Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope yours was safe and enjoyable. Melissa and I typically stay in on New Year's Eve and plan our goals for the new year. While most people celebrate on New Year's Eve, I hold off on the celebration until New Year's Day. My celebration this year went something like this:

I woke up at 7Am and made myself a fruit-protein smoothie. I have a new smoothie recipe that uses a protein powder that is plant-based rather than using whey protein (usually derived from sickly cows). It is yummy and super nutritious as well as being Vegan which is something I am striving for. I also include Udo's Oil which is packed with Omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids.

After my shake, I loaded up my gear and headed for the park to meet friends for a New Year's Day mountain bike ride. We got started at Poor Farm Park about 8:30 AM. There was really no one else there. Typically we like to ride down at the river but the trails down there were trashed because of all the snow. Poor Farm was wet but not too bad.

We had a great ride. We were out there for about an hour and 30 minutes with a total actual ride time of 1 hour and 11 minutes. We had a few breaks in the woods including a scary moment when Mario crashed. I just happened to look back up this steep snowy hill that I had just descended when I saw Mario flying over his handle bars and letting out a pretty good yell. My other friend Jeff said, "do you think he is alright?" Just then Mario let out another yell. He had already been on the ground for a few seconds when he yelled again which was not a good sign. Turns out he was bruised up a little bit but mostly he had gotten the wind knocked out of him. He recovered well and we all rode for another 20 minutes or so. He may have a broken pinky but has to fly out of town on business Monday so I doubt he will get it checked out.

After our ride, I went home and made some fresh juices with Melissa (more on that later). Then while Melissa ran her 4-mile run, I took my brand new road bike out for its maiden voyage. I rode for about 45 minutes around the neighborhood doing intervals. I rode fast until I found Melissa running and then slowed down and gave her some water. Then I took off fast again. Interval training gets the best results.

After my road bike ride, Melissa and I hit the store to do some quick shopping. Then we came home and did our P90X, 90-minute Yoga routine. We were both tired but we had to bring it. And bring it we did! It is hard to believe that we are now done with P90X. I don't think I have ever followed such a regimented workout schedule for so long and I am happy to say that we made it through with no injuries and pretty good results. We have one more day of stretching tomorrow and then we take all our post P90X measurements. I will of course report on those results here.

That about wraps up my summary of our New Year's celebration. Now onto goals, plans, and goings-on for 2011. Our first order of business is to go on a 15-day reboot diet. I have written about this in previous blog postings. Tomorrow we start. We will eat pretty much all veggies for 5 days along with fresh juices. Then after the first 5 days, we will only drink fresh juices for 5 days followed by another 5-day round of all veggies and juices.

This diet is not a diet in the traditional sense. We are not trying to lose weight. Rather we are rebooting our system by cutting out all sweeteners, added salts, and processed foods. The intent of the diet is to reset our palate so that we desire good foods over bad foods. I describe good foods as lots of fruits and vegetables and no processed foods. I have already cut all junk food from my diet. Now we will step it up a bit.

In order to do the reboot, we had to get a juicer. We got a nice Omega VRT330 Dual-Stage Vertical Single-Auger Low-Speed Juicer. Low speed juicers ensure that the juices do not get heated up during the juicing process thus diminishing the quality of the juice. The juicer is really cool. After we got it, I immediately went out to Whole Foods and filled an entire cart full of fresh organic fruits and vegetables. We are ready!

I plan to blog about the whole experience so tune in frequently for short updates about the reboot diet.

And now onto fitness goals. I have tentatively mapped out my 2011 race schedule. It is ambitious but as followers of my blog, you know that I like to bring it! Here is the schedule so far as I see it. Important to note that some of the races are tune-up races with the main goal to get used to racing.

• April 2-Monument Avenue 10K -Melissa and I are signed up as are Melissa's brother and his son.
• April 10 - Chasing Chics Sprint Triathlon-First road triathlon ever for me-got a new bike just for the occasion.
• April 16- Fredericksburg Offroad Duathlon #1-Hope to beat my time last year
• May 22 - Ground Force IT Sprint Triathlon-Another road tri.
• June 12 - Xterra East Coast Championship-Off Road Olympic Distance Triathlon
• September 4- Shenandoah Mountain 100-Redemption!

As you can see, this is pretty ambitious. However, with the proper training and nutrition, I think this is very doable. I will of course be blogging about it.

Again, Happy New Year and stay tuned for frequent updates about the diet and training.

One Year Later

A year ago today I was laid up on the couch recovering from knee surgery on both by knees. I was pretty much living on the couch with occasional trips to the bathroom. I would also periodically use my arms to drag myself up the stairs to swap out my ice. I was also not really eating too much. Melissa would leave me with a box of crackers and I would have either a Dr. Pepper or Red Bull now and then. After a few days, I was able to go back to work. Each day after work, I would do some leg raises and then ice for the rest of the night. For those of you who have been with me on this blog from the beginning, you pretty much know the story.

Today I would like to reflect on my year - post knee surgery. After doing physical therapy religiously every day for several months including riding the stationary bike, I felt well enough to try a race. I did the Fredericksburg Offroad Duathlon #1 with some friends and while all my friends beat me, I still did pretty well all things considered. I also completed 3 10Ks, the National Offroad Duathlon Championship, and I made it through 75 miles of the Shenandoah Mountain 100. No doubt, I have recovered well and was able to do more than many people are able to do.

Currently I am doing P90X with my wife. We start our 11th week tomorrow. Doing P90X plus swimming twice a week has left little time for biking and running but Melissa and I both are looking at doing more races next year including more triathlons. In fact we are in the process of shopping for road bikes now. There are so many bikes out there to test ride and then follow up with Internet research. It is truly amazing how many choices there are out there.

Personally I like the idea of working my way up to a full Ironman Distance Triathlon. But first I have to start small with a Sprint Triathlon. The triathlon distances break down something like this:

Sprint: 400 Meter Swim, 12 Mile Bike, 5K Run

Olympic Distance: 1.5 K Swim, 40K Bike Ride, 10K Run

Half-Iron Distance: 1.2 Mile Swim, 56 Mile Bike Ride, 13.1 Mile Run

Full Iron Distance: 2.4 Mile Swim, 112 Mile Bike Ride, 26.2 Mile Run

As you can see, a Full Ironman Distance triathlon is no joke and I see this as more of a dream distance at the moment. After all I am just learning to swim properly and I can do about 100 meters without having to take a little break. I have a LONG way to go. Plus there is another issue-what I consider to be the biggest issue and perhaps the one thing that may keep me from achieving what I believe the rest of my body can handle. My darn knee.

My left knee is still bothering me. Some weeks are better than others but lately it has been a nuisance. It has not kept me from doing all my workouts but the way it feels, I am not sure I can run more than a few miles on it. After I swim, it feels great but then my day of sitting at my desk makes it start to ache a bit. Sitting seems to be my worst enemy. Of course yesterday we swam for an hour, test road bikes for a least an hour including climbing a decent hill about 5 times, and we did Kenpo X. I was able to do all that fine but this morning, the knee feels a little sore in places that it shouldn't. I probably should have iced again last night but I did not.

Two years ago, I liked the idea of running ultra marathons but with my gimpy knee, I know that is not in the cards. So then I starting leaning towards the triathlons. There are some additional workouts I can do to strengthen my knee and get over the knee pain. If I work on it, I may be able to work up to my dream tri distance. I feel motivated to do it.

I used to play soccer. That was my passion and is still my exercise of choice. Unfortunately soccer is too hard on my body. If I am sore today, it is because I pushed myself in a workout. When I was playing soccer, if I was sore, it was because I got kicked, stopped up, run over, flipped, or otherwise bruised by the opposing team or the ground. Unfortunately the toll of soccer still haunts me today. My ankles are stiff and make some wicked cracking noises and of course my knees are not pristine either.

In summary, I still have a lot of work to do in order to reach my athletic goals. Conquer the knee, train like a beast, dial in the nutrition, and have fun doing it. I am lucky to have a very supportive wife and an income that lets me do all these things. For instance, one race I was looking at - a Half Iron Distance tri- costs $150 just to enter. Plus I would have to rent a wet suit. And as far as support goes, Melissa is the best. She continues to push herself and she has really made some significant gains in her fitness over the last year. From my perspective anyway.

Next time I write, I hope to have a new bike and maybe I can post some pictures.

BRING IT!

Thanksgiving Recap

I am a little behind the times but wanted to bring everyone up to date. This past Thanksgiving we continued with tradition and traveled North to PA to visit with Melissa's family. The whole gang was there with a total of 24 people for Thanksgiving dinner. Diane and Scott are such amazing hosts and really know how to make everyone feel comfortable and well fed. My thanks goes out to the whole family for their hospitality.

Besides the tradition of having Thanksgiving with Melissa's whole family, we also have another tradition that we followed again this year. On Thanksgiving morning we all go to the Gobble Wobble 5K run and 2 mile walk at a nearby YMCA. Last year, I was a spectator due to my knee issues. In fact, I remember being in great pain during the whole stay last year. But this year, I had planned to run the 5k. I was hoping to run it barefoot but did not get enough barefoot training in to make that happen. In fact, after the Shenandoah Mountain 100 at the beginning of September, I want on 1 long run and then only 2 or 3 very short runs. In the weeks leading up to the 5K, I did not run at all. BUT and this is a big But, I have been doing P90X and swimming so I knew I was in great shape.

As it turns out, I got a PR at the 5K. I ran the hilly course in 23.08 which is about a 7.27 pace. Considering I had not been running hardly at all and taking into consideration the hilly course, I thought that was a good accomplishment for me. Melissa also PR'd and ran the whole course with out stopping at all. She really burned up the course and I really proud of her accomplishments. The fact that both of us did so well is a testament to the benefits of doing P90X and swimming.

Since we got back from Thanksgiving, all I have been able to think about is training and racing. I have been pretty jazzed about my run time at the 5K and am looking forward to doing some triathlons this spring as well as the Shenandoah Mountain 100 at the end of the summer.

For the past several New Years, Melissa and I have sat down and put together goals and plans for the coming year. This year we will be planning our training and race schedule. We also are looking forward to a system reboot starting in the new year. After watching the movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" we have decided to try a juice fast.

The system reboot is really not a fast. It is a 15 day program of eating certain foods to help the body detoxify, give the colon a break, and reset the pallet so healthier foods are more desirable. During the middle 5 days, only fresh juices are consumed. Not the kind you buy in the store, but the kind you make at home with a juicer. I will post an example of the 15 day plan at the end of this blog.

Well that about wraps it up for now. We are continuing with our swimming and P90X for now. In future blogs, I plan to summarize the "results" of our 90 days of P90X, as well as lay out my training and race plans. Of course, I have lots of shopping to do too.

Here is an example "Reboot" plan from the jointhereboot.com website.

Day 1

Breakfast

Apples and Pears (raw or baked)

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

Lunch

Arugula, Fennel, Avocado Salad

Afternoon Snack

Carrot Ginger Soup

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Portobello Mushroom Caps (2) with Fresh Salsa and Guacamole

Steamed Kale with Garlic

Herbal Tea

---

Day 2

Breakfast

Grapefruit

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

Lunch

Shredded Carrot, Fennel, Radish, Cabbage, Celery Salad with Fresh Dill, Lemon

Afternoon Snack

Steamed Cauliflower with Fresh Lemon, Sea Salt and Pepper, and/or Carrot Ginger Soup

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Stuffed Squash with Mushroom, Leek, Red Pepper

Green Vegetable Soup

Herbal Tea

---

Day 3

Breakfast

Strawberries and Ripe Bananas (up to 2)

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Vegetable Juice – Cucumber, Celery, Apple

Lunch

Green Salad with Radish, Fennel, Red Pepper and Fresh Dill

Afternoon Snack

Green Veggie Soup

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Roasted Beets and Sweet Potato

Steamed Kale

Herbal Tea

---

Day 4

Breakfast

Apples and Pears (raw or baked)

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

Lunch

Seaweed Salad with Avocado

Afternoon Snack

Carrot, Celery, and Cucumber sticks with Guacamole

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Baked Spaghetti Squash

Steamed Kale with Ginger-Honey-Soy dressing

Herbal Tea

---

Day 5

Breakfast

Strawberries and Ripe Bananas (up to 2)

Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

Vegetable Juice – Cucumber, Celery, Apple

Lunch

Cabbage Salad with Carrot, Cucumber and Fennel

Afternoon Snack

Veggie Broth

Dinner

Reboot Green Salad*

Roasted Sweet Potato

Steamed Kale with Garlic

Herbal Tea

*See recipes under HOW TO MAKE tab for a variety of choices.

---

Just Juice.

Day 6 – Day 10

• There are three main types of juices: Fruit juices, Vegetable juices and Green juices. Examples from each category are below. On a typical day of juicing, we suggest having 3-4 juices, at least 16 oz. each. Ideally, 2 of these juices will be Green. Take a look below for some combos and feel free to experiment!

• JUICING Tips *Have a cup of hot water and lemon first thing every morning, along with at least 16 oz. of filtered (if possible) water. *Remember to drink water throughout the day, in between juices. Juices do not replace water intake. *Apple/Pear is optional in all juices. Feel free to omit. It is permissible to use 1-2 Apples or Pears per juice. *Lemon, Lime and Ginger Root can be added to any juice. *Each juice should be at least 16 oz. *Have Celery juice or Coconut water after a workout or sauna, to replace electrolytes and re-hydrate the system. *Do not drink too much liquid before bedtime. *Keep fruit juices to a minimum until you know how your body reacts (fruit is the most cleansing of all, in other words, it passes through the body most quickly.)

  
  

  TYPICAL DAY OF JUICING

  First thing

  Hot Water with Lemon (gentle cleanser) plus a separate glass of Water, at least 16 oz. (for hydration)

  Morning

  Fresh Fruit Juice

  Mid-Morning

  Fresh Vegetable Juice

  Early Afternoon

  Fresh Green Juice

  Mid-Afternoon

  Herbal Tea or Coconut Water, fresh if possible

  Evening

  Fresh Green Juice

  Night

  Herbal Tea or Coconut Water, fresh if possible

  
  

  JUICE EXAMPLES

  Fruit Juices

  *Green Apple

  *Apple, Pear, Ginger

  
  

  Vegetable Juices

  *Carrot, Apple, Beet, Ginger

  *Cucumber, Fennel, Celery, Spinach

  
  

  Green Juices

  *Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Green Apple, Lemon

  *Romaine Hearts, Kale, Spinach, Parsley, Celery, Lemon, Ginger

  *See recipes under HOW TO MAKE tab for a variety of choices.

  ---

  Day 11

  Breakfast

  Bowl of Fresh Pineapple

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Arugula and Avocado Salad

  Afternoon Snack

  Vegetable Soup

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Baked Zucchini with Tomatoes and Herbs

  Herbal Tea

  ---

  Day 12

  Breakfast

  Apples and Pears (raw or baked)

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Cucumber Salad with Baked Sweet Potato

  Afternoon Snack

  Vegetable Soup

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Roasted Brussels sprouts

  Herbal Tea

  ---

  Day 13

  Breakfast

  Grapefruit Wedges with Raisins (up to 4 oz. of dried fruit)

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Arugula and Fennel Salad

  Afternoon Snack

  Raw Carrot Ginger Soup with Lime

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Steamed Broccoli and Spinach with Roasted Garlic Cloves

  Herbal Tea

  ---

  Day 14

  Breakfast

  Apples and Pears (raw or baked)

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Seaweed Salad with Watermelon Radish

  Afternoon Snack

  Sweet Potato/Yams and Carrot "Fries"

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Herbal Tea

  ---

  Day 15

  Breakfast

  Bowl of Fresh Pineapple

  Morning Juice, at least 20 minutes later

  Green Juice – Kale, Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Apple, Ginger

  Lunch

  Raw Mixed Greens with Cauliflower Mash

  Afternoon Snack

  Coconut Water, fresh if possible

  Dinner

  Reboot Green Salad*

  Garam Masala Collard Greens

  Herbal Tea

  *See recipes under HOW TO MAKE tab for a variety of choices.

  **********

  CONGRATULATIONS!

P90X Continues

It has been some time since I have posted anything and wanted to give a brief update on our progress with P90X. We are in our 6th week and I am really enjoying the program and have even started to see some results. I feel stronger and in pretty great shape. And I am getting into a sort of shape that I have never experienced before. Whereas before I could run, bike, hike, and play soccer at a pretty intense level, I have never had a focused program of upper body and core work like one gets with P90X.

The P90X program does focus a lot on appearance. Tony Horton talks about "getting the most ripped abs of your life" and the whole Beachbody.com franchise of which P90X is a part of is very much focused on-well, a beach body. The funny thing is, I find myself posing in the mirror to see if there are any discernible changes in my physique. The other day, the light caught me just right and I noticed that indeed, I could see a few small muscles that I had not seen before. Now I am even more motivated to bring it! I figure if I can see the results in the mirror, I must be doing something right. Not that I will be showing off at the beach in my lifetime. That is just not me.

Ultimately I know that all this hard work will only help me in my other athletic endeavors. For instance, swimming takes a lot of core muscles if you do it right and the P90X workouts are a great supplement to swimming. Regarding the swimming, this will be our fourth week of swimming with a coach on Wednesday mornings as well as on our own on Saturday mornings. It is a little tiring getting up so early to swim but it is such great low impact exercise, that I plan to continue.

The only downside to doing P90X is that it is time consuming and leaves less time to bike and run. In fact, I have not been on the bike for a while. But that's ok. By the time the new year starts, I should have a better idea on what I want to do as far as races go and I will have a great base to work from. After all, we are working out an average of 86 minutes every day. And I must say, I am loving it. We missed one Kenpo X workout although on that day we swam for an hour, ran 2 miles, and I did a 2.5 hour mountain bike ride. So while we missed out on the unique benefits of Kenpo X, it is not like we sat around eating donuts (something I don't ever eat since late 2009).

Another great benefit is getting the opportunity to workout with Melissa. She is also bringing it hard and is also doing great! She is getting stronger and in great shape! It is nice to be able to work out together and to share the power of hard work and sweat.

Doing all this exercise and working a full time job does leave less time for blogging so I imagine I won't be writing as often as I have in the past. I appreciate you reading and please feel free to leave comments. That way I know someone is reading. Thanks.

Am I in Shape or Not?

As some of you know, Melissa and I have been doing P90X for the last couple of weeks. I think we are doing pretty well all things considered. We even managed to wake up early one day to get the Plyometrics workout out of the way before work so we could go to a great documentary later that night after work. The movie was "Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead. " I will talk more about the film in a later posting.

As far as P90X is concerned we are mid way through week 3 and so far have been bringing it hard. We are still sore although maybe not quite as much as during the first week. The workouts are pretty intense and require some serious self motivation to push through. But I am certain we will see results that will help us in many aspects of our lives so I continue to bring it. There is research suggesting that resistance training is not only good for the mind but can also ward off dementia. The way things are going for me, I need all the help I can get in that department.

In addition to doing P90X everyday, we are also doing small amounts of running mostly on the weekends and I did manage a 3.5 hour mile bike ride on Sunday in addition to a 2 mile barefoot run on the gravel track plus our 1 hour of StretchX. It is a lot for sure and so far I have enjoyed all the workouts and feel like I am in great shape. That is, I felt like I was in great shape - until this morning.

This morning, I threw a new workout into the mix. I woke up at 5Am to go to my first ever coached swim class. The class was tough-very tough. I thought I was in decent shape but clearly I am not. The other swimmers in the class were graceful, fast, strong, near perfect. I on the other hand was the opposite. The coach has me doing "Catch Up" which is a particular swimming drill. I feel so uncoordinated and 1 gulp of water away from drowning. And my heart rate races and my lungs heave as I make my way through the water. Picture Michael Phelps who I believe is pictured above. Now picture the opposite. That is me. Twenty minutes into the workout I questioned what I had gotten myself into. Here are some of the thoughts that went through my head.

"Do I really want to be a swimmer?"

"This is too hard."

"Forget this!"

"No way can I do this."

But at the end of the training session, I gave the coach my $130 dollars so now I am in. She is a great coach and gave me immediate feedback and corrected my mistakes. One thing is for sure. I am going to have to practice if I want to make it through these swim sessions. People in the class told me it would all seem easy soon enough. And the coach said I would see big improvements with each class. And finally my lovely wife gave me some very encouraging words later in the day when I told her about what I was thinking about the workout.

She was in the same position I was in when she started swimming with this coach. And I must say, seeing her all suited up with her swim cap and goggles, getting ready for the 7AM session was also nice encouragement. I probably would have been more down about the workout but seeing her and getting her words of encouragement later in the day were a huge help.

The best part of the swim was the effect it has on my knees. They felt great afterwards and have felt great all day. Strange how a certain type of exercise benefits my knees. Of course, that is one big reason I decided to swim in the first place.

After swimming and working all day, Melissa and I came home and did our P90X Shoulders and Arms workout followed by Ab Ripper X. We are now thoroughly pooped.

If you think you are in shape, go swimming and find out if you really are.

Barefooting in the Park

In my last post, I mentioned that I was interested in becoming a barefoot runner. Since that post, I have done some more research on barefoot running and have found out that my notions about how to transition from running in shoes to running barefoot did not quite match the recommendations of other barefoot runners. I have been running in what some call "transitional shoes" -my Vibram Five Fingers. However, all of the barefooting blogs and magazine articles I have read suggest not using "transitional shoes" at all. They recommend going pure, that is, totally barefoot. Also it is recommended that one starts out on hard surfaces rather than soft surfaces. In fact, one particular article I read suggested starting out by standing and walking on sharp gravel. The idea is that even transitional shoes will mask the feedback that your feet are trying to give to the rest of the body and mind. Running on grass also deprives your body of feedback from the feet. It is suggested that running barefoot on hard surfaces will better teach your body how to run with proper form.

Of course running on hard surfaces will make the transition from shoes to barefoot take a little longer but in the end should yield better results. In case you were not sure what my goals are here, let me tell you. My goal with running barefoot is to improve my form, decrease injuries, and also make it more fun. It actually is fun to run barefoot!

After reading all of this, I decided that I would go ahead and take the plunge and follow the advice of accomplished barefoot runners. I started last Saturday with a run around a gravel track at a nearby middle school. The gravel was pretty soft as far as gravel goes with pretty small stones. Melissa and I walked about half a lap-me barefoot, her with shoes. Then we went ahead and starting running. Right away, I noticed a difference from running totally barefoot and running in my VFFs. My form was different. I had faster turnover and better posture. We ran at a relatively slow pace and ended up running one mile with a 400 meter cool down walk. My feet held up pretty well. They were a little tender especially on the balls of my feet but no blood or cuts or anything like that.

After this initial barefoot run, I took a couple of days off. Then today, at lunch I went out again. I went to Dorey Park and started my run on the pavement. I ran about half a mile until I got to a gravel path and then made my way down the path. This gravel was different than the gravel from the middle school track. It was sharper and had bigger rocks. I only ran about 25 yards before I had to walk. But that's ok. It is a gradual process. I walked on the sharp rocks for about 10 minutes before returning to pavement and running the rest of the way back to the car.

When I got back to the office, my feet felt pretty tender. And after examining them, I noticed that the ball of my left foot was pretty tender. In fact, it was just shy of becoming one big blister. But again, that is ok, it is a gradual process. I will let it heal and try again in a couple of days.

Also for the record, the picture above is not my foot. It is Melissa's foot about mid way through our 125 mile, 7 and half day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail a few years ago. Her shoes were old and it was wet everyday and the blisters just kept coming and coming. One thing about running barefoot is that over time, blisters are no longer a problem. Also if I do get to the point where I can run ultras, I won't have to worry about another problem that ultra runners face. Black Toe is a common problem many ultra runners have. Here is a gross picture for you showing a mild case of Black Toe.

So that about brings you up to speed on one of my new projects. It will be a gradual undertaking but with time and patience, I think I will benefit. Thanks for reading.

So what is next?

After playing hundreds if not thousands of soccer games, completing several 10ks, a few half marathons, a full marathon, several duathlons, a couple of off-road triathlons, completing several mountain bike races, including a few 24 hour races, and attempting the Shenandoah Mountain 100 I have to ask myself, what is next?

I think my second passion behind soccer is mountain running but my body may not be up to the challenge. Specifically my knees. They have certainly taken a beating and while challenging athletic endeavors are still well within my ability, I am not sure I will ever be able to put in the mileage it would take to compete in a serious mountain ultra. And as far as soccer goes, I miss it very much. On the soccer field, I would disappear into the game. I did not think about anything and just played as hard as I could all the time. And I was a decent player that definitely had an impact on the game. But soccer is not in the cards for me now.

As I deal with the reality of what my body can handle, I have to decide where I want to go next? I have already committed to next year's Shenandoah Mountain 100. That is my A race for 2011. The biking is really great for my knees and the race is such an epic event to participate in that I just have to complete the race. As I said already, I want to CRUSH IT!

So what do I really want to do now? I have been wrestling with this for some time. I am leaning towards taking up Triathlon more seriously including getting some professional coaching. In a week or two, Melissa's swim coach will be starting up a new session and I am planning to give it a go. It will be hard to get up so early to workout at the pool but I know that once I go a few times, I will get used to it. Swimming is another activity that can only help my knees so even if I don't take to it, it will be good for me.

In addition to triathlon, I want to become a barefoot runner. With that in mind, I have started training my feet in anticipation of the next Gobble Wobble 5K in Pennsylvania. A few years ago Melissa's family started another Thanksgiving tradition. We all go to Melissa's sister's house for Thanksgiving. While there, we run or walk in the Gobble Wobble and afterwards feast on the best homemade breakfast from Chef Scott. It is always great fun! This year, I plan to run it in my Vibram Five Fingers. Running barefoot or near barefoot is something that one has to work up to gradually. After a 6 hour hike in my Vibrams, another 3.5 hour hike in them, and two 2 mile runs on the road, I am on my way.

Ok so I have set a few goals: run the Gobble Wobble in my Five Fingers this November, start swim training with a coach, and finish next years SM100. For me, that is not enough. I need more. So I am also throwing in the goal of getting in great shape and adding muscle mass to my skinny body. And how am I planning to do that. Why P90X of course. You knew it was coming didn't you?

Yes, Melissa and I are going to start P90X this coming Monday. I have spent the last several days planning. We got some new equipment. I copied all the DVDs to my computer. I read through the guide book. And last night we went through the pre-test and took all of our before measurements and pictures. I will spare you those pictures as they are pretty much the most unflattering pictures ever.

Our plan is to do the 90 days but also still work in our swims and runs. It is going to be hard. Besides doing all the actual workouts, getting all the proper nutrition into our bodies will also be hard work. We eat pretty healthy right now. But we are going to have step up our efforts to properly fuel our bodies. Plus we will need to get the proper rest each night. Luckily we got rid of the television time bandit. Plus with the Fall weather coming, it will be dark by the time we get home for dinner so we won't be doing much outside.

I am very excited about doing P90X and all the benefits it can bring to Melissa and myself. Besides the obvious benefits of shedding fat and gaining muscle, getting the heart and lungs healthier, improving our memory and general well being, there is also the benefits that such a workout program can bring to our other sports. Hopefully if all goes well, we will be ready come January 1st to take on the spring training season with new and improved bodies. I guess we will see.

I will try to keep my blog updated with our progress. Wish us luck! And if you have not already, check out http://quackenblogger.blogspot.com. Dave is a great writer and his description of his foray into P90x is quite a fun read. Besides the P90X topic, he has a wide range of other topics that he discusses from silly to serious.

Until next time.

Old Rag Hike

Just as my legs started feeling better after my trail run, we decided to take up some friends on an invite to hike Old Rag. My quads still were a tad sore but the weather for the Saturday hike was supposed to be superb and we had not done a good hike since our April hike in Damascus so we opted to meet up with some friends and hike Old Rag.

Old Rag is the most strenuous hike in the Shenandoah National Park according to the nps.gov/shen web site. It is really unlike any other hike in the park. The hike starts at the lower parking lot for Old Rag where it is necessary to pay the fee. We have a park pass that covers the fee.

We parked at the parking lot, everyone paid their fees, and we started up the road for about a half mile to the trail head. Then the hike turns into the woods for a climb up the mountain. The first part of the hike is like most hikes that climb a mountain. There are woods all around and there are several switchbacks to traverse as you go up the mountain. On this particular day, we were hiking with some young 20 somethings who appeared to be out for a leisurely stroll but who were walking pretty fast. I broke a sweat pretty soon into the hike and was breathing fairly hard as we made our way up the mountain. We kept up them with some work. They did not seem to be laboring at all. Ah, growing older and slowing down.

What makes Old Rag so much fun and different is the second part of the hike. After going up the switch backs, we arrived at the beginning of the rock scramble. The rock scramble is challenging and fun. We jumped from boulder to boulder, lowered ourselves down into crevasses, wedged ourselves between rocks, lifted ourselves up through little chimneys of rocks, did some little climbs, and all the other stuff that goes along with a good rock scramble.

One thing worth mentioning is that I decided to do this hike in my Vibram Five Fingers. It was really great! I had virtually no weight on my feet and I could really connect with the rocks with my feet. It was the closest thing to climbing a mountain in bare feet as you can get without actually being barefoot.

Once we got to the top, we rested and ate and enjoyed the 360 degree views of the surrounding area. I had first done this hike when I was about 12 and I remember that it seemed like we could see forever up there on the summit. Nowadays, the view is still great but there is a haze on the neighboring mountains and nothing is quite a crisp as I remember it 30 years ago.

After lunch we descended the mountain on the other side. The descent is less exciting as it does not involve a rock scramble. After going down some switchbacks for a while, the trail comes out onto a fire road that leads back to the road and parking lot. I must admit that going down was a little harder on my feet than going up. I had to go a little slower and the balls of my feet did start to ache slightly. By the time we got back to the car, my feet did hurt a little but but all in all it was a great experience hiking in the Five Fingers. I plan to do it again as soon as possible. In fact, I think hiking in the Five Fingers is great training for my feet and calves. These kinds of hikes will help build up my feet and calves so I can do more barefoot running. I am hoping anyway.

So that, in a nutshell, is the story of our Old Rag Hike. I was a little late in posting this but finally got around to it. Below are some of the pictures we took a long the way. A few pics show the people we were hiking with. Don't they look young?

Clay and Rachel

Clay and Rachel Taking in the View

Looking back down at some of the rock scramble we had completed.

Taking pictures of each other.

The rest of our group. Young Right?

Another shot of the group. This is not the summit by the way.

Interesting Tree

If you look carefully at this picture, you will see all the people climbing up the rocks down below. We had already done that section and were looking down at them. Look closely.

I used the Zoom on this one. Do you see the people?

The classic picture where I hold the camera and take our picture.

My feet at the summit.