The FCC

A Couple More Weeks In The Life Of The FCC

2010-08-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

What’s a couple of weeks like in the life of the FCC?

8/15 – The Punisher
8/16 – Tabata chinups, ring pushups, SB crunches and squats with 5 mins of heavy bag at the beginning, end and between each exercise, mowed the lawn
8/17 – Walked the Beast once, 30 mins heavy bag, 1+ mile walk, walked Elmo twice
8/18 – The Punisher
8/19 – Ran/hiked both Table Rocks
8/20 -- Snatches, power snatches, power cleans, front squats, 1 arm kettlebell swings and pullups
8/21 -- Barbell bench presses, dumbbell bench press & flye supersets, upper body medicine ball plyos and steep angle decline pushups, 30 mins heavy bag
8/22 – Hiked up Hobart Bluff and Soda Mt
8/23 – Ran/hiked both Table Rocks
8/24 – Walked the Beast twice, 30 mins heavy bag, walked Elmo twice
8/25 -- Birthday Workout! Four circuits of KB swings, squat thrusts, pullups, ring pushups, SB crunches and SB leg curls. The reps on the four circuits was my age and my birthdate (52, 8, 25, 58), 30 mins heavy bag
8/26 – The Punisher, 1+ mile walk
8/27 – Hiked the Mt Ashland Meadows portion of the PCT
8/28 – Rest

"Feelin' Alive!"

~Patrick

Recovering From the SOB

2010-07-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

Although a little recovery time was needed after the SOB, I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. So here's a little breakdown of what an FCC member does to recover......

On Sunday,the day after the SOB, Clista and I hiked the Jacksonville trails for almost 2 hours, plus lots of VRAs filled out the day.

The next day I did 30 mins on the heavy bag in the morning and a workout of BB bench presses, supersets of DB flyes and presses, ring pushups and decline pushups in the afternoon. Plus lots of VRAs to make the day complete.

On Tuesday I Started with a 2.5 hour, 7+ mile hike with a client in the morning, then a good workout of weighted pullups, high cable rows, chinups, rear delt flyes and hanging scap retraction/depression. I finished the day by walking Elmo a couple of times with clients.

On Wednesday, I took it a little easy and started the day walking the Beast a couple times with a client, then I got out in the hot sun and washed my car. In the evening, Clista and I rode our bikes to the park for a concert. Nothing too intense, just some good moderate activity.

On Thursday, even though I intended to avoid the Table Rocks this week to give my legs a break, the call of the Sirens was just too great. So, I ran/power hiked them both (mostly ran).
And when you hear the sound of a rattle snake, there is no mistaking it for anything else......I didn't stick around to see how big it was.

Friday was an actual rest day....nothing more than a few VRAs.

Saturday, a week after the SOB, was a busy day, but I made time for a quick workout in my 108 deg gym.....100 reps each of chinups, ring pushups, SB crunches and squats. Lots of VRAs rounded out the day nicely.

On Sunday, Clista and I had a great time hiking and running up (and yes, down too) Wagner Butte. The wildflowers were out in force and the views were awesome!

On Monday, my overall workout motivation level was kinda low, but I did manage to do an efficiency workout of some front squats, bench presses and weighted pullups......better than nuttin'.

And that brings us to today. After walking the Beast 4 times and doing 200+ lunges with clients this morning, I ran/hiked both Table Rocks. As usual, I ran all the way down both of them and ran the Lower Table Rock Plateau out and back, but this time I needed something different on the way up so I power hiked the less steep parts and sprinted up the steeper parts. Later I walked Elmo a couple of times with clients and added in lots of VRAs to round out the day.

"Feelin' Alive!"

~Patrick

SOB madness!!!

2010-07-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Now, let's put this whole SOB thing into perspective.....here's what Todd had to say about the 50k.......

"I was planning on letting the feet recover more and wear shoes for the race, but 4 miles in I had to kick them off. It felt good until I hit the rocky gravel road. By the time I finished I did 12 miles in ultra thin aqua socks, 10 in Nike Frees, and 9 barefoot.

Good fun with good friends!

Siskiyou Out Back

2010-07-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

I finished 5th in my age/gender group and 82nd overall in the 2010 SOB 15k Trail Run. This is the first running competition I've ever entered and finished in 1 hour 35 mins. And congrats to Clista for competing in her first competition and finishing 7th in her age/gender group.

"Feelin' Alive!"

~Patrick

Mt. Ashland Meadows and the Past Two Weeks

2010-06-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, in part to prepare for the SOB, Clista and I ran/hiked the Mt. Ashland Meadows portion of the PCT--TWICE! We ran over 8 miles of the total of 13.2 miles of trail.

Since The Big Ride, in addition to Sunday's run I've also run/hiked Grizzly Peak, the Jacksonville trails, both Table Rocks (UTR twice), the Lithia Park trails, plus a couple of good bike rides and several heavy lifting and circuit training workouts.

Now, time to back off just a little to be rested and recovered for the SOB.

"Feelin' Alive!"

~Patrick

The Big Ride

2010-06-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is gonna leave a mark!

This morning, starting at home on the valley floor (elev ~1300 ft) I rode my bike to the west side of the valley up Johns Peak (~3000 ft). Then I headed down and to the east side of the valley and rode up Roxy Ann (~3500 ft). I then came back down to the valley floor and rode the north/south length of the bike path between Ashland and Central Point out and back.

I spent almost 8 hours on my bike doing that. Now, before you ask why it took so long, it was done on my single speed, 29er, rigid frame mountain bike with a 32:20 gear ratio......certainly not made for speed, but fun as hell!!

"Feelin' Alive!"

~Patrick

Barefoot Running

2010-06-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Todd for running over 100 miles barefoot in 24 hours at the Medford Relay for Life. Not only did he set a new barefoot running world record, but he also raised a lot of money for the cure for cancer.

Now that's what it takes to be in the FCC. Way to go Todd!!

A Couple Of Weeks In The Life Of The FCC

2010-06-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

Whew....it's been a busy and intense couple of weeks. Starting 2 weeks ago on Monday, here's a brief rundown of my activities:

Monday--I ran/power hiked the Punisher.
Tuesday--a great upper body resistance training workout.
Wednesday--rest
Thursday--10k run on Jacksonville trails.
Friday--power hiked both Table Rocks.
Saturday--hiked the Jacksonville trails for a couple hours, 1+ hour bike ride, yard work and a great leg resistance training workout.
Sunday--light upper body resistance training workout.
Monday-- ran/power hiked the Punisher and White Rabbit Trails.
Tuesday--walked the Beast 4 times, 20 mins heavy bag, a quick bi, tri, delt dumbbell workout, walked Elmo 2 times and did a 1+ mile walk around my neighborhood.
Wednesday--rest
Thursday--ran 10k on Lower Table Rock.
Friday--hiked and ran the Lithia Park trails.
Saturday--hiked the Jacksonville trails for a couple of hours and ran a few laps at the Reelay for Life.
Sunday (today)--ran/hiked Grizzly Peak.

~Patrick

Time To Pick Up The Pace

2010-05-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

Although the past couple of weeks have been full of activities, only a couple of those days really lived up to FCC standards and they both included the Table Rocks.
One hike included carrying Clista piggy back off and on going up Lower Table Rock (and a little on the way down too).
The other day that lived up to FCC standards was when I donned a 30 pound weight vest and power hiked up and down both Table Rocks followed by mowing the lawn and a workout of weighted chinups, DB rows, DB rear delt flyes and bodyweight pullups. Then, since the weather was still so great and I still had a little energy left, Clista and I went on a 50 min bike ride.

~Patrick

A Crazy Lil Week In Review

2010-04-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

To help recover from Friday's record breaking Punisher hike/run, I kept Saturday rather light with a good upper body resistance training workout and a 50 min bike ride.
On Sunday, Clista and I spent 3.5 hours trekking around and exploring Lower Table Rock.
Monday was started with a couple laps of the Beast and a 3+ mile brisk walk followed by an hour and a half of hiking/running the J-Ville trails with Clista.
On Tuesday I did a couple of workouts of circuits and intervals in addition to 2 brisk walks on Elmo with clients.
Wednesday, I did a quickie workout in the garage and hiked Lower Table Rock with Clista....it was a little cold and windy, but the rainbows and cloud formations were awesome.
On Thursday, I only made time for a 50 min bike ride with Clista in the cold, biting wind, rain and hail.
And then there's today. I decided I needed to exercise my body and exorcise my demons this afternoon, so I went to Lower Table Rock and ran up, across the plateau and back, down and around the savannah......non-stop running......that's 5 miles with a pretty gruesome climb for the first 1.4 miles.
And, as soon as I finished, I turned around and did it all over again (small disclaimer...I did have to slow down to a power hiking pace for about 20% of the uphill portion on the second time).

So, what are you doing to feel alive?

~Patrick

Punisher Record Broken

2010-04-23T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today I took a few seconds off of my Punisher time.....previous record was 32:18 and today was 32:00. Doesn't sound like much, but this is one serious vertical climb. It still pales in comparison to Todd's just over 20 mins, but I'm good with it.
I also re-checked the distance and elevation gain and came up with 1.14 miles with a 1480 ft elevation gain.....that's almost 1300 ft/mile elevation gain.
Of course, you also have to add in the short hike/run to the trailhead and the 3 mile run back down to the park.

"Feelin' Alive!"

~Patrick

Union Creek and The Punisher -- Back to Back

2010-04-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Clista and I hiked and ran the Union Creek trail, an 8 mile round trip......we ran about half of the way up and all the way back down. Not bad for a narrow, debris strewn trail that still had a few small patches of snow on it.
And, as if that wasn't enough (is there any such thing as "enough"?), I decided to tackle the Punisher this morning. Then, just cuz I could, I spent 1/2 hour on the heavy bag to keep the upper body moving.

~Patrick

53 Hikes in 15 Weeks

2010-04-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

I've managed to get the year off to a great start, and as of today I've done 53 hikes and/or trail runs in the first 15 weeks of 2010. 32 of those were the Table Rocks. Gotta keep up the training, because Clista and I are doing the SOB in July......more on that later.

~Patrick

Bikin' in the Hail

2010-03-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

Would it sound crazy to say that today's bike ride in freezing temps with freezing rain and hail pelting my face was one of the more freaking awesome rides I'd had in a long time?

~Patrick

Weather Be Damned

2010-02-26T23:29:00.000-08:00

After a good resistance training workout earlier in the day, in the afternoon Clista and I hiked/ran the White Rabbit Trail above Ashland.....it was COLD, the rain was pounding and the wind was howling, but that made it all the more awesome (and maybe just a little f'n crazy). It was kind of nice having the trail all to ourselves too.
Feelin Alive!

~Patrick

Recovery

2010-02-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

When you do crazy things like I did Friday, or all last week for that matter, what do you do for recovery? To start with, on Friday evening you go on a brisk 1/2 hour walk. On Saturday you run/hike Upper Table Rock and run a couple of laps around the savannah trail on Lower Table Rock. Then on Sunday you spend several hours hiking up Lower Table Rock, exlpore the plateau, run down and then run a lap around the savannah.

~Patrick

The Punisher and White Rabbit + The Week In Review

2010-02-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

This morning I ran/power hiked about 10 miles....the Punisher and White Rabbit...... I hit them HARD with the expected result of total and complete exhaustion.

So, what does a week in the FCC look like?
Saturday--run/power hike Lower Table Rock.
Sunday--resistance training, 20 mins heavy bag, 20 mins x-trainer.
Monday--1 hour bike ride.
Tuesday--4 laps of the Beast, walking lunges up Elmo (approx 1/3 mile).
Wednesday--run/power hike both Table Rocks.
Thursday--1 hour bike ride, resistance training, 20 mins heavy bag.
Friday--run/power hike the Punisher and White Rabbit, walk 1/2 hr.

"Feelin' Alive!"

~Patrick

More Table Rocks

2010-02-17T19:22:00.000-08:00

Even though my legs and ass were already hurting from yesterday's lungefest, something inside me said I just had to run/power hike up the Table Rocks this morning. No records were set, but it certainly kicked my butt.
They don't call this the FCC for nothin'.

~Patrick

Crazy Workouts -- Walking Lunges

2010-02-16T19:12:00.000-08:00

Today I lunged uphill for about 1/3 of a mile with a client.
How did this craziness get started? A couple of years ago, just out of the blue, another client and I did walking lunges up her driveway......at least that's what they call it....I call it a paved mountain goat trail and named it the Beast. It's also about 1/3 of a mile long and steeeeep with many switchbacks. The next day, I did walking lunges with Debra around my block which is about 1/2 mile and fairly level (she's a bit competative and when she heard about the day before, she just had to do something similar herself).
The hill I did yesterday isn't as steep as the Beast, has been named Elmo and has been lunged up many times over the past year or so.

~Patrick

Crazy Workouts -- Year End Tribute to 2009

2010-02-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

While tending to some year-end chores on 12/31/09, I multi-tasked and did a little year end tribute workout to the year 2009.
It actually started in the morning with 300 walking lunges with a client and in the evening I continued with:
pullups x 200
KB swings x 100
SB crunches x 300
SB back extensions x 200
SB tucks x 200
SB leg curls x 200
pushups x 500
squat thrusts x 9
(SB=stability ball, KB=kettlebell)
TOTAL = 2009 reps!
Except for the squat thrusts, all exercises were done 100 reps at a time (not necessarily non-stop) before moving to another exercise.

~Patrick

The Table Rocks

2010-02-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

The Table Rocks are Rogue Valley landmarks that are hiked by thousands every year, but few tackle them the way members of the FCC do. Upper Table Rock (UTR) and Lower Table Rock (LTR) both rise a little short of 800 feet above the valley ...... UTR trail is about 1.25 miles long and LTR trail is somewhere between 1.5 and 1.75 miles long (depends on which source you decide to believe), plus the plateau is about 1 mile long. The guides say to allow about 3-4 hours for a round trip on either of them (not including any time spent on the plateaus).

I've tackled both of these for time (at least a dozen times each) and have gone up UTR in 18 mins and up LTR in just under 20 mins (damn you Todd for your sub 15 min time....LOL). Just a little over a week ago, I finally managed to run up LTR non-stop. Until then, I had to slow down to a walk/hiking pace a few times on the way up.

The really crazy part can come on the way down....many times, both Clista and I have run 'hell bent for leather' down the trail even when there was frost and ice covering it. It's actually kind of funny to see the looks on people's faces and the way they grab small children out of the way when they see someone careening down the trail.

Just since last April, including the timed hikes, I've hiked them both over 25 times each.

~Patrick

The Punisher

2010-02-12T12:04:00.000-08:00

The Punisher is a narrow forest trail following a steep ridgeline that gains about 1500 ft elevation in a little over a mile. The full circuit also includes a run/hike of about 1 mile to get to the trailhead and about a 3 mile run/hike to get back down. This makes the Table Rocks seem like a walk in the park.

I was first introduced to the Punisher last spring by Todd and it took me a little over 30 mins compared to Todd's approx 20 mins. Since then, I've done it 3 more times with Clista and just last Wednesday I did it again in the morning and 4 hrs later ran/power hiked the White Rabbit trail with Clista.........each run/hike took about 1.5 hrs of all out intensity........that was quite a day!

~Patrick

Flashback -- How It Started

2010-02-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

I think for me it started when I was a kid hiking up Mt. Thielsen the first time. Instead of taking the most direct route to the summit from Chicken Point, the hike "guides" had roped a more circuitous route around the the pinnacle. Unfortunately, I lost my grip and my footing and fell with several hundred feet of open air beneath me......fortunately, however, I was also belayed and only fell a few yards. I scrambled my way back to the rope and made it to the summit. It was enough of a thrill that I summitted several more times while a teenager taking the more direct route up from Chicken Point without a rope.

Fast forward to last spring when I was mt. biking (my single speed 29er) up Johns Peak......on my way down I had an awesome wreck....tumbled ass over teakettle over the handlebars and scraped, bloodied and bruised myself up, but no serious or permanent dammage to me and the bike was good to go. All I could tell people was how f'n awesome it was....the best ride I'd ever had!

That's the long story made short. In time I'll flashback some more and fill in the new stuff as I go. Stay tuned and let me know what you're doing to feel alive.

~Patrick