more random nothingness

I guess the point of a blog is to write your opinions or write boring minutia about our all important self. I'll do my part in this post.

• Yesterday, I stopped at a convenient store in between clients in Greenwich to grab a bottle of water. The guy working the register looked as though he slept in sewage. He grabbed my bottle of water buy the neck/top and scanned it. As I walked to my car in the parking lot, I realized there was no way I could drink this and tossed it.
• Lisa thinks I'm a bit obsessive compulsive.
• We went out to Barcelonas last night for dinner, a Spanish restaurant here in CT. This place is consistent, fun, and a great way to eat in my opinion, meaning ordering a bunch of tapas and enjoying tasting. They have a great wine list as well, so if you are in CT or passing through, check it out. I recommend the lobster risotto, the steak pallard, and the spicy pork pinxto (yeah, I botched up the spelling here but you get the picture so calm down spanish majors).
• I have two friends, Margaret and Greg, who I coach who are turning/turned 50 recently. These two walk the walk and lead by example making them my kind of people. Happy Birthday!
• I ran this morning long with Gus and Ken. It was cold but sunny, and I chose my favorite non-trails run course here in Monroe that offers up everything; it has three killer hills, the worst which is rt. 111 from the base at rt. 34. Gus hasn't run with us in some time and he hasn't run this course in two years, but he is definitely running well. This was our first time on it in maybe a year. We ran well the whole time, covering the course which used to take Gus 2+ hrs in 1:55. This course also has a nice two+ mile downhill. I used to run it quite a bit two years ago in my base season, and coincidentally, I ran my races quite well that year!
• Tonight I'm cooking arroz con pollo. The supermarkets were worse today then during Christmas week.
• I always route for AFC teams but sorry Straz, I just don't know if I could route for the Steelers. I'll be undecided until the kickoff.
• The best thing about the Superbowl will be the fun party we're going to to watch. Man, I hope the commercials are good at least.

Cheers,

EH

Craving some warmth?

Had enough of this yet?

You could be here:

2 spots still left for the Tucson Camp! Go to my homepage ( www.hodska.com ) if you are interested.

Cheers,

EH

sympathy for the obese

Since getting home from Cleveland, I've been ridiculously busy. I like it this way though. Usually my evenings are free for family time, however, this week I've been tied up in the evenings with my sons soccer practice and a couple of talks that I gave.

I spoke Wednesday to the Bethel tri club on pre-season training, and specifically, what we should be doing in January, February and March. Megan S. heads up this club and is really doing great things. It seems they keep getting more and more new members. I enjoy giving these talks - I guess I just like running my mouth.

Today, I witnessed an obese person struggle to get inside their car that was parked at a normal parking distance to the car next to it. I have talked to many of my athletic and thin friends who have zero point zero tolerance for obesity in others. I used to be in the same boat, until I had the chance to work with quite a few - assisting them in getting their health, and life in control. I now feel quite bad for most obese people, and if you look around our country a bit, you realize that the obese outweigh (no pun) the healthy or thin.

Sure, many obese are quite lazy, but until you know their background, don't be so quick to judge. When you have grown up with terrible habits that started with your parents and with bad genetics as many of the obese have, it's harder than you think to get the eating under control. I took my kids to Dairy Queen this past summer and witnessed a mother give her two obese sons large Blizzards (have you seen the size of these?!), and while waiting for the DQ staff to make their blizzards, they woofed down two large sugary frozen slurpee type things. This, in my opinion, is child abuse. Then, they have to also deal with the social insecurities that are compounded as they age.

At the same time, I worked as a cardiac technician and witnessed my fair share of obese related tragedies, so I'm certainly not easy on obesity when it comes to training someone. I remember clearly the first time I was called down to the ER for a code situation. A 48 year old woman was suffering a massive heart attack. She came flying in on a gurney, topless and with velcroed compression pants on, an EMT straddling her and applying CPR. I hooked up electrodes to monitor her electrocardiogram and then stood back and watched. Her left ventricle shut down, and was filling rapidly with blood, so the ER doctor forcefully jabbed a metal straw like device through her chest and into the left ventricle to drain it. Then, they gave her a huge shot directly into the heart to get it going again, as blood poured out of the drain, partly into a container, but mostly all over her and the table. Then, she flat lined, and they got out the crash cart. Before I knew it, the doctor says to an attending nurse "what's the time?" as he removed his gloves and stepped away from the obese mess on the table. The nurse began jotting down notes as they removed some jewelry and placed it in a plastic bag to pass on to her immediate family. I stood there devastated. In fact, I remember an ER doctor telling me to get going in removing the electrodes. Anyways, what a shame, and at 48 years old.

I work with people that could toss out most if not all of the medications they are taking to control diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, ... if they'd just commit to losing weight. I figure that mostly athletes are reading this, so be thankful that you have found a venue that keeps you committed and driven towards a healthy lifestyle. Sure, I realize that you work your ass off for your health as do I. It's still not something to take for granted.

Busy weekend ahead, and again, that's the way I like it!

Cheers,

EH

Cleveland

I'm back.

First, most of my athletes are finished with The Cleanse. If you were one of the one's who stuck it out, very well done. It takes will power. I was talking to one of my athletes today - again, this isn't a weight loss plan, that's just a nice added side effect if you have some weight to lose - she lost 9 lbs and feels great and her husband who she sucked into doing The Cleanse with her lost 15 lbs and feels great. Good stuff. I'll be sending out my Part II of The Cleanse to everyone this evening which describes what to do after The Cleanse to keep the benefits going.

This past weekend was my Cleveland Winterfest Camp that I cohost with my great friend Angela Forster. Angela and her husband Scott are the people that people are proud to call their friends.

Two things you can depend on at the Cleveland Winterfest Camp; Shitty weather and great, genuine people. Not the guarded, "you're out to get me", "who the hell are you", "what are you looking at bitch" CT types (which I am one of), but open, friendly, nice people.

I had a 6am flight out of Hartford on Friday meaning a 3:30am wake up call. Across from the Cleveland airport was a new gym owned by one of the camp attendees, Kyle, who was extremely generous in letting us use the place for Sunday. Ange and Trephina grabbed me at the airport and we headed over to the gym to check it out. I changed into some running gear and by 8:45am, I was out running in the -9 degree temperatures in deep snow, checking out a trail course for the Sunday run. Kyle was nice or stupid enough to join me for this run.

After that, we headed back to Ange's house to set up and prepare for the 12pm campers arriving for bike fit and HR testing on the computrainers. The position changes I made to most campers bike set-ups were quite dramatic. Some of the attendees even traveled far to very popular bike shops for their initial set-up and I wonder if these so called experts even take flexibility, core strength, and the specific events the customer is preparing for into account. HR testing is a bastard, although somewhat easier maybe with a bunch of campers cheering you on.

We banged out bike fits and bike tests all afternoon, one after another in Scott and Anges basement. Don't confuse your thought of their basement as unfinished, cement walls, exposed pipes, cobwebs, dirty floors and musty smells. This is a finished basement with beautiful carpet, an endless pool room, mirrored walls, flat screen TVs (yes, plural), dual computrainers, a True treadmill and a bathroom and shower.

Baker arrived Friday night, in time for Trephina's amazing Thai dinner. Saturday started at 6am, finishing up bike fits and testing, then right into a 2+ hr indoor cycling session. It actually went by really quick - especially for me who didn't ride but instead just barked out orders and controlled the music. One of the camp attendees, Anthony, a "kid" who looked 20 but was 29 had a brand new bike, has never done a triathlon, didn't know anyone in attendance and received this camp as a surprise holiday gift from his wife. This can be an intimidating situation to say the least, but he jumped right in, had a great attitude and really did well. This really impressed me.

After the indoor bike session, I demonstrated running technique and efficiency on the treadmill and showed some of my favorite treadmill secret sessions for those stuck indoors on frigid, icy days. Baker then videotaped each campers running form on the treadmill from all angles, as I made comments about the pros and cons of their form.

Quick lunch brake and then back to Ange and Scott's kitchen for a nutrition and healthy cooking demo including how to prepare your own energy bars and sports drinks using real, healthy ingredients. This was followed up by a standing meditation session from martial arts and eastern medicine guru Todd. He then led everyone through some relaxation exercises - again, great stuff.

After the campers headed out, Todd performed some acupuncture on me which really relaxed me. Well, that plus the many glasses of wine with dinner.

Sunday, we met at the pool at 6am to review and video swim strokes, learn drills, and do a group workout. Then breakfast, then to Kyles gym where we changed and did an outdoor trail run in 18 inches of snow, including hill repeats. Funny, the majority seemed to really enjoy the challenge and extremeness of this run. How could you not though? Sure, the footing was a bit tricky in the small footpath from others and in the fresh deep snow, the strength effort was very challenging, yet the trails were really pretty and light snow was falling and the trees were covered white with fresh snow. It was one of those sessions that most wouldn't do on their own, yet relished in getting out there with the group. We changed into dry clothing and then I went through my strength and core routine for endurance athletes at the gym, followed by a brief talk, nice lunch, and then Baker and I were back at the airport waiting to catch our flight home.

We had a lot of returners at this camp which was cool - it tells me they have really benefited from previous camps, enough so to endure another round of antics from Baker and myself. I am a very loyal guy and respect and appreciate loyalty. Then we also had a nice group of first timers who jumped in open minded and enthusiastic.

Regardless of their beyond shitty weather, as long as they will have me back there, I will be there to cohost these camps. Many said that they were quite motivated coming off this camp and you know what, It charged me up as well.

Thanks to those of you who attended who may read this.

Cheers,

EH

Roll with it

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days. Most are probably sick of hearing about The Cleanse. Hell, the slight chance that there are a few out there actually reading - they may have no clue what The Cleanse even is.

I'm finishing up The Cleanse in a few days so I'm in "lock and load" mode. It's no longer challenging, and in fact, I like it for the most part. Yes, I'm looking forward to a cold beer and a nice glass of wine, but otherwise, it's been fine. I lost 9 lbs thus far although I developed The Cleanse for many other reasons than weight loss. Losing unwanted lbs is a nice side effect. I like not feeling bloated from excess carbohydrates, and I like sleeping better. I like the fact that I'm not falling asleep at the wheel on my drive home from Greenwich each day.

I'm getting in a very solid week of training and for some reason, my motivation is very high right now. Well, I know the reason(s):

• I'm running well which is always encouraging.
• I have my Cleveland Winterfest Camp this weekend and I'm looking forward to catching up with my close friends Ange and Scooter and the great people I've met in Cleveland, even if it's only going to be -1 degree outside.
• I'm looking forward to the season and thinking once again, as I had often in the past, of the fact that my competition is out there training, and if I want to take them, I need to train smarter and better.
• I'm thinking about the fact that in six weeks, I'll be heading to Tucson for a week of warm weather training. I can picture turning over the pedals as I climb Mt. Lemmon or running along the narrow traversing trail in Sabino Canyon.
• I'm reminded often of a quote from Dave Scott, which I read when I first started training for tri's. It went something like; "I believe that I train harder and more than anyone else out there. If someone is going to beat me, it's not going to be because they outworked me."
• I am fueled by the fact that 90% of the population - the population functioning on "average" mode, still question what those of us involved in endurance sports are doing in the first place.
• I have been working with some newbies and their enthusiasm is just contagious.

There you have it. Motivation is roaring at the moment and I'm taking advantage of it.

Be sure to check out Rob Straz's recent article in the "Rants From Rob Straz" column on my home page, www.hodska.com - great stuff. Check the home page every so often because I plan on adding a lot of content frequently over this season. In regards to Rob's column - he's got an opinion and I wanted to hear it - Hope you enjoy it.

Cheers,

EH

NFL + Cleanse = son of a bitch

"Five. Five dollar. Five dollar footlongs!" I had the stupid jingle stuck in my head all day. When that one wasn't in my noggin, I'd hear "I'm feelin' kinda Sunday..." Too much football viewing yesterday. Eli is no Peyton.

These weekend cold, snowy days are challenging when on The Cleanse. Watching football and having a beer or three go hand in hand, not to mention some nice nachos. Instead, I munched on carrots, drank water, and tried to relax. Relaxing is something that doesn't come easy for me. I really have to work at it. I'm envious of those that can relax easily and anywhere. You get through the weekend on The Cleanse though and your home free.

Today was a great day to run. I wedged some bounding hill repeats into a brisk 70 minute run and finished with more energy than when I started.

Cheers,

EH

Weekends are for relaxing?

Weekends are supposed to be down time, correct?

I realized this winter break that I need structure. I can understand how people that retire suddenly plunge into the depths of depression, aging 10 life years in the course of 1 calendar year. I guess some times it takes awhile for things to sink in with me. I'm not the type to sleep in and I'm not good at lying around. I need to do something while watching TV - even while watching football. I love the weekends and at the same time, I look forward to the simple structure of my typical Monday as Sunday night rolls around.

Kenny and I ran two hours yesterday morning. I awoke at 6am in my nice warm bed while it was eight degrees outside, yet, my competition certainly isn't hitting the snooze button. I sucked down a shot of espresso, chased by a large glass of water, threw a couple of layers on and jogged down to the parking area by the trails to meet Ken. We ran a VERY hilly course including a nice two mile climb in the middle. When it's eight degrees out, your body is working extra hard trying to keep you warm and at the same time trying to keep blood pumping through your legs. We kept a comfortable pace, yet we never faded. Both Ken and I have been doing The Cleanse and we both hadn't eaten since the night before, yet we were running at a 7 min/mile clip for two hours. I'm not condoning skipping breakfast and the importance of pre-race fuel, however, I also believe that many of us over estimate the calories that we need and underestimate the efficiency of our physiology. I have to be cautious here as nutrition information is really misconstrued, being interpreted as the person reading wants to interpret.

I cooked a pot of chili today - very healthy and definitely inside The Cleanses boundaries. Greg P. sent me a picture of a meal his wife Beth prepped which was seared tuna w/ wasabi on a bed of arugula and he made the sweet potato healthy fries. It looked restaurant quality and I wanted to post the picture although I couldn't upload the picture he sent me, even though it was probably pretty simple to do.

I sit here finishing this post while watching Pittsburgh unfortunately beat up San Diego and at the same time try and stay awake from the exhaustion of a nonstop weekend. Life is good!

Cheers,

EH

I think it's day six...

I'm a bit light headed from the lack of calories! At least that's what I'm blaming it on...

Here's part of an email Lisa received today from her friend (she used to like me) LW:

"I need u as my moral support! I am doing so well....can't stop now.....went to boxing last night and punched the shit out of the guy,he said who are you pissed at....I said Eric Hodska!!!!"

I get this quite a bit.

Tonight I'm preparing pan seared swordfish. sauteed green beans and mushrooms, and my healthy sweat potato fries.

Cheers,

EH

Another day done

I find that on the fifth day of The Cleanse, things get a bit easier. Mostly in that we physically aren't craving sugar after being off of it for four days. Mentally, we can start to get a bit antsy, but if you think about it a bit more, you should be feeling pretty good physically by day five. The Cleanse should be flushing things through your system so the carbohydrate bloat should be gone and you should just be feeling healthier in general. Focus on this, not on that piece of chocolate you may be craving.

I find that my workouts don't suffer at all. Personally, I think a lot of us are over dependant on calories in short training sessions. It kind of cracks me up to see someone at the pool (on the rare occasion I get there) that's in the water for 45 minutes to an hour and has a full bottle of perpeteum. Right now (meaning January), most of the training is less than 90 minutes at a shot, except for the occasional longer ride. If you go less than 90 minutes, water is sufficient.

A few people have mentioned to me that they like reading about different things that I've been preparing for dinner while on The Cleanse because it gives them some ideas. They also wanted to know if I'd list some lunch ideas. I typically have the same lunch Mon through Fri which is a soy milk protein smoothie with whey protein, ice, frozen strawberries, and flax seed powder. Lisa has the same lunch each day as well - a salad with chicken. However, this weekend, I plan on cooking up some brown rice and beans. It's a great recipe, healthy and easy. Yes, beans contain some protein, but they are easy on the metabolic process compared to meat.

See you on Day 6.

Cheers,

EH

Day 4 in the books

One mistake, and this is a big mistake, that many make when doing The Cleanse is that they don't eat enough during the day. They skip out on a few pieces of fruit, or they are scared of having some peanut butter with their mid morning snack, and/or they skimp on their lunch, both of the latter two because they are concerned about the calories. Then the afternoon 4 or 5 hours rolls around and they become ravenous, setting themselves up for falling off the plan that evening. They are also wreaking havoc on their metabolism by not giving it enough calories, thus slowing it down. Plan ahead and trust the plan.

Lisa and I had a beef stir fry tonight. low sodium soy sauce is allowed but use sparingly. Some other questions that people have asked: Ketchup and bbq sauce is a no go (sugar), salsa is fine, sashimi is fine but sushi with white rice is a no.

Over 1/4 of the way through!

Cheers,

EH

Day 3 done

I actually felt good today. I had a really great run in the afternoon, so that helps. I already getting some bitching from a few about them being hungry at night. What they are really trying to say is "I'm not hungry. I just want some junk."

One of the cool things about The Cleanse (yeah, there are a few cool things) is the opportunity to work some new recipes into the repertoire. Lisa and I have the five recipe rotation going usually. I'm the cook here, so I usually cook the five dinner items I enjoy and that I cook well. During The Cleanse we always explore a bit with different vegetables, stir-frys and different types of fish. Some of these recipes, well, let's just say they were an experiment. But some are really delicious. Regular potatoes aren't allowed on The Cleanse, however, sweet potatoes, which are very nutritious, are allowed every other night. I like slicing them in chip like size, spraying a baking pan lightly w/ Pam, sprinkling on some seasoning (I use a bit of cayenne pepper, some garlic salt, and regular pepper) and baking them.

Cleanse - Day Two

I have been fielding lots of Cleanse questions and I thought I'd try to post something daily about The Cleanse over the next two weeks.

One of the best questions I get frequently is "Do I need The Cleanse?" The reason I invented The Cleanse was that I saw all the current nutrition plans out there and the main flaws I found in them were the fact that they were open ended - people would start a plan trying to make some changes and they didn't see an end. It's easy to say you need to change your lifestyle for good - much easier said than done. When a plan isn't drastic enough to make you realize your weaknesses and is open ended, it's not too long before you are right back to your old habits. Seeing that this is a two week plan makes it feel like something that you can definitely do and succeed with. If you are following it accurately, by the end of week two, you will realize the weaknesses you craved or had in your old eating patterns and be anxious to make or keep these new changes, thus making this plan successful in the long run. Habits are something we establish throughout our life time and they are things that we enjoy and become very comfortable with, regardless of whether they are good or bad for you. The Cleanse makes you address what you truly crave in your diet and where your flaws are, even if we try to convince ourselves that "this habit isn't a problem. I work my ass off in training to justify this." I thought that what I'd personally crave was sugar. It turns out that there were really only two things that I significantly missed in my nutrition regimen. Everything else iffy was pretty easy to eliminate. But the pizza I enjoy once per week was a challenge, especially my home made pizza. The hardest thing though was that I enjoy a glass of red wine with dinner. Lisa and I will sit down with a glass of red wine and relax and enjoy dinner. Now, I actually think one glass of red wine with dinner is a healthy thing, and I'm not trying to justify here - I could go into great detail of why it is healthy and really bore the hell out of you. But at the same time, I don't want to be dependant on anything. Trust me, there are sugar dependant people out there and millions of them at that. You wouldn't believe the amount of people that tell me how much they miss chocolate! Finally, The Cleanse was never a weight loss plan. That is just a very nice side benefit if you have weight to lose. It does cleanse your system though and gives your metabolism a much needed break.

A few other quick answers to some questions:

• No, you are not starving! Unless you have gone for more than two days without any calories, you are not starving. It's OK to feel hungry and you are not going to pass out - yes you may have low body fat and you may be a hard core endurance athlete, but don't flatter yourself. You aren't going to pass out. The pockets where you feel light headed and starving are purely psychological. We are a society that doesn't know what it feels like to be a tiny bit hungry.
• No, a modified Cleanse Plan does not work! Most of the really weak minded (here's where I tease since sarcasm isn't displayed well in writing) people will say to me "I'm doing it but modifying it slightly."
• if you are exercising for less than 90 minutes, you only need water. If you are exercising for up to 2.5 hrs, you can add in an electrolyte drink, and if you are going longer than 3 hrs, you can add in some calories during your training session.
• Bananas aren't allowed as a breakfast fruit.

Lisa and I just finished off day two. Dinner was a large chopped salad (the big salad) with romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, chick peas (yes, allowed), black olives (yes, allowed), chicken done on a grill pan with seasoning, and oil, vinegar and black pepper.

Cheers,

EH

Plunge is done

The Plunge was great yesterday. The weather was sunny and in the upper 30's or even low 40's. the water didn't feel that bad this year! I'll post pictures and some video soon, but we had a great turnout and I am very appreciative of the support that my friends continually show towards these charitable efforts. I know that Christine Grief, the woman who was hit by a drunk driver while riding her bike and who we did The Plunge for, is extremely grateful.

Last night a bunch of us attended Farbers place, Prime 16, which was of course great. Kind of a pre-Cleanse last meal.

Speaking of The Cleanse, day 1 is in the books and it feels good to be back on a structured plan I have to say.

Cheers,

EH

Toughguy Rant

Day two of the new year and I'm feeling great, yet a bit ornery.

We started out the year with some cold weather here in CT and I amazed by the amount of athletes who told me they couldn't get in a run because their gym was closed so they had no treadmill to use!? Unless you live way up in Canada somewhere or you live where Straz does where it dips below -20 degrees, there's no excuse for not getting outside. Snow shouldn't stop you - in fact, snow makes a run more fun. It's bad enough that most wont ride outdoors once the weather dips below 50 degrees, but come on! We even have all this high tech training clothing now that keeps you dry, blocks wind, prevents chafing, adds compression, wipes your ass, ... People can't exercise in cotton any more, god forbid.

And don't get me started on Coffee which should be consumed often and black and not black and sweet. And light beer - no guy should drink this donkey piss. It reminds me of an early scene in Old School where Mitch gets into a cab and says to the cab driver; "excuse me but the seat belt is broken back here. what do you recommend I do?" to which the cab driver responds; "I recommend you stop being such a pussy. You're in the back seat!"

OK, toughguy rant is over.

At the beginning of each New Year, I have my athletes do my top secret Cleanse program for two weeks. We all start Sunday so I should really see some complaining soon!

Tomorrow is The Plunge at 2:30pm at Southport Beach!

Cheers,

EH

New Year Reflections

I usually post this time of year reflecting on the year that just passed. I've logged the majority of my highlights in this space of the internet already so it seems a bit redundant. Also a bit self absorbed, especially considering everything else going on in the world right now. The one focus I strive for is to make each year stand out - so I sit here at this time each December and think, man, that was quite a year! If this was the case for anyone else that may be reading, congratulations! Take the same approach and set some high standards for 2009. If the year passed and all's that you are focused on is the negatives, than it's time to rethink your approach and get on a new path. That's the cool thing about a new year - you are starting with a clean slate.

Here are some of my tips to make this coming year a special one:

1. Stop watching the news. Stay up to date with current events through periodicals instead of the screen. What's portrayed on the news is usually a sensationalized view of the reality. Funny, I talk with many different business people daily. Very educated people who have interesting and powerful career positions. Each one I talk to gives me a totally different view of the current economic crisis, and what they foresee in the future. What I've come to conclude is that each persons view is based solely on their personal situation instead of looking at the global situation, even if they think they are looking globally. This is regardless of whether they are optimistic or pessimistic. My point is that A. I don't think anyone really knows what the hell is going on, and B. we need to be more proactive instead of following the news and advice of people we think are in the know.


2. Start each day by asking yourself what you are going to do that day that puts you ahead - that separates you from the ordinary. OK, I know this is hokey, but get in the habit of looking in the mirror each morning, telling yourself it's going to be a great day (even if it is a grey Monday in February and -2 degrees outside), and asking yourself this question. Instead of rolling your eyes, just try it for two weeks. What have you got to lose?


3. Don't accept routine, normalcy, or complacency. Easier said than done. Many have fallen into the habit of doing the same things each day, week, year. Those racing endurance events feel they are putting themselves out there, but the truth is that many of them are doing the same exact things they have done for the last five years. Switch it up. Stretch your goals a bit. Decide that this year, you are going to throw in one off the wall or bizarre or out of routine training session each week. The Tue night MTB ride reintroduced to me the fact that as much as I love swimming, biking, and running, I had become to routine. When was the last time you finished a day feeling re-invigorated and full of new energy that you couldn't sleep? This happened to me after the first few night rides. Something new and exciting to switch up the schedule a bit.


4. Get out and train with others at least once a month. For some, that's a not a common thing. If you typically train with the same people, aim to train with some other athletes as well at least once per month. I have this Sunday morning run and it's been mostly just Ken and I. We do different courses, throw in hill repeats, trails, ... Most don't want to drive to run, and do the same long run each week. I've watched Ken go from a 7 min/mi racer to a 6 min/mi racer. Good stuff.
5. Don't accept what others say. Being told that you are not capable of doing something that you truly believe in should just fuel you. People in life, for some reason, are constantly offering their unasked for advice to others in the form of negativity. If you believe what they tell you, then it will come true. If you have your sights set high and people tell you that maybe you should lower them, you can believe them and not even try, or you can defy them and prove to them and more importantly, yourself, that you are capable.
6. Smile more. Ok, once again, a bit hokey. But studies prove that those who smile more have more energy and carry through on things.
7. Surround yourself with influential, positive people, and dismiss those who drag you down. As we age, time becomes more and more precious and why waste it with those who don't contribute anything positive at all?

That's enough for now. Sure, we've all heard these things but how many of us are following all of them? If you are one of the few who is, then you are way ahead of the game and will have a brilliant 2009, congrats. If you are one of the many who is stuck in a rut, the choice is yours right now. You don't want to reflect back on a year, or worse, twenty years, thinking I coulda, shoulda, woulda.

Cheers,

EH

Is age getting the best of me?

December 28th and I ran in shorts and short sleeves this morning! The trails were a mess so I ran a very hilly road course and my legs felt great, unexpectedly. I keep overthinking this whole age thing. There are some days that remind me that I'm supposedly on the downward slope. This isn't a depressing thing, just the factuality that I started racing in my 20's and I'm now in my 40's. These are the days when I feel a bit more stiff than usual. When my gait seems three inches shorter than it used to and when I don't have that spring up the hills that I remember. I'm not looking for sympathy, trust me. I'm just jotting down my thoughts. I know that this is a bit self consuming and that's the one battle I continuously have with keeping a blog anyways, but maybe there is something of value in here. If not, then you just wasted a minute of your time reading this. (Straz, that's five minutes of your time - I know your reading level.)

I perform a lot of self analysis tests - tests that I have been using for years to compare and evaluate where my present fitness is. I recommend often that my athletes come up with a solid run course and bike course where they themselves can perform such tests. As much as these tests give me an idea of my present fitness AND health (you can have one and not the other), I also know that lab results and tests aren't always accurate in depicting certain information. Trust me, I've been doing this for over twenty years and have studied the analytical as well as the actual.


The main obstacle when evaluating ones form and fitness and health is in not lying to oneself. Lying in general is something that really bothers the hell out of me. I know it bothers most, but I really get overly irritated with it for some reason. It's the main thing I stress constantly to my kids. "we never lie", "be humble" and "always think about yourself in someone elses shoes" are the lessons that I hope become ingrained in them from my constant reminding(nagging). We all have some ability to lie to ourselves. Justifying is a form of this. This is a self-defense mechanism set up so that we don't get ourselves in to much trouble physically. Now I'm not talking about justifying or lying with non-physical things. There is a difference and it has to do with ethics. Convincing lots of people to invest their life savings with you and screwing them out of that money is a bit different than convincing yourself that you gave it your all and did the best race you could, don't you think? OK, I'm getting off topic.

I don't want to lie to myself, telling myself that I'm as fit as I was maybe two or ten years ago and convincing myself that I'm not on that downward slope. If I feel I can't run as fast as I once was able to, I'll deal with it. That brings me to today.

As I was out on my run, feeling good and thinking about the upcoming year and goals (I recently sent all my athletes a specific goal sheet asking them about their realistic goals and their dream or reach goals), I thought about whether I was setting the bar to high or to low. And with all the HR, wattage and time tests that I performed this past year, the one test that puts a smile on my face and proves to me that I can still put out my best times (this is if I had the amount of time I would need to put into training) is the Vermont Ride I did with Baker and Molson in August. After doing this ride since 97 every year, sometimes twice per year, I averaged my fastest time to date and felt strong the whole way there AND back. Reflecting on this gives me a lot of confidence knowing that this coming year is going to be an exciting one and one where I definitely reach!

Cheers,

EH

Boxing Day

I'm sitting here procrastinating. I want to get a run in, but I guess not that bad, as I'm wasting time instead of getting dressed to go. That's what a foodfest, sugar-filled, too-much-wine couple of days will do to ya. Up until Wednesday, I have been quite disciplined in regards to my nutrition the last month - something not so easy in December. I have a good routine that works for me that I'll share, out of boredom and the fact that strangely, I have been getting a bunch of inquiries about what I eat. Just keep in mind that this works for me.

4:45 am: Yoplait Vanilla Yogurt
8 oz of H2O w/ 2 teaspoons of organic apple cider vinegar
2 salmon oil supplements
2 packets of emergen-c
2 probiotic capsules

6am: coffee (black)

9 am: shake (frozen bananas, soy milk, peanut butter, whey protein, flax seed)

sometime during the day: apple w/ almond butter

Some other time during the day: hand full of honey oat pretzels

Dinner: something protein related w/ veggies and a glass of wine
2 more salmon oil supplements

Yesterday, I had none of the stuff on my routine menu really. I'm not going to search for the nutrition in what I ate and make any justifications. I did have a piece of coconut cream pie, a piece of chocolate cream pie, a bunch of cookies and chocolate chip biscotti. OK, now I feel gross again. I guess I just needed this reminder - time to go run. Maybe I'll even tack on a few extra miles. Tonight, I'm making home made pizza.

Cheers,

EH

Run Playlist Today

Ran 9 miles with some pick-ups thrown in at the 20 min and 40 min mark. I had a cool playlist rolling - at least I dig it. Here it is in order:

Malibu - Hole (great warm up song)
99 Problems - Jay-Z (but a bitch aint one)
Timebomb - Beck (good tempo to this song - helps you find the right pace)
Sex On Fire - Kings Of Leon (These guys are good, check em out if you havent yet)
When The World Is Running Down - Police (old school - great beat to run to)
Hello/Goodbye - Lupe Fiasco (just a cool song, period)
Something Is Not Right With Me - Cold War Kids (Lisa thinks the title is fitting for me)
Control - Puddle Of Mudd (try running easy to this one)
Times Like These - Foo Fighters (classic song, makes me feel good for some reason)
I’m Not Over - Carolina Liar (another good beat to run to. Duh, this is a run playlist)
Can’t Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers (Again, the title is fitting. The end of this song is just to cool)
Daft Punk Is Playing In My House - LCD Soundsystem (stupid song, but great to run to)
L.E.S. Artistes - Santogold (tempo of this song starts to ease my effort)
Lucky Man - The Verve (just a great, fitting song. A good one to get stuck in your head)

Cheers,

EH

Snow Running

Who needs snowshoes? Ken and I met at 7am this morning for our Sunday long run as usual. There were a lot less cars in the trail parking lot this morning. That's a shame - it was a beautiful morning to run. Connecticut got hammered with snow yesterday - a fluffy, yet thick snow. This is great to run in and makes for a different workout. It's definitely a strength run. The first thing most ask when they find I'm running in the trails in the snow is "don't your feet get wet and cold?" Once your feet are wet, they're wet. And they rarely get cold as long as your moving.

I hope others got a chance to get outside and run in this. it's amazingly peaceful in the woods and the white snow is unbelievably picturesque. It'd be a shame to be stuck indoors on a treadmill and miss out on these days that are few and far between.

Cheers,

EH

December Blues?

One year ago, I wrote about the lack of motivation many athletes experience during December. You can read it here: http://http//hodska.blogspot.com/2007/12/off-season-blues.html (I am not great on the computer and don't know how to make just the word "here" the link, so bare with me.)

I feel it's worth revisiting. In this post, I want to discuss mental attitude a bit more.


I always try to be dead honest with myself. I get nervous going into big events and experience self doubt sometimes. I remind myself of all the hard work I put in towards the upcoming event, and ask myself these questions: A) why am I doing this and B) what are my expectations? I then break B down a bit further asking myself what result will I truly be content with? Sometimes this can add to the nerves, but the main thing I try to avoid is making any pre-race excuses in case something goes wrong. Once we start doing this, we begin to set ourselves up for a disappointing race before we even get to the starting line. It's easy to feel outside expectations besides the ones that we place on ourselves. I feel them. The key thing is not try to justify anything before or after races. I remember posting a race journal and a friend and athlete I coached commented that I was awfully hard on myself. I went back and re-read my journal and found that I was being honest, given my expectations. When I was younger and first began racing, I had some good results in local races quickly and started placing race pressure on myself. If I had any set backs in training, something we all encounter throughout the season, I'd begin to make excuses in my head in case I didn't finish where I wanted to. My ego was getting the best of me which happens easily when you are young and naive - or stupid. I caught this quickly and thought that this negativism and focus on petting my ego was not only silly, but that it was going to sap the enjoyment and learning process out of racing. Another young friend of mine couldn't let this go and dropped out of triathlons back in the mid 90's. I saw him a few years ago, fat and bloated and regretting that he ever fell out of the sport.


After spilling all that out, the only thing that truly matters when I break it down is that I'm enjoying the process, testing myself, learning, and making friends. It's great to have high expectations. I certainly do and I think that setting high expectations, one's that we really need to reach for, is the way we'll learn the most about who we are. Remember that the higher the expectations, the higher the pressure will be that you place upon yourself and the more you will feel pre-race nerves and question yourself as to why you are doing this in the first place. But this is where, if we follow through, we take big chances and maybe reap big rewards in self discovery and fulfilment.

I recently asked the athletes I coach to complete some written homework in the form of listing their top ten limiters (a nice term for weaknesses). I have a few who listed mental toughness as their strength, where as I had listed mental toughness as one of their limiters in my personal notes/files on them. After thinking more about this, I realize that many of them are mentally tough in the fact that they won't give up or quit when the going gets tough in a race. When you are testing yourself by racing and being tested in that race by that little devil on your shoulder convincing you to quit or ease up or walk or lie down, not giving in exudes mental toughness. So after re-evaluating their mental toughness, I changed my notes to "lack of belief" for these individuals. They are very talented physically, yet train and race at a level that is within their safety zone. They are capable of racing at a higher level and yet don't believe they belong at that higher level. Guess what? The body follows the mind. You gotta believe!

I know it's only mid December and motivation may be a bit low right now. Re-evaluate your 2009 goals, or begin evaluating them. Write them down, set high standards and begin to believe that these standards are where you belong. Then get your ass out of the couch and out the door.

Cheers,

EH