5 good tips for running this year

i got this emailed to me from active.com and its worth reading.


my two favorite parts are
2. be consistent

and

5. practice patient


click here for the article
5 TIPS FOR GREAT RUNNING YEAR

Gear review Nathan Elite 1 running pack

Right now this bad boy is my favorite running waist pack. Its small enough and light enough that it does not bug and hurt your stomach on a long run and there is a nice mesh pocket on the side of the water bottle that's big enough to stuff a couple of gu packs or a bar of your choice. the zippered pocket fits my small camera or keys or a couple more bars or gu for longer runs. I paid 24 bucks at runners corner in orem ut. its very adjustable and sometimes i wear it under a winter jacket or over either way works fine. I also have been using it for xc skiing and snowshoeing and my bottle does not freeze like a hand bottle because its 90% wrapped snugly by my body.

For anyone running over 60 min in time you need to carry something to eat and drink...not necessarily for that specific workout but it makes your recovery better and will allow you to make your next workout that much better

FEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I took this picture tuesday afternoon after our first real snow storm. I was xc skiing up on the suncrest mountain above alpine at lunch time. I was having a crappy day and feeling lazy and sorry for myself, but i did what i KNOW would bring joy. alone time in the mountains, sure its inconvienant to change in my truck but life is about amazing moments and i strive to have them everyday!!!

!?!?!!??!?!!?!?FEAR?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

what is it and why do so many people live IN it? it paralyzes us it makes us worry and what is the point of worry. Does stressing about some future point especially when we are powerless to make changes give us any power. From experience i would heartfully say NO

So why do we worry, why do we live in fear. Maybe the most important question is what do we fear. I used to fear failure, i used to fear having bad credit, i used to fear loss, i used to fear being judged by others. but i dont anymore, the more in tune you are with light, good, source energy, God, the less fear will affect you. Well what i mean is the more conscious you will become of your spiritual state and you will learn that fear brings your energy down

I believe that working out and tuning up the body, the temple will allow one to more easily "tune IN" so just MAKE THE TIME

Does fear creep in sometimes still.......sure however i cant remember a time in my life where i have had more hope in the future, more happiness, more joy in my relationships, more fulfillment in my workouts and my alone mountain time since i kicked the fear habit.

the best time of the day to workout

What if there was a simple investment that you could make every morning of everyday that you KNEW would return to you at least a 100% ROI? What would you do to get that? would you wake up 30 minutes earlier? would you wake up 60 minutes earlier? What if it was Guaranteed 100% no ifs ands or buts? totally legit .......would you be interested?




Well i would like to introduce you to the best investment that i know of right now and its called......................."the morning workout" SURPRISE!!!

Look at these pictures what would you rather do sleep and be lazy or be inspired by the majesty and greatness of creation and while using this powerful body you have been entrusted with to be in touch with greatness?




Get up and workout... Here is why.....it sets the tone for the day, its inspiring, its energizing, its empowering. Do the math and i promise that if you will invest 30 minutes in the morning of just moderate movement walking jogging swimming riding a bike whatever ( not gut wrenching muscle torquing pain) that you will function so much better thru out the day that you will accomplish at least 60 min more worth of "work" or whatever you do (honestly it will feel like you have an extra 2 hours in the day from all the energy you gain). And thus you will be getting a 100% return on your time investment.

if you need help planning or being held accountable contact me and we will put something together. Don't put it off another day. Start living today.......choose happiness.

Not to mention you will be happier, more confident, more positive, more inspired and after a consistent application of this investment more sexy!!

2009 race schedule

SO its that time of year where i like to plan my races for the next year and since work is going really good and life seems to be much less stressful than ever before as compared to owning my own business, i am VERY STOKED for the 2009 races. needless to say its going to be an EPIC year


Jan 31st

A 50 kilometer snowshoe race...the distance is not too crazy only 31 miles but if the snow is gnarly it could turn into a pretty fun and hard adventure http://www.squawpeak50.com/bigfootmaster.htm

March 28

its almost like a birthday present. a relatively flat and easy 50 miler on antelope island out in the great salt lake. the reason why i am stoked for this race is because one of the guys who i am trianing is doing it. It will be his first race and he has never even run a marathon...super bad nice job kim mcgary. http://www.buffalorun.org/

April 18

salt lake city marathon...Now i am not a fan of running on the street or running in regular marathons...not really that epic ya know. but i do want to run a 3.10 marathon so i figured this would be a good oppurtunity. as far as being able to train others its kinda legit if you can run a 3.10 so its just a checklist item

June 19th and 20th

Wasatch back relay this will be something to write home about. I want to do the whole 190 miles SOLO. just trying to keep up with dean karnanzes .....yep thats right two days of running straight. I figure i will take a 4 hour nap in between. I will be looking for lots of help and support so if anyone is up to it let me know

august 30 labor day weekend

back to the grand teton 100....since it beat me last year ( i only finished 75 miles) i have / want to go back ........its a very family friendly venue so we are exited to make it a fun little vacation

November 8th

and another checklist item. people always ask me...'have you done an ironman?' No but i have ridden my bike for 47 hours staight over 500 miles....but its just not the same. I actually am excited to do this race the Silverman ironman


now of course all this is the ideal year and we are trying to adopt a nino or two so if that happens i dont know if all this racing will be possible but we will see

gear review adidas trail response 14 trail running shoes

first off Adidas shoes run small. In all other brands of running shoes i wear a 13 but i bought these in a size 14 and they are still somewhat tight. I have to wear a thin sock otherwise my foot volume fills the shoe too much.

the shoe is light and cushiony. they look great and always have but the Adidas trail shoes will never compare with a montrail or golite shoe as far as support and structure for the trail. It feels more like a mid weight road shoe with more natural colors and just a bit more tread on the bottom. Its great for dirt roads or bark paths but you wouldn't wanna be taking it on boulder strewn single track that's for sure. there is no gusset in the tongue so rocks get in and there is not a rock protection plate so you feel the irregularities of the ground. But its light and feels very fast for less technical running. The ankle support is more akin to a road shoe as well but for light duty trail running its perfect. its a pretty narrow shoe so if you need a big toe box like i do you may try something else.

I paid 69.99 from road runner sports. they have a 60 day love them or leave them guarantee so if i choose to i may send them back. I bought a pair of merril trail runners at the same time and will try them later in the week and keep the pair that fits me better. gotta love a company that lets you run in a pair of shoes for 2 months and then decide if you want to keep them!!

one of my favorite EPIC bike rides

I love to ride around Utah lake. The route is pretty dang flat and traffic is hardly ever an issue. I REALLY also love to ride around Utah lake at night....nothing better than pounding out 100 miles or so after the sun goes down on a nice warm summer night.

BUT THIS AINT no summer ride

Friday night 32 degrees and no wind....what would you do? dinner and a movie? how bout putting the kids to bed, then dressing with 3 layers of spandex and going out for a nice 6 hour bike ride! Why? Because life is to be LIVED.

My friend justin Bankhead came with me...pretty narly to do your first century ride in the dark in the winter and in the cold....nice job justin!

it was cold my feet were freezing after about 3 hours, but thats because it was so humid cold, that they got sweaty and then cold

We left at 10 pm and got done just after 4am it was a long night, but a great night. I sure love mcgriddles in the early am when you have been on a bike all thru the night....yummy!!!

video race report from the javelina 100 mile ultramarathon

Javlina 100 mile race report

Justin Bankhead walking back from a mtn bike ride with TWO FLAT tires!!!



The specialized bike Demo Tour the day after the race...we rode 4 different top end bikes 30K worth of bikes for FREEEEEEEEE!!!


the enduro S works at work on a dry river bed in arizona



Getting my body temperature back up but still coherent enough to ROCK ON!!!



Packing up after a disappointing race.....oh well remember this is a lifestyle....whats one race? it only inspires me to do even better next time!!!




I GOT WORKED. This race went nothing as planned but thats the fun of it. My pacer and i both got sick so it had to be something we ate.......most likely sushi (not recommeded as a pre-race food)

The first 15 miles were perfect so easy didnt even break a sweat. The 2nd lap of 15 was great too...then sometime between mile 30 and 39 my body decided that whatever fuel i had put in was not what it wanted and by mile 39 i was a mess. Not just throwing up a little but major projectile vomiting...how sweet is that? Ultramarathons you definately have highs and lows and i thought this was just a minor set back and i could work thru it. but every time i tried to eat or drink, my body completely and violently rejected it.


By 4 in the afternoon it was all i could do to shuffle my feet. Then when the sun went down because of my severe dehydration i started to get cold, REALLY cold. I got to the mile 55 aid station and was slurring my speech and couldnt keep my eyes open and when the aid station guys saw me they immediately bundled me in blankets and put heaters on my to bring me back from hypothermia. I was in and out for about 3 hours, drinking hot soup and hot chocolate. but there was no way to finish so at midnight I was officially pulled out of the race.

SO now what? We went to dennys and ate french toast what else? I actually felt awesome after that and wanted to go back and finish the race, but they said no.

Thats OK we had a blast anyway and the best part is the specialized bike demo crew was at the state park the next day. SO after running 55 miles, spewing my guts out and having hypothermia, 10 hours later i was fine and went for a 6-7 hour bike ride......thats what i call epic!!!!

Javelina Jundred 100 mile race this weekend

Alright alright alright

I am super stoked to race again this weekend...the javelina 100 miler. This was my first 100 mile race last year and it worked me. I had just finished a 520 mile solo ultramarathon bike race (the HOODOO 500) that took 47 hours to finish and i dont think i was totally recovered. This year i feel ready.

A perfect race will be around 19 to 20 hours which should be good for a top 5 finish out of 160.

click the link

for those of you who want to follow the action here is the link to the webcast

halloween, the day for cross dressing I MEAN cross TRAINING

halloween is fun. I will be honest, I like to dress up. Its an excuse to put down inhibitions and have fun. Since i am being honest i initially felt rather dumb dressing up like a girl and going out in public....i used to thrive on the shock value attention but not so much anymore.

plus I am a huge advocate of cross dressing ooops i mean cross training HAHA

So one of my construction working friends came over halloween morning to finish our deck and his guys were all out in the back yard and i strutted my stuff for them...they thought that was pretty hilarious so i thought what the heck its halloween lets have some fun

at work i had 200 or so co-workers laughing like crazy as i pretended to teach my jazzercise class...as paris hilton would say "it was hot" Not one to brag but i did win the company contest party 200 bucks baby.

one friend of mine said "i keep looking at your butt and though i know its you and your a dude i keep thinking "that girl has a pretty nice butt"

The best part of the day was cruising thru walmart and costco just making people laugh, i had people coming up to me just to take pictures it was hilarious......the looks on their faces like

"oh my gosh that is the ugliest girl i have ever seen but 'it' has a pretty nice butt"

I was dancing up and down the isles and in the parking lot making the best of a great costume. Cross dressing and cross training .......What a day

LIFE IS short but SWEEEEEEEEEET FOR CERTAIN!!

oh my goodness....i LOVE LIFE.....living is so awesome. Here is how i define living, because today was a perfect day!!

Got up went for a run..sure it was a little cool but perfect! on the trails behind our house, did some hill repeats and broke a sweat. went home did ab work and push ups woke up the kids and got them ready

taught some friends some things that are important to me focused on being inspired and being guided by the Divine ......personal revelation, we are all entitled to it, but what are we DOING to recieve it. DR. Wayne Dyer says we are always connected to source energy but we are the ones responsible for quality of the link. is it corroded or is it open? only you can answer that.

so i taught them about the POWER HOUR in a 10 minute simplified form....this is how to do the power hour

1. rock the body whip it into shape....its a beautiful servant but a horrible master so excercise daily to show the body that the [ YOU ] is in charge (do at least 20 min)
2. study spiritaul and and mental things that will fill you for the day.....there is SO much noise and information thrown at you. Take time to fill your self with good first and foremost (do at least 15-20 min)
3. MEDITATE or PONDER.....Dont be afraid of silence. learn to love it, you will crave it because there is peace . when was the last time you sat still and just.................existed. This will be difficult at first. there are many methods to meditation do what works for you .....(do at least 10 min)
   

its easy to teach when you are passionate about a message and the message about is really all about realization.

"REalization of what" you may ask.

Well thats the fun part I dont know, not neccesarrily the answer you want is it?

thats your oppurtunity to find out for yourself........... truth is truth "try it on".....try the power hour and see how much more powerful your day is when you set the conditions for the day instead of having the circumstances of the day setting you up for happiness or the percieved lack thereof.

the rest of the day was spent hangin out with family and friends at our house...nowhere to go nothing to do except to just enjoy time with others, folded laundry because i like it and it helps my hottie wife.

THEN

MY RIDE >>>>>>>>>MY SWEEEEEET SWEEET BIKE RIDE>>>>yes!!!

got the kids ready for bed and put on 3 layers of my favorite clothing SPANDEX, a couple water bottles and my bike. I needed to ride and so i put in 4 hours of easy spinning on a semi warm sunday night. The roads on sunday nights are nearly empty. There is something SO magical about riding at night looking out across the valley and seeing the lights and the mountains in the background and hearing nothing but the whirrrrrr of my wheels humming across the asphalt, looking up at the sky and having a heart full of gratitude for moments like this. its awesome to think that i may be the only guy crazy enough on cool autumn night to be out on his bike at 11 pm, and holy cow I LOVE IT!!! it really helps to LIVE IN THE NOW. Be present. BE....

the Pony express 100 mile endurance run

this will be a short post as i will let the CRAZY and random video do the talking. This was my 3rd attempt at the 100 mile distance and the 2nd that i have finished. I ended up crossing the finish line first in 23 hours and 2 minutes and set a new course record by 21 minutes. IT WAS BRUTAL and BEAUTIFUL all wrapped up into one EPIC DAY!! thanks to all those who helped....kim,wade,gwhite,alissa,tony,davy,and paul. I couldnt have done it without you!!!

midnight running and alpine loop riding

that was great sir.......may i have another

until the snow flies which may be sooner than later, i think that the alpine loop is gonna be my weekly bread and buttah. its great to have a group of friends to ride with. Its also great to ride alone. I encourage both. With friend, they will push you physically and going solo gives you time to search the soul........oh (that was word play, read it again if you didnt catch it.)

tim collings giving his male modeling look..........i think this is blue steel

There is something so organic about the mountains, those of you who spend time in them know what i mean. its like the static and hum that fills ours lives is removed. For anyone working out i encourage getting outdoors and into the 'cleanliness' of nature. It allows for disconnect which can create the conditions that will enable the spiritual reconnect, if you seek it.

heres a short clip of the solutide so easily found in the mtns.

Wind and running

I am not a huge fan of wind. I should be, because i really love change and wind is one power of nature that brings change. Whenever people ask me about how i run so far and where did this endurance come from, i think of one word. CONSISTENCY Picture this, its Thursday night 8.15pm, I've put in a full day of work and ran 3 times already in the past 36 hours. I call my good friend Ryan Johnson and say

me......man i am tired i really don't wanna go running tonight especially for 3 hours!

ryan.....Have you been outside lately?

me......No hows the weather?

ryan....It sucks man, its freakin cold and the wind is howling!

me......oh man now i really don't wanna go.

ryan....Me neither, but i will still go if youre up for it

and thats all i need the encouragement of a good friend who also happens to be a bit crazy (bless our wives!!) Thanks ryan if you hadnt had committed i wouldnt have gone.

me....Well then thats why we are FREAKIN GOING.

When you don't want to you go. When its unreasonable, you go!!!!!!!!! that is what makes you epic that is where endurance comes from, from the times when you have to dig deep.

So yeah i put on my gear, was shivering and cold and still didnt wanna go but as soon as we started running I was in love all over again. We hit the trails, ran up the south side of the point of the mountain straight into the wind and it was fierce enough to take your breath away. We got up into the scrub oak on a narrow trail and that helped provide protection from the wind. Nice and easy ended up on top being able to see into both utah valley and salt lake valley and the 'action' at night but still in the peace of the mountains. Ended up running about 2h ours and 40 mins. VERY NICE and of course we felt better after than before. Runners high thats what its all about!!

I dont really wanna admit what i ate after my workout as snack but lets just say that when you earn a 'big maccin' reward, that reward is super tasty, especially at midnight. i have had a total of maybe 5 big macs my whole life...but honestly this burger was one of the best burgers i can ever remember.

Epic alpine loop in the fall

The RIDE


Some "normal" people like to go out to eat for lunch, a nice meal with friends at lunch..........what a crazy idea who would ever do such a silly thing? :-)

This is my idea of a power lunch...power bars, energy gels and 4000 feet of climbing in 10 miles on a road bike. This little ride was about as perfect as it gets. Nice 65 degree temps, it has just rained and the smell of fall was thick in the air.........so clean and so nice. 30 miles total and then back to work.


all pics were taken from the bike while riding


Pondering and Pedaling


yes still working on soul purpose (and will for a while now) and life and happiness and joy and those amazing words that we strive to FEEL in our lives. Here are the questions that i was pondering while pedaling ...ponder and pedal ...pretty hypnotic.

1. What wakes you up in the morning, excited to be alive?


2. Decribe your perfect day.


3. What do you do that people complement you about?


4. What brings you joy


5. Besides your family what would you give your life for


6. What would you everyday if money was no object
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   working it climbing the alpine loop
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Justin bankhead working it up the alpine loop or is he getting worked?
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Night Running, Old Shoes and Soul Purpose

Commuting By ........FOOT?

I like to run. I really like to run. For me it borders on the edge of addiction. I cant remember ever going out for a run and feeling worse than when i left. It is always a positive reward. Last night after a long day of work, I needed to run. A warm fall night perfect for putting in some miles. Lately for me its more about just running, no watch, no GPS, not worrying about pace, just running. I try to hit the dirt as much as possible running between thanksgiving point and the ranches. so it was a nice 3 hour night time jaunt. Stopped at maverick and got a bear claw and jug o'chocolate milk for the after party.

Old Shoes

so called "experts" talk about rotating shoes for support and i agree somewhat however i have been reading lots about the benefits of barefoot running www.runningbarefoot.org how it strengthens your feet and allows for the more natural design and function of the foot to perform. So on that line wouldn't old running shoes be more healthy? as they allow your foot to be more supple?

Purpose

Alissa and i are in the process of going learning more about our SOUL purpose not sole purpose. www.producerpowerhour.com Its an ideal that has been dancing in my head for a long time. Last night i got a text from my mentor and he said to 'ponder of my purpose' which i did. The one realization that i came to last night is that for the last few years as i have been struggling to HAVE financial Independence so i can DO the things i want to do and then BE the person/dad/husband/business owner/entrepreneur that i want to be. But IT CANNOT.......will not.......... has never been........... or will ever be that way. For the first time i realized that you first have to BE then DO then HAVE. its an insight that will come when your ready.

converting friends to the ultra and epic

the 3rd wheel on a saturday night date

Ultra lifestyle calls for good planning and a desire for adventure, such as on vacation with friends and family at bear lake. Sure a run in the mountains is nice with a couple buddies and then coming back and doing a another run in the mountains with my smokin hot wife and then of course the daily ab workout. Thats fine and good but to live the ultramarathon cycling life its about doing epic workouts and 2 back to back runs is just not epic enough.

How does one define epic? sometimes its VERY loOOOOOOOng distances or many workouts in day orjust cool places weird times of day or night or a combination of all the above.
For me its mostly a solo thing.....i love the solitude and being disconnected from our humming, spinning, buzzing, fast paced world. But this time it was about converting (or trying to) friends to the epic ultra lifestyle.

Case in point Justin and courtney bankhead 58 miles around bear lake on a cool fall saturday night. head north out of garden city into the headwind, miss the turn do an extra 8 miles, watch the gorgeous sunset from the west side of the lake. enjoying the fine cuisine of Hammer bars (way tastier than power bars) cliff shot blocks and rice krispy treats. washed down with water and gatorade (not my 1st choice in sports drink, but better than water).

It was great to see them pushing their bodies. Justin road more miles this week than he ever has in his life. and nightriding, well there is something so enchanting about the stillness and silence and the turning of the cranks with just your eyes focused on the light in the road.

good job bankheads 58 miles 2 hours of dark riding for a total of 3 hours 20 mins. next thing you know it will be 500 miles on the hoodoo 500