Support The M!

Afternoon Heat - 1 Me - 0

2007-05-08T14:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I headed back to the park this afternoon...Instead of waiting until sunset, I decided to go at 2 in the afternoon...Why? I have no idea....But the temperature went up over 80, and the trail is black, so needless to say....The heat whooped up on me.

Total distance = 0.9 miles

Total time = 9:09.292

Maybe next time I should wait for the sun to relax..

Unemployed, Overweight & Bored

2007-05-08T11:09:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I'm no longer doing the ridiculously long commute to work...We've joined a gym and have been going at least 2 or 3 times a week. Last night, though the weather was just incredible so I headed to the old park I used to run and have soccer camp at.

It has a paved trail through the woods that measures about 1 1/4 miles around. I did 3 laps last night. I also have been 'upgraded' as to my running equipment. I'm now armed with an iPod armband. It's amazing how much having music helps.

Anywyas, my iPod also has a lovely lap counter on it, so I loaded up my playlist and started the stopwatch.

I jogged 1 lap, walked 1 lap, and then jogged another lap, then a half mile warm down, and here are my results:

Lap 1 (1 1/4 mile) Jog: 11:46.644 (Minutes:Seconds)
Lap 2 (1 1/4 mile)walk: 20:40.800 (Minutes:Seconds)
Lap 3 (1 1/4 mile) Jog: 12:56.958 (Minutes:Seconds)
Lap 4 (1/2 mile)WarmDw: 5:27.476 (Minutes:Seconds)

I'm hoping to once again run the Run Like Hell race this year; knocking off at least 4 minutes from my time last year of 36:33.

I think I'm off to an okay start, don't you?

Return of the M!

2007-04-09T12:44:00.000-05:00

It's been a LOOONG (short) winter for me.

It's been incredibly difficult for me to do a whole lot since our move back in December...I've been commuting 160 miles a day for work, and as you can imagine, by the time I get home in the evenings I really don't have the patience to do ANYTHING....So what HAVE I been doing? Absolutely nothing and falling back into bad habits...But I have 3 weeks left on my commute, and then I'll really be able to get going again.

The biggest news: My wife and I recently joined a gym! We went for our first time on Saturday afternoon with friends, and I'm STILL sore.

But it looks as if my next race is going to be the same race that I ran last year.

My goal for this year: Knock 4 minutes off of my end time.

I've got a LOT of work to do as I'm once again so out of shape I could barely run a half mile on Saturday.

The site here is also going to be going through some changes in a few weeks to reflect the changes that I'm going to go through.

Another Short Break

2006-11-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

This project is going to be put on hold for just a little while longer. The Holiday season is upon us, and on top of that, my wife and I are moving in a couple of weeks, so that is going to take up most of our time. Once we get settled down a bit, and I can figure out a new routine and a new place to go running, we'll be back on track. Though I probably won't be back until sometime after the new year. But I WILL be back!

Happy Holidays everyone!

I Have Returned!

2006-11-15T07:50:00.000-05:00

Fear not everyone - for I have returned! I know it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted anything, and it was probably thought that after the race I returned to my old ways of not doing anything and eating junk food.

Well, if you thought that....You were right....For two weeks after the race I started falling back into my old habits, and when I once again started getting heartburn, I knew I couldn't do that. So I started back up jogging on this past Monday...I'm not pushing too hard these first couple weeks back since it's been a couple of weeks. Monday I just walked 3/4 of a mile, jogged a mile, and then did my warm down and went home. It's cold now, so I don't want to injure myself. I haven't lost as much of my endurance and what not than I thought I would have. I did fairly well on Monday having not ran for two weeks.

Today it's both cold AND raining, so I'm not sure how well I'll do today. As part of my race day packet, I got a free 30 day trial membership to Gold's Gym...It expires today, so I may take that in so that at least for a month I'll have somewhere to run indoors. We'll see though.

Also; I've got a new race to train for. It's pretty far away as it's not until August. It's called the Mid-Summer's Night Run, and is again a 5k run. I'll have to research later this weekend to see if I can find a website and graphics for it. This time around, my goal is actually a time goal. I'd like to knock about 6 minutes off my overall time to get 30 minutes or under. I have quite a while to train for it, so by the time August gets here, that shouldn't be a problem.

But there you have it - I have returned!

I Did It!

2006-11-01T07:47:00.000-05:00

Well, even though this post comes quite late, this past Friday (October 27th) at 8:30 pm EST I completed my first ever distance run. I DID complete the Run Like Hell.

I was JUST shy of my goal of no walking, but I was still happy with my performance this first time around. The coarse was VERY full of hills, and one hill in particular I took 30 seconds to walk up to the top of; but I finished the rest of the race entirely with running.

My final time was 36 minutes and 33 seconds. I was nowhere NEAR the top ten, but I was also NOT last. What I really couldn't believe was the amount of people who took off like rockets at the start only to have me pass them within a half mile as they had to stop and start walking.

There was also a large percentage of people who would practically sprint for a short distance, and then walk, and then do it all over again.

But all in all, I was very pleased with myself the first time around. Now my goal is to find a new race to run in to keep me in shape as I haven't ran at all since the race. I really don't want to fall back into my old bad habits. I plan on hitting the park again tonight, though.

AND - I DO have pictures from the race, though not many as it was raining during the race and we didn't want to water log our camera. I'll get those up on my Photobucket page as soon as I can!

This Is It

2006-10-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

Today is officially race day...I just picked up my number, free t-shirt and my race day packet. In just a few more hours we'll be heading down to check in and get this show on the road.

As I've said all along, my only goal for tonight is just not to have to stop and walk. And to try and have a good time...No matter how I do tonight, I've worked really hard for this, so whatever I do, this project of mine will not be a failure.

And also again; this whole event benefits research for cycstic fibrosis, so also no matter what it's for a good cause as well. I urge you once again to check out the race's website down there to the bottom right of my blog. You'll get everything about the event down there.

And after today, this project isn't ending. I plan to keep going, as I don't want to fall back into my old routines. Oh no, I'll have to find other races to run to keep me going, and of course I'll keep updating this blog, because if nothing else, having a journal of sorts to keep track of my progress has really helped keep me in line.

I've armed my wife with our digital camera for tonight, so hopefully I'll have pictures to post when we get home on Sunday. But for now....Here we go...This is it!

*gulp*

Race Day Is Tomorrow!

2006-10-26T05:55:00.000-05:00

Well, we've made it. Tomorrow is the official day....Well, tomorrow night to be more exact. I've taken the day off of work so that I can make it to Cincinnati in time.

Am I ready; only time will tell...Will I be able to accomplish my goal of not having to walk any part of it? I certainly hope so.

I've learned a lot about myself during this little project and even if I do have to walk a bit tomorrow night, I certainly accomplished a lot...I HAVE lost weight; practically an inch off my waist...I'm sitting here in slacks for work that back in May did not fit AT ALL....The farthest I've gone during one of my 'practices' has been over 4 miles....I'm by no means blazing the trail, but the fact that I completed all this should be an indicator of some sort of success.

Now I just have to keep signing up for these runs so that I don't quit what I've started.

More profound thoughts to come later today or tonight on this whole experience.

Cold, cold workout tonight

2006-10-16T19:56:00.000-05:00

So tonight's weather was NOT kind to me:

It was cold, it was raining; and I forgot to pack my jacket this morning before work...But I went to the park anyways....I had my sweatpants and a T-shirt...It was raining really steady, and with only wearing a T-Shirt it felt a LOT colder than 50.

So in the middle of my first mile I decided to do a speed workout today where I go less distance but a lot faster so that I could get out of the cold rain...I did my one mile in around 8 minutes I do believe, and then got in my car and went home for a nice hot shower...Wednesday is supposed to look a little better, so we'll be back to distance then!

And holy crap - race day is next week already!!!

Lightning, The Cold & 4 Miles!

2006-10-13T11:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, so a little recap is in order from the past week. Monday’s results are already up, so here’s how the rest of this week has gone.

Wednesday was supposed to be the next running day of the week, but it started to look as if it was going to thunderstorm as the day went along. I decided if it was raining that would be okay as I’ve ran in the rain before and I could definitely do it again. But as I was sitting in my car at the stop light down the street from the park two huge bolts of lightning went through the sky so I decided that it was best I didn’t run.

So instead I hit the park yesterday. And yesterday the temperature had DROPPED compared the rest of the week. It went down to the low 40s (Fahrenheit) so it was definitely chilly. I dislike running in long pants so all I had brought to work with me to change into were my shorts, t-shirt and a windbreaker. I also dislike running in long sleeves (I actually dislike long sleeves altogether), but I thought I should at least have a little bit to help keep me warm.

The warm up didn’t do a very good job of warming up anything as the wind was really strong in the park. The few spots where the sun light broke through the tree lines were bearable, but most of the shadows were very cold. I made sure that I stretched a little extra yesterday so that I didn’t pull any muscles.

I wasn’t real sure about how well I’d do being so cold, though. So after I stretched I figured I’d go until I thought I couldn’t go anymore and I just let my mind wander. I kept a pretty steady pace, and before I realized it I was about to complete the third mile. I still felt like I had a lot of breath left, and my legs weren’t too tired, and every time I complete my goal set for the day I always stop even though I feel like I had more left in me. Well, last night I decided to see how far I could take it as I felt I had plenty of breath left after completing the third mile. So I went, and ended up tacking on a FOURTH mile. I couldn’t believe it, I don’t think I’ve EVER ran 4 miles straight in my entire life. I did stop at the 4 mark, though as my right leg started to go a tad bit numb. I don’t know why, but it was as if it were starting to fall asleep, so even though I still felt like I had plenty of breath left, I didn’t think it was a good thing to keep going because of my leg. So yet another milestone in this little experiment for me, and perhaps I’m ready for the race after all.

On top of that – the REAL reason I started this whole thing in the first place – I seem to have lost a lot weight. If I look at myself in the mirror it doesn’t look to me like I’ve lost an ounce, but the waistbands to my pants and my belts sure say otherwise as what used to fit rather snug now fits fairly loose. It almost looks as if I’ve lost an inch off my waist. This is probably the most exciting part of this whole deal for me.

Race day is exactly two weeks from today.

Last Week / Last Night Recap

2006-10-10T07:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I’ve once again forgotten to post my most recent updates. Sorry about that – I really need to work on that. I haven’t quit or anything, I just haven’t gotten back to updating my blog. So here’s what I’ve been up to since last week:

Wednesday I hit the park again, and I only did 2 miles. I went faster, but not as far. I think I ended up knocking about 4 minutes off of my 2 mile time to around 20 minutes flat. For an out of shape guy such as myself I thought that was satisfactory.

And then I had to skip the Friday workout because my wife and I drove down to Gatlinburg Tennessee for the weekend. Even though I didn’t get any running done down there, we DID hike a half mile at what seemed like a 90 degree angle up hill to the top of one of the mountains. We did drive up most of it, snapping pictures along the way, but at the top parking area there was a path to go all the way to the top which we did. And it took some wind out of both of us. Absolutely gorgeous up there, though. And very peaceful as well. I found the beginning of the Appalachian Trail up there, and was very tempted to start hiking on it.

So then we came home Sunday evening, and last night I headed back to the park once again. I don’t really know how fast I went, but I got back up to my 3 that I needed. Today is an off day, and then tomorrow it’s back once again to see if I can’t get up OVER the 3 once again. If I can find one I’m going to try and bring a stop watch tomorrow to see how fast I’m going.

Can't Be Our Best All The Time

2006-10-03T06:38:00.000-05:00

Some days are better than others, and Friday was just a tad bit better than last night. I lost about a half mile last night at the park. I'm not going to lie, last night was hard, and it hurt. I did not easily complete the 2 1/2 last night for some reason. I was also short of breath, and when I did give up I didn't easily catch my breath back.

I could blame it on all kinds of things, such as it was warmer yesterday being back in the 80s (F), and things like that. Truth be told, last night I just didn't have it. I have a day to recoup and try it again tomorrow. It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful either as I did at least complete 2 1/2.

Here I Am As Promised - A Couple Days Late

2006-09-30T10:52:00.000-05:00

Okay so I keep promising to put up something with a little more substance, and today I'm finally going to keep my word.

I guess today is kind of my commentary on Friday night's run.

I really have no idea what got into me that night, but I guess everything just had happened perfectly. It was mostly sunny, with some spotty clouds, it was cool (probably about 70 - 75 degrees Fahrenheit), the crowd wasn't crowded, but it also wasn't empty. I really didn't want to be there to be honest. And I felt horrible during my warm up jog, and didn't think I was going to be able to do anything. My calves were tight, my breath was short, and my shins kind of hurt.

But I finished the warm up anyways, and went to go stretch. Did my usuals and then gave it a start. I thought at first I wouldn't really go all that far, but I'd do my usual two laps and see where that led me. Usually I still feel really good in the middle of the second lap, but I always want to die by the time I reach the top of the hill at the end, but this time I felt okay. I crossed the line to end the second lap before I realized I did, and thought well, I'll just keep going and see what happens. And then once again I crossed the line of the third lap before I knew it, and I was almost back to the parking lot where my car was. It was about an eighth of the way through when I stopped. And it was just a few minutes walk back to the car, and I had caught all of my breath by the time I got there.

Now the real question is whether or not I can repeat that until the end of the month. I'm heading back today to see what happens. Wish me luck!

3 1/8 - Wow!!

2006-09-29T17:48:00.000-05:00

Holy hell. I don't know what got into me tonight. But I completed 3 1/8 miles tonight. I did everything the same that I always do for warm up, but something just happened. I just kept going. And in fact, I felt like I could have kept going even further. The only reason I can fathom that I stopped was that where I stopped equaled a perfect warm down to where I parked my car.

I'll have to elaborate more tomorrow (and this time I WILL - I promise) because at the moment my wife is waiting on me so that we can go to dinner.

Feeling VERY good about myself right now!

Half Good Half Bad Tonight

2006-09-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

Okay, so eventually I really must keep my promise and put up a more in depth post.

Anyways, tonight's results are as follows:

I did less than last workout, but went faster. I'm still standing strong at 2 miles, and where as the other day I did ALMOST 2 1/2 in about 24ish minutes, today I did 2 miles in about 20 minutes.

I think going down one of the hills in the park I let gravity set my pace, and I kept it...Kind of good, kind of bad...I'll have to level things out for Friday's end of the week work out.

Race day is officially 1 month from today.

Registration Complete Plus Tonight's Results

2006-09-25T21:00:00.000-05:00

I am now officially registered for the Run Like Hell 2006 5k run. There's no turning back now.

As far as tonight's results, they went pretty good for having the amount of time off that I had. I'm going to guestimate I was 200 meters shy of 2 1/2 miles. Again I felt like I could've kept going but I got distracted somehow and just quit.

I'd post more on things right now, but having officially registered, my train of thought isn't running smoothly.

Tomorrow is an off-day and Wednesday I hope to finally complete the 2 1/2 miles. My new goal is to go a quarter of the trail further each time I head back to the park...For tonight's post, however that is all. I'll hopefully see you guys sometime tomorrow for a better post.

Race Day Registration Is Now Open...And I'm Already Nervous...

2006-09-25T11:53:00.000-05:00

Okay, so race day registration is officially up. I haven’t registered just yet, but by the end of the day today I will have. If you haven’t done so yet, I suggest checking out the link at the bottom of the side bar to the right there for the race’s homepage. It has everything you’d ever want to know about the event. It benefits cystic fibrosis, and the various organizations in Cincinnati hold it annually.

Since its Halloween weekend there are usually costume contests, and apparently there’s an after party as well. It will be a new experience for me all around. I will not be dressing up in a costume, though. But I think that I will be wearing gear from the community that helped inspire me to start this little adventure. I have their homepage linked in the side bar to the right as well – Refugee Gamers. The buddy who suggested I do this I’ve ‘known in real life’ for almost 10 years now, but we both belong to that community as well. I plan on taking my camera and have somebody snap some photos of the race, and I’ll be sure to post them up!

The heat will officially be on after I register. There’s no going back after that. Money will have been paid, and race day packets and numbers will start to be handed out at 10 a.m. that day. I’ve already requested PTO (Paid Time Off) for the day, and I’ve been building up for this since June so there’s really no going back.

It’s still over a month away, but with registration being opened today I’m already nervous. I haven’t done anything athletically competitive in almost 10 years. I haven’t a time goal in mind since this is not only the first race I’ve done in almost ten years, but it’s also the first distance race I’ve ever done. So my only goal for this first time around (I plan on continuing to register in these races year round so that I don’t fall back out of shape again) is just to run (or jog rather) the entire course without having to stop and walk. That’s my goal this first time around. I’ve been warned about the course and how many inclines there will be, so I’ve made sure to do all of my training at the park that has two major hills through the trail that it has. I’m not sure if that will be enough, though. I’m going to have to really buckle down these last few weeks of training to really make sure that I’m ready when race day gets here.

If I ever needed support on this guys, I need it now so that I don’t chicken out before I register – and of course once I register that’s the point of no return.

1 Month 'Til Race Day

2006-09-25T06:43:00.000-05:00

That's right, this is the last week in September leading to the final month before the big race day.

At the moment the farthest I've been able to go is about 2 1/4 miles. Not bad considering when I first started this little project I could barely do 1/4 of 1 mile. I wasn't able to do anything over the weekend since we went out of town again to see families. Today after work however I'm heading back to the ole park and seeing if I can't do 2 1/2 today. I have to get up to at 3 really soon here as I'm running out of time.

Stay tuned to see how well I do in these next couple of weeks. We're getting down to the wire here people!

Another Step Further

2006-09-19T17:53:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the park a little while ago where I did extremely well.

apparently overcast and cool is my optimal running conditions. I did about 2 1/4 miles today where as the last time I did less than two, and the time before that about 2 1/8. I'm hoping if I keep my current schedule steady enough that by the end of next week perhaps I can get myself up to 2 1/2. Other than that, not a whole lot else to report tonight. Perhaps I'll put up a more in depth post sometime tomorrow on my day off. Too bad my day off of running couldn't also be a day off of work!

Weekend Recap

2006-09-18T06:48:00.000-05:00

Did my workout again last night instead of on Saturday afternoon. And for some reason it was rather difficult. I do believe I lost the mental game last night, as I was extremely distracted.

I have this little step counter thing from work that has a clock, stopwatch, calorie counter, step counter, and mile tracker on it. It has all these little features, and only 3 buttons to work said features. I still don't have it all figured out, but I at least learned how to work the stopwatch.

On top of having this extra little gadget attached to my waistband there was also a LOT of traffic at the park last night, as well as it being a tad warmer than it has been since I went at 3:30 in the afternoon instead of 6 in the evening.

I lost about 100 meters of 2 miles, but according to the stopwatch I did all that distance in about 21 minutes. I figured that's where I should be for now. I really need to hit more than 2 miles soon, though.

At a mile and a half I always feel like I have more stamina than I really do, and I always feel like I'm going to make that extra lap around the trail...But then I get up that last hill and my chest starts to burn, and my legs get extremely tired. I'm going to have to overcome that really soon.

Anyways, today is an off day and then it's back at it again tomorrow!

After The Skies Cleared

2006-09-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

The other day after the skies cleared up I headed back to the park for more of a dry run than the time before.

Man, the park culture or atmosphere; whatever you want to call it completely changes with the weather. Obviously nobody wanted to be at the park in the rain the other day, so that day I had the entire park to myself save for a kids' soccer practice and a couple of other people doing something with the baseball fields. But then the last time I went it was a little warmer, and not a cloud in the sky....The park was packed...Every inch of it was filled with people...Volley ball games, basketball games, tennis, baseball, soccer, and there was quite a bit of traffic to dodge on the trail as well.

I've come to realize I might prefer it in the rain...On top of having less trail traffic to dodge, for some reason I completed my two miles easier in the rain. I'm guessing most likely it was because there was nobody to dodge, and after all it was a bit cooler in temperature. Though I did complete my two miles again in the warmth, it wasn't as easy as in the rain.

The plan this evening is to head back to the trail again tonight before dinner. I'm hoping to hit at least 2 1/2 miles in the next couple of workouts as race day is less than two months away now. Coming up fast!

Running In The Rain

2006-09-13T06:43:00.000-05:00

Is apparently what I needed to be doing all along. Went to the park last night as you know in the not so warm, and the wet. I figured with it being so cold and wet I should do a little bit extra of a warm up and then stretch REALLY good. So I did my walk, my jog, and then walk again, and I went about 3/4 of the way around the trail to where the gazebo was so that I could stretch under some shelter since it was raining so much. And I made sure I did an extra set of stretches for each one I could think.

Of course by that time, I was already soaked to the bone. And then I set out not really sure what to expect from this run as it's been over 10 years since I've done any sort of exercise in the rain.

I did OVER my two miles that I set as a goal. Apparently thinking about how wet I am instead of how much breath I have left or how tired my legs are is a good thing. I did my two laps without realizing it and I kept going. Although as soon as I figured out how far I had ran, my mental game was thrown off, and I lost my breath immediately and stopped for my warm down. It took no time at all to catch my breath this time, though. Which tells me I'm ready to up my distance yet again. So as today is an off day - tomorrow's goal will be two and a half miles.

With race day approaching quickly, I need to make sure I get up to those 3 miles soon!

Cold & Wet Today

2006-09-12T16:37:00.000-05:00

I'm about to head out for today's workout, and it's going to be cold and wet as it's been raining steadily for the past several hours, and it's not even 70 degrees F out.

And, according to Weather.com, it's not going to get any better for another day at the least.

Well, I'm grabbing my windbreaker, and heading to the murky park - wish my luck!

Whoops! Forgot To Post!

2006-09-11T06:48:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I haven't given up on this project at all, I've been away so long because I've just simply forgotten to post on here. So, sorry about all that!

Since my last post, two workouts have gone by.

I've picked back up to my two mile jogs, and though I haven't had a time piece with me during the work outs, I've "guestimated" that I'm hitting the two miles in just a little over twenty minutes. So, I'm not tearing up the clock by any means, but I am still doing fairly well..Sometime this week I'll be upping the distance just a tad to see how I do...Possibly 2 1/4 miles or less...I don't want to get a head of myself.

We did, however hit a park near my wife's parent's house this weekend, which is smaller around, where 1 lap equals 4/10 of a mile, and is for the most part pretty flat (no hills).

But what we found out, is that it was actually a lot harder. Three things:

1. There is a lake of stagnate water in the middle of the loop which made the trail VERY humid.
2. It's right by an off-ramp of a major freeway where every breath you take is filled with the lovely fumes of hundreds of cars and trucks.
3. We underestimated and over-paced ourselves since the loop itself was smaller. (hopefully that makes sense)

Anyways, we'll see how this week's workouts go...We're supposed to be getting some rain off and on through out this week, so I may finally be running in the rain, where as up until now I've avoided a wet run.

Minor Set Back

2006-09-05T06:48:00.000-05:00

Headed back to the park yesterday after a 3 day weekend, and lost about a half lap. My wife went as well; first time in a couple weeks, and as she was finishing up her leg of a jog, I went to continue and finish my laps and my pace was thrown off as I believe I started too fast. It wasn't good, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I'll definitely have to make up for it tomorrow as today's an off day.

Another Night - Another 2 Miles

2006-08-30T21:36:00.000-05:00

Not much to report tonight. I headed back to the park hoping that the rain would hold off for me, and it did. I did another two laps, and was able to recover a little quicker than the last time. I figure I'll do two laps again the next time I'm there, and then next week I'll try adding another quarter to a half of a lap.

Race day keeps getting closer!

And I just discovered that my links to the race's website is no longer working. Perhaps they're finally going to update it for this year.

Another Milestone - Time Tracking = Distraction

2006-08-28T20:12:00.000-05:00

That's right; tonight I hit yet another milestone on this little adventure.

Tonight I headed to the ole park, not really knowing what to do as my (only) watch has lost a pin to its band and it's slowly coming off, so I left it at home.

I figured I'll try what my wife did last time and just go by distance.

Trouble is - there are no distance markers at this park. Well, called the city, and turns out 1 lap around the trail = "about" a mile. So I decided to do the warm up and stretch, and skip the walking and see how I do.

At first my calves started tightening up really bad, but I ran through it and they got better as time went along, and my breath kept steady as well.

I ended up doing 2 whole laps + half lap for warm down....My farthest so far had been a lap and a half.

So I'm up to almost 2 miles now!

And I've realized that keeping track of time instead of distance is a hindrance more than anything...Instead of seeing how far I could go, I was checking the clock every 30 seconds instead of concentrating on the jog.

All in all was an excellent night tonight!

This Might Actually Work

2006-08-24T06:42:00.000-05:00

So this little project might actually work. Each time we head back to the park we do better.

I decided that this week I'm taking where I left off on the actual training schedule, so this week I do 3 days of 15/15. I did well Monday, and then last night I did even BETTER than Monday.

I decided to run first and walk second last night. And when I finished the 15 jog, I felt like I still had breath left to go further, and my legs weren't nearly as tired as they have been. Not only that, but I was able to catch my breath in a matter of a few minutes.

And my wife did excellent as well. Even SHE did the entire 15 minutes jog! We were both very proud of ourselves last night.

Still Going Strong

2006-08-22T06:44:00.000-05:00

It's been a while yet again since any updates. But I'm still here, and I'm still going.

I wasn't able to complete the 3 workouts again last week as I ended up getting injured. My big toe was smashed last week, and for a couple of days I couldn't walk very well, let alone run anywhere.

So last night my wife and I headed back to the park around sunset to see what we can do. I still did the 15/15, and once again completed it with little trouble.

In fact, when I hit the downslopes of the hills it felt as if I could go forever, but of course the downslopes always turned into upslope, and that was a tad more difficult.

Today is an off day, and then I think this week I can get back on the regular schedule and finish off Phase II, and finally get to Phase III and IV.

I really do feel as if I'm going to be able to complete this little project of mine.

I'm not sure how much weight I've lost just yet, but everything is starting to fit a little more loose these days, so that's got to be a good thing, right? Anyways, wish me luck!

Sprints To Distance: Compared & Contrasted

2006-08-17T11:23:00.000-05:00

I’ve now been at this project for a couple of months and I’ve been thinking on what I’ve learned through this experience. What I’ve learned in the short time span of this little project is that there is a whole world of difference between sprinting and distance running. I always knew they were incredibly different, but now that I’m finally on the other side of the fence I REALLY know that there’s a difference.

The two of them are completely different animals. Everything that I was ever trained to do as a sprinter seems to be the exact OPPOSITE of what you want to do as a distance runner. Everything in my experience as a runner was to condition for the 100m Dash, 200m Dash, 400m dash, 400m X 100m Relay, and the 1600m X 400m Relay.

On average the longest race I had ever ran was a 400m (1 lap around a track), and that generally lasted about 55 seconds (for me – my main races were the 100s and 200s)…Or on a really bad day; 61 seconds….The quickest race I ever ran was a 10.9 second 100m dash…For those not familiar with Track & Field, for a 6’3” white boy who doesn’t fit in starting blocks, that’s pretty good. It was at least good enough to place me in the top 10 in the State of Kentucky way back in 1997 for the Single A division schools

Everything that is engrained into your brain as a sprinter is to go the fastest, hardest, and strongest you can go straight from the blocks and not stop going your all out hardest until you pass that finish line.

The concept of “pace” does not exist in a sprint. Also, with distance running, it’s more like a jog than a run. At least during the practices for me it is. And it’s this concept that has been incredibly difficult for me to grasp. I’ve never had the patience for distance, though at one point in time or another I felt like I had the breath. I get so discouraged and/or bored with just going and going that I just stop. Even if I felt like I had enough breath to keep going. I’ve spent so much time in my past training as a sprinter that I just can’t seem to let go of it. I still want to go as fast and as hard as I can straight from the get go, get it over as quickly as possible, and that’s what I believe led me to contracting shin splints.

When you’re training for sprints, you’re not actually running for 30 minutes straight. At the most you’re running intervals of 60 seconds with at least a few seconds of breaks in between. But those 60 seconds of running are usually expected to be the hardest you can run. Unless it was an ‘easy’ day where you go out and do a distance jog to rest after your day of hard speed training. So your feet aren’t constantly pounding the pavement for a half an hour unlike with this distance stuff. Even in soccer, though at times it seemed we were constantly running, it wasn’t just running a plotted course, and there were breaks for penalty kicks, injuries, substitutions and half time. And again, for soccer, you’re conditioned to go at your top speed for the entirety of the game, because lets face it; if you’re not fast enough to keep up or pass your opponent, in a split second they’ve blown by and on their way to the goal and the game is lost.

Not only is pace a difficult thing to find, but also the style in which you’re trying to run said pace is incredibly difficult. Your feet are hitting the ground in such a different way. I’m no longer running strictly on the balls of my feet, and apparently I run really flat-footed, and for lack of a better word I’m a clod hopper. My feet are smacking the ground way too hard.

So what I have learned so far from this project is that it is NOT easy to make the transition from sprinter to distance runner. AT ALL.

Excellent First Day Back!

2006-08-15T17:55:00.000-05:00

Okay so its been over a week since I've even tried to work out. Over a month since I've had a workout I could consider "really" successful.

Today I did both in one shot.

I wasn't sure what to expect having been off with my injury for so long. So I went in today not really expecting to do anything; and if I did anything at all it would be a good day. I just didn't want the pain to come back.

So I took the warm up a little less intense this time. I got that familiar muscle pull at first, so I tried to step as lightly as possible trying not to aggravate it. Made it through the walk, jog, walk and onto the stretching. I remember all of my high school coaches saying stretching was important so I tried to remember every stretch I've ever done between soccer and track and did them all, and took my time to make sure I stretched really good. When I got up to start the walking portion my legs felt fantastic. Really loose, no tightness at all, and I seemed to have an energy boost of some kind.

I decided right then...Why the hell not....I'm going to try for that 15/15 milestone I've failed to hit so many times.

Mission Accomplished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pain in my leg never came back, and I seemed to have plenty of breath. I felt really good, and once I finished the 15 jog I even tried to sprint back to the car, but got a slight sharp pain in the shin and decided against it.

Came home, showered, and I'm now reveling in my victory. Today was a good day.

Yes - I'm Still Here!

2006-08-15T06:39:00.000-05:00

Okay so I haven't updated this thing in a long long time. Well, as you know with my last post, I've been out with an injury. I never went to the doctor but decided that whatever that horrible pain was it was shin splints, and every thing that I looked up for shin splints said that the best thing to do for it was rest. So I've rested it for about a week.

I haven't updated the blog because from Wednesday night until Sunday night we were up North for a long weekend and limited internet capabilities.

And well, I've rested for about a week, and so far today the pain doesn't seem to be there, so after work I'm headed to the park. The weathers supposed to be sunny and warm according to the radio this morning.

I'm going to take the warm up a little lighter, and before I decide the jog time to complete I'm going to see how I feel.

Wish me luck!

HELP I'M INJURED!

2006-08-08T19:22:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I head to the park tonight to finally conquer the 15/15 beast. I start my warm up and its at a more brisk pace than usual, and my left shin starts to tighten up a bit. The last workout I had some pain in this shin, but I was able to push through it without a big deal.

As the warm up walk part continues the tightness continues and it gets a little worse, and a small but sharp pain begins to run down and up my shin. I hit the jog of the warm up, and feel good, the shin kind of dulls down, and I hit a 1:30 jog, and then start to stretch.

Stretching is extremely difficult in my left leg. It hurts A LOT to do hurdle stretches, and its as if my foot is in charlie horse and all it wants to do is to point my toes out, instead of back to stretch the calf muscle. I mean it REALLY hurts. So I push the rest of the stretching, and I start the walk. The walk apparently just makes the shin mad, as now it feels as if something is pulling the top left part of my shin on my left leg violently to the left, and now the sharp pain is even worse, and the tightness now also wraps up and around my knee.

I continue to push through as I'm determined to finally conquer this 15 minute jog, and I get to the jog. I make it through 6 minutes and now the pain is unbearable, and my entire lower left leg is in pain and it's all tingly. I stop, and I head back to the car hanging my head in shame.

Six minutes; I was winded but other than my shin/leg I felt good, and really felt like I could get this workout today. I mean I ate when I was supposed to today; I had my water, and my carbs, and even snuck in a granola bar. But the pain was too much.

I'm not sure if this is actually shin splints as its been over 7 years since I've been a runner, and almost 10 years since I was diagnosed with shin splints so I've forgotten what they feel like. All I know is the last workout it went away afterwards, but tonight it hasn't gone away...The tightness remains, and when touched I feel a sharp pain.

My wife suggests that I go to see my doctors, but I'm not sure if its that serious. There are some folks at work who have nursing experience, so I'm going to ask them about it tomorrow. But if anybody out there has any kind of sports medicine background, I'd appreciate any insight.

Weekend Recap & This Week

2006-08-08T06:37:00.000-05:00

So I forgot to post a weekend recap yesterday.

Friday was the off day since I had the workout on Thursday. Saturday we also didn't go to the park, but we did take about a mile walk after dinner because the heat had cooled down some and it turned into a nice evening.

Sunday I headed to the park to complete the 18/12, which I think I was just about a minute shy of.

Today I'm going to try my hardest to capture that 15/15 milestone that has yet escaped me.

Tomorrow we're heading back north for a long weekend and I'll be taking the running shoes with me to make sure I stay on schedule.

As of today I'm going to do my best to be back on the calendar. Wish me luck!

I Am No Match For The Heat!

2006-08-03T18:28:00.000-05:00

Okay so this week had 3 days off instead of just 2 because last night was the bi-monthly "man night" where a buddy and I go out and eat greasy "manly" food, get some horribly offensive movies and drink beer all night.

I actually only had a cheeseburger (double - cheese only), and a thing a cheese fries, plus 1 Dr Pepper and 1 beer. Not good, but it could've been worse. So this afternoon when I got home from work the temperature outside was 103 degrees Fahrenheit, and where as my wife was smart and did an indoor workout with a video, I took it back to the trail. I just got home, and according to Weather.com it was down to 91:

I don't know what it was when I was at the park, but man that sun took no mercy. I'm still aiming for the 15/15 but with the heat today I broke it down. I think I did about a total of maybe 10 minutes, if that. I'm not too disappointed, though what with the heat.

I think I'm going to roll the next workout back to 18/12, and see if I can't start off next week by finally surpassing the 15/15 milestone.

Weekend Recap

2006-07-31T06:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, so Friday I've already posted about, and Saturday was an off day. My wife and I headed back to the park yesterday for the week's finish.

My wife has missed a lot with her school/work schedule being so hectic lately so she took it as an easy day and did all walking. I gave the 15/15 a shot.

Though I didn't complete the full 15 minute run, it still wasn't a loss. I think I did around 11 minutes running. I'm not too upset though, because my mental game was thrown off.

Around minute 9 or 10 (I don't remember exactly) a bug flew in my mouth. And right after that I hit the hill, and after having an insect in my mouth I was done. It's not any kind of 'real' excuse, but that was gross, and my water bottle was in the car so I did about half of the hill before I had to stop because I was still cringing. Stupid bug.

I'm not sure how this week is going to go just yet, but at least we're back in the game!

Back In The Game!

2006-07-29T10:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I was talking with the buddy who suggested this whole little project the other day and about how difficult it's been for me to complete any of the most recent workouts. He asked how fast I had been going. I didn't actually know since the only park we ever get to run on that has any kind of distance marker is in Cincinnati and we've only ran at like twice. But on last Sunday we were there and I made sure I paid special attention to how fast/far I was going, and as it turns out I was hitting just under a mile in about six minutes.

Well, apparently my problem is my pace; I've been taking the running portion of the workouts too fast. Being an ex-sprinter it's hard for me to judge what would be a good pace for a long distance...After all the longest race I've ever ran still lasted under a minute, and my shortest race - 10 seconds. This long distance stuff is quite new to me.

So my friend suggested two things:

1. Since we have 'til the end of October until the actual race, backtrack to a previous workout.

2. Slow my pace down.

And I kind of did an amalgamation of the two suggestions...I figured I'd mix the 15/15 and the 18/12....Well, sort of.

And of course I did the entire warm up again - which paid off..My calves were still a little tight but not as much as the last time.

I thought for the actual workout I'd do the 15 minutes walking, and then do the 12 minutes running which I thought would be a decent starting point.

I cut my pace and half and well....My friend was right...I did SOOOO awesome!...I hit five minutes - I was winded but still feeling good.....8 minutes - still just fine....10 minutes, holy crap! I think I'm gonna make it....12 minutes came and went without me even noticing it, and I thought crap I just passed my goal!...And I got to about 13 and a half minutes.....I stopped.....I have no idea why, I felt like I could keep going....But I stopped.

I guess I was just shocked about what I just did...I do believe that was the longest amount of time where I've jogged non-stop EVER...It felt incredible....Hell, I felt incredible...I did my warm down, and went home for a shower....My goal for tomorrow is to kick that 15/15 routine in the ass.

I'M BACK IN THE GAME!!!!

Yet Another Failure

2006-07-26T17:40:00.000-05:00

So today is supposed to start 15 mins walking / 15 mins running.

Oh, I did the whole half hour...But I think I may have actually only ran about 4 - 6 mins.

Skipping the warm up was apparently a very BAD idea for me...As my calves tightened up to excrutiating pain, and I now have severe shin splints.

If I keep up this sub-par performance at practice there's no way in Hell I'm ever going to make the race.

Perhaps I should up my carb intake during the day...As today I had nothing to eat but lunch.

I'm also thinking about abolishing days off as punishment. I need to whip my fat ass into shape pronto.

Mostly Sunny Today

2006-07-26T06:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, according to Weather.com as my always weather checker, it's looking like mostly sunny today followed by some gloomy weather for the rest of the week.

I think I'm going to shorten the warm up a bit today, get some stretching in, and then go all out for the first 15 minutes with a jog, followed by the walk. We'll see if my stamina theory is correct or not.

Phase II Week II

2006-07-25T06:37:00.000-05:00

I'm a little less negative today than when I made my last post. I was just really mad at myself for not being able to complete the whole workout.

This Wednesday I'm probably going to have to go by myself as my wife's work/school schedule is REALLY full this week.

This week is supposed to be 15/15. I'm going to try it a little different this time. I think I'm losing all of my stamina in the walking portion during the first half of the workouts, so this week I'm going to do the running first, and the walking last.

I tend to feel like I could go forever during the warm up jog, and if it weren't for my calves tightening up like no tomorrow I might even skip the warm up and just go straight into the jog.

But the warm up really helps me stretch out my calves, so I'll do the warm up, and then go straight into the jog.

Wish me luck everybody!

Weekend Recap

2006-07-23T20:35:00.000-05:00

We went home to Cincy for the weekend, and we had penciled in some friends time to inter mingle with family time, so that equaled LOTS of running around in a car, and very LITTLE running by foot. Friday and Saturday did nothing.

Today though we continued with the 18/12 routine...With missing so many workouts neither one of us was able to complete...It's very defeating when we're supposed to be in the Phase II part of the program and we can't keep up.

Weekend Rush

2006-07-21T06:54:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we're heading back to Cincinnati for the weekend, and we'll have to do a lot of running around between family and friends. I'm not sure when we'll be able to work in the workouts, but stay tuned on Sunday evening for the weekend recap to show up! And wish us luck!

Back On Top!

2006-07-20T06:59:00.000-05:00

Okay so last night's workout was one of my best yet! I took the advice of the same buddy who suggested this little experiment and had a granola bar around 4:15 pm EST last night to help replenish some energy.

What a difference it made! I felt like I could've kept working out all night last night!

Last night was 18/12...I broke it down and did the workout with my wife...It was a tad difficult in the searing heat and humidity, but it went well.

6, 4, 6, 4, 6, 4

I was almost tempted to tack on the additional 4 missing minutes from last Friday but I never did. I should do that next time if I feel as good. It's still hard to imagine running 30 minutes straight, but we'll see as time goes along.

Anyways, last night was a huge success for me.

Flying Blind In The Heat

2006-07-18T06:44:00.000-05:00

Okay, so according to Weather.com it's going to be dry and H O T for the rest of the week this week with a possible Thunderstorm on Friday:

Tomorrow's workout is stepped up another notch as we begin 12 minute runs. And I won't be able to see a darn thing when we go either. Last night my left contact slid out of place, and as I took it out and walked to the restroom to get some solution to put it back in, it disappeared never to be seen again...So I drove to work this morning without being able to see clearly, which I really shouldn't do...I'll be heading to Wal-Mart today at lunch to place my order for the rest of the year's stock of contacts...I'm going to try and get my actual glasses from Lenscrafters, because I think I have a giftcard lying around the apartment somewhere for them.

Anyways, we'll see how tomorrow goes!

Phase II Week I Finished

2006-07-17T06:46:00.000-05:00

Last night headed back to the park to finish up the first week of Phase II. Broke it down so that I could do the exercise with my wife last night, and it was still difficult to finish. Instead of doing 21 and 9, we did 7, 3, 7, 3, 7, 3 (7 minutes walking, 3 minutes running). I'm not sure if it's just because we had a slight break or if it was the searing heat, but it was difficult to finish. I had thought about tacking on the missing 4 minutes from Friday onto my last 3, but I wasn't able to do that.

This week we're supposed to be up to 12 minutes. And then next week 15. This should start getting interesting.

It'll be where it'll make or break us I'm afraid.

Phase II Day 2 Failure

2006-07-14T17:32:00.000-05:00

Okay so it's cloudy outside and it's been thundering all evening...I'd like to blame that on my failure of this evening, but that's not true.

I did all of the warm up and walking tonight, and when it came to the running...I crapped out a 5 minutes instead of making it the whole 9. I'm going to have to think up some sort of punishment for that..Like maybe go again tomorrow, or tack on the extra 4 missing minutes at the end of the week's workout.

I'm not happy with myself at all right now....Well, off to shower.

Phase II Day I

2006-07-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

Last night was the first day of Phase II. And let me tell you it was NOT easy. We're up to almost 10 minutes, and by next week we're up to 15 minutes. It sure does seem like it's coming awfully fast. Anyways, last night was 21 and 9.

The weather cleared up for us just as we got to the park, and for the majority of the time we were there it was sunny. My wife of course broke her part of the workout down to where her run were in 3 minute increments instead of the full 9 at once...And when it finally came for me to do my nine I mis-judged the time and stopped 2 minutes early, forcing me to redo my final two minutes...Cramps and trouble breathing, but after we caught our breath we felt wonderful....We've got so much other stuff going on right now that our dedication to this 'project' is starting to waiver but we're not letting each other quit!

Victory Over Junkfood!

2006-07-12T07:39:00.000-05:00

So it's been a month since I began this little adventure. The first couple of weeks going without some of my favorite junkfood were horrible. I was hungry all the time, and if I had a dollar in my wallet, I immediately wanted to go to the vending machines and get a bag of chips or a candy bar.

Fast Forward to 30 days later. Right now I have a five dollar bill and two singles in my wallet, and there's a bucket of free mini-candy bars in the office. I have no temptation to go to the vending machine OR take a candy bar. I'm a little hungry, but not too bad really.

Since I've started this I have only had 5 individual BBQ potato chips on the 4th of July (I counted!), 2 brownies (1 one day, and 1 another day), 1 lemonade, and a little skim milk.

Other than that it's just been the main meals, and water for me. I feel great, I'm not near as "loagy" as I used to be, my pants are fitting more loose, it looks as if my double chin is shrinking everyday, and I have way more energy than normal...And instead of dreading doing anything and making excuses for NOT going to exercise I can't wait to get to the next workout.

I claim victory over junkfood!!!!!

Mix-Up

2006-07-12T06:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so as luck would have it, I was incorrect about our schedule...TONIGHT is when Phase II officially starts...My wife had to work last night, and I had thought they changed her schedule....The weather forecast still looks bleak, though..It's only partly cloudy at the moment, but Thunderstorms are expected for most of the day...Hopefully around the time when we would go to the park won't be that bad!

Rain For Phase II Week 1 Day 1

2006-07-11T09:15:00.000-05:00

Well, it's nice and wet today, and today is scheduled for the first day of Phase II. I went over to Weather.com to check the forecast, and it's going to be wet for the next week or so.

Hopefully that will change. I don't want to run in the rain, but I'm going to anyways. My wife may not, though...Her days start at 4 in the morning, and she goes sometimes for 14 hours, so it may be too much for her, and I'm not going to force her to go in the rain.

Anyways....Almost up to 10 minutes tonight...I think that's gonna hurt a bit....But we'll just have to wait and see I guess....Wish me luck and think positive weather thoughts! If it is lightening I'm not gonna go.

Weekend Recap

2006-07-10T09:51:00.000-05:00

We finished up the final week to Phase I last night when we got home from Cincinnati.

Phase II will begin on Tuesday!

I did last night's workout a little differently this time, though. My wife has been breaking the running portions of the workouts up, whereas I have been doing them straight - all walking/all running.

So last night we did the normal warm up, and instead of going 24 minutes walking, and 6 minutes running, we did 8 minutes walking, 2 minutes running, 8 minutes walking, 2 minutes running, 8 minutes walking, 2 minutes running, and then warm down.

Still going so far so good!

Friday Night Workout

2006-07-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

Last night my wife was kept late at work, and after being in since 5 a.m. needless to say she was already too worn out to hit the park with me, so I went solo.

Did the workout, and the workout felt REALLY good.

I did MUCH better with the 6 minute running today...I've had a few days off, so I was expecting this to be even harder than the first time, but it wasn't. When time for the running came, again the first bit was uphill, but this time I didn't even seem to notice the uphill. And I seemed to cover more ground in less amount time, and when the 6 minutes was up, I felt as if I still had more.

Maybe this program works better than I realize. Maybe I WILL be able to go 30 minutes by October....

Anyways, we're heading back to Cincinnati today and we're going to finish up tomorrow and then next week we should be back to our usual schedule.

Almost a whole month complete!!!!!!

Phase II (Un-Edited)

2006-07-06T08:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, so here is what Phase II is going to look like. Though I will have to get together with my wife and see what her schedules for work and stuff are like and I'll re-arrange the days when I find out.

Anyways, the running is upped yet again - working towards the ultimate goal of 30 minutes non-stop:

It's hard to believe we've almost been at this for a whole month already.

Skies Look Clear Until Next Week!

2006-07-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

So I thought I'd head on over to Weather.com again today and see what the upcoming weather forecast would look like.

It's looking good for the remainder of this week's workout, though the 10 day looks gloomy for next week.

We've been lucky enough to not have to do anything in the rain just yet, but if the forecast doesn't clear up by next week we may have to.

Today is still a re-arranged schedule and was agreed upon to be an off day since my wife heads to Northern Kentucky for an orthodontist's appointment, and then tomorrow is the workout and finish up on Sunday.

I'll be working on revamping Phase II here soon and I'll get that posted ASAP.

Week 3 Began On The 4th

2006-07-05T06:49:00.000-05:00

With the holiday yesterday, and the Reds' game last week our schedule has been pretty crazy lately.

But we started week 3 yesterday on our day off.

Stepped it up another notch! Yesterday was HARD. Did the usual warm up, but this week the running is increased again.

24 minutes walking, and 6 minutes running.

I did just fine with the walking, but when it came time to run, the first two minutes were uphill, and that just about killed all my stamina...But I did the best I could and pushed my way through all 6 minutes. I almost didn't make it, though...Around minute 4 I was ready to stop, but I just forced my way through it, and did the warm down and stretch.

Once I caught my breath and cooled down a bit I felt wonderful, even though I wanted to die during the 6 minutes....At the moment its hard to imagine doing that for a full 30 minutes. Even when I was in shape and running track I don't think I ever went that long...I mean, I was a sprinter, not a distance runner.

Although I'm not doing this to be competitive, I'm doing this to try and lose weight...Which I think I may already be doing...All of my pants seem to fit a little more loose lately, so I guess that's a good thing. I wasn't expecting to see results that quickly.

Although yesterday during our 4th of July cookout I did crack and had like 5 BBQ potato chips. Although I think I can get away with that....Just this once...

Today's an off day (good thing too, LOTSA thunderstorms around today), and then tomorrow we pick up where we left off again.

I'll get Phase II's calendar up soon since we're just about finished with Phase I.

Hope everybody had a great weekend/holiday!

Week 2 Complete

2006-07-03T06:43:00.000-05:00

Okay so with the holiday this weekend (4th of July) and all of the running around we've been doing, it was hard to complete all of the workouts we needed.

We did however have a good 40 minute workout back in the Cincinnati area on Saturday.

And I do believe that since we're off work tomorrow we'll be doing Wednesday's workout sooner.

I sort of can't wait for the holiday to be over so that we can get back to a normalized schedule.

I just don't want to miss anymore....I mean I haven't had anything to eat since dinner last night, and all morning I've had horrible heart burn...I sometimes wonder if I just have acid reflux.

Official First Run & Shrinking Hunger!

2006-06-30T07:43:00.000-05:00

Okay last night I did Wednesday's workout since we were at the baseball game Wednesday night. Unfortunately my wife couldn't join me as she had to work late last night. I just couldn't wait.

It felt SOOOO good to do, and I felt so good after doing it.

Did the warm up:

5 minute walk, followed by a 3 minute light jog, 5 minute walk, did some stretching.

Then did the 27 minute increased pace walk, followed up by 3 more minutes of jogging, and then a 5 minute warm down.

My chest did burn, and I was out of breath, and my legs were tired, but once it was said and done I felt so good about myself! I felt as if the giant tub of a stomach had shrunk instantly. I felt more refreshed than I've felt in a long long time.

And that leads me to my next revelation. I haven't had any form of a snack now in two weeks (with the exception of Low Fat Yogurt & bananas). The first week was killing me, as I wanted a cookie or something like you wouldn't believe, and I felt hungry all the time. I've also had nothing but water and a little skim milk since starting.

I went to lunch yesterday with a friend at Subway, and got my usual meatball sub (most unhealthy thing on the menu - I haven't mentioned how picky of an eater I am), but normally I'd get extra cheese, several cookies a lemonade and I'd still want more.

I had my sandwich, and a water...And was absolutely satisfied...Even when my friend got himself some cookies (my absolute weakness are cookies - they're my favorite snack in the history of the world) normally I'd go insane and crack and get some myself....I had absolutely zero urges to go get myself some cookies...SUBWAY cookies at that - Subway has the BEST cookies.

I'm also noticing I'm not as hungry through out the day anymore. I'm feeling quite good about myself right now.

Tonight my wife and I are going back to Cincinnati for the weekend to see family and a few friends...But tonight before we go out, we're going to a park by her parent's house and doing our workout.

I'll see everybody Sunday for my weekend update!!!

Reds Game & Running

2006-06-29T08:14:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it turns out there was not enough time for us to get to the park, do our workout and then drive the 100 miles to the Reds game last night, so obviously no workout was done yesterday.

BUT!

We did get some exercise in. We parked across from Cincinnati on the Northern Kentucky Side, and walked up to the bridge, and walked across the river. It's not the same, but it's still better than nothing! Besides that - the Reds won! And we all got a Barry Larkin Bobblehead. :-)

Today I'll be going to the park solo as my wife has to work and I'll be doing yesterday's workout today, and then tomorrow night, we'll be doing that workout as well before we go out. I know that the day off in between is important, but I really don't want to fall behind, and I really don't want to fall back into my habit of making excuses as to why I can't do the workouts. Because that's what I always do, and once I make one excuse, I'm back to making thousands of them, and I'll end up back where I started.

Doing nothing.

And I REALLY don't want that to happen.

Rushing Day

2006-06-28T07:06:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I came into work early today so that I could leave early for us to go to the ballgame tonight.

So we have to rush our walk/jog, and hurry up and drive 100 miles.

Wish us luck on cramming everything in!

So far the weather's looking good!

Gonna Try To Keep The Calendar

2006-06-27T16:52:00.000-05:00

I do believe the plan is to try and keep the schedule we have, and try and get in our workout tomorrow before we head to Cincinnati.

Wish us luck!

Oh and think positive weather again so we don't have to sit in the stands in the rain!

Today's Forecast - Fog

2006-06-27T08:11:00.000-05:00

So I finally went and looked up today's forecast...It's still quite foggy at the moment, but there doesn't seem to be any rain in the forecast should I decide to go the park solo tonight.

I think I may go to the park solo, but maybe do something that isn't in the scheduled workout calendar. They have exercise stations through out the park...Maybe I'll do those for today....We'll just have to wait and see I suppose.

No Time & Road Rage

2006-06-27T07:01:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I haven't been able to successfully come up with a manipulated calendar that allows both my wife and I to start off this week together what with having Cincinnati Reds tickets and all.

She works late tonight, and I'm getting off early so that we can drive the 100 miles north tomorrow night for the game. I may just go to the park tonight after work solo to work off some pent up energy.

On my way to work this morning I got a bit of the road rage. There was a TON more traffic than usual and everybody on the road this morning was a complete A-Hole.

Started off pulling out of our driveway and there was a gap in the stopped traffic and I was about to pull out waving to the stopped car that I THOUGHT was letting me out, who ended up just about hitting me and not letting me through....Then as I was getting on the highway a lovely girl in a Mercades was of course too good to wait for traffic...Oh my the thought of it! So of course even though there were several cars in front of me this witch was up my tail pipe until we got on the freeway when she floored it and almost clipped my bumper as she passed me.

So as I said...I've got some pent up energy to burn off...I don't know if I'll still have it after 8 hours, but we'll see...It's also very foggy today, so I'm not sure what the weather will be like....I haven't gone to Weather.com just yet this morning.

Ah well, Happy Tuesday everybody and thanks for dropping by!!

Week 1 Complete!

2006-06-26T06:31:00.000-05:00

That's right, we've officially finished the entire week's workout. Last night we went back to the park after my wife got home from work, and finished it out.

I'm very excited about the running getting started this week. I know that I haven't really done a whole lot, but I already feel like I'm losing some weight. I know that I'm not, but I don't feel as pudgy since starting this.

This week is going to be difficult to get anything in, though. We've got tickets to go to a Cincinnati Reds game this Wednesday, and the other nights my wife has to work, so I'll have to fidget a bit with our calendar and see what I can do. Other than that - week 1 is finished!!!

More Workout Success!

2006-06-24T08:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, so either the Weather Channel's website is REALLY unreliable, or asking you guys for positive weather thoughts really works.

The Strong Thunderstorms never came to our area last night, and as we got further into our training last night, the clouds parted, and the sun came out, leading to a second workout success! And right now on Saturday morning, I can hear the rain pouring outside.

Last night was the same warm up, but we added 15 seconds the warm up jog, and we added 5 minutes to the main walk - ending with a full 30 minutes of walking. One more workout, and running comes into the main body of the workout.

I'm really enjoying this program, and I'm really glad that my wife has decided to join me, as the time we're spending together at the park has been really good time just for "us", you know? Spending time together and talking. I'm having a great time, and I really hope that she keeps it up even after the running begins.

Today's an off day, and tomorrow is the final workout to Week 1!!!!

Junk Food Withdrawal!

2006-06-23T07:33:00.000-05:00

So it's about 8:30 a.m. on Friday...And I've already become hungry....But I've forgotten to bring my fruit to work with me!! D'OH!

I've got two dollars in my wallet, and a vending machine out in the lobby of my office building....I'd like nothing more than a bag of Doritos, or Bugles...Maybe some Reeses Cups, or chocolate chip cookies...NO!!!...I gotta be strong, I can't go back on my word now...I've done good so far...Besides...I need to get quarters for those two dollars so we're able to do laundry this weekend.

Man, the first week of change is difficult....The junk food withdrawal is horrible!

Exercise Day 2 - STRONG Storms a Comin'

2006-06-23T06:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, so lookin' at the forecast for today's workout...I'm not sure if I'll be able to go to the park today...We're expected to have some STRONG storms today around the time my wife and I would go to the park according to the Weather Channel's website. :-(

We had a relatively bad storm here last night on the off day...Rained really hard and thundered and lightening for a short period of time...I can definitely walk in the rain, but I'm not sure how much I want to chance the lightening...Although we'll see...I may just be that much more determined....After all, my favorite soccer games of old were the ones we got to play in the rain. But if you guys could send out some more positive weather thoughts for me, that'd be great!!!

Days Off Projects & Thanks!

2006-06-22T13:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, so having a day off I apparantly don't like as I'm itching to get back out to the park to do some more. I wonder how much harm it could really do....Better just stick to the program I suppose.

I have a few things going on that I hope to accomplish in the near future.

One is a short picture slide show I hope to finish that showcases the physical status I came from, chronicalling to where I got myself in college, and of course the present.

I also have a couple 'freelance' graphic design (I have an art degree) projects for my buddy's law firm that I hope to have samples for him to look at on Saturday afternoon.

But as it stands, I'd really like to go back out to the park...I suppose tonight I'll just relax, play some video games (see 'City of Heroes & Villains' to the side there), and maybe work on my slide show and law firm firm stuff.

I also want to thank everybody who's been coming by to check the site out! I've had over 300 visitors since I started this project on Friday the 16th. That's awesome! It really drives my motivation to know that people out there are at least curious enough to look at my site here. And some of you are posting comments to! I REALLY appreciate that! Thank you all!

1st Workout - SUCCESS!

2006-06-22T06:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, so last night ended up being quite the success!

Skies ended up clearing up very nicely, and the sun was out, and there were actually lots of people at the park. On the inside of the circular trail there are baseball fields and soccer fields, and there were several little league baseball games going on.

Not to mention all the people on the trail itself. My wife went with me, and did very well. I was quite proud of her.

So our warm up:

5 minute walk. 1 minute light jog. 5 minute walk. Some stretching. 5 more minute walk

Actual workout:

25 minute walk for day 1. Obviously at an increased pace from the warm up walk.

Warm down:

5 minute slow down walk

I've decided to go ahead and mark on the calendar where we're at, and on actual workout days if they've been completed I've marked that day off with a red glowing 'S' for 'Success!'

And even though it was just walking, I felt really good last night. And it did make my stomach pain go away, so that was good as I was hoping thats what was going to happen. I'm still feeling pretty good this morning, and already looking forward to day two!

Skies Are Clearing

2006-06-21T14:14:00.000-05:00

It looks like I might not have to bring my umbrella this afternoon after all...The clouds seem to be parting, and the sun is trying to come out.

The weather channel did say it was only "isolated"...Which I guess that spells good news for me!

I'm actually really looking forward to this today..There's been such a build up with this blog that finally actually getting to the exercise is kind of exciting..Even though today is only walking.

Plus, I've had a sharp stabbing pain in my stomach all day today, that I'd like to think once I get off my rump will go away.

Anyways, there's stil 2 more hours until I get off from work and head to the park. Send out positive weather thoughts people!

Exercise Day 1 - Lookin' Stormy

2006-06-21T07:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so today we finally get to the exercise. And according to the Weather Channel's website it looks like it's going to be a wet day, as they're predicting it to be a stormy day, and I'm lookin' out the window of the office, and it certainly looks stormy.

Well, at least day 1 is only walking for 25 minutes. I can bring my umbrella to the park, and walk in the rain.

I HAVE to get started, and I can't make excuses to put this off.

Hunger - Thou Art Mine Enemy

2006-06-20T07:13:00.000-05:00

So the worst part about starting something totally different from your normal eating habits....THE HUNGER.

Holy crap I was hungry by the time dinner rolled around last night....Part of the pain of losing weight I suppose is letting my giant tub of a stomach shrink down to where it should be....Ain't easy at all, though.

It also doesn't help that Little Ceasar's Pizza is right across the street from us and can feed both my wife and I for $7....That little pizza man is just as bad as the hunger itself.

You and your affordable ready anytime $5 pizza and $2 breadsticks! RARGH!!!

And...Well, since I don't want to allow myself snack foods, when I went grocery shopping I tried getting "healthy" snacks.

I got some low fat yogurt, and some bananas for me munch on throughout the day.

All I know is that the exercise needs to start soon before I lose my nerve!

Calendar - Phase I - A

2006-06-19T11:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I think that we're going to be going by this schedule so that my wife and I can do this together.

Calendar - Phase I

2006-06-19T07:58:00.000-05:00

Okay, so here is the calendar that we'll be training with, that was taken from BegginerTriAthlete.com

It starts off with mostly walking, leading into a little running near the end. As we get farther along in the program, more running will obviously replace the walking.

And as I said before we'll be re-arranging the calendar to fit the schedules of my wife and I so that we can train together.

Week 1 - Training Begins!

2006-06-19T06:39:00.000-05:00

Okay so today starts the training. I'll be posting the calendar for which I am to be following sometime later today. Mondays are off days, but I'll be starting my diet. For those that know me my diet absolutely sucks as I am about the pickiest eater on the face of the planet.

So I'll be using portion control more than anything. As Americans we eat way too much anyways with our bigger is better mentality. So I'll be cutting back everything and trying to eat as close to what a real portion would be as opposed to our biggie sized American counterparts.

I'm also going to try to drink nothing but water while training, and see how that goes. Hopefully that will help drop a lot of weight as well.

I also learned that my wife is interested in joining in on this little adventure, so we'll be transforming the calendar to fit both of our needs as she is on rotations for Pharmacy school during the day and will be working a couple nights every week.

I've also been chatting with a few friends, and they said they'd be interested in helping me pretty this site up a bit, so hopefully I'll get this thing a little more interesting to look at soon!

And today we begin!!!!!

Welcome To Support The M!

2006-06-16T06:43:00.000-05:00

Hello, I'm Mnuemonix, and welcome to the fledgeling "Support The M!"

As my description says, once upon a time I was a soccer player, and I ran sprints for track. As you can imagine I was in quite good shape for a long time. I thought I was blessed with high metabolism as I couldn't get my weight past 185 all through out high school (I'm also 6'3"). But what I didn't realize is between running track, playing soccer, and only eating 1 meal a day I was just malnourished.

Well, then high school graduation came, and exercise stopped....But not the eating....By the time I graduated college in 2002 I was nearing 300 pounds....Not a pretty sight as it looked like modern day me had eaten high school me....With the help of my brother's treadmill and a buddy who forced me to run I did drop 50 pounds after graduation...But now I seem to be steady on 230....I want to get back in shape....I have constant heart burn and chest pains, and I have little energy.

So, another buddy of mine suggested a cure for my lack of motivation....Enter in a 5k run...I thought to myself, now that sounds like something that would get me off my ass....The theory is having already paid to enter into something competitively (though I'd prove little competition for anybody these days) would drive me to continue to train.....Plus all the proceeds to go a good cause.....The 5k run is the "Run Like Hell" in Cincinnati Halloween weekend...Details can be found at:

I've decided to do what my friend has suggested, and I plan to blog my training and progress here on this blog...Stay tuned as I plan on adding bells and whistles to this blog little by little, and see if I can do it!

Be sure to come back often, and keep me on my toes and off my ass! Make sure I don't have any excuses to stop!

Support The M!!!!!!