Hey there friends, runners, and those who are cursing my name while clocking miles! It’s been such a long time since I’ve done a check-in that WordPress doesn’t even look the same anymore. I didn’t think too many more things could make me feel older but here we are.

I’ve continued to restart my Couch to 5k training every year — some years are a little better than others — I actually had a PR last year at a fun run to benefit dogs. I think it helped to be distracted by all of the cuteness around me and the promise of petting more dogs after crossing the finish line. (If you like the sweatshirt design, you can get it here)

This year I’m trying something completely new and completely scary: strength training. I’ve avoided it like the plague because it usually makes me feel very “ouchy” and any amount of time spent on squats usually has me falling down the three stairs leading to the bedroom when my legs give out.

But, as I’m getting older, I’ve been feeling a bit weaker. Also, my allergies have gotten so bad that I’ve basically developed asthma. When the opportunity to do a free 5-day strength training program came up, I decided to give it a shot and ended up enjoying it so much that I signed up for a 16-week program. It turns out I can lift much heavier things than I ever would have imagined.

I’ve been very sore but for some reason my legs aren’t giving out? Taking that as a huge win. One thing that has helped me with the sore is foam rolling and …I dunno if you’d call it hard rolling or what, that doesn’t seem right, but I’ve been using this little octopus looking hard plastic thing that has been a serious lifesaver. My wife and I sit on the couch just rolling ourselves with deep sighs while binge-watching Six Feet Under for the first time (we just finished The West Wing).

The foam roller I use now is different than any of the others I have tried (and given to Goodwill) in the past. The Rollga foam roller has these grooves that hit you in the right place and I don’t know the science but I can tell you it feels much much better than a regular one. It is also roughly the size of an elderly pug.

The octopus thing though…that is the real VIP for me. My IT bands are apparently super sensitive so any attempt to use a roller on the floor has me dropping F-bombs and quitting almost immediately.

I use it on my legs and my shoulders pretty much every night. It’s on our living room table so any time I look at it I usually take it for a spin. Here’s a pic I just took of me and my new bff:

As soon as I took it out of its packaging my wife was like, “Oh yeah, it will hit all of the neuro lymphatic points.” I have no idea what any of that means, but I can say that I have been shocked at how much it has helped with recovery. Full disclosure: I won the Rollga products and wasn’t really expecting to use them so much. They gave me my own discount code though in case I liked it enough to let people know about. Obviously I do. And since I got to pick my own code, you can use LESSCHUBBYJONES to get 15% off their products.

I will try to post more often here and give some updates. What I just noticed while posting this was that I can already see a difference between the picture of me from last year and the one from just now. The one above was in June of 2022, so something is working! Hoping all of you are doing great and that you keep challenging yourself with things that scare you, while also remembering to be kind to yourself. It’s something I’m working on too.