duh

So I went up to Sabino and was planning on taking rattlesnake out to the road and run the whole road. Well once I started running the trail I just kept going well up into the front range and turned around after a few miles.So I back tracked and ran out to milemarker 3 then took some trails out to bearcanyon road/the dam,just picking up all sorts of little junctions eventually running back to the visitor center just as it got dark. Total time 2hrs.

High-hoe-the-dairy-oh a bushwacking we will go!

S o I missed a few days so- A few nights ago 50 pushups, speed bag work . Stretched, deep stretching and meditation for about 2 hours total. Ok so wednesday the 27th pullup sets and basically took it easy. Thursday the 28th - Went up to mt.lemmon to check out a crag called middle earth.The plan was to rap in and self belay on some of the less vertical stuff. So following the less then accurate falcon guide I bagan bushwacking for 40 minutes up a canyon-drainage full of head and chest high manzanita. I eventually found a real trail and quickly located the crag and some anchors. So I rigged an anchor and single rope rapped using my gri-gri. After about 30 feet or so I reached a roof, a big horizontal roof . I stopped short and new better then to jump into an open air rappel without knowing weather I could get back up.So I climbed back up and proceeded to hike all the way around the whole crag scoping lines and anchors. Turns out, that roof kicks back 30?feet but there is a trail easily leading around the whole of the crag. So for next time I know what anchors to rap in from and what lines I can easily climb. So I trudged about for 2 hours lugging 2 ropes and my rack. So after ward I hit the gym and bouldered for an hour or so.

Who am I?

June 24th/25th sunday afterwork or about 3am early monday morning depending on how I look at it.


Started off with some deep stretching then 1 set of 50 pushups. Lots more deep stretching. I actually took the time to really stretch. Warmed up gradually on the speed bag . Then moved to the heavy bag and just flat out brawled for 15 minutes holding my pulse at 180 bpm for the entire time. Until the threshold became to high for too long and I almost made myself pass out. I pushed to the point where I just kind of collapsed on the floor. I attempted to force myself to stay standing and work through it but was unable to. I would have passed out or thrown up for sure, who knows maybe not.

Continued stretching and hydrating... 1 more set of 50 pushups...more stretching,waterr...knees, elbows, squats! roundkicks, repeat, water, heart rate-168 for15min,water.About an hour and 15 including breaks.

Anerobic threshhold increase?





Reflections-Picture perfect fading smiles are all that's left inside. I'm not satisfied with where I'm at in life. Am I supposed to be happy?
Well, all I ever wanted it comes with a price.
We made plans to grow old.

My moods have been shitty this week.Either up or down. No middle ground.
Hey that rhymes.

Kind of a big come down from last weeks running high. I understand that.


All I can seem to think about is my ex-wife and my dog, my little family... this blows. Roll with it. Deal with it.






I still feel like I'm on the cusp of breaking through with myself, my life. The journey may be the best part, right now its also happens to be the most difficult.

Well heres to life! Humanity! Blah blah blah.

All thats trivial will fade and soon recede.....

...when your on a date with destiny. On a date with destiny.

Early sat a.m.23rd? started things off with 2 sets of 50 pushups. I've NEVER been able to do sets of 50. Let alone 2 sets. 10 pullups, dead hang leg lifts and crunches while hanging from the pullup bar. Squats! Then the heavy bag . Ive taken close to a week off from the bag and any heavy upper body work. It seems I needed the time off to heal up stronger. I'm knocking the bag around...the bag and free stand weigh upwards of 200 pounds and im now sending the whole thing flying around across the room. Ive gotta get some sand bags or something and anchor this thing down. Im sure my downstairs neighbors love me. Crazy shit.

So more then twice this week I've heard from people that im skinny or scrawny or basicaly am a pencil neck. Its ironic how im perceived outside the climbing gym or by people who dont know me or anything about muscle tone or endurance sports.

I guess I used it for motivation because I noticed a real difference even from the start of my workout. I've been mulling over a couple ideas for some long runs... another really long one, my first in Arizona. But will wait til the end of the month to see how I settle into the higher frequency of my workouts. I real wanna climb and may head down to Babo and solo the regular route,probably in a couple weeks.
Well heres to a new day dawning!

never enough

So I worked my last graveyard and went to a couple different running shops. Fleet Feet has always treated me good in California so after 2 other shops I settled on Fleet Feet Tucson.
I tried on a few different pairs of shoes and settled on a pair of Brooks Cascadias.

New shoes means I have to go run right? The only problem being I had been awake for close to 16 hours at that point.. Well seeing as I probly wont get to run for the next 5 days I opted to go up to mt. Lemmon and check out the Green mountain trail despite being exhausted.

So I ran from green mountain trailhead to maverick springs. Nice little run, I ran for an hour and30-40minutes. All down hill to the spring. Technical little trail. Lots of sandy and loose terrain. A few downed trees.

It FELT like I was going fast. On the way up I just kept on myself to keep my tempo high pushing and pushing. I did'nt stop either way and was a little disappointed that the trail took me as long as it did.
No excuses.

Its weird on the way down I was a little tentative so as not to take a header. On the way back up I jammed.

I dont see any reason why I shouldnt be able to do this in 70minutes max.

Current mood- irritated, pissy,need sleep. Whatever.

The new shoes are awesome. Exactly what I wanted.

Greenmountain to maverick springs 1hour40min.

oops

So tues june 19th- after finishing my first overnight shift at 815am this morning I decided I would go for a quick run. I drove up to Pima canyon intending to run for an hour partially because I have to work another overnight and also because the drive took nearly 40min.

Well I ended up shredding up the trail and just kept pushing and pushing up all those chair ups and knee to waist high rocks. So I turned around already calculating how much sleep I wasnt going to get.

Turns out I ran for exactly 2 hours...ooops. Well if I shower and go to bed right now I can still get 8 hours of sleep, sweet!

Nice trail to bad its a bit far for an everyday run I had no idea it was so dam far of a drive .

My body just keeps craving more run time. Its as if each new trail I run becomes a new favorite of mine. I felt very strong today even after working 9 hours.

I have a little goal in mind, if this keeps up I will put my goal in writing by august. I dont wanna jinx myself, so I will wait to see if I keep up with the training.

What I have in mind is commiting mentally and physically and finicially so heres to august!












P.S.
Oh- NOTE TO SELF- SELF-MY GOD, BUY NEW RUNNING SHOES-YOUR FEET FEEL EVERY LITTLE ROCK IN THEM AND YOUVE PUT A ZILLION MILES ON THEM AND YOU WONDER WHY YOUR KNEES ARE GETTING TENDER! QUIT BEING A CHEAP SKATE AND BUY NEW SHOES!..... OKAY GOSH!

The stumbling bumbling mini epic of fun

Sunday June 17th-

So I contemplated going north and strapping on the hiking boots and exploring an area called Aravaipa canyon. So theres apparently no trail and a large portion of the hike is supposed to be bushwacking through the creek canyon.

Unfortunately due to me having to start graveyards (overnight shift) on monday at 11pm I have to sleep in late on my only day off so change of plans.

I decided to go up to Mt. Lemmon and run butterfly trail.
It's 5.2 miles one way and after reviewing the topo it seemed pretty straight forward. It seemed that after running the intial 5.2 out it APPEARED I could simply run back out to the highway and run 3 miles up the catalina highway back to the trailhead. So I figured a 2 hour trip max even if I walked some.

Again yet another new trail for me to explore!

I arrived @ the trailhead at 5:40pm stretched, geared up ,checked my bag-72oz of water, 1 hand held ,1 head lamp, athletic tape,knee strap(just in case) ,cell phone, beanie and a long sleeve wicking shirt, and some jerky just in case I get lost and have to spend the night some where and run out in the morning. Oh yeah and bug lotion. Spare batteries. I.d. and chapstick.

So by 6:00pm I was running down the trail making good time and passing hikers. I marvelled at how off camber and left leaning the trail was. So I hopped over a few downed trees and kept on trucking. After 20minutesI started wading through high ferns and undergrowth wishing I had brought my clear lens glasses to protect my eyes. There was'nt enough sun to warrant wearing my actual sunglasses.... Wham caught my toe, ended up on my arm. Nooo biggie. Still making good time.

I lost the trail a couple times, stopped for 30 seconds to peep the view and walked when I couldnt run because of the rough condition of parts of the trail. I could have used some gaiters as well, my legs were getting trashed and I found it tough to see my feet through the undergrowth.

Well for about 2 miles I continued down hill(about 20minutes or so mAYBE 30) then the ugly loose uphill started. I must have had to climb over 10 downed trees at least. I passed by a creek with actual water and 2 sick overhanging boulders with a little bit of chalk on em. To bad I did'nt bring my climbing shoes. So on I went, climbing and climbing and climbing. Alternating between running and walking when I had to. Finally I crested the top of my climb.

I noticed a microwave tower on top of the hill side of the saddle I just crested. A sign identified the top as Mt. Bigelow so off I went. I quickly came to the microwave towers and noticed a fire road going west. Knowing the road was west and realising I would never be able to follow butterfly trail in the dark so I chose to take the forest road west.


THE FOREST ROAD-

It got cold fast as the sun went down and I tossed on my long sleeve and turned off the mp3 player. I felt confidant I was heading in the right direction and was still more or less on track for a 2 hour run especially if I hit the highway.....so I passed a few people camping and kept running.
After a mile or so I came to a-T-intersection.
I continued west toward the road. After refilling both bottles from my spares and firing up the headlamp It soon became obvious I wasnt going to hit the road any time soon. So I started walking a bit more so as to not miss any important turns. Well I slowly came up upon a ridge and could hear the highway far far below.

Shit well I kept going and after about 45 minutes of this I saw an intersection coming up and increased my pace. IT WAS THE SAME INTERSECTION I HAD COME TO PREVIOUSLY! Well that narrowed my choice as to which way to go. I mulled over the idea of heading back up to where the campers were and having them drive me out. I decided against it knowing enough to keep in mind exactly how to get back to the intersection if my situation worsened. So I ran a bit and walked alot getting a little worried and figuring I should conserve some of my energy. Well This went on for 20 minutes when I crested yet another incline. This time I came to some sort of observatory.

Well off I went into the dark. I saw some weird glint ahead and thought I'd found another camper. Turned out to be a forest service truck just left there. So one more spot I could bail to if I had to sleep. Well on and on I went, ocassionally coming across signs that would say unmaintaied road for blah blah blah miles. God, At this point I had ran downhill for 40 minutes from the observatory at least 40 and wasnt relishing having to run back up that up to that truck to sleep.......

Well fuck Im starting to ration my water and am getting nervous. I knew I'd be fine but I was feeling taxed and stressed out.

So after my emotions had their way working me over for a bit I hit pavement! I came out on Bear Hollow road and made a right on Catalina highway. SCORE!

So in my head im thinking "ok so I have 3 miles of pavement pounding to go, no problem" I pulled out my cell to check in with everyone and started leaving messages. Mid message, just while Im saying well Ive got 3 miles of road left to go I see a sign for butterfly trailhead!!!! Then bam the run is over there's my jeep sitting there. So total run time 2hours 45min. 6ounces of water left.

So I get into the jeep and consult the map, it turns out I should'nt have run up to the microwave towers on Bigelow, actually I had half mile of trail left then I would have hit the road and run the 3 miles of pavement back to the trailhead...oops. Lesson learned.

Hell of a run. Got to do alot of thinking......My sugars levels are seriously out of wack, I drank some gatorade on the way down the hill and treated myself to some pie and a mocha when I got back to town.

So start time 6pm end time 845pm- 2hours 45 min. I'm definitely going back for another spin on this one. Next time Ill remember to leave a little more time or follow the right trail! Oh yeah and bring a pair of climbing slippers for those boulders.

Has the running mania begun again or?

So friday june 16th left the Sabino canyon visitor center at 730pm and ran out toward Sabino canyon itself.

Just past the cactus group area I took the first trail on the left and ran it for about a mile and a half then picked up the road and ran it out to shuttle stop 6 I think. I turned around and ran back.

About half way back i ran into a couple hikers, one of which who was trying to tie her boot. So I stopped and shined a little light on the subject, Turns out she, (the one attempting to tye her boot) had just had carpul tunnel surgery and even had the stitches to prove it. Cool!!!

So My goal was to run for an hour and thats what I did. I got back to my jeep at 830pm. Nice little run.

low impact

started off with 1 set of 40 pushups-into exagerrated stretching and some very mild yoga poses. 1 more set of 40 pushups .Then speed bag and light shadow boxing. Left foot switch kick side kicks followed by right knees. No hand or round kick contact with the bag today just working on a good foundation.

Went light for about 45 min.

And the trees even looked more green,

Well I went back up to bear canyon today.June 14th thursday-not sure how long I ran for but I started at the visitors center this time and ran out the 7falls trail and just kept running until I approached a couple very long switch backs running south to north. After a while I rounded a bend and was surrounded by huge drainages(dry) running out of the rock mountains above.

There was an awesome echo .By this time it was just starting to get dark so I turned around and hauled ass out of there getting back to my jeep at the visitor center around 830 or so.

Can I say hematoma?

My left shin is wrong, lumpy, nasty and sore. I need to work some of the calcium deposits out of it but it hurts like hell to rub em out.
So tuesday in the a.m. after work 2 sets of 40 pushups boxed for 30 minute straight. Added 15 more min on the heavy bag with the 16oz gloves. Then a little light shadow boxing and stretching, cool down...

It's storming why not go for a run?

So I've never been up to Sabino canyon and decided to go. I drove over to Bear canyon trailhead and ran out to sabino canyon road to the seven falls trail. Not sure how far I ran. I was jamming along and bam rattlesnake... I leapt sideways and my momentum carried me parrellel with it, it struck while I was in the air. Then bam it went up into the hillside. That was scary. So I ran for a while longer and turned around as it was getting dark. I got all the way to sabino canyon road and then got turned around in the last 1/2mile trying to find the trailhead. It took me about 20 min and both my hand held light and my head lamp to figure my self out of that mini mess. Im excited to head back up there when I have a bit more time.

Uphill grind

So I headed up the catalina highway to run soldier trail. I havent been out there in about 4 years. So I ran all the way out to prison camp then linked the trail out to molino basin, then ran the highway back down to the trailhead. Not sure how long or how far I ran for.

Arizona dreaming, or not dreaming doing

Man I've got Thailand on the mind....Well I boxed for 30 solid minutes. 2 sets of 40 pushups 10 pullups.

My combos are flowing, not quite seamless but more instinctually. I equate it to running.

During the first mile of a run my body is searching for rythm and flow. Then bam my form straightens, my legs scoot forward, my feet land perfectly with just enough heel. Not lifting my feet too high , keeping the impact minimal. All of this seems to happen as a matter of form instinct,training.

Boxing, climbing, cycling, its all the same. My focus must flow. Im getting stronger. Even Im noticing. Im eating alot, and am craving meat. I have still yet to eat fast food since moving to Tucson.
Sometimes right around my greatest growth spurt I plateu... It may be time for a break for at least 3-4 days. I have developed serious hematomas in my shins and instep from striking the bag with such force. In addition my hands, or the bones inside my hands need a rest. No excercise tomorrow for sure. Im becoming sore,very sore, and must allow my body to heal so I can build it up even stronger.

bloody hell and raw beef

Tuesday june 05th went up to finger rock trail, and ran for an hour up trail and about an hour down. After a mile or two the trail gets nasty and turns into a scramble. I made a classic mistake, as I was lifting my left foot I caught my toe on a rock and took a header. I landed on the ground and realised just how close my face came to going into a prickly a pear cactus. Then I noticed my hand had 20 plus cacti spines. Wow I so wish I had my camera. I slowly ripped eachone out wishing I had brought my pliers...My hand was a bloody mess. So cool. I kept running. Awesome run. Afterwards I treated myself to some korean food. I had a plate of lean choice raw beef and 2 raw eggs...

daylight,-

It's night now so I painted a sunny day on the inside of my eyelids.

I'm sore yet feel fresh. My insides hurt- 2sets of pushups 40 a set . Bag work, I lit some candles turned out the lights and focused power and accuracy into every strike. combanations a little speed bag work and toward the end, maximum high intensity power strikes using my elbows to control the movement of the bag striking so hard I eventually broke skin on my knees and elbows ended up bleeding on my bag. Then the room turned kinda side ways and
I hit the floor. I pushed my maximum pulse too high for too long . I meditated to bring my heart rate back down. I felt focused. I could see my targets, my strike zones and was really feeling connected to my body.

Here we go here we go here we go

So I boxed for about 45 min alternating between heavy bag and speed bag .I kept pushing until major fatigue, almost to the point of passing out and then switch up to a slower pace until the point where I am almost forced to sit down . Keeping my heart rate almost maxed out for 45 min. Also 2 sets of 40 pushups a set. 10 pullups.... I may have caused a small fracture in the small bones in my left hand...oh well nothing new here. It does suprise me I can generate enough force and power to actually cause myself injury inside my hand.


Something dawned on me...physically I've endured all sorts of pain, grueling punishment, everything from rockclimbing to distance running to backcountry snowboarding, mountain biking ,competetive swimming, wrestling, and full contact mixed martial arts. Not your typical weekend warior status either. Ive pushed my physical limits....

how often have I trained the mental side? We've all had on days, days where we feel strong or focused or relaxed or a combination. Vice versa, bad days where we may feel clutsy uncoordinated etc...I realized something, and its certainly not new. As much as Ive conditioned my body despite the strength Ive built doing this , how much could i have acheived by pure focus and determination and being able to channel my energy into being calm and relaxed and focused. It seems I push and push and push to the point it does no good. I understand the importance of muscle memory especially in the sports listed above. Am I just working to the point of exhaustion and teaching my self failure? Would slower more focused less physically intense workouts be more benificial?

Sure working out to the point of sheer exhaustion is a huge release and its most definitely kept me out of trouble .I am excercise dependant and an endorphine addict.

Speaking strictly asctetically I could be a better athlete if I did less? Surly my form and technique would improve but would my strength? No logically that would diminish hence strength training specifically. I feel so unfocused.

Sometimes when Im active or training I feel I'm on the cusp of some sort of breakthrough, not your day to day pushing personal limits or boundaries,something more, dont get me wrong I am certainly not some great athlete,far far from it.

In fact im just an ordinary guy and I even look the part.

Its just a feeling, something Im unable to do justice with words. Flow? Maybe Im just in post-workout high?

I should take up regular meditation again.