What will 2013 bring?

Posted on January 15, 2013 by
C&H new-years-resolutions

Although a great sentiment, there are a few things I need to change!

Ok, so it’s been over two months since my previous post. There are several reasons why I haven’t been posting, and I’ll get into that in future posts. Believe me, you’ll hear all about it.

I was hesitant to write in the new year because I didn’t want to write down some unattainable New Year Resolutions. I didn’t want to write down some attainable New Year Resolutions either, because when I looked back 6 months or a year down the road, I would hate to be absolutely disappointed if I didn’t accomplish my resolutions.

So instead I’ll start with this:

By January 1st, 2013, I had gained 7 pounds since the middle of December. The holidays were full of laziness and eating/drinking a lot for me. Much more eating and drinking than I wanted. Even though the weather was rather mild, I still didn’t get out and run, or raise my heart rate at all. The result, 7 damn pounds. Now, I’m not a slave to the scale, but I could tell I had gained weight because of the way I felt, and the way my clothes fit.

On January 1st, I decided I needed to do something about it. I started working out everyday. So, here we are on January 15th, and I’ve worked out about 12 of the 15 days, and I’ve dropped 4 pounds already. I have several races I’m running this  year and I want to be ready and FIT.

2013 will be the year of FIT for me.

The question for this new year is not ‘What will 2013 bring?‘, the question is ‘What will I bring to 2013?‘"Priorities" Road Sign with dramatic clouds and sky.

I will bring HAPPINESS to 2013. How can I do that?

With these 4 Priorities I will focus on:

FIT
SOBER
PAY DEBT
SAVE MONEY

If I can concentrate on those 4 Priorities, it will be easier for me to attain HAPPINESS. Don’t get me wrong, I feel happy now, but there are these 4 issues that are nagging in the back of my head. I don’t need to conquer them, I just need to face them and make some progress on them.

The new few posts will tackle these issues, and also track my work-outs, running and Fitness goals!

Happy New Year friends! Let’s make 2013 the best we possible can!!

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Race Day thoughts

Posted on November 5, 2012 by

Since this was my fist major race, I really didn’t know what I was getting into on the brisk, nay FREAKIN’ COLD morning of November 3rd. I was a tad nervous to say the least. As the time got closer to the 8am start, the temperature didn’t rise like I was hoping and I couldn’t get into the area where I wanted to start. I was trying to start with other people running between a 9 and 10 minute mile. The closest I could get was to 11 minute mile people. In hindsight, I think that was a good thing because I was forced to go out slower which probably helped me actually finish the race running!

After slowly moving towards the start line (it took 5 minutes to get there) we were off through downtown Indianapolis!

The great route took us past some major Indianapolis landmarks:

We ran under the Indianapolis Arts Garden

We ran past the giant stupid Lucas Oil Football Stadium

We ran on a portion of Monument Circle

We ran down Mass Ave arts district

We also ran through neighborhoods, including my own, then finally sort of past the Children’s Museum, then back downtown to the finish line.

Indianapolis Children’s Museum

I ran with a light jacket, gloves, and a bottle of the chia seed drink (chia seeds, water, and lemon juice). It was just too damn cold to take the jacket off! The first few miles I was just kind of taking in the scene. Thousands of people running, thousands of people cheering you on by the side of the road, plus running down streets I’d driven on for years and getting to see the city from a different angle were all very energizing!
By mile 3 I was getting comfortable and clearly in a sub-10 minute mile pace.
By mile 5 I thought to myself, “Gee, I think I could do a marathon some day, this is fun!” At mile 6 I tried to unzip my jacket thinking I could take it off. Nope, too cold!
Mile 8.5 I ran by my house, but I wasn’t tempted to run to the bed and sleep.
Mile 9, I finally took my jacket off and felt warm and comfortable.
Mile 10, I thought, “OK, only a 5K left, let’s do this!”
Mile 11, I could tell I was slowing down, I was hoping to get to Mile 12.
Mile 11.2, “Where is Mile 12?”
Mile 11.5, “You’re kidding me, did they stop putting up signs?”
Mile 11.6, “Where the FUCK is Mile 12?!!!?”
Mile 12, I can do this, only 10 more minutes!
Mile 12.5, this is where I actually started to get emotional. I was thinking about how I started to run back in June, and here I was in November running a damn half marathon! How crazy is that?! I was feeling good, and tried to push it through the final .6 miles!
Mile 13.1, WOW! I finished, I feel good, not great, but good. I probably couldn’t have run another 10 miles, but probably another mile or two…who knows…

The final results were this:
Place Overall: 2814
Ave. Pace: 10:03/mile
Finish Time: 2hours 11 minutes 51 seconds

I’m pretty proud of the time, and I will definitely keep running! Here’s to another half-marathon or two next year, and maybe, just maybe a full marathon the year after…or maybe sooner!

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Run a Half Marathon…Check!!

Posted on November 3, 2012 by

I just got home from running, and finishing the Monumental Half-Marathon!

According to texts my friends received (and then sent me), I finished in 2 hours, 11 minutes and 51 seconds!

This race was cold, kind of dreary, and crowded, but hey, I finished it!

When this all started I wanted to run races as a vegan, and that’s exactly what I did!

Now, I’m home to recover and relax, by EATING and SLEEPING!!

Bon Appetit and Good Night!

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And now the Playlist!

Posted on November 2, 2012 by

My running playlist

Wow! I’ve been tweaking this playlist since I’ve started running regularly back in June, and I feel like I really have it poppin’ right now!

Last night, instead of relaxing and getting 10 hours of sleep, I stayed up and added the Beats Per Minute (BPM) for every tune in my list! Ideally, I want to run at a pace between 170-180 BPM. The faster the foot turnover, the smaller the steps, which means that I get my feet underneath my body and I begin running with better posture, which makes it easier to breath and relax my upper body. Also, with a faster pace like this, I’m forced to strike the ground on my mid-foot/ball of my foot, which is much more comfortable than landing on my heel.

Recently, I’ve added a shit-ton of Peter Gabriel to my iTunes collection, so several of these tracks have made it into the updated playlist!

So here is a brief overview of my playlist:
48 Songs

Peter Gabriel on tour 2012!

3.5 Hours of Listening Pleasure
Artists ranging from: Action Figure Party to Spearhead
Most Tracks from One Artist: Peter Gabriel has a clear lead here with 15 Songs, The Police, Sharon Jones, and the Bamboos are all in a close 2nd place!
BPM: Everything from 72-200 BPM.

Basically, I have a nice eclectic collection of tunes all with a strong beat, healthy harmonic integrity, interesting lyrics, and most importantly these tunes will keep me energized and since I have more tunes than I need, I can easily pass by one if I’m not in the mood for it.

So, what do you like to listen to while running, working out, or exercising? Any particular artists, or genre you put on to ensure a good energized athletic activity?

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It’s Here!

Posted on November 2, 2012 by

The half-marathon I have been training for is right around the corner, and I’m pretty excited about it! I’m also excited that I’m doing this as a Plant Powered runner!

That’s my shirt!

Speaking of Plant Powered, I got my ‘No-Meat-Athlete‘ long sleeve shirt in the mail last week and have been proudly wearing it on the final training runs. Since the race is going right by my house, the signs are up and there are painted directions on the street, so it’s getting REAL! Everything is coming together!

My shirt and Bib#7231 for the big race!

I picked up my packet today and I am number 7231. If you care to follow my progress through all the check points, you can do so by signing up for ATHLETE UPDATES. It’s easy and you can follow my time as I run the 13.1!

In less than 24 hours I begin running. It’s so close I’m starting to reflect on WHY I AM DOING THIS! How did this begin? My life is fundamentally different now than it was when I decided to go down this path. I feel better for doing what I have done that is for sure, but when I started I wasn’t doing this 100% for myself. I had alternative motives. Yes, I wanted to lose weight. Yes, I wanted to go vegan. Yes, I wanted to see if I could enjoy running (and I do). Yes, I wanted to change my lifestyle. All of that happened and has had a direct, and positive effect on my life. The alternative motives had to go, so by the end, I DID do everything for myself, and I couldn’t have done it without all of your support out there!

What to do after the race? Am I done running for a while? What next? These are all topics to discuss in future blog posts. Right now, I’m going to create a kick-ass play list for the 13.1!

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Taper Week + Fun Gigs!

Posted on October 29, 2012 by

Well, here we are. The week before my first half-marathon and I gotta say that I’m pretty excited about it! This week is the second of two taper weeks, meaning that the milage is less than previous weeks. It kind of feels weird only running a few miles instead of 7-10, but it all leads up to having fresh legs and mind for a 13.1 mile jaunt on Saturday.

What will also keep me focused and fresh for the run will be these awesome gigs I have this week!

Elevator Up! in action!!!

Tuesday, October 30th, the ever so astounding lounge duo Elevator Up! will be performing from 8pm – 11pm at The Chatterbox Jazz Club on Mass Ave here in Indy. This band plays all the hits from the 70′s through the present day. With Sean Baker on keyboards and hi-hat, and yours truly on trombone, tuba and bass drum, the ensemble will, simply put, change your life!

Friday, November 2nd, I’ll be playing the very famous Symphony #9 by Beethoven in Urbana Illinois with the Sinfonia da Camera. If you are not familiar with this symphony, you certainly know the main theme from the final movement ‘Ode to Joy’. Not only is this a spectacular symphony, but Beethoven wrote this when he was deaf. It is an amazing piece of music featuring a huge choir. I’m really looking forward to it!

After the concert, I drive back, try to sleep a few hours, then head to the Monumental Marathon for an 8am start time!

Fun week!

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Monumental Half-Marathon Team RBD!!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by

Monumental Marathon, Nov. 3rd

The Monumental Marathon and Half Marathon is on November 3rd, 2012. As this is my first half-marathon, I’m thinking I may need some sort of support team, or at least suggestions of how to best navigate eating/drinking throughout the race.

Anybody want to sign on to Team RBD?! Let me know!

The course of this race literally goes by my house! Anybody that wants to come and hang at my house so that you can throw food at me as I run by at mile marker 9 is more than welcome! I can have food and drink for you at the house too!
(click link below for full map)
Half Marathon Map

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