A Nice Ten Mile Run

I set out to run ten miles today with the intention of not pushing my speed, which can get me very emotional when I run.....when I feel my body pushing for a personal best time, and when I know it's not the "right day" to go that hard, I can get very scared when I run. No fun! What am I doing that for? Save it for the day I am feeling the great mojo! I don't have to prove anything to anyone, just keep myself healthy.

So I ran with purpose: Stay off the speed and focus on form and enjoyment. And I succeeded! And my time was still good: I averaged 6:50 per mile. Still two seconds under my cut-off time for running a sub-90 minute half marathon. Just reducing the speed from a 6:35/6:40 type of run to what I ran today lets me relax so much. I need to remember that......

Back in the Blog-o-sphere!

Hey Fellow "Project" Alum and Newcomers!

Though I am not in the project, I believe I am going to be a mentor with this winter's group so I want to get back in the saddle and start communicating!

My name is Rob Johansen. I have gone through two rounds of the Project and loved both experiences. I am looking forward to helping this group in any way I can.

I am currently putting myself through a mini-type of project...kind of inspired by Chris. I have put myself on a two week South Beach Diet, phase 1.....the short story: No cereal, no bread, no rice or pasta, no fruit. I am just trying to give myself a bit of a clean-out. Trying to lose a few pounds and curb a bit of an addiction to munching on cereal every time I walk past the pantry.

As I learned in The Project, you'll be amazed how fast calories add up. Those fistfuls of cereal I was having could easily add up to 500 additional calories a day. And since much of it was "mindless eating" I wouldn't figure it into my daily intake. It's been four days without doing that, and I already notice a big difference! Will I go back to having cereal? Frankly, YES! But it's good to curb it and after two weeks gently re-introduce it. Hopefully I won't want it as much!

Anyway, I will be around the blog world and I look forward to reading all your posts. Happy New Year!

xoxo,

Rob

Waiting to arrive in the NOW

Haven't posted anything for six months. But re-reading some old posts, I thought it was time. Even if no one else reads this, it's nice to have records of where I am at different points.

I am really blue. I have good stuff going on, and things keep cropping up in my career that give me more hope for a better future. But I feel no spark personally right now. I rehearsed my one man show today (by myself) and felt GREAT. But still feel no personal spark.

I feel I need to find my passion again. My heart feels like wet cardboard. I feel heavy in my heart and wish I could cry it out. I don't know what to do to shake it.

I think I am feeling old. I know that is lame. And the folks who have been on this blog that are older than me will smack me for saying that, but right now that's kinda the way I feel. No hot sauce in my soul.

I know it will probably be a phase. But I thought I should write about it and hopefully look back and laugh in a few (days? weeks?.....hopefully not months......! and let's not even talk about the "y" word!)

Workouts are good. Took a day off today....first one in too long! I think I am overdoing it at the gym sometimes, so I need to remember to take a knee sometimes......

Okay, more later. When I have my shit together and feel better!

Of course, if anybody reads this, I welcome any shot in the arm you have for me!

Hill Training.....great for us FLATLANDERS!

I went back to NY to visit my family last week and had three opportunities to do some of the hardest running us Hoosiers can do: HILLS.

The first run was easily in the top five hardest workouts I have ever done. It was a run up Mt. Beacon in NY state. Only 2.5-2.75 miles....but the last mile and a half is a constant mountain climb....at times over a 20% grade. I ran it with my nephew who has been doing it several times a week and I thought I was going to have to stop twice, but I plowed through. The reward was a gorgeous resivoir at the top, and a great swim. I was obliterated. Granted, I had done a weight workout earlier that day, and it was about 90 degrees, but it would have been extrememly hard anyway.

I was so intrigued by it, that I ran it again two days later. Not as fast this time, but I made it. I ran alone and didn't push as hard as when I was with my Nephew.

Two days later, I ran at my Mom's on River Road (Ive blogged about that before) and I BLEW through those hills!!!! Something about the mountain's constant climb made the River Road seem much easier.

And today, at an indoor track at NIFS I took advantage of my "mountain legs and lungs" and set two records for myself. Fastest five miles ever (6:28/mile) and fastest 6 miles ever (6:28,75/mile). No, I didn't run 11 miles! I ran 6 miles, but noted the time each mile.

So if you can get to some hills....train on them!!!

Peace,

Rob

Another Mini Under my Belt......

Ran a half marathon yesterday in 91:30. Not an official race, just me in my neighborhood. Felt really good and I was glad I brought my stopwatch. I wasn't going to for fear of getting too much performance hype in my head. But I never did. I felt like my RPE started out at about a 7, and when I finished my first lap (it takes a little over nine laps around my neighborhood to do a mini) I was surprised that my time was 10:10. Usually I have to push to get under a ten minute lap. Since I was close to that, I decided to lightly push the next lap, which I did in 9:44. Well, then my positive cometitive juices kicked in and I had a lot of fun challenging myself, without going overboard. The result was the fastest half marathon I've run in two months. Not my personal best, but really good on a day when I was just going to run without timing myself.

I can push myself for another sub-90 half marathon. It's just about putting the fear aside and doing the work and enjoying the effort.

QUESTION FOR CHRIS OR ANYONE ELSE: Is it common to be stronger on your "non-dominant side" and better with balance on your "dominant side"? I am and I think it's odd.
My entire left side is stronger than my right, but my right leg is a much better anchor for single-leg poses than my left. What is up with that?!?!?!

Update.....a brief one!

Keeping up with Kelly!!! I will not let her have to take on the whole blogging duties!!!!

My trip back home was AMAZING! My Mom was blown away and surprised completely by the party.

And near the end of the great night, Jen and I wound up on the dancefloor with about five of my nephews teaching them yoga moves! Headstands and arm balances! And they did really well and we provided lots of entertainment for the hard-core party-goers.

And the day before the party, I ran ten miles on River Road. I have run a half-marathon on that road, but this was cooler and maybe more challenging. The reason: I ran a hillier section of the road. It was INSANE!! So steep hills, but it felt really wonderful. And Jen did three miles and one mile walking, so I think she is good to go for the "Go Girl" race!!!!!

Jen and I took the ACRO-YOGA workshop tonight and it was wonderful! We balanced each other in lots of different poses. Although some of it is challenging, I think many of our community could do lots of these poses. Kelly! You and Matt could totally do these! We should talk!!

Hope all are well!

Rob

My Mom is Turning 80!

Hi All,

So next weekend Jen and I will be travelling East to see my family and have a party for my Mom. She is tunring eighty, and I can't really belive that. Well, part of me can. I think we are all aware somewhere inside ourselves of the constant progression of time. When my Dad passed on in 1989, a clock sounded in my head that began a different awarness of my mortality and everyone around me. And it seems like only a short time ago my family was having a party for my Grandma turning 80, and now it's my Mom........the onion keeps peeling, doesn't it?

I don't know what to say about it, except that it's cool. It must be! It's what we all signed on for. Or what our parents signed us on for when they has us. But I feel like we signed on for this life, and our parents just provided the entrance into this world. Sometime I'll explain my theory behind this, and then you'll all think I am either really in touch with things, or a real whack-job!!


My bod feels pretty good. My voice is a little ratty, which is no good for actors! My fault for doing some things that don't help it, like the occasional cigarrette. But I am working on keeping that down. I want to admit that I do that to my "healthy community" of friends because otherwise I feel I am hiding it, and that is only adding to the issue in a negative way. And you know, there is a part of me that views an OCCASIONAL smoke as an ok thing. But the majority of my mind and heart recognizes that it is incidious; it will always be a habit forming and addictive temptation. And it will not help my career.

Besides that little ommision, I feel very strong and healthy. Mixing up the workouts: Some project stuff (the last one Chris put out there was GREAT!) and running, biking and the Gauntlet. All of these are keeping me strong for the upcoming acting season and for perhaps becoming a Papa......!

Jen and I are talking about.....no, I don't like the term "trying". We are talking about "making the opportunity very possible" for becoming pregnant. Haven't made things fully possible yet, but maybe soon. Scary and absolutely wonderful!

What else? Thanks to my Nephew, Zack, I am picking up the guitar after a sixteen year pause! Only for fun and probably just for myself and Jen, but it's so nice to strum some chords again. So theraputic. And Jen has begun tickling the piano keys again! Hopefully we will keep this up. Much better than the t.v.

Wow, lots of topics. But I will keep writing thanks to Kelly and Chris for the re-inspiration into blog-dom!!

With love,

Rob