Man My Diet Sucks

"Always remember that the future comes one day at a time." Dean Acheson

run 10 miles 1:20

I wasn't going to run this long or fast, but the weather was so nice and the run felt effortless, so I just kept going.  Had to work that breakfast off. 

I'm starting to think the only way I am going to eat clean is to not eat at all.  Clearly I just don't want it bad enough at this point.  Will have to change that soon. 

This is what it takes to compete with the best in the world.



Did I eat this french toast for breakfast?  Yup.  Am I proud of it?  No.



Don't Eat Food Advertised on TV

"Don't count the days, make the days count."  Muhammad Ali

DB push press 75lb x 2 x 2, 75lb x 18 x 1
farmers walk 75lb x 750 ft

What happens when a man tries to eat only food advertised on TV for a month?  It's not good.  (via @pkedrosky) 

According to this, dynamic stretching is useless.  My favorite part of this is the control group for this study engaged in "quiet sitting".  As opposed to noisy sitting?

Google thinks I am an old man.  Click to see how Google profiles you based on your web activity.

Peavine Peak near Reno

Various Articles

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing." George Bernard Shaw

run 10 miles 1:23

This lady kicks ass.

Navy SEALS kick ass

90 year old ultrarunner who didn't start until he was 57

Pre-sunrise this morning:

Stuff from the Archives

"Nothing tastes as good as lean feels." (@firmfitness99)

DB push press 75lb x 20 x 1
farmers walk 75lb x 500ft - 5:43

The quote above needs to be my new motto for the year.

I have a ton of interesting stuff that I've posted in the past before anyone read this blog.  Since I have a lot more readers now, I thought I would re-post some stuff from the archives

More on endurance fatigue being psychological, not physical

David Goggins motivation

Push your limits, do something totally out of the box today

This picture is a reflection from a puddle in Central Park, NY.  (via @davidblaine)

Pacing

"#1 way most athletes could improve race performance: Learn to pace/expend energy properly. Most are atrocious at pacing."  Joe Friel

treadmill 5 miles 39:37

I wonder how many races are actually paced correctly?  10%?  Less?  I try to think about how many races I have perfectly paced.  I'm not sure I've done it right once.  That's not the end of the world, because it's always nice to work to improve, but I wonder what potential times I have in me if I actually did it right?

Exercise is really good for you.

I've seen this about 10 places, but it's cool, so you get to see it here too. 

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.

I Need to Eat Better

"So you want the "secret" to weight loss? Restrict & sacrifice. There is an element of suffering. There is no other way." Paul Timmons (@firmfitness)

DB push press 75lb x 20 x 1

My diet sucks.  Time to start sacrificing.

Various theories for fatigue.  I vote for the third one.  You have more speed in you, you're just being a wimp. 

Diet of an olympic marathon runner.   "A day in the 130-pound male runner’s world would equate to eating 4 cups of spaghetti noodles, 3 cups of brown rice, 3 cups of nonfat milk, 5 medium bananas, 5 cups of broccoli, 6 tablespoons of peanut butter, 7 medium apples, 2 cups of oatmeal and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Or, simply put it would be equal to eating about 16-17 PowerBar performance bars a day." 

Strong and fast

"If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success." John D Rockefeller

treadmill 8 miles 1:08:48

My buddy Brian getting it done in the picture below. Hack squats 540 pounds, 2 sets of 5. Believe me, that's strong.

It would be easy to say, "of course he's strong, he's a gym rat". Not so quick though. He ran the Lake Tahoe Marathon in 2010 and the New York Marathon 2 months ago.

It seems people often want to categorize fitness. "I'm a runner" or "I'm a weightlifter.". How about both? How about "I'm strong as hell with a ton of endurance".

I saw a great quote from someone who just turned 40. His buddy asked him what he was going to do for his 40th birthday. His response was, "be more awesome than people half my age".

Now you're talking...

P.S. Brian is 41.

Various Videos and Pictures

"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't"  Martin Van Buren

DB push press 75lb x 20 x 1

This is pretty cool (source):



Oops. Can't believe this dude lived.



Some more breathtaking photos, including this one:

Misc. Stuff

"Procrastination is an unwarranted demand for perfection. Go screw some shit up and learn from it."  @revbigring
treadmill 5 miles 39:51
 
Is this a good or a bad thing? --   Ultrarunner study:  The findings indicate that 161-km ultramarathon participants are largely well-educated, middle-aged, married men who rarely miss work due to illness or injury, generally use vitamins and/or supplements, and maintain appropriate body mass with aging.
 
Breathtaking trail pics from one of my favorite ultrarunning bloggers.
 
I think this is more gross than amazing, but there are elements of both here. 
 
One of the pics from the Alpine Works blog linked above:
 
 

iPhone/iPad app

"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser." John W. Gardner

DB push press 70lb x 10 x 2
Seated leg press 330lb x 5 x 10

Yosemite Valley, in warmer times:




This picture is from an iPhone/iPad app called Fotopedia National Parks. If you like scenic photos, you will love this app.

Red Rock

run ~7-8 miles 1:30:00

Ran in Red Rock park outside Las Vegas. Very nice desert trail run. Plus, the weather was perfect. I didn't bring my camera, but here are a few pictures of the area from Google images:

Commercial Gym Article

"At the end of the day it is sport, and it is meant to challenge us" Beth Alford-Sullivan

deadlift 185 x 3 x 3, 205 x 3 x 3
DB push press 60 x 5 x 5, 75 x 5 x 1

Sort of your standard article about most gyms, workout programs and trainers being a waste of time (which is a relative statement, it's still better than laying on the couch and drinking beer), ultimately leading to the idea that an old school, high intensity free weight based routine is best (but you already knew that).  There are some thought provoking statements about gyms in the article.  We all tend to know these things, but sometimes its a good reminder that many gyms are in business to make money, not get you fit (yes, those are two different goals).  Kind of like food companies are in business to make money, not have you eat healthy.  

Men's Journal - Everything you know about fitness is a lie

Commercial health clubs need about 10 times as many members as their facilities can handle, so designing them for athletes, or even aspiring athletes, makes no sense. Fitness fanatics work out too much, making every potential new member think, Nah, this place looks too crowded for me. The winning marketing strategy, according to Recreation Management Magazine, a health club–industry trade rag, focuses strictly on luring in the “out-of-shape public,” meaning all of those people whose doctors have told them, “About 20 minutes three times a week,” who won’t come often if ever, and who definitely won’t join unless everything looks easy, available, and safe. The entire gym, from soup to nuts, has been designed around getting suckers to sign up, and then getting them mildly, vaguely exercised every once in a long while, and then getting them out the door.


Messing around with the photo editing app on my iphone:

Peavine Peak

Peavine Peak 10 miles 2:15 (summit 1:24:30) - 3000 feet elevation gain.

My buddy Paul over at Tahoe Weather Blog says the snow is coming, so I figured I should find another mountain to climb before it's too late.  I have now run three of the four highest peaks in the Reno/Tahoe area between December 23 and January 14 without any snow.  Let's hope I never get to do that again. 

Definitely not the most visually stunning run, as it's all on 4wd roads in the sagebrush. Some good training though - this run always end up being a slog for me.

10 miles of this.  Ugh.

See the deer?  (click to enlarge)

I thought this tree looked cool.  Very few trees on this side of Peavine.

Mt. Rose ski area in the back, seen from Peavine Peak.

The Truckee Meadows (Reno) from Peavine Peak.

Downtown Reno from Peavine Peak.

Freel Peak Photos

"Play the game for more than you can afford to lose…only then will you learn the game.”  Winston Churchill

DB push press 60lb x 10 x 5
jump squat 5 x 25
wall sit 1 min

Started using this calorie counting program on my phone.   Got the idea from this guy.

Here is a link to some photos from my Freel Peak run in Tahoe in 2010.  The photo below is of Lake Tahoe looking from Freel.   

Yosemite Half Dome Photos

"What's the best exercise to lose weight?" The one you like, that you'll do every day. Then add table push-aways, more water, more sleep."  @gymjones

12" box jumps 4 x 25
DB push press 60lb x 5 x 3
jump squats 4 x 25
treadmill 2 miles 17:46

Some days your heart just isn't into it.  I was really lethargic and didn't feel like running, which was the original plan this morning.  So I just glued together some random stuff.  Better than nothing I suppose. 

Here is a link to the photos from my run up Half Dome in Yosemite in 2010. 
Yosemite - Half Dome photos

National Geographic Photo Contest

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one."  Elbert Hubbard

med ball thruster 40lb x 20 x 10

Some cool pictures from National Geographic's photo contest.  A couple of the winners are below, the rest are here.

Trail Photo Links

"True growth comes from being mentally uncomfortable more so than physically."  @dalesutherland

treadmill 5 miles 40:46

I started a link section in the right hand column of the blog for trail run photos.  If you haven't checked them out before, there are some good pictures in there.

Rim Trail - Barker to Echo Lake

Mt. Tallac

Mt. Rose

Hunter Lake Road

Lake Aloha in the summer.

Getting Older

"A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it."  Albert Einstein

farmers walk 60lb -- 1/4 mile
dumbbell squat 75lb x 4 x 5
kb swing 32kg x 6 x 25
med ball thruster 40lb x 5 x 10

Hopefully as I get older (almost 40 now), I get wiser.  I thought about that as I lay in bed Sunday morning with my elbows still throbbing 48 hours after my Friday dumbell workout.  I suppose everyone has their nagging injury demon as they age, mine are my elbow tendons. 

One of the keys to success for my running the last year was accepting that low weekly mileage and no more than three days per week would keep me off the injury train.  I have sacrificed speed, but its better to show up at the starting line a little slower but healthy than to be lying on the couch injured. 

I need to apply the same logic to the weight work.  I'm still going to lift as heavy as possible and push myself hard, but the goal is to be intelligent about it.  Thus there will probably be some changes in focus in this area over the next couple of weeks.  I have to constantly remind myself that I plan on doing this stuff when I'm 70 years old, so I better be smart about how I do it.   

Sunset behind my house last night

Mt. Tallac

Mt. Tallac 10.8 miles 2:55, summit 1:42

I took advantage of our sad, snowless winter and tackled a mountain that I had never run before, Mt. Tallac.  Its on the south shore of Tahoe and supposedly has the best view of any peak in the Lake.  I would have to agree.  The peak is 9,700 feet and the trailhead is 6,400.  It's about 5.5 miles from the trailhead to the summit, so some fairly steep climbing is involved.  The trail is also pretty rocky. 

It took me 1:42 to get to the peak, but I screwed around taking a lot of pictures and took some time to drop clothes on the way to the summit.  There were also a number of areas of the trail that were very icy which required slow going.  I would say this run is about twice as hard as Mt. Rose due to the additional incline and the more technical trail, but I bet I could hit the summit under 1:30 with the right trail conditions and no picture breaks.  I drank 15 ounces of water and ate one GU for the 3 hour run.  

Everyone has different motivations for running.  This is mine:

(click any of these pictures to enlarge).  I took the red trail.  The distance is mismarked on this map.  My phone GPS had it at 5.4 miles to the top, which matched another trail book I looked at.

Fallen Leaf Lake in the foreground, Lake Tahoe in the background - pre sunrise.  This is about 1 mile from the trailhead. 

While Fallen Leaf Lake is on your left, Tallac is on your right.  Kind of intimidating how high it is, thinking you only have 4 miles to climb up there. 

Floating Island Lake, which is completely iced over in January (and P.S. should be buried under 10 feet of snow)

Lake Tahoe, with the sun just beginning to light up Mt. Rose. 

Cathedral Lake.  More of a pond.  It is approximately 2.5 miles from the trailhead to this point, so you are halfway there.  Unfortunately, you have climbed about 1,000 feet at this point, so you still have over 2,000 feet to go in a little over two miles.

Sunrise

After some steep climbing out of Cathedral Lake, you get this view.  Mt. Tallac is on the right (out of the picture) and the trail switchbacks up this canyon to reach the saddle at the top.

Typical trail conditions.  Very icy in a number of spots, and a ton of rocks. 

Your first view of Desolation Wilderness once you crest the saddle.  Aloha Lake is off in that direction.

Typical trail scenery for the last mile to the peak.  The final climb to the peak is on talus rock like this.  P.S.  This is 9,000 feet.  Lake Tahoe, welcome to your 2012 snowpack!

The clouds were doing a cool wind tunnel thing over Dick's Pass.  The wind was howling up here (too bad I ditched half my cold weather stuff about a mile back -- idiot).

Mt. Tallac summit rock

View from the summit.  Cascade Lake in the foreground, Emerald Bay is behind that.  Then of course Lake Tahoe, with Mt. Rose far in the distance.

Tahoe on the left, Fallen Leaf Lake in front, and the Tahoe Keys area in the middle of the picture.

 

Echo Lakes behind that ridge.  Gilmore Lake on the lower right, Susie Lake is a bit behind that.

 

Gilmore Lake in the front, Susie Lake on the left, and Lake Aloha in the back at the base of the mountain.

Looking straight down the North face of Tallac.  Steep. 

Fallen Leaf Lake and Tahoe on the way back down the trail.

Mt. Tallac taken from Fallen Leaf Lake

Friday

"Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to" Mitch Albom

DB C&PP 75lb x 20 x 1

Not really a trade I'm willing to make, but this guy is right:

Obsession is what it takes to get to the top of whatever metaphoric mountain you choose for yourself. To be at the top of any sport does not require balance, it demands inbalance. Endurance sports even more so.

Oops.

via @pkedrosky

Great Mountain Picture Blog

"Know your limits, but never stop trying to exceed them." Unknown
DB C&PP 75lb x 15 x 1

This guy has some incredible pictures on this blog.  I could spend hours here.

Here's a sample:

 source

Hunter Lake Road

DB C&PP 75lb x 10 x 1
run Hunter Lake Road 12 miles 2:24:00 (3000 feet of elevation gain)

Hunter Lake Road is a dirt road behind Caughlin Ranch in Reno.  It is 7 miles from the trailhead to the "lake" (more on that below).  When you are in downtown Reno you can see Peavine mountain to the north and a random, nameless mountain to the south, which sort of serves as very extended foothills to Mt. Rose.  Hunter Lake is up in these foothills and partially feeds Hunter Creek and the waterfall I ran to late last week. 

It's not the greatest run (all rutted, rocky 4x4 road and the elevation gain is pretty serious for not too much scenery), but if you are interested in running it, you take Village Green Parkway to Pinebluff Circle and then drive up the dirt road about 1/4 mile to the power station. 

Here are some pictures from the run:

South Reno from early in the run, just after the sun came up.  You can see the burnt hills in the foreground from the same fire that nearly burned down my house.   

Sunrise

Most of the run looks like this.  3000' uphill on a 4x4 road.

Peavine Mountain

"Dan Man" (check the license plate) is so screwed.  The truck was abandoned - he had about a 4 mile walk out from this point. 

Solid sheet ice (about 2 feet thick) leading up to the Dan Man Mobile.  No tow truck is making it up here, so I hope Dan Man has a few buddies with serious 4x4's and come-alongs. 

The farther up you go (about 5 miles from the car at this point), the crappier the road gets. 

Nice terrain once you get up higher.

Hunter Lake in the distance (it's at the stand of aspens).  I stopped about 1 mile prior to the lake.  I didn't have time to go the whole way, and as you can see below, there isn't much to see anyway. 



I took this 2 years ago at "Hunter Lake".  I have no idea why they even call it a lake because it just looks like a marsh to me. 



This shot is about 6 miles from the car and 1 mile from Hunter Lake.  Hunter Lake is at the grey spot on the left.  As you can see, there is a TON of country out here.  You could run a 50 mile race in these hills (not very exciting scenery though).

8200 feet elevation.  Reno/Tahoe - welcome to your January 2012 snowpack!! (Ugh.)

Downtown Reno

Peavine Mountain again

Remnants of the Hawken fire from a few years ago.

Some huge lava type rocks.  They are the only ones like this that I have seen around here.  Reno's version of Stonehenge?

Better picture of downtown Reno.