That is right! I have taken the plunge and started my own personal blog. It is called "Everyday Living in the Pacific Northwest" and will be about just that, living in Seattle and all my day to day activities. This doesn't mean I am abandoning Tundra Runners. I will keep on posting here with all my fitness related stories and videos. I was just thinking that Eric wouldn't want me to monopolize this site for my own personal blogging, so I thought I would try something different.
So different that I even made the switch to Wordpress. Not sure how I feel about it yet. There is a learning curve that is for sure, and I am slowly getting a hang of it. I wanted to take a little more time before I went live with the site, but I thought ah what the hell I will develop it as I go. I hope you will take some time to check it out and stay tuned for more fun posts on Tundra Runners! (Hopefully some more gear reviews from Eric in Alaska, I know he has a bunch of awesome gear up there and I want to know about it!)
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fitness. Show all posts
Friday, September 7, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Missing mojo and such...
So the other day I went back to strength training. The same training that Eric and I were doing in Alaska. In the beginning of the year it took a while for us to improve and even start to enjoy it. Well needless to say the past few months have taken a toll on my strength. I really didn't accomplish much, let alone close to what I was at. To make things worse, the squats had me walking funny for two days after! I am not sure if I should try to approach different methods of training now that I am in Seattle (ie. I now have access to things like gyms, fitness groups, crossfit ($$$$), and the such) or just get back into the swing of things.
The problem with getting back into the swing of things is I have lost my motivation. It is way more fun after a long day of work to make a half-assed dinner, then lay on the couch with my wife and dog than train. The cool thing is we have been avoiding the half-assed dinners and are actually making some good food, but the laying on the couch has become my kryptonite.
Soo...I have two options
Option 1) is way more realistic than option 2), but only time will tell. I always feel wore out after work, so I may have to change my webisode to Before Work Workouts with Ed. Either way we will see. For the time being I have to start getting motivated and get my mojo back.
 |
| What I dream about the most during the day.... |
 |
| Yet another picture of what I like to do best... |
1) Get my ass in gear before it gets huge
2) Get up in the mornings and train before work....
Option 1) is way more realistic than option 2), but only time will tell. I always feel wore out after work, so I may have to change my webisode to Before Work Workouts with Ed. Either way we will see. For the time being I have to start getting motivated and get my mojo back.
Any suggestions on how I can accomplish such a feat?
Thursday, August 30, 2012
My first webisode...
Well here it is, my first installment of "After Work Workouts with Ed". Be gentle this is my first run at making a video...my efforts will get better as time progresses. Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
After work work-outs...
Yesterday was my first attempt at documenting my after work work-outs. I am planning on doing a serious of short little webisodes that documents my attempts at including fitness in my now hectic life. The filming actually went really well and I was surprised that everything went smoothly. The only hang up is I filmed everything on my iPhone vertically, so those two black bars show up on the sides of the video. Kind of a bummer, but I think I will still put it together and show it in a while, every first attempt at something isn't always perfect right?
I was able to piece together a nice bike ride. It did feel rushed and I was not really feeling it after the long commute home from work. But once I got out on the trail it felt great! I put in about 12 miles and I am starting to get more comfortable on my bike. Who knows maybe a triathlon may be in my future...but I am not signing up for anything quite just yet!
Last Monday I had the pleasure of having Eric visit me in Seattle on his way up to Alaska. He rented a bike and we hopped on the Burke-Gilman trail and headed north to the Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville. It was a great ride on a sunny day!
Once we got to the brewery we were ready to eat. The food was tasty and I enjoyed my latest discovery, sparkling water! Yeah I know not that exciting but it has been really enjoyable for me as an alternative to soda.
Eric had a pint of Red Hooks finest and we loaded up and headed back. Overall a great visit and a great bike ride. On a side note we did run into some issues with the rental bike. The chain kept popping off! I tell ya it would of made for a great drinking game if we had some booze cause it seemed to pop off every time we thought that it was fixed...in the end though it was great for a laugh and we had a amazing time!
I was able to piece together a nice bike ride. It did feel rushed and I was not really feeling it after the long commute home from work. But once I got out on the trail it felt great! I put in about 12 miles and I am starting to get more comfortable on my bike. Who knows maybe a triathlon may be in my future...but I am not signing up for anything quite just yet!
Last Monday I had the pleasure of having Eric visit me in Seattle on his way up to Alaska. He rented a bike and we hopped on the Burke-Gilman trail and headed north to the Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville. It was a great ride on a sunny day!
Once we got to the brewery we were ready to eat. The food was tasty and I enjoyed my latest discovery, sparkling water! Yeah I know not that exciting but it has been really enjoyable for me as an alternative to soda.
Eric had a pint of Red Hooks finest and we loaded up and headed back. Overall a great visit and a great bike ride. On a side note we did run into some issues with the rental bike. The chain kept popping off! I tell ya it would of made for a great drinking game if we had some booze cause it seemed to pop off every time we thought that it was fixed...in the end though it was great for a laugh and we had a amazing time!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
A shlushy slump...
It has been about 5 months of winter here. The snow and bad weather started about November and it really hasn't stopped. Needless to say, we are starting to feel the effects of it. And when I say it, I mean everything that comes with running in the winter. The slushy roads, the cold feet, the icy wind, snowed in trails, and so on.
Now it is not all negative. We do try to make the best of a situation. When the weather is bad we try to just get out there and go, when the weather is good we take advantage of it and go for the long runs, and everything in between (well there really is not in between...)
So how do we make the best of our situation?
For starters there is the random knocking over of big chunks of ice as demonstrated in this video...
Then there is playing catch with the random orange you found on the beach....
And Eric's favorite, jumping off anything you can climb on!
I personally am not as optimistic as Eric, so most of my time is spent frustrated and expressing that concern as seen in this photo:
Now it is not all negative. We do try to make the best of a situation. When the weather is bad we try to just get out there and go, when the weather is good we take advantage of it and go for the long runs, and everything in between (well there really is not in between...)
So how do we make the best of our situation?
For starters there is the random knocking over of big chunks of ice as demonstrated in this video...
Then there is playing catch with the random orange you found on the beach....
And Eric's favorite, jumping off anything you can climb on!
I personally am not as optimistic as Eric, so most of my time is spent frustrated and expressing that concern as seen in this photo:
With that said, I never come home after a run and not feel energized, happy, and accomplished. I can not wait for the first spring run post this season, and I can not wait for it to happen...but for now, we will stay stuck in our slushy slump.
What gets you into a slump? What do you do to make the best of a bad situation?
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
The not quite spring run...
The weather out here in Alaska has not really been cooperating with us. Well when I say not cooperating I mean that the weather doesn't give a damn about us and is probably wondering why the hell is it that we live out here. With that being said, gearing up properly has become of the up most importance.
Enjoying a celebratory hand stand for all the cool miles we covered (it was like three but took us an hour, the terrain was not pleasant...)
And a hand spring. My camera doesn't have the quickest shutter speed so this was the best shot I could capture. But I think I have made my point. Eric loves to run in the challenging weather. The moment I think "Its to crappy to run", he says "Awesome".
After we hit the hills and made our way home we captured what tundra running in the winter looks like:
As you can see in this photo, a proper toque (beanie for all the Americans reading this), sunglasses, face mask and coat is required. The goal I always have before an intense winter run here is to not leave any exposed skin. Not always successful, but the little patches left open to the elements tend to freeze and lose all feeling, so overall not bad.
Now throw some wind, snow and hills into the mix, you have a challenge. When I started experiencing ice cream headaches I knew that I was running into the wind, and when I would fall flat on my face I knew that deep snow was ahead. When you are out in that type of weather all depth perception ceases to exist, so you have to be willing to fall. I am not a huge fan of it, but it is growing on me. Eric on the other hand, well he lives for this extreme weather/running.
As you can see here he is bombing down a hill.
After we hit the hills and made our way home we captured what tundra running in the winter looks like:
Eric
AND
Ed
Is there any weather that stops you from going out on a run? Or do you just go for it not matter the rain, snow, sleet, or wind?
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Things that strength training has taught me about life...
For the past couple months, I have been starting to take strength training more seriously. For one, I want to build muscle and not look scrawny (which is ironic if you knew me even three years ago) and two, I just want to be stronger. Even when I was 'big', I was still weak and have always felt that way.
To obtain my set goals, of not looking scrawny and building strength, I have been using body weight exercises. A simple circuit of push-ups, squats, pull-ups, and planks. Usually there is only a slight rest after one circuit, with only doing total of two for a day. Each individual movement is done to max, with different variations done to my level of fitness. An example is: only performing knee push-ups until I can do 50 in a row for two circuits (I know knee push-up right? Not as easy as it sounds and I have yet to get to 50 in the first set!) This work out is a slightly modified version of the Primal Blueprint Fitness. When we first started this fitness program, we followed it verbatim. Slowly, we modified the details (like always doing a minimum of two circuits, now we only do one on weekdays) and adding our own elements (like a hackie sac warm up...). So far it has been a good system, and works great on running and swimming off days.
The results have been pretty good. Starting to tone muscles, add a little bulk, and improving strength (noticeable by the increase in number of reps done to max). What was not expected was life lessons this non-gym fitness program has taught me. Sounds dramatic and exaggerated? Maybe. But I will list what I have learned at let you be the judge:
1. You can usually do more then you think. This is a surprise to me. Since our strength training plan requires us to work towards total muscle exhaustion, I keep over-shooting my expected max number of reps. Take for example pull-ups. I usually only think I can do three, but I have recently been able to push myself to 5. Not a dramatic number, but more then I expect. This is only a life lesson because when I start to do the pull-ups I ignore my expectations and push till I can't lift myself anymore. I usually end up having my muscles give in and fall to my feet pretty quickly. If I was to give in to my expectations of what I can and can't do I would never hit my true max and probably never improve. Not a bad way to live my life in the future for everything else I do, eh?
2. If you work at something, there will be improvement. I know this sounds like common sense. But when you first try the self assessment found in the Primal Blueprint Fitness eBook, well I have to say I felt week, unfit, and thought I would never accomplish any sort of improvement. I hated squats. I mean I loathed the thought of even doing 1. Now I can do 2 circuits of 50 and actually I am starting to enjoy the challenge they present, not to mention some of the results (including more strength while hill running and improved sprints). So I have learned (luckily by just simply enjoying some improvement) that no matter what challenge it is you face in life, if you work at it there will be improvement. Duh, right?
3. Excuses are lame, and it is better just to get it done. This goes for anything you don't feel like doing and any challenge you are about to face. Many days when I come home from a long day at the office, I don't feel like strength training. In fact, it is rare that I really ever feel like doing it at all. However, every time that I have gave into an excuse or just skipped a circuit, I set myself back or feel lame the next day. When I forget the excuses and I am actually accomplish my training I feel great and better for it.
4. I can do hand-stands with the help of a wall. That is either here nor there, but since we have been body weight training, we have been having office work out challenges. When no one is around we do max reps of push-ups, pull-ups (yea we have a improvised pull-up bar in the office!), or whatever. One day we just started seeing if we could do hand stands as a challenge and well the rest is history...How cool is it to navigate through life knowing you can stand on your hands? That question is open ended and there is no word limits to the answer.
As I discover more life lessons as my fitness regime increases I will add to this small, yet exciting list. I think these four should be enough to get anyone excited in beginning to develop a strength training regime of their own, or at least stand on their hands if they haven't yet (prolly should have a spotter if it is your first time since grade school). Also, for those out their grinding it out at the gym and dropping money on memberships, check out Primal Blueprint Fitness. You can get the eBook for free and you can do everything at home (just gotta a buy a pull-up bar, worth every penny if you stick with it).
To obtain my set goals, of not looking scrawny and building strength, I have been using body weight exercises. A simple circuit of push-ups, squats, pull-ups, and planks. Usually there is only a slight rest after one circuit, with only doing total of two for a day. Each individual movement is done to max, with different variations done to my level of fitness. An example is: only performing knee push-ups until I can do 50 in a row for two circuits (I know knee push-up right? Not as easy as it sounds and I have yet to get to 50 in the first set!) This work out is a slightly modified version of the Primal Blueprint Fitness. When we first started this fitness program, we followed it verbatim. Slowly, we modified the details (like always doing a minimum of two circuits, now we only do one on weekdays) and adding our own elements (like a hackie sac warm up...). So far it has been a good system, and works great on running and swimming off days.
The results have been pretty good. Starting to tone muscles, add a little bulk, and improving strength (noticeable by the increase in number of reps done to max). What was not expected was life lessons this non-gym fitness program has taught me. Sounds dramatic and exaggerated? Maybe. But I will list what I have learned at let you be the judge:
1. You can usually do more then you think. This is a surprise to me. Since our strength training plan requires us to work towards total muscle exhaustion, I keep over-shooting my expected max number of reps. Take for example pull-ups. I usually only think I can do three, but I have recently been able to push myself to 5. Not a dramatic number, but more then I expect. This is only a life lesson because when I start to do the pull-ups I ignore my expectations and push till I can't lift myself anymore. I usually end up having my muscles give in and fall to my feet pretty quickly. If I was to give in to my expectations of what I can and can't do I would never hit my true max and probably never improve. Not a bad way to live my life in the future for everything else I do, eh?
2. If you work at something, there will be improvement. I know this sounds like common sense. But when you first try the self assessment found in the Primal Blueprint Fitness eBook, well I have to say I felt week, unfit, and thought I would never accomplish any sort of improvement. I hated squats. I mean I loathed the thought of even doing 1. Now I can do 2 circuits of 50 and actually I am starting to enjoy the challenge they present, not to mention some of the results (including more strength while hill running and improved sprints). So I have learned (luckily by just simply enjoying some improvement) that no matter what challenge it is you face in life, if you work at it there will be improvement. Duh, right?
3. Excuses are lame, and it is better just to get it done. This goes for anything you don't feel like doing and any challenge you are about to face. Many days when I come home from a long day at the office, I don't feel like strength training. In fact, it is rare that I really ever feel like doing it at all. However, every time that I have gave into an excuse or just skipped a circuit, I set myself back or feel lame the next day. When I forget the excuses and I am actually accomplish my training I feel great and better for it.
4. I can do hand-stands with the help of a wall. That is either here nor there, but since we have been body weight training, we have been having office work out challenges. When no one is around we do max reps of push-ups, pull-ups (yea we have a improvised pull-up bar in the office!), or whatever. One day we just started seeing if we could do hand stands as a challenge and well the rest is history...How cool is it to navigate through life knowing you can stand on your hands? That question is open ended and there is no word limits to the answer.
As I discover more life lessons as my fitness regime increases I will add to this small, yet exciting list. I think these four should be enough to get anyone excited in beginning to develop a strength training regime of their own, or at least stand on their hands if they haven't yet (prolly should have a spotter if it is your first time since grade school). Also, for those out their grinding it out at the gym and dropping money on memberships, check out Primal Blueprint Fitness. You can get the eBook for free and you can do everything at home (just gotta a buy a pull-up bar, worth every penny if you stick with it).
Monday, January 9, 2012
Cross Country Sking...in Anchorage...First Time Ever!
So Eric and I were in Anchorage on a work trip...that is no surprise. We do it all the time and have been for a couple years now. The cool thing about this trip was we were able to try cross country skiing for the first time ever...
Usually in cases like this I like to do research, or take lessons, or you know go with someone who knows what they are doing. Well it turns out this is not how Eric does things. We literally stormed out of work, went to REI and rented ourselves some classic style skies, whatever that means. We went with classic because that is was the guy the day before recommended to us. We gathered up our skis and drove to Kincaid Park.
Now before I post any photos I have to say this. It is fun, but also very challenging to rent any sort of equipment and test it out the moment you want to use it. Meaning, we didn't look at the skies or boots until we were on the trail ready to use them. That makes things that are normally easy, very difficult. It took me about 40 minutes to get the bloody skis on! For anyone that has cross country skied before they know...this is very simple. They just snap on...little did I know that was the case. I kept pressing the release button to put the buggers on! After 40 minutes they magically were on my feet and we began or adventure.
At first thought, not so bad. It is very intuitive and easy to do...on second thought however, hills suck! Both up and down ended with me on my ass and very sore. And what is with those damn grooves? Everytime I would go downhill one ski would end up in one, I would cross legs (not a good feeling) and end up on my shoulder! The pain usually ended with me laughing, but still....damn. But being as I was on this adventure with Eric, we kept pressing on, ending up on intermediate trails and going down steeper and larger hills.
As you can see I was smiling by the end on the night. It was fun to get out and do something different and I did feel like a kid again playing in the snow. Sadly, all my pictures are dark and hard to see due to the whole out late and having a camera without a flash. However, this will not be my last post about our Anchorage adventures in December and cross country skiing. We got out 2 more times before we left Anchorage and I want to post about those (including an incident that involved crushing a perfectly good apple!). Also, I purchased some really kick-ass swag while I was in ANC and will be attempting my first few gear reviews....Happy Trails!
Usually in cases like this I like to do research, or take lessons, or you know go with someone who knows what they are doing. Well it turns out this is not how Eric does things. We literally stormed out of work, went to REI and rented ourselves some classic style skies, whatever that means. We went with classic because that is was the guy the day before recommended to us. We gathered up our skis and drove to Kincaid Park.
Now before I post any photos I have to say this. It is fun, but also very challenging to rent any sort of equipment and test it out the moment you want to use it. Meaning, we didn't look at the skies or boots until we were on the trail ready to use them. That makes things that are normally easy, very difficult. It took me about 40 minutes to get the bloody skis on! For anyone that has cross country skied before they know...this is very simple. They just snap on...little did I know that was the case. I kept pressing the release button to put the buggers on! After 40 minutes they magically were on my feet and we began or adventure.
At first thought, not so bad. It is very intuitive and easy to do...on second thought however, hills suck! Both up and down ended with me on my ass and very sore. And what is with those damn grooves? Everytime I would go downhill one ski would end up in one, I would cross legs (not a good feeling) and end up on my shoulder! The pain usually ended with me laughing, but still....damn. But being as I was on this adventure with Eric, we kept pressing on, ending up on intermediate trails and going down steeper and larger hills.
As you can see I was smiling by the end on the night. It was fun to get out and do something different and I did feel like a kid again playing in the snow. Sadly, all my pictures are dark and hard to see due to the whole out late and having a camera without a flash. However, this will not be my last post about our Anchorage adventures in December and cross country skiing. We got out 2 more times before we left Anchorage and I want to post about those (including an incident that involved crushing a perfectly good apple!). Also, I purchased some really kick-ass swag while I was in ANC and will be attempting my first few gear reviews....Happy Trails!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The first white trail of the season...
So Eric and I set out on our first run
together in about three weeks.
The air was crisp, and so was the newly
fallen snow as we set out on a brand new trail. Well, it was a brand
new trail for me anyways. Eric discovered this while I was gone, and
I am very glad he did. It is hard to find new paths on our little
chunk of land here in the middle of the ocean. But nonetheless yesterday was a first for me, and an
exciting one at that.
It has been a while since I had ran,
due to work. Everything felt great until our first “hill”...more
like a long gradual ascent along a access road. I was huffing and
puffing right out the gates and reminiscing about that time two
months ago that I could run uphill like a champ. 
All the effort paid
off though, because once we hit the trail at the end of the road, the
view was amazing.
Eric and I took in the view for a
little while then set off back towards home. On our way back we
decided to adventure from a previously trail a little and see what we
could find. About ten minutes later we discovered this....
Today I asked Eric if he thought that
the sign meant landmines as well...his response was simply
“Hmmm...possibly”. After running through the abandoned explosives
cache (I may be slightly exaggerating this point), we made it home in one piece. It was great to get out again
and explore some new territory. After a summer of running, I forgot how much I enjoy
running in cold weather and the snow...it was cool to get back to it. I think it is going to be a
great winter season! Happy trails....
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sun, rain and a little bit of pain...
As work was coming to an end the other day, Eric and I noticed that it was raining on the west side of the building and sunny on the south...the debate about whether or not to run started. After 4 days of bad weather and doing little to no exercise the conversation went as such...
Eric → It's sunny out and it looks like a nice day for a run...
Ed → I'm pretty sure it is raining on the other side of the building.
Eric → Ohhhh.....
Well it may not be those exact words but that is how I remember it. So we got ready anyways and started heading out at a nice and easy pace. That is when we realized
Bad Decision #1 → We wore shorts instead of tights.
Everything seemed okay for about 1/8th of a mile, then we made our first turn which lead to a road completely exposed to the elements. We got sprayed with ice cold rain and winds of about 30 mph...give or take a couple mph. I said to Eric at that moment that wearing shorts in this weather for a run is like drinking milk on a hot day when your dry...just a bad choice.
Whoever invented the air freshener scent “Ocean Spray” got it completely wrong. It doesn't smell like that at all. The swell was so big along the beach (not really a beach as in a beach with sand, sun and surf...more like a beach with big akward rocks, intense wind and rain, with surf that would be a hell of a ride but surely would kill you) that you could hear all the rocks being dragged out to sea and slammed back to shore each time the swell would meet land. It was intense....
Bad Decision #3 → High-stepping the tall grass...along the “beach”
Well that lead to my first injury, twisted my ankle and had to walk it off. Still hurts today but I think it was just bruised a little, would have been fine if it wasn't for my second injury...more on that later.
Bad Decision #4 → Running a foot wide strip of land between a busy road and the ocean.
Oh and I forgot to mention the cliff...when you miss step like I do your foot slides quickly down said cliff and you have to grab on to the roads metal guard protecting cars from going over said cliff. Again it was intense...
Bad Decision #5 → Running behind an abandoned cannery.
Lots of slippery, wet, jagged rocks with debris and not much space. This led to my second injury when I jumped off an abandoned oil tank and landed my already injured foot on a rock very awkwardly. Eric was wearing Vibrums the entire time and was enjoying the adventure...well he did say it was a bad idea in the first place, but he will attempt it again....
At this point our run turned into a wet and cold, but relaxing jaunt home. It was prolly another couple miles but we took it easy. We ran past a few land marks like the abandoned knife, the truck with a snow plow someone randomly ditched off the road, our office, and the airport.
All in all it was a great run. Our bad decisions actually turned out to be little adventures that gave us something to talk about the next day. So they ended up being good choices (well except for anything that ended up in an injury...I did not actually know I would be injured so I am still saying it was a good idea). It was not a day that most would go running, in fact I wouldn't of went a year or two ago. I am slowing starting to discover there is a beauty in inclement weather that not many people get to see, so I am going to try to branch out and not stay inside just because it is not “nice”. I am sure Eric will make sure of that as well since he seems to thrive in crappy weather.
Does anyone else actually end up enjoying the days that it wasn't the best idea to go outside?
Friday, September 23, 2011
Introductions
Hello, and welcome to the Tundra Runners web log. Let us start with a couple of introductions:
Eric is the "crazy guy with the toe shoes," around here. He has been running off and on since high school, and has more recently taken up running in minimalist footwear. Though he spent a couple years training for a marathon he now thinks it is more important to enjoy running than hit a split time.
Ed is the "guy with the big watch". He started attempting to run for fitness in college with little success. He was far from in shape and wanted to stop every time he would pick up his pace beyond a brisk walk. After college he spent a couple years working at sea and spending most days traveling. He made a commitment that if he was to settle down he would get into some sort of shape. That time came just over two years ago (when he started working with Eric) and he hasn't looked back since.
Together we are the Tundra Runners, two guys who live, work and run in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.
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