JayKnight Life: Running, Reviews, Photos

April 13th is right around the corner.  My training calendar says this is supposed to be the toughest week of training with the longest miles on the road. I guess it really says this is my peak training week. But I have to admit something i don't feel the pain anymore. It's week six of this intense training and my knees don't ache. It doesn't hurt to walk up and down stairs as much. (Except immediately after a run). The breathing during my runs is easy. The hills don't seem as hard to climb... No matter how steep or where they fall along the way. No more leg cramps or shin splints.     I really feel great. I thank God the pain is gone. This Nike plus coach feature really works. I just kept at it through the pain. I took tylenol once or twice. I used KT Tape to support my knees.       I'm no doctor but I really feel like all the pain was from the muscles in my legs getting stronger. The KT Tape's job was to be that strength until my muscles could c

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but training for a half marathon is quite different from training for a 5k. It's like the difference between a Camaro and a Corvette.  The difference between Volkswagen and Porche. The difference between an intern and an employee.I'm serious. You have to put some serious work, time, determination and dedication to train for 13.1 miles. My legs don't lie. I haven't had muscle build up like this in my legs since high school. and because I was feeling extra fit, I decided to do a fitness photo shoot for myself. I call it the photographer's ultimate #selfie photo shoot, but I'm sure someone out there would be able to kick it up a notch with a more expensive camera that has a faster more precise auto focus, strobes instead of speedlights, wireless transmitters with TTL metering... that type of thing. But to be a true self... no assistants. Selfie: Self Portrait.               So, here's how I set up my ultimate selfie photo s

  You might think I'm crazy, but I've signed up to run a half marathon. That's 13.1 miles. Yes - 13.1 miles.  New Britain, Connecticut - the town that I was born in -- is only 13.4 Square miles.      It's a long... long way. I hope to finish the race in less than 2 hours. I think 4 hours is the cut off time for runners to finish this one. So, definitely somewhere between 2 hours and 3 hours and 59 minutes.     Hold on just think about that for a moment. There are a lot of things that you can do in two hours. You can..:  Go to the movies Attend a play, musical or concert Drive from Boston to New York City Drive from Raleigh to the Beach You can probably have a nice intimate 3 to 5 course dinner and go for a walk.  Ladies you could go get your hair done. (maybe more like 4 hours for some of y'all)  You could play or watch a complete NCAA basketball game (minus half time) Watch a football game. Go to a Sunday morning worship service       You

      I love American History... Even the dark embarrassing parts because that's what makes us strong.  I know that February has passed us.. we are now in March... but b lack history month is a time to reflect on those that labored, struggled, and suffered to make this world a better place. It's a time to remember a part of our American history that is often times forgotten. The Civil Rights Act       As in years past... I like to go digging for more information about this time period that includes slavery, Jim Crow and the Civil Rights era.      The library of congress has been a great resource for me. In Connecticut, Yale University's online library was also a great resource for me.       So after my move to North Carolina, I began looking for resources -- here that could help me.     To be fair, I knew nothing about this area when I moved here. I had no prior interests or connections here, so it's been hard for me to latch onto the local history. But ju