60 Laps...

Well its been awhile. I think my last post was about my 5k on Sunday. So what has happened since then. Well I weighed in on Monday for my weight loss competition. I lost 7 lbs since the previous Monday. So I was pretty happy with that. Then I flew to Boston for a work meeting. It was supposed to last all day Tuesday and Wednesday. I was going to fly home late Wednesday. Well we got word of a large snow storm coming in Wednesday morning, so out meeting lasted 12+ hours on Tuesday so we could get everything in and we could fly out the next morning and hopefully miss the storm. So I we changed to an 8:45 am flight with a Baltimore layover. We get to the airport early because it was already snowing. As soon as I walk in, the airport I hear my name being paged. I get through security and to my gate. They get me onto the 7:15 am flight to Baltimore and the plane is supposed to continue on to Nashville. Even better I thought! Then I realize everyone has boarded the plane. So I know there is nothing but middle seats. What I did not anticipate was the flight attendant taking my carry-on away from me since there was "no more overhead space." I did not check any bags for this short trip. I had my mp3 player, cell phone charger, magazines etc in my bag. Now I had nothing. It was whisked away and put under the plane. So I take the last middle seat on the plane. And I sit there miserably as I listen to the pilot announce that Baltimore was not accepting any more flights and that we would have to sit there at least an hour before we could take off. Well shit. An hour and a half later they tell us to get off the plane (I took the above picture after I got off). I ask for my carry on. They say they cannot get it for me and I will have to pick it up at baggage claim. In Nashville. It is then my cell phone beeps to let me know it is about to die. If only I had a charger....

So after and hour in the terminal they finally reboard us, but no one has a boarding pass. So they have to check everyone's ID on a list and board us in proper order. So I get stuck in yet another middle seat. We finally take off after another 30 minutes of misery and land in an icy slushy Baltimore. Everyone gets off the plane except the Nashville passengers. Finally I get to move to a decent seat. I take the nice roomy exit row. The flight to Nashville was half empty and uneventful. I get off the plane, wait patiently for my carry-on to come down the belt and I come home.

I get home fairly exhausted. Today is supposed to be a 5 mile training run. Since I did not work out any the past 2 days, I force myself to go to the gym. I hit the track and start running. I have 60 laps. I decided not to push the pace and just run to the music in my headphones. I checked my split times for each of the 5 miles. They were... 9:00, 9:20, 9:40, 9:40, and 9:20 for a total of 47 minutes. Actual time was 47:04. Then I hit the weight room for a little upper body workout.

I dont feel like proof reading this entry, so just overlook any typos.

My First Race

Well today I had my first race. It was the Black Horse Pub 5k. It was organized by the Clarksville Running Club so I did not know what to expect. Brian and I got there and got registered. We were given a number and just waited for others to come. By race time there were probably 40+ people ready to run. We drove around a little to check out the course, especially the insane hill at the end. The run went pretty well I was around 17 minutes at 2 miles and felt pretty good. We had to cross a pedistrian bridge twice which mean running up and down stairs which slowed me down some. Then came the last hill. I ran most of it, but eventually I had to walk some of it (as did everyone else I could see). Then I finished strong with a time of 29:02. Not as good as I had hoped, but given the cold and the terrain, I was happy with it. Especially since I beat over half the field. I think 10-15 people were ahead of me. It feels good to get my first race under my belt.

And here is the map and elevation profile of the run...

Boot Camp

Well yesterday was Joyce's boot camp. It was interesting to say the least haha. It was a good workout though and welcome break from spin class. I will probably do it again next Saturday. I am a little sore today from it (or racquetball). I am running the the Black Horse Pub 5k today so I hope the soreness doesn't slow me down. I am interested to see what my time will be in my first actual race.

Only One There...

Well when I got to the gym there were a few people there. Its Friday night so its usually a slow night. I ran 4.5 miles on the track. My time was 41:49 so I shaved a whole 4 seconds off my Wednesday time haha. After my run I hit the weights. I was doing some cable crosses and realized I was the only person in the weight room. I dont think that has ever happened. It was a strange feeling. Especially given how crowded its been since the New Year. It made me feel dedicated! And I am planning to be back there at 8am for Joyce's boot camp... I wonder how that will go :-/

Its Not Easy Being The Fat Kid

Well today I broke my bike in spin class. Not a strap or a knob or anything like that. I broke the entire crank arm and pedal right off. Broken metal. I was the only person in the front row and about 20 minutes in Leslie had us cranking our tension up and standing. I was determined to push as fast as I could. Then all of a sudden *snap*! I was standing on the floor with flashbacks of my youth when I would sit in chair and break it. So did I run out of the room sobbing? No I calmly moved my towels and water bottle to the bike next to me and picked right back up. I was really hoping this bike would not break...now that would be embarassing. Well I pushed hard and made it through class. We were listening to songs from the new Metallica album so at least the music was good. I also played some racquetball before spin class. I beat one of the veterans in a singles game so I was happy with that.

Getting Faster...

Well today was my 4.5 mile training run. This is the 2nd week of 4.5 mile "short" runs, so I was hoping it would be a little easier. So I decided to push for a good time. My first mile was ran in 8:30 and got slower from there. I ended up with a time of 41:53 or a 9:18 pace overall. I am pretty happy with that. Especially considering a couldnt run a mile in 10 minutes a few months ago. I followed up my run with an upper body workout. Then I went to Andrew's to play a little poker. It was a cash game and I turned $5 into $18. Just call me High Roller haha! Well I am up later than I wanted to be. Good night.

P.S. In case this blog is used as evidence against me, the dollar amounts refer to Monoply money.

Big Day

Well today was a big day in American history...why you ask? Becasue I went to spin class thats why. Im pretty sure some guy got inaugurated to, but whatever. More importantly, I had a good workout in spin class and Don played music from the CD I brought in. His music gets me pumped up more than in any of the other classes. Especially when its my music haha. I'm feeling pretty good about my run tomorrow. I will run 4.5 miles (probably inside) and push for a good time. And probably get an upper body workout in if I have time. Im playing poker with some friends afterward. Guess thats it for tonight...YAWN

Quick One

Hmmm in a nutshell....I lost two pounds last week, had an easy time at spin class and did an upper body workout. Short and sweet.

Elevation Profile

Oh here is today's elevation profile...

Redemption

Well today is the day for my 7 mile run. I geard up in tights and my fleece and went outside. It was much warmer than I expected so I went back in and took off the tights. Such a nice day. I was hoping my easy day yesterday would help me through my run. Paul and I started at the rec center as usual and decided to just run west along hwy 41 until we hit 3.5 miles, and then come back. So we started running and pretty much immediately started up a long hill. I was hurting already. Just 1 mile and I was thinking that I was going to have a repeat of yesterday. Well I pushed through the hill and felt much better once the terrain leveled off. Kept a 10 minute pace going for awhile and turned around at the 3,5 mile mark. Coming back it was more downhill so the pace felt ok. Around 5 miles I got some mild stiches but they subsided. At a little past 6 miles we were going up a hill and I got the worst stitch in my side. It hurt and I slowed down for a minute maybe, but I crested the hill and stitch went away. I stopped my watch at the 7 mile mark. The time was 70:07. I was very happy with this. I have come such a long way from not even being able to run 1/2 mile on the indoor track. And I definitely redeemed myself for Friday's performance.

Yesterday...

Well yesterday I decided to take it a little easy after my subpar performance on Friday. I went to the gym and just did a little upper boday weight training. Then I had lunch with my parents in Shelbyville. Went to Murfreesboro to use my $50 Dick's gift card. Then went to Publix for Clif Bars and other stuff I cant find in Manchester. On the way home, I found out some friends of mine were going to the Predators game in Nashville, so I called my friend Brian to see if he was up for going on short notice. We got there without tickets and managed to get lower bowl tickets for $25. Too bad the Thrashers scored like 5 points in the first period. The Preds lost 7-2. Awful. Today is supposed to be a 7 mile run. We'll see how that goes.

Overestimation

Well today was the first games in my racquetball tournament. I play a different person each week and each time we play 3 games and the total number of points goes toward your tournament score. So today I played Mark. The last time I played him I won, but he was a little tired. We were both fresh today and he brought his A game. He won the first game 15-7, but I managed to win the second game 13-15. The final game was Mark's 15-10. Oh well.

So today I was supposed to run 4.5 miles, and I though it would be no problem to do it after racquetball. I mean I breezed through that same distance on Tuesday. I even decided I would push myself to see how low I could get. I started running at a 9 minute pace. After about a half mile my quads and calves felt really tight. I hit one mile at exactly 9:00. I was hurting, but I was determined to keep pace and push through it. After 1.5 miles I was hurting. My legs felt like Jello. This is when I first started to think I wasnt going to make it. At 1.75 miles I broke down and decided to walk a lap. Then I started to run again and felt terrible. I think I had some residual soreness from spin class the day before. And then an hour of intense racquetball was too much for me. I finished 2 miles in just under 20 minutes and called it quits. I will chalk this up as a learning experience. I will make sure not to do anything physically demanding before my scheduled runs. I definitely overestimated my abilities today...

Dinner Is In The Oven

Well I guess I will blog while I am waiting on my fish to cook. Trying to eat as healthy as I can. Workout started normal enough. Showed up at the rec center. Got my spin pass. Put my towel and water bottle on the bike I wanted to use (like normal) and then played raquetball. I played really well today. Won every game of singles and then played a game of cutthroat with two guys I never win against. Well today was my day. I won! First time I have ever beat these guys and have been playing them for awhile. I guess I have gotten better and have lost enough weight to really be competitive. So then I go to spin class 15 minutes early and guess what. My water bottle is missing, and someone else's bottle is there. So I ask a couple people and they know nothing. So I toss the towels on the floor and put the bottle on the floor. Then the guy comes over and ask what I am doing...apparently he thought the bottle and towel were left from another class. Give me a freakin break. Needless to say I got my bike back. Sigh...sometimes I feel like I am in high school.

Oops

I forgot to post yesterday. Oh well. Typical day really. Boring work. Ran 4.5 miles in 43:24 which I felt pretty good about. And then did some weight training.

It's Gettin' Cold Around Here

Today I did my hour spin class with Don. Definitely my favorite instructor. He plays hard rock and metal which gets me pumped up. After class I played (and won) a few games of racquetball. The weather is supposed to get down single digits soon, so I guess I will be running on the boring indoor track tomorrow. Oh well. I suppose its better than frostbite. On a random note, I have been thinking about getting another tattoo. Any suggestions?

Mondays are AWESOME

Well today was the first weigh in for my weight loss competition. I was trying to sandbag a little and gain weight last week. I lost 3 lbs from a week ago. Oops! Oh well I guess thats a good thing in the grand scheme of things. Today was day one of the 11 week competition that I organized at work. I hope everyone does well. My workout today was spin class and upper body weights. Spin class is getting easier and earier. I will assume its because I am in better shape and not because the instructor was hungover from the holidays haha. I need to find a balance between losing weight, but also building running endurance. Should be an interesting 11 weeks.

First 6 Miler

Well this weeks long run was 6 miles. It was supposed to be 6 miles last week but I was sick and only managed 4. So today I was determined to get 6 miles in. I ran with my friend Paul through Manchester up and down some fairly intense hills in sub freezing temperatures. After about 4 miles I started to fall behind his pace, but I did mange to keep running all 6 miles and got a time that was right at 1 hour. Maybe 2 minutes behind Paul. The run was tough, but I felt pretty good afterward.

Tomorrow also marks the first day of my weight loss competition. I organized one for my building at work to see who can lose the biggest percent of body weight in 12 weeks. I have already been losing weight so I dont expect to win, but you never know...

Titanic Disappointment

Well the Titans lost...but should I have expected anything different from a sports team in Tennessee? Oh well. I watched Gran Turino tonight. It was interesting to say the least, but I did enjoy it. I did not work out today. I do have a 6 mile run tomorrow though (well today technically). We'll see how that goes...

Finally Friday

Well its finally Friday. The end of the first week back to work after the holiday. It was long one. I decided to run outside today since the sun was shining and it wasn't too cold out. But by the time I finished my 4 miles the sun was pretty much gone and it had gotten alot colder. My pace was a little over 10 minutes today. I just wasn't feelin' it. Also there was something creepy rustling around in the bushes as I ran by. No clue what it was, but I certainly pictured myself in a horror movie as I curiously looking into the bushes...

Is it still January?

Well I was 45 minutes early for spin class and it was already full. So no spin for me. I did play raquetball against a good group of guys and actually won every game I played. Did a little weight lifting and called it a night. Now its time to watch the National Championship game...as much as I hate to say it... Go Gators. Ouch that hurt.

Today's Training 1/7/09

Last year I could barely run 1/4 mile. Today I ran 4 miles in under 40 minutes. The indoor track was crowded with New Year Resolutions. Hopefully by Febuary in will thin out haha.

My first blog...

Well this is my first blog. I thought I start posting about my journey to the Country Music 1/2 Marathon in Nashville on April 25, 2009. I have been working out and losing weight since Febuary 2008 when I weighed in at a whopping 340 lbs! I am currently down around 285 lbs with a goal of 240 lbs. Below is a before and after pic showing my progress so far.