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!!!!