Yo-Yo Yo-Yo A Runners Life For Me....

I'm up...I'm down....I'm up....I'm....annoyed

Well, if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you might have seen that I was a little down last night. Today (and especially right now), I'm up....way up.

The main reason why I was down last night was that I had to come face to face with some of the gremlins that got me to over 340 pounds. It was also the facing of the fact that the gremlins aren't dead, they were just hiding. The last week has been hard (and bad) in terms of eating. I've had several days where individual meals were not the best thing I could have eaten. But, It was also the extras around the house that I allowed to get me. The Peppermint Hershey's Kisses and Dove Caramel Promises.

In the end, it was all a reminder that this is not a battle but a war...a marathon, not a sprint.

So, this morning, weigh-in time....288.5. Yep, I'm down 2 from last week and under 290. After the last week, I am very happy with that. But, I pretty much means I won't hit my goal of 275 before I leave for the WDW 1/2. But that's ok. I'll get there within a week or two afterword.



Training wise, this weekend is a "down" week...only 3-4 miles. So, Melanie and I are doing the Rudolph Run 5k tomorrow morning. I don't really have any specific goals for the race. But, it would be nice to beat my last 5k time (GPS, not official) of 43:42. And who knows, there may be a surprise waiting on me.

Before I go, I want to mention one more thing. In my list on Tuesday, I mentioned that I followed Gordon while he ran the Rocket City Marathon last weekend. As many of you know, Gordon has a podcast (Running to Disney) and a blog. Monday, he released his latest episode...Ep. 40 Rocket City Marathon Recap and Thursday, he updated his blog with his race report. Please take the time to listen to the podcast. I cannot put into words what Gordon's words mean to me. Nor can I put into words why it effects me so much or why I even mention it. All I can say is listen and get a glimpse into who Gordon is and why I did what I did.

Till Next Time...Keep Moving Forward!!!

Please Don't Leave Me...

.....I'm Still Here! ;-)

Wow! It's been over a month since my last post. For that, I apologize. But, don't worry, my absence has nothing to do with slipping or giving up...far from it. My main excuse is a project at work that has taken so much mental energy from me. But at least it was an enjoyable project (shhhh...did I just say that).

Now...let's get the dirty stuff out of the way... As of last Friday 12/11/2009... 290.5lb



I hate going so long between posts because that means there more stuff to cover...but here goes...

Since my last post...
* foot/ankle got worse
* missed a lot of runs due to foot
* got a new "toy" (more on that another day)
* cut short or missed long runs due to foot
* then without explanation, the pain completely went away.
* got a stomach virus the day after my foot got better..missed another run
* first run after foot got better was like running on "new tires"
* registered for the 2010 Country Music 1/2 Marathon - April 24
* followed Gordon around Huntsville during the Rocket City Marathon
* first real long run since 10mi on Nov 7th - 10mi on Sun 12/13

So, you can see that a lot has happened (and this list doesn't include Thanksgiving, etc) since my last post. And, most of it is positive.

I'll leave this post short, and promise (hold me to it) to post again in the next day or so.

Till Next Time...Keep Moving Forward!!!

A Day Late, But Not A Dollar Short!

Shazam!!!



299.5!!!!!

There's a reason why I end yesterday's post the way I did. While I was annoyed that I didn't reach the 200s yesterday, I knew why and I knew that it was only temporary. But, I didn't really expect to hit it today. But, I will take it!!

It is hard to explain, but there's just something that 2 in 299.5. It represents what I'm not anymore... a 300 pound person. It also represents what I've accomplished, so far.

Now, for the not quite so good news...

My training plan called for 4 miles today. I had not run since Monday because of my left foot, but since Wednesday I haven't had the slightest problem...until today. My warm-up felt fine and I felt good (and maybe too good) in the first half mile or so. Then the twinge came back and I decided to cut it short after 1 mile (but a 13:33 mile). I think I didn't expect to feel so good and also didn't expect to go so fast. I didn't feel like I was going as fast as I was. I even skipped a couple run intervals, so I could have done a sub 13:00 mile if I wanted to.

So, I will continue to take care of my left foot and take each run one at a time. My next scheduled run is Monday.

In the mean time I will continue with the core and weight workouts. And, I will start with an additional cross-training when my new "toy" arrives in a week or two.

Till Next Time...Keep Moving Forward!!!

ARGH!...Maybe?!

301.0

Well, darn, it didn't happen this week...officially, that is. And it is because of a stupid food decision I made last night. I won't say much about it except that it was high in sodium. So, by this morning I ballooned up like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man in a microwave. While the change is not visible, I can easily tell that my hands and wrist are swollen.

Last night, right after I finished eating, I knew I made a mistake. There wasn't a lot of calories or even weight to the food. I knew the sodium would cause me to hold water and there wasn't anything (withing doing something stupid) that I could do about it. Of course, one question to ask is whether or not the water I'm holding would put me under 300. If you consider that a normal bottled water (16.9 oz) weighs 1 pound...then yes. The only way to know is to give my body a couple of days (without stupid eating) to flush the water and sodium and then weigh again. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. This will be one of the few times that I will weigh more than once in a week...at least that I'll admit too, anyway. Because this is such a huge milestone, I do not hesitate to do what some would call trivial. But, I would say...read on...

Now, it doesn't matter how it happened or that I didn't get under 300 today. What matters is how I handle the disappointment of not hitting the 200s today. See, two years ago I got down to 304 pounds. At the time, I had the same thoughts as this last week..."This is the week!" But, back then, it didn't happen. In fact, that was the end of the weight loss and the beginning of the journey, not only to where I started, but all the way to 350. So, this morning, my mind raced back 2 years and a few thoughts of doubt and the proverbial "Oh no, here we go again" crept in.

But not for long!!

This time, I choose to see the reality of the situation...that I've lost almost 50 pounds in about 4 months...that a delay of a couple days to "officially" reach a goal means nothing...that I am not about to let anything stop me...that I will not let go of the momentum...that this is about a journey to a better place and not about passing a mile marker on the side of the road.

For some time, I have worried about hitting the 200s. And I worry about finishing the 1/2 in January. Why? Because, they mean so much to me that I'm afraid that I'll focus on these "mile markers" and lose sight of the road itself. That these are the end, the final goals. So much time and energy has gone (and will go) into these efforts. And at some point one does need at least a mental break from it. But I can't afford to...not yet.

So, I press on. In my long run progression I have a low week this week...4 miles. After the long run last week, the issues I've had and taking a few days off, I'm very curious about how I will do. But, do it I will. And in the process I will reach my next (new) goal of 275 before the 1/2!

Till Next Time...KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!!

Time To Take A Couple Days Off

Well, to some degree I think the 10 miles on Sat are catching up with me a little.

The calf issue I mentioned in the last post lingered until I went to bed Sunday night. As of now, that issue is gone. However, during the easy walk on Sunday my left foot starting acting up on me. I started having some light pain along the outside middle of the foot.

However, none of this prevented me from doing my scheduled 30 run on Monday. But, I did take it easy and only did 2.77 mi in 46:21. I was more focused on my calf than my foot. During the warm up I think I may have found something that could be part of the cause of my right calf issue. I realised that I transitioned from each walk interval to the run I tended to make the first hard move with my right leg. Do that 150+ times and I imagine that it could cause something. So, I focused on either pushing off on the left leg or making the whole transition more gradual. In the end I had no pain or discomfort in my right calf. But, my left foot did bother me some during the warm up, but seemed to be better once I started into the intervals.

My foot continued to bother me some last night so I babied it today, even limping when I didn't really have to just to give it a chance to recover some. Ultimately, I think it has paid off. The pain has disappeared but it still feels a little off.

With all that said, I am going to skip my scheduled Wednesday run with the hope of resuming with 4 mi on Saturday. This might jeopardize my sub 300 weigh-in this Friday. But, I would rather put that off a week than get injured and jeopardize the 1/2.

But, picking up from last week I want to get in a core and weight workout before Saturday. And speaking of last week, I got in every workout I wanted. I may also get in some bike time to get some extra cardio.

Till Next Time...Keep Moving Forward!!!

10 Miles?! Are You Serious?!

Saturday morning was about as close to perfect run conditions as you can get.



Absolutely clear skies and temps in the mid-upper 40s.

10 mi in 2:32:49 (15:17 avg pace)
Including warm-up and cool-down: 11.16 mi in 2:56:30 (15:49 avg pace)

10 mile splits...
15:34
15:18
15:15
15:06
15:22
15:00
15:49
15:11
15:27
14:46

In the end it was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Considering how my last two long runs were (6+ and 8), I thought I would hit the wall somewhere in the 8th mile. Not only did I not hit the wall, I felt great and turned in a 14:46 last mile. My right foot gave me no problems as before, but my foot developed a hot spot for the first time. But, by the end of the day my feet felt like I hadn't run at all. The only issue that concerns me some is the inside of my right calf. I had felt a little something there during my previous 30 min run on Wednesday, but it wasn't anything that couldn't be explained by a little tightness. I had no tightness at all during my long run so I'm thinking that's not the issue. It took a few miles for it to start and progressed throughout. It is high on the inside of my right calf about 3 inches down from the knee bend. If I had to guess I would say it is a slight strain. And if I had to guess again, I would say that the camber of the roads in my neighborhood might be the cause.

I was curious to see how sore I would be throughout the day and especially today. I am shocked! I have practically no soreness at all. Could the ice bath after the run be the reason why? I'm convinced it is. I went out for an easy 30 min "recovery" walk tonight and had no soreness, no issues with my feet and didn't feel anything in my right calf.

I believe that if I had to, I could do the WDW 1/2 Marathon next weekend. But, I'm kinda glad that I still have 2 months to get ready. While the long runs are not the most fun thing in the world, I now know that I can do them and that I will not feel terrible afterword.

I now have exactly 2 months before the 1/2 and have 3 more long runs (11, 12.5 & 14). This time last year I was debating whether or not I would even go to WDW in January much less try to do the 1/2. I'm in such a different place this year and I like it. I actually look forward to seeing what I can do.

Till Next Time...Keep Moving Forward!!!

So Close I Can Feel It!

303.5!

Another weight goal down. I am now below my best weight (304) from almost 2 years ago (24 DEC 2007).

Before I go any further, here is my updated Geek Chart...






Falling below 304 is huge. That number represents conquering a past "failure". A point where I quit and more or less gave up. So, reaching this goal is a little bittersweet. It is both a reminder of what I didn't (but also did) do 2 years ago and a sign of the commitment, effort and accomplishment of the last 3-4 months.

Passing the 304 weight goal also means that I'm literally on the doorstep of the next goal...under 300! This may be a little wishful, but I have no doubt that it will happen next week. I am focused now more than ever. I want to be in the 200s so bad that I'm not letting anything get in my way!

So far this week, I have done exactly what I said laid out on Monday...

Monday - 30 minute maintenance run - 3.02mi in 48:56 - Splits 15:13 13:56
Tuesday - Core - 1 set intermediate
Wednesday - 30 minute maintenance run - 3.04mi in 49:31 - Splits 14:29 14:54
Thursday - Upper body free weights

Today is an off day before my Saturday long run...10 miles! Then on Sunday I might do core again.

I am a little nervous about the long run tomorrow. It is easily my longest run ever and I'm not yet used to doing long runs, so it's all still new to me. My biggest challenge will be keeping myself in check early on and keeping the pace around 15:30-16:00. I will be doing the long run using 30/30 intervals. However, my plan is to skip every 5th run interval right from the start. If I need to skip more, I will, but having the plan decided on going in will help me stay more consistent and also know that I will have a longer walk break every five minutes. The weather looks to be just about perfect in the morning with temps in the 40s, clear sky and just a very light breeze.

Till Next Time...Keep Moving Forward!!!