The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

I just got finished reading The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle, it was a great book. It talked about how we as humans acquire skills, talent and ability. It broke down how experts have acquired the skills that they have to a basic neurological level and practical level. The main theme of the book is that you are born with talent but great talent is achieve through practice and dedicated effort.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone especially aspiring athletes and coaches. Evan sports like running it reinforces the concept that you need to put in the dedicated time and effort into something to be succeed at it.

Mega Marathoners:

Interesting Article about the the rising culture of not only marathoners but marathoners that take it to another level. Check it out.

Mega Marathoners

Tracking my Workouts:

I think this will be a bit easier to post my daily and weekly workouts instead of separate post. I'll simply update each daily workout on the side, along with the weekly milage totals. Next year I hope to have a a running total of number of miles I ran for the year. Might be a good new years resolution.

Tracking my Workouts:

Multi-Functional Running Gear:

I just figured out that my running head lamp also works great for a reading light. With 100 hour life on one set of batteries, you could even use rechargeable ones, you should get plenty of use out you headlamp now.

Follow me on Twitter!

Ok, don't...really don't I will probably be the most boring person to follow. The only good things that I will "tweet" about would probably tell you to check out something on my blog. I may be the only American that doesn't think I have an interesting enough life to were the general public would want to know what I'm doing and thinking at all times.

That being said I am on twitter usename jhanlon31 and I do have a follower. I utilize twitter mostly for my job and I really do not tweet at all, so feel free to follow me but be prepared not to get too many tweets.

Twitter

I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Well, I won't teach you to be rich but, here is a great book that will actually teach you to be rich. Not the quick and easy way but the smart way over time, being smart with your money, and not wasting it on numerous fees and other pitfalls.

Yes, I know not running related at all, but the one thing that I have learned this year about running is the it can be expensive, as my prior post(The Opportunity Cost of Running) calculated that the opportunity cost of running this year was about $15,350.00, which is a lot to me.

The thing I like the most about this book is that it is straight forward advice targeted towards younger people just starting out, but is good for anyone who wants to be smarter with their money. It talks about everything from how to maximize your credit score, which in turn can save you thousands when buying a house, car or any type of loan. So forget saving $10 a week by not buying a few lattes, get your great score up and save $20,000 when you buy your first house. The big message that he pushes is that you have to take the initiative.

One problem that I feel that lead to the decline of our economy was not just greedy bankers, toxic loans, and politicians; it was that America as a nation that was built on hard work and perseverance starting trying to create wealth without having to work for it. I know that I have posted this before but here is a great video(Mike Rowe Celebrates Dirty Jobs) from a great website (TED.com) that speaks to that subject. Sorry that was my soap box moment for the night.

The advice in this book is no secret and many of us are doing a lot of these things already but this book lay it out very nicely and straight forward. You do not have to be a financial wiz to incorporate these technics, yes people with strong background in finance, the economy and the stock market can take investing to the next level but by being smart and having a plan you can still get a great return for your money without having to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal.

Trust me the book is only $10 on Amazon (I Will Teach You To Be Rich)
and free at the library it is well worth your time. Now all you have to figure out is how to financially justify all those pairs of running shoes, or in my case $110 pair of winter running tights.

Also great information on the Author's site.

www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com

Prize Money!

No, its not that cold in my apartment that I have to wear a hat and gloves. I finally cashed in my 2009 prize earnings, that totaled $30 in Scheels Sporting Good money. I managed to almost completely pay for the hat and gloves. I haven't used them yet as it has been gorgeous out the past few days and I have been a little limited in my running due to my recent wisdom tooth extraction.

Though I did manage two 10 mile runs this weekend, but I'm going to have to take it a bit easier for a day or two here. I really want to be able to hit the weights hard for a few months now and I don't want any lingering problems.

Also sorry I have not been posting my workouts as of late, I guess with no race looming I have been a bit sporadic with my training. I took today off as the vacated spaces were my wisdom teeth were ached pretty bad today. Yesterday I did a pretty aggressive tempo run I'll post the link as soon as Garmin is done up grading their servers and let's me log in.

How to Eat a Chicken Wing

Ok sorry completely not related to running, fitness or really anything other than eating chicken wings, but I thought this was a great video.

Enjoy!

How to Eat a Chicken Wing:

Stubborn Runners Part II:

Just a quick follow up I did end up going out for a run and not only was it a gorgeous fall day out but I felt great too. I went for an 10.5 mile run I wanted to go more but didn't really want to push things. All in all I felt pretty darn good teeth and all even got to run at least one more day in shorts, comfortably that is. Here is the run just in case you don't believe me.

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for
Untitled

Stubborn Runners

I like so many of us runners are a pretty stubborn bunch. I myself am a big fan or taking a post workout sauna, of course this is not good for you, as the last thing you want to do after a workout is further dehydrate yourself, but I still sneak one or two in every once in a while. We are especially stubborn when it comes to things that deny us our sacred runs.

Such as injuries and things that life throws at us that makes running less than convenient. One such event has occurred in my life just recently. I just had my wisdom teeth pulled out yesterday, which was not nearly as bad as I though it was going to be. This is not really a big issue but the dentist said I was not to run until Wednesday and then start with half the workout I normally do.

I have always respected the wishes of any medical practitioner that I have dealt with, but I am having a lot of trouble sitting on my couch when it is nearly 60 degrees outside and frankly I feel great. I can barely feel the 4 holes in my mouth and haven't taken any pain killer for a while now. This might be the last nice day out to run this year, then it will be a lot of cold windy running outside and long boring miles on the treadmill inside.

I can't really figure out how running will even effect my mouth or the formal real estate where my wisdom teeth once resided, so on that note I'm out the door for a run...I just hope that my dentist doesn't read this blog.

So What Do You Eat?

Ok a lot people ask me what do I eat? How much? Do I carb load? What about supplement? Vitamins? Do you drink?

I have fairly normal diet to be truthful. I do not follow a particular plan, I just try and eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies and lean protein. I still still have the occasional late night drive thru burger and fries, I guess in my case I usually go for about 3-5 burgers and fries...I do eat a lot. Generally I have a Green Smoothie for breakfast, but other than that it is really a wide range of things.

I have read and learned a lot about the benefits of raw food i.e. fresh fruits, veggies and nuts. The one real benefit that there is to a high raw food diet is that fruits and veggies are all high nutrient dense foods. So this means that yes there is not as much protein in a handful of spinach as there is in a steak but the ratio of calories to protein is much higher.

I don't think I'll ever give up a great steak right off the grill but I better not plan on running for a few hours after. Having a meal of raw fruits and veggies and in 30-60 minutes I'm out the door, no food hangovers, which also helps at work, I'm not a zombie for an hour after lunch.

If to sum up what I eat or my diet, I guess I would say I eat what helps me enjoy running more. Just like hot wings, nachos and beer help watching the Vikings play on Sundays, fresh fruit, vegetables, and lean proteins make running more enjoyable.

I'll try and post some more websites and resources on nutrition that I have found insightful.

Quote of the Day:

"Believe in yourself, know yourself, deny yourself, and be humble."

- John Treacy's four principles of training prior to Los Angeles 84 Olympics

Why Soda(Pop if you're from MN) is so bad for you:

I have since given up soda a while a go and prefer simple water, juice, coffee, tea and of course an occasional beer now and then. I am glad that I have changed my ways from back in high school sitting in the senior commons (lounge for seniors) downing 2-4 Mountain Dews a day.

Read this yahoo article on why soda is so bad for you. (As evident by the picture above) Enjoy!

Why Soda is So Bad For You:

NYC Marathon

No, I did not run the New York City Marathon, but for those of us who did watch it, from the comfort of my couch, it was an amazing race. Meb Keflezighi, a 34 year old American won with a time of 2:09:15. He is the first American to win the NYC marathon since Alberto Salazar won in 1982.

I am extremely exited about the resurgence of the US marathon runners, both the men and women. It has been quite a while since American runners have consistently contended in major marathons. Now with Meb Kelezighi, Ryan Hall for the men and Kara Goucher for the women US runners have really been able to challenge the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners.

Runners like Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley have been waiting for a while for some company. Again I am energized and motivated by the strong showing that the US has been able to show this year. Congrats Meb and keep it up.