Running for Travel

Today was a new experience for me. I had to get a run in and I had to put my car in the shop. The solution for me was to drop the car off and then run the 1.25 miles home. It was awesome. It is so much more fun running from point A to point B then to go for a loop or an out and back. I call it running for travel and not exercise and it was a lot of fun.

Cold Night Run

It was cold and it was dark out and it didn't feel great, but I did it.

Saturday Run - 2 Miler

It was a beautiful morning for a run, about 40 degrees and clear. There is still a bit of ice but for the most part it is melted. The run itself felt good, my legs were strong and my lungs were feeling great. It took awhile to settle in. I am still at the point where it takes about 1.5 miles until it starts to feel good but then I am done at 2 miles. I have found my favorite running song is "Road to Zion" by Damian Marley featuring NAS. It is kind of meditative but still has a good beat that seems to match my pace well.

A long Week

Well it was a very long week. I got up on Tuesday morning at 4:00 AM to head to Long Island. After a full day of appointments I drove through NYC and up to Saratoga Springs, NY arriving at the hotel late that night. Needless to say I missed my run on Tuesday. I did get the skiing in on Wednesday however in VT. I skiid for about 3 hours, blasting through close to 1800 calories which is good because it is hard to eat well on the road. I was pretty sore on Thursday and had to take off early to get to NH for another appointment. I didnt get my run in on Thursday either. I did get my workout in on Friday so overall not too bad for the week. I missed 2 runs and one workout but replaced them with an afternoon of sports.

Quick Update, Workouts and Weight Loss

I just got done with a quick workout. I am circuit training now every M, W, F starting last Wednesday. I am in week 2 of 16 weeks and am already feeling a lot stronger. I have purchased a pullup bar for the door frame and resistance bands. Both items are working out very well. As of Monday last week I was 210.5 pounds and this morning I weighed in at 208. 2 pounds gone in the first week is not bad, especially when I missed 2 of my 4 runs and 1 of my 3 workouts last week due to weather. I am expecting more weight loss by Monday of next week. The first goal is to get under 200 pounds. I will reward myself at that point. Now I just need to think of a good reward to work towards.

It looks like this week will be a lot of squeezing in workouts. I have a whirlwind tour or Long Island, upstate NY, Vermont, Massachusetts, and then New Hampshire before I finally head back home on Thursday. I dont think I will get my run in tomorrow but I am not going to sweat it because I plan on skiing for a couple hours on Wednesday afternoon (about 2400 calories burnt). I will get my 1.5 miles in no problem on Thursday morning unless I am too sore from skiing.

The main focus for this week will be eating well. It is hard to squeeze in meals and to make them healthy while on the road. Hopefully Subway will come to my rescue and I plan on packing some trail mix and fruit for snacks.

Until Wednesday,

Clint

2nd Long Run

I was becoming very antsy today and really wanted to get my run in. I missed 2 runs this week. I missed a mile on Thursday and one on Saturday due to weather. It has not gotten over 5 degrees in days and most of the time with the windchill it is negative. I have decided I am not joining a gym because I dont need to pay all that money when I will be running outside no matter what within a month. Onto the run:



So here I am, it has finally warmed up to 19 degrees. Its cold but at least we are in double digits. I look out the window and on top of the snow, on top of the ice layer, another layer of snow is coming down and has put a nice inch of powder across everything.



What did I do? I did what runner's do. I laced up and hit it. It was the greatest run I have had in a long time. I felt perfectly free, only my footprints on the ground. The snow was soft underfoot and so my legs felt strong. Somehow my lungs held out and I cranked out a great feeling 2 miles. I dread my rest days now. I will be traveling all week so my Tuesday and Thursday runs will be treadmill work at the hotel most likely.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Whew, man is it cold out there today. I guess it is about 30 degrees right now, just got back from the maiden voyage of my Nike+ system. It was a lot of fun but my lungs are burning something fierce. They don't clear the roads off here very well so I ran on a mix of snow, ice, icy snow and a little bit of asphalt. As is started off my left ankle was painful with every step. It loosened up though about half a mile in and my lungs were just dying. I figured it was the cold but according to my Ipod I ran the first mile at a 8:03 pace, a lot faster than I should be running. I should be around 9:30 - 10:00. I guess I was just excited to be outside.

The Truth is Ugly

Well I am a little down now. I decided that it was important to chronicle my progress so that I can look at it weeks down the line and use it for motivation. I took a few pictures of myself with my shirt off fully intending to post them to the blog but I have to say they are not going public. Maybe at the end when I have an after photo I will feel more comfortable putting up the before. I am going to go have some lunch and then go for a run this afternoon.

Week 2

Well I am all set for week 2 of my running. I missed my mile run on Sunday last week due to inclimate conditions(and I got locked out of the fitness center). I will have to figure out another back up plan so that I can still get my runs in when it is too icy out (it often is in New England). The major development is that I bought myself an Ipod over the weekend so that I can use the Nike + system. I have been curious about it for a while and I though it would be motivating to have the Nike widget on my page. I picked up the silver 8 gb Nano. I still have yet to get an armband, nike sensor, and pouch so that I can connect it to my non-nike shoes.

First "Long" Run

I completed my first long run this morning. I was geared up to go outside but it was 19 degrees so I felt my lungs were probably not ready for that. I went once again to the treadmill for a 2 miler. I call this my long run which to me is a little sad but I am still building from nowhere so I am not going to push too hard too quickly. The good thing is I fell back into it pretty easily and the 2 miler felt much better than the first mile I ran this week. I still feel like I have a way to go though. 2 miles at 10:30/mile is a long way from running 5 miles at 9:30/mile pushing a stroller.



This is last summer (I am the bald one.)

Second Run - 1 mile

After having a horrible sleep in the hotel last night (really dry air) I got up this morning dreading running. I felt like crap from hacking and coughing all night. I chugged a lot of water and dragged myself down through the lobby to the fitness center. After walking for a few minutes I began my run. The first .25 mile was not feeling too good but lucky for me someone left the TV on and the movie Bedazzled was playing. It is not a very good movie but it doesn't matter does it, Liz Hurley in the red dress was enough to keep my mind off the running.




After about half a mile I was falling into a good rhythm and by the time I hit the mile mark I was still feeling strong and ready to go more. I stopped as not to overdo it and walked a little more to cool down. Overall it was a strong 10 minute mile and I felt exponentially better than the last one.

First Run

You have to start somewhere. I ran my first mile in a few months on the treadmill tonight. I had wanted to run outside but waited too long today and then we got hit by an ice storm. So I walked a quarter mile at 4% incline and then started running. I ran a 10 minute mile with the last .1 mile at about 85% effort. It felt pretty goof to be running again. I have another one on Thursday morning. I will be up in NH but am staying at a hotel that has a fitness center so I should be able to get it in on Thursday morning.

The Goals

2009, the year of the marathon for me. I want to start off with a quote:

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." - Les Brown

I have set the lofty goal this year of running a marathon. 26.2 miles is my moon. I have set up my training schedule through October. I have every day mapped out and tomorrow I set out on my first run, a mere 1 mile. You have to start somewhere. On to the goals:

March 2009: 5K PR
Currently my PR is 00:27:28. I want to hit 00:25:00.
May 2009: 5 Mile PR
My current is 00:48:14. I want to hit 00:40:00.
July 2009: Run a 10K
This would be my longest distance race.
September 2009: Run the New Haven Road Race or Philly Distance Race(half marathon)
20K would be the longest distance to date
October 2009: THE MARATHON
First choice is the Marine Corp Marathon, second is the Hartford Marathon

Those are the goals, as we go on I will keep them in full view on the blog and continue to work toward them.