FitBy40

OutofHibernation Race

Ran my first 5k yesterday.  I was hoping to finish the race in under 35 minutes.  I have not seen the official results yet but the time I saw when I crossed the finish line was 30:16.  I was very pleased although I cant help but think I could have finished under 30.  In any case the race gives me a baseline for future races.

A word about the race.  First I will never consider myself a runner.  I just don't feel or look like one.  I will admit that I was intimidated when I arrived at the race scene.  Everyone there looked like a runner even the kids and "older folks".  I was in my painting shorts and whatever shirt I grabbed out of the drawer.  I must have looked like the "Family Guy".  I also am pretty sure I was the biggest guy there.  I honestly thought I might come in last place.  Thankfully I didn't.

I am 100% sure that the Nike Treadmill Training program I used helped me a lot.  One of the things that this training program does is teach you to maintain speed up hills.  I passed a lot of people on the hills.  Below is a look at my pace for the race.  I was shocked when I saw it....virtually flat.

Overall I had a lot of fun.  I am looking forward to the next challenge!

Outdoor Run

Yesterday I ran outside for the first time. Two things I noticed about running outside 1. It seemed harder 2. I ran faster. One things for sure is that I was sore the moment I got back to my doorstep. I am still sore today. I look forward to getting back on my cushy treadmill but i wanted to run outside once before next weeks 5k. Here are the details of yesterday's run:

Still at it

I am still at it although I've lost my zest to post about it.  I am down 15 and still running.  I've changed my running style this month to more of an interval type training.  I am burning calories a lot quicker this way.  I'll be back soon with more details.

Back at it

I was back on the treadmill after a couple of days off.  I am suffering some sort of leg injury that I am pretty sure I injured playing basketball.  Instead of doing a long run I did some interval and hill training.  I will see how it reacts tomorrow.  We have 2 basketball games coming Tuesday so I am hoping that it will feel good. We had a good weekend from an eating perspective.  Today we went exclusively raw.  It actually wasn't bad but it's definitely not something we will do longterm. 

35th Day

Just over a month has completed.  The BIG race with Valdez was lost :-(  The good news is that he pushed me to run farther than I ever would have imagined in 1 month.  In fact I ran almost 85 miles.  35 Days ago I couldn't run 1 mile.  Now the details of the race are as follows.  First, I set up the race and for some unknown reason I set it to end on the 30th, in my mind I thought it ended on the 31st. My main foe in the race saved up his biggest race for the 30th and ran over 11 miles to put him about 5 miles ahead of me.  All that I had to do was run 5+ miles on the 31st and I would win.  the problem was I had run for 5 straight days, long runs (for me) and after my run on Sunday my body was burnt.  So in the spirit of full disclosure even if the race ended on the 31st I needed a day off which meant conceding the 5 miles.  Oh well.  We have set up to do it all over again in April.  This time he is mine!

Here is the final results (it's missing the 4.25 I ran on Sunday)

Wendy and I are experimenting with some new eating plans.  We found a RAW diet which is basically eating all raw fruits and vegetables.  It's too hard core to adopt 100% but we are trying to mix it in with general healthy living.  I am pretty sure that the RAW diet prevents one from drinking the beverage know as beer so I ruled it out.  I also feel like any diet that eliminates you from eating some things you like will fail.  This is why I am trying to loose it slow.  I can have a bad day  (easter, birthdays parties etc.) and still make progress in a week.

As for the weight I shed a few more pounds.  I am averaging 2.5 pounds per week.

Last day of the race

1 Day to go.  I am about 5 miles behind.  I had the lead for about a day and the SOB ran over 11 miles yesterday.  The problem is in order for me to take that brief lead I ran 7,6,6,5 and 4 miles on consecutive days.  Yesterday my body said enough!  I could hardly move all day. Not much better today.  Concede or push it  ONE MORE TIME?  I will be debating that throughout the day. (my foe doesn't usually run on consecutive days. 

Weigh in tomorrow.  With all this running I will be shocked if I don't drop a few more pounds.

Updates

Well today is the 30 day mark.  Total weight loss is 10 pounds but I have to tell you it feels like more.  My motivation is still very high and I am looking for ways of taking it to the next level.  We are investigating a "Raw Diet".  More to come as we look into it.

As for my physical fitness I have come along way.  My daily run hovers around the 3-4 miles but I have sprinkled in a 7,6 and 5 miler here and there.  The race is very much on as you can see below.  This week alone I have been behind 11 miles, I caught up, went down 10 miles again, then I took the lead by a mile.  As of today I am about 3 miles back.  I am going to step it up for the rest of the month to see if I can win this challenge.  It does appear if my foe from the west coast is equally motivated.

Valdez I'm Coming for Ya!

I am a gadget guy.  One of my favs is the Nike+ iPod kit.  Essentially it is a little doo dad that you put in your sneaker.  When you run it keeps track of pace, mileage, calories, time, and distance and sends the data to your iPod.  After your run you plug it into your computer and it uploads your stats to the Nike+ website.  One of the fun aspects of this is you can join or create challenges with other people.  This month I created a challenge for men over 250lbs.  As you can see below I am behind by about 8 miles.  I really want to beat this guy in front of me.  The point of this is that this technology is motivating me to run more.  So Valdez22-I am coming for ya!  Click the picture to enlarge.

Down 9

The total weight loss for 3 weeks stands at 9 pounds.  Still going strong.  I ran 5 miles the other day and feel myself getting in better shape.  I played hoop last night and felt strong throughout the game.  Clothes are getting looser all is good. 

I'm Baaack

Great workout today.  4.93 miles ran and some weight training.  The 2 days off not only provided much needed rest but it re-energized me.  I was looking forward to a strong workout all morning.