Dr. Mark Cucuzzella
Sometimes you just luck out!!! Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, the Executive Director from the Natural Running Center, is coming to my town and I can’t wait to meet him. This workshop is going to be AWESOME and I can’t wait to learn a whole bunch of new natural running techniques, form tips, and have the doc actually watch me run. Newton & Varsity Sports (my favorite shop) is hosting the event.
1 – “I bet this sounded like a good idea when you signed up 6 mo ago.”
2 – “WORST PARADE EVER”
3 – “Because 26.3 miles is just crazy…”
4 – “Phidippides died about right here”
5 – “You are NOT almost there”
6 – “Free Hot Beer, Hot Doughnuts, and Warm Tequila Shots”
7 – “You have great stamina. Call me.”
8 – “if you are feeling tired you should have trained more”
9 – “most people don’t even drive 26.2 miles on a Sunday”
10 – “if u would have done the half, you’d be finished.”
Working through injuries just seems to be a basic part of ironman training… They come, they go, then new ones spring up. Long ago I would have stopped, said I would come back when it’s 100% again, and then just forget and get even more fat and out of shape, but those days are gone. We only have a limited amount of time on this rock so you just can’t quit, you must find a way to work through each injury, one at a time. Whatever gets you to that finish line…
“Find A Way” – Ryan Green
The next phase of the journey is not an easy one.. The Ironman 70.3 event is definitely a very, very, very hard race… For those who know me the overall plan might be starting to make since now.. As you look at the backdrop you might start to understand why this finish line needed to be on my list. This is where my life in New Orleans started back in 2007, right inside of Jackson Square… To get back home to the Louisville Ironman 140.6, I must pass through these gates. Finishing here is my ticket to return home for a shot at personal glory in front of my family, friends, and more importantly, my son Boston.. Time goals? No… I had time goals going into the marathon and I learned some lessons… Regardless of a time goal, you must push as hard as possible and just see what happens. If you leave everything out there then you will have no regrets… The marathon was easy sailing, I was smiling, I was happy, and I was hitting my time goals almost perfectly until somewhere between mile 14-16… that’s when mother marathon decided to teach me a lesson about broken down feet and being arrogant with time goals my first time out… Lesson learned.. My goals have changed.. I just need to get there this year.. I just need to cross those finish lines and check them off my list.. I’ll make a new list after this year is over and I actually complete these races.. Then I can have time goals..
After hanging in there at my goal pace till about mile 16, Mr. Injury (my nemesis anterior tibialis tendonapathy and maybe a new injury) decided to put us in plan B mode.. No sub 4, just get there alive, my time 4:53:22.. And I earned every excruciating, sucky, dirty, grinding mile in that last 10.2.. Good times 
I couldn’t be happier with it.
Order The Merrell Trail Glove Now
(fyi-the camera is mounted on my handle bars.. if you were wondering.. hehehe)
No, I don’t spend all day cooking.. Being vegan doesn’t mean you live in the kitchen. In fact, most of my meals can be cooked very fast. (usually within 30 mins)
a quick vegan meal
Vegan Goodness
Enjoy!!! Cheers
rodeo portabella mushroom burger
rodeo portabella mushroom burger
Well, it’s easy, VERY MESSY, and it’s MASSIVELY delicious…
Things you’ll need:
Simple instructions:
Let me know if you like it.. better yet, send me a pic dustin@dustinhinton.com
Stir Crazy
This week I took the entire week off without doing a single workout… Nothing… And I’m going stir crazy… I hope this injury heals and this time off pays off. The marathon is in 14 days…………..
Recovery
Well, so far on the journey to the ironman I have hit a few barriers and both of them have been in the form of injuries… The first was a foot injury that just wouldn’t go away but after messing with it for months, getting lots of help from some veterans, resting, and strength training, I worked through it. This time it’s a time sensitive marathon threatening injury that has me a little freaked out. After consulting a few pro’s there is only one fix for my injury, REST! This isn’t what you want to hear weeks away from the marathon but it’s what must be done.
I’m in Indiana this week visiting my family and hometown and I was supposed to be getting TONS of short hill training “taper” runs to really give me a nice kick for my 1st marathon but I’m afraid those will not be happening, instead I’m doing NOTHING!! I hate not being able to run, bike, or swim.. All three aggravate my leg so I will just have to keep the compression socks on, eat good, sleep good, and hope it heals in time for the marathon on 1/15.
safe travels and have a happy new year,
Cheers, Dustin
Well, I’ve converted full blast into “operation emergency marathon recovery” mode… After 2 – 18 milers, 4 – 16 milers, 6 – 14 milers, and a ton of 6-13 milers, tons of cycling, and 3-4 swim sessions per week my left leg has encountered a Tibialis Anterior Tendinopathy overuse injury… I’m learning as much as I can about how to repair it quickly and I’ll be staying one week at a PT’s house to help get this thing ready for the Louisiana Marathon. Have you had this injury before? Then please leave comments and tell me what you did and how do I magically fix it hahah.. Cheers
"Gotta Run" Christmas Ornament
I’ve put in about 4 runs so far in my new Brooks PureFlow’s and I’m very happy… OK OK, truth be told I’m already a Brooks runner, so I’m a little bias, but I really tried to give this new shoe an honest field test. I normally run in my Brooks Ghost 4′s and the transition took two runs for me…My first run was a 7 miler and my second run was some speed work, after that they started feeling like a tool in my tool box for sure. I definitely noticed a difference between my Ghost 4′s to PureFlow, and that’s a good thing! There must be some tricky technology in this shoe because It gives you the ability to really feel that mid foot placement (which I’m really trying to work on lately). If you look on the bottom there is this little pod that gives you a bit of a heads up in your form. I used it for some distance runs and speed work. I can honestly say the PureFlow performed just as I thought it would, perfect… That’s how Brooks keeps me coming back for more.. I’m a sucker for good feet technology. One last thing, the shoes look great! If you get your hands on a pair you’ll notice they are not your average shoe. I stopped and got coffee a few times in them after my runs and you definitely turn some heads with the style.
Pure Flow
Hi, I’m Dustin.. On June 12th, 2011 I started my journey to become an ironman. I weighed about 220lbs, ran an 11 min mile, I couldn’t swim 25 yards, and I didn’t have a bike… Let’s fast forward to now… I weigh 170lbs, I completed my first half marathon in 1:56:24, I’ll be running my first marathon on 1/15, I can swim for an hour in the pool, and I can bike for 3-5 hours in one sitting. The journey thus far has been awesome, I’ve met so many inspirational people, recruited some elite coaches, and made some great friends, I became 100% Vegan, and I can actually say I’ve never been in better shape (even better than the high school football years).
(**This Post Was Updated On 1/22/2012 To Add My Louisiana Marathon Pics Below)
Before and After
