Plastic h2o bottles=dumb

  First off, I rarely preach and I am not perfect in my buying habits diet coke being my absolute stupid weakness.

 This graphic though really shows how stupid it is to continually buy cases of bottled water. I know the last time we bought water in this household was due to hurricane/ tropical storm Irene.

 Anyway here you go

fun pic

 I stole a pic from a KettleBell Concept fbook post. It shows a toddler squatting and how we all
start out knowing how to properly move but as we get older we goof it all up.

 Whether its heel-toe running, exercising with machines instead of relying on the bodies ability to stabilize
itself.  We no longer listen to what our bodies are trying to tell us. Aches and pains are responses to a negative situation.

  A sore back could mean that your posture stinks and that you let your core get soft.

 Knees ache when you walk? Your calves could be to tight. Do you take 5 minutes for yourself to stretch out your over worked muscles.

 Look at this kid or any kid for that matter they can squat for hours with no sense of pain or discomfort.

stop running start looking.

Hey ya'll.

I went for a run this afternoon and I did a ton of things i usually don't do. This led me to such a breakthrough its unbelievable.

It started out normally, headed up a usual path my the surrounding were as beautiful as ever but ny mead was filled with noise. I am in a huge transitional phase as far as how i want to progress in the health and wellness industry. Lots going on....

I headed down a turn that I have been down hundreds of times before but then I looked at a path that I pass all the time yet never run down, maybe twice the entire time i have been running in the Greenbelt.

A new trail, relatively at least and I see a new path, good.

Like all the trails it blends back into familiar territory but its from a new direction so i'm still seeing things differently. I power up a nice hill and i just start yelling, deep primal yells to force myself to get up this hill. I power up it and start flying down the back end until I hit another intersection. This decision i believe will shape the next 6 months to a year for me it was that important.

Turn left and go back up the rec. center, go right and head towards Moses Mountain, I went straight. I ran straight ahead, then my legs stopped. You see my head was still swarmed with all these thoughts and  I just couldn't find my rhythm so I stopped, I stopped running and I began walking. I turned off my watch i took off my head phones and I walked through beautiful fall foliage.

Heres where I started see where I was going. I walked through the trails, I walked off the trails. I decided that although working for myself, doing what I do and where I want to go is hard, extremely hard but i do love every second of it. I get frustrated when i am not doing more, I want to be busier. I want to help more people. This has led me to to crux of what I do am who I am.

A leader.

To be a personal trainer, or a fitness professional, coach, consultant or whatever you want to call yourself what you are at the heart of it is a leader.

You set the example, people put there faith in you. This is a very powerful position to be in and I take it very seriously.

So as I move fwd. and transform my fitness business into a Wellness program I will become not just a leader for my clients but for this industry.

I am a leader.

Do your duty or do some burpees.

  In reality my clients are all well meaning people. They lead busy lives and have loving families.
I enjoy going to there homes, and spending the hour or so there. These pleasantries have led to some confusion I fear.

  You see a big part of my job is knowing what is going on in my client's lives and whether or not this news has any impact on there health physical or otherwise. So these few minutes of conversation although pleasant have a purpose. When we are half way through with our time together and you now mention how you strained your back the other day and its starting to hurt again I get frustrated because I asked you first thing how are things going, how do you feel, anything i need to know?

  Ok then, how's your food journal and I get a scribble of paper and not the sheets I gave you. The breakdown is not complete and entire days are missing! Your now doing burpees, a lot of them.

  If your a client of mine and you do not keep up with your food journal heed this warning. Either write down your food so we can discuss your nutritional habits or be prepared to do a lot of burpees in many different variations and then you will complete that days workout.

Goofy's race and a half challenge .......today's training run

Well I had plans to get up at 5:50am get my gear on make ashake and meet a group for a 25k trail run. Then life got in the way. Here's what I posted on the facebook.

 Ugh what a rough start to the day. All the girls were up coughing and hacking last night. Poor baby Lucia kept me up till 4am, I missed my alarm for the early morning trail run, sorry again Matt. Woke up way later than I wanted but grabbed happy threw him into the truck and got a good 7+ in. I would have done more but a 10k is happy's limit.

 I will make up the distance tonight with a 10 mile LSD run.

  I am bothered that I had others wait for me. I am used to the fact that I had to alter my plans.

Goofy's race and a half challenge .......today's training run

 Ah running, the process of continually putting one foot in front of the other faster than you would normally walk.

 Today was a marker day I did 6 miles at 58:45 nothing great, my right hamstring was feeling odd so I pulled back for a couple of miles. The path was a nice mix of flat, long hills, and a nice long downhill to finish it up.

  I am going to run this exact route every thur. to track my progress as Goofy training '11 rolls on. I will be interested to see my time in a month when i drop some lb.s and add some speed. Exciting, that wasn't sarcasm. I am excited.

sowing the seeds

Well today started off fine, got annoying, a tad depressing then uplifting. Funny how that happens.

 I went to a seminar last night about SEO search engine optimization. Basically how do I get my website to pop up one the top google searches.

  It was very informative and energizing BUT he laid out so much info that I have no idea where to begin.

  Actually i do, the website, its stale the look is to dark the content is eh I need a complete overhall and I need it to be relevant. Right now its nothing, sadly thats the truth, but owning up to the truth is when you begin making positive changes.

I was annoyed with my online presence that I took Lucia out on the deck to enjoy this overcast but gorgeous day. Lo and behold what do I see my fig tree is flush with absolutely delicious figs. Finally after three years I have a fig tree that is bearing fruit. A small, simple, victory.

Boy i feel terrific today.

 My legs do anyways and why do you ask. Diligence that is why.  If I run longer than a 10k and most runs these days I am then I make sure to do a cool down walk right after I run I consume something that is protein heavy to help with recovery and when I get home after i shower I roll and then I slap on full leg compression sleeves that Danielle lovingly got me for Father's Day.

  Doing these simple things have helped reduce any stiffness or aches which I used to be prone to get.

  BTW my feet feel great today as if I didn't run at all that's another great testimony for the Connect.

BROOKS PURE CONNECT, MY REVIEW...... first real run

  Okay were back. I took baby Lucia strapped her into the jogging stroller (which I still don't love, it's more of a necessary evil) and made my way to the bike path along Forest Hill rd.

  I parked at the Costco and headed up the path. First thing I noticed is that I no longer felt the arch within the shoe. I also noticed that I was landing completely mid foot which is where I like to land but if I didn't flick my feet up as if i was in VFF my calves would start screaming. I take this as a positive because I immediately self corrected my form and posture.

  One trip up and down the path is 3.5 miles. The first half is primarily uphill and then of course the return is a nice run back down. The path has some light turns and since its crushed gravel its a nice mix of terrian, elevation, scenery etc...plus it will be part of the 50k in dec.  I believe so I want to be very familiar with it.

  So right away I liked the feel of the shoe. It is light, responsive, and generally disappeared while I ran. By that I mean that I never had to think about the shoe, it fit extremely well my feet felt great during the entire run. I did keep looking at them just because they were new and in doing so I noticed that since my feet are pretty wide and the toe box is a tad narrow for my foot I could see my foot blowing out a side but i don't blame the shoe for that I gots wide feet. The narrow toe box didn't cause any discomfort and I don't think it will. I think my feet will just mash out the sides like they do with most shoes.

  Overall I'm glad I bought them. They are exactly what I wanted and expected. One thing I am curious about is the size of the runner these shoes were designed for. As a runner whose at least 50 to 75lbs. bigger that what a prototypical runner looks like I know I'm not generally in the mind of the shoe designer. This is my cross to bear I suppose.

  The question now is do I try the Pure Grit for the 50k or stick to my tried and true Cascadias.

 

 

Evolving, and growing is the nature of things.

 As the S.I.K.B.C. continues to evolve and grow it has led me to another and I believe more complete philosophy. Corona Wellness Center will be an all encompassing program. Not only will it help those with losing weight and strengthen the body but also nutritional counseling and lifestyle coaching.

  Stress reduction, quitting smoking, curbing destructive habits, and learning to focus on positive, constructive habits

BROOKS PURE CONNECT, MY REVIEW...... day one

  Well, Fed Ex dropped of the Pure Connect today and I immediately slapped them on. First off, and I knew this from trying them on over the weekend the arches are high higher than the Green Silence but not uncomfortable.

  The toe box is a little narrow for my paddle of a foot but its not constricting and it already feels like it will stretch out nicely. I walked around lower manhattan and sat through a two hour seminar wearing them and they felt great the whole time. In fact it didn't feel like I was wearing anything at all which to me is a great sign that these shoes are for me.

  Tomorrow I run and I will give a true report on these bad boys.

Gorgeous Day here I am inside.

Today (Oct. 5th) is an absolutely perfect day, sunny, warm, awesome.

 I spent the majority of it inside due to a horrendous headache and Lucia not napping til late.

 I am now vowing to force myself and the dogs, kids outside if its nice. Wasting these days is frustrating.

 On a related note my new Brooks Connect just arrived so tmw. we are all going for a long run no matter what.

Goofy's race and a half challenge .......today's training run

I learned something today.

Running with a jogging stroller is annoying but doable.

Running with my dog Happy is actually a generally pleasant experience especially on the trails.

Running with the dog while pushing the stroller is an awful experience that I am not likely to do again anytime soon.

More importantly today marks the beginning of my training for the Dec. 10th 50k trail race here on Staten Island.

More focused, disciplined running. An even tighter nutritional program.

BROOKS PURE CONNECT, MY REVIEW...... A PAIR COMING MY WAY

 I just ordered a pair of the new Brooks Pure Connect and I am stoked.


 I went to a local sporting good store and tried on the three road shoes. I will try to Grit whrn its time to replace my Cascadia, it will be hard to stop wearing that style they have been so reliable but we will see.

  Anywho back to the topic at hand I slipped on the Connect and was surprised by the snugness around the arch for me. I immediately thought this doesn't feel so minimal, jogged around a bit then put on the Cadence. Initially i thought this feel a bit better than the Connect but after jogging around a bit It didn't pop as much as the Connect did.

  Then comes the Flow, initially I felt that these would be for me. The Flow is the middle ground between the Connect and the Cadence. I liked the Flow the least out of the three it felt a bit cloppy and the little bumps around the outside front made it awkward to land upon. The Flow was out.

  I put the Connect back on and it seemed to blend in very well with my foot the second time. i really liked it my only concern was/is that my foot is wide and I am bursting out of the sides of my Green Silence but there seems to be more to the side of the Connect than the Silence so we shall see.

  One more time with both the Cadence and the Connect and I was sure that the Connect was for me.
Since I had an Amazon gift card I came home and bought the Connect. When it gets here I will retire the Green Silence which I truly loved except for my pinkie toe pushing through the sides.