Tag Archives: life lessons from running

Day 112. Fear or Flight

Life Lesson #112

Courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the willingness to act in spite of it. This has been said for centuries. Recent examples of courage are Malala Yousafzai and the unforgettable images of the NYFD first responders during September 11th.

We don’t all need to be activists or heroes, we simply need to be active seekers where we can make a difference in someone’s life. When we wake up, tell yourself you will be a blessing to someone today.

I say this every morning. I meditate on this during my runs. Repeat over and over again … I will be a blessing to someone today in Christ. It’s a wonderful way to get your mind off of yourself and onto others.

Day 111. Be Excellent

Life Lesson #111

Be excellent at all times. It doesn’t matter what you do when somebody is watching you, especially if that someone is someone who has influence over you. Let’s say, your boss. And speaking of that, I hope you’re reading this at home versus at your work cubicle. If not, watch out! Here comes the boss!

It matters what you do when nobody is watching you. Being excellent at all times means walking a few extra steps to put away your shopping cart at Costco. Holding the door a few seconds longer when you see someone coming in behind you. And if they start to run, let them know, “No rush. Take your time.” Throwing away your own trash at Taco Bell.

If you do these smaller details of your life with excellence, I promise that you will have larger details of your life and more of your heart’s desires be fulfilled.

In the immortal words of our 20th century prophet Bill … Be Excellent To Each Other!

Saturday, 09-28-2013

Day 111. What to eat before a long run?

Today’s Meals:

Today surrounded two major events. Morning 14-mile run and an evening birthday party. I needed strength to get through the run and I needed stamina to manage tonight’s party. I did great on the run, but not-so-great at the party. Still wasn’t hungry so I just had a slice of the best ever carrot cake I’ve ever had with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Note to self — ask again who made that cake.

Don’t get me wrong — I didn’t hermit it in the corner, but I just plopped in a chair and whoever sat near me would be forced to listen to me go on and on about my morning run. Oh no … I turned into one of those guys. You know the one, “Look at me guy” Turn every conversation into something I want to talk about.

Note to self — don’t be “Look at me guy”

run262 marathon meal plan

MyFitnessPal 09-28-2013

When Did I Eat?

  • 7:20am (Meal 0) — pre-run nutrition. Come on Herbalife24 and a banana! I’m counting on you today.
run262 marathon pre run

Meal 0 (Pre-Run) — 7:20am

  • Meal 0.1 (8:10am-11am) — Clif Shots at mile 3 and mile 10 and strategic sipping of my Herbalife24 Prepare, Prolong, and Niteworks to go.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 0.1 (During Run)

  • 11:20am (Meal 2) — Home and not really hungry. But at the organized runs, they have Zico for the taking. When all else fails, go back to what the professionals do. In this case, I needed to rehydrate. That pasta pictured was leftover from last night and all I did was play with my food. That banana was only half eaten as well.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 2 (post run) – 11:20am

  • 7pm (Meal 3) — Happy Birthday Dear Crispy, Happy Birthday to you! The best carrot cake ever. Had a whip cream frosting rather than that typical sweet layer of stuff I usually scrape off anyway. Saved me the efforts of scraping and more for eating! Delicious. They had catered Mexican food, but this cake is all I was up to.
run262 marathon meal plan

Meal 3 — 7pm

  • 8:10pm (Meal 3.1) — Left the party and didn’t want to press my luck. Not hungry, but I know not eating would be a mistake. Stopped at our favorite Chinese restaurant for a bowl of egg drop soup, rice, and oranges. Now I’m feeling better! As you can see, not a big fan of peas. Does anybody else put rice in their soups? If not, what are you waiting for!

run262 marathon meal planMeal 3.1 — 8:10pm

Saturday, 09-28-2013

Day 111. Work Hard. Play Hard.

I dislike that saying. It’s normally said by someone raising a half-empty beer in one hand while pumping the fist of the other. Here’s my problem with it …

Work hard? What does that mean? Are there times when you shouldn’t do your best? Here’s my issue with working hard. Our culture is so quick to give props to something we should be doing anyway. We should be working hard. We should be working while we are at work rather playing solitaire when the boss isn’t looking.

Life lesson #111 — Be excellent at all times.

Now, play hard. No problem with this at all. We were created to enjoy our lives, but keep things in perspective and prioritize properly. Playing hard before being excellent at your responsibilities is a recipe for disaster.

Chris Rock sums it up very well … what do you want, a cookie? Don’t get it. That’s okay. Watch this short clip and it will all make sense.

Warning — explicit language.

I Take Care of My Kids

mickey mouse shadow creepy

Someone’s At The Door

And oh, by the way, I worked hard at a 9:21 minute/mile average pace for 14-miles today and then celebrated some good friend’s 3-year-old son’s birthday. Mickey even showed. I guess you could say, I worked hard and played hard today.

Morning weight = 173.5. Post-run 169.5

Saturday, 09-28-2013

Day 110. No Umbrella Needed

Life Lesson #110

Plan ahead for the things you do know and plan ahead for how you react to the things you don’t know.

If you get your mindset that you will remain clam under a storm, when the storm comes and newsflash, storms will come, you will be able to handle them with excellence.

Day 110. Planning or Reacting?

Do you plan ahead?

I’ve found that doing so is very helpful. Not only plan for what is to come, but also plan for what is unforeseen. Specifically, how will you react if things don’t go as originally planned. This is a key, a secret if you will, to managing your emotions and being excellent in our daily lives.

So, I planned ahead. Not too far ahead. Just one day. And my “ahead” shows a 14-mile run on the horizon. So what does that mean for today and how should I plan for tomorrow?

For today — eat well, sleep well, and laugh well.

For tomorrow — eat well in the morning. Banana and super cocktail of Herbalife24 Prepare, Prolong, and Niteworks. And run in the morning. My attitude as I look towards tomorrow … I can do all things through Christ who strenghtens me.

Life Lesson #110 – Plan ahead for the things you do know and plan ahead for how you react to the things you don’t know.

Morning weight = 173. Post-run weight = 170.5

Friday, 09-27-2013

Day 110. Spaghetti Factory.

Day 110 – Today’s Meals

Marathon Food Plan. Carbs and cheeses and chips. The 3Cs of nutrition. But, poor choice of words, however … take a peek at the food journal. Still below my daily goal and says if I continue to eat like a normal human, I will still lose a bit of L-Bs. (pounds). Oh my … I can still be human and enjoy foods without counting points, without deprivation. I can be with versus without. But (here’s that but again), I did strap on the ole’ Brooks again today and hit the pavement. How many miles and time equals to managing the 3Cs of nutrition … find out here.

run262 marathon food plan

Today’s Meals 09-27-2013

When did I eat:

  • 6:50am (Meal 0) – Herbalife24 Prolong, Prepare, and Niteworks plus a couple pieces of frozen banana. Why frozen banana? Because that’s all I had. I freeze banana slices for my morning smoothies and didn’t plan for ahead for a non-frozen one. But, at the fair, freeze your banana and it’s actually called a dessert now.
run262 marathon food plan

Meal 0 — 6:50am

  • 10:40am (meal 1.1) – Yakisoba and Justin pairing. Crispy and salty plus biter sweet and savory.
run262 marathon food plan

Meal 1.1 10:40am

  • 1:10pm (Meal 2) – Tastybite Madras Lentils and leftover egg fried rice. This is another Costco find from years ago. Comes in a 4-pack (I think) and also packs big flavor. Microwave in a minute and bring on the protein and big flavors.
run262 marathon food plan

Meal 2 — 1:10pm

  • 4:45pm (Meal 3) – Various chips and cheeses and fruit. House warming party with tons of finger foods. Had to leave quickly because I didn’t want to leave with tons of extra calories.
ustronger herbalife nutrition

Meal 3 — 4:45pmustronger herbalife nutritionMeal 3 — 4:45pm

  • 7pm (Meal 3.1) – I like, strike that LOVE, chips and dips more than the average bear, however not for dinner. After the party, there’s always the afterparty. And tonight it was dinner for two at Spaghetti Factory. Manager’s Special with mushroom and mizithra plus my handy-dandy Herbalife tablets. I don’t think there is a fat blocker in there, but I certainly needed one tonight.
run262 marathon food plan

Meal 3.1 — 7pm

Friday, 09-27-2013

Day 109. A Day Without Cardio

A Day Without Cardio

run262 marathon

Light Weights 09-26-2013

A so-called off day is a day without cardio. After Tuesday’s T25 premiere performance, my calves were on fire. A good thing. From the calves down, it looked like Arnold in his heyday. T25 definitely works the total body, starting at the calves!

Wednesday’s 6.32 mile run at an average pace of 8:43/minute was a welcome cool down from T25’s nastiness. I’ll certainly be returning to further days with Shaun T and the gang, but for now, I need a pair of house shoes. What are house shoes? The brand doesn’t matter, it’s just shoes for the house, thus house shoes. These shoes will never touch the outside — it’s like having a declawed cat. Only stays indoors.

Today was a welcomed “off-day” — a day with no cardio. 2 supersets of biceps immediately chased by 3 supersets of shoulders was like a walk in the park compared to my recent activities. Thankfully, I am getting stronger and starting to build the strength lost from the months of recovering from my Tough Mudder injury. This is a big, big deal to be able to even do a shoulder press and like the name, I’ll continue to press on, combining strength training with cardio blasts!

Thursday, 09-26-2013

Day 109. Say Ahhhh …

Two days removed from Day 1 of T25 (Tuesday) and a 6.32 mile run (Wednesday), I enjoy this off day. I’ll continue T25 once I get a pair of house cross-training shoes. Attempted to use the Vibrams and it was a bit challenging. The inside of the Vibram has some loose threads and that rubbing effect wasn’t the best for my feet. My motto (one of many) … Until I finish the marathon — PROTECT MY FEET!

So, I call it a day off, but I actually did 2 sets of various arm movements, alternating with no rest with 3 sets of various shoulder movements. Rest compared to having my feet rubbed raw like I was one of the P.O.W.s in Rambo 2. No thanks to that … remember the motto!

I was able to try something new today. That’s always brain enhancing. My wife discovered a frozen Yakisoba noodle — she just happened to be really hungry that day and stumbled upon this in the community fridge. No need to call the fridge police. I took a trip to Costco and today was the day to partake. The verdict? Delicious and Fast. In three minutes, you’re eating and on your way. My kind of food.

Life lesson #109 — keep your eyes, ears, and mouths open for new opportunities. You never know what you see, what you hear, or how it tastes until you try new things.

Morning weight = 171.5.

Thursday, 09-26-2013

Day 109. Don’t Knock It.

Life lesson #109

Keep your eyes, ears, and mouths open for new opportunities. Remember that old saying, don’t knock it ’til you try it.

Today was one of those days when I happily discovered a new food. Frozen Yakisoba can actually be “Yummy”soba and not so “Yucky.”

Thursday, 09-26-2013