good sweat

I’m not the best decision maker. Sometimes I run headlong in to things, and it gets me in to trouble. Sometimes I think about something, know it’s a bad idea, and still do it. Choosing to do some intense physical activity after being sick for a week, not sleeping well, having a headache, and generally feeling achy is my most recent poor decision. And I don’t regret it.


I went to Jiu Jitsu class yesterday. A normal class is manageable, even when tired. You learn a few moves, and run through them with a partner a few times for about an hour. A decent workout, but not too terribly tiring. Rolling, however, is.

Rolling is when you and another Jiu Jitsu-er face each other on the matt, generally with both of you down on your knees, you slap hands, and then start wrestling. I trained for a half-marathon for a while, at which time I was occasionally running 10-12 miles at once. At no point in that time did I sweat near as much as I did while rolling.

It was awesome. The other guy, a blue belt, which is quite a ways above myself, gave me a lot of compliments. The most important being “you have good control.” Often times when a new guy “rolls” for the first time, they are wild and react crazily to anything that happens. They put themselves, and the other guy in danger. Control is a good thing to have in Jiu Jitsu, not just for safety’s sake, but for progression in skill as well. I’m glad he told me that. It’s got me pumped for more sessions.

But I will definitely try to be better rested before I do that again. It was one of the most itense workouts of my life. I ripped off my gi, flew out of my under armor, and flopped on the ground until the guy that runs the place asked me to put a shirt on. I didn’t really want to because both my gi and my under armor were soaked in sweat. However, I got up, went in the bathroom, and sat on a bench until I could move again.

I’m hoping I will continue to progress in this. I’m hoping I will continue to learn and be able to do more and more, with all the control necessary to succeed. I’ll let you know how it goes.

i didn't hear the rocky song, but...

I made it. I ran the whole way, without stopping. I even made it in under the time I wanted. I’d hoped to beat 2.5 hours. My time was 2hr18min! (I originally told everyone 2hr14min, but that was my “clock time”, not my “run time”.)


The whole experience was pretty great. From the 5:15am wake-up time, to the cheering crowds, to the muscle cramps and blisters.

We arrived around 6:15am and parked a good 15 blocks, or more, away from the race day festivities. The walk there was a good warm up. The walk back was horribly painful. Finding a bathroom proved slightly difficult, until I found my friend Christi and hopped in the girls’ line. No worries though; girls were in the guys’ line, so it was totally cool.

After walking out of a pink port-a-potty in front of a line of 20ish women, I headed to the starting line with Christi. The noiseless fireworks went off, and so did Christi. I was on my own for the next 13.1 miles. But it was great.

The hills were painful, but they made it possible to get a great view of the boiling dance party that was a few thousand people running in front of me. This sight was a little demoralizing, until I turned around and saw the same behind me. It was crazy being in the middle of that large of a mass of people. It was also crazy using that many “of”s in that sentence.

The cheering fans were encouraging, and the fellow runners were too. A big run is a great community event, and if done right they can bring a lot of tourists to the city. Great idea for anyone to be a part of, city or person. Blisters and cramps came on in full force. By the end, the last stretch where you’re supposed to be sprinting, spurred on by the finish-line crowds, I was hobbling in on legs that felt nothing but pain from the knee down.

Still, I finished. And so did many others. I would suggest everyone take part in a half-marathon. You’ll love it.

my first half

well, tomorrow is my first half-marathon.

we run at 7 in the morning.  that's early.  that also means we have to be up and out of the house before 6 to get in to downtown austin and find a parking spot.  that is also quite early. 

i don't like working out early.  i don't like doing anything very active in the morning.  i'm not sure how i will feel about running 13.1 miles at 7 in the morning.  but i'm gonna do it.  and i'm excited.

we went to get our race packets today.  oh, and by "we" i mean me, and my firends dan and amber.  they are probably going to beat the crap outta my time.  so will my friend christi, who drove me down, and so will all of the people i kept pointing out at the race expo today and saying "he's gonna beat me, and so is he, and so is he, and so is she, and so is that old guy, and so is that lady pushing the stroller."  most of them will beat me.  but i'm gonna finish.  and i think that's fun.

the expo atmosphere was sorta cool.  i think the actual race atmosphere will be really cool.  i'll write more about that on monday.  for now, all i know is that i know nothing about any of this.  it's my first, and i'm excited.

i'll let you all know what happens.  that is, if i don't trip and break all of my fingers.  it could happen.

i are man

Somehow, I’ve been healthy lately. One week from yesterday I will be running my first half-marathon race down in the ever lovely Austin, Tx. I’ve been training to run this thing since somewhere around last September, when my friend Daniel asked me to run it with him.


Since then, I have become much healthier. I’ve also found I need new pants (none of them fit as well anymore). It’s been fun to see how far I’ve come. Before, I thought 3 miles was a looong run. Now I do 5 for a short one. I think I’ve gotten myself into enough of a routine to keep up a few miles a week as well.

Now, on top of all the running, I’ve thrown in a new activity, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I’m pretty excited about this one.

If you don’t know, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art that involves a lot of grappling, which is basically wrestling. You do a lot of bending and throwing each other around. It’s good fun. And a great work out. My joints, midsection, and arms get pretty sore afterwards, and it feels like a great work out for my other sporting loves; snowboarding, and the newly acquired surfing.

While expensive, I feel this Jiu Jitsu stuff will be a great addition to my life.

I’ve missed being around non-Christians. I used to work with a few, and I really miss ‘em. It’s somewhat frustrating to not know who I am to “be a witness” to. Jiu Jitsu provides me with a new group of possible non-Christians that I can be around regularly, and get to know pretty well (there’s nothing like having your legs wrapped around another dude to bring the two of you together).

I’m also excited about just having a time to be around guys being guys. We can be tough, and learn how to be tougher, together. It’s a healthy thing for men to do. And it should be a healthy physical workout as well.

So, over the next few months I will be learning Jiu Jitsu, continuing to occasionally run, doing a little yoga, doing some normal workouts, and generally becoming ridiculously healthy, Lord willing.

I ask that if you are a Christian, please pray that I will use this period of my life to honor God. I’m hoping that I will learn to hear Him more, and follow through with strength and discipline.

Hope you are well, and are looking forward to funny posts about how bad I get hurt sometime in the future.