first of many on cross training

Ok, so like most of you I have failed miserable in the past at cross training during my marathon training. It wasn’t because I didn’t plan on doing it, it wasn’t because I didn’t know what I had to do or why it was beneficial to my training….

It was because I never made it a priority and my running quality and injury list validated why I made such a big mistake. So this winter instead of training for a spring marathon (and ignoring my cross training) I have decided to ignore my long distance running and focus on my cross training.

Why am I doing this? Well I went from 280 pounds down to as low as 210 pounds then for the last 18-20 months I have hovered at 225-230 pounds regardless of how many miles I ran and what I ate. If I ate like crap one week and failed to run big miles I stayed at the same weight as when I did everything correct for diet and exercise right. What did this tell me, well my training levels had plateau as far as weight loss went and I needed to change things up if weight loss was my goal.

Well I have no visions are running behind the lead pack in a 5k or qualifying for Boston in the near future, especially if I stay at 225-230 pounds. What happens if I pull a Gordon (http://thisrunninglife.wordpress.com/) and get down to 180-190 pounds and then run my next marathon? Something tells me I might be able to more for my goal to run an enjoyable marathon (more on my definition of enjoyable to come later) if I loose the weight.

It has been tough for me to not have an 18 week training plan in play right now but I need to see if I focus on the cross training and diet can I break the plateau.

What am I doing then?

• Using TRX for circuit training 3-4 times a week.
• Go back to Kettlebells for strength and aerobic workouts.
• Get back into the pool for ½ mile lap swims twice a week.
• Crossfit to push my comfort and fitness levels.

What does my current workout plan look like?

I started the "100 Burpee Challenge" on January 1st and I am currently on Day 40, this challenge has you doing 1 Burpee on Day1, 2 on Day2, 3 on Day3, 40 on Day40 up till you do 100 on Day100. What is a burpee, well check this video out:

I also on a daily basis I try to get a 30 minute run each day.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I do a 30-45 TRX Circuit

On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I try to do a Crossfit workout

I try to get a 1/2 mile lap swim in on Tuesday and then one other day if possible

Sunday is my long aerobic workout day, so I try to get a 60+ minute SLOW run in or something comparable such as snowshoeing.

I wasn't lying when I said I can't sit still.

So here is my home gym, yes I know my garage is a mess but that didn't stop me from taking a picture to show you what tools I am using for my training.

• Look beyond just running and sign up for a triathlon this summer.

 If you are curious what the hell TRX is check out this short video:

Well more to come about cross training and what I am doing to change what I eat.

Tonight I am co hosting an episode about cross training on the Running Round Table at 8PM EST.

Come join the discussion, as there are a lot more

a clean slate, why start

Ok, so first off if I go more then 3 days without at least a quick note please take a second and drop me a note reminding me that you are patiently waiting for me to write something.

So what do I want to accomplish with this Blog?

Here are my goals:

• Entertain
• Inform
• Rant
• Hold myself accountable by putting my goals out there for others to see and thus not let me back out of easily.
• Make friends

What is in the name? Well anyone who knows me, knows that I have never and will never be able to sit still, I just can't do it. Thus what I do with my excess energy and over active mind is my gift to use to shape my life into what i want. I could be someone who can't sit still and devoted my life to playing Call of Duty with people online till 4 AM but that would do little for my health or my marriage. I need to use this as a tool to push me to accomplish my goals.

So with that said I don't want a blog just about running, I want a blog that appeals to those that loathe running but share my desire to stay healthy. I want someone who just got diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes to come read my blog and say hey if that guy can do it then i sure as hell can. Thus I will share my running/race goals, I will discuss my cross training tools, my nutrition along with any other topic that I choose to with little or no concern about how I can tie it back to a central theme.

Now, those that know me also know that I have no filter when I talk and that means that I am sure to offend some of you some of the time. So if you are offended easy, take this a warning, but more importantly take what I say as an opportunity to start a discussion. Oh and to keep things PG-13 if I need to use foul language (sorry sometimes "gosh darn it" isn't strong enough to get my point across) I will use the vocabulary from one of my favorite movies Johnny Dangerously (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087507/) where to stay away from the dreaded R rating they used "Fargin Icehole" instead so as not to offend, but also not loose the intent.

So welcome to the show, keep me honest and join in....

I will add posts shortly about my race plans, workout plans, nutrition, cross training etc,