The mundane is a must for the sake of progress

Today has been much like many day of the past two months. No running. But I have made a very nice routine to keep my fitness progressing forward even without running. Pretty much shakes out to up at 5am. Out the door by 6am with a belly topped off with fresh oatmeal,raisins,a few almonds,cinnamon and a dash of honey. No sugar. At least the white kind. Also a wee bit of coffee to perk things up.
10 min drive to the gym.... 15 minutes of warm up time on the bike then weight lifting for a solid 45 to 50 minutes. My routine flows pretty much like my running. I do what I feel I should do with some very loose structure to follow. Normally some sort of legs one day,core next,shoulders next,arms next and so on. My go to routine is free weight squats,deadlifts,good mornings and then a sprinkling of many other weighted exercises. Most of my ideas come from the book by Human Kinetics which can be purchased here Running Anatomy.
I have put on a good bit of weight which is normal when I am not running and my body is shifting into muscle building mode. My goal is maximum power with the least mass. I have almost tripled all of my weights since I started this daily routine 2 months ago. Yesterday I was able to eek out 200 pounds on my squat with 6 reps after three sets of 140 10 reps. I saw spots and wanted to pass out when I was done with the 6 reps!
So then it's off to shower.. then the depressing drive to the place I make money at. Snack mid morning,solid lunch snack mid afternoon with some coffee then off to the gym again for the evening session......
The evening session typically consist solely of cardio work. My go to's are the stair climber which is like a mini escalator and the stationary bike. The stair climber is ALWAY open because it's the hardest thing in the gym. One hour and your drenched in sweat. Half hour your also drenched in sweat! I have been able to run about 4 minutes of the usual 30 to 45 that I do on it. My goal is to run 20 solid minutes. Then after 30 to 45 on the climber it's a quick stretching session then onto the stationary bike. A solid 20 to 30 on that and off to the shower and b line home to do homework,eat and hang with the family.
So it has been for the last 2 months. Man I can't wait to run again!
Oh oh oh.. one more thing before I go into algebra mode. I purchased a bike!!!! Planning on commuting to work a few days a week on the rail trail. 18.5 miles each way. Will be a nice cardio work out that DOES not involve being inside.
What has been going in my ear at the gym as of late... would be slayer,terror, sick of it all in the am weight lifting and pod runner mixes in the evening. See this link: http://www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html
So that's it folks. Hopefully my friend Derek drops a not to update everyone on how he is doing and what he is up to.
Night,
Jess

A conversation on depression....

Derek wrote:
was thinking about you today- While I was busy at work, trying to burn off work frustration, I kept my mind at ease by thinking of a long run! Being that both you and I are not running now(but are on the Rest Now, Run Stronger later plan), I was thinking of you and I at Pine 2 Palm next year! Wish you the best brother- hope we can hang soon-
Jesse wrote:
 i too think about those things derek when i am doing squats in the gym at 6:00am in the morning. i am not paid to do it. there is no glory. alone in the corner of the gym giving it my all. putting a deposit in the bank of endurance and mental strength. in this i find life endurance to push through the pain and trials i face. its a small gentle voice that i begin to hear. made audible by suffering. there is joy to be found in suffering if you listen. I often forget this.

Let the games begin

As is sit here on this November 29th evening I hardly feel like a runner anymore. I have not run but maybe 40 miles in the last two months. After running injured in my goal race of the year the Megatransect I ended up with a nasty case of IT Band pain. I believe this was due to my altered stride to compensate for the pain of my original injury.
Either way I have been sidelined from running for TOO long now. I have been keeping my fitness through weight lifting,stair climber and stationary bike 7 days a week. This has also help keep my sanity to at least some degree. I have finally begun to heal but am not fully healed. Hard to believe there will come a time where I once again consider myself a "runner".
So on Jan. 1st of this year my journey will begin towards my first 100 mile race next September. Its funny that the person that has come into my life to take on this journey with me is also suffering from IT Band issues in the same leg as me.
Together we will both battle to come back from the depths of doubting if we truly are "runners" to take on one of the toughest races one can take on. A 100 mile mountain run in the great state of Oregon, named Pine to Palm 100.
Will you follow us on this journey? If you do I will have been honored to have you along.
Cheers,
Jesse