Some of you are new to this. As an FYI…I hired a Navy SEAL to live with me for 30 days to get me ready physically and mentally for 2011…This is our story.

I get a wake up call at 0500. That’s 8 hours since our run the night before.. Its 33 degrees in Boston and pitch dark at 0500.

I wasn’t expecting to be in Boston so I didn’t have any underwear to run in.. I say, “Dude, I have no underwear”.  He says “so what”.

We run a fast 6 miles. We zig and zag thru this wild route. I’m cold. I’m cooked. My nuts are bleeding. On the way home (we were doing an “out and back”)  I say “Dude, I assume it’s impossible you could get lost, correct?”.  He says “highly unlikely”.

His watch beeps indicating we have hit the 6 mile mark. Run should be over. Right? No…we are lost.

8.3 miles…we finally find the hotel.

That’s 18 miles in 20 hours.

Some interaction from today:

1. Right after our 7 mile “interval” run this am.

Itzler:  ”Man, my legs are really fucked up. I feel like a knife is in my calf”

SEAL: “Perfect, that’s how I get my legs when I train for an Ultra. I completely destroy my legs. Now…we need to put serious miles on them to see how they perform under stress”

Itzler: “But I’m not training for an Ultra”

SEAL (baffled): “Huh…Life is an Ultra”
———–
2. During our SECOND run of the day:
Of
Sara: “Sweetie, we are going to look at the new house. We can’t fit both of you in the car.

SEAL (smiling): “That’s ok, we’ll run there…and we’ll run back”
—————-
3. During our third run of the day…1.5 miles into the run:

SEAL: You ok?

Itzler: “No. I really don’t feel well. Honestly, I’m sick”.

SEAL: “Good!”.

31 Miles. And my live-in SEAL just got here.

Feels like he has been living with me for 15 years.  Period.

300 pushups today. 40 miles in 3.5 days. Nuts for breakfast. Two a days at a minimum.

Aside from the workouts, I must admit its quite interesting to hear his point of view on everything from Wikileaks to Barney the Purple Dinoseur (as I feed Lazer).

Not sure if the workouts are rubbing off on my 17 month old son, but he is now “saluting” me when I come home????

Its quite a dynamic…me/sara/lazer/sara’s mom/sara’s 90 year old grandma…..and the SEAL all living together.

Set your alarm for 0500 tomorrow or come meet us in Central Park after the Knicks game for a “cool down”.

Day 7 of 30.

0500. It’s pitch dark and 31 degrees outside. Sara is asleep. Lazer is asleep. Most of the USA is asleep.

SEAL is in the den. He looks like he’s been up for hours. Fresh. Unfazed. Wide awake and giddy.

Me? I look like I just got off the red-eye. Tired. Worn. Pissed.  The opposite of giddy.

“You ready?” he says. “Go Fuck Yourself” I reply.

15 minutes later we are into our daily morning routine…1-18 sets of pushups..30 pull ups…run 1/4 mile intervals. He wants to get me to 100 miles a week and 1000 pushups a day by 1/1/11? What? I’m so sore I can’t even wash my hair. (Typing this hurts).

He doesn’t care.

I was on my own for the past 4 days as my “guest” left to compete in a grueling race.  The distance was 71 miles with 20K of climbing. He said it was “hard” (Ya Think)?

Well….apparently he broke multiple bones in his foot, but still finished the race.

In light of the broken bones, I just got this email from him:
“Don’t worry. I can still run. Training will go on.”

So….here we go again. Can’t say I’m looking forward to the next few weeks, but as Chuck D said “…it takes a nation of millions…”.

My “friend” is back from his trip today. So, starting tonite/tomorrow the party is over. In advance of the fun, I started the day with:

AM Workout:
Pushups:
1-18 pushups (15 second break in between to 10, 30 second break 10-15, 45 second break 16/17/18)

Treadmill:
Walk 5 mins at 12.5 incline at 15 min pace. Then, at 2.5 incline…
1/4 mile: 9:30
1/4 mile: 6:50
1/4 mile: 9:20
1/4 mile: 6:40
1/4 mile: 9:20
1/4 mile: 6:40
1/4 mile: 9:00
1/4 mile: 6:30

PM Workout:

Pushups:

15…7 sets (on the minute)
Rest 1:30
12…9 sets (on the :50)
Rest 1:30
10…10 sets (on the :45)

Sit Up’s:
44 unassisted
1 min rest
44 unassisted
1 min rest
44 unassisted
1 min rest

NYC. 8am. 21 degrees. Windy.

It’s 8 hours since our 310 push-up’s at midnight. Back up and at it.

Seal says to me, “It’s not a regular day in Central Park”. I say, “What do you mean?”.  He replies, “Nobody is smiling. There are only a few stragglers out running and one guy walking a dog”. We leave. It’s cold and wet.

AM:
5 miles at 8 min pace. Lots of hills. My shoulders kill from the 500 pushups yesterday. My arms dangle from my side as I run to ease the sharp pain in my shoulders. When we are done I ask the SEAL “what are we doing tonite” and he says “push-up’s”.

PM:
3 mile run
40 jumping jacks… 10 pushups (20 sets in 15 mins)

SEAL: “Let’s stay inside for 45 minutes”.

Itzler: “Why!”

SEAL: “You’ll see”.

AM:
45 mins of “Fireman Carry” (throw Seal over your shoulder and run 30 yards)…drop Seal and do 35 reps (4 count) flutter kicks…flip to knees and do 20 pushups. Repeat 14 times. Took 45 mins.

Note: This is hard. I almost blacked out.

PM:
You can’t make this shit up…

I get home from the Knicks game at 10:18pm. I’m dead. Seal says, “let’s run 4″. I say, “C’mon man…its over. Let’s just do 0600 tomorrow”.

Seal says, “Ok, if that’s what you want” (but looking at me like I’m a pu@@y). So….we get our shit on (it’s 22 degrees outside) and start running to Chelsea Piers. I plead to do 4 miles…he says 8. Miraculously we settle at 6.

I can honestly say there is not one single person other then us running at 11:25pm on the West Side Hwy. Not one. De Nada. As we run I notice my shoulders are in extreme pain from this mornings pushup’s. So I run with my arms at my side. That lasts for 1/2 mile cause that kills your thighs. So settle on the lesser of the two evils and run normally opting for the shoulder pain.

During the 53 minute run I notice “Seal” and I don’t say one single sentence to each other. Not kidding. Night Of The Living Dead. Not a peep. The whole communication was:
Seal: “3 mile mark. Turn around”
and…
Seal (at finish): “Nice”

Tomorrow starts in 6 hours at 0600.

6 hours after our run last night, we meet at 0600. “SEAL” says we are doing the “100 Workout”. I think “SEAL” needs help with his math…it’s “The 500 Workout”.

AM:
100 dumbell bench presses (2X). No Rest. I start with 30lbs but end at 20.

100 lat pull downs (2X). 75lbs.

100 Seated Shoulder Press (seated)

Extra Credit: 2X light tricep pulldowns and 2X curls.

PM:
15 sets of 10 push-up’s with a 50lb weight jacket. (:30 second rest between sets)

50 pushup’s

Notes: Took me 22 minutes. Took “SEAL” 15. As “Seal” said, “This is no punk”.  It’s so hard that “SEAL” couldn’t go straight to 10 w/out dropping to his knees after 6th set. Yet, all he kept saying was “this is great”?

50lb Weight Vest

Time was short today. We only had small windows due to work/Lazer/Knicks vs. Heat. So, it was push-up only day. “SEAL” believes push-up’s are the single best exercise for strength. He also believes proper form is the key. I could probably do 3x more push-up’s the incorrect way I was doing them versus a “real” pushup.

Proper form: Back straight, ass up slightly, neck straight (don’t drop your neck). Go down and break 90 degrees with elbows and make sure your chest hits the floor. Go all the way up (until arm is fully extended).

AM:
15 sets of 10 push-up’s (about 20 second rest)

PM:
1-18 push-up’s and then back down 18-1 push-up’s. 8 more for good luck!
Note: Alternated each set with “SEAL” so it’s “right up” with minimal rest.

Total For Day: 500

Living With A Seal:

BRUTAL.
AM:
3 mile run with a 50lb metal weighted vest (33 mins). 3 miles (22:30).

Notes: The photo’s say it all.

Afternoon:
2nd Run. Ran 2.5 with 50lb metal weighted vest (31 mins). 2.5 without (fast).

NOTES:
After the am ran, I feel asleep on the couch. I was cooked. SEAL woke me up after a 30 minute nap and said “Let’s Go”…this is 90 mins after first brutal run. Since it was my turn to watch Lazer…I brought him with us. As SEAL said, “All 3 of us are training”. I had to remind “SEAL” my son is 18 months old.

If the run this am was one of my best runs ever…this was one of the most brutal. I think my shoulders are sore to the touch….but I’m not sure as I’m too sore to reach up to touch them?

I had to “pull over” every 100 yards and get to my knees to adjust the weight of the vest and try and save my shoulders. Brutal, but finished. As SEAL said, “Everything ends. Stop complaining”

"SEAL", Me, Lazer before 2nd run. If the weight vest doesn't look heavy...feel free to try it.

PM: (3rd session)
Push Up’s:
5 sets of 20
7 sets of 15
10 sets of 10
1 set of 5
(21 minutes, 21 seconds)

AM:
Dumbbell Bench Press:
15 (35lb), 12 (40), 10 (45), 8 (50), 6 (55)
Seated rows:
15-12-10-8-6
Military press
4 sets of 10
Tricep pull down
15-12-10
Curls
15-12-10
Sit ups:
50, 40
50 4 count fluter kicks

NOON:
Interval run on treadmill:
5 min walk at 12 incline (3.5)
2:30 at 6.2
2.30 at 8.7
2.30 at 6.3
2.30 at 8.8
2.30 at 6.4
2.30 at 8.9
2.30 at 6.5
2.30 at 9.0
5 min walk/cool down

PM
1-30 pushup’s (41 mins)

“I SHOULD HAVE LEFT 5 MINUTES EARLIER”

8:45pm. NYC. My apartment building.  Me and “SEAL” are walking into my  gym when we see my nephew leaving. “SEAL” says, “come on man, we are doing pushup’s”.  Nephew says, “I already ran this am…and swam”. SEAL says “So The F@ck What”.

So…Nephew changes and joins us. When SEAL says what we are about to do, nephew whispers to me, “I should have left 5 minutes earlier”.

8:45-9:45pm
12 pushups every :45 seconds for 22 minutes. (Good luck)

15 pullups (25 for “SEAL” and nephew)

20 pushup’s…3 pull up’s (5 sets)

100 flutter kicks

Note: Nephew, if you drop to 10 push-up’s from 12, it’s ok…but you MUST declare you went down in your numbers. Keep it honest and declare!!! That said, my nephew is a BEAST!!!! 0700 wake up call.

MY SHOULDERS!!!!!
AM:
0700. 28 degrees.

Loop of Central Park. Goal was all 6.1 miles in under 8 min miles. After 2.5 miles my shoulders felt like I was giving Hulk Holgan a piggy back. I mean ridiculous pain. That’s what 5,000+ push-up’s in 10 days does to you. I literally (no BS) couldn’t swing my arms as I ran cause my shoulders hurt so bad.

So, I ran the last 3 or so miles with my arms dangling. Still did all miles at about a 7:45 pace (except the last mile). DECLARE…I cut thru the 112st “shortcut” cause my shoulders hurt so much and “SEAL” got too far ahead of me. So, only 5.3 miles for me.

NOTE:  It’s ok to punk out, but if you do so at least keep it honest and …”DECLARE”. So note…only 5.3 miles for me.

PM:
HOLIDAY PARTY?

I bring “SEAL” to the Suite 850 holiday party. Low key dinner. Employees only. He eats for 4.

I have a dozen warm saki shots. Eat MEAT (yep, after 20 years I am now eating meat once a week). And, schmorz for dessert. Since we got up to run at 0600 and I worked for 11 straight hours, I was cooked. I mean battered. As Lazer would say, “night/night time”.

WRONG. Not when you live with a SEAL.

11:05 PM:
10 push-up’s on the minute for 20 mins.

DECLARE: I did em all 100% clean! Broke 90 degrees, lock elbows on the way up, chest touched floor, chin and ass up. That said, I gotta declare “SEAL” did 350 to my 210.

0630. 28 degrees. Dark.

Itzler: “Can we run inside today?”
SEAL: “No”
Itzler: “Why not?”
SEAL: “Cause the real training happens outside”

AM:
4 miles. 7:46 average. Hills. No talking.

Sounds Easy? It’s Not.

AM:
10 push ups, followed by as many sit up-s as you can on till clock hits one minute. REPEAT for 30 MINUTES NON STOP.

PM:
8 MILE (Not the Movie)!

2100 hours. 32 degrees.
8 mile “cool down” (1:11).

Notes:
As “SEAL” said to me, “It’s not what you do, it’s when and how you do it. It’s all about the conditions?”. WELL…

At 2100 hours “SEAL” pulls me off the couch for an 8 miler. It’s dark. It’s cold. I’m cooked. PLUS, I’m already in my “go to bed gear” warm and ready for sleep!

We run through Central Park…into Harlem…back into the park…and home at 10:25pm. We were gone so long my wife said she was going to call the cops, but didn’t as she know I was with “SEAL”.

3 hi-lights from the run:

1. I ask “SEAL” 3 miles into the run if he has $2 (only words we have said to each other all run). He says, “for what?”. I respond, I haven’t eaten all day I need a “bar or a banana”. He says “we have 5 miles left. If you are hungry, run faster. You’ll be home quicker.”

2. “SEAL” hears a dog nearby in the woods while we are running (I didn’t hear a thing, but apparently “SEAL” has super hearing). So, SEAL says under his breath to himself and to the invisible dog, “Try me mothf#*+er. I mean it, try me”. Let me perfectly honest…he said it in a way where it sounded like he wanted the /big) dog to attack him. Dog is smart…dog runs away.

3. There are millions of people in NY. Literally….millions. Yet, tonight, we only saw one other person running in all of Central Park. Just 1 other then us. THAT’S NUTS.

“SEAL” is NOT rubbing off on my son AT ALL.

MAN DOWN!!!

“SEAL” decides we are going to run 4 miles…every 4 hours…for 48 hours. I can’t make this sh#t up. He calls it 4/4/48. Are you F-ing kidding me???????? We are going to “train” for it by running 4.25 miles 4x in 24 hours.

So we run last night at 8pm. It’s PITCH DARK at my lake house. Apparently “SEAL” has x-ray vision as he starts yelling “rough road…20 meters”. It’s also bitter cold. We run 4.5 miles in exactly 40 mins.

Next am we wake up at 0700 and do it the same run in 38 minutes. Brutal. We set out again at 1pm for our 3rd run in our 24 hours of “training”. “SEAL” says if we break 38 minutes we don’t have to run again tonite.

“The Debate”…do we go out hard (the first mile is very tough with big elevation) or do we pace ourselves? SEAL says…go hard. Ok, so I agree to go strong. My fastest first mile on this mountain course is 9:00 flat as it’s super hilly. We do this one in 8:07! I’m gasping for air. Literally.

As we get to the top of the hill (1.1 miles) I feel like I’m cramping? As I keep going it gets worse. I can’t run? I stop and say “stop the clock for a second..somethings off”. Turns out…groin pull.

It’s so damn cold out I can’t “officially” tell till we get home exactly what’s wrong. We walk 1 mile back.

To make up for “cutting it short”….we do 700 pushups!!!!!! Again, can’t make this up.

10 sets of 30 (1 min break in btwn)

20 sets of 20 (2 hours later)

SEAL begs me to do 300 more to get to 1,000. I DECLARE…I say “I physically can’t”.

BLIZZARD!!
2100 (8pm). White-out. 16 inches of snow. 3 mph winds. -7 degrees with wind chill. We run 3.5 miles in the mountains. “SEAL” wears 50lb weight vest. Off the charts!!!!!

1-44 pushup’s…plus an extra 10. That’s 1000 for the day!!! As I type I’m at set 38!!!!!!!!!!

YOU HAVE 5 MINUTES!!!!!
“SEAL” takes me on a 5 mile run up Wanzer Hill. Cars can barely get up Wanzer…its a beast. Plus, there is snow and black ice everywhere making the run slower/harder/colder.

We come home and I complain the tendon in my foot is killing me (recurring injury) and foot is swollen. “SEAL” says we need to go into the lake and freeze my foot? Huh? Go into the lake? The lake is frozen?

We run down my hill in 2 feet of snow. “SEAL” takes off his shoes and….jumps in!!! “Hold onto the floating ice” he says. I swear….this happened.

I crawl to the lake and the following dialogue happens:

SEAL: “Get the fu#k in motherf@@er. Get the fu#k in”.
Itzler: “NO. I can’t. I’m sorry”.
SEAL: (repeats) “Get the fu#k in motherf@@er. Get the fu#k in”.

I take off my shoes and socks and he yells, “We gotta go balls deep…GET IN ITZLER”. I walk in. He yells….”DEEPER”. At that point his expression changes and he yells, “we got 5 minutes till Frostbite….get OUT”.

As we get out he yells….”don’t touch your skin to the ice, it will stick”. So I put my hands in my shoes and crawl across the ice…feet up. We then start running up the hill to my house…shoes are off…barefoot in the snow. “SEAL” says the snow will “dry out” my feet (for real..it works..its a survival trick if you fall into a frozen lake take off your clothes and roll immediately in the snow).

Anyway, he is now yelling “WE HAVE 2 MINUTES…RUN”. I start sprinting up the hill. I’m freaking out my toes are going to fall off…I can’t feel one thing from my knees down.

We get up and dry off. My wife is standing at the door and YELLS, “I’m SO MAD. THAT’S THE DUMBEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN. YOU ARE A 42 YEAR OLD FATHEEEER. WHAt THE F….”.

I apologize. She then asks “SEAL” what the medical benefit of jumping into a frozen lake is. His answer…”There are none”!

This is what signed up for!!!!

PM:
300 pushups (15 sets of 15 on the minute)….to “warm up”

1700 hours. Most of the lake is frozen. Walking in..Balls deep!!!!

ABORT!!!!
“SEAL” says we need to “push our limits”? Ummm, I thought that’s what wee have been doing? He tells me we are going to do a “mental challenge”. We are going to go into the steam room at 123 degrees for 30 minutes…no dumping water…no talking…only 24 ounces of drinkeable water allowed in. WHAT???

So, we go in. 5 minutes…ok. 10 minutes…ok. 15 minutes…ok. 20 minutes…NOT SO OK. I’m cooked. Literally cooked. Heart rate is up, I’m overheating, I’m nauseous. I tell myself “only 9 more minutes” but it’s not working. I’m trying everything to block it out, but I’m starting to drift into faint land…and I mean fast.

I tell “SEAL” (who looks like he just took a nice refreshing shower and had a nap) that I don’t think I can do it (the first words we said the whole time). I apologize and walk out. He follows me out and says “30 seconds rest…then back in”. I don’t move.

He takes a look at me and says, “Whoa. You don’t look so good”. “I really don’t feel good”, I respond. He says, “Man, we need to ABORT”.

I sat on a chair for 35 mins cooling down. Heart rate at 110. Sweating like I was in the movie Airplane. I had 5 Zico’s…some rest…and finally feeling better. ABORT!!!

0600
4.5 mile slow jog (alone)
100 pushups (10 every 30 seconds)

1900
12-8-6-4 pushups (on the 15 seconds)
Sit up’s…60 seconds
For 30 mins

DECLARE…I dropped out at 26 mins and can’t move my arm. I also couldn’t do all 12 last few sets.

AM:
4.5 mile mountain loop in CT in 35:17. COURSE RECORD for me. 3 minutes faster then I ever did it!

PM:
5 miles in Central Park at 2100.

1000 Push-Up’s!!!!!!
We hit our goal of 1000 push-up’s in a day. Below is how we got there:

0800:
10 quick sets of 10

1000:
1-18 pushups and then one set of 29 (8:58 mins)

1100:
1-18 pushups and then one set of 29 (8:30 mins)

1400:
18-1 pushups and then one set of 29 (8:30 mins)

1600:
25, 25, 25, 25
1-18, 15, 14

1900:
3.5 mile run

NOTE:
“SEAL” continued to do 25 push-up’s every ten minutes from when we finished (4:30) until midnight. Basically, he did 2500 for the day. Not normal.

Up the Ante!!!!!
This am we went for an 8.5 mile run. I call the run “Leach Hallow”. Fish calls it “The Big Boy Run”. Bottom line…It’s a freak show. Crazy hills…grueling course…and 8.5 is still a good run no matter how ya slice it. Was only my second or 3rd time doing it since my training for the 100.

Shout out to Cousin Hecker, Fish, Fried, Black, Kish, Aldridge, Orlando (bike) and Gindi as they are the only people I know that have done the course too.

Anyway, ran it in 1:17:41 (8:57 average). Negative splits. 2 mins faster coming home.

It was tough, but here is where the fun begins. When we get back “SEAL” tells me we gotta “up the ante” and “jump in the lake”. I explain that the lake is 6 inches frozen and point to the kids playing hockey on it.

“SEAL” says he has a “plan”. My wife says “If you two knuckleheads even think about going thru the ice…don’t come back inside”

Fast forward…”SEAL” walks to lake, gets a boulder and starts banging on the ice. Little by little the ice chips away. 4 minutes later he breaks thru. The guy starts celebrating like he won the Stanley Cup.  Socks off…shirt off…he’s in!!!! Next thing ya know…socks off, shirt off, I’m in!!!! We repeat this twice and sprint up to my house to get warm!!!!!

As I type this, I’m still freezing but feel GREAT. My wife is furious with me…but sorta gets it. My son is puzzled by how red my feet are. And “SEAL”…he is on the treadmill.

AFTERNOON:
10 pushups on the :30 second for 10 sets (5 mins)
1-10, 10-1, then 3 sets of 30

PM:
3.1 mile run

AM:
10.6 mile run in rain and slush. For those that have been to my house in CT, the run is from my house to the “diner” on Route 22. It’s lonely, miserable, hilly tough. 1:36.

PM:
Off. Exhausted.

NOTE: If any of you think I’m exaggerating the posts for a laugh…you’re wrong. While perhaps some of the posts are “funny”, they are all accurate. Ask Fried, he just left my house.

AM:
-Walk 20 on a 15 incline at 3.6.
-3 pull-up’s on the :45 for 10 mins
-10 push-up’s on the :30 seconds (10 mins)

BONUS TIME!
So…I got “extended play” with “SEAL”. His stay that was supposed to end on 1/2/2011 has been extended till the end of this week. Shockingly, my WIFE is the one who demanded he stay. She is on a 21 day tear and wanted to “keep it going”.  So….we keep pushing forward.

AM Workout: (0600)
6.1 mile loop of CPW
Mile 1: 8:02
Mile2: 7:56
Mile 3: 7:26
Mile 4: 7:45
Mile 5: 7:43
Mile 6: 7:32
Total 46:34 (7:45)

RESULTS: My first run with “SEAL” approx 30 days ago was the exact same loop. We did it then in 56:04 (9:20 average).

Some recent commentary and observations:

1. I noticed yesterday I haven’t seen “SEAL” eating? I mean…as in days. So I ask, “SEAL, are you on a diet?”. “SEAL’s”  answer, “You need to learn to go to sleep hungry….so you wake up hungry”.

2. When we come home from our morning runs I’m drenched in sweat. SOAKED.  ”SEAL” wears the same stuff he ran in…to my office.

3. SEAL doesn’t have an alarm clock. And, SEAL doesn’t need an alarm clock.

4. SEAL drove me home from work the other day. SEAL has no problem maneuvering a vehicle in city traffic. Anyway, a NYC bus driver wouldn’t let us into his lane to make a turn we needed to make…and was an ass about it. So, I rolled down my window and told the bus driver how I felt about it. DECLARE: I wouldn’t have done that if SEAL wasn’t in the car.

5. Last night I landed from Miami at 11:30pm and got this email from SEAL:

J: Hope the trip was good. I just got back from running and I left the door unlocked. Please text me when you get in so I know all personal are accounted for.

6. My wife asked me last night, “Jesse, who is moving into our home next week? Amare Stoudamire?”.

A Sad day:

Unfortunately, after 35 days my “friend” has left and returned to his “base”. My house is quiet. My weight vest is lonely. And, my wife will no longer have to deal with a stranger walking into our bedroom at 0600…shaking me..and saying, “Hey man, we gotta get going”.

I gotta be honest, there was no big sendoff. No goodbye dinner. No awards ceremony. “SEAL” simply left me a note the last morning that said, “Hey, thanks.”

There were some noticeable changes to our household as a result of his stay. Certain “must have’s” according to “SEAL” have been implemented by him.  Every bedroom now has a fire extinguisher and flashlights. We have full fire suits for me/Sara/Lazer in case we all need to run through a blazing fire. AND, there is an inflatable knapsack that turns into a life raft with a motor on it (and paddles) under our bed in case we need to “flee” Manhattan via the Hudson. (No bullshit).

My goals were simple. Get in shape physically/mentally and get ready for 2011. Mission accomplished. Plus, I learned a lot about life in the military and what our special operations folks go through.

It was an amazing month!!! I will make a contribution to two different charities related to the US Special Forces in his honor.

RESULTS:
* when we started it took me 14 mins to do 1-18 push up’s. I can now do them in under 8.

* my average run pace for 6 miles was around 9 min miles when “SEAL” came. I now do it in 7:45′s (if I want).

* my muscle endurance is ridiculously better. Muscle recovery is way better. Conditioning is way better

It reinforced my 30 day rule. If you do something for 30 days it becomes routine. For example, give up eating meat for 30 days and it becomes easier…its the first 30 that are very tough.

So here I am 30 days later. Knocked out 300 pushup’s and I’m off for a run!

Roger That!