If you follow me on Twitter (@KennyEller) or have liked my mevsMJ.com Facebook page, you’ve probably seen me mention the push-up challenge over the last couple of weeks.

Thank you to those of you that have partaken in the fun!

Simply put, I pick a player that I think will score the most points during an NBA game and commit to doing 5 push-ups per point scored.  20 points = 100 push-ups and so on.

Well, that’s the modified version anyway.

The Story Behind the Push-Up Challenge

The original push-up challenge was born in 2008 during the NBA Finals.

I would routinely have my brother and a couple of friends over to the house to watch games.  With me loving challenges and competition (Are you ready to play yet MJ?) I wanted to make the Lakers vs. Celtics series a bit more interesting since none of us really had anything more in the game than just a love for hoops.

At the time, McDonald’s was running a special on cheeseburgers on certain days during the week for something like 59 cents each.  This will be relevant in just a bit…keep reading.  Oh and yes, back then I ate fast food much more than I do now!

So as the guys got to the house, I announced something like, “Let’s have a push-up challenge!”

Of the four of us there, everyone was really into it, except one, so they asked what the challenge was.

On the fly, I explained that we would all pick a different player and do 5 push-ups for each point that player scored.

AND

To make sure that we all pushed ourselves, the person who picked the weakest player would be penalized every single quarter.

The penalty was, if your player scored the fewest points, resulting in you doing the least amount of push-ups, you had to eat a McDonald’s Cheeseburger at the end of each quarter.

Also if your player finished the game with the least amount of points scored, you had to eat another cheeseburger.

So if we all picked strong players, we all had a chance at the penalty, on top of a lot of push-ups.

That was the goal anyway and it started out just as planned, for 30 seconds.

My brother called out, “I’ve got Kobe!”

I said, “I’ll take Pierce.”

Another friend said, “Give me Garnett.”

Kendrick Perkins?

And then Karol, who stands a legit 6’5” (I’ve measured him with tape measure) and who vehemently detested push-ups (he does have long arms), let us know with a laugh that he was taking Kendrick Perkins.

During the 2007-2008 NBA Season Perkins averaged 6 points in just over 24 minutes per game.  He ended up mirroring that in the playoffs.

Kobe on the other hand averaged 28, Pierce 19 and Garnett 18 in the regular season and their numbers only improved in the post season.

Can you see where this is going?

You got it, that night my good friend; the other “KG”, did just a few push-ups, but ATE 5 CHEESEBURGERS!!!

Seeing him get up for each “cheeseburger penalty” at the end of every quarter and then at the end of the game was one of the funniest things ever!  We all had a good laugh about it!

Who knew that would be the last meat he’d eat?!?!

He immediately thereafter went vegetarian and then later vegan and while I’m sure he’d give that night a lot of the credit as the turning point in his dietary ways, we can’t forget about Kendrick Perkins!  For without Perkins, who knows what Karol would be eating these days?

That was the last night we included the cheeseburgers in the challenge.  I think it was more due to them not being on special, than Karol’s unwilling indulgent experience, but for whatever reason we kept the challenge to just push-ups.

That’s the story behind the push-up challenge.

OK, there’s a game tonight!  Who’s In?!?!

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Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

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If you’re new to the site, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!

I don’t like lifting heavy things.  Never have.

I suppose if you’ve ever seen me in person on in any picture that is pretty evident.

What I do like is GETTING BETTER!

At the time of my injury, I was in the best shape of my life.  I could run for days, I was trim (more so than usual) and felt I could play hoops at a fairly high level for a sustained period of time.  Fast forward two months and with no ability to do any activity whatsoever, well, the above physical fitness just didn’t stay the same.

My first few sessions of physical therapy had me gasping for air within minutes.  It bothered me.  To go from where I was to that was a bit discouraging, but the thankfulness inside of me just to be able to DO anything far surpassed any frustration felt.

Still, one of the goals I set forth when I began mevsMJ.com was to get in the best shape of my life.  I knew then that I needed to be at my PEAK when I played Michael Jordan one-on-one and now I’m looking to Tony Horton and P90X to help me get there.

Later today will be my tenth workout thus far with P90X and besides the Yoga (kinda boring to me…I know I need to expand my mind) it has been a lot of fun.  Fun of course if you consider being exhausted and soaked with sweat, enjoyable.  I just look at it as getting better.  The harder I work, the better I get.

Love The Support!

I got an email the other day from my good friend Matt Hiller, who trained me at Impact Basketball.  He told me to stop thinking of myself as the underdog in my one-on-one match-ups!  He told me to be confident!  He closed with YOU GOT THIS!!!

I’ve talked in the past about how important a great support system is.  I’ve wrote about how important it is to have people that will “call you out“.  Matt is so right!  (If you’re reading this, thanks bro!)

Mental and Physical Adjustment

So I’ve made an adjustment in my thinking and now an adjustment in my preparation with P90X.  As Horton always says, “Do your best and forget the rest!”

I’m doing just that!

Thanks for following along!

*Note: I hope to have a post detailing my experience with the best basketball shooter in the world, Dave Hopla, completed on Thursday.  The time with Mr. Hopla far exceeded my expectations!

So I’ve been running for just over nine months now.  Last check, I am nearing the 450 mile mark which is HUGE for me!  As detailed in a previous post, How I went from sitting on my couch to running a Half Marathon in 5 weeks!, prior to 2010, I was not a “runner” or anything close to it.

That’s all changed now and for those just getting into the sport, or looking to take the sport of running a bit more seriously, I will detail some things I’ve learned and some products I love in two separate posts this week.

Up first, 8 lessons that will take YOU from the Couch to the Finish Line!

1.  Get a Running Partner!!!

When I began my running journey, having a running partner was THE most component of my success.

The reason…when my mind and body pleaded, “QUIT, RUNNING IS DUMB,” my running partner kept me going and helped me push through.

If you can choose, find a partner that is currently in better shape than yourself.

Think of it like anything else you want to get better at in your life.  If you are surrounded by people that are in a better situation than yourself (currently) then that person or people will raise your level of success.

Running works the same way.

2.  Get out and RUN!

The toughest part a lot of times is merely putting on the shoes.

So simple…yet at times so tough.

The more you do it, the better you will become and the more you will enjoy it!

For me, I have the vision of matching up with Michael Jordan one-on-one to fuel me when I don’t feel like running.

Use what you need to use, but get out and Run!

3.  Set running distance goals and stick to them!

There are a lot of publications out there that will give step by step running guides based upon the kind of run for which you are training.

Even if you aren’t training for a particular race, but want to get in better shape, set some goals.

Like all things, goals will hold you accountable and give you that push when you feel like skipping your workout.

Completing each run, one by one, will also give you a nice sense of accomplishment along the way.

4.  Find runners and ASK questions!

Just like any facet of life, find the experienced ones and expand your scope!  I have found the running/triathlon/cycling community so open and friendly.

Visit your local running/triathlon/cycling store and ask away.  Beyond knowledge gained, friendships grow and inspiration is exchanged.

5.  Enjoy the Process!

If you are just beginning your running journey, don’t be too hard on yourself.  It takes time to get your body in tune to run longer distances and to improve your times.

Celebrate each run and each accomplishment!

I have a friend who recently ran her first 10 miler two weeks ago, which is AMAZING!  10 miles is like the official indoctrination to being a runner!

Last week, she had scheduled herself to run another 10 miles, but stopped at a little over the 9 mile mark.  She was very disappointed that she hadn’t made it to her goal of 10 again.

When she told me about her 9 mile run, her voice was powdered in frustration.  I was so excited for her though!  The reason behind my excitement is that two and half months ago, she wasn’t running more than three miles at a time.  Now she is running 9 and 10 milers and is officially a runner!

Enjoy the process, remember where you came from and celebrate your success!

6.  Running is a Mental Journey

Running is a mental journey, as well as, a physical one.

For me it was actually more mental.

Knowing this going in always helped me prepare for the longer runs/races.

To combat the mental warfare, I came up with Stay Alive, Finish, and Never Walk.  Because I began from zero, this helped me keep perspective along the way.  If you are starting from the couch as I did, maybe it will work for you as well.

Soon enough, you’ll be a “runner” and won’t need such things.

7.  Run with the wind

Run with no music (sometimes).

In my MUST HAVE products, which I will detail on Thursday, I mention that you should buy an iPod (if you are one of the 2 people that don’t have one).  Every now and then though, I run without any music.

If I’m really pushing myself, running without music helps me keep better track of my breathing and more in tune with how my body is reacting to being pushed.

Recently, when I went over to my brother’s house and ran his 2 mile course, I purposely ran without music.  My iPod was in the car, but I wanted to listen to my body since I would be pushing it like I had never done so before.

When asked, what I’d be listening to…I told him, “The wind.”

A mental play?  Sure, but that’s what we do, we’re brothers.

More than the “brotherly love”, I really just wanted to be mentally and physically in the same space.

Try it out sometime.

8.  Invest

When I began my running journey, my head was harder than a 30 minute boiled egg.  I refused to buy any running gear, other than a watch and I really did that because I love technology.

Don’t make the same mistake I did.

On Thursday, I will tell you about 10 MUST HAVE products that I absolutely USE and LOVE!  These products will definatley help improve your running experience and make it more enjoyable.

See you then!

First off, thank you all for the love and support!!  The feedback has been inspiring to say the least.

My Current Workout Schedule

To bring you up to speed on how I’ve been preparing for my match-up with the great one, Michael Jordan, here is my current workout schedule:

Monday:  Run (4-6 miles)

Tuesday:  Basketball

Wednesday:  Off Day

Thursday:  Basketball

Friday:  Run (3-4 miles)

Saturday:  Run (7-10 miles)

Sunday:  Run/Bike/Rest (depends on scheduling)

I’m basically averaging 17-21 miles a week of running, with two days of hoops (weather permitting) mixed in.

Workout Results

I’ve been doing this for the last two and a half months and these are the results:

Weight: Lost 15 lbs. (Working on gaining back as much of that as possible)

Running Speed:  8 minute mile pace has become fairly easy on longer distances.

Speed Challenge:  6:33 minute average pace, when challenged by my younger brother on his short course (2 miles).

Jumping: Getting closer to grabbing the rim again:-)

A Different Approach

In the past, whenever I wanted to get back into basketball, I would immediately go to my strong suit which is shooting.

I would grab the ball, head to court and begin launching shots.  Tons of them.

I would do that until my shooting legs came back and the stroke felt good and then work my way into games.

What I finally realized, just recently actually, is that shooting will always be there for me.  I laid the foundation long ago and now it’s always just about fine tuning, not so much learning.  I could stop playing for years and still show up and shoot better than the majority.  That’s just the way it is.

I would always default to shooting because that was my comfort zone.  Everyone likes to do the things they are good at and shooting is what I do in the game of basketball the best.

With a different focus now, with the me vs. MJ focus now, I had to approach getting my game back in a totally different way and that would come in the way of conditioning.

Conditioning

My thought process on the workout schedule was to get my conditioning right first and then my game would much more easily fall into place.

I wanted to have the lung capacity and leg strength to drive to the basket at point 15, just like I did at point one.

I wanted to be able to grab the rim again…maybe even dunk

I wanted to be able to focus solely on basketball, not breathing, when I was playing or working on my game.

I wanted my conditioning to be the one part that needed no work.

It’s WORKING…it’s WORKING!!

As you can see above, under the workout results, the workout schedule is working.

I actually lost too much weight and am now working on gaining that back, which I have have 3-4 lbs so far.

After I finish playing basketball on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s I can still get the tips of my fingers over the rim.  Prior to the conditioning, I couldn’t even touch the rim anymore before, much less after a game.

I can say that I may just be in the best shape of my life right now and I can’t wait to see how I feel in another month.

HUGE New Goal

On top of getting my game back, I have set a new running goal.

I want to run a sub 6 minute mile before the end of 2010.

I may actually be able to do it now, as I haven’t tried, but nonetheless it’s now on the list of to do’s.

That is BEYOND huge for me.  As you know I was never a runner, and to set a goal like that at 33 makes me smile:-)

Up Next

I’m working on some really cool things that will take my hoops game to the next level, of which I won’t mention just yet.

I know, I know…what a tease.

I hope to unveil the next BIG step sometime in October and I am SO EXCITED to do so.

Thank you!

Thank you again for the support and love!  It really has made a big difference in my approach and helps to fuel me daily.

me vs. MJ, now at most 11 months away!!!!

At the start of year 2010, running was about as enjoyable to me as watching Olympic Curling for seven days straight.  I appreciated the sport, and thought it was great that people could run marathon distances, but my goal was never to be a professional exerciser.  Ever.

I’m a hoopster. A baller. A dude that plays basketball. A true athlete.

I grew up playing basketball from the age of 13 and hoops is what I’ve done more in my 33 years of life than anything else. I’ve grown to feel so comfortable on the court. It’s home.

So how did I, the basketball playing (which I’ve just recently started getting back into), biased “athlete” decide to run 13.1 miles at 6am, 227 miles from my house?

Pride

I’m prideful a guy.

By day I work in the wealth management side of the banking industry for a large institution in the southeast.  Part of what I do in my job is meet with high net worth clients on a daily basis.

So I went to lunch with a potential client one afternoon in December 2009 and the conversation turned to him running half marathons.  I asked some questions, because even though I could never have seen myself running more than a couple of miles, or even wanting to, the thought of running 13.1 intrigued me from an accomplishment standpoint.  I wanted to know the kind of dedication it took to accomplish such a feat.

As lunch ended and we left the restaurant the gentleman in passing said that I should run a half marathon with him sometime.  I said, sure, not believing anymore would come of it.

Later that day he emailed me about a race on February 21^st in Fort Lauderdale.  At this point I knew he was serious and thought ok, let me go home and run a bit and see what kind of shape I am in.

Exercise has never been something I’ve been known by.  To look at me, many would think I am a frequent visitor of the gym or playing some sport, but really it’s just my metabolism.  I really feel that when food enters my body, my metabolism rolls its eyes, lets out a small laugh and moves on.  At the time I was really doing NOTHING, besides coming home after work and watching TV.

So I got home and threw some basketball clothes on and went for a few laps in my neighborhood.  I made it about 2 miles, at a pace that can only be described as slightly faster than walking, and quit.  My lungs were burning, I was out of breath and my legs were tired.  Mentally I gave up because I was so far from the goal of ever doing 13.1 miles.  I went out one more time a couple of days later and pushed myself to 3 miles and quit again.  I was done.

Cold Front and Competition

Fortunately the area of Central Florida got hit with a massive cold spell in late December 2009 and the first part of January so I had an excuse a valid reason not to run.

After the holidays I met up with the gentleman, who was now a client, to discuss some business.  He asked me how the running was coming and I told him I hadn’t run at all because of the weather.  I thought for sure this subject was dead, but he looked at his calendar and said we have about five weeks, do you think you can dedicate yourself to get ready in that time?

I have always been so competitive.  Doing anything growing up I always tried to compete at it or at least mentally prepare as I was competing.  Competing is what made things fun for me.

So I told him yes, I could get ready.

I left his office thinking, this is crazy!  How am I going to do this?

Two days later he sent me a schedule that I was to begin following the following Monday.  There was no turning back at this point.

So I called my wife, who was out doing business calls near a retail store that carried the Garmin 305 GPS Watch, the same watch the client used for tracking his running, and had her pick it up for me.

Running was about to become part of my life.

This was the schedule:

Week 1:

1/18, 1/20, 1/22: 4 mile run

1/24: 6 mile run

Week 2:

1/26: 4 mile run

1/28: 5 mile run

1/31: 7 mile run

Week 3:

2/2: 4 mile run

2/4: 5 mile run

2/7: 8 mile run

Week 4:

2/9: 5 mile run

2/11: 5 mile run

2/13: 10 mile run

Week 5:

2/17: 4 mile run

2/18: 4 mile run

2/21: RACE DAY 13.1 Miles

Luckily for me, my wife lives at the gym.  She works out about six days a week and has been wanting me to exercise for years now:-)  So I showed her the schedule, she lit up like a morning ray of light and we began.

Stay Alive, Finish, and Never Walk

I had three goals when I began the half marathon journey in the afternoon on the 18^th of January.  The first, stay alive. The second, finish. Lastly, my goal was to never walk.  Three simple goals that I hoped were attainable.

When I would tell others of my three goals of Stay Alive, Finish, and Never Walk, I would get a chuckle coupled with some “you can do it” and a little “is he crazy?”

Setting the “realistic” three goals took a lot of weight off my shoulders and let me enjoy the process.  As a guy, my first instinct is to worry about my time.  To be competitive.  In fact almost every guy I told about the upcoming race would ask how long did I think it would take me.

So with goals in mind, my wife and I set out and began knocking off one run after the other.  Every week I ran a NEW personal longest distance of my life.

The most difficult runs came with week one’s 6 miler and week three’s 8 miler.  On both runs I hit a mental block and thought about giving up.  Had my wife not been there circling back for me (yes, she was faster…hahah) I probably would have called it a day.  I didn’t though and finished and moved another step closer to the goal.

Mental Toughness (killing doubt)

To me the mental side of running far exceeds the physical.  The thought of making your body do something rigorous for an hour, hour and a half, or even two hours straight is daunting.  Especially for a guy who loved to chill on the nice leather couch at the house.  Doubt would at times try to hitch a ride and have a conversation.

Once I was able to get past the mental block of being able to run those distances for those long periods of time, I was golden.  I could somewhat enjoy the run.

After a couple of weeks, 4 and 5 mile runs were greeted with enthusiasm because they were “short” runs.  My legs would smile at me and tell the rest of myself “you got this!”

In the end I only missed one run and that was the last 4 miler.  What I figured out was that when I would run it wasn’t so much my lung capacity that was strained as it was my legs.  They, my legs, truly lacked the conditioning that was needed to put them through such a task.  I of course was able to do it, but they weren’t ready to recover at the rate I felt was needed prior to the race.  So I rested them.

Race Day

Race day came at 3:45 am on Sunday, the 21^st. I downed a protein bar and some coconut water and we headed to the start line.  The race would officially begin at 6am, but were encouraged to be there by 5am.

When the gun sounded and the 2,856 competitors began moving forward the sun was still resting so it was nice and cool.  I envisioned myself over and over again running through the finish line and began the race.  Again, this was going to be a NEW personal longest run of my life!  I would be running 3.1 miles further than I had ever run before.

During my five weeks of training, whenever I approached the long runs on Sunday’s I would run at a slower pace.  The goal was to just finish and give my mind the sense of accomplishment.  I kind of approached the half marathon the same way that day.

As we made it over the bridge on Los Olas Blvd, about a mile in to the run, the Sun was peeking its head up almost as to check in on us.  It was gorgeous.

We turned the corner and began running alongside the ocean on A1A, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  The location couldn’t have been better for my first half marathon.  I could see the large ships off in the distance as I worked through something I had never done.  My eyes were happy.

The rest of me was happy too as I kind of did a self check around mile 4.  I told myself, do that two more times and you’ve got this thing licked.

At mile 8, I did another check and told myself, ok, just run 5 more miles and you’ve done it!

In the back of my head I was a little worried about what would happen after mile 10.  I had never run longer than 10 miles, which I just done the week before and when I completed that there was no part of me that felt I had more left to give.  On top of that a coworker had told me that he always hit a wall around mile 12 and no matter how much he trained he could never get past that.  He would just run out of gas.

I was determined to be stronger than him and used his story of defeat as my motivation.  I would let no run beat me.

Mile 10 came and I knew I was down the home stretch.  A simple 3 miler was all that remained between me and my first half marathon.  We pushed forward.

As we came down to the final mile, the sponsor had each quarter of mile marked with huge banners on the side of the road.  I knew I was moments away from my accomplishment.

As the finish line approached I grabbed the hand of my wife and we crossed the finish line together.  With a time of 2:07:02 (watch time) we had done it!!!

In just 5 weeks I had gone from my couch to finishing a 13.1 mile half marathon!

One month later I ran my second half marathon in Saint Petersburg and improved my time by almost 10 minutes!

I’m a Runner!

Life is amazing, if you allow it to be.  One seemingly normal meeting opened the door to the sport of running and I actually ran through it.  By being open to something, by putting aside my predetermined feelings, I have been able to enjoy something in 2010 that I NEVER would have thought was possible for myself.

To go from hating the sport to running over 400 miles (last count) this year is amazing to me!  I use the motivation of getting in the best shape of my life for my matchup with MJ to keep me going.

I encourage you to be OPEN to new things.  Whether that be running, trying new foods, or just seeing a situtation through the eyes of another idividual…DO IT!

You never know the journey that is awaiting you, unless you take that first step.

Your Turn!

If you’ve done something this year that you never would have dreamed of doing at the start of 2010, I’d love to hear about it.  Please leave a comment below and tell me about your experience.

Note:  Most running publications would recommend a minimum 12 week training program for a half marathon distance run.  I did it in five weeks, but wouldn’t necessarily recommend that for you.  Consult your physician as needed.

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Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

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If you’re new to the site, I set out in August 2010 to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. my childhood hero Michael Jordan.  This site is about that journey…through every valley, to every mountain top of triumph!