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Well I've been bad on exercise this week.  I only went on Monday and Tuesday, but in my defense the weather has been terrible and I had a baseball game I had to go to last night.  I've been eating good though so at least my weight is hovering around the same spot.  In other news, I signed up for a 10k for Saturday and am shooting to finish in under 1 hour.  I think I'll be able to do this if the weather stays ok and in that case the couple days off will probably be good for preparation.  Now I just have to determine if I should eat a bunch of carbs today and what if anything I should eat for breakfast so I don't feel sick like I did last week after the 8 mile run.

40 degrees and It's almost May WTF

So the weather yesterday was horrible.  It was in the low 40's, raining, and super windy.  I wasn't about to skip a workout so back to the gym's indoor track I went.  I did get in about 43 minutes which I'm estimating to be about 4.5 miles based on my past times, the fact the course was flat, and I counted the first 10 laps to guage my mile pace.  It was crazy dry in there and so I had to stop every mile or so for a splash of water.  Made me a little nervous about what it will be like next winter because it doesn't seem like much fun now that I know what outdoor running feels like.  Oh well, I'll find a way, if I'm still doing this when next winter rolls around I will be happy as a clam and I'll figure it out then. 

PS. Loved when I went to ask one of the personal trainers about an issue I noticed when I sit down after a long run and she wanted to know what I meant by a long run.  I told her 8 miles and she gave me a look like she didn't believe me.  It felt good in a way, I'm sure it's not often she has a 290 lb guy asking her about leg issues after an 8 mile run :).

Molly and Me

So yesterday I went for a 3 mile run and decided to take my dog Molly with.  I've never done this before because she is terrible at walking and pulls constantly.  Also she is a small dog, granted with a lot of energy, but I was concerned about how she would do at this distance.  Well the run went great, she did pull a bit much but it really didn't affect my pacing and although it was a slower time I think most of that was when I got stuck at a stop light twice for an extended period.  She really seemed to love the run and I enjoyed having her there.  I need to train her to pull a little less and so I went and got a harness that goes around her chest instead of just a regular collar.  I'm also considering getting an elastic leash so she can roam with it pulling on my arm so much.  I'm also looking forward to getting her a back pack to put some water in that we both can share but I don't have to carry :).

BOO

Disappointed to say the scale only moved 1 pound for the entire week.  Its difficult to see and although I only worked out 3 times and had 1 softball practice which really wasn't a ton of work but it was moving around for 1.5 hours, I still put in 17 miles and expected better because the runs were difficult.  I didn't eat great over the weekend but I didn't eat awful either.  It's weeks like this that worry me about if I ever get to a maintanance stage of weight loss.  I feel like if I don't exercise for a day, I gain weight.  What about all the people who lose weight without ever exercising at all?  How am I not getting the added benefit of an increased metabolism during times I'm not exercising?  Its frustrating because I ate way below my calculated BMR, exercised for 3 hours and loss 1 pound.  Maybe it was just a bad day to weight myself and I'll see a bigger drop in the next few days but it still worries me about ever being able to maintain a healthy weight when I only lose a pound with the effort I put in to do it.

Getting Stronger

Well I moved the long run for the week to today as I have a Twins game tomorrow and I'm sure that running 8 miles after sitting out in the sun for 3 hours will be the last thing I want to do.  That said I pushed myself, got motivated and ended up on the track today.  The first 2 miles were the typical warm-up and I felt great after.  Got to the turn around point feeling amazing but at mile 6 I started to hate life.  Every minute that went by felt like an eternity and the next 0.5 mile segment that is announce by the iphone felt like it was taking forever.  I didn't walk and I finished.  My time up to 6 miles was 9:30ish per mile but dropped quickly the last two miles as my legs felt like lead.  But its done, I won the mental battle and I will be stronger for next week.

Beating a Lame yet Relevant Fear

First off if there was one thing I didn't want to do yesterday, it was run.  As much as I tried to get motivated, I had nothin'.  Typically I would only have to do 2 miles or 30 mins cross training but since I have decided to join a friends softball team, which practices and plays on Thursdays, I have to get the second longer maintanance run in on Wednesdays.  Finally convinced myself to go, as it looked nice out.  Little did I know it was going to start raining half way through.

Once I got into the run all the feelings of not wanting to run melted away and I felt great and then I got close to the hill.  On all my runs up until now, I've avoided this hill.  It starts at about 1.8 miles in and ends at about 2.25 miles.  If I take a left before this I can avoid the steep climb.  My roommate runs it nearly every day but I've always been afraid of it because it is an intimidating climb.  Yesterday I saw it in the distance and decided I was done being afraid of a stupid hill and so I went up it.  The 2.25 mile mark was my turn around point so as soon as I got to the top I turned around to come back.  It sucked but not nearly as bad as I thought and I'm glad I learned that I could beat this hill.  Running these hills (as there is another one that is shorter in length but steeper) has really improved my long runs which I run on a flatter surface.  They give me the extra push I need.  4.5 miles, 42:44.

On an even better note, the scale said 288.2 this morning and seeing as I take all my weigh in's in the morning, it counts.  I finally hit the 280's and its been a while.  Next up the 270's which is where I gave my last workout real hardcore efforts about 6 years only to see little if any results.  That will not happen this time.  Also new goal set: Be down 50 lbs be the completion date of the Hal Higdon Half Marathon training.  The final date for that is June 5th which is a Sunday so the weigh in on that Monday will be what will count.  After today's weigh in that leaves just over 13 lbs to go so maybe I'll be able to get a little extra.  Also my birthday is June 29th and would really like to be in the 260's be then, so I've got some goals to shoot for.  Only 3 more lbs and I'm at a loss of 40!

Side Stitch from Hell

Yesterday was shaping up to be a pretty good day.  No drama at work, bad weather had held off, and I was feeling good about my weight loss.  Got home and out the door I went for my run.  I was planning 4 with the possibly of pushing it to 4.5.  The wind was brutal but otherwise everything was good.  I know I started out too fast with my first 2 miles in 18 mins.  I got a little side stitch about mile 2 but no big deal those happen and it went away.  I had made it to the point where I knew I was over half way and this usually is the point where no matter how long the run, it starts to feel better as I'm working my way to the end.  This time, not so much.  At mile 3 I got a side stitch that very sharp and no matter how I contorted my body while running I couldn't get it to go away.  I just kept thinking to myself "It'll will go away just focus on something else", but it wouldn't go away.  It finally got to the point where it hurt so bad to breath that focusing on other things had no effect.  I slowed down to a walk.  This was the first time I had ever had to walk since February when all my runs were a planned distance or time.  I've never had to stop, I've always been able to push through anything that was bothering me at the time.  This time it was unavoidable, with about 1 mile still to run I had to walk.  I'm glad I did, after about 20 seconds I was good to run again and for the most part the pain had dulled down and when I got to the point where I could either quit at 4 miles which I had seriously considered or run another lap around the block (which I found out is exactly 0.5 miles from a friend), I decided that since I walked I had no choice but to fight it out.  Finished 4.5 miles in 43:43.  Not a bad time but considered at the 3 mile mark I was at 28:10, it was a slow finish.  I'm not sure if it was my faster than usual start, maybe too few calories for the day, or dehydration that caused this, all I'm hoping is it never happens again.

One this that felt great though was right after the run I hit the showers and did a quick scale check and saw 288.8.  Now I know thats cheating because I hadn't rehydrated or eaten dinner but who cares it felt great to see myself in the 280's, a weight below my driver's licence, a weight that shows progress.  I'm not counting anything officially, but it made me smile.

Pre Run Shot:

Fun Picture I just got from Chicago Weekend.

Breaking my mold

Well I've been silent for a little bit here but I'm still around.  It was a busy end to the week work wise but it didn't affect my workout schedule, just my blogging one.  On a side note I was never a fan of blogging at all because, why should I care what other people think or say, but I never looked at how much of a tool it can be to keep yourself accountable.  I don't want to post a gain or a missed workout and so it pushes me just a little extra to get things done.  Well this week was my top week for distance so far.  I ran 4 miles for maintenance runs twice this week, did 40 mins of cycling on the spin bike on Saturday and upped my long distance Sunday to 7 miles in just under 69 mins.  The run on Sunday was tough, at first my legs felt very heavy and keeping a good pace was tough but as usual, one I make it to the halfway mark and turn around, it really isn't bad at all.  I was getting very dry mouth on the way back, not thirsty as much as just needing a shot of water so I will have to start doing something for that on my upcoming long runs.  I'm a little ahead of the HH program because I pushed it last week instead of repeating and just added another mile this week.  I've felt good so I figure I might as well. 

Another positive note, the scale dropped last week which has been frustrating me because its been a little back and forth lately.  I'm really going to concentrate on eating well this week so that I can crack into the 280's somewhere I haven't been in at least 5 years.  If anyone is reading this, any ideas why my weight has fluctuated so much even though I've still been burning calories like crazy with the extra miles?

It's becoming a stronger habit

Ok so yesterday was a day I had thought about for a week or so.  I have a 20 game season ticket package to the Twins and yesterday was going to be my first game where I also had a scheduled run.  I know we get back too late to do it afterwards and let's face it I just am not going to get up early and do it.  I was worried I'd cave to my brain telling me its ok to miss it.  I wasn't too focused on it but yesterday afternoon I looked at the clock, and decided to go home around 4:30.  I got home was able to do a 4 mile run in 40 mins take a shower and go to the game.  I would never have done this in the past but now I know I always have time to get it done and can't make any excuses about it.  BTW I feel its pretty awesome that my daily maintanence run on my training program is now 4 miles.  That just seems crazy to me because I remember back in February when my friend had told me that the 5k we were going to run was a 7k (he was mistaken about which race we were running but I didn't know that at first).  I was freaked because I didn't think there was any way in hell I could run that far and know its practically my maintanence run.  7 miler on Sunday should be interesting.

On another note, I've noticed that my maintanence runs always seem more brutal than my long run.  I always do my maintanence runs in the area around my house which is very hilly and has one big nasty hill that is in the last mile of the run which pretty much makes me want to shoot myself when I'm going up it.  These hills have really been making my long runs easier because I typically go to this nice long trail a little ways from my house to run them.  It is a very flat and somewhat scenic trail but the hills around my house make those extra miles go by much easier.  If you are looking to increase distance I recommend giving it a shot, it seems to work well.

Simple Day

Nothing too exciting yesterday just went for about 2.75 mi that was very hilly but I kept a good pace of under 9:30.  It was incredibly nice out and really felt great being out there running and seeing all the other people out and about.

Fun Weekend = Not the best for my Plan

Ok so today I posted a slight gain for the week which isn't great but being that I missed a few workouts and didn't eat particularly well, it was expected.  I was really hoping to break even, but things could be worse.  As for working out, I said I missed Thursday due to some personal issues and then had a baseball game to go to Friday and stayed out with friends that night so not much opportunity for workout there.  Sunday was a planned long run but since it was suppose to storm, I decided to go on Saturday.  A couple of my friends who are runners wanted to come with me even though its not quite their pace.  I was planning on doing doing 5 miles as that is the scheduled distance and then I thought I should do 5.5 just to push it a little.  Well I ended up doing 6 because the run was going so well and not only that, I did it in 57:43 which is way faster than I've been running when it comes to the longer distances.  At the 5 mile mark I was a full 3 minutes faster than last week.  I was very pumped about that and even my runner friends were saying how impressed they were because one hadn't seen me run yet and thought I was going to be way slower.  I was going to do the cross training on Sunday but with the Masters on and thinking I should take a day of rest as it says to always do in the training plan after a long run, I didn't workout.  Normally Mondays are a rest day but today I'll be working out so in the end I should only miss 1 workout.

I'm very excited about how far my distances are getting and also about gaining some unexpected speed.  I've also gained some new free time due to a relationship ending and so I plan to put that added time towards working out and I'm thinking about starting the 100 pushup plan and seeing where that goes.

Space Brain

Well yesterday didn't bode well for my run.  I had some personal things to deal with and I couldn't focus on anything especially on getting out and just running.  I'm sure it would have helped me looking back on it but it didn't happen.  Too bad because it was a beautiful day.  Yesterday brought about a big change in my life and I need to focus and buckle down so it doesn't affect my new found "love" of running.  I say it in quote because I obsess over it sometimes and sometimes it is just hell.  I enjoy running most of the time but I still know I'm at the point where I could easily slip out of my running habits and I don't want that to happen.

Boring Day

Simple update as not much happenend yesterday.  I swam for about 25-30 mins after getting a new swim suit that fits so I can turn quicker without them pulling off.  Today is a 3.5 mile run.  I'm looking forward to this week ending as I've got tickets to the Twins opener tomorrow.

About Time

Well it's quite an amazing thing to see, but the Twins finally came back and beat the Yankees.  I can't stand the Yankees and I know it doesn't mean much but it was a lift up after a long stressful day.  Work was rough and some other factors were chipping away at my sanity.  I ran 3.5 miles in 33:30 which is pretty quick for me and I wasn't even trying to go fast.  The run helped with stress and not for very long.  I'm hoping today is going to better but it's not starting out that way.  Scale is down some today which is nice and I'd really like to see the 280's by next week.

Terrible Game

Yesterday was a day off from working out according to schedule and I felt I needed it as my legs were sore.  Today I'm suppose to do 3.5 miles and I'm looking forward to it since its in the 50's and sunny today.  So yesterday I watched the Twins lose to the Yankees in usual fashion and probably the worst national championship for basketball I've ever seen.  It was as if they installed smaller rims on the basket or something because no one could make a shot.  I also downloaded an app in my boredom between the two games from calorie count to be able to better decide what I should eat or just how many calories I'm eating.  I put down about 1900 calories yesterday and according to my BMR, I burn 3692 doing nothing but I'm thinking that is inflated.  I'm happy to be under 2000 and that was with a poor choice at breakfast.  I'm hoping the app helps me make better decisions.

Progress Photos

Ok here are some progress photos.  The one with the shirt is February, the one without is March.  I see it mostly in my face but probably because of the shirt.

Cherish your mental weapons

Today was one of those days where running was the last thing I wanted to do.  I was lethargic and unmotivated. Go figure it's the day of my long run for training.

I stood up and just told myself, I gotta get out there no matter what.  It was a mental battle from the beginning.  The entire run I was doubting myself, after a half mile I was tired and sweating pretty good, I didn't hydrate very well before hand, and my legs were feeling very heavy.  I just kept telling myself to push farther and that was already at 1.5 miles normally that hasn't been needed until about a mile left.  Once I got to the 2 miles out distance, I was extending my normal route to a new area which seemed to give me somewhat of a boost or at least a distraction to my mind telling me to just quit.  Then I got to 2.5 miles, all I had to do was turn around and go home, I knew where I had to go and exactly how far and what it would feel like.  The last 2.5 miles wasn't bad at all, the mental wall had fallen down and I knew I was going to be able to do this.

I finished 5 miles in 50.5 minutes.  My legs felt great afterwards, hell I still feel great an hour later.  The sense of accomplishment is incredible.  I'm not sure why but 5 miles just always seemed to be a distance that was way far out of reach.  I always thought "I could probably run 3 miles if I had to", "4 is long but maybe if I walk I can do it", "Ha, 5 miles, not a chance." Well so long to that thought.  Actually I've just pushed it farther out, there is something about 5, 10, 13.1, 20, 26.2 that just seem like roadblocks.  I've crossed one off the list now its on to the next.

Falling Down

Yesterday was a stress filled day.  I felt like Michael Douglas, an overworked engineer that was about to snap on someone, but I knew I had one exit for relief.  As soon as I got home, I changed into my running clothes and hit the road.  I had 3.5 scheduled and did 3.67 and it felt great.  It let me forget all about work and just focus on me and the rest of the night felt good too.  Granted I was a little sore but I wasn't going to rip anyones head off.  My confidence has been growing all week for the 5 miler coming up on Sunday.  What I'm not looking forward to is a party on Saturday that I said I would attend.  I don't want to fall into that trap of drinking and eating stupid like I tend to do on the weekends but my plan is to stay sober enough to drive aka maybe one drink an hour and try to still stay social which can be a challenge at times when I want to unwind from a stressful week.  Knowing I have the 5 mile run the next day should help that and give me a good excuse.

On a side note, the scale read 295 this morning.  When I started my first job out of college in 2006, I weighed in the fitness center as a part of the fitness assessment required before joining the company fitness center.  At that time I was 295 and I don't believe I have been below that point since.  I flirted with it once when I moved back from AZ in Dec 2007 and was on nutri-system at the time but the food on it was so terrible I just couldn't stick with it.  It feels good to know that I'm getting back to being me.  When I went to college I was 245, but I don't think I've ever looked as big as I've actually weighed.  None of my friends had a clue I was over 300 when I started this, most thought I was around 270 - 280, little did they know I was well over 300.  Well not anymore.  I want to get back to my college starting weight at a minimum because I know at that point I was in great football shape and liked the way I looked.