The Bet - Long Term Running Goals.

As previously mentioned, I have a set of longer term running goals that I'd like to accomplish. In 2010, I'd like to accomplish at least one of them.

They are:
• run a sub 6 min/mile 5k - (18:30)
• run a sub 5 min/mile
• run a sub 6:30 min/mile 10k - (40:00)

Rob Knapik and I are essentially/offially (?) in a competition to accomplish these goals - Since we have pretty similar times in these, and we both love pushing ourselves and being fit, it seems like a great competition.

I was essentially sparked into competing with Knapik after he ran a sub 20 min 5k last fall, after having NOT RUN AT ALL.. Ok, he'd been doing a lot of cross fit workouts, some of which incorporate some hard running. I think that crossfit must be great for V02 max type training. He had also done a couple of runs over the summer, however, he essentially ran a very good time, PR(?), without any explicit running training. Subsequently I was unable to break 20 min at an Arlington 5k over Thanksgiving, coming in at 20:05 or so - and that after doing a fair amount of running over the previous 6 months.. I hadn't broken a 20 minute 5k since college, and my PR was around 19:10 from almost 10 years ago.

So, the Grand Goal: Be the first to break all of the above times. (*Winner get's a Grand Cru wine - or equivalent from Bordeaux/Napa etc..) I will update here as needed.

Also, the first to break any of the above long term goals will *win a fancy wine, (e.g. a Premier Cru Burgundy or equivalent).

And, also, for general running fitness, I'm going to throw in some Preme's for PR's in other distances to further encourage this. (*Winner get's a nice drink at a bar, or bottle of nice wine/beer..)

• run a sub 58s 400m
• run a sub 2:10 800m
• run a sub 31:30 5 mile
• run a sub 66m 10 mile

*Anyone is welcome to join in on this competition provided they haven't previously broken any of the above times, or they've only broken 1 of them, but it's been approx 7 years or longer...*

Goals 2010 - Fitness

This is the second year of contemplating, making, and following up on a set of goals for the year. In late 2008 Mattson convinced me to make three strategic year long goals, things that I could focus on and harness to stay focused throughout the year. Goals impacting areas of my life that are important to me, or areas where I sought out changes or improvements. The goals essentially spanned personal/relationships, personal/learning and professional/work. Over a year later I look back on 2009 and am happy with most of my choices.

It's maybe a little late to be writing about goals for 2010 - and I brainstormed a stockpile of them before and after the new year, but one area in particular has been and will continue to be a major focus of my energy. Fitness and Health - two things that I have thought about often since the high school really. In spite of the innumerable binges, bacon labs, and a mythically voracious appetite, I'm strongly aware and thoughtful about what I put into my body, what I try to get out of my body, and how I perceive my physical and mental health. Essentially - eating reasonably well, maintaining weight, and exercising frequently and being fit are the pillar of my physical health goals.

As the end of 2009 neared, I thought of a longer term running goal which would be apt in my post-competitive ultimate days, and give me something to focus on over a long stretch of time - years really - to keep me focused on exercising. The goal is, essentially, to shatter my PR's for the mile, 5k and 10k running distances. I suspect working towards this would also satisfy my inherent internal competitive drive. I would have to be committed to running long term, which would force me to take my running training seriously.

With that goal in place, I've been running more than ever, and forcing myself to go faster too. However, in parallel to this running, I maintain excitement for other activities. I anticipate doing a lot of hiking and trying some mountaineering this year. I've also been playing a ton of basketball. I'm also biking frequently - aiming to try road racing in the coming month or two. In some ways my post-ultimate self is more active than ever, less worried about being in the right shape for an ultimate season and more focused on getting out there and being extra active whenever the opportunity presents itself. And I'm loving it. The combination of these diverse activities, often being done at fairly high intensity, and often for 3 or 4 days in a row has frequently left me very fatigued, feeling like I can accomplish little more than a day on the couch watching the Wire. My legs sometimes feel like bricks. I should specialize a little in one of these activities, and I should make sure I get adequate rest if I'm going hard more days than not. But I'm also not willing to go 100% into any one activity at the expense of the others - which is the same predicament I had during ultimate seasons. Hopefully I can find a happy balance with these activities and still accell and enjoy them all.

At any rate, I'm going to be doing some periodization this summer, first cutting back on basketball, as our team is planning to take the warm months off. I will run my first 5k of the year this weekend - around Greenlake on Sunday, sponsored by Top Pot Donuts. Here I will get to see where I am on my progression towards achieving my goals. I will take stock, and then likely increase my focus on biking. Running less frequently, maybe doing a triathlon sometime this summer.

Cross Fit Workout #1

I managed to combine two of my favorite things on Thursday night - a first shot at Crossfit and Slacker Bookclub.

Myself, Lott, Wu and Sarah gathered at 15th and Pike to do a fairly common, and unusually tough Crossfit workout - sprint one mile, do as many sets of 5-10-15 pull ups, push ups and squats in 20 minutes, then sprint another mile. I think that everyone enjoyed it :) Running the first mile was fun. We created a single loop course between Union and Columbia and between 15th and 19th. Sarah almost broke 7 minutes (7:01). I was able to run about 5:45, on a somewhat hilly course, with Lott and Wu close behind. This is reasonable enough for a mile, especially one with streets to cross and pedestrians to avoid. Then we jogged to a play ground for the middle part of the workout. Nobody could do the exercises for a full 15 minutes. After 3 sets I could no longer do 5 pull ups. After 5 sets I could barely do 1 pull up. So I did assisted pullups on a low hanging bar on the playground. After 16 minutes I'd done 8 sets of this, and decided we would push on and start the last mile. This was hard. I did a good job of keeping my pace high, not cruising too much, and came around the corner for the 2 block uphill finish. Brian cheered me on. I pushed up the first block and was ready to keel over. I shuffled across the street and struggled to stride through to the finish, at about 6:05. A pretty sweet workout, one that I need to do again sometime soon.

Incidentally, for bookclub we discussed "Player Piano", Vonnegut's first novel, a dystopia not dissimilar from Brave New World. I believe that everyone enjoyed the read, and it provoked good discussion. I thought it was fairly poor - with simple stiff characters. We ate corned beef and cabbage. That, I loved.

My favorite book from 2009 was Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

A part of my 2009 goals, (thanks to Eric Mattson™), was to read 20 novels. For the most part, I accomplished this, (a couple were non-fiction), and loved the process and outcome. I don't think I've read this much in a year before.

With the Slacker Bookclub I sunk my teeth into several classics that I never approached while a slacker high school student. Being in a bookclube provided a great opportunity to get together for dinner and drinks to discuss the book, as well as motivation to get through the books. And mostly, I was very pleased with the books, really enjoying or appreciating several of them.

Here is the list for 2009:

• Razor's Edge, Somerset Maugham
• Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer
• The Secret Agent, Joseph Conrad
• Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
• Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
• The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammet
• Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
• The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen
• This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Sound and the Fury, William Falkner
• Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert
• Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer
• A Widow for One Year, John Irving
• Sieze the Day, Saul Bellow
• Cannery Row, John Steinbeck
• 100 Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck
• For Whom The Bell Tolls, Hemingway
• The Man in the High Castle, Phillip K Dick
• Ubik, Phillip K Dick

I was happy to get into several of these authors. At least half of the above list were extremely interesting and/or thought provoking for me, and I would give hefty recommendations for them.

Picking a best of is not easy and I would probably pick a different best of on a different day. I thought For Whom The Bell Tolls was fantastic. I thought the Corrections was a great novel. And I am excited to re-read or read more from Bellow, Falkner and Fitzgerald.

I'm still thinking about my reading goals for 2010, I don't know if I want to make a specific target. The list is still large, but at least I knocked a little chunk off it in 2009.

Christmas with the Larson's on Orcas Island in the San Juan's. Four days and three nights of family fun.

The family lounging in the rental house.

View from the house..

Some wines to go with dinner on night one. The Vaquerayas from 12th and Olive was better on day 2.

Smörgåsbord on the 24th.

Widely considered the best smorgasbord since 2003.

A happy customer.