Fall like a kid again

It's that time of year, again. Time to start fitting booties to shoes, vests are starting to give way to thick baselayers and jackets, and my regular gloves just aren't quite cutting it.

It's cold outside.

It also doesn't get light until pretty late in the morning and I'm aching to be outside.

Who flipped the switch?

But all this confusing transition brings some spectacular shades of leaves and open fields of view through otherwise dense foliage. Now I can see through the bare thicket of trees to the open farmers plot or meadows of wild grass and flowers still clinging to the last vestiges of warmth from the sun. The vineyards are mostly barren, their fruit plucked and already well on its way to becoming a sweet fermented treat in the spring.

Harvests are in, nothing but wide open views.

The crowds are changed too. Only the hardiest of the locals venture out into the cold morning air. Most are thickly bundled, the Nordic walkers in their snazzy tights and jackets, the cyclists sporting facemasks, neck gaiters, jackets and full length bibs. For some on the bike it's a chance to show off their full kit, sporting their favorite team's logos from beanie capped head to neoprene-bootied toes. For others it's just a nice break from the sweltering heat and humidity of summer.

And then there's that one unique pleasure that only comes once a year.

Riding through the leaves.

There's nothing that can transform a grown adult back into an elementary school child quicker than a pile of dry leaves just waiting for a bounding leap. The sharp crackle of crushing foliage and the cushion of compressed leaves underfoot is incomparable. Add to it the speed of racing along in a human powered machine, the breeze rushing across your face and scenery whizzing by. Oh joyous, crisply crackling, crunching leaves!

I am instantly a child on my bike, Mickey Mouse blue and tin bell singing as I pump my legs through the cold European fall. Stone sidewalks line the pavement partially obscured beneath the autumnal deluge. The stinging wind bites at my uncovered face, tears form in the corners of my eyes in the cold, but I'm smiling and laughing as I point my bike straight to the next pile of dry untouched leaves.

I'm not the only out to enjoy this brief window before winter sets in.

It's a brief respite from the imposed pressures of adulthood. Too often the days become one dogged march into another, responsibilities at work bleed into chores at home. Into the melee of an already busy schedule comes the challenge of finding time to ride. The single weekend ride, if that's all, suddenly becomes burdened with its own requirements. Enough hills for climbing, intervals for speed, distance for endurance. Which route will complement this week's training plan? The ride isn't fun anymore, it's another chore to be done on the checklist of life.

But sometimes nature changes the game and brings moments of clarity to the overburdened. Driving through piles of leaves is a reminder of why I began riding again after so many years and why I continue to ride every weekend. The freedom of traveling farther than my feet can carry me using the power of my own body and all the things to see on the ride! The rolling hills covered with grapevines and cornfields, the rows of plowed earth, the quaint Italian villas and neighborhoods, and the random collection of walkers, runners, cyclists, and even roller-skiers and -bladers on the roads and paths all make the ride worth while. For a few hours every weekend I am transported away from work, away from home, away from the busy stores and congested highways to a place of solitude.

Sure, sometimes it's important to ride for training, but it's important to enjoy what you do as well. Otherwise, what's the point? You can train as hard as you like, but if there's no enjoyment then there's no passion and the training becomes just a means to an end. Take a break from the burden of being grown up and remember the joy and fun that first inspired the running or riding.

Soon enough, the leaves will all be swept up and carted off. The mornings will be harsher, the roads covered in ice and the fields in snow. My pursuits will turn indoors to avoid the slippery roads, and I'll wait impatiently for spring to lift the cold imposing shroud of winter from our shoulders.

But this morning I'm just a kid on a bike, crashing through the leaves.

Review of the Mountain Athletics Training Program and Mobile App or How to Get Beast in 6 Weeks!

It's time to get down to business.

After a year of new adventures that included leaving behind familiar stomping grounds and exploring new places while struggling to stay fit on the go, Char and I stopped moving around and settled down. We could finally try and answer one burning question:

How are we going to stay motivated and get ourselves into prime shape to enjoy our favorite activities this summer?

We needed a plan, something that would keep us on track to meet our goals, included simple metrics to judge our progress, was challenging enough to keep us interested, and simple enough that we wouldn't be too intimidated or confused to start something new. It had to hook us early on and keep us on track long enough to see results. And there had to be results. How else was I going to get my gorgeous beach bod ready in time for summer?

There are plenty of workout plans to choose from in the wide world of the web (see what I did there?) and many that can be tailored to specific fitness goals.

But what were our goals? I wanted to be a better cyclist, to maximize my score on the Army Physical Fitness Test, and to be an all around beast. Plus, I wanted to start training and preparing for a Half Ironman Triathlon in 2016. Char wanted to lose weight, build muscle strength and improve her endurance capacity. Our goals didn't seem to synch very well at first and I realized that we needed to start with a foundation before we moved on to something tailored to our individual goals.

A cursory search of online plans led me to the Mountain Athletics app available from North Face.

It's basic plans seemed limited in scope; you're either a skier, climber or a runner, basically all the sports that North Face sells equipment for, but the interface was simple and straightforward. I wasn't ready to be one of those gym rats carrying a notebook with complicated charts and diagrams to follow while trying to get my swoll on. One of the six basic plans is titled "General Fitness" and we decided it was exactly what Char and I were looking for. Plus, the app was free so we weren't investing much capitol into the adventure.

The program was fairly simple. Mondays and Fridays were heavy on weight training, Tuesdays and Thursdays are core strengthening and closely resemble a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) or Crossfit workout. Wednesday is a moderate run and the weekends are for resting. Though, I usually sneak in a long distance run or bike ride.

My first 6 weeks,
all summed up.

The workouts themselves were not overly complex. Each consisted of a warm-up phase, usually three or four exercises repeated for four rounds, then two sessions dedicated to a specific capability, (i.e., lower body, unilateral, or upper body strength) with specified repetitions or time.

The beauty of the program was the application interface and its ability to keep you on track. First, set up your profile, then choose the workout program. Each day you hit the start button and follow along with the basic instructions. There are video links if you need to see a workout before you perform it (very important in the beginning). Each week, after completing the daily workouts, you earn a new badge. It's a little motivation to not skip a workout and entices you to stay dedicated to the program.

The workout plan was the same every week, with only certain exercises increasing in repetition or duration. I thought this would become monotonous after a couple weeks, instead, it lent some predictability and consistency to my workouts. I knew what to expect and, because the workouts didn't change from week to week, could actually measure my progress over a short amount of time. From week to week I could see my bench press reps becoming easier, even adding a little weight and needing less assistance from a spotter. Gradually, I chose a heavier dumbbell or kettle bell, and added a lot more weight to my box squats. The repetition also helped us both to improve our form and focus on doing the workouts properly to prevent injuring ourselves.

We cheated occasionally, adding a swim workout in the evening, and we always ran farther and faster than the planned "moderate pace" during the Wednesday run. But what's life without a few broken rules? Otherwise, we stuck to the plan, which also gave us another added benefit. Since the workout program was consistent week to week, we used it as a control against another experiment involving diet and supplements. I'll save the results for another blog post, but we were able to try different pre-workout and recovery powders and actually notice a difference in how they affected our performance against the routine workouts.

A constant struggle with Char and I is the delta between our fitness abilities. Too often, one of us is stronger than the other in an activity and we struggle to stay together. I ride circles around her on the bike and she laps me in the pool, literally. But with this program, we could do the same workout everyday, together, albeit with different weights or sizes of boxes. On days that we worked out separately we compared our sessions together later, keeping us both on track and motivated to keep going.

Not everything was perfect, and there's always room for improvement. The beauty of the app was its simplicity, but sometimes it was a little too simple. As badges become unlocked they're viewable from the "Badges" page, but there's no interaction or ability to see what triggered them. The "Progress" page allows you to preview upcoming workouts, but not view past sessions at all. One minor glitch that I found annoying was the difficulty in controlling my music while running the app. Once I started a song and reopened the app, it paused the music. Luckily I can control my music using my headphones, but it was a minor nuisance. The last downside to the app is that once you have selected a program, you can't preview any of the other programs without quitting the current one. So, if you're three weeks into the program, and decide to check out what the other plans offer, you lose those three weeks of progress.

There's also no link between the website and the app, so you can't go online and view your progress or preview upcoming workouts on a regular computer. The website itself changes constantly. When we first started, you could preview all the fitness programs to see what the workout plans consisted of. Maybe it's North Face's way of protecting proprietary information and driving folks to use their app, but there were a few times when I wanted to see what the other programs looked like and show them to some of my coworkers to entice them into it.

Overall, the app was great, did exactly what it was designed to do, and my complaints are mostly nitpicking and personal preference. Neither Char nor I had difficulty in figuring out the controls, as they were simple and intuitive, and never experienced any strange glitches or technical problems other than my small and easily overcome music issue.

A great and simple interface is nice. A good workout plan that kept us hooked and dedicated is also good. But what about results? Where's my beach-ready abs and swoll guns?

As with any fitness goal, true results take time, and six weeks is a pretty short window to see a true transformation, but, since we started, I have increased the amount of weight I can bench press and squat, box jumps are much easier, and there is definite tone and development of the muscles in my arms, legs and core areas. I'm no professional body builder or weight lifter, and my focus is definitely more about endurance sports, but the muscle strength this program helped my develop is already paying off during laps in the pool and while climbing the local hills on my road bike.

Yup, that's what Beast Mode looks like!

Most importantly, Char and I are both already looking forward to starting the next program, this time with a running focus. It's an area that we both want to work on, and the Mountain Athletic program still maintains the strength training days so we don't have to worry about losing what we've gained.

Check it out and decide for yourself: http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/mountain-athletics/.

Watch their slick promo video on the website above or on YouTube.

Fitness in a Suitcase

Char and I have been traveling a lot this past year. And we learned the hard way some important lessons about maintaining fitness while living out of a suitcase. Here are the main lessons:

1. Establish a routine whenever possible

2. Be dedicated to making fitness a priority

3. Try to eat healthy while on the move (stay away from fast/junk food when possible)

4. Be creative

To summarize our journey from Texas/New Mexico to Italy:

4 homes, 5 military installations, 9 hotels, 2 weeklong stays with family while traveling between homes, totaling to 8 states, 2 countries and approximately 11 different gyms or fitness centers.

 

What do you mean my carry-on is too big?

Over the last year, between the two of us, we ran marathons, cycled centuries, finished triathlons, lifted lots of weights, swam in oceans, lakes and pools, ran on beautiful beaches, trails and through historical landmarks, and faced searing heat, freezing cold, pouring rain and pummeling winds. We saw whales breaching, dogs barking, deer leaping, squirrels chattering, rabbits frolicking, roosters strutting and sea turtles waving goodbye.

 

Riding up and out of the clouds at 10,000 feet on top of a volcano. One more for the bucket list.

It was quite a year, but not without challenges.

So much travel required us to explore different facilities and different routes. It was both an adventure to learn and experience something new and a quest for safety in a new and different land. We learned to use Strava to see where the locals liked to run or ride. Hopefully, we wouldn’t stand out if we were also running or riding those same routes which meant we were less likely to be molested, robbed, beaten or run over. It also helped to ask family or friends where they liked to run or ride. Usually they knew of a route or path that would show us a different side of the town or city.

Exploring new facilities presented another challenge. Not all fitness centers and gyms are created equal. And when you’re bouncing from one place to another, not all hotels even have workout equipment, and what is available can be very limited and not necessarily in the best shape. In one gym we would find a plethora of weights but not much in the way of cardio or “Crossfit” toys. In another, there might be plenty of kettlebells and medicine balls, but very little space to use them. One gym had a room full of spin bikes, but it was chained off until the budget could afford to rehire instructors. Pools were the most difficult, as the hours never seemed to fit our fitness routine or work schedule, and there always seemed to be a youth swim team practice or lesson taking place right when we were trying to do some lap swim.

One of the many priceless views we found.

Flexibility and creativity were very important when adapting to a new place. Our workout routines changed to match what was available, and to take advantage of new trails or routes. We swam very little in Oklahoma, but took advantage of over 70 miles of nearly empty pavement roads on the fort. No bicycles in Maryland (they were shipped ahead to meet us overseas) so we found some incredible trails in local parks that let us run through beautiful fall colors.

We replaced kettlebells with dumbbells, box jumps with jumping lunges and ran everywhere we could in every kind of weather.

The lack of space was not just at the gym. Choosing what to pack and what to ship ahead was a very difficult decision. One of the hardest things I personally chose was to ship my bike with our household goods, leaving me bike-less for almost five months. That saved a lot of space in my suitcase that’s usually taken up by bike tools, pump, spare tires, shorts, jerseys, gloves, helmet, etc. Our personal gym collection of yoga mats, dumbbells, medicine and Swiss balls, was also shipped ahead. Instead, we packed more cold weather running gear, nutritional supplements (pre- and post-workout powders and energy gels) and a Tiger Tail to roll out those post-workout kinks.

Sometimes our warm-up consisted of picking up after other people in the gym.

The biggest challenge of all was figuring out how to maintain our focus on our physical fitness. When traveling across the country, and beyond, how do we not only keep from eating poorly at every fast food, greasy diner, but also keep working towards our fitness goals when our routines are completely disrupted? What gets lost in all the confusion of moving from place to place? Which workouts get dropped, which goals are sacrificed to make room for others?

Post-run fuel at a Denver bagel shop. We earned it, right?

The answer for us was to reevaluate our goals with every new location and to establish a routine to support the new goals. In Oklahoma, we set our sights on some major bike rides in the last summer, and I took the plunge on my first open-water triathlon. Char chose a half-marathon in Kansas that gave her something to work towards and keep focused on while in-between homes.

Focusing on these goals helped us to keep from falling off the wagon too far or too often. Of course, there were mornings when it just wasn’t happening, when one of us was up too late the night before with homework or a late shift. There were evenings when it was just too easy to grab a junk food meal on the go or order in some local pizza.

But, in the end, we were able to maintain most of our fitness and even to keep working towards the ever-elusive goal of physical improvement. Most of all, we learned to be flexible and creative in our workouts, even when we don’t have all the toys available that we’re used to.

When the Big Guy at the Gym Says You’re Doing it Right

In other words, how not to look like a hot mess in front of strangers. 

Introverts that we are, Char and I can be pretty shy around strangers, especially when working out. It isn’t the lack of clothing or tightness of our outfits. We can wear as much or as little as we want. I’ve been cycling long enough that I can sport a pair of short shorts with the best of them. But every weight we lift, every lap we swim or run, is a form of evaluation in a very public setting. We are constantly comparing ourselves to others, or thinking that they are judging us, by our performance, by our fitness or physique, even by the cut of our workout gear.

However, once we’ve been going to a gym for a while, we’re both pretty comfortable with our routines and self-image. Even when strangers show up, we’re not intimidated ‘cause we’re the regulars.

Last week, we found ourselves at a new gym in Charla’s hometown that’s in the city recreation center (with a swimming pool and ice skating rink). She’d been many times as a kid growing up, but never to the gym side of the building.

We were working our way through the weights and machines, finding some things we were familiar with and some we weren’t.

I had just started a set of clusters, a combination of cleans, jerks, and thrusters. It’s something I’ve never been really good at and am still learning how to do properly.

I was in mid exercise when he appeared.

Most gyms have at least one, like him. Some have several.

He’s huge, shaped like an upside down triangle. He looks like the beasts that barely resemble human genetic projects that you see on magazines or bottles of protein shakes.

Yeah, she's a beast.

And he knows what he’s doing.

You see, we’re in his world, his universe, and he’s the king. He lifts everyday, several times a day, and has been lifting heavy objects since before we could lift a milk bottle to our lips. He’s tried every supplement, been to that shady dealer in Mexico, and laughs when you talk about the benefits of Crossfit and Paleo as he contemplates his steak and bourbon dinner waiting for him in his Viking-esque cabin of a home that’s really a shrine to his weight-lifting career.

He’d snuck up behind me, mid squat. I tried not to notice, play it cool, like I was a pro. Like I knew what I was doing.

I told myself to ignore the paltry excuse for weight I had on the bar, to focus on my form and just try really hard not to embarrass myself in front of the inverted mountain of iron standing behind me, contemplating breaking my body in half for violating his temple of steel.

He watched for a while.

As a former workout companion once told
me, "We do bicep curls for the ladies!"

His eyes felt like the fires of the forge of Valhalla, and I was sure that at any moment a deep rumble would emanate from his chest, and I would hear those dreaded words, “You’re doing it wrong.”

A single bead of sweat trickled down my face, maybe it was a tear, I don’t remember.  He watched me for about three or four repetitions, but it felt like much longer.

Then he nodded his head slowly, approvingly, and walked on.

Elation, pure excitement and satisfaction filled my chest. I had gained approval from the walking human anvil. My dignity and gym privileges intact and sanctified.

Twenty minutes later he was showing Char and I some new moves on a lateral pull-down machine, like we were part of the “in-crowd.” Not bad for a couple of scrawny out-of-towners.

All I Want for Christmas is a Little Snow

A white Christmas is not just a line from a song or a Hollywood-esque, commercial vision for me. It’s something that I grew up with. My family would spend the holiday vacation on the farm with our grandparents and relatives, feeding cattle and building snow forts.

One winter vacation, when I was running on the high school cross country and track team, I went for a run in the freshly fallen snow. I ran several miles up the road and past the neighboring farm. By the time I turned to come back my tracks had vanished beneath a fresh carpet of powder. When I finished the run, my hair was covered in a layer of white dust and my proud, teenage goatee was coated in my own frozen breath.

It was an amazing experience, running alone in completely baffled silence through the thickly falling flakes. It was also an experience that I would not repeat for many years. Through several moves, and Army dictated adventures, I would not enjoy very many white Christmases for more than a decade.

Until now.

Char and I flew to Wyoming for the Christmas holiday to see her family before we left the states for a three-year extended vacation overseas.

Ok, pretty much everything I do is one form of a vacation or other.

The weather reports looked pretty solid to bring us some new snow on Christmas Day. When we woke up, sure enough, it was snowing. There was a solid two inches already sticking on the ground.

Yup, that's a white Christmas, alright.

I got what I wanted for Christmas, so I decided to unwrap my gift the best way I know how.

Char and I slipped on some winter gear, prepped for the mid-20-degree temperature waiting for us, and took off down the road.

The road out of town led up into the hills out of the valley. My lungs were burning from the extra 6,000 feet of elevation and the steady climbing of the lonely, snow-covered road.

That is a long and lonesome road when you're on foot.

 A mile into the run I stopped at the wild horse holding facility to see the horses and burros milling about in corrals, thick and fuzzy with their winter coats. The neigh of a wild horse is like nothing I’ve heard before. Imagine a horse whinny and a pig squeal mashed together and you’ve just about got it.

The road continued to wind slowly up into the hills and the silence grew more profound, more complete. The sounds of the city behind us, of people waking up to a wintery Christmas morning, were obscured behind thick curtains of falling flakes.

I must admit, I find supreme joy in the solitary enterprise of running. The solitude brought on by the snowstorm, along with the physical challenge of running through snowdrifts, left me ecstatic.

There’s something special and moving about leaving tracks in freshly fallen snow where no one else has yet tread.

Close to my turnaround time I came to what looked like a mountain rising up from the road. I just had to climb it. Slowly, I trotted carefully up the slick trail towards the peak, picking my way carefully across the snowdrifts and subtly hidden rocks. Twice I stopped to catch my breath and enjoy the view back into the valley, my lungs were on fire and my legs were starting to give out. At the top, I realized my mountain was only the edge of the prairie that sits above the town nestled in the river valley. The view was pretty awesome, even though the snow was now falling much heavier and quickly swallowing up the surrounding landscape.

Catching up to Charla, we could barely
see each other from a distance.

During most of the run, I had felt quite warm and even a little sweaty. Now, the wind was picking up and the flakes were falling hard and fast. It was time to go home. I started to pick my way down the hill back to the road when I realized that I might be in serious trouble.

One of the most important rules about running in the snow: Don’t lose your own tracks, or you won’t know how to get home. And I came real close to doing just that. For a minute or two I wandered across the face of the hill, searching the snowdrifts before I found my own trail that led me back to my road home. Getting lost in a snowstorm would have been pretty embarrassing. And a little cold.

The run home was only slightly less peaceful with wind and snow blowing into my face and clogging up my glasses with ice. But, it was all downhill, and I made good time following footprints left by Charla, trotting along in the snow somewhere ahead of me.

Her hair is completely frozen.
I couldn't help but laugh.

We came together just a few blocks from the end, and jogged slowly together, savoring this silent winter wonderland that we had been given.

It really did feel like the empty road and falling snow was a Christmas gift, just for us. And we made sure to unwrap it right away.

How else do you finish a run this awesome?