Running during the Holidays

Keep up a good running routine during the holidays.

Schedule runs with friends and family.

This will give you extra time to do something fun with the people that you want to see.

If you are really daring run in a Christmas costume. If people driving by you see that you are having fun on your run, then it may make there Christmas better.

Enjoy your Christmas everybody!

Conquering Fears

I had been in a running rut since May of 2008. The rut began when I ran my 1st marathon. I went out way too fast and suffered the most excruciating pain I had ever felt across the last 6 miles of the race. My pace slowed down to what was almost a walk and my spirit knocked down. The next few months included a transition to the Bay State where I seemed to lose myself. My habits and routines that made me strive to do my best every day seemed to fade and I felt for a long time that I didn't quite know who I was.

In April of 2009 I took another crack at the marathon distance. The historic Boston Marathon provide a similar result and pain as my first marathon. I felt even more beaten up about this performance and thought that maybe running was only going to be a hobby, something I did because I enjoyed it, but I didn't have to stress the small stuff ,or get worked up on taking it too seriously, or two competitively.

I ran the Chicago Urbanathalon in October. During the months before the race my training became more focused as I began to approach running with an idea about using our Inner Power to drive us forward. After the race, I took a week off to rest and recover. After the week off, I realized that the flame was lit once again and that the energy needed to be shared and passed on. This was the birth of a test. I realized that for the last two and half years I was living in fear. I was afraid of challenging myself to be the best person I could possibly be.

I took a major step to conquer that fear on Saturday. I raced a 3k on the track. The time was not near my best, but a 10:06 3k was a starting point. It was every aspect of my being starting to fight back at the fear that had paralyzed me from being the person I want to become.

Don't be afraid to acknowledge your fears and then attack them with a hammer!

More Stretching

Begin a positive stretch routine. Add it into your life. A really amazing stretch routine can help your mind and muscles relax in ways that you couldn't even imagine.

I am ending this entry now to go stretch. I suggest you do the same.

Smile while stretching please! : -)

Two Amazing Things

There were two amazing things that made today's run really spectacular. The first was at the very start of my run. As I left from my school with two of my friends and a student that decided he on a whim that he would join us for the run, another group of students offered us some words of encouragement as we strode by.

However, one comment stuck out in my head. "Oh, he looks so happy" one girl stated as I went by. I reflected upon this comment for a majority of my run. I realized that I was happy. I realized that a lot of people probably thought that it was strange for a group of people to be out running in the dark and the cold, but I was happy. I realized that the cold and the dark were only external factors. The only thing that makes the cold and dark bad conditions for running is the mental attitude we take towards these factors. Rather then use these factors as road blocks I choose to use them as tools to my positivity. These were factors that I could use to strengthen my resolve and strengthen my mind to drop the urge to come up with excuses.

The second major amazing thing that happened on my run today was a conversation that I had with a friend. He talked about his goal of wanting to get back in shape and as we focused on the specifics he mentioned that his goal was going to be to run a half-marathon by the end of June. This was a very exciting moment. I love when people commit to something beyond what they have ever done. It is extremely encouraging to know that through sacrifice and commitment we as humans are able to do so much more than we ever imagine. The ability to put faith in ourselves and the choices we make is an incredible thing.

So as you go through your days I encourage you to "Live Happy" and push yourself to make bold commitments to big things.

Inner Power

I began a book yesterday before I went to bed. "Zen and the Art of Running" seemed to fall off the bookshelf of the Booksmith into my hands as if there was a lesson that I needed to learn. I began reading last night and it helped remind me of a lesson that I have learned from miles upon miles of running. In each of us there is an inner power, an amazing potential to be incredible. It is our responsibility to unlock that power. While we are doing all of this we should always remember to be present in every particular moment of our existence.

The winter track season started for the high school that I coach. We ran today on a 142.25 yard banked indoor track. As I strode along with my runners, the familiar sensation of enjoying every stride came into my mind and heart as we whipped around the tight turns. At the end of practice I added on an additional three miles that seemed completely effortless.

If I could provide a piece of advice to anyone that is searching to bring their running to a new level, I would suggest starting each run at a very relaxed pace. Every stride you take should be a stride that you use to help you find power and relaxation. If you learn to search for this potential in yourself in every run, you will unlock that power.

Give it a try!

Have a great day!

Sunday Reflections

This week has been a very important week in transitioning to the next level.

Here are some highlights.

- More people seem to be reading the blog and I sense that it some way it is keeping people motivated and inspired. A lot of people have been asking me what are Crazy Ivans.

- I had a really solid long(ish) run today. It was a little bit over 11 miles in 79 minutes. The last 2 miles we were moving really good. There were 4 of us on the run today. This is most people that I have done a long run with in a long time. This seems to be the group that will be the "Founding Fathers" of The Bay State Test running and life revolution.

- Still Soda Free. Core getting even better.

- I have set up some plans to run with friends during my Christmas break.

- I will be running an indoor 3000 meter race on Saturday. I am a bit nervous about what I will be able to run, but I am excited that I will now have a baseline to help measure my progress.

- I beat some guy in an impromptu dance off last night.

Here are a few of my goals for the upcoming week

1. Decrease my coffee intake to only 3 days during the work week.

2. Check in with at least 15 friends on how their running and life is going.

3. Add strength training into my training for this week ( at least 2 times this week).

I hope that in reading this you take time to think about the week that has just past and to think about the week ahead.

Have a great week!

Fruit Smoothie and High Five Thursday

Every Thursday of the school year is a great day for me as a teacher. Thursday is my math department day which means that the entire math department at my school has the no academic classes to teach and has the entire day for planning. I normally arrive at school at around 7 a.m, but without an academic class to prepare for that day my arrival is a good 35 minutes later. This helped to create "Fruit Smoothie and High-Five Thursday".

I decided in September that the best use of my extra time in the morning would be to start the morning off with a Fruit Smoothie. The Fruit Smoothie coupled with the day off from teaching built an inner desire to dish out high fives all day.

Everyone should have something on a daily basis that you can get excited about. You should never go a day without a high five. I have been blogging for almost two weeks and I can say that I have been very excited about what I am doing physically for myself (My running has been really good, my core workouts have been rocking, and I am holding strong on my soda-free pledge) and what I am doing mentally (I really enjoy writing).

So take a moment to stop and give someone a high five. It will make everyone have a better day.

Good Luck to anyone that is competing this weekend at the USATF XC Club Championships and to anyone else that is doing something awesome!

The Connection

There is without a doubt in my mind a connection between any individual and their mental, physical, and emotional well being. This blog was dedicated to my pursuit of testing the limits and the capabilities of each of these.

I am writing today from my bed, in the early afternoon, after the best possible sick day. I emailed in to work last night realizing that it would not be in my best interest to be at work today. I had one of my worst mental and emotional days at work. There was no particular instance that made the day terrible, but it seemed that I was on the edge of a mental and physical collapse (I had woken up the night before in the middle of the night and only slept about 3 hours). After work yesterday, I collapsed onto my bed for about 3 hours. I awoke and somehow choose yes. I jogged over to the local gym, where I had just purchased an extremely discounted membership. I pushed through a 7 mile run, leaving the stress of the day on the treadmill. I realized that my physical, mental, and emotional beings were all in need of a serious recovery day.

An amazing night of sleep, the Price is Right, Turkey Soup, a light jog, and a solo dance party to Flo-rida have helped reconnect the important connection between my mind, body, and soul.

I am looking forward to the weekend ahead where I am entirely prepared to focus on resetting all the connections within myself so that I can I be strong in mind, body, and soul.

During this Christmas season where we often focus on what gifts we need to get for others, please don't forget to give the gift of mental, physical, and emotional health to yourself.

SMILE!

The ups and the downs

A weekend off of blog posts seemed liked the required medicine to help me regain my mental composure before letting fingers let loose on the keyboard.

I'll start with the down.

My comeback race of the season was not a fine showing. It was so "not fine" that I still don't feel comfortable talking or writing much about it.

After the race, I was ready to let the bad performance drag me into a sea of self-pity, but somehow the logical side of my brain stepped it. The running that I was doing was not only supposed to be a journey of the physical, but a mental and spiritual journey as well.

The work that I was doing clearly hadn't kicked in with any major physical effect that would make me happy, but I was running again in the way that I enjoyed running. Running should be a positive outlet and I was going to let a bad race bring me down.

My mind got excited about the "2nd Thanksgiving Party" that I would be attending. The party was success. There was turkey and an impromptu dance party. It was all I could ask for.

The night was quite an up, and I woke up in the morning worried that my run would suffer from all the food and dancing. I ended up having a great run with Kirkland and CT. We did 1:27 for somewhere between 12-13 miles in my estimation. This was my best long run of the new cycle and promising for long runs to come.

A solid 6 miler today in the very cold weather and a serious core workout ( I didn't keep track of my exact numbers) has me excited for the workout tomorrow.

I called USATF NE today and they said they have my paper work. The Bay State Test is a reality.

Remind yourself to be the best version of yourself.

Run with a friend

Run with a friend.

Stop reading right now and call, text, or facebook message at least one friend and set up a run to do together.

It will motivate them, it will motivate you, and it is an amazing way to get to hang out with people and do something that is good for you.

If you are feeling really ambitious invite two people to run.

Still Soda Free

and I am only doing a mini core because I am running a 5k tomorrow.

Mini Core

Push ups- 30

Crunches- 50

Choose Yes

I sat on my couch with my shoes on. The weaker side of me was hoping that my stronger side would submit, that it would somehow give in, that inertia would set in and I wouldn't get out the door.

My stronger side won the battle out the door, but my weaker side would try to drag me down from the start.

I went off slowly shuffling down W. 5th st towards D st. I decided that I would make my way through the North End and downtown and perhaps I would be hit with some sort of inspiration which seemed less likely if I was to run along the Southie waterfront.

My body seemed to drag. The night air seemed brisker than previous nights. The positive start to the week and the blog seemed like it might lose its way for the evening. I tried to imagine my fingers dashing across the keyboard, but it didn't seem like anything was coming soon.

I felt alone and unsure of my purpose. As I crossed over the pedestrian bridge into the downtown waterfront I passed another lone runner. I then realized that in someway he was my teammate. I realized that he was my teammate in that we were both individuals working to achieve something that we desired and that is why our two lonesome paths had to cross tonight. My mood switched directions. The negativity was flushed away by a wave of thoughts and memories.

The first thing that struck me was how fortunate I was. The fact that I was out doing something that I loved with an amazing backdrop of an amazing city that seemed to be filled with excessive holiday cheer. I felt like I was in a movie cross between Prefontaine and Love Actually. As I made my twists and turns through Boston I thought of all the amazing places I have been because of running and imagined all the places that still awaited. My mind then wandered to all of the incredible people that have cross my path because of running. I then realized that running has somehow always been a driving force in the positive approach I attempt to take on life. Each stride seemed to build new joy and new energy. I then realized I was running on the Freedom Trail and the steps that I was taking were along some of the same routes and paths that the patriots and founders of our country had taken. I thought of all the people who fought for their beliefs. I realized that I wasn't even fully aware of all of my political beliefs, but I was sure of the belief that me putting one leg in front of the other was right and maybe somehow if I could share that passion with enough people that it could somehow have some positive effect on this place that we live. I strode through the Boston Common and there was a concert or festival going on (maybe the Tree Lighting?) and the positive energy was exactly what I needed to sustained a relax final 20 minutes of running back to my apartment.

I finished the run with a big smile and thought back to an hour earlier when I almost decided to stay on my couch and I am so happy that I choose to go for my run.

When you have the choice between yes or no. CHOOSE YES.

Going for it

The paperwork for The Bay State Test becoming an official USATF- NE team was mailed in today.

This feels like a big deal because so often in life we talk about doing something.

This is my doing something. Taking a shot at something I always wanted to do.

If you know anyone interested in running for a club team in the Boston area please have them contact me at matthew.uzenski@gmail.com

Still Soda Free

Solid core continues

push ups- 30

Sprinters- 30

Crunches- 40

Front Planks- 45 seconds

Crazy Ivans- 30 Seconds

Windshield Wipers- 30

Shooters- 20

The Track

6:50 p.m. - Myself and Kirkland begin our warm-up jog from my apartment to Moakley Track. The air is warm for the last evening of November and the promise of good track session makes me itch with excitement.

It is a feeling that is familiar, but something that I haven't experienced much in the past two years. The hope that these Tuesday evening jog to the track will become a new habit is something that has me overflowing with optimism.

The plan for tonight work out is a cut down drill

1 mile with 800 jog after

2 x 800 with 400 jog after each

4 x 400 with 400 jog after each.

The purpose is to sharpen the sword. The rest between each hard interval was adequate so that tomorrow my legs should feel fresh, but my body was still being reminded of what it means to be swift. In about 3 weeks, my plan is to hit the track hard and the hope is that my body will respond to that new stimulus.

The times were almost exactly as planned.

1mile- 5:50

800- 2:49 800- 2:46

400- 83 400- 83 400- 83 400-83

Only 20 push-ups and 60 crunches before the workout

Turkey Dinner Leftovers after the workout. I will need to do some serious core tomorrow.

Still Soda Free.

The Chore of Core

Strengthening the core muscles is something any athlete must decide to do if the want to reach a new level. A strong core helps the overall efficiency of any runner and the exercises that are used to develop a strong set of core muscles are usually exercises that help develop a mental tenacity.

I titled this post the chore of core because the development of the core is not very often where any athlete has great passion.

Runners love to run. Basketball players love play basketball. Hockey player love to skate.

However, the decision to develop the core is the decision to do the little things that are going to help you make the improvements that you desire. As I am just restarting my core routine, I will be leaving a little room to recap some of my core activities for the day to keep me accountable for the habits that I am attempting to develop.

Core from yesterday ( 11/28)

Total push-ups- 30

Total crunches- 70

Ab Sprinters- 30

Windshield Wipers- 20

Front Planks- 30 seconds

Core from today ( 11/29)

Total push-ups- 40

Total crunches- 90

Ab Sprinters- 30

Windshield Wipers- 20

Front Planks - 30 seconds

NOW DROP AND GIVE ME 10!

Tightening the Vice

Our body is our vehicle. If we want the byproduct of our choices to be physical success by conquering our mind, body, and spirit, then we must come to a few particular realizations. The first realization is that our body is our vehicle. If we do not treat our vehicle with the respect that it deserves, then it will never perform to the unrealistic expectations we set for it. The second realization is that any extreme adjustment that we make to our vehicle could potentially set any particular system within our mind, body, or soul spinning out of control. Therefore, any adjustments that are made to our former selves should be steady, but consistent adjustments that will help our vehicle to perform better and better, the new choices we make will eventually become habits and then we can begin to make even better choices to help develop even stronger habits.

I urge anyone that wants to become a more healthy person to go about adjusting your lifestyle in this consistent method.

To help my vehicle perform better I am looking to make a few appropriate physical adjustments for this week ahead. The first adjust is related to the fuel that I am putting into my body. The new habit that I am working to develop is the elimination of the soda from my diet. This choice seems an appropriate step and not extremely drastic. The chance of being successful is high and I hope to that a positive result of this first test will help to strengthen my ability to make serious and realistic goals to help my vehicle perform better.

A second goal is related to the strengthening of my core muscles. However, I will address this goal tomorrow to space out the amount of time I spend writing.

I encourage everyone that reads this post to take time to reflect on your vehicle and what small decisions you can make for this week to help your vehicle perform at its best.

A New Starting Line

We often come to a point in our lives when we step up to a new starting line. Life may have tested you and challenged you in many different ways, but then you realize that you need to begin a new challenge and although you have raced through many of lifes different races something about this race seems different.

The new starting line is perhaps a challenge of understanding all the previous ups and downs that one experiences throughout their life.

The new starting line for me is an attempt to regain a focus and control of the physical, mental, and spiritual. However, the mode in which I am attempting to regain that focus is not a new mode, but the classic art of striding one foot in front of the other, the art of running.

The Bay State Test is an attempt to see what happens when you decide to take supreme control of all your past demons.

This 1st entry is a new starting point to some potentially drastic change in my body, mind, and spirit.

My hope is that as I begin to change into a better runner (and a better human) that I have the ability, strength, and courage to help more people become better people as well.

Today is the begining of the Bay State Test.