It's The Right Time...

How I feel once I am done with a morning run...

I like to think that I am a strategic type of guy. A planner if you will. I feel great when I have my day planned out and I know what is going to happen and what I am going to get accomplished, however, I would not consider my self so much of a planner as to where I am not adaptable and can change on a whim and still get what I need to get done. I like to think that anyways...

But I am not when it comes to my workouts.

I am an early morning workout type of guy. Always will be. Afternoon or evening workouts just never "work out" for me. (Did you see how that worked out? I did it again!) Many a morning when I wake up, I just don't want to run, or swim, or bike. Some of those mornings I will talk myself into changing my plan and I will plan on leaving work a little early and then workout. I go so far as to pack my backpack with running clothes even. I plan my lunch around it because although I LOVE Taco Bell, its not good for me to eat tacos for lunch and then run later. So my mindset and intentions are always good and strong.

But it never fails. Life happens. Work happens.



It seems like every time I verbally tell someone I am going to try and get out early from work, something happens. Or there is something at home that I forgot about or that pops up during the day. I should have learned this by now, but yet I always resort to talking myself into doing it later that afternoon. So No more!  I am saying no to skipping morning workouts and I am just going to start telling myself that if I do not get up, it most likely ain't gonna happen!





So I need to remember why I like to get up in the morning and get it done.

1. No cell phone calls from work or anyone early in the morning
2. It's not as hot
3. I feel more productive throughout the day
4. It's not as hot
5. Does not interrupt family time since they are all still sleeping
6. I feel like a more dedicated athlete
7. I can then tell all my friends how dedicated I am and how they aren't
8. I can eat Taco Bell for lunch
9. Less traffic on the streets
10. I sleep better knowing I got up early, ran and worked all day

That list took me less than a minute to come up with, so it's a no brainer right?

2 Signs I am Training Again

I almost hate to type this for fear of the dreaded jinx, but I can say I am back in training mode. It is very evident to me when this occurs. I mean, I have been running some, but I honestly can't say it was training. So what is the difference you may ask? Well, there are two definite signs with me that tells me I am training again.

A #1 guard to the dome!

Yes, a haircut. I like to have my hair short. I like a #1 guard. This means I do not have to worry about my hair. It dries faster. I do not have to use "product". It is cooler and another very important reason is this, really short hair makes me feel faster.

Now I have never really had long hair like you might think, but lately, it has been longer than it has been in years. I even went to a barber to get it cut a couple of times, yeah I spent money on a haircut. Now I really did enjoy the hair washing that came with the cut, but I always felt weird. So the other night, I buzzed it short. Now for reason #2...

Early morning runs!

Now this has nothing to do with a late night Taco Bell run. This has everything to do with getting my butt up for bed and getting out. There is something special to me about getting up to train. I have said it before, but rising early to train makes me feel like this is something I want more than just running when I feel like it. And I think that is important for me. I have not been "wanting it" lately.

Having not raced a lick this year has had an effect on me and I admit I have missed it. So I am ready, and I want a new PR. That is my goal, and I have a plan. I will not be doing any triathlons this year, just run races, and I am actually excited about it!!

So let's go running...

One Workout At A Time...

That is the way I am approaching Redman 140.6. I am not really going to focus on my week's workouts, because frankly, that wears me out just thinking about it. Lately I have only been looking for the next day to plan out my workouts and it has been good. Good for me physically and mentally! I am finding out that that there is more mental involved than most people tell you about.

It has been hard trying to find time to get everything in. Even some mornings when I feel like I wake up early enough to run or swim, it turns out that other commitments have me cutting things short. And that is frustrating. Since when is getting out on the road at 5:45 to run, not early enough to get in your miles? It just happens that my long runs are scheduled to happen on Sundays. As you know, I live in Memphis and it gets very hot during the day, so my only alternative is to either run early morning or treadmill it. There is no way I want to treadmill it for over 10 miles. I also place a high value on going to church on Sunday mornings, which starts at 8AM, so I need to be done running by 7AM to get ready and to help the kids get ready for church. So, I can foresee my running starting at 5AM in the near future. Which is nothing to look forward too!

One Day at a Time...

It is not hard for me to get early anymore, but it is a hard balance between getting to bed on time and getting up early. Sometimes I ride at night, usually after the kids go to bed, so it is normally after 9PM.  so riding for two hours and then getting up at 5AM to run is not good. No Bueno!!! So I have to be smart and plan it out somewhat, but planning out my week does not work for me.

July and August need to be strong months for me. I need to start hitting 4 hour rides, 3 hour runs and 90 minutes swims. Everytime I start to get worried about the race, I can look at the calendar and know I have enough time to get where I will will finish, but I have to take it one workout at a time!

***Since it has been awhile since I posted a video, here is a good motivational video:

I Have Work To Do! My Bloomberg Interview!

Here is a great video that should motivate you, and if it doesn't, then there is something wrong with you!

Plus I have this feeling that I am gonna need this in the morning! I will run 4.09 miles tomorrow, as that was the time on the clock when the bomb went off!



I was fortunate enough to do a phone interview with Bloomberg On Tuesday afternoon about the Boston Marathon. It happened due to a post I put on FaceBook, which said that I really wanted to qualify for Boston, and I never had that desire before last night. This will take a lot of work, but if the determination is there, it can be done! Here is the link to the interview! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-16/bombings-heighten-runners-commitment-to-2014-boston-marathon.html

Blame It On The...

I like to run in the mornings. I might not like the getting up part, but once I am out there running, I love it. With the temps dropping here in Mempho, it takes me even longer to get out of my nice warm bed (I like it cold at night), but I eventually get up and get dressed, usually about 10-15 minutes later than I had planned.

Once my alarm goes off, I usually hit the snooze at least once. I plan for that the night before. So if I want to get up at 6, I set my alarm for 5:51.  (Who came up with a 9 minute snooze alarm anyways?) I normally  set my running gear out the night before, So I can find it easily and quietly, and go downstairs, so I do not wake my wife. I try to be quiet, no matter what she claims. (I hate it whenever I wake up before my alarm clock goes off, even if it is just 5 minutes early! Alarm clocks can't win!)

Once downstairs, I head to the bathroom to get dressed and "take care of business". (and for the entirety of this post, I will refer to going to bathroom as taking care of business, just so there is no confusion). This is also a factor into the alarm setting decision. So, depending on how bad I ate the day before, I might have to "take care of business" once or twice before going out, cause nothing is worse than having to ":take care of business" out on a run.

So as I am getting dressed this morning and about to head out for my run, I come out of the bathroom and my son is sitting there at the kitchen table. Way early for him to be up! He turned 13 on Saturday, so he recently got into the "showering everyday" before school phase, which is a good thing, but it is weird for me. The kids are usually just waking up when I return from my runs, but right now, my marathon plan calls for a 4, 5, 4 and a 12 miler this week, so I really do not have to get up as early to complete the 4-5-4 runs during the weekdays cause I am that fast! You see I normally take my boys to school in the morning. This way my youngest gets to sleep later and Mom can get prepared for her day with said youngest one! So if people are up when I leave to go running during the week, then I feel pressured while running and I am more tempted to cut it short, which is not good for marathon training.

Now, I do not blame my son for this at all. I blame my DVR me for not getting up when I am suppose to and getting my butt out there. I blame myself for not planning better with what I eat the night before and I blame a mouse that has been running along my roof driving my dog crazy (future post). I also blame the weather and not knowing what I need to wear in the mornings. I blame it on the rain...See, there are a lot of factors involved here!

It is tough to work training around family as to not interrupt the flow of everyday family life and I do my best to train when it least effects everyone, so it looks like I will still need to get up earlier than I thought, that will just mean more time for coffee before I take my boys to school in the morning.

P.S Stay tuned to Daily Training's 2nd Ever Giveaway!  It will be cool, trust me.