3.6 - Crappy Outside Run

Crappy run today.

Yesterday it was in the 50's. This morning it was below freezing, there was a nasty headwind coming off the hill, and I didn't run until 8:30am instead of my normal 5:30am. To top it all off, it felt like I was constantly gliding down a hill (resting in other words) or sprinting up a hill which is not good for my achilles. I couldn't find any sort of rhythm to either my breathing or my stride. It was annoying. From now on I'll have to drive / bike down to Market street and start there. I hate to use the gas, but it's less important than my health.

On the brighter side, I stuck with it and did the full 30 mins. I kept thinking of this weeks motivational quote by Henry Ford: "Obstacles are those frightening things that become visible when we take our eyes off our goals". I also remembered reading that we should expect good days with running and bad days, too, just like with everything else so upon reflection, the thing to focus on is that I did it. My shoulder is feeling better, the pain in my back is gone, and my shins aren't bugging me. I did notice that when going downhill I tended to let my left leg take most of the impact and just slid my right leg alongside - sort of like going downhill sideways. Once I noticed that I switched and I think my left shin feels better than it usually does.

My weight spiked a bit as I'm up to 225.4 this morning, but we had a dinner party last night with some excellent lasagna and I even allowed myself some dessert. Plus I was famished all day for some reason and ate too many crackers w/ cheese and not enough fruit because I hadn't brought enough with me. Getting back on track today plus some smart planning next week and 220 is definitely in sight. The schedule gets crazy next week with repeats of 8, 9, 10, and 11 minutes so my intensity should be going up, too.

3.5 - Friday morning

Late night with Annie, but still managed to drag myself to the gym and ran 6mins, walked 1 min (4 times) and ended w/ a 2 min run. I picked up the pace a bit on some of my laps and before my last set felt / heard a small pop in my left shin. I immediately slowed it down and didn't feel any further discomfort, but that does seem to be the area where I might be developing shing splints, though 3 hours later, I barely feel any pain, even when pushing on the spot. I also have a sore spot on my back near my right kidney. I probably just slept wrong, but gotta keep accurate records.

All in all, it was a good run. I weight 223.4 this morning and I'm continually motivated by my weight loss. Hopefully I'll be down around 215 (or less) when referee season starts. Looks like I'll have a week of rest coming up as Annie is headed for a week-long work assignment out of the area. It might be a good idea to take a break.

3.3 - Afternoon run at the YMCA

Long couple of days this week with the database issue at work, so still a bit off schedule. Today I ran at 4pm instead of in the morning. It was nice enough that I could have run outside, but I chose to stick w/ the YMCA track. The place was a madhouse w/ kids, but I still got a good workout in - 5x 5 min run, 1 min walk. The last minute I sprinted, breathing in every two steps. It was quite the rush :-) I probably shouldn't have done that, but it felt good. I used the NB1224's again and they were great. Walk tomorrow and then run Friday & Saturday.

3.2 - off schedule, but back on track

This is off schedule, I know, but I ran today. It was supposed to be a walk day but hey, I hadn't run since Saturday and I was itching to get back into it. I used my New Balance 1224's and they were great as expected. Why did I ever try Under Armour????

The cycle today was 5 repeats of run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute. I ran just under a 10 minute mile consistently throughout the workout. As I recall, this is the same sort of pace I was running back in the early 2000's - I used to run 8 miles at a time, ya' know. My weight is steadily improving and I'm happy to say I'm at 225.4 this morning - I think yesterday was 224.8 so no big deal and actually, pretty good since I hadn't exercised in so long. Sleep is definitely key. Brennan wasn't very good last night, but I went to bed early enough that I overcame it.

Today, a bagle w/ cottage cheese for breakfast w/ 8 oz of apple juice. At work I've been snacking on 4 x Polly-O 2% cheese sticks, some 100% whole grain wheat thins and an orange. I've got another orange and a pint of strawberries for later / lunch.

The schedule has me running the same cycle tomorrow. My shins didn't bother me this morning and I only felt them a few times so hopefully this won't be a problem.

3.1 - No run

What a crappy day. Sunday night was closing and I screwed up and deleted 15K records from the database. I stayed up until midnight to try to coordinate getting it fixed until I just gave up - no one was returning my calls. The baby woke up his customary 2-3 times to make things worse. Then I spent all day Monday at work trying to fix the problem and still (4pm) nothing. Almost time to pick up the kids so I won't be able to run today. Probably for the best since I'm beat and my ankle is bugging me a bit.

End of Week 2

Another week down I'm happy to say. It was tough today - the baby was up 4 or 5 times and we were up late getting ready for a birthday party. We woke around 6 and I griped about not being able to run before Annie basically forced me out the door - thank God for her! It was a tough run on the hills of Corning, but it was worth it to stick with the program. I continue to feel better and lose a few ounces each day - I'm down to 224.4. Not sure how the food at the birthday party will affect me, but I hope to drink lots of water and be conscientious about it.

I tried to run in my Under Armour Renevant sneakers, but again experienced the pain on my toes from yesterday so they never made it out of the door. My Brooks Adrenaline trail shoes were great, though. It's amazing the differences between running inside and outside. You can spit when you need to which is nice, but there are so many other variables - the road surface, the wind, the cold making your eyes tear...Week 3 starts on Monday with 5 min run, 1 min walk repeated 5 times. My shins are sore after runs, but fortunately that doesn't carry over - hopefully that trend will continue.

Down to 225!

Yesterday I didn't go to the gym for my 30 minute walk, but did several 10-min at work instead. Today, for the first time in probably a year, I weigh less than 225. Sure, by only .2 lbs, but I'll take it.

Little B had a rough night and I didn't get much sleep, but I did my programmed run today: 4min run, 1 walk, repeat 6 times. I was tired but motivated because my new sneakers finally arrived. I tried the Under Armour Renevant and was not impressed. It felt okay to put on, but not exceptional. And after 20 minutes or so, I realized that part of the lacing was actually chafing my toes. I thought about trying them again until I took them off and one of my heels was similarly irritated. Best to stick with New Balance, Brooks, and Saucony. I'm returning the UA if I can. Unless someone out there wants to try them - they're size 10.5 D.

Day 9

Yeah - I followed the program for the 9th day in a row. Big props to Annie who had to get up at 6am w/ the kids this morning while I was still at the gym. When I accomplish any of my goals, it will be in large part thanks to her efforts & support.

It was a tough run today - (3 minute run, 1 minute walk) x 7 followed by a 2 minute run for a total of 30 minutes. I can't even remember the last time I ran three full minutes without stopping. It felt good to be doing it, but it also left me a bit drained. I may have run harder than I should have because I actually put on 2 lbs between yesterday & this morning. Could it be the 1/16th piece of mint pie I had on Monday night? Maybe it was the spaghetti or the Wheat Thins from yesterday. At any rate, it was a bummer and I just have to keep plugging away. I have been very good w/ my eating lately - no eating out, no sugar (except for that little piece of pie), and lots of fruit and celery so I expect my efforts will yield results as my running intensity increases. Tomorrow is a walk and then on Friday & Saturday I do 30 minutes of 4min run + 1 min walk. Should be fun!

Initial Entry - My First Blog

Yeah! Day 2 of week 2 of the Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-381-386-9397-0,00.html). It seems sort of silly given that I've been running on & off since I joined the Army in 1992. But given my recent weight gain (230 lbs!) and my ankle injury, I'm thinking it's best to take it slow. The baby has been good about sleeping well (finally!) and my wife has been a cheer leader even though it interferes with her sleep sometimes (I run in the morning). At this point, everything is going better than I expected. I'm still getting shin splints a bit, but hopefully stretching and the rest days will take care of that. My ankle bugged me last night for the first time in quite a while - maybe because I sprinted a bit on the track?