I don’t want to flood my posts with my exercise routine; however, I do think it’s important to update everyone on the progress I’m making, so every Wednesday I will post the amount of exercise I have done for the week and my total amount.
Total Amount:
Running = 9.8 miles (27.5 miles to downtown L.A.)
Swimming = 4100 meters or 2.5 miles (34.8 miles to downtown L.A.)
Total = 12.3 miles (25 miles to downtown L.A.)
I have always felt like a natrualist runner and by naturaliest I like to see and hear nature as it was created. So I haven’t liked to wear sunglasses or have headphones on when I run. When I am running with a partner I don’t need music cause usually I can talk with the other person. But now that I try to fit workouts in with all the other demands on my time I find myself running alone and yesterday I tried the internet radio to keep me going, AND I LIKED IT.
I recently discovered Pandora, which is an internet radio application available on the internet and most smart phones and it will pick songs that it thinks you will like based on your feedback. Based on your thumbs up and thumbs down for each song Pandora will select your next song. It is a fun game to see what Pandora thinks you will like and it also may provide some insite to your personality.
As shamefully as it may be, I am going to list the songs that Pandora thinks I like based on my inputs :
I am calling this my Pandora Shame Story. So now I realize my music likes makes me appear to be a 12 year old girl. I have a new goal, to Man up my Pandora recommendations. Metallica here I come.
One of the reasons I started training for the Iron Man was to give me something to do other than drink. I realized that alcohol had caused me numerous problems and decided to end my use of it entirely.
It has not been easy. I had tried quitting numerous times before, which I did, but never for good. I would quit for a month or two, but I made the commitment to stop entirely and have done so. Over the holidays, it has become even more difficult as constant get togethers with old friends brings me in to situations that encourage drinking. During these social occasions drinking is almost always involved. It is difficult to find people to do activities with that do not involve drinking. I decided to make the commitment to become an Iron Man and hope to meet friends along the way.
My brother is my best friend and it is great that he and I can do this together, but I want to help establish a community of people where health is what we put our focus around and not alcohol. So, if any of you are up for it, feel free to contact and join us in improving our health and making friends along the way.
This picture was taken in downtown San Luis Obispo. 
After turning 21, I spent a lot of time inside of bars, and San Luis Obispo has an amazing bar scene. But, on Saturday night instead of stopping in for drinks, I decided to run past the bars instead.
Watching the young people, dressed up and ready for a night of drinking, I realized how much my life has changed. Running past those bars on a rainy night in downtown San Luis Obispo symbolized a defining moment in my life. Instead of stopping in for a drink and passing time, I turned my focus towards accomplishment and achievement, to setting goals and completing them. I turned my back on my past, the life that I had known and headed toward the future I desire, the future I deserve.
Our mother bought us matching workout suits, so we decided what better way to show off our new threads then by having a Christmas Day photoshoot. You’re not going to want to miss these. Pictures will be in the Christmas Photoshoot category. We will post one a day until we run out of pics. The first one was posted today, we hope you like them.
It was New Year’s Day and my resolution was to begin my training for the Ironman. I procrastinated. At 11:30 PM, I put on my swim trunks and headed for the gym. Just before midnight, I dipped my toes into the pool.
I wanted to see how long I could swim before my body gave out. The longest I have ever swam was when I did a sprint triathalon almost a year ago where I swam 100 meters. How long could I last? No stopping, just all out swimming, could I do the 2.4 miles? Could I do it under 2 hours and 20 minutes?
The pool was freezing, I snapped my swimming goggles into place and began. At the beginning, the hardest part for me was counting. One, two, three . . . (wait, did I just finish three or start three), I messed up counting already. The swimming part was easy, up until lap 27. When my goggles opened up and water began seeping in. Ahh, the annoyance of chlorine filled water seeping into my eyes, I had to take a quick stop to fix the problem.
In the end, my mind was the hardest thing to overcome. I kept telling myself that it was ok to stop short, people would understand, I had never done this before. Any number would be great, but I needed to know how long I could last so I prodded on, lap after lap after lap. My mind continued to whisper to me, “Give Up.”
On lap 55 my arms began to get heavy and my stroke was not fluid anymore, I kept slapping at the water like a seal who pounds it’s fin on the water’s surface. I had lost all sense of grace. On lap 60, my mind won, I knew I could not reach the 78 laps needed to complete 2.4 miles, my first training swim came to an end.
I swam 3,000 meters or 1.86411 miles in 1 hour and 20 minutes, well above the pace required to complete the swimming portion of the Ironman race. Not to shabby considering my longest swim prior to this was 100 meters.
The time for taking things slowly has ended. This running brother is officially beginning his training today. And will continue for all of 2011. This commitment to complete an Ironman has become daunting, but I’m up for it.
The last two weeks have been extremely hectic and I have found little time and motivation to begin training regularly due to all the friends and family events scheduled around the holidays. My brother and I did; however, get in a little run and photoshoot on Christmas Day and the pictures from that are instant classics.
I can’t wait to see what the New Year brings for The Running Brothers and I can’t wait to hear from all of you. If you’re ever interested in going for a run, or a bike ride feel free to let me know. Have a great 2011.
Our run in San Luis Obispo took us by a lot of childhood memories and historic landmarks. One relatively forgoten story about San Luis Obispo that I never really got to experience was the tragic football team memorial for the 1960 football team. On my last visit I drove by an odd area with a large bronze bucking mustang and several pillars surrounding it.
Since my last visit I did some research and found out, the odd looking structure was a memorial for members of the Cal Poly Football team that was killed in a plane crash in the 1960. A very interesting story that seems to be untold.
We ran through the campus on the rainy night and wievered our way through the new science building asking for directions to the football stadium. As we ran through puddles, ducked under trees and squeezed our way between a building and a chain link fence, all by moon light in the midst of the biggest rain storm of the year the memorial appear in front of us. Only 50 yards away the beaming lights, each signifying a Cal Poly Student, Coach or Staffer, who past away in that tragic event.
The atmosphere was very surreal for us. In the middle of the night we were the only people insite and were able to read each of the memorials on each podium, describing each player/coach. In a moment like that, you can’t help but think, what could those men been able to accomplish if they were given the chance, or what if something , out of control, affected your life negatively in some way.
As it relates to our goal, running a marathon seems small but it is part of life style that we all need to cherish: having dreams, setting goals and accomplishing those dreams.