July 2025

July was a month I got to simply be at home and enjoy the day to day, training, writing and spending time with family. I continued adapting to the effects of quitting caffeine, adjusted to a more regular sleeping routine, and stayed consistent with nutrition. Also, I got to complete another set of in-person and virtual soccer coaching courses toward obtaining a US Soccer license, and I’m looking forward to enrolling in the next, more complex and demanding phases.

TRAINING

I have basically maintained the same training routine as last month, focusing on body strength 3 days per week and running 4 to 5 days for a total of 35 to 40 miles. Also, after having introduced walking to cope with giving up my habitual morning cup of coffee at the beginning of June, I kept up with it all through last month. It’s normally been a 2-to-3-mile walk, anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour, and I feel I have become accustomed to it, to the point I am not even thinking about coffee anymore. It’s been an energizing way to start each day.

In terms of weightlifting, I have been consistent with a weekly split of two days at home and one day at the gym. The home-workouts consisted of a stretch and mobility routine followed by 3 rounds of upper body pushing, pulling and leg exercises using dumbbells combined with calisthenics (or bodyweight movements) for a total of 12 super sets. Whereas at the gym I have focused primarily on compound exercises including barbell squats, deadlift, overhead press and bench press. Sticking to this resistance training plan has certainly been fun, it has helped me to build strength and put on some size.

While it has been great spending more time than usual lifting weights, I have also been enjoying running, especially in the hot summer days. Last month I mostly ran 7 to 8 miles daily, experimenting with different routes around the area where I live. In the second half of the month, I reintroduced longer runs of 12 miles once per week. I had not run such a distance since my last marathon in Cleveland, Ohio, this past May, and although it was challenging, I felt strong, I was able to sustain it and recover well from it. Going into August and getting closer to September, I’ll be looking to steadily increase my long run distance as well as my overall weekly volume in preparation for my next marathon.

READING

Jesus Calling – Enjoying Peace in His Presence – by Sarah Young

A daily devotion I found quite comforting and encouraging read as follows:

“LET ME SHOW YOU My way for you this day. I guide you continually so you can relax and enjoy My Presence in the present. Living well is both a discipline and an art. Concentrate on staying close to Me, the divine Artist. Discipline your thoughts to trust Me as I work My ways in your life. Pray about everything; then leave outcomes up to Me. Do not fear My will, for through it I accomplish what is best for you. Take a deep breath and dive into the depths of absolute trust in Me. Underneath are the everlasting arms!”

Developing a habit of starting each day with prayer, gratitude, and surrendering to God’s will has been life-changing for me. Regardless of any plans I could have, or tasks I may want to accomplish in a given day, leaving it all in God’s hands and trusting He will work things out for my own benefit, allows me to live each moment with greater ease. When challenges arise or I encounter stressful situations, reminding myself that I am in the presence of God, has continually helped me to remain calm, have perspective, and not despair. I am by no means perfect at having such discipline, but I work on it every day as a way to grow my faith, strengthen my relationship with God, and foster inner peace.

People Can’t Drive You Crazy If You Don’t Give Them The Keys – by Dr. Mike Bechtle.

The key concepts presented in this book were straight forward and truly insightful. I enjoyed reading it, I thought the ideas and examples were relatable, and I found it rather helpful. It offers so much valuable guidance on navigating relationships; how to deal with the different kinds of people in one’s life in a healthy manner and without falling victim to the choices and behaviors of others. Furthermore, the following are some of the most important points I have noted, and I think are worth keeping in mind when seeking to improve the quality of connections with family, friends and the community, and in the everyday journey of self-growth:

  • The world is a crazy place; no one can stop diverse events from happening or choose what other individuals say or do; therefore, drama is virtually inescapable. Nonetheless, one can learn to break free from the draining effects of it and prevent the conduct of others from controlling one’s life and attitudes.

  • Since the world is filled with imperfect human beings, everyone gets to experience challenges when dealing with people in their circles. Building healthy relationships is not dependent on the other person becoming flawless or changing for the better, but on working on one’s own side regardless of what happens on the other side. It’s about changing oneself rather than the other person.

  • Although one only has control over oneself, and not anyone or anything else, by correcting and enhancing one’s own character and quality of life, it’s possible to have a positive influence on others.

  • Having expectations for others to transmute according to one’s own views and values is foolish, and an assurance of continuous disappointment and frustration.

  • No one has dominion over emotions and experiencing them is part of being a human. But instead of reacting immediately to the emotions caused by other people’s actions, one can choose to respond more deliberately. Reacting is an impulsive outburst that causes damage and can intensify conflict, whereas responding is a more reflective and measured approach to handling relationship matters. Pausing and assessing whether one’s emotions are based on facts or assumptions is an effective way of coming up with a response when getting emotionally triggered by the behavior of other individuals.

I genuinely believe that becoming mindful of these principles and putting them into practice daily can lead anyone to change from the inside out and experience higher levels of joy, freedom and peace, as well as to prosper and live a more abundant life.

PODCASTS

Listening to podcasts is a habit that has added a ton of value to my life, and they are useful resources I continually utilize for personal development. These are some insightful and inspiring episodes I listened to in the past month:

RECOVERY

In the last two weeks, whilst getting through my second consecutive month without consuming caffeine, I felt my sleep and energy levels throughout the day became more stable. I perceived a slight improvement in the quality of my sleep at night, and I have been waking up feeling well rested. Also, although I have still been getting sleepy in the afternoons and taking naps, they have been much shorter – 1 hour at most, compared with 2 to 3 hours during the initial few weeks after giving up caffeine.

Realizing my workouts, whether strength or cardio, have not been impacted much at all by stopping caffeine intake, has been an indicator of better recovery, and increased natural energy as a result. Since caffeine is a physical performance enhancer, I thought quitting it would have had a diminishing effect on my resistance training capacity. However, to my surprise, this has not been the case. In fact, I have been able to continue building strength and slightly increase my weightlifting loads. Whereas in terms of running, I have been able to sustain longer and more difficult runs in great shape. In addition, I have noticed a significant improvement when running, and it has to do with hydration. I am no longer dealing with the diuretic effects of caffeine, in other words, the frequent need to urinate I normally experienced seems to have been alleviated, as I have been able to complete runs without having to make any stops.