INDISTINGUISHABLE

Okay, I'm through the first 4-week cycle of P90X and here are the results so far compared to Day 0.

Day 0.

Day 28.

Day 0.

Day 28.

Yeah, the photos are almost indistinguishable. But that doesn’t really tell the whole story. I can see and feel little changes. For example, the other day I was making a lane change and as I checked my blind spot it sure felt like I was able to turn further around with less difficulty. I attribute this to the added stretching and yoga sessions included in the program.

It’d be easy to get frustrated with no visible results after 4 weeks, but then I was trying to compare P90X to a new running program. If I were to follow some 12 to 16 week running program, I’m pretty sure I would not be in much better shape after just 4 weeks. It takes longer for the body to adapt than that. I figure that first month was just for laying the foundation. Now I can build off of that.

Adding some cardio to my program would probably help too. During those first 4 weeks I did not do any other exercises outside of P90X. I’ll see if I can add some cardio during this next 4 week block of training.

I was hoping to be able to provide some before and after photos of our home renovations by now. However, things came to a stand-still as we waiting over a week for a city inspector to sign off on the wall we tore out. That finally happened last week, so the contractors were able to finish dry walling and painting the ceiling. Granite arrives today, so we’re getting close.

One other update, I sold the dining room set for $100. Probably could have got more for it, but that’s alright. The gal was excited and she appreciated the refinishing job.

Quote of the Day;

"It’s not the runner, but those impersonating the runner, who is at hazard.” – Dr. George Sheehan

SPEECHLESS

Believe it or not, I still consider this a running blog. With that said, be sure to check out my interview with Minnesota's newest Olympic Trials qualifier. Her progression over the last 2-3 years is truly inspiring.

I'm not exactly sure what's going on lately, but I've been receiving a lot of really nice emails.

This one came via Facebook on my birthday;

"You give everyone a present in each of your interviews; a heartfelt thanks for the insights gained reading them...no birthday $ for a gift, so this'll have to do." - Phillip G.S.

I got this one from someone I don't know;

"First, I enjoy reading your interviews with all of the good/famous/talented local runners. They are all really good interviews (and runners alike), and I've managed to glean a lot of good insight and information from quite a few of them." - Tom H.

Then I got this one from my buddy, Jim, who was my 2nd ever interview;

"You are an amazing person--what you accomplish and what's on your plate is inspirational. I'm really pleased to see that you have continued the interviews on Minnesota Running." - Jim G.

Finally, the youth cross country program that I'm the program director and assistant coach for has started up again. We have 35 kids in grades 3-6 signed up. This is my second year with the program and we've made an effort to focus more on fun, in the form of relays, games, obstacle courses, etc., and less on race results. We're only two practices in, so I was really surprised to receive this email;

"I wanted to let you know that after practice Thursday, Molly told me she now wants to be a cross country coach when she grows up. You guys are very inspirational. Thanks for all your hard work." - Julie H.

WOW - that one leaves me speechless!

I wish I could take credit for all the new cool stuff we're doing this year, however, I have to admit I'm "borrowing" a lot of ideas from this awesome site put out by the New York Road Runners. Anyone that coaches kids cross country should check it out.

Check back in the next day or two for some P90X 4-week progress photos, along with an update.
As for quotes of the day, it doesn't get any better than what I've already posted.