends Candice and Brian that came out for the LV Marathon stayed a few days longer so today we headed out to Red Rock Canyon after our piggly wiggly buffet visit.  (insert OINK OINK noises here!)

How much fun did we have.....SO MUCH FUN!  At first we were just going to walk around on this wooden pathway, but as it turns out we deviated off the designated walking area. :)  OOPPPS.  I of course blame Candice who hopped over the fence first, to which of course I could not, not follow....POOR BRIAN!!  So away we go...walking up the trail until we almost dropped Candice off the side of a rock.  WHOOPS.  I then decided to scurry up ahead to see what I could see and decided whether the trail ( if you could call it that ) was safe.  MOM was making sure the kids didn't have an accident. tee hee  At this point I decided I wanted to go all the way to the top, as either C or B had mentioned we should hike to the top.  YIPPEEEEE Ok, so I had a bit of an advantage because I have bouldered up these rocks quite a few times BUT I think we all had a blast.  Tomorrow its off to Mt Charleston and hopefully some snow!  What great views.....and wait is that my car down there????

Brrrrrr, its chilly up here!

Look its Rock Surfer Extraordinaire. :))

 Nice views:)

Of course Candice and I felt the urge to do a few pushups along the way.....LOLOLOL (I'm on the left, C is on the right)  Shesshhh....us Endurance athletes..do we ever take a break?