Thursday, April 30, 2009
4/30/09 (Post-op +28) - Week 2, Day 4
Thursday
To Do:
Doctor's Appointment @ 2:00 p.m.
Tusculum Men's Soccer Meeting @ 4:00 p.m.
Fashion Show with Bonner Leaders for Charity @ 4:45 p.m. (Come support, for a good cause, and I could use some hecklers)
Biomechanical Analysis Paper (10 pages)
Biomechanical Analysis Powerpoint Presentation
Study For Final in Kinesiology
Busy, Busy, Busy... (possibly 3 nights with not very much/ no sleep??? Can't wait for Mississippi and the summer... Graduation in December
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Keeping up the Journey...
(www.gymjones.com)
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Character is what you do when you think no one is watching you.
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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
Aristotle
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Thanks for the faith Vin Beats... Much Love and TRU 4 LIFE
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The Hill
At first the gentle swell carries me... But gradually the Hill demands more and more. I have reached the end of what is possible. Now it is beyond what I can stand. The tempatation is to say, "Enough! This much is enough." But I will not give in.
I am fighting God. Fighting the limitations he gave me. Fighting the pain. Fighting the unfairness. Fighting all the evil in me and the world. And I will not give in. I will conquer this Hill; and I will conquer it alone.
- Unknown
"Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don't you have other things to do? … Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive."
- Fight Club
4/29/09 (Post-op +27) - Week 2, Day 3
Total: 1 Hour
"If you are not being criticized, you are not doing much."
- Johan Bruyneel
"The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
- Johan Bruyneel
"There is no such thing as exaggerated art. There is salvation only in extremes."
- Paul Gauguin
The first day we climbed 3000 vertical feet. Day two we put the hammer down and did another 5000. It started to hurt. Some people chase pain harder than others, consciously or subconsciously. Some use it to inflate their sense of self-importance. Others test their will by working through it. Each of us has a threshold someplace short of serious harm. Kevin's different. His definition of pain is more highly evolved than ours. He's willing to hurt himself permanently to get what he wants. In a conversation about calories, he told me that there is always something left to burn, "even if it's brain matter." Kevin is, without question, the best I've ever seen. From watching him, I learned to overcome myself.
- Mark Twight, elite alpinist in his book KISS OR KILL (Chapter: I Hurt, Therefore I Am)
The underlying suggestion posed by all resolutions is one of being in control, which I realize now, is not at all the case. I think we may train ourselves to be as adaptable as possible, to respond appropriately in each situation, but the ideal of controlling the outcome or steering events as they occur must be relinquished. Chaos rules it all.
- Mark Twight, elite alpinist in his book KISS OR KILL (Chapter: I Hurt, Therefore I Am)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Attitude is everything...
Professionals won't stop me. They can't break my spirit. Even if they are better than me now, I will outwork them. If you are not moving forward daily, you are stagnant or regressing. There is always someone else wanting to be on top. You must work to get on top. You must work to stay on top. I hope to use others' complacency against them... I will work when they will not. I will take the long road when they will take shortcuts. I will work when they are asleep, being lazy, basking in their accomplishments, hanging out with girls, getting trashed. Work is what I will do and I will love every minute of it. Punish the body to perfect the soul...
It's my time...
4/28/09 (Post-op +26) - Week 2, Day 2
Bed Time Last Night: 1:20 a.m.
Wake Up Time Today: 6:40 a.m.
Total Sleep Time: 5 hours, 20 minutes
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Session 1 (6:54 a.m. - 7:29 a.m.) ~ 35 minutes [Trail Run - Steady State]
- Run 4 laps (1 Mile)
- Run 4 laps while sprinting the width and jogging the lengths [8 x 80 m sprints] (1 Mile)
- Run 4 laps (1 Mile)
- Run 4 laps while sprinting the width and jogging the lengths [8 x 80 m sprints] (1 Mile)
- Run 4 laps (1 Mile)
Abs 400 abdominal exercises in a row
Bench Press 3 x 1 min, 30 sec rest @ 45# (34, 30, 28)
Arm Flexion (biceps) machine 2 x 1 min, 30 sec rest @ 30# (36, 32)
Arm Extension (triceps) machine 2 x 1 min, 30 sec @ 30 # (34, 29)
Shoulder Presses 2 x 1 min, 30 sec rest @ [2 x 10#] (25, 19)
The images below are a reminder that the future is not certain until it becomes the past. We can change our selves and change our circumstances. We can roll over and take it, or we can stand up and take it back. Often times, there is "truth in the attack" especially when directed at our own weaknesses, our shortcomings. It's a good time of the year to reflect. And to act.
Mark Twight
Pain is constant during hard effort.
“It always hurts when you go as hard as you can.”
- Keith Bontrager
Monday, April 27, 2009
4/27/09 (Post-op +25) Week 2, Day 1
"As long as the bar is high or distant there is no way but the hard way. How could it be any other way?"
- Mark Twight (Gym Jones)
It's All About the Journey...
Total: 150 Push-ups
Session #2 (5:50 a.m. - 6:27 a.m.) ~ 37 minutes
Early Morning Training... Time to hit the Trail...
Not much that is prettier than a Northeast Tennessee Sunrise...
Session #3 (3:10 p.m. - 3:40 p.m.) ~ 30 minutesMile 1 @ 6:00 min/mile pace - (HR: 163 BPM ~ 83% of HRMax)
Mile 2 @ 6:00 min/mile pace - (HR: 169 BPM ~ 86% of HRMax)
(1:30 rest)
Mile 3 @ 6:00 min/mile pace - (HR: 171 BPM ~ 87% of HRMax)
Mile 4 @ 6:00 min/mile pace - (HR: 174 BPM ~ 89% of HRMax)
Picture courtesy of old teammate and a great keeper... Zac Gibbons (a.k.a. the Dude)
Training Week In Review (1st Hard Week Post-op - 4/19-4/26)
Session #2: 5 mile Run (Steady State @ 7.0 mph) - 43 minutes
Session #2: 4 Mile Run (7.5, 10.0, 10.0, 10.0 mph) - 26 minutes
Session #3: Ballwork (w/others) - 45 minutes
Session #2: 3 Mile Run (Steady State @ 8.0 mph) - 23 minutes
Session #2: Bike Ride (26 Miles) - 100 minutes
Session #2: Ballwork (w/Bruno) - 45 minutes
TOTALS
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Running - 21 miles
Fartlek Run - 24 minutes
Biking - 64 miles
Ballwork - 2 days (Total time: 90 minutes)
Strength - 1 circuit (Total: 150 push-ups)
Scrimmage - 1 day (Time: 75 minutes)
Areas for Improvement
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- More Ballwork
- More Strength work and Abdominal Work
- More Time Pushing Pavement (i.e. Running)
- Use the Bike as a Supplement
- More Small-Sided Games
- More Stretching
- Utilize Ice Baths and other recovery methods
- Get more Sleep to aid in recovery
- Eat Properly
Punish your body to perfect your Soul...
TWITCHING
Twitching with Twight
BY MARK TWIGHT
What's your problem? I think I know. You see it in the mirror every morning: temptation and doubt hip to hip inside your head. You know it's not supposed to be like this. But you drank the Kool-Aid and dressed yourself up in someone else's life.
You're haunted because you remember having something more. With each drag of the razor you ask yourself why you (----) your blood into another man's cup. Working at the job he offered, your future is between his thumb and forefinger. And the necessary accessories, the proclamations of success you thought gave you stability provide your boss security. Your debt encourages acquiescence, the heavy mortgage makes you polite.
Aren't you sick of being tempted by an alternative lifestyle, but bound by chains of your own choosing? Of the gnawing doubt that the college graduate, path of least resistance is the right way for you - for ever? Each weekend you prepare for the two weeks each summer when you wake up each day and really ride, or climb; the only imperative being to go to bed tired. When booming thermals shoot you full of juice and your Vario shrieks 7m/sec, you wonder if the lines will pop. The risk pares away life's trivia. Up there, sucking down the thin cumulus, the earth looks small, the boss even smaller, and you wish it could go on forever. But a wish is all it will ever be.
Because the ground is hard. Monday morning is harsh. You wear the hangover of your weekend rush under a strict and proper suit and tie. You listen to NPR because it's inoffensive, PFC: Politically (-------) Correct. Where's the counter-cultural righteousness that had you flirting with Bad Religion and the vintage Pistols tape over the weekend? On Monday you eat frozen food and live the homogenized city experience. But Sunday you thought about cutting your hair very short. You wanted a little more volume and wondered how out of place you looked in the Sub Pop Music Store. Flipping through the import section, you didn't recognize any of the bands. KMFDM? It stands for Kill Mother (-------) Depeche Mode. Didn't you know? How could you not?
Tuesday you look at the face in the mirror again. It stares back, accusing. How can you get by on that one weekly dose? How can you be satisfied by the artifice of these experiences? Why should your words mean anything? They aren't learned by heart and written in blood. If you cannot grasp the consciousness-altering experience that real mastery of these disciplines proposes, of what value is your participation? The truth is pointless when it is shallow. Do you have the courage to live with the integrity that stabs deep?
Use the mirror to cut to the heart of things and uncover your true self. Use the razor to cut away what you don't need. The life you want to live has no recipe. Following the recipe got you here in the first place:
Mix one high school diploma with an undergrad degree and a college sweetheart. With a whisk (or a whip) blend two cars, a poorly built house in a cul de sac, and fifty hours a week working for a board that doesn't give a (----) about you. Reproduce once. Then again. Place all ingredients in a rut, or a grave. One is a bit longer than the other. Bake thoroughly until the resulting life is set. Rigid. With no way out. Serve and enjoy.
"You see your face reflected there in a sweating brow, you hate what you see, but what can be done when there's no way out, no way out?"
The Chameleons, "Intrigue in Tangiers"
But there is a way out. Live the lifestyle instead of paying lip service to the lifestyle. Live with commitment. With emotional content. Live whatever life you choose honestly. Give up this renaissance man, dilettante bull(----) of doing a lot of different things (and none of them very well by real standards). Get to the guts of one thing; accept, without reservation or rationalization, the responsibility of making a choice. When you live honestly, you can not separate your mind from your body, or your thoughts from your actions.
"If you really want to hurt them and their children not yet born tell them the truth always".
Henry Rollins, from the book See a Grown Man Cry
Tell the truth. First, to yourself. Say it until it hurts. Learn the reality of your own selfishness. Quit living for other people at the expense of your own self, you're not really alive. You live in the land of denial - and they say the view is pretty a long as you remain asleep.
Well it's time to WAKE THE (----) UP!
So do it. Wake up. When you drink the coffee tomorrow, take it black and notice it. Feel the caffeine surge through you. Don't take it for granted. Use it for something. Burn the Grisham books. Sell the bad CDs. Mariah Carey, Dave Mathews and N Sync aren't part of the soundtrack where you're going.
Cut your hair. Don't worry about the gray. If you're good at what you do, no one cares what you look like. Go to the weight room. Learn the difference between actually working out and what you've been doing. Live for the Iron and the fresh air. Punish your body to perfect your soul. Kick the habit of being nice to everyone you meet. Do they deserve it? Say "no" more often.
Quit posturing at the weekly parties. Your high pulse rate, your 5.12s and quick time on the Slickrock Trail don't mean (----) to anybody else. These numbers are the measuring sticks of your own progress; show, don't tell. Don't react to the itch with a scratch. Instead, learn it. Honor the necessity of both the itch and the scratch. But a haircut and a new soundtrack do not a modern man make. As long as you have a safety net you act without commitment. You'll go back to your old habits once you meet a little resistance. You need the samurai's desperateness and his insanity.
Burn the bridge. Nuke the foundation. Back yourself up against a wall. Have an opinion one way or the other, get off the fence and rip it up. Cut yourself off so there is no going back. Once you're committed the truth will come out. You ask about security? What you need is uncertainty. What you need is confusion; something that forces you to reinvent yourself, a whip to drive you harder.
"I never try anything - I just do it. Want to try me?
White Zombie, "Thunder Kiss"
In Dune, Frank Herbert called it "the attitude of the knife,” cut off what's incomplete and say “now it has finished, for it has ended there.” So finish it, and walk away, forward. Only acts undertaken with commitment have meaning. Only your best effort matters. Life is a Meritocracy, with death as the auditor. Inconsistency, incompetence and lies are all cut short by that final word. Death will change you if you can't change yourself.
“If I can change one, then I can change two. If I can change two, then I can change four. If I can change four, then I can change eight. If I can change eight, then I can change.”
One Minute Silence, "If I Can Change"
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The look...
and here is a picture of the potential... (a.k.a. High School Graduation)
Also, considering a beard (yes, probably a patchy one)... here is a shot of the beard project that lasted a month...
My Bearded Inspiration... The Legend... Todd Elkins
4/26/09 (Post-op +24)
Stay humble... work harder... never brag... be objective... it is never as good as it should be...
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As a society we don’t test because we don’t want to know. We put the ball on a tee to be certain of a hit. Participation earns a trophy. Podiums have five steps. There is no penalty for losing. This, when virtually every coach and player and thinker agree that losing teaches the lessons; while winning results from having learned (and applied) those lessons. Without tests or boundaries how is one supposed to grow? When everyone is a winner who is left to learn the lessons? Conscious rejection of objective measuring sticks and periodic tests suggests the decline and fall of mankind. Today we’re a species of pretenders, and wanna-bes, and (in this country) obesity. I say bring on the killer cockroaches and whoever survives can start this party over.
Martijn Maaskant, Paris-Roubaix
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I saw this on the Gym Jones website and liked it...
Self-Delusion
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Session #1 (4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.)
Went to the IPF with Bruno and we did some ballwork. Started with some jogging and dynamic stretching and then did passing and receiving. Started with some one touch passing and then two touches with a move the ball away from pressure touch as well as receiving with different parts of the foot (i.e. sole, inside, outside). After, we knocked some longer balls. The mesh felt pretty good for the longer balls and didn't notice it at all until the end of the hour knocking a few more of the longer balls. Going to get together hopefully for an hour each night with Bruno to get ready for Mississippi and get my touch back.
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Tusculum College's Stadium
Saturday, April 25, 2009
4/25/09 (Post-op +23)
IMPORTANT
Why Fitness is Important
BY MARK TWIGHT (Gym Jones)
What you know does not matter - what you do matters. Physical training produces physical memories - not simply muscle memory but a psychophysical imprint, knowledge that is instinctual rather than intellectual. This is useful knowledge. Automatic (instinctive) action and reaction is always faster and more energy efficient than intellectually induced action or reaction. There's already plenty to think about in confrontational situations so any response that does not require conscious thought spares intellectual energy for decisions and actions that do demand it. Train yourself to the point that particular, common actions and responses may be executed automatically.
Any deficiency in physical fitness affects confidence. When an individual realizes he does not have the fitness or skill to accomplish a particular task, or that he cannot use his tools to their utmost self-doubt weakens both intellectual and physical abilities. Flagging confidence limits flexibility, preventing appropriate adaptation to various situations. Confidence allows the audacity of original thought. Again, train such a variety of energy systems (types of fitness) that confidence in the face of any challenge is reflexive.
Strength + Confidence + Flexibility = Strategy (the ability to use it).
Physical fitness relative to the mountain environment or to any situation (physical and psychological) can have positive or negative effects on the individual, his teammates, and the overall strategy chosen to accomplish a particular goal. Get fit and stay fit to accomplish a variety of tasks. The goal of physical training can be summed up in one phrase, “to make yourself as indestructible as possible.” The harder a man is to kill, the longer he will remain effective, as a climber, a soldier, or what ever.
Friday, April 24, 2009
4/24/09 (Post-op +22)
4/23/09 (Post-op +21)
I decided to change things up and filled up my bike tires on my Giant OCR3 6000 that my best friend, Charles Jenkins, got for me. I went on a 26 mile bike ride on the road bike and got back at 8:10 p.m. I stopped at the 13 mile mark which was Grandview Elementary School @ Bob Shanks Road. The scenery in Northeast Tennessee is absolutely beautiful. The hills around here are no joke either. Got a few honks from friends passing, so that was fun. Looked at the map and mad it halfway to Johnson City, which is 26 miles away. Would like to build up to be able to do a 50 and 100 mile ride this summer... No reason in particular, just to say I've done it. Here are a few pictures from the ride. The pictures don't do it justice and, except for the first one, they were all taken during the ride...
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
4/22/09 (Post-op +20)
Here is a great picture of back home in California done by my good friend, Peter Schweffel. HERE is a link to his photography. He told me he is working on it part-time, aside from his full-time job, trying to get his photography business going, so check it out and help support. ENJOY...
Got together with the guys on the team in the IPF (Indoor Practice Facility) and knocked the ball around. There were enough guys to play 7 v 7 with keepers. I was able to get a pretty good run in and even knocked a couple of longer balls and took some easy shots on goal. The mesh definitely felt tight as I was playing, but that's to be expected when you are 20 days after the doctors cutting your abdomen open. I have a sweet scar though, so it was definitely worth it haha. I was able to get up to about 90~95% for sprinting and my touch was surprisingly good for being a month (plus) without touching the ball regularly. This gave me motivation to keep working hard and getting ready for the upcoming PDL season down with the Mississippi Brilla. Played for about an hour and a half.
Zeitgeist
I watched the movie Zeitgeist tonight. Simon, an RA and very good cross country runner hosted the film in The Perk (the student coffee shop on campus). There was a turn out of about 15 people who ended up staying for the entirety of the movie. The movie is very thought provoking and it tries to make people challenge presently held beliefs. The topics in the first movie include Religion, 9/11, and the monetary system and its possible links to warfare. I could see how many people could get very offended by their beliefs getting questioned. Many people take things at face value and do not challenge their faith in religion, government, etc. I am of the opinion that a person's faith in things and the world will become stronger by the inquiry into the value system that a person has and really trying to understand the foundation for these things.
Listening to Cold Desert and Knocked Up by Kings of Leon.
If you want to watch... Here are some links
(Part I) Zeitgeist: The Movie
(Part II) Zeitgeist: The Addendum
Zeitgeist Director Peter Joseph Interview Part 1 of 3
Zeitgeist Director Peter Joesph Interview Part 2 of 3
Zeitgeist Director Peter Joseph Interview Part 3 of 3
Not everyone agrees with Zeitgeist... Here are some people who claim to refute
Zeitgeist Exposed and Refuted
Zeitgeist Response (Youtube playlist)
Training (4/21/09)
Went to the TC fitness session at the IPF (Indoor Practice Facility) at 2:00. The session was a good one and my body felt good. We started with a 5-10 minute warm-up on our own. The mesh felt strong during the workout and I didn't feel the right hamstring at all. Here is the breakdown of the workout...
-- 8 minutes - Ladder Drills
- Go through the ladder and there is a cone 5 yards away at the end of the ladder to the left, straight ahead, and the right. Did different footwork drills through the ladder followed with a sprint to the cone. My sprints were about 85% as I wasn't sure how the hernia repair was going to hold up. It felt strong and I gradually picked up intensity.
-- 24 minute Fartlek Run
- 8 minutes - Ran inside around the indoor facility. Very strong pace (estimate would be about a 5:30~6:00 minute/mile pace) - Passed people regularly and ran very hard. Felt very good.
- 8 minutes - Interspersed jogging with agility and sprints (i.e. up, down, shuffle left and right, forward roll, all followed with a sprint) - the sprints were slower than a sprint as my body was fatigued.
- 8 minutes - Ran inside around the indoor facility. Strong Pace (estimate about a 6:15~6:30 minute/mile pace) - Was very fatigued and tired, but wasn't tight at all. Ran so hard on the last part that I felt like puking, but I held it in.
3 Mile Run on Treadmill (23 minutes)
Mile 1 @ 8.0 mph (7:30 mile pace) - 148 bpm (75% of HRMax)
Mile 2 @ 8.0 mph (7:30 mile pace) - 149 bpm (76% of HRMax)
Mile 3 @ 8.0 mph (7:30 mile pace) - 150 bpm (76% of HRMax)
- Finished the Run with a light stretching session
NOTES: Run felt good. Kept the mileage short as the right hamstring started to tighten up on Mile 3.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
4/21/09 (Post-op Day 19)
Listening to Raindrops, Voodoo, and Jealoso by Pitbull at the moment...Woke up and got dressed quickly for class. Ate an egg and cheese sandwich before showing up to class. In class we had our first test and it was probably the toughest test I've taken. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that I didn't study too much last night. Got some sleep and saw I Heart Huckabees, which was really good. I especially liked all of the philosophical banter in the movie... stretched the mind and it was funny. The commentary on the dvd was especially thought-provoking and provided some great insight. Now, I'm back to grab a quick nap and then debating on whether or not to try some sprints with the team.
The right hamstring is very tight today, and I realized that cause could be from a few different sources. I've been putting a lot of load on my body, very rapidly, and it has not had time to adjust. OR... I have been stretching more, so that could have increased the length and strain on the muscles. OR... I forgot to stretch after kicking the ball around last night. I don't think its too much the last one because it was feeling a bit tight before that. I'm debating on whether to take the day off and rest it completely today, or just do ballwork today, or just push through the pain. I guess we'll see...
Also, the area around the surgery is a little bit tight and tender as well. I'm going to see how I feel after the nap and that will determine how I train today...
Monday, April 20, 2009
Today's Workouts...
Mile 1 @ 7.5 mph - 140 bpm (71% of HRMax) [8:00 min/mile pace]
Mile 2 @ 10.0 mph - 168 bpm (86% of HRMax) [6:00 min/mile pace]
Mile 3 @ 10.0 mph - 165 bpm (84% of HRMax) [6:00 min/mile pace]
Mile 4 @ 10.0 mph - 169 bpm (86% of HRMax) [6:00 min/mile pace]
NOTES: The run felt good. I know I use the term "good" loosely and use it to describe a lot of the feelings I have when I train, but it means I was in the groove, wasn't feeling too tired (felt winded on the last 1/2 mile), and was in no pain. I started off feeling a bit tight in the region, but it loosened up pretty quickly into the 1st mile. I stretched thoroughly after I completed my run and 3 minute walking cool-down @3.0 mph.
Dr. William H Brown, III has a hernia recovery program that he has designed to get athletes ready to go in 18 days. I have to give him major props because I sent him an email on his website asking advice on my hernia recovery. He not only emailed me back, but phoned me all the way from San Jose, CA and gave me his advice. Dr. Brown, you are a saint, and I really appreciate the advice. I have been following his program as well as a few others that I have synthesized into a Scott Lucky personal hernia rehab/recovery program.
