Update

I have been on vacation, so I haven't been as good at updating this. I ran today for 2.1 miles on a treadmill in about 30 minutes.

Yesterday, I hit the road, but only ran about a mile.

On a positive note, I weighed in at 238 lbs this morning.

Paul

Tired, but Ran Anyway

I headed out the house this morning to run without taking my vitamins. As a result, I only ran 2 miles in about 32 minutes before pooping out. I ran on a treadmill on a flat course. Tomorrow Ill remember to take my B-12 before heading out to work out.

Paul

Stationary Bike

Did 45 minutes on a recumbent stationary bike. 17 miles.

Running on Vacation

Today, I am in California on vacation with my family. It is snowy and wet outside, but yesterday, I scouted out a gym and headed in there this morning to hit the treadmill again.

I ran 3.75 miles in an hour on an extremely frustrating treadmill that seemed to randomly change its speed and incline without making sense. I will be trying a different model next time. The gym I am visiting also has a recumbent bike, which I plan on trying tomorrow if I can.

Feeling pretty good after today's workout.

Paul

Personal Record - Distance

Today I ran 4.1 miles. I hear that when new runners start working out they get personal records all the time, but for me at least, each one is a big deal. I ran on a treadmill again today, although could have run outside as the ice has melted. I ran for an hour and 5 minutes, and did take a couple of brief walking breaks in the middle of the run to lower my heart rate.

Tomorrow is a rest day. I think I deserve this one.

Paul

Stationary Bike

Another Cross training day. I rode 45 minutes at level 6 and 7. I had a hard time early on getting my heart rate up to where it needed to be. I guess that means I will probably be needing to start setting that machine to a higher level soon enough.

I am weighing in these days at about 244 lbs, but have been sitting there for most of the week. More scale torture I guess.

Paul

Finishing up. 

Crazy Costumes 

The Start of the race, right before we took off. 

Marian, Rand and I after the race 

Feeling Better and new Personal Record

After yesterday's rest I woke up feeling refreshed. I looked outside and saw more ice on the road and decided to go ahead and hit the Treadmill to run. I set it for an hour using interval hills, expecting my usual performance of running for the first half, and walking for the rest. Instead, I ran for the entire duration. I made 3.8 miles in 1 hour 5 minutes. By far a new personal distance record. I am sure tomorrow I am going to pay for it but I am feeling pretty jazzed today because of it. I now know for sure I can run a 5-K, and am going to be able to run a 10-K soon enough.

Paul

Lesson Learned

Apparently, I needed rest after all. I headed out for my run this morning, and aside from slipping and falling on the ice, I could barely do a half mile before my energy gave out. So I ended up walking most of my run. I also did about half the distance I usually do, only doing about a mile in 20 minutes. (with warm-up and cool-down)

I am not really happy with today's performance, but if anything, it taught me to actually rest when I am supposed to. I am planning on taking tomorrow off just to recover, and Ill start back on Thursday.

Paul

To Antsy to Rest

Well, today was supposed to be a rest day after the 5-K yestarday, but I felt pretty good this morning and decided to head out for a 2 mile run anyway. I ran it in 28 minutes, and did have to briefly walk twice.

Paul

March of the Penguins

Well, today was the 5-K run. I met up with a few of my friends, and we carpooled there. We got there and registered with about 10 minutes to spare before the race started. We were there in just enough time to watch the last group of runners head out. There was an incredible amount of people there. It must have been like 30,000 people. When the race started for us, it was just a sea of people as far as you could see. Rand and Marian, my friends, walked with me the entire distance, and towards the end, I asked Rand to jog ahead and take a picture of me running across the finish line. He missed it, so I circled back and did it again. I did the full 5-K in like 1:10.

There were a ton of people running in costume, most hilarious. Even the dogs were in costume. There were people singing and laughing the entire way. The whole experience was amazing. I can't wait until my next one, which I will run the entire thing.

It was definitely a day to remember.

Paul

Run and the Pre-Race Rest

I ran today; 2 miles in 28 minutes. I sprinted for the last quarter mile though. Tomorrow and Saturday I am planning to rest up for the 5-K. I will probably need to head out and try and find some of that carb gel that cyclists and marathoners use so I won't have any issues, not that I expect to have any.

I weighed in this morning at 249 lbs. This is just a one pound loss in one week. I have been stalled in my weight loss all week, and its frustrating. I know it is likely just my body adjusting to things, but I hate it when the scale plays games with me.

Paul

Cross Training

Did 45 minutes on the stationary bike at level 6. I rode about 16.12 miles, at about 80 RPM average. I usually do about 70 RPM, and for some reason the faster the RPM is doesn't impact the distance much. I was hoping for a longer distance. If I go back into RACE mode on the bike, then I think it varies my speed with how fast I pedal and how big the hills are. I may try that next week.

This week, I only have one more run before the race, so I won't see the Bike until next. I am still planning on taking Friday and Saturday off before the race, and Monday and Tuesday after so my performance would be hopefully at its best.

More later.

Paul

Personal Record - Distance

Although with all my training to date, I have yet to run a full 5-K, and I race on Sunday of this week. Today, I did decide to extend my run a bit. I made a full 2.5 miles in about 45 minutes. Not too shabby I might add. I could have run farther too. Today's run there were several times where it seemed that the ache and effort of running seemed to go away, and I was pretty comfortable and had quite a bit of energy. I experienced that like 3 times during the run, and it is what made me decide that I could add on the extra time like I did. Either way, I feel pretty good about my small accomplishment.

Now to crawl under my desk and sleep until the coffee finishes brewing...

Paul

Mental Preparation for the 5-K

Today's run was just the standard stuff. 2 mile run in about 28 minutes. I started thinking about the 5-K that I am about to compete in, and am starting to get pretty psyched-up for it. I have a couple more people that are planning on joining me for the event, and have decided, at least for most of it, I will probably walk the event. I will, however, run the last quarter-to-half mile or so, as I want the finish picture to be of me running.

I have been starting to make plans for my next fitness goal as well. Although I am still quite undecided, I am starting to lean towards getting the bicycle and training for a 50 mile bike tour. I went into a cycle shop this weekend and looked at several bicycles, and found one I really liked for around $450. That plus the equipment costs that go along will bring it up to closer to $550, which makes the purchase of it scheduled sometime mid-end of February. I will continue to run and increase my distance until then though.

If for some reason I decide not to get the bike, which I have been waffling over, I will start training for a 10-K to be run in the early summer or late spring. That one I will run, and should have my distance built up to do that. I may tell people at work about it or not. If I end up getting others to join me, I don't want to have them start a walk while I go off and run the thing. I may try and get one or two to join me at the finish line though, and perhaps for beers (water for me :) ) afterwards.

I will eventually, even if not until after the 10-K training, get a bike. In a year, 6 months after I stabilize on my weight loss, and have gotten in much better shape, I will be getting plastic surgery to remove the skin that will be left over from the dramatic weight loss. Once I am done and recovered from that surgery, I will plan to start training to compete in a triathalon. I won't try it until after the surgery though, as the extra skin I have will definitely be an impediment.

Had you asked me a year ago that I would have considered any of this, I would have laughed you all out of the room. I guess I have come a long way in my thinking, and these goals are starting to seem to be a bit more achievable these days.

Paul

Slippery out

Today's run was after Seattle's great 1 inch blizzard of 2005, and as a result, it was a bit slippery on the roads. I made great time though, and was able to pick up my pace on the 2 mile run to about 11:45/mile making for a 27 minute run with warmup and cooldown. I will be needing to extend this time and distance if I am to keep my runs as effective though, as 20 minutes of running will be just the minimum I would do. I want to eventally work on running twice my distance in under an hour.

Tomorrow is a rest day, and I think I need it.

Paul

Oh...the weather outside is frightful....

but the snow is so delightful. Last night it snowed. In Washington, snow is seen as a novelty, and usually an inch of the white stuff will about close down the city. Today was no different. I am actually expecting about a third of my work to just not be in today, claiming to be trapped in thier houses as if a blizzard hit. I think it is funny as hell.

Suffice it to say, today was a cross training day, and although I had to bravely trek through the blinding inch of snow on the ground to make it unscathed to the fitness center in my apartments, I rode on a stationary bike for 45 minutes. Today, I had my iPod, and things went a little faster than last time. I wasn't trying to talk myself out of the ride the entire time either. I rode for 16.2 miles on level 6, and had a great workout. I am about ready to notch it up to level 7, as my heart rate is not getting as high as it used to, which tells me I need to increase the intensity a bit.

It is only just over a week until my 5-K run. I am pretty excited about the thing. I expect to have several of my friends there rooting me on. I will actually take Friday and Saturday off next week, and Monday to Wednesday off the week following so I can rest up for the run and recover appropriately. I may end up doing a little strength training just so I don't get too far out of whack with the working out.

After that, I am either going to get a bike and start training for a 50 mile bike ride, or I will continue running, increasing my distance and either entering a 5-K to run fully, or a 10-K to run/walk. Ill be sure to blog about my decision once I make it.

Paul

Kicking and Screaming

I don't know what happened lately. For a while I was really motivated to get out and run every day, and even looked forward to it. This week it seems as though I have been pulling teeth to get my sorry butt out of bed to start my workout. I have yet to miss a day, mostly due to fear that I would end up quitting, which I am horrified about doing.

So...After fighting the urge not to go out, and winning, I got dressed and headed out for a 2 mile run. I did it in about 28 minutes and ran without stopping.

Funny thing is that I usually feel great after a run, including today. I am at work now, though, and feel like crawling under my desk and napping for a couple hours. I know Ill feel better with coffee in me, but this isn't helping to keep me motivated.

On the weight side, after my brief (1 day) stay at 250, I went back to 253, and have been steadily loosing back to 250 again, which I weighed in at today. I just love it when my scale plays games with me.

I watched the last "The Biggest Loser" last night, and I will probably set up my TiVo to record it next season. It seems to be a pretty good show. It was amazing the amount of weight those folks lost in just 100 or so days.

Well, that's enough for today.

Paul