A Family Affair

As many of you know, Paul has been taking Tae Kwon Do for eight months now, and I’ve been training with him for the last six months.  Two months ago, Steph also joined us, making the practice of martial arts a family affair for us. 

Steph’s commitment has been amazing, especially since the beginning of her journey hasn’t been easy.  With bad hips and a bad knee, she found herself unintentionally on the floor several times, but she maintained her “yes I can” attitude and continued to train with the support and expert advice of her physical therapist.  Two months after she began, all three of us went through testing last week to advance in rank.

I need to mention the instructors and staff at Victory Martial Arts - Summerlin.  Without them, this journey toward black belt wouldn’t be possible for Steph or I.  Our son is young and strong, and like most kids, he’ll try anything with a little encouragement.  His mind is sharp and his body is able.  Training is to do something new is always challenging, but his body adapts and grows stronger.  Steph and I “enjoy” all the challenges of middle age, along with a few additional permanent bumps and bruises that always try to assert themselves.  The instructors at Victory Summerlin willingly accommodate us, always adjusting the training to allow older bodies the chance to grow strong and more able.  Somehow they do this without making things easier or cutting things out that others are expected to do.  Then when testing comes, we find ourselves accepting the challenge to do the forms and break the boards just like the young men and women!  Mr. DeSmith, Mr. Guerrero, Mr. Scott, Mrs. Garretson and Miss Bivens:  you inspire us, you keep us motivated, you train us hard, and because of you, we succeed.

Our instructors are like family, but there are others in our Victory family too.  Paul has a wonderful circle of friends he trains with:  some ahead of him in the program, some at the same level, and some coming up behind him.  These young men and women are amazing, and it’s a pleasure to watch them all grow together.  He also goes to school and church with some of these kids, making this circle of friends a part of his whole life.  The same is true for Steph and I as we’ve become close with several of the parents, many of whom have also joined their kids on the training mat (and adding to the ranks of what several of us at Victory, with tongue in cheek, call the “Senior Division”).  We struggle and sweat together in training, encourage each other and our kids, and love it when we find ourselves doing things we weren’t sure we could.  Then we socialize and celebrate together.  There are too many to call out here, but we love each and every one of you!

So the recent testing week was special for us.  After all three of us successfully tested, we sat together as a family and were called up to receive our new belts.  Then we stood in a circle of three, with a hand on the ends of each other’s belts, and at the appropriate time, we all pulled and tied our new belts on together as a family.

The journey continues now as Steph works toward replacing her orange belt with yellow, and Paul and I do the same, hoping to replace our cammo belts with green.  Yes we can!

It’s great to be a dad!

Our "Karate Kid"

Nine weeks ago my son began taking Taekwando lessons through an American Taekwando Association school called Victory Martial Arts—something he’s been asking to do for almost a year.  Steph and I kept putting it off simply because he’s been playing soccer for three years and at the end of each season he kept asking us to sign him up again.  At the end of last season, he told us he was tired of soccer and wanted to do something new, and asked to start martial arts instead of soccer.  So we signed him up!

As an athlete, I’ve been an “individual sports” kind of guy my whole life.  Maybe it’s fairer to say that I enjoy sports that I compete as an individual in.  Not that I’m not a team player or enjoy the community of team sports, but there’s something about how I’m wired that drew me to cross country running, and in High School, Kenpo karate.  While we encouraged Paul’s participation in soccer, there are all kinds of signs he’s wired the same way I am.  I wasn’t surprised when he grew tired of soccer and was even less surprised when he continued to ask to participate in martial arts.  (He also says he wants to run with me, but I haven’t convinced him to start yet.)

Steph and I are working the life-balance issues with Paul, just as all parents do with their kids.  We have a pretty stable routine that we believe best ensures he continues to do well in school (including getting his homework done in a disciplined manner), but not to squelch time during the week for him to participate in some form of physical activity (sports), and time to just play and fuel his imagination (LEGO, video games, etc.).  He knows school is always the priority, but we want him to have plenty of time to explore the other things that keep a life balanced/full/colorful.  In all these things, he has his circles of friends, and in most cases they overlap, creating a cool, common thread that connects all these major aspects of his life.

I’m pretty sure Paul doesn’t know just how thrilled I am that he’s involved in martial arts.  As I’ve watched him these past couple months, I’m remembering and reliving the thrill, challenges, pain, and excitement of learning and doing new things physically and seeing the tangible achievements (mental and physical focus, balance, confidence, etc.), especially represented by working hard and advancing to the next belt.  This past week, Paul tested for the first time and moved from White Belt to Orange Belt.  He was more nervous than I think I’ve seen him be about anything.  Steph and I worked through it with him as best we could.  Most of the time both of us were at every practice since he joined the school, and one of us was always there.  We were his champions, his encouragers, his cheerleaders when he practiced at home and during lessons.  As with so many things in life though, we can’t do this for him.  When testing time came, he had to take the test and perform the necessary elements in front of other White, Orange and Yellow Belts…and the Black Belts.  Yes, the Chief Instructor has the Black Belts test on the same evening as the junior belts.  The Black Belts were amazing examples for the young martial artists, and the advanced students also championed and cheered the new students as they took these first steps toward earning their own Black Belts.  Even with all the encouragement and practice, several of those testing to advance in the junior belts didn’t pass.  Some of the Black Belts didn’t pass either.  In this they became amazing examples to the lesser experienced athletes.  The parents were well represented at testing too—for the White Belts testing for the first time, all the way up to the Black Belts testing for the next degree!  It warmed my heart to see the amazing turnout by the parents and even other friends, many of whom brought signs and noise-makers to encourage the kids and adult students.

Paul worked through his nervousness and did amazing with his forms (with and without his weapon).  He struggled with board breaking though—the event we knew he was the most nervous about.  Along with several others, on his final attempt he broke his board and the crowd went wild, for Paul and every other athlete who tried so hard!

So, Paul has begun a new adventure in his life:  the practice of martial arts and the pursuit of a Black Belt.  But wait, there’s more.  As I mentioned, I participated in martial arts (over 30 years ago!).  This week I’m going to begin to train again, in a new style and with my son at the same school—Dad and Lad, racing each other toward a Black Belt.  And by racing I mean encouraging each other.  Paul’s excited about this, and so am I.  And since he’s a full training cycle and one belt ahead of me, I’m having fun pointing out that in this this thing we’re doing, he’s beating dad.  He’s already getting used to hearing me say, with a huge grin on my face and a high-five:  “don’t let me catch you, son!”

As always, it’s great to be a dad!

My First Marathon

Two years ago I never thought I'd ever be able to run a marathon, but after putting several half marathons behind me and four months of dedicated training, I ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon!

This is the same event that I ran my first half marathon during, just a year ago.  I completed the training without any issues and on the evening of November 17th I was ready to run, nervous and excited, and joined about 30,000 of my running buddies in the Starting Village as we put ourselves into a proper mental state with each other and with the help of the All American Rejects (who put on a fantastic concert for us!).  Then it was time to get into our corals, hear a wedding performed at the starting line (because it's what we do in Vegas) and the National Anthem.  Finally the gun sounded and we were off.  I set out to run the race in four hours and twenty minutes but ended up finishing in five hours and twenty six minutes.  I'll explain why.

I learned a few things through my training and the race.  First and foremost, a full marathon isn’t twice as hard as a half marathon.  It’s more than twice as hard.  I suspected this was the case when I realized I had passed through the 13.1 mile mark with what seemed like ease, but somewhere around mile 20 I was more than twice as sore as when I had finished the half marathons I'd run before, to include covering 13.1 to 20 miles seven of the last eight weekends during my training.  In the end, I think the marathon is the hardest thing I’ve ever put my body through.

Cramps.  Thankfully I’ve never had abdominal cramps or stomach issues while running.   I’ve had to manage leg and foot cramps after long runs at times but I’ve also never had to deal with them while running.  Until this race.  Between miles 17-18 my right calf cramped pretty hard.  It happened quickly and rather than pretend I could fight it, I slowed to a walk and let it resolve.  It seemed to take forever, but it worked.  I went back to running after it let go and continued on until sometime between mile 22 and 23 when it cramped again.  I slowed to a walk again.  It took longer to stop cramping but I finally picked up a slow running pace once it released.  At that point the front of my thighs were on the verge of cramping (probably the result of compensating for the misbehaving calf) but never did so, so I pressed on and crossed the finish line tired and happy, with a small group of other tired and happy runners.  The time I spent walking accounted for a good bit of the extra hour it took me to finish the race.

Hydration.  I don’t think the cramps were the result of dehydration.  I was well-hydrated, sweated throughout the race and even had to stop several times and take advantage of the portable bathrooms staged along the route.  I don’t believe I was over-hydrated either.  My watch and RoadID fit well and never got tight.  My hands and feet never swelled.

Nutrition.  I’d been training at longer distances with Gu gels and cut up nutrition bars, and if I ate during a training run, I’d carry water (rather than a sports drink).  I’d eat along the way every 45 minutes to an hour with good success.  On mid-length runs, I wouldn’t always take solid food or gels and would run with Nuun in my water bottle instead.  My longest runs made me sore but I never cramped.  With the leg cramps during this race, I have more experimenting to do with long distance nutrition.  I suspect the cramps were the result of not managing my electrolytes well and so an imbalance formed during the run.  (BTW, I’m a pretty salty sweater.)  Based on recommendations from others, I want to try Tailwind and will probably give it a go the next time I train for a long race.

Weather & Clothing.  The weather was perfect.  The temperature at the start was about 65F with low humidity typical of southern Nevada, and just a slight breeze.  Being a night race, the sun was setting as the race began and the temperature gently dropped throughout the run.  I wore shorts, a thin long-sleeved tech tee, with another short-sleeved tech tee on top.  Injinji socks and my Saucony Kinvara 3s on my feet, and no hat or gloves.  As is the norm, I had no foot problems at all (including no blisters).  I never felt too hot, and only got chilly when I was walking off the leg cramps.  BTW, the Kinvaras are now retired with that race bringing me just short of 400 miles on those shoes.  They were fantastic road shoes and I’ll probably replace them with a pair of Kinvara 4s.

My Family.  Training for this race took four months.  I couldn’t have done it without the support of my wife and son, who patiently dealt with my (very) early runs during the hot months, then my evening/night runs during my last month of training.  That last month was especially disruptive since runs were longer and often trampled over dinnertime and even my son’s bedtime on occasion.  And then there was the adjusted social schedule with friends and other family members.  I owe my wife and son HUGE thanks for letting me train for, and then run this race.  So thank you Stephanie and Paul!  I love you and I can’t repay you for your generosity and patience.

Now that this race is done, I plan on trying to work more variety into my training:  more general body strength, core strength, and I want to get back to working on the stairs and rowing again.  I’m also going to try to get back to more trail running.

So, will I do it again?  YES!  I definitely want to run another marathon.  The half marathon in Las Vegas is awesome because you spend all of the time on The Strip and parts of the Art District, but the added route for the full marathon is frankly boring, covering two long and straight roads.  I’ll probably continue to run the half marathon here but will look for my next full marathon in a different location: perhaps one of the southern California races in LA or San Diego.

It’s great to be a dad!

(Disclosure:  I was not asked to comment on or endorse, nor was I compensated for mentioning any of the brand products in this post.)

Is Running Too Expensive?

I recently posted in a running community on Google+  “Running is about you and a pair of shoes.  Okay, and a shirt and shorts unless you want the cops involved.  But many in our sport are also geeks and end up pushing ourselves harder and further.  We want to know more about the how, why and what's happening to our bodies when we run.  We want to adjust and tweak.”

While someone just trying out the sport may watch others of us geek out, remember you don't need all the sporty gear and tech to get the job done.  You don't have to look good, be color-coordinated and sport all the latest gear.  I've said this before and really meant it: running is a form of playing.  Just watch kids; they just run.  They don’t geek out about gels, don’t wear fancy hydration belts or sport GPS watches and heart rate monitors.  Even though it’s fun to geek out with all the latest goodies, we can do just what the kids do, and it’s okay.  You, a pair of shoes, and clothing adequate for the climate:  that’s all you need, especially if you’re just starting out.

Shoes.  You don’t even have to get overly stressed about all the varieties of shoes out there.  Find a friend who runs and head to a running store.  Tell them you’re starting out, and you want an appropriate pair of shoes to give this running thing a go without breaking the bank.  Or, unless you have issues with your feet, hit a major chain sports store or even the shoe section in a department store.  Try on a variety of shoes and buy a pair that feels good on your feet and fits well.  You probably won’t go wrong with a recognized brand that makes running shoes, but don’t feel like you have to succumb to the marketing machine either.  Many of the big brands have a variety of shoes including several models a reasonable price.  Just remember, how your new shoes fit is important.  How they look is not.

Socks.  As a new runner, if you’re going to buy anything else other than shoes, buy yourself a few pairs of running socks.  Again, easy to geek out and find all sorts of custom running socks out there, and they all have a place in the sport.  Don’t spend the money to buy those just to find out you don’t like the whole running thing.  If you don’t already have something that’ll work at home, grab a few pairs of ankle-high athletic socks.  They’ll work just fine and keep you from looking like your grandfather when you wear those over-the-calf white, high school athletic socks with your shorts.  (I said you don’t have to look good, but you also don’t want to scare folks either.  (This is why I don’t run shirtless.  I don’t think I look very good without a shirt and I really don’t want to scare small children or cause passing cars to crash at the terrible sight of my pasty bod.)

Running Clothes.  Clothing is easy because new runners run short distances.  Somewhere in your stuff is a cheap pair of athletic shorts or sweats and a t-shirt.  They’ll  work just fine.  Go with long sleeves or throw on a wind-breaker if it’s chilly.  Don’t worry that all your friends who are veteran runners have those technical shirts that wick water away, keep you warm (or cool), and are rumored to deflect rogue cyclists and cars along with rain and snow.  Those shirts are great (and I own a bunch of them!), but I promise you can trot around the block or cover a few miles in those old shorts and tees.  Also, if you work your way up to entering and running 5K (3.1 mile) races, find the ones that offer a shirt.  They’re usually the technical tees and you’ll quickly end up with a drawer full of them.  Bottom line:  don’t pay the money to outfit yourself for a marathon when you’re just exploring those early, short distances.

Running Buddies.  Finally, find a buddy to encourage your running and not your fashion sense.  Related, runners are like anyone else and come in two basic varieties: demanding and encouraging.  The demanding ones will want to drag you “up” to their level immediately and make you another version of themselves.  They’ll try to drag you along (and probably suck the fun out of the experience).  You’ll be equipped to run a marathon before you’ve even decided if you like running a couple miles, and you’ll feel guilty you’re “not dedicated enough, wearing the right gear, or doing more or better.  They may be great friends, but they’re probably not the best running buddies.  They need to run with someone who is at their level, not with you.  You’ll also know a person or two who is happy to work with you to explore the sport just as you are: someone with the heart and mindset of a mentor or coach.  They’ll encourage you rather than drag you.  They’ll answer your questions and help you along the way.  Most importantly, they’ll allow you to become the runner you are, not a carbon copy of themselves.  If you’re a social person and already know you’ll be a social runner too, or you’ll need the encouragement, find that encouraging person and team up.

This advice has grown out of my lifetime of running.  I’ve mentioned before that my son will start running with me this Spring, not because I asked him to, but because he asked to run with me.  I assure you he won’t look like “Mini Me” when we start down the path.  He’ll look a whole lot like a kid who just ran off the playground than he does a little runner in all the technical regalia.

Now get out there and run like you mean it!

It’s great to be a dad!

My Second Half (Marathon)

I ended last year with my first half marathon under my belt.  As the New Year approached I began forming personal and professional goals for this year: complete my resume and start searching for the job I’ll eventually move into between now and the Summer of 2014, plans for what Steph and I might do for our 20th wedding anniversary this coming Summer, and a few running goals.  While I haven’t locked specific races down, the running goals had gelled to include running two more half-marathons, and my first full marathon.  Little did I know I’d complete one of those two half marathons this month.

Not long after I finished the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas half marathon early in December, I received an email encouraging me to consider running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona event on 20 January.  I learned that these two “desert” races are linked in that if you complete them back-to-back, you get an additional finisher’s medal.  It’s amazing what someone like me will do for a t-shirt and some ribbon with a medal on it, and so I signed up and rolled right back into training.

With training complete, I drove down to Tempe, Arizona, stayed with friends over the race weekend and set off on my second half marathon.  Like my first one in December, the race was pretty much everything I had hoped it would be and as is the case with all adventures, I learned a few more things about myself.

It wasn’t a fluke.  If you can do something significant twice, it’s probably not a fluke.  Not that I thought the race in December was a fluke, but running a particular distance once means you can do it once.  I followed a training plan and the race went flawlessly, but somehow it felt great to do it a second time, especially not long after the first race.  It seemed to remove any chance of doubt that it might have been a one-time experience in my life.  Consistent with my goals, I just showed myself I can do more.  That makes me happy and frankly builds my confidence in myself as a middle-aged man.  I didn’t doubt I could complete the Arizona race, but having mental confidence in the ability to do something is clearly important; actually doing it is the proof.

The base.  For many years I’ve heard and read runners talk about building up a base, and that that base essentially becomes a permanent fitness foundation they can rely on during those times of rest or injury.  Knowing it’s there is one thing, but seeing the practical effect it has is exciting.  I’ve mentioned previously I’ve run for most of my life, but generally shorter distances:  10Ks and below.  Having trained for two half-marathons within two months of each other let me see a little bit of what that base does.  After the December race, I was pretty sore for four days or so, and still a bit achy for a week to 10 days.  No injuries, nothing bad, but my body was clearly telling me it noticed I had just done something that I’d never done before.  I remember saying after completing the race that mentally I could do it again right then, but physically I needed to recover.  After a week or so I was running again with no issues at all.

The day I completed the Arizona race I felt just as sore as when I completed Vegas, but there was a big difference the next day:  in terms of being sore or stiff, my body was almost completely back to normal.  The only way I can explain it is to assume I’d built up a base more consistent with the half-marathon distance.  I didn’t expect to recover so quickly and it came as quite a pleasant surprise.  Still, I gently and patiently stepped back into a running routine after the race rather than risk overdoing it.

People are people.  I think it’s less obvious during shorter distance races, but it becomes very evident in longer races that just as with anything else we humans do, there are awesome people and...let’s just say “less than awesome” people.  Okay, I won’t beat around the bush.  In large groups, people run like they drive or walk through the mall:  there are some rude folks and frankly a few idiots out there.  Runners are an awesome and often selfless community, but it’s no surprise that people are people no matter where you go.  More on this in a later post.

The fine folks at Competitor Group.  I’m sure all races, especially endurance-length races, have their issues and some will always be better than others.  Having sampled two separate Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series events though, I think Competitor is doing an awesome job with these races.  Both races I participated in had a variety of issues, but nothing that ultimately diminished the overall experience.  For folks who are looking to train for and run their first half or full marathon, I’d encourage you to seek out one of these Rock ‘n’ Roll series events.  Depending on personal preferences and who you ask, I’m sure there are better races out there as well as many that are worse, but so far for me these events have been a quality experience.  Add the particular experience of hearing local bands perform while you’re running makes it special beyond just the race route and location itself.  Not to sound like too much of a groupie, I absolutely plan on running other races that aren’t affiliated with the Rock ‘n’ Roll series, but I'm also going to seek out and enter more Rock 'n' Roll series events.  My point is that these two races were well done and I felt, worth the time and money I spent to participate.

Back to running, goals, and fatherhood.  I’ll most certainly continue to work toward running another half and my first full marathon this year.  The other “goal” I have is to start running with my son.  I didn’t ask him to start running with me; he asked me if he could start.  So this Spring we’ll step out together and see how he likes it.  Just as my Dad did with me, I won’t push him.  Instead I’ll encourage him and hopefully this becomes yet another thing we can enjoy and share together as Dad ‘n’ Lad, as we continue through life’s journey.

It’s great to be a dad!

My First Half (Marathon)

On December 2nd, 2012 I ran my first half marathon.  The experience was everything I hoped it would be--exciting and challenging!

The race was the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and Half Marathon here in Las Vegas.  Entering the race came with a variety of pros and cons.  I knew several people who ran the Las Vegas event last year and most of the feedback (from half and full marathon runners) was negative.  In addition to the weather being squirrelly, the race wasn’t set up well and there were a number of issues related to the start, logistics for the aid stations, and the point in the course where the half and full marathon runners merged.

Weather problems can happen anywhere and it’s not the fault of the race organizers, so that didn’t bother me.  And since I’m not wired to race against other runners, I wasn’t necessarily concerned with the dynamics of how the course was constructed unless it caused safety issues.  My only goal, certainly for a first half-marathon, was to start and finish the race, without injury and preferably without walking: it’s me against the finish line, not the clock.  The issue of the merge caught my attention since I had heard the bottleneck caused racers to walk for quite a distance since the street where the merge happened couldn’t accommodate the volume of runners.  That troubled me a bit since I had heard there were injuries that resulted from the problem (runners tripping on other runners, etc.).  But between 2011 and this year’s event two things happened: Competitor bought the Rock ‘n’ Roll series and the folks from the Rock ‘n’ Roll series (corporate and local) made it clear they’d taken the negative feedback seriously and made a number of real changes in order to prevent the same problems from happening again.  They published the course for this year well in advance so folks could see the changes, it looked fine, and so I entered without any real concerns.

Not having run a half marathon before, I did what I presume many others have done:  I sought out a training plan from a credible source.  In my case I took one from a copy of Runner’s World magazine and set out to follow it.  Pretty straight forward: execute the plan and run the race.  Along the way I lost a full week of training, but pressed on, assuming this happens with everyone.  I adjusted the lengths slightly of some of my runs the next several weeks and trusted the plan.

Other than finishing, I didn’t really have expectations since I had never run this distance before.  This goes back to trusting my training plan.  Thousands of others finish half marathons all the time, so I wasn’t even nervous.  I was excited.  I didn’t know what else to expect: whether the race would be easy or hard, what my body would feel like, or even what my time would be.  My only goals were to finish and have fun and so off I went to run the race--me and tens of thousands of others!  The weather was perfect with the exception of gusty wind right at the start.   The route, the music, and the crowds along the route cheering and  encouraging all of us on were fantastic.  Water and Gatorade aid stations were plentiful and distributed by a cast of cheerful, smiling folks.   Also, this is one of only two times Las Vegas actually closes The Strip completely to traffic.  To get to run up, then down this famous (no, “fabulous”) iconic Las Vegas boulevard and see all the sights and sounds (rather than doing it in a car) was very cool!

So what’s next?  In addition to the usual bunch of 5 and 10Ks, I want to run at least two half marathons and hope to run a full marathon in 2013.  The full marathon will probably be the Rock ‘n’ Roll event here in Las Vegas again.  I had such a good time running the half, and it’s close.  Then, unless my body makes me do otherwise, I hope to train for and run a 50k for in 2014 to celebrate my 50th birthday.

By the way, as my son has watched me head out the door to run over the years, he’s started asking me if he can run with me.  This makes me happy and I’ll strive to only encourage him as he gives it a try.  We’ll run together, short distances at first, father and son.  And if it interests him, whether he continues to run or not, maybe he can come with me to my races and cheer me on.

It’s great to be a dad!

Fall Soccer & Smelly Feet

The Fall AYSO soccer season kicked off here in Las Vegas a couple weeks ago.  My son played last Spring and was eager all Summer for the Fall season to start.  Well, the season began but there’s something other than a new uniform happening now:  smelly feet.

After getting home from his first game we took his shoes and socks off and our noses detected trouble, our eyes watered and the dog fled the room.  He’s always been very active and while we knew this day would come, we hadn’t really given it any thought.  The result was surprise and some small amount of alarm when he climbed onto my lap and the smell of sweaty feet overwhelmed punched me in the nose.

I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.  The good news is a bath quickly followed and the problem was solved.  The best news of all: my son is a healthy, growing boy!

It’s great to be a dad!