David Archive

Update #2

Running

So it turns out that I really hate running.  That lasted for a week.  I was doing fine until the day it snowed, and hat’s the day I stopped.  I hated every step and it made my knee hurt.  I like running with a group, but myself, I always feel like there is something else I could be doing.  You know how runners talk about that “runners high”? I think I have a better chance of finding the Loch Ness monster than I do that euphoric running feeling. I’m not in any worry of falling out of shape.  I still work out 4-5 times per week and eat fairly healthy.

Reading

I finished “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins. I highly recommend it.

I also finished “High Performance Habits” by Brendon Burchard.  It was OK.

I’m currently most of the way done with “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, a classic by Dale Carnegie. This book should be a must read.

Pictures

I had one day that I didn’t leave the house, so I took a picture of my wine rack.  Yeah, I know I phoned that one in.  But most days I have trouble picking a favorite of the few I’ve taken.

Update #1

Is it too early for an update? Nah, I didn’t really get into the basics yesterday. I was focused on getting this site live on the 1st, so I pushed sleep back until it was passable…but not perfect. On these updates I’ll let you know how the running is going and what books I’m reading. Eventually, I’ll link to all the books with my affiliate links so if you purchase one, I’ll get a bag of gluten free pretzels or a third of a beer or something.

Reading Challenge

I’m reading two books. Why two? Admittedly I don’t have the attention span to focus on one, especially since most of them will be non-fiction. The first of the two is “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins.

I had an amazing high school football coach. Coach Mark Speckman was born without hands. But even with this “limitation”, he accomplished things that most people couldn’t. He was an All-American college athlete, played the trombone, could throw a heck of a spiral pass, and was an amazing racquetball player…all with no hands. On top of all this he is a tremendous person, teacher and coach. With as much as he’d accomplished, you couldn’t tell Coach that you “couldn’t” do something. The author of this book is cut from the same cloth.

This dude overcame a terrible childhood to become a Navy Seal. But there was much more. Among other things, he completed BUDS training Hell Week THRICE. I was initially worried that this was going to be a novel about all the battles he was in and baddies he wacked. I’m only about 60% done, but all of the battles he has written about are those in his own head, mastering endurance events and mind over body techniques.

The other book is “High Performance Habits” by Brendon Burchard. This guy is the guru of Performance coaches, or at least that’s what he keeps telling me. I get it guy, all the 1%ers are your clients, and 1000’s have taken your courses. Ok, all that aside, there are some nuggets in here. Ways to get focused, personal mantras to clear your head, etc. He teaches six “high performance habits”. These are fairly common sense but he digs a bit deeper

  • Seek Clarity
  • Generate Energy
  • Raise Necessity
  • Increase Productivity
  • Develop Influence
  • Demonstrate Courage

Running Challenge

The running; still not a fan. Yesterday I just wasn’t feeling it and it was cold. I only ran 1.3 miles. Why did I chose January to do this one? LOL. Today was much easier. I worked my running into my workout. After every set lifted I ran either 0.1 miles or 1 minute, whichever was longer. I was able to squeeze 1.8 miles into my workout but without spending too much extra time in the gym. See, typically you are supposed to rest a minute or so between sets to briefly rest the muscles. So I used that rest time as my run time. Since I was doing upper body muscles, they still got to rest while I got my running bits in. I started at a leisurely level 5 on the treadmill which was like a 12 mile, then notched it up every time I stepped onto the treadmill, eventually running at a level 10 clip (5-ish minute mile).

  1. Day 1 – 1.3 miles
  2. Day 2 – 1.8 miles

The start of my 26 day challenges

Where did this idea come from? Well several years back, a gentleman by the name of Matt Cutts (formerly the SEO guru of Google, now the Administrator at U.S. Digital Service (USDS)) did a Ted Talk called “Try Something New For 30 Days“. He states that 30 days was just enough time to add something or remove something from your life. And small changes are sustainable so they have a better chance of sticking after the challenge. He finished his talk with by mentioning that the next 30 days will pass whether you like it or not, so why not try something you’ve always wanted to do…for the next 30 days.

So why 26 days as opposed to 30? Do I have a fear that those last 4 days are going to be too much for me? No, it’s nothing like that. Well I have had this domain sitting around for a decade or so. I used to use it for a promotion I ran while doing real estate. So that’s where 26 days comes from. But, mathematically 26 days works great. It turns out that 26 goes into 365 fourteen times (14x) with a one extra day, or better yet 28 goes into 365 13 time with three days left over. This will allow me to wrap up the previous 26 day challenge and prep for the next.

So that’s the goal…13 iterations of 26 day goals. Thoughts? Ideas? Want to join me?