Great Aloha Run Training - Week 4

Well this week was much like last week. The vog didn't relent and I was out of commission. No running, no rolling. Just a lot of coughing and a lot of mucus. For me reacting to vog is like being sick without the virus. But I didn't go the whole week being completely inactive.

Honolulu covered in vog

I was in no condition to run...not to mention the air was still voggy hazy so running in it would have just been retarded. I was in no condition to do jiu-jitsu...plus I doubt my training partners would appreciate me coughing and hacking all over them. The most I could really do was stretches so I stretched it out.

I came up with an hour long stretching routine blending postures from Bikram Yoga, some things my buddy Dan (the yoga guy/personal trainer) showed me, and regular static stretches I normally do for running. I start off with five salutations, very beginner level that Dan showed me. Then I do some side bends, or half-moon for the Bikram people, but for me it's hardly a side bend...I'm as flexible as a board and a tricep stretch. Then I do some standing bow pose, standing head-to-knee, triangle pose, and standing separate leg stretch which is basically going spread-eagle and bending forward.

After the standing stretches, which work up a pretty good sweat, I move to ground stretches. I do some hip stretches that Dan showed me then stretch out my back. Bow pose, full locust are pretty intense and even though I feel a lot of stretching going on I really hardly move...yep, flexible as a board. Then I do some cobra/upward dog and downward dog. Those ones feel pretty relaxing by this point. Then I sit down and do some butterfly. The goal is to get the knees to the ground but mine are flapping a good four inches off...yeah my hips don't really open up...like a board! Next is a hamstring stretch with one leg forward. Bikram calls this stretch head-to-knee but for me it's more like 'yay my hands can reach my toes' stretch. I stretch each leg individually then do both legs in front. Finally I finish with some sit 'n twist or spine twist for the Bikram people.

Stretching reminded me how flexible I am not but helped me avoid feeling completely slothish. It was actually a pretty good workout and I built up a good sweat. I did the stretch routine Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. I still have a pretty good cough going but it's getting better. The winds are finally blowing the vog away and the I was happy to wake up on Saturday to clear air. Hopefully the cough will be gone in a few days and I can get a run in this week.

Picture of Vog taken from the space shuttle

Great Aloha Run Training: Week 3

Week 2 brought a lull in my training regiment and unfortunately it continued this week. This week didn't start well and it didn't really end well either. Here's how it went:

Monday – I had the day off and lazed around spending most of the day reading a book. I woke up with a sore throat and I could feel some mucus dripping from my nasal passages causing the discomfort. Slightly concerned I might be getting sick. After popping some vitamins and eating breakfast I began to feel better. Perhaps it's nothing to worry about. Anyway, I decided to do a 4 mile run around Diamond Head at an easy pace later in the day. Don't want to push too hard in case I am getting sick and because I don't want to re-aggravate my back. Even with those things in mind the run was brutal, in fact it sucked. I didn't enjoy it. My legs felt heavy, my ankles were constantly sore, and my left ankle – which is my good ankle – popped over and over again throughout the run. I ran at what felt like a 8:30 to 9 min per mile pace, which is well below what I should normally cruise at. Given the slow pace and how I felt, something very profound, very prodigious, and very dangerous crept into my mind: doubt.

What if I fail? What if I don't make my time goal? What if I don't heal well enough to perform? What if I do heal and I'm simply not good enough? Unrelenting, unforgiving doubt. These things and more plagued my mind during the latter part of the run and stayed with me well after. What's the point? Why even train? My joints feel busted and strained, my legs feel like they can't carry my weight. What's the point if I'm only going to deteriorate further and further? I'm getting older so it's all downhill anyway. Why do anything? I should just retreat into a burrow and let the world and everybody in it pass by ignorant to their inescapable doom...yep all that muck grew out from one twinge of doubt. What a poisonous thing...

The rest of the week I'll just call “Attack of the Vog.” For those who don't know, vog is like volcanic smog caused from volcanic ash. One thing about Hawaii that doesn't happen in very many other places is there's an active volcano on the Big Island and when the winds are just right volcanic ash and gas covers the state. The air becomes hazy and gray...kinda like Los Angeles. Anyway, like many others, vog wreaks havoc on my lungs and sinuses. It's why I had a sore throat on Monday, which I'm sure wasn't made any better by running.

I spent the rest of the week feeling sick and medicated. Tuesday through Thursday I had a sore throat and my nose was going crazy. Friday the congestion began and I spent the weekend coughing up all sorts of goodness. No workouts, needless to say. I did some stretching for about forty minutes on Thursday. A blend of static stretches and yoga stretches. I did more stretches again on Sunday for about an hour. I don't know why I don't stretch more often. There's a good hour or two each day I spend just vegging out with the TV and computer on, not really doing anything. I could at least stretch out a bit.

All in all, the week sucked for training. I'm still recovering from the vog attack and I continue to stretch my lower back. At least I got plenty of rest this week (Nyquil helped with that). And that doubt thing...well let's try not to have another episode of that again...so debilitating. While I think the doubt has waned it has been replaced with the reality that the Great Aloha Run is less than a month away and I'm not training as I should be to hit my mark. Hopefully health finds me this week and I can get back to training.

Crazy Awesome Dream

I was walking through a foggy, misty bog. Visibility was low, only about forty feet. The air was muggy and humid. Ahead to the left loomed the figure of a large tree. It was bare of any leaves and the branches twisted outward. Except for a dark maroon vest, I was wearing all black. Black shirt, black pants, black boots, even black belt and shoelaces. I slowly walked along the muddy pathway keeping my senses sharp for whatever might be hiding in the mist.

I stopped, sensing something might be nearby. Taking a slow breath my mind cleared and became focused. I held my arms out to my sides, palms up, and began to elevate into the air. I moved forward as I rose about twenty feet high then smoothly arced back down to the ground, landing without a sound. I listened...there, a slight rustling to the right.

“I got 'em, He's over here!” somebody shouted. Through the mist the figure of a man emerged. He was dressed like me except his clothes were white and his vest was brown. He's after me, I thought.

I reached for the weapon at my hip and drew a light-saber. I raised it up and noticed my light-saber was red...uh oh, that means I'm the bad guy!

The guy charging me drew his light-saber, it was green...guess he's the good guy. We swung for each others heads, lunged for a killing strike, but neither of us could gain an upper hand. Then I heard other footsteps closing in. Two more guys in white charged for me. For a brief moment my opponent was distracted and I landed a kick to his gut knocking the wind out of him as he doubled over.

The other two were on me in seconds. I parried and avoided their attacks with ease. I moved quick...I wish I moved that well in real life...anyway, I held off my attackers until suddenly the lights came on. Turned out the misty bog was a set inside of an arena. There weren't any stands or bleachers, just walls with blacked-out windows at the top. Whoever was watching us was up there. A voice sounded overhead, “Ok that's enough everybody. Well done. Class is over.”

When I left the arena I found myself walking along an outdoor pathway. Then it hit me, I'm in a Jedi academy! Everybody here is learning the art of using the Force and wielding a light-saber. Hundreds of students studying to become Jedi. The class I was just in was a practical training class and I got to play the role of a Sith while three Jedi attempted to apprehend me. Three-on-one...I must be pretty good, I thought.

I walked along admiring my surroundings. The sky was bright and clear, to one side was a tall angular building made of glass, to the other side was a wide open field with a building on the other side. That's where I was heading.

A man that looked to be in his late thirties came alongside me. “Hey, you did pretty good in there. You'll make a good jedi yet.” I nodded my acknowledgment.

We passed by a group of first year students who whispered amongst themselves, pointing at us as we passed. I heard one of them say, “That's him, that's the guy who fought with Luke. Luke Skywalker!”

The man walking with me smiled, he was flattered to be recognized with such awe. “Off to the dorms then huh?” He asked. I nodded. “Give my regards to Luke. See you next class.”

We parted ways and I walked around the field to the building. There was nothing spectacular about it. A standard rectangular box made of stone, 5 floors high, with windows at each room. I went up a several flights of stairs to the top floor and there was Luke, the legendary Skywalker who brought balance to the force. He never went to college and decided to enroll at the academy to be officially educated in the Jedi arts. Nobody suspected he'd end up like this.

“Hey man.” Luke called, “come check this out it's super important!” It must have been the first day in the dorms because people all around were unpacking and introducing themselves. Luke, who seemed to resemble Uriah Faber...go figure...anyway, he led me into a room and sitting on the bed were two blonde girls chatting with each other. I looked around waiting for something to happen or to see something significant. Luke looked at me wide-eyed in shocked excitement.

“Coed dorms dude!!” Luke yelled. Yeah...nobody thought the legendary Skywalker would become a college junkie. He raised a hand for a high-five. I left.

I walked a while. The campus wasn't isolated being next to a city and it didn't take long for me to walk from the campus into some important, official, town square looking area. Up ahead I spotted a group of guards escorting Darth Vader in custody. Vader's helmet gleamed black with malice and his black cape was drawn around his entire body. I wondered, even if they have Vader's light-saber isn't he bad-ass enough to take out those guards on his own? Turns out the answer is yes.

Vader spun around and force-pushed all the guards away. He flung his arms up, letting his cape fly back to reveal what was underneath. His body gleamed with polished green armor...Darth Vader wore the armor of Master Chief from Halo!! He busted out two sub-machine guns and opened fire at us. I dove behind a pillar for cover. Bullets peppered the marble pillars and walls and bits of rock and dust flew in the air. I heard Vader laugh as he unloaded both guns. The shooting stopped. I peered out from behind the pillar and glimpsed Vader running off faster than anybody could catch him. Must be those Master Chief legs giving him a boost of speed.

I listened in to the guards, who were also Jedi, discuss the incident. “Did you see that? Vader had Spartan armor.” One said.

In the distance we made out Vader's figure running onto a Star Destroyer with a crew of Spartans.

“If the Spartans have allied with Vader, the Spartans may declare war on the Jedi!” another guard said.

“We can defeat them can't we? We have the power of the force on our side.”

“While that may be true, a single Spartan can conquer an entire world.”

That's about where the dream ended. Dang, a battle between Spartans and Jedi! That would be epic!! Who would win? I wish the dream kept going to see what happens next.

And if you're wondering what I was on before I had this dream: Nyquil, well a generic brand of Nyquil. That stuff messes me up...but gives me awesome Star Wars Halo dreams :)

Great Aloha Run Training: Week 2

This week I realized – or experienced, I should say because I already knew this – that when you go from running maybe once a week to running 4 times a week leads to pain. My shoulder is still giving me problems from an unknown jiu-jitsu injury, my left knee is sore, and now my lower back hurts. The lower back concerns me the most because that could sideline me from any type of physical activity. It's from running. I pushed too hard too early. My body didn't have enough time to adjust to the impact of running on pavement, hence why all the aches and pains. I knew I'd have to take it easy this week to let myself heal but I didn't want to do nothing at all so here's how last week went:

Tuesday - I ended work early so I went to Ala Moana for a run. I started at 3:30pm, the sun was still out. It's been a while since I've ran in the afternoon and it was nice to have the sun beaming down offering its warmth...yeah right, are you kidding? It was hot, sticky, and down right uncomfortable. I ran 4 miles or so, not really sure. I debated pushing the pace but ended up doing a maintenance run on account of my sore back. Oh, in case you don't know a “maintenance run” is running-lingo for an easy run at a steady pace. Hopefully I'll heal a bit more and I'll push the pace again later this week and on the weekend.

Part of Ala Moana Beach Park

Wednesday – Went to jiu-jitsu and rolled for 2 hours...there went the hope of taking it easy and healing a bit more. It's damn near impossible to take it easy at jiu-jitsu especially when there's a tournament coming up on the weekend. We did some pretty intense drills. I left with my back a little aggravated, my left ankle tweaked awkwardly somehow, and my big toe got smashed. The toe is still purple as I write this. Despite the added injuries it was a damn good workout. On the upside, my buddy Dan was rolling and he's a big time yoga guy and a personal trainer. I asked him how I can stretch my lower back. His advice: upward and downward dog every day. I've been doing those stretches daily and it's been helping a lot. He also recommended keeping up the stretching even after it's healed because those stretches will help prevent future injury. Good to know, thanks!

Thursday – Swam 400 yards at the Moanalua pool. I'm pretty jacked up from getting beat up on the mats Wednesday and my back is still sore but I wanted to do something active. I needed somethingwith little to no impact so I headed to the pool! The workout started off well but then the nagging shoulder injury reminded me it's still there when I started having problems with my arm strokes. I wanted to swim 1000+ yards but ended up cutting the it short at 400 yards. Hey, at least I did something right?

Friday – Maintenance run at Ala Moana. I ran a little under 3 miles at a very steady pace. I focused a lot on my form and trying to run smooth without so much bouncing up and down. Didn't have so much pain in my back and my knee felt okay. I should be good to pick it back up next week...I hope.

The week was sore and painful but at least I was able to keep up some decent training. Also, no joke about those yoga stretches, my back is feeling pretty good right now. I also picked up a good lower back exercise from a jiu-jitsu video I found on YouTube, which I've incorporated into my workout. A little strengthening should keep the soreness at bay...plus it'll help prevent any long term injury, always a plus!

Odd as it sounds, the pain and injury was part of my workout plan. I knew my body would have to get used to the impact involved with running on concrete so my sores aren't a big surprise. I just think of it as growing pains...annoying but necessary. Although I was hoping they'd go away without so much fuss...

Great Aloha Run Training: Week 1

I'm dedicating a few blogs over the next month to my training for the Great Aloha Run. For those who don't know, the Great Aloha Run is an 8.15 mile run starting in downtown Honolulu ending in Aloha Stadium (where the Pro-Bowl is played). I figure these blogs will help me keep on point with training and give me a sense of accountability since everybody will be able to see if I'm slacking...don't want that. Hope you enjoy the reads. Feel free to comment, share advice or experience, let me know if I'm slacking, or whatever! Let's get to it.

One of my goals this year is to finish the Great Aloha Run in under one hour. Last year I finished in just over 1:05 so I need to shave a little over 5 minutes off of that time. However, a year ago I was routinely running at least twice a week and had been for several months leading up to the Aloha Run. This year I only started running a little over a month ago. And it was pretty inconsistent. Once a week mostly, twice if I was on it. What I knew from those runs is that my endurance is pretty good, my form needs some work, and I need to increase my speed to hit the pace to finish the Aloha Run in under an hour. Knowing those things, I just started seriously training for the run this past week. Here's how I'm doing so far.

Last week Monday I did a track workout at Punahou High School with my buddy Waimea (fun fact for those who don't know, Punahou is where President Obama went to high school). We did an interval workout running 200 meters within a certain time, and we decreased that time limit as we went. Our first set we ran 200 meters in 1 min 30 sec, which is plenty of time. Wasn't hard at all. The next interval was 1:10, picked up the pace a little bit in order to maintain at least 10 seconds of rest between intervals. The final interval was 1 min, which by that time was really difficult. We were tired out enough that it was a struggle to maintain 10 seconds of rest between each interval.

At the start, the track workout didn't seem like much because we had so much time between intervals but what it really did was tire us out. When it came time to speed up we really had to push it. By the last couple of intervals my legs burned. In total we ran 4 miles, took over 45 minutes, and it ended up being a good workout testing endurance and willpower.

Tuesday I ran a 4 mile loop around Diamond Head, an inactive volcano. Still sore from the track workout I tried to maintain a pace fast enough to feel uncomfortable. I don't have a watch so I don't know what my pace was. I just gauge based on the amount of effort I exert and if I had to guess I averaged 8:30 per mile. I stayed outside my comfort zone just a bit throughout the whole run but it wasn't so vigorous that I could walk the next day normally.

Aerial view of Diamond Head

Wednesday I didn't run but went to jiu-jitsu. Rolling is an excellent workout for conditioning and resistance but it also gave my legs a break from running.

Thursday I ran a 6 mile loop around Diamond Head (I run around Diamond Head a lot) with Waimea. Our goal was to maintain an average pace of 8:30 per mile. I just wanted to log mileage more so than work on speed but we ended up averaging 8 minutes per mile, faster than our goal. It was a nice surprise. It felt fairly comfortable.

Friday was a rest day. It was nice.

Saturday's plan was to do another track run with Waimea at Punahou. But the school was doing their admissions testing for kindergarten and the parking lots were full. Instead we went to Kapiolani to do a 4 mile run around...yep you guessed it...Diamond Head! We set a target time of 32 minutes to finish the run. That's a pace of about 8 minutes per mile. We finished the first mile, which is almost entirely uphill, in 7:22. Not bad. The second mile is flat with a few declines. We finished mile 2 in 7:10. Our third mile was slower, somewhere around 8:30. I'm not sure what the fourth mile was exactly but I finished the run at 30:32, well below the target of 32 minutes. I ran at a pace of 7:38 per mile, not bad, but I was struggling at the beginning. It was really tough to keep up with Waimea, who was pace-setting, the first mile and a half. I started to get my wind during the third mile and felt comfortable for most of the fourth mile. But the last half mile was really tough for me. I try to open up my stride and speed up during the last half mile, then speed up more the last quarter mile, and sprint as best I can the last 50 meters. Didn't work so well this time. My legs were burning and felt heavy like they were filled with sand. I sped up a little but I didn't finish as strong as I would like to. Gonna have to work on my finish.

Week 1 felt pretty good. I ran 4 times and pushed the pace on a few runs. In order to finish the Aloha Run in under an hour I'll need to run all 8.15 miles at an average of 7:20 per mile. It's going to take an effort to get there but I think I'm in range. My idea is to get to 4 miles at that pace, then 6 miles. I figure if I can do 6 miles at 7:20 per mile I'll have a good shot at lasting the whole 8.15 at that pace.

Things to work on: smoother stride, stronger finish, increasing speed. I think I'll do one or two shorter runs at a fast pace – maybe 1 or 2 miles at 7 min per mile – just to get the feel of running at that speed. Hopefully it'll carry over to the longer distance runs. Bring on week 2!

New Year, New Ways

All right, my first blog of 2012! I've been doing this blogging thing for a year now. Hopefully somebody's enjoying it. The holiday season of 2011 was awesome and way, way too short...another indication that it was also way, way awesome. Spent time with friends, spent time on Kaua'i with family, and had a blast with both. New years was fun too. The state banned all fireworks this year so naturally there were tons of fireworks going off everywhere. Good times!

Last year I made an effort to try new things. Top of the list was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the Gracie Barra University. I stuck with that all year and plan to keep it up. I also wrote a number of blogs and have worked almost daily on a novel I aim to publish, an endeavor I began a year ago. The whole writing a book thing is about as hard as I thought it would be, which is pretty damn hard. Still have a lot of work to do there. I also made a number a new friends and went on many awesome hikes.

So I don't want to get caught up reflecting on the past year so I'll switch gears and look ahead. Things to continue? Jiu-jitsu: a must. Hiking: absolutley! Writing: always. But I want to put a twist on things somehow. Haven't figured that part out yet...I know I want to better understand jiu-jitsu. Begin to develop my style more refined to fit me. Maybe that will open my eyes up to see how, conceptually at least, the gentle art applies to daily life off the mats. By the way, I'm starting a separate blog dedicated to jiu-jitsu so keep your eyes open for that. With my writing my goal is to finish the first draft of my book by the end of the year. I'm about halfway through right now but have been experiencing a lot more writer's block lately. It's gonna be tough but I'm sticking it out.

I'll keep this one brief. Thank you to everybody who played a role in 2011...if you're reading this that includes you, thanks. And to my friends and family who stick by me, much mahalos. And of course, happy new year to all!