finishing out the week.

Well, i had a pretty busy day Wednesday with not much working out other than swimming. I had an eye doctor appointment, then my allergy shots, almost rear ended some girl and a haircut too. We actually got a decent workout (by my standards for swimming). Looks like we are going to start some new strokes too. Again its been a while... and I've never really mastered the butterfly at any point in my life. Maybe this time around.

Thursday i ran at lunch again. It was a little chilly. I wore the tights and a pull over. I guess the mid 30 degrees days are tough to judge. I was pretty cold starting off, hands numb etc. By the end i was dripping sweat and wanting to shed a layer. Little better time than last time too. Last time was 48:30 instead of the 47:30 i quoted in my last post. I got this run done in 47:50. For the last 1.5 miles i had a horrible stitch in my side. I experimented with how to nurse it. I couldn't make it go away and it progressively got worse, but shallow breathing seemed to make it manageable.

I finished up my day at work and went to the pool place in Manchester to buy some hand paddles for swimming. I picked up a kick board while i was there because i figured it wouldn't be long before she wanted us to get one of those guys.

Spin class was pretty good thursday as well. She does different drills than the other instructors so its a nice change. Some of the music is we'll just say marginal however. After swimming i decided i'd swim a little. Which after getting in the pool i was really too warn out to have a good swim. I swam 8x50. I want to really concentrate on form and i can't do that if i'm warn out so i just quit while i was ahead :P...

Get to be lazy with Jessie tonight. We really don't have any plans as of yet so maybe we'll just sit around the house. She is bringing her bike over though. Tomorrow we are going to ride with Lisa out at the base for a couple of hours.

I am trying to think of a good route for my 8 mile run on super bowl sunday. Go Pittsburgh!

Running for Lunch

Well, I just finished my 5 mile run today… and yep… I still hate it :P  Biking is fun, Swimming is getting to be more fun (more on that later)… running is still very much a chore.  I’m still surprised at the motivation I have to train for this race.  I don’t think I’d be running even weekly if I didn’t have a goal in mind.   I have been running fairly consistently since September and its gotten easier, I can run oh 20x farther, maybe even a little faster too. However,  I think I might be at a plateau as I’ve noticed myself struggling for the short runs and getting about the same time if not worse.  Maybe a rest week will do me good.  I’m running in the preds ”fangtastic” 5k on 2/14, so I might cut back that week and only run 8 miles + the race on Saturday.   I will try to concentrate more on my swimming and biking (weather permitting, sorry I’m not doing a 25 degree bike ride).

 

All and all my run wasn’t too bad today.  I ran the gravel 1.75 mile loop trail at AEDC.  It was sunny and fairly warm.  I ran in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt and I should have opted for the short sleeve shirt.  So after 2 and 6/7 of a lap in 47:39.  My GPS was a half a mile off.  I was surprised, I’d have never guessed the thing to be 10% off on a fairly clear day.   There are a few trees, but I’ve had better luck that that with my hand held GPS on backpacking trips when there is actual canopy.   According to the GPS I was booking it haha (I’d be very happy with a 8.66 pace).

 

Ok, back to the swimming.  After our warm up in class yesterday there wasn’t much swimming to be done.  We worked on turns, which will be nice once I get them down.  I made myself a little ill in the pool trying to practice the flip turn.  After about 4 flips in the deep end, I came up dizzy and just never recovered… I kept with practicing just spaced them out.  I still felt pretty ill for the rest of the night.  I think a little had to do with the fact that I didn’t take my antihistamine/decongestant   Monday and the with water in my ears and occasionally my nose… I could see where I’d be feeling ill.   Wednesday should be better as I’ve learned my lesson.  Hopefully we’ll get more of a workout too. 

 

It’s looking like the weather might cooperate with a weekend bike ride this weekend.  I’ll be looking forward to that (until the forecast changes).  I haven’t been out on the bike since I was in New Orleans for Christmas.   

 

 

Weekend activites

Well, Friday I left work and headed to Tullahoma for my long run.  I ran in the subdivisions around east middle school.  Carried water for my first time.  It was a little awkward but I guess I got used to it.  The water kept me from holding the timer so I just ran and tried to pace myself out which led to me being very slow.  But I could have probably pushed out another few miles.  I was actually interrupted by Lisa when I was about to start a loop thru Tara.  I was almost at 7 miles.  She was giving me a bike trainer to take a look at.  It took me 1:22 to run 7.25 miles.

 

After my run, it was Casa Mexico with Jessie, the parents and brothers.  Then I got conned into replacing brake pads on my brothers car at like 1030 at night.  Oh well, I like working on cars.     

 

Saturday, Jessie and my mother were planning on doing Zoomba and meeting me in spin class.  Jessie had to run off to work (she was supposed to have the day off, but had to go fill in for a lady that had a kidney infection).  I went to Joyce’s boot camp with Chad (Brian bailed out) which ran over.  It was interesting to say the least and challenging.   Did a lot of drills in there that I hadn’t done since high school.  They were easier in high school as well :P…  Got a good ab workout at the end as well.  After that I was 20 min late for spin class. 

 

The rest of Saturday was spent doing odd jobs around the house.  I finally got around to installing the bike racks I bought for my garage so I don’t have to have my bikes propped up against the wall anymore.    Also tried out the trainer.  It used a squirrel cage for resistance which made it loud and was kind of a pain to get it set up.  It’s not something I’d see myself doing in my spare time.  Lisa ended up buying a new trainer over the weekend and offered me that one.  I honestly don’t think it would be something I’ll ever use. 

 

Sunday was the rest day this week.  So it was off to the Aquarium in Chattanooga to check out the otters and penguins.  Jessie and I had a good time.    I could really feel the boot camp soreness kicking in while stumbling around Chattanooga.   I didn’t think It’d make me sore, I was wrong haha. 

 

So here we are on yet another Monday.  An interesting one so far, apparently there was a police chase on the interstate that ended with the suspect in a body bag.  I came to work the back way so I missed it all… boo.   My running mileage goes up this week, I’m up to 5, 5 and 8.  I’m still sore from boot camp as well.

 

Swimming tonight.  Should be a fun workout  and loosen me up as well.

 

Congratulations to Chad and Brian for their 5k in the cold on Sunday.  I signed up for the Preds 5k today which will be my first race. 

Recovery Run

I took some advice from Lisa and took it really easy on my run today. Still under a 10 min pace, i wasn't really keeping up with it while i was running. I looked at the clock about halfway and noticed i was pretty much dead on 10min. I ran the loop from the rec center via interstate drive. It took me over the construction, so i had to be on my guard there. Getting hit by a car wouldn't be fun.

I'm skipping spin class tonight though. Its my mother's birthday, so I'll do dinner and cake with her and my dad and brothers.

Yesterday, i did the masters swim class again. I was pretty congested at the start of the class but cleared up after warm up. I feel that I'm really improving. And the people I've been paired with push my abilities, which is good due to the fact that when i go to the pool alone, i tend to be lazy, and take short cuts. I'm looking forward to Monday's class really.

stitches

Apparently the pool place in Manchester doesn't abide by their hours. Showed up at 10 til there published winter hour closing time and the place was abandoned.

Anyway, i went to run leaving from the fitness center... still a little sick, but i wasn't going to let that or the snow/wind bother me. It was 25 degrees when i set out for my run and i had confidence that i was going to get it done in 40:30. First mile good... up the hill by the jail house. Felt great, running into the wind and my face was getting chapped but still i was kicking. About a half a mile later, i fell off the cliff with probably the worst stitch that I've ever gotten in my side. I tried to regulate my breathing and slowing down, and it just kept getting worse. Finally i talked myself into walking for a min, surely it would go away then. Nope... After a min, i tried running again to find no improvement (i should add here, that pretty much when i stop running, that's the end of my motivation). After a few rounds of running/walking, i decided to head in so i turned down Waite street to return to my car.

I ran the trail back to the fitness center and about the time i reached the babe ruth field, i told myself to quit being a wuss and finish out by running back to my car. Still in pain, i ran. Somehow despite my walking i managed to get a 3 mile loop done in 33 min. I was going home... skipping spin too.

Back at my car, and stretching, the pain finally went away. It was snowing pretty heavily at this point, and starting to cover the parking lot. I convinced myself that i was going to run out the rest of my distance and i did. I ran 1.5 miles in 13 min to finish off my run. The 1.5 felt great, no stitches, no knee/shin/leg pain, etc.... I could have probably got it done in 12 if i would have started with the same motivation as i finished with.

Went and cooled down and stretched in the gym and got ready for spin class. Which i was really able to push it and turned out to be an excellent workout.

Experimenting with an Email Posting

This post is mostly just to see if this works. Ie, so I don't post
something that I'd really like on the blog and have it get lost in the
network of firewalls, switches, routers, etc...

Anyway, I feel much better this morning, still got a little congestion,
but that should lessen up as my medicine kicks in. Recommended by my
doctor, I'm supposed to take a prescription antihistamine/decongestant
daily. I normally get away with not taking them unless I'm pretty
congested or am getting my shots that day. Not really a fan of having
to take daily medicine.

I got up this morning on my own will about 4am, and almost talked myself
into doing the morning spin class... then my real brain woke up, so I
was sleeping again in 30 min. I actually managed to get myself into
bed before 10pm last night. As much as I'd like to make that a habit, I
know there is no way that will happen. I'm lucky to be in bed before
midnight.

Sick

Saturday I got up early and after coffee with Jessie, I had good intentions of a good easy swim, working on some of the issues pointed out to me on my swimming before heading to spin. Apparently lap swim doesn't start until 9am on Saturday. So after wearing myself out in spin, even though it seemed to be an easy class, i hopped in the pool. I was really too worn out to concentrate on my form, so after some sloppy sets, i got out after about 600yds.

Jessie and I bailed on a concert on Saturday night in Shelbyville, we were both too tired. I don't remember who was playing. We headed down to Huntsville from her house instead and walked around some stores. I had good intentions of getting a cheepy pair of bike shorts for spin class, since I've been wearing some and decided I like it. No dice on the shorts. I'll have to wear my good ones again tomorrow (if i go, more later)...

Sunday Chad and I went out for our 7 mile run. We decided to run from the fitness center up 41 north bound and turn around at the 3.5 mile mark, ended up being right around Blanton Chapel road. The north bound run had a tough head wind and the route was pretty hilly (elevation profile from my garmin)... I got it done with a pace of 9:58. I'm pretty happy with this but will be happier with some improvement. I still don't know what to expect with the long runs so I'm pacing myself pretty hard (however that run was still very challenging on my limits).

After my run... FOOTBALL and yes the Steelers are heading to the Superbowl once again :D...





My muscle in my upper leg wasn't bothering me Monday morning as it had been acting up with past runs, so hopefully that small injury is gone for good. I guess more running will tell.

I woke up sick Monday morning. Sore throat from sinus drainage, and felt pretty miserable. I didn't want the sickness to discourage me, so i went ahead and made a doctors appointment for the day. In the past, I'd wait a few days with it getting worse. Anyway, i have a sinus infection (as expected, i get them frequently due to my allergies) so with a shot in the butt and some antibiotics, i was feeling well enough for my Monday workout.

Swimming went well again. I'm still iffy on some of the drills. They feel kinda strange doing them, but I'm not getting any negative feedback from our coach, so i assume I'm doing alright. It felt more of a work out today than in the past. And we are supposed to get a workout in Wednesday in the pool. So that's something I'm looking forward to.

Anyway, its now bedtime, and hopefully I'll be feeling good in the morning, as I'd like to run (4.5 miles, hoping for a sub 9 pace and outdoors) then hit up Don's Spin class a some heavy metal workout.

Oh, and i should add... Tomorrow is a scary day in American history. I'm not going to get into it really though.

Missing title :P

Well, i achieved my goal and then some. 4.5 miles 38 min. Which is better than a couple of my 4 mile runs. Albeit it was indoors and level, its nice to see some improvement. My motivation for this half marathon is very high. I've been training for it for about a month and a half, and the more i improve the harder i work.

Loafed around the gym and watched some racquetball until spin. More spin drama today too... oh how fun. Spin was pretty good... 80's montage :P I worked up a pretty good sweat. Seems like the rush might be winding down as there were 3-4 unused bikes. More rumors of new bikes soon. I'll believe it when i see it. This might be a bit of the engineer speaking, but a little preventive maintenance would go a long way, those bikes rot away getting beat up 2-3 times a day.

I've been thinking about doing the stretch class (i may have mentioned this before) i need to work on my flexibility in the worst way. Wonder if I'll be the only male in the class :P i haven't heard anything about it other than it exists.

Now to prepare for the bitter cold night. I still think its a bit much to cancel school due to cold. Short day at work tomorrow followed by my allergy shots and going to a party with Jessie. I don't get to see her much now that she's a working girl.

I'm running outside Sunday come hell or high water. 7 miles, the longest I've ever ran.

Swiming

Well, swimming hasn't been as dreaded as i had in mind. I'm actually in the middle ground in ability for the class which is good because we can move slow and i can really break the bad habits that i'm sure i have. I actually found myself looking forward to getting in the pool while i was at work. Class is very full though, i think we had 22 people there today, maybe even big enough to split us into two groups especially since monday we have to compete for lanes.

As far as the running, i ran in the bitter cold yesterday (1/13), it wasn't my coldest run that i've done but its by far the longest run i've done in the cold and wind. I found my feet getting cold and cramping up which was causing form problems and my shin bothering me a little. I got 4.5 miles done in 42:56 so i was pretty happy. Since its suppposed to be colder on thursday and wanting to do a soft run, i think i'll just sweat out the 54 laps on the 1/12 mile indoor track. I'll shoot for a faster pace, and maybe even push myself to try to get it in 40 min. we'll see.

The cold weather has led me to breaking down and getting a new battery for my car with fear of it not starting... it was really struggling today. Now if i can just get my garage door opener unit fixed, i'll be in good shape.

Tomoorow its 4.5 mile run (indoor) and an hour spin class.

Pittsburgh is the only home team to go on this week. Someone showed me this and i figured this was a good place to put it.

a cold 6 miles

Ran my long run of 6 miles today. Ran it in 58 min. I've been shooting for keeping my pace below a 10 min mile throughout my training. So far so go. Chad and I ran a course approximately equal to the St. Patrick's day 10k. We turned around at exit 111 though as we didn't want to fair the traffic at the bridge construction. It was cold and had more terrain than most of my other runs. Comparing it to my 6 mile run last week which was on the THS track, they both took about the same time. Given the elevation change and the fact it was about 20 degrees colder I'm pretty happy with my performance.

Time to watch the rest of the Steelers payoff game. I was disappointed in Tennessee yesterday, they really blew it. I was hoping to see another PIT vs. TN matchup.

Congratulations.... now you owe us $140.

I had a tough Thursday working out. I ran 4 miles through Manchester on what i thought was a quick pace for me.... It was pretty chilly outside however i was over dressed for the run. I was slightly disappointing to find out that i was only 2 min under 40 when i finished. Oh well, the runs are seeming to get easier.

After following my run i spend 30 min stretching out before spin. I've learned my lesson from last time of running then going to spin with barely stretching. Spin class was challenging and i liked the new instructor. We did some new things in the class and the explanation was much better as well. I'm going to try to keep this on my normal routine as my normal spin days will become swimming days since I've signed up for the instruction. After some quick weights i went home to wacth the National Championship game.

Friday was a rest day. I left work early to take the GRE test which i did fair on it. My verbal skills are apparantly terrible :P... So after that i meet up with jessie and we did some shopping and got some dinner. I did get some good information when i got home in finding out that i've passed the PE exam which i took back in october.

Saturday morning i did spin again. It was a good class but seemed a little easy maybe?? Anyway, i'm relaxing the rest of the day. 6 miles tomorrow.

First Blog

This is my first entry in my first blog. I decided to push forth and lose some weight with the help of a weight loss competoin back in August. After losing over 30 lbs, the training schedule i developed was actually something i "enjoyed". So in trying to keep the fitness i have decided to try a half marathon. So far so good with the training. I'm going to try to keep up with my future training for this and possibly other races/events in the future.