Okay, so when last I posted a note, I was neck deep in training for a May 7th half marathon. I didn't run it quite as quickly as I had hoped as of March 30, but I still ran it faster than I had been training.
2:08:30.
I was glad to break 10 minute miles. But an interesting thing happened. I took the next week off to recover, but also took a break from eating right. Suddenly, I put on some real weight. But I am back on the beam. I have run the past 3 days, getting in shape for a 3.5 mile "fun run" in New York City next month. I have been training slowly, just trying to figure out how to run such a race (start fast? Finish strong?). I have watched my times come down pretty quickly. First running a 3.5 mile run in 35 minutes, then 33, then 31:55 tonight. My hope is to get below 30 minutes, and see if I can push it lower than that.
More importantly, it is important to keep eating better, even if it means enjoying some bad stuff from time to time. Gotta get my weight down to 230, to 220, and even to 210. I have a ways to go, but I have a lot of reasons to be sure that I am lighter.
I wanted to congratulate my fellow BBR's for completing the half marathon, and doing such a great job! I am very impressed, and I have a great reason to keep pushing on my running and weight loss.
Thanks guys.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
A new strategy?
I recently ran into a gentleman whom I have worked with in the past. He commented on the fact that I looked like I had lost a few pounds. So naturally, he is someone I will remember in this year's holiday cards.
Anyway, I mentioned to him I was running, and was getting in shape to run a half-marathon in May. He suggested that in his prior trainings for marathons (I didn't even know he was a runner!!!) he used to use a training technique to get ready for long runs, of running 8 minutes, and walking 1. He would use that 1 minute break getting water on the runs. After 10 miles or so, he said that an energy bar was a good idea.
So I have been trying this approach. Last weekend I ran about 9 miles, and I didn't feel good AT ALL. But I tried it again a couple of days ago, and I actually felt great. I only did about 5 miles, but I can really see this being a strategy to help me in my quest to finish this race, and feel good about myself.
The weather finally has been improving lately, so I have gotten out a bunch more lately. I still would prefer 60 degrees to 50, but I will take it for now. I just really want to be in a groove by late April, and I think I am going to try to spend the rest of this coming month just getting my confidence up about this race.
The other big-boned runners are all over the map at this point. One in Baltimore, one in Bermuda. I think I would prefer better temperatures than what it is in Hartford, but at this point, the fact that it isn't 16 degrees out is a bonus. I look forward to getting through this race, and starting to think about a full marathon.
Anyway, I mentioned to him I was running, and was getting in shape to run a half-marathon in May. He suggested that in his prior trainings for marathons (I didn't even know he was a runner!!!) he used to use a training technique to get ready for long runs, of running 8 minutes, and walking 1. He would use that 1 minute break getting water on the runs. After 10 miles or so, he said that an energy bar was a good idea.
So I have been trying this approach. Last weekend I ran about 9 miles, and I didn't feel good AT ALL. But I tried it again a couple of days ago, and I actually felt great. I only did about 5 miles, but I can really see this being a strategy to help me in my quest to finish this race, and feel good about myself.
The weather finally has been improving lately, so I have gotten out a bunch more lately. I still would prefer 60 degrees to 50, but I will take it for now. I just really want to be in a groove by late April, and I think I am going to try to spend the rest of this coming month just getting my confidence up about this race.
The other big-boned runners are all over the map at this point. One in Baltimore, one in Bermuda. I think I would prefer better temperatures than what it is in Hartford, but at this point, the fact that it isn't 16 degrees out is a bonus. I look forward to getting through this race, and starting to think about a full marathon.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Ancillary Benefits
In my first job out of college, I worked as an accountant at a large auditing firm. On one of my engagements, (a small hospital) I learned about the concept of ancillary benefits.
During this whole training effort, I have been reminded of what ancillary benefits can be achieved when making a dedication to health and fitness.
I got up this morning, and got dressed. In the past, I would get to this point in the week, and all of the clothes that fit me, I had already worn. Thursday and Friday typically had been the days to wear the things that I never feel as comfortable in.
Well today I realized that my usual Thursday shirt and pants fit very comfortably, and that my usual belt notch was feeling a bit loose. I went to the next notch. Still a little loose. I went to the next one...but there weren't any more! I got a big smile on my face, because I can now look forward to Thursday and Friday as days where I won't be uncomfortable.
I am planning a long run tonight, and after a couple of efforts this weekend, I am feeling good about my progress towards the 1/2 marathon. I ran 7 miles on Sunday, and did the 6.82 miles in the first hour. If I can get the running up to about 10 miles or more before the race, I am going to feel prepared.
During this whole training effort, I have been reminded of what ancillary benefits can be achieved when making a dedication to health and fitness.
I got up this morning, and got dressed. In the past, I would get to this point in the week, and all of the clothes that fit me, I had already worn. Thursday and Friday typically had been the days to wear the things that I never feel as comfortable in.
Well today I realized that my usual Thursday shirt and pants fit very comfortably, and that my usual belt notch was feeling a bit loose. I went to the next notch. Still a little loose. I went to the next one...but there weren't any more! I got a big smile on my face, because I can now look forward to Thursday and Friday as days where I won't be uncomfortable.
I am planning a long run tonight, and after a couple of efforts this weekend, I am feeling good about my progress towards the 1/2 marathon. I ran 7 miles on Sunday, and did the 6.82 miles in the first hour. If I can get the running up to about 10 miles or more before the race, I am going to feel prepared.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Losing Weight--A Sobering Experience
As I have mentioned here a few times, I am in a raging...er, tepid challenge with the big boned runners in our attempts to lose weight, and get in shape for MARATHON DAY (1/8/2008) and beyond. I have stalled out here a little in the 235-240 range. Which is surprising in some ways, and not so surprising in others.
The surprising part is that my running times, and strength have increased. I ran 6.78 miles without stopping in one hour. I felt great (although pretty tired the next day!). I will run again tomorrow, and probably do another 4-5 miles or so.
The not so surprising part is the fact that my bad eating habits are starting to creep back into my lifestyle. I have been slowly re-introducing chocolate, coca-cola, and, more recently, pizza back into the ol' diet.
My hope is that by getting it out here on the blog, that I can re-focus my attention on eating well, and exercising, to get back to the weight loss trail. Until I lose at least another 10 lbs, I won't feel like I have really accomplished what I have set out to do.
With the weather improving (albeit only slightly), and daylight savings coming in early March, I think my days of treadmill running may soon be at an end. I am actually looking forward to some scenery while I run, although I am still anxious about the cold weather exercise. Still, if I am going to make it on a 13.1 mile run in just two months (see prior posts to understand more fully my obsession with numbers and timeframes), I had better spend some time pounding the real pavement, and not just the treadmill belt.
Anyway, I am starting to face another concern. I haven't really found any new music lately to inspire me to new running heights. My prior favorites (Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Phish, Yes) have done little to inspire me to run faster. I am going to have to seek other avenues of inspiration. I am listening, if people have suggestions...
The surprising part is that my running times, and strength have increased. I ran 6.78 miles without stopping in one hour. I felt great (although pretty tired the next day!). I will run again tomorrow, and probably do another 4-5 miles or so.
The not so surprising part is the fact that my bad eating habits are starting to creep back into my lifestyle. I have been slowly re-introducing chocolate, coca-cola, and, more recently, pizza back into the ol' diet.
My hope is that by getting it out here on the blog, that I can re-focus my attention on eating well, and exercising, to get back to the weight loss trail. Until I lose at least another 10 lbs, I won't feel like I have really accomplished what I have set out to do.
With the weather improving (albeit only slightly), and daylight savings coming in early March, I think my days of treadmill running may soon be at an end. I am actually looking forward to some scenery while I run, although I am still anxious about the cold weather exercise. Still, if I am going to make it on a 13.1 mile run in just two months (see prior posts to understand more fully my obsession with numbers and timeframes), I had better spend some time pounding the real pavement, and not just the treadmill belt.
Anyway, I am starting to face another concern. I haven't really found any new music lately to inspire me to new running heights. My prior favorites (Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin, Phish, Yes) have done little to inspire me to run faster. I am going to have to seek other avenues of inspiration. I am listening, if people have suggestions...
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Feelin' good, but a long way to go...
It's getting towards the end of February. Since my mind works in such mathematical fashion, I keep breaking down my training schedule, my weight, even the winter weather, down into measurable time frames to be "endured". I will give an example:
Winter is about 90 days, or roughly 13 weeks. I began the big running/weight loss effort right around that time. From just before Christmas to just after St. Patrick's day, I expect every day to be freezing, or worse. But this winter, we enjoyed the first 4 of those weeks, reveling in 40+ degree days, and getting multiple chances to get outside. But around January 20Th (or 30 days in), Winter showed up in the northeast, and the temperatures have been as cold as expected ever since. The snow has been unusually tame, though, which has been a bonus.
Anyway, February 4 is the day I look forward to, because it means that we are half way through winter, and each day gets harder for Winter to continue its grasp on frigid temperatures. Yes, we can still get some "deep freeze" days, but things are starting to look more promising. The days are noticeably longer and baseball spring training starts up, among other signs of spring. By now (February 24), we have just under 4 weeks left of winter (24 days to be exact), and my countdown to Spring starts to put a bounce in my step.
I can start to look ahead and plot the remaining weeks (about 11), until the half marathon race in Long Island. I ran on Thursday, and was able to get about 5.25 miles before having to walk and jog the rest of the hour I spent on the treadmill. I went 7+ miles that day. But my goal is to finish the half marathon without stopping, and I have a ways to go to accomplish this feat. With 11 weeks left, and just under 8 more miles to gain on my training, I think I am going to have to get outside to run a few longer runs.
But I just can't seem to get to the point where I can go outside to run in 16 degree weather. My concern is that I don't want to go on a treadmill for longer than an hour, because I don't want to burn out the machine, and I find it terribly boring. But I feel a need to try to go longer than an hour, just to test my will power. I don't want to run in the cold, because it is too cold. But I need a measuring stick of whether I think I can get to 13.1 miles by May.
I haven't even begun to expound upon the desire, or need to lose at least 10 more pounds to be competitive with the "big boned runners" in the weight loss competition. The weight loss should help any pressure on my ankles and knees.
So to tie all of these random thoughts together, my mind keeps bouncing between a whole host of numbers, which are starting to drive me crazy.
24--days left until spring
11:03--number of daylight minutes in a day now (up from just over 9 hours two months ago)
2-3--number of minutes the daylight increases each day.
236--current weight
225--where I need to get, before my friends lose their 30 lbs, so I can win the bet
50--the temperature I am looking for before I will run outside.
60--the time I will spend on a treadmill before ending my training runs.
5.25--longest I have run thus far in my training
4.75--length of the last race I ran
39:41--time it took me last time to run 4.75
7.2--mph, which seems to be the minimum standard time I set on the treadmill for training before stopping to walk/jog.
I guess it is a good thing that I am an accountant for a living. I won't even get into how I plan for tax season, or my investment strategy!
Anyway, the training remains on track for now. I have continued to eat better (as part of my new year's resolution), and while I have not lost a ton of weight in recent weeks, my clothes fit better, my energy is up, and I feel good.
Winter is about 90 days, or roughly 13 weeks. I began the big running/weight loss effort right around that time. From just before Christmas to just after St. Patrick's day, I expect every day to be freezing, or worse. But this winter, we enjoyed the first 4 of those weeks, reveling in 40+ degree days, and getting multiple chances to get outside. But around January 20Th (or 30 days in), Winter showed up in the northeast, and the temperatures have been as cold as expected ever since. The snow has been unusually tame, though, which has been a bonus.
Anyway, February 4 is the day I look forward to, because it means that we are half way through winter, and each day gets harder for Winter to continue its grasp on frigid temperatures. Yes, we can still get some "deep freeze" days, but things are starting to look more promising. The days are noticeably longer and baseball spring training starts up, among other signs of spring. By now (February 24), we have just under 4 weeks left of winter (24 days to be exact), and my countdown to Spring starts to put a bounce in my step.
I can start to look ahead and plot the remaining weeks (about 11), until the half marathon race in Long Island. I ran on Thursday, and was able to get about 5.25 miles before having to walk and jog the rest of the hour I spent on the treadmill. I went 7+ miles that day. But my goal is to finish the half marathon without stopping, and I have a ways to go to accomplish this feat. With 11 weeks left, and just under 8 more miles to gain on my training, I think I am going to have to get outside to run a few longer runs.
But I just can't seem to get to the point where I can go outside to run in 16 degree weather. My concern is that I don't want to go on a treadmill for longer than an hour, because I don't want to burn out the machine, and I find it terribly boring. But I feel a need to try to go longer than an hour, just to test my will power. I don't want to run in the cold, because it is too cold. But I need a measuring stick of whether I think I can get to 13.1 miles by May.
I haven't even begun to expound upon the desire, or need to lose at least 10 more pounds to be competitive with the "big boned runners" in the weight loss competition. The weight loss should help any pressure on my ankles and knees.
So to tie all of these random thoughts together, my mind keeps bouncing between a whole host of numbers, which are starting to drive me crazy.
24--days left until spring
11:03--number of daylight minutes in a day now (up from just over 9 hours two months ago)
2-3--number of minutes the daylight increases each day.
236--current weight
225--where I need to get, before my friends lose their 30 lbs, so I can win the bet
50--the temperature I am looking for before I will run outside.
60--the time I will spend on a treadmill before ending my training runs.
5.25--longest I have run thus far in my training
4.75--length of the last race I ran
39:41--time it took me last time to run 4.75
7.2--mph, which seems to be the minimum standard time I set on the treadmill for training before stopping to walk/jog.
I guess it is a good thing that I am an accountant for a living. I won't even get into how I plan for tax season, or my investment strategy!
Anyway, the training remains on track for now. I have continued to eat better (as part of my new year's resolution), and while I have not lost a ton of weight in recent weeks, my clothes fit better, my energy is up, and I feel good.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
It's Cold Outside!!!
I took the plunge on Friday and signed up for a half-marathon race coming up in a couple of months. This move has kind of scared me for a few reasons.
First, I don't handle cold weather running very well. Even though the race is in May, it could still be one of those cold northeast mornings, where the temperature doesn't get out of the 50's, and starts in the high-thirties.
Second, I am still carrying around about 20-25 more lbs than I should be.
Third, I am concerned about my ability to run 13+ miles without falling apart.
I took the weekend to log about 10 1/4 miles on the treadmill (too cold for running outside this weekend), in an attempt to continue the weight loss. I also wanted to take some time on Saturday to see how far I could go in an hour. I made it just over 6.7 miles (I walked another 5 minutes after that, to get to 7.08 miles in total). That is the one thing about a treadmill. You can get more precise measures of your times and progress. However, there is a lot I don't like about them, including the fact that I don't adjust it for inclines, and I know that is something that is going to kill me, come race day.
I do intend to start going outside, and more to the point, run on some trails that will take me up and down hills. With daylight savings time coming up, I can hopefully get out after work, run, and still get home while it is still light out. And who knows, with a little luck, we may even see some days here where the weather gets above 20 degrees...
I don't know if everyone is like me, but I find that when I run on a treadmill, my mathematical mind starts to go into overdrive. I find my mind playing tricks on me, making small calculations about whether I can push the speed up to 7.3 miles an hour from 7.2, and how that could shave 1 second a minute from my time. I use these little tweaks and adjustments to help me feel like I am making progress. Also, I will look at my mile times, and compare them to previous runs, just to feel like I am getting faster, or stronger.
I do feel like I am in much better shape than on January 1, when I truly made the commitment to do this. I can go about 5 miles without stopping (on Saturday, I did this in about 42 minutes, which is a very good time for me). That's the good news.
The bad news is that I am going to need to go about 13 miles, and I have just a little over 2 months to get there. My thought is that if I can get my weight into the 220's, or perhaps even under that by race day, and I can get myself to a point where I can run about 10 miles without stopping, then perhaps by race day, my excitement, and a little luck can carry me the final 5k.
I did a shorter run today (just a 5k), and just wanted to see if I could run 2 miles in less than 16 minutes. I did it in 15:50, and just walked the rest of the time. It felt good, though, to get that old feeling of speed back.
In the upcoming blogs, I am going to have to write about the joys of losing weight, and the things I am doing to try to keep from falling into bad habits.
First, I don't handle cold weather running very well. Even though the race is in May, it could still be one of those cold northeast mornings, where the temperature doesn't get out of the 50's, and starts in the high-thirties.
Second, I am still carrying around about 20-25 more lbs than I should be.
Third, I am concerned about my ability to run 13+ miles without falling apart.
I took the weekend to log about 10 1/4 miles on the treadmill (too cold for running outside this weekend), in an attempt to continue the weight loss. I also wanted to take some time on Saturday to see how far I could go in an hour. I made it just over 6.7 miles (I walked another 5 minutes after that, to get to 7.08 miles in total). That is the one thing about a treadmill. You can get more precise measures of your times and progress. However, there is a lot I don't like about them, including the fact that I don't adjust it for inclines, and I know that is something that is going to kill me, come race day.
I do intend to start going outside, and more to the point, run on some trails that will take me up and down hills. With daylight savings time coming up, I can hopefully get out after work, run, and still get home while it is still light out. And who knows, with a little luck, we may even see some days here where the weather gets above 20 degrees...
I don't know if everyone is like me, but I find that when I run on a treadmill, my mathematical mind starts to go into overdrive. I find my mind playing tricks on me, making small calculations about whether I can push the speed up to 7.3 miles an hour from 7.2, and how that could shave 1 second a minute from my time. I use these little tweaks and adjustments to help me feel like I am making progress. Also, I will look at my mile times, and compare them to previous runs, just to feel like I am getting faster, or stronger.
I do feel like I am in much better shape than on January 1, when I truly made the commitment to do this. I can go about 5 miles without stopping (on Saturday, I did this in about 42 minutes, which is a very good time for me). That's the good news.
The bad news is that I am going to need to go about 13 miles, and I have just a little over 2 months to get there. My thought is that if I can get my weight into the 220's, or perhaps even under that by race day, and I can get myself to a point where I can run about 10 miles without stopping, then perhaps by race day, my excitement, and a little luck can carry me the final 5k.
I did a shorter run today (just a 5k), and just wanted to see if I could run 2 miles in less than 16 minutes. I did it in 15:50, and just walked the rest of the time. It felt good, though, to get that old feeling of speed back.
In the upcoming blogs, I am going to have to write about the joys of losing weight, and the things I am doing to try to keep from falling into bad habits.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Time to start
This is my first ever message on a blog, so I am not sure how this should read
or look,
or sound,
or generally flow.
Anyway, I was watching one of those news shows on MSNBC, or Headline News, or something, and they had on a doctor who had mentioned that people even 10 pounds over what was considered a "healthy weight" could face significant issues with joint pain, stress on the heart, and even face a risk of diabetes.
I thought to myself, "I wonder what a healthy weight would be for a guy my height and age (6'3", 32 years old). I went to a website that will calculate your ideal weight, and found out that it was about 195 lbs. I also was able to determine that my BMI should be below 25.
Those both seemed reasonable. However, I sat at the computer, knowing that I was 255 lbs, with a BMI of 31.9. These both put me in the obese category on the website's meter.
Obese!? I had been about 200 lbs out of college, and had steadily packed on pounds since, working a number of hours in a relatively inactive profession, and making a habit out of vegging out in front of the television after work, and on weekends. But was I obese? Couldn't be. I had to check another website. But site after site told me the same thing.
At that point, I talked to a couple of friends at work, who were both big guys (in fact, they have taken to calling themselves the "big-boned runners". I don't even want to know how they came up with that!). They were at a similar stage in life--married, kids, in their 30's, heavier, and ready to do something about it.
In one of my not-to-bright moments, I offered a three-way wager. The first person to lose 30 lbs would get $30 from both of the others. I think we had all reached a similar conclusion about what we wanted to do for our own health, and I thought this would be a way to keep motivated to lose the weight.
Well, so far, I have dropped 17 lbs, and I am running regularly. But I must say, that finding a couple of people to encourage me, and challenge me the way these guys are doing helps a lot. Despite the success thus far, I am losing the bet. Both of my friends have actually lost more. Fortunately, it is a friendly wager, and we are all really trying to do this for the long haul. Despite the fact that I started at 255, and 225 would be the magic number to win the bet, I really won't feel like I have achieved anything until I can get to about 200 or so, and really make a commitment to staying in shape for life.
One of my friends has convinced us to join him in a half-marathon in May. At this point, I am up to running about 16-18 miles a week, and I can run about 5-6 miles without stopping. I have taken to running on Saturday as far as I can go in an hour. So far I can get about 6.6 miles. Not bad, considering I have to walk/jog the last 15-20 minutes of it. My hope is that I can get up to running about 10 miles without stopping before the race in May.
I haven't really decided yet what I want this blog to do for me, or others foolish enough to read this. But I do hope that as the year goes on here, that the weight and health factors continue to point in a positive direction.
Also, I am curious to see what things will tend to pique my interest during the times I write my future blog entries. I tend to be a creature of habits and patterns. As a freshman in college, I took a test at the Johnson-O'Connor Labs, to help me determine what I was good at (and bad at, for that matter). There were a number of things I wasn't so good at, but one thing they told me was that I was a man of ideas. "you have a ton of ideas..." they told me, "...but that doesn't mean that they are necessarily very good ideas. Just that you have a lot of them...". Perhaps that will bode well for a blog with a lot of random thoughts, insights, and ideas (not many of them good...).
We shall see...
or Body Mass Index was 31.9. The website
or look,
or sound,
or generally flow.
Anyway, I was watching one of those news shows on MSNBC, or Headline News, or something, and they had on a doctor who had mentioned that people even 10 pounds over what was considered a "healthy weight" could face significant issues with joint pain, stress on the heart, and even face a risk of diabetes.
I thought to myself, "I wonder what a healthy weight would be for a guy my height and age (6'3", 32 years old). I went to a website that will calculate your ideal weight, and found out that it was about 195 lbs. I also was able to determine that my BMI should be below 25.
Those both seemed reasonable. However, I sat at the computer, knowing that I was 255 lbs, with a BMI of 31.9. These both put me in the obese category on the website's meter.
Obese!? I had been about 200 lbs out of college, and had steadily packed on pounds since, working a number of hours in a relatively inactive profession, and making a habit out of vegging out in front of the television after work, and on weekends. But was I obese? Couldn't be. I had to check another website. But site after site told me the same thing.
At that point, I talked to a couple of friends at work, who were both big guys (in fact, they have taken to calling themselves the "big-boned runners". I don't even want to know how they came up with that!). They were at a similar stage in life--married, kids, in their 30's, heavier, and ready to do something about it.
In one of my not-to-bright moments, I offered a three-way wager. The first person to lose 30 lbs would get $30 from both of the others. I think we had all reached a similar conclusion about what we wanted to do for our own health, and I thought this would be a way to keep motivated to lose the weight.
Well, so far, I have dropped 17 lbs, and I am running regularly. But I must say, that finding a couple of people to encourage me, and challenge me the way these guys are doing helps a lot. Despite the success thus far, I am losing the bet. Both of my friends have actually lost more. Fortunately, it is a friendly wager, and we are all really trying to do this for the long haul. Despite the fact that I started at 255, and 225 would be the magic number to win the bet, I really won't feel like I have achieved anything until I can get to about 200 or so, and really make a commitment to staying in shape for life.
One of my friends has convinced us to join him in a half-marathon in May. At this point, I am up to running about 16-18 miles a week, and I can run about 5-6 miles without stopping. I have taken to running on Saturday as far as I can go in an hour. So far I can get about 6.6 miles. Not bad, considering I have to walk/jog the last 15-20 minutes of it. My hope is that I can get up to running about 10 miles without stopping before the race in May.
I haven't really decided yet what I want this blog to do for me, or others foolish enough to read this. But I do hope that as the year goes on here, that the weight and health factors continue to point in a positive direction.
Also, I am curious to see what things will tend to pique my interest during the times I write my future blog entries. I tend to be a creature of habits and patterns. As a freshman in college, I took a test at the Johnson-O'Connor Labs, to help me determine what I was good at (and bad at, for that matter). There were a number of things I wasn't so good at, but one thing they told me was that I was a man of ideas. "you have a ton of ideas..." they told me, "...but that doesn't mean that they are necessarily very good ideas. Just that you have a lot of them...". Perhaps that will bode well for a blog with a lot of random thoughts, insights, and ideas (not many of them good...).
We shall see...
or Body Mass Index was 31.9. The website
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