It's official!! I will be running the Monumental Half Marathon on November 3rd here in Indianapolis! The race is exactly 12 weeks away, so my No-Meat-Athlete Half Marathon Roadmap will be perfect to get me ready for 13.1 miles! Now that running a Half-Marathon is 'real', it is kind of daunting! I've never run more... Continue Reading →
The Challenge
I recently began reading the "No Meat Athlete Half Marathon Roadmap: The Vegetarian Guide to Conquering Your First 13.1" by Matt Frazier. Before the book gets into the training program the first Chapter is all about 'Making It Real: Goals and Commitments'. In this chapter, Matt asks you questions and you have to answer them.... Continue Reading →
Time flies…
Wow. Time really flies when you're avoiding doing things. It has been quite a while since I last blogged. I have gotten started on several blogs, but just put them in the 'Drafts' folder. I felt as if I didn't have anything interesting to talk about, but I finally realized that I have yet to talk... Continue Reading →
30 Day Experiment: End of Week 3
As you may have been able to figure out from my previous post, Week 3 was kind of rough. Despite all that, I've run over 20 miles, played some cool ass gigs and the weight loss is beginning to show. (hovering between 189 - 191 the last few days) I also had a drink, well,... Continue Reading →
30 Day Experiment: Week 3, Everything Going Well…
…Until a giant turd got dropped in my lap. This experiment has been going great! I’m losing weight, running longer distances on a regular basis (I’ve run 16 miles in the last 5 days), I’m eating healthy and chugging along pretty happily. Then, one of the most amazing person I know, somebody I truly loved... Continue Reading →
30 Day Experiment: Mid-Week 2
Clearly, I'm not going to write 30 separate posts throughout this experiment. I want friends at the end of it all. Instead, I'm just going to post some random thoughts as I go through things. Something occurred the past couple of days that I have found interesting. When I enter a grocery store, I actually begin to... Continue Reading →
Dealing with the Trombone
Have you ever seen a trombone? It's pretty darn unwieldy. There is only one moving part on a standard trombone and the sound is produced by the buzzing of the lips into a metal mouthpiece that the elongated open tube amplifies into a beautiful tone. Or at least it should be a beautiful tone. When looking at the trombone,... Continue Reading →
30-Day Experiment: Week 1
Well, we've come to the end of the first week of my experiment and so far this is how it's been going: Step 1: Make Food Step 2: Photograph Food Step 3: Exercise Step 4: Feel Good Step 5: Repeat Steps 1 through 3 the jump to Step 6 Step 6: Feel Like Crap Step... Continue Reading →
30 Day Experiment: Day 5
I'm just gonna come out and say it. Day 5 sucked. Everything went wrong on this day. I tried to change the tube on my flattened bike tire. I cut up my hands. The tire is still flat. I sit down at my desk, I scrap my fingers on the edge. I pull out a... Continue Reading →
30 Day Experiment: Day 4
Day 4 into this no-drinking, vegan eating, exercising every day, and things are progressing quite well I'd say. My energy is up, I never feel bloated (nor hungover which is nice) and I'm having fun trying to make new dishes and even experiment a bit in the kitchen. Am I missing the dairy/cheese/meat/alcohol? Surprisingly, not... Continue Reading →
30 Day Experiment: Day 3
Well, after reading the comments from the previous post (Day 2) I took Gary's advice and went for a nice long bike ride today instead of running (to let my feet relax a bit). However, I like to use my bike to DO something. It's fun to ride, don't get me wrong, but I feel... Continue Reading →
30 Day Experiment: Day 2
Well, as I wrote yesterday (and posted today) I have begun a 30 Day Experiment into eating a total vegan diet and exercising everyday. And so it has begun, the eating correctly and the running (hopefully correctly). First, allow me to post a picture or two about what I'm eating. I'm not too terribly creative... Continue Reading →
30 Day Experiment
Lately, I have been reading a lot of books about running. Not just your run of the mill (no pun intended) 'How To Run' type of books, but books that relate stories about personal achievement, overcoming great odds, the nature of running, and ultra-running (with an undercurrent theme of being a vegetarian/vegan). Books and blogs... Continue Reading →
On Being Vegetarian, A Personal History
I recently read a wonderful blog by Matt Frazier, curator of the No Meat Athlete blog called, "Veg Curious? Don't Be Fooled By These 7 Myths About A Vegetarian Diet". This article got me thinking about how I ended up a vegetarian. I realized I've been toying with vegetarianism for a majority of my life, really, for most of... Continue Reading →
Do As I Say….Not As I Do (fear)
Well, I just finished my first semester teaching Music Business Marketing at IUPUI and I gotta say, I think it turned out alright! The class was kind of thrust upon me rather quickly back in January and I didn't have time to read the textbook before the semester started, nor really prepare as much as... Continue Reading →
Symphonic Playing then and now
I can't tell you how lucky I am to get the opportunity to play with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra on a somewhat regular basis. (Check out the ISO's performance of Pirates of the Caribbean this weekend at Clowes Hall! If you like d minor and loud/low trombone, this concert is for you!) When I first... Continue Reading →
Addictive Behavior
I've been on a non-stop roller coaster ride since I started teaching at IUPUI nearly two months ago. This ride is very fun and very addictive. However, I don't sleep much, I read constantly, and I am always looking for new things to do that relate to my classes. I feel an abrupt stop coming... Continue Reading →
Storm before the Calm
I just looked at my schedule for the week and finally put it all together. Monday: Mid-Term Review for 'Jazz for Listeners' class at IUPUI. Then driving to Champagne/Urbana for a Sinfonia da Camera rehearsal. We're playing some pretty cool stuff this concert: Ernst Bloch 'Schelomo', Don Gillis 'Symphony No. 5.5', Gershwin 'American in Paris'... Continue Reading →
Naming Issue (with potential prizes…)
I have a naming issue. No, I'm happy with my name. I can't tell you what 'joy' it brings me when people realize that 'Dick' is a perfectly acceptable abbreviation for 'Richard'. I've never understood that. I mean we don't have a female equivalent abbreviation like that do we? Me: "Hey Cleavage!" My embarrassed friend:... Continue Reading →
Leap Year Neglect
Wow. Another Leap Year has literally leaped by me once again without any notice. Really, it's just another day in another week as part of another year. I didn't feel any different, do anything strange, or took notice at all to be honest. However...the day was full of abnormalities: - The day was rather warm.... Continue Reading →
Life in the Year of Art
I've decided that 2012 was going to be the year of living a sustainable, artistic and happy life. So far so good! January started out looking pretty good. The gigs were lining up nicely, the trombone was sounding nearly the best it had in years and years! THEN, the phone rings... IUPUI wanted to hire... Continue Reading →
Mythical 5th Position 