NYR Day 4

Weight: 138.8 =)

2 miles, 24 minutes. Really hard tonight. Probably good that I have tomorrow off.

Fact of the day: one cooked egg white only has 17 calories!! Yum...

NYR Day 3

Weight: 139.4, even though I peed before I weighed myself. =P

2 miles, 24 minutes. Noticeably easier than Days 1 and 2.

Tomorrow will be the last day at our gym this week. This weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) I will be in Hebron, KY at a business conference. Friday I won't get a chance to work out since we're driving down right after work, but I'm taking my gym bag (still prepacked with outfits for Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) and I WILL run Saturday and Sunday mornings at the hotel.

Today is also the first day that my calorie balance on www.fitday.com shows that I burned more calories than I ate. I could have 200 calories worth of Pirouline cookies tonight...but I think I will abstain, and have an extra 200 calories of weight loss instead. =)

NYR Day 2

Weight: 139.0 (yay!)
2 miles, 24 minutes. Tough, but just a hair less tough than Day 1.

To-do list:

1. New running shoes for me
2. New running shoes for Alexander
3. Find 5K's to run with Alexander

A gal at work says there is a Springfield Track Club in the summers that I can get him into. Also, of course, we can run together outside...if I get faster by then!!

Happy New Year!

Alternate title: REALITY CHECK.

I'm 32, will be 33 in a little under 3 months. Andrew was born almost 2 1/2 years ago. I still haven't lost the pregnancy weight - in fact, I think I've put on weight from the time he was born.

I did not obsess about what I was eating over the holidays, but promised myself that this year I would have a real new year's resolution. My goal weight: 110.

So, I went on a mini-shopping spree at Marshall's after Christmas, got a bunch of new workout clothes for under $50, and packed a bag with my running shoes and a week's worth of gym outfits. My plan is to head straight to the gym after work, so that kids/TV/food doesn't get me off track...5 days a week whenever possible.

Today is Day 1, and I weighed myself after getting changed into my workout clothes (clothed, but no shoes)...

139.4. =P

I ran 2 miles with the treadmill set to 12-minute pace. Running is HARD when you haven't done it for a while!! Especially when running next to a 14-year-old 80-pound cross-country chickie who has her treadmill set to an 8-minute mile (at least) and isn't breaking a sweat. I hate getting older....

Then I came home and ate dinner...a SMALL serving of leftover pasta from Buca (www.bucadibeppo.com) and a small serving of scalloped potatoes.

I have been logging my eating and exercise on www.fitday.com, and based on my calorie balance for the day I am done eating. Knew I should have done that third mile...but I wanted to make sure I still felt able to go BACK to the gym tomorrow.

Lack of motivation/energy/time...

I am almost to the point now where I feel like a non-runner.

With work full time and then phone banks 4 nights a week for the McCain-Palin campaign (www.johnmccain.com) I am behind on everything not having to do with work.

41 days to go...

We were interviewed by a reporter from Bloomberg News Channel (www.bloomberg.com) but I think from reading the article that most of her notes wound up on the editing room floor. But at least the reporter seemed very impressed...I guess if we can convert a member of the liberal media, it counts for something.

I am running a 5K on October 11 with my mom and my oldest son. Mom has been training really regularly (much more so than me) - I'm really proud of her! Alexander is in flag football right now and they run wind sprints...he and Allison also walk over a mile home from school every day. Everyone is more fit than me...

This weekend I will be at a business conference in Rochester NY but at least there is a pool and a 24-hour fitness center. I am promising myself 3 miles on the treadmill, even if I have to set the treadmill for a 15-minute mile!!

Hopefully I will not have to start ALL over once the campaign is over...I do feel like I am going to be a new runner all over again.

Maybe that means I need to go shopping for new shoes and clothes =)

Training Update

OK, I'm reeeally behind...

I have been running, just not posting.

Up in Michigan over 4th of July weekend, I did run, but didn't get up as early as I wanted to, and the trail was not as long as advertised, so I only ran 1 1/2 miles. It was pretty though, and dirt/grass so it was soft on my legs. I'll do it again the next time we're up and take more time...maybe even run from the house to the trail, and back.

Week of 7/7 - I think I ran at least once, but I don't remember. I'm getting old. =)

Week of 7/14 - 3.5 miles at the gym Tuesday and Thursday, no long run on Saturday because we went up to Bowling Green to pick up Allison and then Andrew's second birthday party at Splash Zone (www.ntprd.org/splashzone).

This week - 3.5 miles at the gym Tuesday and today. 5 miles scheduled for Saturday, which I WILL do in the morning because we'll be in Toledo all evening for a business seminar. At least the weather has cooled down, so I don't have to get up at dawn to be able to run outside. Bike trail, here I come...

Training Run 7-2-08

I think 3 miles is my limit for morning runs at the gym, at least until I get faster. 6 am seems to be my earliest possible time for getting up, which puts me at the gym between 6:15 and 6:30, which leaves me about an hour (including the run, stretching, and potty break) before I need to head home and jump in the shower in order to get to work on time. The gym opens at 6, but I'm just not there yet.

So, I got up at 6 and was out the door by 6:15 to do my old familiar 4-mile road route, the hilly one that goes from the house to Bechtle Avenue and back. Going out I was really careful to rein in the speed and make it an EASY run, especially since most of the "out" is downhill and I don't want to get injured. I took short walking breaks at each mile, mostly due to traffic lights. Coming back is uphill almost all the way, so I focused on consistent effort, not necessarily consistent pace, and made sure I was running easy on the few flat and downhill stretches.

I definitely notice an improvement in my fitness and endurance, since this route felt much easier than it did the last time I ran it. Total time was 45:58, just a hair under 11 1/2 minutes per mile.

One more gym run this week, and then I'll take my shoes and my watch and run for time up at Mom & Dad's. 5 miles scheduled, I'll figure on 28 minutes out, 28 back. Haven't decided yet whether I'll just run in their neighborhood (it's REALLY hilly) or drive to a park. I may look up their local running store (www.playmakers.com) and see if they have a Saturday morning group I can hook up with.

Training Run 7-1-08

OK, so the 7-mile run didn't happen. I think I obsessed too much about where to do it, and got paralyzed in the decision-making. I also think I need to go out and do my weekend run first thing on Saturday morning, before other stuff gets put in the schedule...because otherwise it'll get crowded out. Not that I don't have time at other times in the weekend...but the longer I put it off, the easier it is for some other activity to look more appealing.

3 miles in the morning on the treadmill at the gym. Man, do they need to invest in air conditioning. I wore a running tank and it was soaking wet at the end of my run...might as well have worn a bathing suit. Still, I was able to set the treadmill at 5.5 (slightly under an 11-minute mile) and get through the whole run.

I got asked twice by other gym people if I minded if they changed the TV station. I was OK with both, neither one was the TV I was sort of watching, but I still thought it was funny. I'm still not really familiar with what's on at 6:30 am (though it appears to be mostly infomercials) and so I don't really care what I'm watching...it's just something for my brain to do besides think about being hot and sweaty and running.

I do like starting my day early (though I don't like the getting out of bed at 6 am part, especially when it wakes up Andrew and makes him cry) because I feel so much more organized...whether I am or not...and I'm all the way awake by the time I get to work, instead of trudging in going "where's the coffee"... =)

Training Runs 6-24 and 6-26-06

Went to the gym early Tuesday morning intending to set the treadmill at a 10-minute mile and do my workout speedy quick...my body had other ideas. So, did 3 miles on the treadmill at varying speeds, including walking. I'm not sure exactly how much time it took so I don't know an average speed...but it was not the workout I was hoping for.

Tuesday evening my stomach hurt, Wednesday morning it still hurt, so I skipped Wednesday. Might have had something to do with having a bologna sandwich for dinner on the way to VBS Tuesday night... =)

This morning I got to the gym and set the treadmill to 5.5, a hair under an 11-minute mile. It felt really hard for the first mile and a quarter, but I told myself to stick with it. I made it through the whole 3 miles at 5.5. I guess it was just another one of those times when having a bad workout is just a prelude to having a really good workout.

Plus speedwise I think I'm on the brink of breaking through a plateau...11-minute miles are now starting to feel "easy", and when I push myself I can now break the 10-minute barrier over shorter distances. I just have to stick to my schedule (I like the 3 weekday runs, it means if I miss one it still means I get in 2 runs during the week...it's definitely made the weekend long runs easier) and watch my times tick down...

Looking forward to my 7-mile run this weekend (running by time, 38.5 minutes out, the same or better coming back, total in the neighborhood of 77 minutes). I think I'll drive down to the south side of town to the Beatty Station staging area and run a different part of the bike trail. Having an "adventure" will help pass the time! =)

Training Run 6-21-08

Since we had to take Alexander into Columbus to the North Market to meet my mom, I couldn't run in the morning. So I dropped Allison off at her friend Tiffany's birthday party, and drove over to the soccer fields to run my 6 miles on the bike path. I still think going north from the soccer fields is boring because it just goes through cornfields, whereas south goes past the new high school and through town (and there's more shade) but I wasn't sure I'd get in enough mileage going south.

I had planned to run 36 minutes and then turn around, but partly due to the heat and partly due to the fact that I realized I was running faster than a 12-minute mile, I turned around (actually stopped for a stretch break) at just under 33 minutes. Then started my watch up again and headed back. I found out that Saturday afternoons on the bike path are more crowded than I'd like with recreational (stop and smell the flowers every 5 yards, taking up the whole path in the process) rather than fitness users. Next time I'll do my run in the morning.

Still, it was good to get the practice fighting the heat (and a headwind...arrgh), and I made pretty good time. 6 miles in 1:04 and change (I'm writing this at work and my digital watch is at home), just over a 10 1/2 minute mile, with walking breaks. I've got to stop going out so fast...

I think I got some sun, too. =)

Training Run 6-19-08

Ended up with lots to do in the evening, so delayed my run until after the gym was closed.  I'm going to try starting to go to the gym in the mornings, but that will mean that to increase my mileage I'll also have to increase my pace.  Alex kind of challenged me to get to the point where I'm averaging a sub-10 minute mile.

So, I went out and ran 1 1/2 times my old familiar 2-mile loop.  I decided to run "comfortably hard" and see what I turned in.  Hit mile 1 at 9:58.  Mile 2 was uphill most of the way, but I still got there at 20 and change.  Completed my 3 miles in 29:55!!

Training Run 6-18-08

3 miles on the treadmill at the gym, at 12-minute pace. I wish I could say the treadmill is getting easier for me, but it's not. And there's still a long hot summer ahead of me...

I did get some new running clothes at Meijer's, black shorts and a couple of sleeveless tops. Hopefully I can survive the temperature in the gym (and on the roads) that way.

Running again tonight, and then 6 miles this weekend. I think I may swap the long run and my cross-training and do the run on Sunday, since I'll be going to meet Mom at the North Market in Columbus on Saturday and will be walking around for an hour or two. Shopping = cross-training...I like it. =)

Race Report 6-14-08

Official times now posted:

32:05:00, 93rd of 166.

Doin' the new PR dance... =)

Race Day 6-14-08

Was running a little later than I wanted to this morning for the race...ended up having to park about 1/4 mile down the road from the starting area. Oh well...good for a small warm-up jog.

I learned my lesson in the half-marathon about fiber for breakfast on race morning, so I had a couple pieces of bread and butter (wheat, but not mega-whole-grain) and a banana. I went to the bathroom right before leaving the house, and hoped that I'd have an uneventful run.

Lots of familiar faces - Kyle and Sheriff Gene Kelly from church, a couple guys from Konecranes, and State Rep Ross McGregor (running his first 5K, go Ross!). I made sure to line up BEHIND Kyle...that guy can fly! Of course, the fact that his legs are about twice the length of mine doesn't hurt. =)

It was already pretty warm, at least 70, and even with all the weather fronts that have gone through it's still humid. Welcome to summer in the Midwest. =P

Started out too fast, as usual...there wasn't an official mile marker for mile 1, just a couple of race volunteers trying to work a stopwatch. Ah, small community charity runs... I wasn't sure what they called out, but the people right in front of me said, "I think they said 8:15" to which I responded, "Then there are going to be some pigs flying up ahead!" Judging by my watch, I think they'd actually said 10:15, which is still a bit too fast for me to maintain over 3.1 miles at this point.

I tried to slow my pace, but I felt so good it was hard to...also in the heat and humidity I wanted to just get it over with. Also without good mile markers it was hard for me to judge my pace. I kept up a pretty good pace through the water station which was at about 1.75 miles, drank about a third of the water and tried to pour the rest on my head, but missed. =)

When I hit the mile 2 marker, the race volunteers (same ones who were struggling with the stopwatch before - apparently they'd given up) saw me look at my watch, and called out incredulously, "Are you tracking your time?!" I said I was, and they asked what I was showing for my time. At that point I was showing 20:15...still way too fast.

Shortly afterward, despite trying to tell myself that I only had a mile to go and I could do it, I kind of ran out of steam. I had to take a couple of walking breaks which was frustrating. I kept trying to tell myself that this was just a training run, I wasn't running it for time, or to beat anyone in particular, I was just doing it as a tune-up (and an early one at that) for the marathon in October. But as one of the guys from Konecranes put it, "When there's a number on your shirt, and a clock at the end, it's a race."

I was behind this older lady with horrible form (arms and legs flailing all over the place, I kept waiting for her to either hit herself in the face or trip over her feet) at the beginning of the race, passed her at about 1.25 miles, was ahead of her until the last half-mile or so, when she passed me again and I couldn't catch her. She beat me by a place. I'd like to see how fast she could run if she fixed the form...

Kyle got first in his age group for men...we passed and hi-5'd somewhere in the middle. He has a great stride...he lopes, almost...just does it really really fast. The Konecranes guys were several places ahead of me, but I made it in a few places before Gene and several before Ross, but he made it and says he wants to do it again.

I'm still waiting for my official time from http://www.keysports.net/, but I powered through the last 50 yards or so and as I passed the clock I think it was just ticking past 32 minutes. My 5K PR before today was 34:45.

NEW PERSONAL RECORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Training Run 6-12-08

Ended up going to the gym again...it has been so hot that even at 7:30 it is still too warm for a run outside to sound good. Got to watch a few innings of the Reds game while I did my 3 miles. Was able to keep the treadmill set at a 12-minute mile and it was fine. I guess some days are just better than others...I just feel like I've hit a plateau and I'm not getting any stronger or faster.

Oh well...Saturday will be the test, I'm running in a charity 5K for the Clark County Literacy Coalition. I don't have any time goals, since I haven't run a 5K since last summer, but I'm hoping that I'm at least as fast if not faster than I was then. If I take my half-marathon pace of around an 11-minute mile, then I should come in at just over 33 minutes, which would be a PR. And if I go faster (my hard-effort 2-mile runs have been around 10:30 per mile) then maybe I can even break 33 minutes.

OK, maybe I have a time goal after all... =)

Training Run 6-11-08

3 miles at the gym tonight. For some reason they were really hard miles. Then got home and went for a walk with Alex and the kids. Now if I could just get him to the gym... =)

I think tomorrow since I have a meeting at church I will try to do my run on the roads, or maybe the bike trail. I need to be outside.

Training Run 6-7-08

Did the 5 miles on the bike trail. It was fun but boring...not much scenery, the way we went it just goes through cornfields. I think I like the part that goes past the high school and downtown better.

57:14 for 5 miles, with walking breaks. My legs felt good but it was humid...it felt like every lungful of air was half air and half water vapor...hard to breathe hard enough.

The Y had a table at the health expo afterward, and they say they have a running group on Saturday mornings. I might check it out sometime...though truthfully I like running alone. Between work and the kids, the only other time I get to be alone is when I'm in the shower or asleep. =)

Training Run 6-5-08

I've been slacking off...I think after a week or so "on" a program, I just start to rebel against the lack of spontaneity and get burned out...it wasn't that I didn't want to run, just that it's been busy and I'm torn in the evenings between housework, spending time with family, and running. Also wreaks havoc with the dinner schedule when I am running in the early evening after work.

So, since I'd been up Wednesday morning early for a 7 am breakfast meeting and that went well, I got up early and went to the gym before work...2.5 miles at 12-minute pace. Went well, hardly anyone there and no one else in the locker room when I was taking my shower and getting dressed. This will only work while my weekday runs are under an hour...the gym opens at 6 am and I have to be at work at 8...but if I'm in the shower by 7:15 or so I'll make it. Still it was nice to not have to worry about my run for the rest of the day, especially since I came home and made a special birthday dinner for Alex - steak with bearnaise sauce, four cheese and roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and red velvet cake. (Before you think I am the next Food Network chef, the sauce, potatoes, and cake were all from mixes. Ta-da!)

Tomorrow I hope to run on the bike trail again...I'm scheduled for 5.5 miles but it may end up being 6. There is a Family Fun Fest out at the soccer complex on Eagle City Road (part of our local Parks & Rec department, www.ntprd.org) and there is a 3-mile walk scheduled. I'm going to try to do an easy run at the front of the walking group, and just do it twice to get my mileage in. Should be fun. I really liked the bike trail last time, and this will be a new section...I will be too busy exploring to notice the running. Also, the walk/run starts at 9 am, and with the weather predicted in the low 90's I need to run early. Since the gym isn't all that well air conditioned, I'd rather not do 6 miles on the treadmill either.

Time for sleep...

Training Run 5-28-08

Had the best 3-mile treadmill run ever. Part of it was that I decided to run a comfortable 12-minute mile pace and build time on my feet, instead of pushing the pace too hard. The other part was that it was almost a "perfect storm" from a sports watching point of view for me - the Reds were on, the Red Wings were on, the Pistons were on, and the Dodgers (Alex's business partner's favorite team) were on. I hardly noticed the miles go by, I was too busy keeping track of 4 games.

Saw Holly and she confessed she hasn't been running much and hasn't done any long runs at all. We've both been really busy this spring...it definitely showed me how much it is helping me to have a race goal. We're playing golf together on Saturday morning...maybe I can talk her into running the marathon with me in October.

I'm in a research study - www.usatf.org/stretchstudy - to see whether stretching BEFORE running helps runners avoid injury, or not. Lucky for me I was put in the non-stretching group, because I don't stretch before I run, only after. I was really proud to even qualify - running at least 10 miles a week consistently was a requirement.

I'm a runner! =)

Training Run 5-27-08

2 quick miles at the gym, 11-minute mile pace, and I did take the time that the treadmill gave for cool-down. Partially because I got through watching the first half of a Law & Order episode...I guess I'll live without finding out what happens at the end. =)

I need to go shopping this weekend for running tops. Even though it's 67 or so outside, the gym is WARM and not ventilated. As Andrew would say...I stinky. =)