This is who I really am.

This week's Music Monday is "Kick Ass" by Egypt Central. It is a song that I really love to listen to while I work out. The song has a lot of energy and it well.....it kicks ass! If you listen to music while you exercise you NEED this song on your music player. Plus, you gotta give some love to some Memphis boys. Conquer the weakness Work through the pain I can't be defeated I will remain I will not quit Enough said! Enjoy!

Lately I have been having trouble getting my running confidence back. My confidence, mojo, swagger, whatever you want to call it, it's gone.......or should I say it was . After my marathon in early December I really didn't have time to do much in the gym. I spent the first week relaxing and licking my wounds. I got about four good days in then it was time to travel for Christmas. Then there was a very busy work week between Christmas and New Year's. By the time I got started on my half marathon training I was out of shape. Terribly out of shape and it started affecting my confidence. My pants were tight and I felt like a fat slob. So I did what I do best: I jumped into a training program that would kick my ass! I started using every resource I have to find good workouts to get in better shape quickly. I started the advanced half marathon training program and found a few core and cardio workouts to use. But my biggest problem has been getting myself back into my runn...

This week's Music Monday is "The Fantasy" by 30 Seconds to Mars. Why? I have no idea. On my way to work Sunday night this song came on while I was driving through heavy rain and wind. I just got into it while I was driving and repeated it a couple times and it stuck in my head after I got to work. I guess the intensity of it got me focused off of worrying about all of the idiots that were driving and walking (yes walking!) around in the bad weather that was going on. So if you have never heard it.....here ya go! BTW: Isn't Jared Leto a pretty man?!? If you want a great story about the time Jared and I made eye contact feel free to ask me. Enjoy!

This week's Music Monday is "All In The Suit That You Wear" by Stone Temple Pilots. I really wanted to find a motivating song for this week for all of the people that started a New Year's resolution. I thought of this song last week during one of my runs at a time when I was questioning my effort and trying to decide if I was motivated enough. This song came on while these questions were puzzling me. At the EXACT perfect time. The opening lyrics kinda sum up what we go through at times. Those positive thoughts and motivations that we need to get us through sometimes get pushed down because we lose confidence in ourselves and hold ourselves back. Hey you, someone said you were lost out there In the grip, trying to strangle us all down here In the meantime, are you ever gonna set us free Hey you, will we ever get out of here? The "suit that you wear", to me, is the mindset and attitude that you take into a situation. Most of the time when we struggl...

This week's Music Monday is "The Fire" by Rev Theory. This song was brought to my attention by someone very close to me. It is about a couple we know very well. The past year for this couple have been the worst for them. At a time when they should be the happiest, they have not been. They have been selfish, jealous, mean, hateful........almost completely unhappy and at times looked like they were ready to separate. A lot of the words and feelings in this song have been expressed between these two. Recently things have been better for them. They have been spending more time together and seem to be finding "the fire" they had been missing. Hopefully for them 2012 will be much better than 2011. Enjoy!

Last week I had one of those moments I tend to write about in this very blog. Lately I have been trying to get motivated to write more. I just haven't had the time or the creativity to get anything written. The same goes for my exercise/eating habits. I haven't had time to get to the gym and I can tell that I have been putting back food like I am a competitive eater - at every meal. The moment that I had was while I was doing a tempo run. If you do not know what a tempo run is, it is a run where you run the first 1/3 of your run at an easy pace, gradually speed up until you are pushing it your hardest (not a sprint) at 2/3 of your run, then gradually slowing down until you end at your slow pace. I was in a place of self doubt. I probably put on about 10 pounds since my marathon a month ago. A tempo run is not terribly hard if you are in good running shape. But for me on this day it was absolutely brutal. I could feel the extra weight dr...

This week's Music Monday is "Now" by Staind. Recently I was thinking about my New Year's resolution. I was driving to work and listening to this album and two songs really stuck out as songs about making a change. New Year's resolutions are always fun to make but really hard to follow. This past year I swore I was gonna kick 2011's ass . Didn't really happen. I think the problem was that I just wanted to kick ass all year and be awesome at everything: husband, father, friend, running, weight lifting, work, family, blogging, reading, pretty much anything I wanted to do. I went in guns blazing but eventually ran out of ammunition. My problem? I tried to be awesome at EVERYTHING....all at the same time. I found myself spread too thin. There never seemed to be enough hours in the day to do everything I wanted. I couldn't be an awesome runner when I was trying to be an awesome husband. I couldn't get my awesome workouts in because I was trying to ...