Running for 2012

From January through the end of March kendo will be my primary focus, as I prep for both a tournament and rank exam in Kentucky in early March, and the Cleveland tournament sometime at the end of that month. My goal here will be to maintain a solid weekly base in the 40 mile range, and do some good cross-training. I want to do at least one "distance" run in the 10+ mile range, as well.
After that...I see 2012 as the year I finally run my first ultra. I've been trying (and failing) for some time to train myself properly to do an ultra-marathon. But this year I hope will be different. I am planning very long term, and I'm doing quite a bit of research. I want to utilize a 24 week plan I've found in this book, and set up a gradual, solid approach.

My ultra of choice? The Nashville Ultramarathon, a 50 miler in October. I've done a lot of thinking and research, and I've concluded this is my ideal choice, for a variety of reasons. First, it is relatively close. entiailing just a short weekend trip from my home in Indy. Second, it is a road race, which more closely resembles the sort of running I am able to do on a regular basis near my home (I love trail running, but I just don't have a lot of options in that regard around here; at least, not enough to train for anything more than an occasional trail marathon like the Tecumseh). Third, and perhaps most importantly, the Nashville run will be excellent prep for my ultimate 2013 goal--the Run Indiana Project.

After September, I'll likely become very kendo-focused again, looking at competition in the Johnson Cup in December. And 2013, I hope, will be the year of R.I.P.--for which my previous ultra work should be excellent preparation.

My 2012 raining routine will look something like this (allowing for the inevitable changes necessary throughout a busy year). This will likely change in the details, but given my rather extreme type A personality, I like to have at least a preliminary plan for the year in place:

January. 40 miles, 10 distance per week
February.   "    
March.       "    
April.         "
May. begin 24 week training prgram, week of April 30
June.          "
July.          "
August.     "
September.  "
October. Nashville ultramarathon, October 13
November. start lanning, training for R.I.P.
December.    "

December 31-January 1: last sucky days of sucky 2011

2011 is going out with a whimper for me--appropriately enough, since this has not been a good year, fitness-wise. I was unable to do even one organized run this year, I'm still ikyu in kendo, and I've had to deal with all sorts of injuries and setbacks.

Ah, well...tomorrow is a new day and a new year. 2012 will be be better, I think. I'm going to go after shodan in a serious way from January through March, then get my trail running mojo going from April through September. After that I'm hoping to do some good kendo at the end of the year at the Johnson Cup in December. And I'm revamping my entire approach to nutrition and cross-training, for the better.

Anyway...Saturday I was only able to do a little 3 miler on the basement treadmill, what with the various New's Year Eve activities stacked up for the day. Sunday was completely barren, due to yet another family-related road trip and various other activities leaving me so exhausted that, by the late evening (when I finally had at least a little time for a run), I had no energy for much of anything.

I'm rather glad to see the backside of this Christmas season. Here's hoping for a better, more fit and active New Year.

December 30: a little bit better run

Kendo: Nothing. Mudokwan closed today for the New Year's holiday, and I seriously doubt I'll be able to do much home practice for the same reason--the holidays. I'll likely just wait until Monday and then reset my kendo for 2012.

Running: 7 miles. A pretty fast treadmill run in the Fishers YMCA--averaged under a 9 minute mile for the first time in quite a while. Best run I've had this week--on a Friday. Geez...

Nutrition: 1800cal., 50prot. Dodged a couple of bullets here today. Ate at Olive Garden, but found a healthy, veggie-friendly pasta dish on the menu, and wasable to forego any snacks at the movies this afternoon.

December 29: long, ugly day

My entire Thursday, dawn till dusk--way past dusk, actually--was consumed by my grandmother's funeral and the 480 mile return trip to Fishers. Normally I can deal with such obstacles by rising early and using the hotel treadmill, but there was no hotel treadmill at our $%#@ hotel. Sedalia is also very much not a runner's town; no sidewalks (at least, none where we stayed), a lot of traffic, and townspeople who don't seem much used to runners. So, it was total bust day, though I again did pretty well in the nutrition department, all things considered.

December 28: scratching and clawing

My childhood home in Sedalia

Kendo: nothing here, of course. There is I am sure no kendo to be had in Sedalia, Missouri, in any form or fashion.

Running: 6 miles. Road trip today, and a long one. I had a 480 mile drive ahead of me, from Fishers to my old home town of Sedalia, to attend my grandmother's funeral. I managed to squeeze in 3 miles very early in the morning on the basement treadmill, and then 3 more miles just as the sun went down in Sedalia (our hotel had no treadmill). Not a good running day at all.

Nutrition: 1770cal, 100prot. Pretty happy here. Road trips like this tend to wipe out my nutrition plans, but I stuck to my guns here, cutting down on the behind-the-windshield munching and doing Subway for lunch on the road. My one failing was an utter inability to locate anything remotely vegetarian on the Sedalia Applebee's menu--but I did the next best thing with a tilapia dish that compensated somewhat by shoving my protein intake up where it should be.

December 27: an unforeseen short kendo week

Kendo: A very full class at Mudokwan this evening--around twelve of us, which was a nice gathering. We enjoyed a solid workout (I focused largely on the shoulders, as always, though Andrew has--quite rightly, I think--suggested I think about my footwork as well), but were a bit surprised to learn that the dojo will be closed Friday for the New Year's weekend. No kendo at the Y right now, either, so it would seem this will be my only kendo this week.

Running: nothing here. Preparing for the Missouri trip and the evening at Mudokwan left no time for much of anything else.

Nutrition: 1720cal., 60prot.

December 26: bad memory, hectic week

I have to admit, I have totally spaced on what exactly I did today. I'm actually blogging this entry on Thursday evening (a rarity--I don't like to get more than a couple of days behind in my blogging) after a crazy downer of a week dealing with my grandmother's funeral, a long trip to Missouri and back, etc. All I can remember about what I did Monday is:

Kendo: nothing here.

Running: 5 miles. Basement treadmill run, as I recall, but otherwise not much else. I also did some crunches by way of a bit of cross training, and....

Nutrition: 1507 calories, 60 grams protein. I'll blog about what exactly I'm doing here later; right now, I just need to record the data (and thank goodness for the notepad feature on my cell, or I'm sure I'd have forgotten all of this by now--Thursday at 9:30pm

Weekly Plan, December 26-January 1 The New Year

My journey from here......

...to here had nothing to do with a "New Year's Resolution"

I've always hated the "New Year's Resolution" approach to fitness. Every year at about this time we all see and hear a deluge of diet and exercise ads, the fitness centers suddenly get very crowded (one of the staff at the Fisher's Y told me last week that they tend to get buried with the resolution types and subsequent overcrowding after the 1st of January), and everyone is suddenly concerned with weight loss and paying for their Holiday sins. It all lasts until around February, at which point most people simply settle back into their old routines.

I don't mean to sound overly cynical. Most people who attempt fitness-related New Year's resolutions at least mean well, and are making an attempt to fix what's broken in their lives. But how often does it actually work, in the long term? I've seen statistical studies that suggest this is almost never an effective life-changing approach. Look around; many people make such resolutions, year after year, and as a nation Americans just keep getting fatter, year after year.

I've always viewed my own weight loss story as something of a mystery. In 2003 I weighed around 260 pounds; a year later I was done to around 160, and in the nearly eight years since, I've managed to keep my weight more-or-less in the 160-170 range. I have no clear idea what exactly triggered the change in 2003, nor do I know exactly what has enabled me to maintain my weight loss during the ensuing years. Oh, I can describe the various physical components: running, kendo, etc. Anyone interested in the subject can peruse the 2800-odd entries I've made in this blog. But I'm not so clear on the mental changes, what those were and how they work. Nor am I altogether certain I truly understand that nebulous concept called willpower.

But I do know this: none of it had anything really to do with a "New Year's Resolution," or anything along those lines. I don't write this on my blog to discourage anybody from trying during 2012 to lose weight, beginning January 1--if you think that's a good beginning, go for it. But be advised--it is only a beginning, and by itself, a New Year's Resolution means very little.

Still, there is something to be said for using the turnover of a calendar year to refresh and rethink one's fitness goals. The mere numerical turnover to 2012 is a useful mental trigger, in some ways. So for 2012 my approach won't be a "resolution," really, so much as a goal of re-committing to the various aspects of my fitness life, and to find new goals and a stronger sense of commitment.

In this spirit, I'll use this last week of 2011 to take an honest look at where I stand in the three main areas of my fitness life: running, nutrition, and kendo. I have good things to build upon in each area, but there is also room for improvement in each. The foundation of fitness, I've come to believe, is constant re-assessment--looking in the mirror, literally and figuratively. I'll do some blog entries about such matters this week.

I also want to think about ways to make this blog more useful to anyone who happens upon it while searching the web. My blogspot data indicates I have ten followers, and around 20 visitors per day--a very small corner of the web. Still, I've been blogging for a long time now, and this seems to have served a vital purpose at least for me personally, and perhaps for others as well. I'd like to make it a better website in 2012, and I'd welcome any suggestions concerning how this could be so.

In the shorter term, my goals for the week:

Kendo: classes resume at Mudokwan, and I can hopefully continue the streak I began at the end of November in that I've not missed a class since my failed shodan test on November 20. The Xmas break was not really a welcome event for me in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons, and chief among these was the interruption in my kendo. I want to get back in the groove this week,  both at Miudokwan and my my home practice. Shoulders, kiai, and posture...those are my primary focus.

Nutrition: I haven't blogged about this for a long time--and that's the problem. I want to start again, beginning this week. I need to keep better track of what I eat, and I need to tighten up my eating habits in a variety of ways.

Running: Another challenging week, schedule-wise. My grandmother passed away--aged 100, which was pretty remarkable--and so I'll need to travel and attend her funeral midweek, which will make my running schedule problematic. I also have quite a few family obligations of various sorts both at the beginning of the week and during the weekend--so, as always, I'll be obliged to fight for running time. This being the case, I can't really do a viable daily plan at this point. I'll aim for 40-50 miles, total, and get my miles where I can find them.

December 24-25: Holidays

Not much fitness-wise over the Holiday weekend. I only managed a short 4 mile run on Saturday, and no kendo (though on a brighter side, I was able to take advantage of a Christmas sale at ebogu.com and ordered a couple of new shinai).

Christmas wasn't altogether pleasant this year, for a variety of reasons. And in terms of my overall fitness this is also true. My running and kendo were off during the Holiday week, and like pretty much everyone else I didn't eat like I should. I feel heavy, bloated and just generally unhealthy. I've been fighting stomach and GI issues off and on all week long--stress tends to have that sort of effect, and I've has more than my share of late--and my sleep patterns have been disrupted.

December 23: more Xmas busy-ness

Had to fight a lot of traffic running through downtown Fishers today.

Kendo: nothing today. Too much last-minute shopping, etc...

Running:...but I did carve out enough time for a solid 8 miles along Lantern Road. I had to be very careful, because the traffic was worse than usual along Lantern and 116th street--a lot of last-minute Christmas shoppers, I assume.

December 22: Yuletide

Rachel and an unnamed reindeer at the Yuletide concert.

Kendo: managed to do a full practice session at home despite the Christmas craziness. Focused (as always) on posture and shoulders. I'm still too stiff and reaching out too far in my small men strikes--something I really need to address, since it is during jigeiko that my form deteriotiates so badly.

Running: 6 miles. Got in a decent enough run at the Fishers Y, along with 10 minutes on the stairmaster and 15 crunches. Probably the only cross-training I'll get to do this week.

December 21: more flu time

Kendo: nothing here today; still fighting the stomach flu thing....

Running:...which also impacted my running. Just did a short little 4 miler on the basement treadmill this evening.

December 20: fighting off the flu

Kendo: I had to miss our Mudokwan Christmas get-together this evening. I'm fighting off a touch of the stomach flu (my stepson has been terribly ill today); not a bad case where I'm concerned, but enough that I really don't want to be around sushi right now. I was able to do a solid home practice session this evening. I'm focusing only on posture and shoulders, and men strikes. I did 300 reps this evening: 100 forward and back, 100 forward, 100 small men.

Running: 4 miles. Probably shouldn't have done any running at all today, but I did manage a few miles on the YMCA treadmill. Also did 10 minutes on the stairmaster, and 15 crunches on their abs bench. Felt pretty ill afterwards, but at least I got in some decent work.

December 19: back outdoors

Rain has raised the water level, at least somewhat, in the little creek along my Lantern Road run.

Kendo: nothing today. Every spare moment dominated by grading, which I finally finished at around 9:00 in the evening. Hopefully I can do some good home practice for the rest of the week.

Running: 8 miles. Weather was halfway decent this afternoon--temp in the forties, a bit breezy--and I really needed to get my head out of the gradebook for a while. So I managed a decent outdoor run along Lantern Road.

Weekly Plan, December 19-25

Kendo: Christmas week means no classes at either Mudokwan or the YMCA. Our dojo mates are all supposed to get together for sushi Tuesday, in lieu of class, and that's about it. I seriously doubt I'll be able to do anything on Monday--grades are due Monday evening--but after that I'm hoping to get in some decent daily suburi as we head into the holidays.

Running: need to keep this flexible, as well. Christmas disrupts scheduling at the Wellness Center, and to a somewhat lesser extent at the Y, so I'm probably not going to able to much in the way of cross training this week. I also want to keep my daily goals flexible, to take advantage of what is supposed to be decent weather early in the week.

Bottom line: my Christmas running goal is simply to manage 45 reasonably quality miles this week--a worthy enough goal, given my rather light running last week.

December 17-18: grading kind of weekend

Story of my life this weekend

Didn't do much this weekend, other than grading, grading, and still more grading. The life of a college professor is pretty hectic this time of year; grades trump pretty much everything, including running and kendo. I did manage a short little 4 mile run on the basement treadmill Saturday night, but nothing at all Sunday...and nothing in the way of kendo.

December 16: little kendo quirks

Kendo: our last class before Christmas (no classes next week). We worked on kata during the first part of class. I was paired with Steve, and we ended up repeating the fifth kata numerous times. This was my doing; as uchidachi, I have always struggled with the men cut on the fifth kata; I keep striking a hard downward thrust, rather than out and ending at shodachi's chin level, which makes the suriagi block difficult for shodachi to execute. I keep wanting, in other words,to turn the fifth kata into the first kata.

I know better than this. It is in my head to do the proper technique, but for whatever reason, I just can't seem to execute it properly. We must have repeated the fifth kata twenty times (Steve is a very patient kendo mate, thank goodness). Towards the end I was making progress and doing the strike properly; but I'm sure I'll need to practice this a great many more times, to get the proper rather than improper strike in my subconscious, my muscle memory, if you will.

This is one of the more maddening and frustrating aspects of kendo. So much of kando happend just below the level of conscious thought that it is very easy to pick up these little quirks, and much, much more difficult to correct those quirks.

Running: 6 miles. Good little WC run.

December 15: overdoing it a bit

Kendo: shoulders...that's my focus. I practiced this evening with my whole emphasis on keeping my shoulders relaxed and down. After warmups I did 150 men strikes to that end. I'm also trying to focus on proper left-handed power; Satomi-sensei pointed out to me in Tuesday's class that my right arm is too stiff, and this is also disrupting my posture.

Running: 6 miles (8.6 pace). I'm home today and Friday, doing nothing but grading. This (and cold weather) puts me in the Fishers YMCA. I did a fast treadmill run--quite fast, in fact, and I really pushed the speed towards the end. This worked to my detriment with my cross-training, however, for I found when I climbed on the stairmaster that maybe I'd pushed it a bit too far. I could only manage 10 minutes on the thing before my quads were just totally trashed. Guess I'll need to do do the rest of today's cross-training later in the week.

December 14: off day

How I spent a good part of my day--reading Runner's World as I proctored final exams

Kendo: extremely busy work day, proctoring two finals on campus and a lot of grading through the evening. No chance to do anything in the way of kendo.

Running: 4 miles. My running was off today, as well. For a variety of reasons I haven't gotten much sleep the last couple of nights--around four hours each night--and it caught up with me. I just had nothing this morning in the Wellness Center, so I ended up with just a light run around the track.

December 13: back to a large class

Kendo: class was back to our normal large attendance for Tuesdays, with about a dozen of us. Hiro and Satomi-sensei were back from their respective illnesses, and we had most of our regular attendees of late.

Changed things up a bit and worked on kata (rather than bokuto keiko), followed by a lot of kirikaeshi. Hiro observed during my strikes that I have become very right-hand-heavy, stiffening my right shoulder and wrecking my posture. He wants us all to think in terms of left-handed power, and to avoid reaching out to correct distance (a bad of mine). I therefore tried to maintain my posture, even when on a couple of occasions my motodachi wasn't maintaining the right distance and my strikes weren't landing properly. I felt that, at this stage of my training, I'd rather keep proper posture, even if this means missing with my strikes.

I tried to keep the same mindset during jigeiko: shoulders relaxed, proper strikes, don't extend the arms to the point that my shoulders and upper body move up and forward. This meant, predictably enough, that I got nailed a lot, doing jigeiko by turns with Andrew, Nicholai, and Steve. But Hiro (and others) have been drilling this thought into our heads--forget being struck. This isn't shia kendo, after all, and it was for this very reason that I declined to attend the Johnson Cup. I need to think only about posture, shoulders, kiai, and the basics right now, rather than being struck.

And this seemed to help. I had a very good bout with Nicholai, who told me the shoulders look a bit better, as did Andrew. I got all stiff and bolluxed up again when we did uchikomi with Hiro and Satomi-sensei, so of course I have a great deal of work to do. But this is progress.

Running: 6 miles. Did my usual shorter run/cross routine in the Wellness Center. I've decided to limit cross training to just the four sets I'm doing now, at least for the foreseeable future: stairmaster, bike, abs-weights, crunches. To that end, I did 15 minutes, level 6 on the stairs, ten minutes level 6 on the bike (Alpine pass program), 3 sets of 12 reps each on the abs (70 lbs.), and 12 crunches on the incline bench.

December 12: decent enough run

Kendo: worked on nothing but shoulders tonight at home. After warmups did 150 men strikes, paying attention each time shoulders and posture as much as possible.

Running: 8 miles (9.1 pace). Pretty decent Monday run in the Wellness Center, and actually did a mile further than my weekly plan required.

Weekly Plan, December 12-18

Kendo: I'm going to focus my home practice sessions on just one particular issue this week: shoulders. I need to get a better shoulder position worked into my muscle memory, so to speak, so that it becomes natural and doesn't wreck my jigeiko. So this week I'm going to do--in addition to warmups, etc.--nothing but big men strikes, thinking primarily about my shoulder position. And of course, both classes at Mudokwan.

Running: build on some good things from the last few weeks. It's finals week at AU this week, which means--in addition to a lot of grading--a more open schedule, and a bit more variety. I think my week will look something like this:

Mon: 7 miles
Tues. 6 miles/cross training
Wed. 7 miles/hills
Thurs. 6 miles/cross
Fri. 7 miles/speed
Sat. 12 miles

Total: 45 miles

End of week assessment, December 5-11

Kendo: good week here. I haven't missed a Mudokwan class since my rank exam, and I think I'm making at least a bit of progress in that I'm gaining a sharper focus on what I need to address in my kendo. Kiai, posture and shoulders--these three things are my primary focus for the foreseeable future.

Running: 42 miles (made goal). Good week here too, as well. Made my weekly mileage goal, got in some quality stairs and cross training, and (aside from Thursday) maintained a decent pace. My only complaints are my lack of speed training, and my need to work in some better individual distance runs.

December 10-11: back outdoors

Felt very wintry outside today.

Kendo: Saturday I worked in a good practice session, focusing on shoulders and men strikes. Sunday was an off  day, the only day this week during which I did nothing kendo-related.

Running: 6 miles each, Saturday and Sunday (12 total). Pretty chilly on Saturday, so I did a treadmill run at the Y. Sunday was warm enough-barely--to run outside this afternoon, so I ran Lantern Road (something I haven't actually done for quite a while), and listened to the Colts go 0-13 on my ipod.

Running: choosing my next run

In the spirit of not entirely neglecting my running during this period of intense focus on my kendo (between now and April), I'm considering what sort of run I wish to do next. I really want to do this right and choose carefully, especially after the various debacles I experienced this last year.

My basic criteria in choosing my next run:

1. No training until after the Cleveland kendo tournament. The tournament should happen sometime near the end of March (as of this writing (December 11) no date has been posted), and between now and then I do not wish to divide my attention by trying to do serious training for a run. I'll still run, of course--I have a pretty good plan for my winter running--but I don't want to do a focused, intense training plan until after Cleveland is concluded.
2. Leave time for a full 16 week plan. I tried to do a shorter plan this summer while training for the Monumental, and that turned out to be a terrible idea (one of the factors that scuttled the Monumental for me). I want a full, complete training plan, to prepare properly. This means that the earliest races I can consider must be scheduled on or after July 21, 2012.
3. Find a run that is good preparation for R.I.P. I still very much intend to do the Run Indiana Project in March 2013, and I see this next race as sort of a launch point for that much more ambitious project. This being the case, I want to find a race that is ambitious and challenging enough to be worthwhile, and useful preparation. I haven't quite yet decided whether this means a challenging marathon or an ultra.
4. The run needs to be practical, and compatible with my teaching and family schedule. Goes without saying. I need something within a reasonable traveling distance, not too costly, and scheduled on a date that does not conflict with all the other moving parts of my busy life.

So far, the candidates I have identified:

1. July 28, Burning River 100 mile Endurance Run, Willoughby Hills, OH (near Cleveland), 100m. I like the location, which is reasonable, as is the date. Not real sure I want to attempt a 100 miler for my very first ultra. 
2. Sep 7-8, Run Woodstock, Pinckney, MI, 50km/50miles, 100 miles. I would choose either the 50k or 50 mile option here. Definite possibility.
3. July 28, Grand Isle Trail Marathon, Munising, MI, 26.2. Really leanng towards this one. Location isn't too far away, perfect date, and I've read great things about this run. Trail Runner did a feature article on this run a few months ago, labeling it one of the best trail events in the Midwest. My only objection: I would prefer an ultra.

December 9: carrying the shoulders thing a bit too far

Kendo: bit of an unusual class this evening. Quite small (typical for this time of the year; as we get closer to Xmas, the Holidays tend to effect our attendance): Park-sensei, Kate, Mark, Steve and myself. Hiro was out with a cold, and Nicholai had a rare absence, so I ended up leading mokuso and warmups as senior student, while Park-sensei conducted the class.

Park-sensei has always emphasized a relatively small number of basic points: make a clear cutting motion at the end of your strike rather than just hitting, endlessly practice men, put your heart and mind on the shinai's monouchi, etc. He spoke of these things again this evening, as we did basic footwork and floor drills, and kirikaeshi (along with a bit of jigeiko). In particular, Park-sensei devoted time to practicing proper blocking techniques for motodachi during kirikaeshi (we've all gotten rather sloppy on this), and the correct posture, hand placement, and attitude for mokuso.

I've been listening to Park-sensei discuss these points for years now. I suppose there would be those who found such an approach tedious. But I've come to understand that Park-sensei's approach to kendo (and probably the other martial arts, as well, all of which he practices with a high degree of skill) is very much rooted in this endless search for absolute perfection in executing proper basics. I like this. I also like his emphasis on mokuso and zen meditation, often neglected aspects of kendo that I think I would do well to emphasize. Good mokuso will lead to a proper mindset, better concentration and a relaxed approach that is crucial to improving my kendo.

All of which is to say how much I enjoyed working with Park-sensei this evening. Hiro is my kendo sensei and good friend, and I feel extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to learn kendo under his guidance. But this is in no way to slight Park-sensei, a fine man and an excellent teacher in his own right.

Running: 6 miles. Lately, I've had my mind focused on kendo to such an extent that it is even much on my mind while I run. This morning I tried to practice proper kendo shoulder placement and posture while running in the Wellness Center. Seemed like a good idea, but I may have carried it a bit too far, because my concentration on these things really changed my running stride, and probably for the worse. Lowering one's shoulders and keeping a good posture is a good idea while running too, of course, but I think that in doing so I really shortened my stride, got up on my toes a bit too much, and ended up with a snail's pace of a run, approaching 9.8 minute miles. Yech. Probably shouldn't do this again.

December 8: self-assessment

Kendo: I finally was able to watch most of the CD Hiro gave us from the class at Mudokwan he recorded last week. This was a very useful exercise. I found interesting (and telling) the fact that I was able to identify my classmates rather easily because I've done kendo with them for so long, but I sometimes had trouble picking out myself among my bogu-clad compatriots. This just illustrates the value of this CD; I just don't have a very good idea about what my kendo looks like.

I'll need to watch the CD a few more times to do a really detailed analysis, but I'm already taking away one broad (and very helpful) observation: my kendo looks bad during jigeiko. When I do bokuto keiko and drills, my posture and shoulders, while far from perfect are at least halfway decent. But during jigeiko it all gets very stiff, jittery and awkward--exactly what has been sinking me during the rank examinations. I lean too far forward, my shoulders are up and stiff, and my movements nervous and jumpy. I suspect this is due to the simple fact that, when doing jigeiko, I'm concentrating on striking and being struck. Naturally enough, I suppose, but it's wrecking my posture and technique.

Running: 6 miles. I made up for yesterday's shortened stairs routine by doing an extra mile today, and doing two of those miles on the stairs. I also did my cross-training: 15 minutes on the stairmaster, 8 on the bike (both hills, level 6), and my two core workouts (weights and crunches). Had a decent day here, I believe.

December 7: weary day

Kendo: Hiro did us all a very valuable service. During last week's Mudokwan class, he--with able assistance from Josh--recorded our entire class. He then burned the recording onto CD's, gave us each a copy, and told us to use the footage for training purposes.

This is a very good idea, something I plan to do with my home practice sessions eventually (I need to locate a good camera and tripod). It is so difficult to know just what exactly we are doing wrong and right in kendo if we can't see ourselves. This is particularly true for my own situation; I need to correct problems in my shoulders, posture and footwork that I cannot see for myself without the aid of a camera.

At any rate, this evening I started to watch the CD. I only was able to watch the first fifteen minutes or so--it was a very long, exhausting day--but I can already tell this is going to be very useful.

Running: 5 miles. I did my stairs workout in the Wellness Center today, but came up a couple of miles short, and ran at a terribly slow pace, even for my stairs routine (which slows me down even on good days). I was just really exhausted, a feeling that lasted all day. I don't think I've gotten enough sleep, lately, with end-of-the-semester grading, etc. (not to mention two books that require editing and indexing). This is no excuse, of course, but today was just one of those off days.

December 6: uchikomi

Kendo: Mudokwan classes have been somewhat small, of late--around eight kenshi who attend on a regular basis. This evening we had that number, which actually worked pretty well, since it gives us a bit more room on the floor. Following bokuto keiko we worked quite a lot on kirikaeshi, focusing on proper kiai and attaining a good distance from our opponent. Hiro then led us in uchi komi (a bit like hikarikeiko, with the difference being that motodachi deliberately displays openings). I tried to keep my mind on my kiai, and lowering my shoulders--this last with, at best, mixed success, as Hiro told me a couple of times that I'm still too stiff in my upper body, and I'm still over-correcting distance by leaning up and out.

In fact, this wasn't one of my better classes. I was dogged by little mistakes and a general sloppiness that I can neither explain or excuse. My hope is to simply persevere, work through experiences like this, and get out of me whatever it is in my mind--stress, lack of concentration--that causes my shortcomings.

Running: 5 miles. Some good basic laps in the Wellness Center, followed by cross-training. I'm aiming for 15 minutes on the stairmaster (hills program) and bike (alpine pass program) at level 6 (I'm trying to keep both machines at the same level; it's easier to remember). I managed the 15 minutes on the stairmaster, but only 8 minutes on the bike, and I was pretty sore (in a good way) when I finished. I then did some core work: reps on the abs machine (60 lbs., 3 sets of 12 reps each, with 20 seconds between sets), and then 10 crunches on an inclining bench.

December 5: shoulders

Kendo: late evening home practice. I'm finding that, with my current work and family schedule, my best time to practice kendo at home is later at night, after everyone else has gone to bed. this has its advantages and disadvantages, but for now it is just about my only workable practice time.

This evening I thought about nothing other than my shoulders. Hiro wants me to concentrate on relaxing my shoulders, keeping them down and back, so that my strikes look more relaxed and smooth. Easier said than done, but I worked hard on that tonight, doing around 200 men strokes with only my shoulder position in mind. Guess I made some progress here, but it's going to take time.

Running: 7 miles (9.0 pace). Not a badly paced run at all in the Wellness Center, especially for a Monday run.

Running: goals

Kendo is my primary focus between now and the Cleveland tournament and rank examination (likely the end of March; no date has yet been announced). While kendo and running have over the years been more-or-less coequal components of my fitness life, I've learned that, at any given time I need to have a primary focus on one or the other--a major note and a minor note, so to speak. And if my recent setbacks in kendo have taught me anything, it is the need for focus.

That being the case, what to do with my running between now (December 3) and the end of March?

The big goal, the Run Indiana Project, remains the same, with an aim towards the spring of 2013. That's a ways off, so short term my thinking leads me towards 1) maintaining a solid weekly mileage base, 2) doing some decent cross-training, 3) increasing my pace, and 4) setting some sort of distance running goal, a race of some sort that will help me keep my sense of purpose through the upcoming winter.

I'm not sure what that race will be yet. Ideally, I'd like to find a good ultra, in the 50k/50mile range, the better to lay a solid foundation for R.I.P. But I don't want to begin serious training before the Cleveland kendo gig--I do not want to lose my focus on kendo for the next few months. I've also found that training in the wintertime for a long race is very, very difficult, given the weather conditions and my teaching schedule.

All of this being case, my running goals between now and the spring will look like this:

1. maintain a weekly running base in the 40-50 miles per week range.
2. in any given week, I want to do at least one speed run, a hills/stairs run., and a distance run of at least 10 miles.
3. cross -training twice a week, focusing on lower body strength and core training.
4. identify, register for, and create a training program for an ultra of some sort in the late spring or early summer
5. setup scheduling, financials, and publicity for R.I.P.

Weekly Plan, December 4-11

Kendo: should be a normal enough week: both Mudokwan classes, and practice at home. I'm thinking primarily about two things right now: kiai and posture. On that last point, I'm going to focus my home practice this week on my shoulders, keeping them low and back, as Hiro suggests.

Running: my last week of classes at AU before finals and the Xmas break, so my schedule will look pretty similar to what it has been for the last month. I also want to add a new exercise to my cross training, something core-related.

The week should look like this:

Mon.: 7 miles
Tues.: 5 miles, cross training
Wed.: 7 miles (stairs)
Thurs.: 5 miles, cross training
Fri.: 7 miles (speed training)
Wkd: 12 miles

Total: 43 miles

End of Week Assessment, November 28-December 3

Kendo: another good week here. Made both Mudokwan classes, and seem to have made some progress in impressing upon the people around me that I do indeed intend to make both my kendo classes each week, come what may. I'm beginning to focus my mind upon the chief goals I must meet to improve me kendo: kiai and posture, for the most part. I've made kendo my top fitness priority, and I have my mind properly focused here. the arrow is definitely pointed up.

Running: 33 miles (missed goal by 7 miles). Actually a good week, until Sunday. I ran with good pace and variety, and was only derailed by Sunday's bout with some intestinal issues. I've also gotten my cross training pretty firmly off the ground.

December 4: down day

Nothing today. Fought some serious GI issues again, which have plagued me off and on for several days. I'm taking a couple of different kinds of medicine for my ongoing dental issues, including an antibiotic and a steroid, and my wife thinks these may be playing havoc with my digestion, etc. Whatever the reason, this was a bad day all the way around.

December 3: in the basement

Bad weather kept everyone indoors today

Kendo: did a good home practice session today. I'm thinking more about my shoulders than anything else, trying to keep them down and back to improve my posture. Unfortunately, it is very difficult for me to see if I'm actually making progress; I have no mirrors in my practice area at home. Might be a good idea to rig some sort of camera/tripod system and film my men strikes, so I can see what I'm doing and adjust accordingly.

Running: 5 miles. Wet, cold weather and a busy family schedule drove me into the basement and on my home treadmill this evening--something I generally try to avoid. Still, as far as such things go, it wasn't a bad run.

December 2: new kendo look

Feeling pretty spiffy in my keikogi

Kendo: attended class this evening at Mudokwan rocking a new keikogi that I just ordered from ebogu.com. I feel as if I really need to get two sets of keikogi/hakama, rather than just wearing the same one over and over. At any rate, I ordered one of ebogu's higher end keikogi, and it felt very comfortable (and sufficiently long; I hate wearing a keikogi that's too short).

Class went well, attended by our regulars plus a couple of kenshi from Purdue. I focused on kiai as much as possible during class, and posture. Hiro reiterated my need to work on keeping my shoulders down and back, my back straight, and correcting distance with my core and feet, rather than my hands.

Running: 5 miles. Didn't feel well at all this morning, with some ongoing GI issues and just a general lack of energy. I therefore just did a short little run in the Wellness Center, trying to save what energy I did possess for kendo later in the evening.

December 1: cross training

Kendo: did some good home practice this evening. I've decided to keep the core of my home practice routine intact--sonkyo, chudan no kamae, warmups, 100 men, 20 each kote and do--while adding work on whatever I think I more specifically need to address, given the input Hiro has given me at the dojo. This evening I worked on posture, keeping my back straight and shoulders lowered as I do men strikes.

Running: 5 miles. Followed a brief run at the Wellness Center with some solid cross training. Fifteen minutes on the stairmaster, 100 minutes with the Alpine Pass program on the stationary bike, both at level 5 (I'm trying to use the same level on all of various machines; it's easier to remember). I then did some work on the abs machine, by way of starting a core workout program.

November 30: "hills"

Kendo: worked on "details" today; specifically, some issues I've been having with my bogu. For some reason, I've been having a heck of a time with my tenegui, lately--I just can't seem to get it on straight, or tight. This is ridiculous, of course, but I think I've developed some sort of subtle glitch, or a kendo version of Steve Blas disease, or whatever. So I actually booted up a couple of youtube videos relating how one properly ties a tenegui, and practiced this evening. A minor point, I know. But attention to detail is something in my kendo that I really need to address.

Running: 7 miles. Hills day, or as close to "hills" as I can get in central Indiana. I alternate Wednesdays between running stairs at the Wellness Center and doing a hills program on a WC treadmill. Today I ran a 4 mile warmup on the track, then did a 3 mile hills program, level 5, on the treadmill.