Mystery Challenge Day

Feb 062011
 

Today is the day for our Mystery Challenge.  Rocky put today in the works a long time ago and I’m really excited to see what he has in store for me.  I honestly have no idea what we are going to be doing, but if I had to guess, I am guessing that we’re going to be doing something in the mountains.  I know that my brother has done quite a few things associated with hiking, so I’m thinking that we’re going to run along some mountain trail.

At least, that’s what I thought.  Now, I’m changing my mind.  My brother came over yesterday morning to prepare for our outing tomorrow.  What could he possibly have to do to prepare?  Maybe it’s a scavenger hunt of some sort?  Or maybe he’s just psyching me out and making me wake up at 530 AM on Super Bowl Sunday, with no intentions of showing up.   Just kidding.  I know he wouldn’t do that . . . or would he?  I guess I’ll just have to wait . . . Stay Tuned for the outcome of Rocky’s Mystery Challenge.

Los Alamitos’ Race on the Base

Feb 052011
 

I signed my brother and myself up for a sprint triathalon, Los Alamitos’s Race on the Base.  One year ago, Dusty Miller, a good friend of mine enrolled me in this race and me, him and Donald Lindsley all did the race together.  It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it, which is a big reason why I decided to start training for an Ironman. 

Over 6,000 people participated in the event last year.  To be honest, I thought the name, Race on the Base, meant that it was at the base of a mountain.  But just recently I realized the actual intention of the name . . . it’s called Race on the Base because it takes place at a military base.  It’s a 5K run, a 12 mile bike ride, and a 200M swim. 

The race is set to take place on February 26, 2011 at 10:30 AM.  So, in 21 days, my brother and I will be competing in our first event together.  I’m extremely excited and can’t wait until The Running Brothers get put to the test.

Here is a link to their website:  http://www.ci.los-alamitos.ca.us/Race%20on%20the%20Base%202011/index.html

My Newer Bicycle

Feb 042011
 

At the end of Zeb and Rocky’s Big Adventure, we met up with my Dad and Chris Carlson at Danny K’s in Anaheim, at which point, Chris offered up his Cannondale bicycle.  I’m assuming because he saw the dismal shape that my bicycle was in.  That next week he went to play golf with my Dad and I was able to pick up my new bicycle from my hero, Chris Carlson . . . and man, it sure was sweet!

The tires were flat and Chris said it would need a tune-up, but now I knew that I would have a bike that I could at least use to compete in my triathalon events.  The next day, I took my newer bike to our local bike shop, Free-Wheeling.  Just so happens, the guy standing behind the counter was one of my old High School students, Corey Diaz.  I remember that Corey was always performing tricks on his bicycle outside my classroom.  I was constantly telling him to quit goofing around on his bicycle, afraid that he would hurt himself or someone else. 

Corey Diaz

But, I was happy to see him behind the counter when I came into Free-Wheeling in Chino, because I knew that I would be in good hands.  He ran some brief diagnostics and after a minute or so, he said “Uh, oh.”  And then explained that the gears on my bike did not work and that he might have a remedy, but if that remedy did not work, my newer bike would be worthless. 

He said that it would take a day or so to find out if his remedy would work.  It didn’t sound good.  That initial excitement I had towards getting this newer bike went away and I had resolved myself to the fact that the bike was irreparable and I would have to go back to my more than 10 year old, garage sold, $2 bicycle that only had one gear.  I was bummed.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of My Newer Bicycle . . .

Ironman Training Week #5

Feb 032011
 

ZebI’m on a roll.

Weekly Amount:

Running = 10.6 miles
Biking = 45 miles
Swimming = 4000 M or 2.5 miles
Total Amount: 58 miles

Overall Amount:

Running = 51 miles (60 miles to San Diego)
Biking = 132 miles (110 miles to Las Vegas)
Swimming = 21,200 meters or 13.2 miles (24.1 miles to Los Angeles)
Total = 194 miles (38 miles to Las Vegas)

Accomplishments:

Zeb Bikes to San Diego

The Running Brothers’ January Round-Up

Feb 022011
 

It’s officially been our first full month online and I wanted to do a sort of roundup of our accomplishments, best stories and the new friends we made along the way.

We ran in San Luis Obispo, we got attacked by a bear, we listened to Pandora, we stretched together, we biked together, we ran together, we did a photoshoot, we fixed up an old bicycle, we broke a fixed up bicycle, we visited the Beach, we rode our bike past the home of the Angels and the Ducks, and our inbox was flooded with spam.

Before I started this training, the longest distance I had ever ran was 3 miles, the longest bike ride was 12 miles and my longest swim was 200 meters, all of which I did last year on Los Alamitos’ Race on the Base. By the end of the month I had traveled more then 136 miles. My longest run is now 6 miles, my longest bike ride is 43 miles and my longest swim is 2.5 miles.

We had an amazing Christmas Photoshoot in our matching track outfits. Everyone really seemed to love them and I can’t blame them. The pictures are nothing short of amazing. Click here to see the best of the best of our Christmas Photoshoot, http://runningbrothers.com/category/christmas-photoshoot/

We had one guest post by our sister, Lacey Welborn from www.laceyw.com.   Here is her post, http://runningbrothers.com/287/287/

We interviewed Mitch Roberts from www.mitchr.sweat365.com, here is his interview, http://runningbrothers.com/300/our-first-hero-mitch-roberts/

We interviewed Steve Ference, http://www.vivamovement.blogspot.com/, here is his interview http://runningbrothers.com/473/our-second-hero-steve-ference-from-viva-movement/.

We added some new running partners:

  • Devin Miller
  • Donald Lindsley
  • Dusty Miller
  • Erin Rogers
  • Lindsey Miller
  • Michael Nunez
  • Sydney (Dummy)

We added some new heroes as well:

And although we have always considered these people heroes, we always want to make sure to thank them.

  • Mom
  • Dad
  • Chris Carlson (Thanks for the bike)

We learned some new vocabulary, the Farmer’s Blow, http://runningbrothers.com/371/farmers-blow/and Gluten Free, http://runningbrothers.com/395/go-gluten-free/.

My favorite post thus far was a five-part series,  Zeb and Rocky’s Big Adventure, about our bike ride from Corona to the beach.  If you would like to read about our adventure click here, http://runningbrothers.com/category/zeb-and-rockys-big-adventure/.

Rocky’s favorite post was his article about Pandora, titled Pandora Shame, http://runningbrothers.com/208/pandora-shame/.  Oh, how shameful!

January has been a great month for The Running Brothers.  Thank you so much for following our adventures. 

We are always looking for people to join us in our adventures.  If you are interested, email us at runningbros@gmail.com, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and our RSS feed located at the top, and comment on our posts. 

And because you have been so good, we have added a bonus Christmas photo . . . for your viewing pleasure.

Bonus Christmas Photo

Pot Committed!

Feb 012011
 

The date is set for my first attempt at my goal to run the marathon. May 1, 2011. The Orange County marathon will be my day of achievement or my first attempt at the 26.2 miles. Either way I think it is going to be fun.

During the registration process they ask what your expected pace will be. Well I put in for 4 hours and 20 minutes and 4 hours for my brother. This is our first marathon so lets see where our time falls.

My brother has said he thinks this Ironman is going to be easier than he originally thought, recently the pace of the bike has concerned him but I think the pounding of a marathon will also be an awakening. But that is why he factored it in to his training program. To ge ready for full Marathon I found something to help me get ready and asked my brother to join me by framing it as a mystery challenge, (this sunday).

Wish us luck on the Marathon and if you want to enter it with us feel free or maybe try the half marathon or 5km run.

We Got Some More Suckers to Run With Us

Feb 012011
 

Yesterday morning I woke up to three missed text messages, asking if I wanted to join a group of my friends for a walk around Chino Hills.  I rang them up and they had just started their walk.  I guess I was going to have to catch up.  I drove my truck to the Community Park and then ran in the direction that they were headed.  Two miles later I caught up to Dusty Miller, Lindsey Miller, Devin Miller, Erin Rogers and her dog, Dummy. 

Lindsey Miller, Erin Rogers, Dusty Miller and Devin Miller

Technically, the girls, Devin (obviously) and Dummy did not run, but they did walk and that counts.  We walked through English Springs Park before Dusty got the itch to do some running.  We ran ahead to grab our cars and we met the girls at Haru Haru, a local sushi place for lunch.  The food was good, but the meal with friends was even better. 

By the way, isn’t Devin absolutely adorable?  I’m not biased or anything, but that’s got to be one of the cutest kids you’ll see.  I have no idea how Dusty and Lindsey could have made something so cute.  I guess miracles do happen.

All in all, it was a great day for friends to get together, exercise and have a great time.

Oh, I almost forgot.  Here is a picture of Dummy.

Zeb and Rocky’s Big Adventure – Part #5

Jan 312011
 

The Big A

After making it to the beach we needed to make it back to Anaheim to be picked up by our Dad, and the biggest problem that we were facing was the soreness of our rear-ends.  But, we biked on.  My Dad wanted to meet us at Danny K’s, one of his favorite places to hang out in Anaheim.  We figured it was about 13 miles from the beach and so we pedaled onward. 

The time flew by on the return trip as well, where we spent most of our time trying to sit in a way that preserved our back side.  You could feel every bump and every little ditch and each one added a new sensation of pain.  We kept peering into the distance seeing if we could see the Big A, in front of Anaheim Stadium that would signal to us that our destination was near.  It took some time, but eventually we saw it.

We peeled off the trail and made it into Danny K’s were we could finally rest.  After exactly 5 hours, a 42 mile bike ride, a 4 mile run, 1 broken bike chain, 1 visit to the beach and 2 sore rear-ends, we had completed our first bike ride together. 

My Dad invited his good friend, Chris Carlson to meet us at Danny K’s, where we had a coke and shared stories about our journey.  Turns out that Chris Carlson was a former bike rider himself and had a pretty good bike that he wasn’t using anymore . . . a Cannondale.  The name lost its impact on me, but I knew by the look in his eyes and the tone in his voice that it must be good. He offered it to us so that in the future, we would have better equipment.  One feature of the bike that he said would make a huge difference was the gel seats. 

Chris Carlson is one of our heroes.  At Danny K’s, Zeb and Rocky’s Big Adventure came to an end.  “But wait,” you’re thinking.  “This can’t be the end.  They just got a Cannondale bicycle with gel seats . . . more adventures must be in store for The Running Brothers.”  And to that, we say, “Only time will tell . . . only time will tell . . . well, that and our behinds.”

Stay Tuned for More Amazing Adventures to Come From Zeb and Rocky

Teach Me How to Swim

Jan 302011
 

When swimming, every 25 meters I reach a wall and each time I hit the wall it is with my hand in front of me. When I turn around, my head is above water as I kick my legs against the side of the pool and propel myself forward.

I watch other swimmers from time to time and some of them have performed a technique, different from my own. One which I have never done before, nor know how to properly perform.

Heroes, I am asking for your help.

How do you perform the underwater flippy thing? (And what is it’s proper name?)

A Beautiful Day!

Jan 292011
 

Today was a great day! My life has been very busy lately and I rarely have the time to get bored. So I was siting on the couch about 11:30 and thought what am I gonna do today. Well weather.com  called for clear day and a high of 68, sounds like a great day, right?  So I went to google maps and looked for something I have never been too, Lake Mathews is 16.2 miles from my house.

I figured I could check out something new and if it was a nice lake we could use it as an open water swimming lake to help Zeb practise for the Ironman. I started through the City and after stoping at, what felt like 100 signals I finally got out in to the “country.”

The thing about the “country” that I got to was that it was hilly country and hills are not made for me. But I was determined to get to my selected destination. So after several breaks and some tense moments with some trucks on the hills up to the hill I finally got to what I thought was the last hill. As I came over the hill there was nothing but more hills, but google maps on my phone said I was right next to it.

I was a little upset at first thinking that Lake Mathews was not really a lake. But I decide to go a little farther and cleared a small hill and there it was, and it was very nice. But I could only get as close a chain link fence which looked like it went arround the whole thing. So based on that I believe there is no recreastion or swimming at this lake, bummer.

Then it was time to come home and the relaxing ride was very nice. I really feel good that I turned a potential couch day in to a bike day.

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