My UltraLife

I had the great fortune to take a couple weeks off and tour through Italy with some friends and family.

So if you’re the UltraLife guy and you’re in Italy…what should you do?  Well, Run Through Italy, of course!

We had 17 days to explore many cities and towns in Italy.  I didn’t have a chance to run every day so I picked 4 key locations to run and make a short video of the experience; the sights and sounds of each location.

As you can see from the video’s we began our journey in Venice.  Even with all the canals I was able to find enough solid ground to get in a nice run.

I used my new iPhone 4 to shoot the video, then used the iPhone iMovie application to edit the video and uploaded to YouTube directly from the phone.  This is really phenomenal and I think you will agree the video quality isn’t bad either.

After a few days I left my bulky Canon HD camcorder in the suitcase and used the iPhone for video and photos exclusively.

Our tour continued to Milan, Lake Como, then Forence where I did my run through Florence…..

I didn’t run in Lake Como, but it is so beautiful it was one of the highlights of the trip so I wanted to include the video I shot during our day trip to the lake.  I really wish we would have known how great it is…I would have stayed for a few days.

Florence is the gateway to Tuscany and a big city with lots to see.

Everyday it was 90 degrees or hotter and we walked and walked all over the city.  The days I didn’t run I’m sure I still burned plenty of calories.  Those calories were certainly off set by all the pasta, pizza and wine however!

We walked so much that when I ran I felt like I had walker’s legs.  You know that burning in your lower legs.  When you walk a lot for several days then run, you find you are using different muscles…and it burns for the first few miles!

Tuscany is known for its rich landscapes and small hilltop villages.  Siena is one of the larger towns.  The old town is on the hill top and the newer town has spread through the valley below.  We stayed in a wonderful old farm house just down the hill from the old town.

Siena was not as touristy as other towns.  They have vegetable stands, a laundry mat and other things that told you people still actually live in this old town, which gives it more character.

As I kept shooting and editing video I learned more about the iPhone’s cameras.  It has both front and back cameras.  The front camera is great when I am shooting headshots of myself and the rear camera for scenery. 

Unfortunately iMovie displays the front camera shots upside down.  I guess Apple isn’t perfect after all.  So beginning with the Florence video I started editing on my small notebook using Microsoft’s Movie Maker application.  This is also a pretty basic editor and unfortunately my notebook (although it has a Celeron processor) choked on the HD video, so making fine tuned cuts was difficult.  Thankfully I wasn’t using a net book with an Atom processor…it would have been impossible.

It has been almost exactly a year since I posted a video so it was fun to get back to making movies.  It’s a fun hobby and hopefully….not too boring for the viewer.

The runs through Italy were a great experience. When you run through a new place you see and experience more than you would if you are just visiting the location for business or as a tourist.  You go places you would not go otherwise and you see everything from a unique perspective.

I enjoyed my Run Through Italy……I hope you enjoy what I have tried to share.

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This afternoon I completed a 12 mile run to make my total mileage for the week 23 miles. 

This is the first long run I have done in a long, long time.  To be exact, the last time I ran 12 miles was on December 5th, 2009.  I know exactly thanks to my Garmin watch!

It was more like a walk run. I finished in 2 hours 24 minutes, which isn’t bad considering its’ only my second full week of training since I returned from Asia.

I’ve got a long way to go to get back in shape.  It took more than 6 months to get out of shape so it makes sense that it will take a few months to get back in shape.

There will be aches and pains along the way and I will have relapses of laziness to be sure, but if I keep it up, I should shed some pounds and increase my endurance pretty quickly.

I’ve got good people around to help motivate me:

- My friend Jim is training for his first Marathon and ran a 1/2 Marathon last week in 2 hours 14 minutes.

Saturday my brother and his daughter participated in the Pacific Crest Sports Festival in Sun River Oregon.  It’s a weekend sports festival near Bend, Oregon complete with Triathlons, Marathons a Duathlons and more.

- My niece Kylee ran her first 1/2 Marathon and finished with a time of 2 hours 23 minutes – Excellent!

-My brother Randy competed in the 1/2 Ironman event and finished with a great time of 6 hours 34 minutes 54 seconds….that beats my personal best by at least 2 minutes!

And I have a local group of friends posting training tips and organizing group training runs on weekends.…I just need to get out and join them.

So I’ve got plenty of positive influences around to keep me motivated to get prepared for the two Marathons I’ve signed up for in October.

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Does Endurance training help mental endurance as well as physical endurance?

If you have ever trained for a Marathon or a Triathlon you know your body builds physical endurance as you gain strength.

The more you train the farther you can go and over time your body builds up the endurance so you don’t feel as much muscle pain.

I loved it when training for my double marathon that my body got to the point of being able to run 25 miles on Saturday and I could go right back out and run another 25 miles on Sunday with no problems and minimal pain.   I wish I could do that right now, but that is for another posting.

But does this endurance training also help you build mental endurance?  Does it build up a shield for stress?

I am writing this post from Shenzhen, China.  I have been here almost a month working on the biggest project of my life.

The factory I worked with for 5 months proceeding the order refused to take the deal and left me with the task of starting over with a new product design, finding a factory and still shipping a quarter million units in less than 60 days.   Want to talk about stress!

Several times I felt like just packing my bag and heading home, but instead of getting upset or mad, I just persevered and plowed through working to solve the problem.

And….it got solved.  I found an even better factory and the order is proceeding with a better delivery schedule than promised by the old factory.

I must say it took some mental toughness and endurance to work through the issues calmly step by step.  

Just the way you run a marathon, step by step.

So does physical training help with mental toughness.  I’m not sure, but I know it helps reduce stress and the disciple you develop training for an Ultra Event I believe helps you in your everyday business and personal life.

Build up your shields….get out and run, bike and swim….gain endurance for LIFE!

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Can you finish the sentence?

I asked my 9 yr. old niece Hannah if she could finish the sentence. She looked at me strangely.  I told her it was a famous saying. 

I asked again; Can you finish the sentence “An Apple a Day…., she said ”help a heart”?

Not bad I guess, but the strange thing to me is that she had never heard the saying; “An Apple a day keeps the Doctor away”.

It appears we have a fruit and vegetable crisis in America.  See the clip from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.

Hannah might not know an old saying, but at least in our home we have lots of fruits and veggies so she was as shocked as you were when these kids didn’t know the difference between a Potato and Tomato.

We recently discovered a great snack food trick.  We keep a bowl of cherry tomatoes on the kitchen counter.  Anytime you walk buy you can pop a few tomatoes into your mouth.  Hannah loves it.   The 14 yr. old boy in the house is not yet a convert!   He says he’s a meat-a-tarian!  But the tomatoes are good for you and keep you from snacking on something less healthy.

Lately my appetite seems to have waned a bit.  Maybe it’s because my arm is still in a sling so my activity level is much lower.  I can’t run or swim…only sit around or walk a bit.  

So, I have actually been eating an Apple a Day for my lunch.  I took this idea from an old friend named Morty.  For years he eaten only an apple for lunch.  He’s 80 years + and still going strong, so he’s a great example.

It’s really criminal that kids don’t know fruits and vegetables.  If they don’t know what fruits and veggies are they certainly aren’t part of the kids diets.   You can’t blame it on the schools either.  The fault lies at home with lazy parents who don’t take the time and effort to create healthy diets for their kids.

I hate to imagine what health issues the children of today will have 40 – 50 years from now…..only time will tell.

My solution….Eat Apples!

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Well, I went through with it!  I went in for surgery on Monday March 15th.

I’ve never had surgery so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  It was an outpatient procedure so I thought they’d just give me a local and I’d be able to watch the procedure on a TV monitor!  Not a chance.

After the prep they moved me to the operating room.  They had me scoot from the gurney to the operating table and that is the last thing I remember.

I woke up 5 hours later in the recovery room with my arm in a strange sling that holds my arm out about 6 inches away from my body.  Two hours later I was released for at home recovery.

I’m not supposed to remove the sling for a week….and I can’t get a shirt over it….so I’m sitting around the house shirt-less.

I’m slowly learning to type with one hand and discovering the joys of sponge baths!

My niece had a similar operation 5 weeks ago and recovery is slow.  I guess it will take time and patience, but I am already quite bored…can’t wait to get out and start running again.

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Last week I had the opportunity to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina for a business trip.  Since I haven’t had too many Ultra Adventures lately this was really a very exciting trip for me.

It was my first trip to Argentina and only my second time to South America.

After the business meetings were finished Friday evening I slipped on my running shoes and headed for the Natural Ecological reserve.

The trails wind through an area full of ponds, trees, reeds, birds and other small creatures with views of the river on one side and views of the “New” Buenos Aires on the other.

I was impressed with how well the area was patrolled by park rangers; they always checked to be sure you were OK and made sure you knew where you were going.

As I was running along occasionally I would hear some creatures scurry into the low bush along side the trail.  When I first caught sight of the small beasts I must admit I almost jumped through my skin…..it looked like a Huge Rat!

As I kept running I saw more of these little guys and realized they weren’t rats but wild Guinea Pigs!

It was a great run going around almost the entire reserve area, then through the port area and back to my hotel.  The run totaled more than 6.5 miles which was pretty good for me in my current physical condition.

The next morning my friend came to my hotel with bikes.  We started out about 10:30 AM on our bike tour of the city. 

We saw all the main sites of the city and cruised through narrow streets, huge boulevards and vast park areas.  The city of Buenos Aires has a bike trail that will safely take you through most of the city areas.   We didn’t always stick to the bike trail.

It was a great way to see the city. 

We finished back at my hotel at 5:30 PM and except for a few stops we had been riding the whole time.

That night in true Argentine fashion we dined at 10 PM and finished at 1 AM, then we went to another area of town for drinks.  I got back to my hotel at 4 AM!  What a long exciting day.

The morning we took things a bit slower and spent most of the day in the San Telmo area where the street is blocked off for an open market.

By mid-day the streets were packed with vendors, people and entertainers.   It was great for people watching, souvenir shopping and snooping in antique shops.   We walked and walked.  It was a good recovery day after the bike riding.

The weather was perfect.  The sights and food were terrific.

I had an Ultra time in Buenos Aires by running, biking and walking my way around the city.

I even got to try my hand at the Tango! 

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No sooner than I pledge to revive my UltraLife and use this site to help motivate myself to get back in shape I learn that I need Rotator Cuff surgery!

I’ve had some shoulder pain in the past, but in early January I had a very bad episode with severe shoulder pain to the point that I could not move my right arm for several days.  I had 4 sleepless nights before the pain subsided and almost 2 weeks before I regained most of my arm mobility.

During this time I visited 2 different doctors.  The first was Urgent Care.  Honestly I was just  hoping for a prescription of some powerful pain killers, but he gave me only Ibuprofen!

The second doctor was an Orthopedist.  He prescribed Vicodin, but it wasn’t much better.  He also ordered an MRI.

The doctor flew to Haiti so it’s been a few weeks to get the diagnosis.  The MRI showed a torn rotator cuff and he recommends surgery!

Surgery is the last thing I expected or want, but after reviewing  several websites and videos on YouTube, I have agreed to the surgery.

The rotator cuff tendon is normally attached the the bone (humerus). The other end of the rotator cuff tendon is attached to muscle.  This muscle is elastic and if the tendon is partially or fully torn it will be pulled away from the bone so it cannot grow back or re-attach itself.

With rotator cuff surgery, the tendon is pulled back to the bone and held in place with metal anchors drilled into the bone and tied down with sutures.

There are some interesting videos on YouTube showing the rotator cuff repair procedure.  Here are a few good ones.

Don’t view if you can’t stand a bit of blood and gore!

So, I guess I will be going under the knife.  I am waiting to hear from the doctors office as to when they can schedule my procedure. 

I’ll have 4-6 weeks of recovery, then a few months more of physical therapy.  So, no swimming for a while, but as soon as I can run or get on the bike, I’ll get back on the road.

And until the surgery….I’ll keep up with my running schedule.

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If you’ve noticed I haven’t posted anything since Thanksgiving week end and that post was about trying to run after eating too much.

I have been inspired and flattered by so many new comments to my postings.  Sometimes the comments are on a post that is quite old, so I guess people Google a topic and end up here.  Thanks for the comments, they are quite encouraging.

I used “MyUltraLife” as a way to keep myself motivated while I was training to run the Double Marathon.   Since I have slowed the number of new posts, my life has become less Ultra and my waistline is widening, so I guess this site really worked to help me keep up “The UltraLife”.

I miss the days of being able to run 20 miles on Saturday and running another 20 miles on Sunday.  That was a good level of fitness.  Maybe I have forgotten the pain and have a false memory of how I felt at that time, but I’d like to get that feeling again…maybe with less pain!

So, I pledge to re-vive “MyUltraLife” and plan to be posting many exciting reports of my adventures with running, fitness, nutrition and life in “Ultra” mode.

Thanks to my readers for the encouragement.  I will strive to be a good example, and if not a good example, at least a living experiment of an UltraLife!

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Now that the Long Beach Marathon is behind me, I’m finally getting back on my bike again.  It’s about time!  I’ve got to get ready for Ironman California 70.3.  March 27 will be here sooner than you think!

Last Sunday I rode 35 miles in just 2 hrs. 12 minutes…not bad for me especially since I hadn’t been on the bike for months and I didn’t really push myself.

This afternoon I did a 20 mile ride to Seal Beach pier and back.

Luckily my current schedule is allowing me to run 3-4 days per week averaging 4.5 miles per run and since I am at the pool for the swim club every afternoon, I’m swimming 4-5 days per week. 

I just need to be a bit more disciplined and ramp up the running miles and swim intensity then find time to get on the bike 3-4 days per week (100 miles per week) and I’ll be ready for the 1/2 Ironman event.

I’m also scheduled to run in the Twin Peaks 50/50 Ultra on February 13th.  This is a trail run over rugged hills for a distance of 31 miles.   It was cancelled last year because the trail got washed out in bad weather. 

If I’m going to prepare for this run, I really need to increase my weekly running mileage and find some hills to train on….otherwise it will be a 31 mile hike instead of a run!

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This week we’ve had the largest wild fire in Los Angeles County in the past 100 years with over 150,000 acres burnt.  The fire caused the entire L.A. basin to be smoky. 

The unhealthful air mixed with high humidity and 100 degree weather convinced me to skip my Tuesday run.

On Wednesday I checked the AQMD (Air Quality Management District) website, yes, we have that in L.A.!

Below is the map from Sunday Sept. 6th.  The Green area is good air quality, yellow is moderate and orange is BAD! That’s where the fire is still roaring.

The interesting thing is that on Wednesday the only Green area was a swathe of area from Seal Beach up to Cerritos.  We do get a nice ocean breeze here and I guess it really pays off for air quality. 

With knowledge that I wouldn’t die from smoke inhalation, I was willing to brave the heat and get running.

I still kept the Wednesday run short but went a bit further Thursday logging 10 miles for my mid-week runs.

Saturday morning I upped my long run mileage and headed for Huntington Beach Pier.  I knew that the Pier was 18 miles + so to end up with 20 miles I added a lap around Regional Park.  I hit 20.50 miles when I finished at the pier.  Perfect!

But this run was much tougher than the 15 mile run to Bolsa Chica last week.  I simply felt tired and that resulted in many more short walks.  If I stop running I don’t come to a full stop but walk for 30-45 seconds and then start up again.

Last week at 15 miles I felt I could have kept going.  This week I had to keep pushing myself or I would have walked the last 5 miles!

Even with the extra walking periods I made it to the pier in exactly 4 hours.  Not bad I suppose but I should be able to cut 15-20 minutes off that time once I’m back to running non-stop.

I know it’s all about conditioning and building up my endurance levels.  I just need to keep logging the miles.  I got in 30 miles this week so I’m staying pretty consistent.

This coming week I travel to Oregon for my nieces wedding.  Hopefully I’ll have a chance to get in some runs while in the great Northwest.

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Saturday morning I ran from Cerritos to Bolsa Chica State Beach; a 15 mile run.

It felt great.  This is my longest distance in over  6 months and I felt I could have gone further but I’d already made plans for a friend to pick me up at this location.

This long run gave me a total of 30 miles for the week. Not bad for a week that has averaged over 100 degrees each day with morning temps in the mid 80’s.

Also it’s not bad since I took most of the previous week off.   After my 6 mile run Tuesday Aug. 18, I swam and played water polo.  That night I had severe hip pain and was limping.

I’d had this nagging pain a few times before but now it was really bad so I decided to take several days of rest.  

I tried to figure out what this pain was.  It was in my hip, but not in the muscle and not in the joint.  It was higher.   My Hypochondriac self started thinking kidney.  Could I have a kidney stone?  I read up on the symptoms.  Probably not a kidney stone.  Probably just poor core conditioning.

I’ve acquired a rather round mid-section over the past several months.  I decided to use the week off to work on core muscles with lots of sit ups and leg lifts.

When I started running again on the 25th, the pain was there, but very slight and didn’t get worse.  I think I’ll live.

It’s strange though…every time I have an injury or strange soreness it’s something new and different.  I’m hoping to continue core strengthening hopefully I can enjoy some pain free running.

The 15 miler to Bolsa Chica was very nice….next Saturday maybe I’ll run all the way to Huntington(18 miles) or Newport Pier (23miles).

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This week I got with the program and upped my mileage again!

Monday was a rest day so my work week runs were Tues-Thursday.

Friday I swam quite a few laps (approx. 1/2 mile) as a warm up and then had a fun time playing water polo with the kids.  Always an exhausting workout.

Saturday morning was the Chubasco Body Surfing Tournament at Huntington Beach so we got down there early.  Josh entered the competition while I went for a 12 mile run.  It was a cool, beautiful morning and I felt strong during the run.  After the run I jumped in the water and had a great time body surfing.

Sunday morning I joined up with Thep, Poon, Kevin and Kurt at Regional park.  They were running 1.4 mile laps around the park.  Their plan was to run 12 laps with the goal of running 17 miles.  My plan was to run 10 miles but my legs felt tight after the 12 miler the day before.  After a few laps I felt I’d had enough.  I finished a bit under 7 miles.

Here’s my mileage summary for the week:

Tuesday = 6.35 miles

Wednesday = 3.86 miles

Thursday = 6.36 miles

Saturday = 11.88 miles

Sunday = 6.7 miles

I’ll take a break from running Monday, but I’ll try to get in the pool and swim a few laps to keep the blood flowing and then get back on the road on Tuesday. 

I need to do my sit ups and push up and do some stretching as well to help avoid pain and injuries.

I hope to keep at the 35-40 mile per week pace for the upcoming week….let’s see if I can stay disciplined through the week.

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O.K. not a big leap.  I went from 18 miles last week to 22 miles this week…but hey…it’s an increase.

I was stuck at a swim meet all weekend, but I was able to sneak away for a couple of hours Sunday afternoon and got in a 12 mile run on the river bed.

I checked my Garmin Training Center software.  The last time I ran 12 miles was February 1 when I ran the Surf City Half Marathon!

This was a slow 12 miler with several short walk breaks throughout the run.  I pushed my self to keep running and not to break into a walk.

The longest continuous run period was 1.6 miles.

My time was 2 hours 19 minutes.  This is worse than my “Slowest 12 mile run in 3 years” post from June 21, 2008 by a minute!  http://myultralife.com/?p=246.  The only difference is that last year I had run 34 miles on Fathers day the weekend before!

With just 61 days to prepare for the Long Beach Marathon I know I need to keep increasing my mileage, so I’ll end this now and slip on the running shoes and see if I can get in a 6 miler before dinner.

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I ran 18 miles this week.  Easy you’d think for a guy who last year this time was running more than 50 miles per week.  In fact,  I checked last year’s workout summary and the week of July 28, 2008  I ran 57 miles!   The week after that I logged 74 miles!

Today I ran 6.35 miles.  That was the longest run I’ve had in months, and it was more like a Walk/Run than a constant jog.

Something happened to me in June.  I think I had an episode of rapid aging or sudden deterioration.

During May I’d been running a couple times a week, swimming or playing Water Polo a couple times a week as usual.  I did a few Run Swim Runs with Jimmy Tsai (run 5 miles, swim 1 hour, run 4 miles) but then I slowed down and got real lazy for a couple of weeks.  When I started to run again I just felt weak.

I could only run a couple hundred yards and would have to walk, run a few hundred yards and walk again.  This has gone on through this week…this run/walk. 

Saturday morning I slept instead of swam.  The last 2 weekends I had the opportunity to run with the gang on 10-14 mile runs, I had other obligations, but even if I could have made the runs in the back of my mind I wondered if I could run 10 miles.

My Friday and Sunday runs were better and I am feeling stronger, but I can tell  I am breathing harder and my heart is working harder than in the past.  I’m just plain out of shape.

What startles me is the feeling that there really was some rapid deterioration.  It’s harder to snap back than it has been before.  Like I’m starting over again instead of starting from a base of physical fitness.

70 days till the Long Beach Marathon.  I’ve got 70 days and I am at the Run/Walk stage! 

Hopefully the risk of embarrassment and humiliation at either not attending the Marathon or doing very poorly will motivate me to wake up early and log the miles.  I hope the gang hasn’t given up on me and will keep inviting me to join in on the long runs. I’ll need them.

I know that if I want to fight off future episodes of aging, I MUST stay active and maintain a certain level of fitness.  I don’t need to kill myself with 50 and 70 mile weeks, but I do need to keep at an attainable activity level that will allow me to maintain fitness.

Running away from Age……….

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We spent the week of July 13, 2009 in Beijing. We caught all the sites but the funniest place was the plaza at Qianhai lake, better known as the Bar Street area. Every night there was an impromptu party. People showed up and started dancing, playing Chinese hacky sack and a group of kids were jumping rope. I can’t dance, so I headed for the jump rope. The kids were very welcoming and allowed anyone daring enough to join in…so join in I did and had a great time. We spent 2 evenings at Bar Street.

This may not be your typical Ultra Athletic event, but it was great fun and hey…you try jumping rope…it will wear you out!

Beijing was a Blast!

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