Six Miles to Go!

Another 3 on the treadmill this lunch-time, plus my attempt to follow the Jared-from-Connecticut diet and I’m feeling good: Only 4 miles to go to hit 80 on the Nike+ for the month, and 84 real miles for the month!

I’ll be honest, I’m kind of amazed that

  1. I’m going to make it; and
  2. I’m not in the slightest burned out.

It was a bit tough the third week of the month, but I think that just proves the old “21 days and it’s a habit” saw.

One of the things that’s helped me is getting over my phobia of the gym, and having a gym available to me both near the house and another one near the office. Plus, having an unbelievably supportive wife always helps.

Looking back through my log on Nike+, I completely blew the 10%/week thing, but haven’t really suffered any physical ill-effects. So, I’m standing by my theory that the mileage increase guidelines are not at all meant for folks who aren’t currently running more than 15-20 miles/week. If you ask me (and you shouldn’t – I’m not a doctor, and this is my opinion only) Run whatever you can, folks, when you’re coming off of the couch – the health benefits of getting off of your butt far outweigh any risks.

I still need to worry much, much more about weight – it’s still inching up, despite the step increase in mileage. But, we’re looking long term – short term (3 month) goal is still to maintain 20 mile/week base with stretch goal to increase to 25 mile/week base. Mid-term (6 month) goal is to get my weight down to 155-160 (~20 to 15 lbs loss) and train for an October marathon (4 hour time goal). Long-term (1 year) goal is to begin to get faster.

Claim the small victories and continue to press onward.

Weekly Update

Hey, so I haven’t been writing much lately.

But I have been running – how great is that?

As of yesterday, I’m sitting at like 64 miles for the month on Nike+, which means upwards of 68 miles running total – completely within the range of hitting 80+ miles for the month.

The legs are feeling good, and I’ve been doing calisthenics again – got the pullup bar, and situps. Still cannot bring myself to do pushups regularly. Dunno why, guess I need Marines shouting at me to truly get me motivated to push the earth off its axis.

It’s way cold up here today. I kind of blew it this week – there were two or three GREAT, sunny, and warm(ish) days this week, but I sat on the treadmill. Shame, shame – sure, but I’m all about getting in the habit of getting in the daily run – we’ll worry about quality later in the year.

The garage is my next big project – the basement is clean, the workshop is in order, and if I can get the garage under control, things are  very, very good.

More freakin’ doping

Man, how deep does the rabbit hole go? The worst bit is that Tom “Boom Boom” Boonen is implicated through association with the team.

“I wanted to finish my career in style, which pushed me to not play the game honestly,” said Museeuw.

… An anonymous team rider reportedly told the newspaper of organized doping and recreational drug use, which he said is able to flourish because the team is helped by informant at the UCI who allegedly warned of impending drug tests.“

Quick Step fielding more allegations

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What a difference a week makes!

So, as you may recall, I had a rough run last weekend. Proving that I can’t learn from experience, I headed out on the same loop Sunday afternoon, with the temperatures somewhere in the 20s.

Actually, I didn’t head out intending to run the same loop. My general idea was to do the 5-ish mile loop down to River Road, and back via Old Mystic – out of the wind, and a kind and gentle loop. Mostly I was heading out to make sure I wasn’t falling way behind in my Nike+ New Year’s resolution.

Anyway, I crested Cow Hill coming from my house, straight over the hill, figuring that it’d be best to get the hard stuff out of the way immediately. And I felt good, even though my toes were blocks of ice, and the wind was stinging my face.

So, when I came down to Bindloss Road, I didn’t head downhill to River Road, but said “Hey, why not at least run to the next cross-road, and add another half-mile or so?” And I felt good, felt a flush on my face, and unzipped the top inch or so on my softshell.

And when I passed Starr Street, I said “Hey, why not run down to the Baptist Church, and see what’s cookin’ on Main Street?” And I wiggled my toes, and they were warm.

And, as I ran down Main Street, taking in the early evening, taking in the waning light, the air, and the view up the valley mirrored in the stillness of the river, I said “Let’s do the loop.” And I crossed the drawbridge.

On the backside, I made a conscious effort to keep the pace down, and my heart and breathing under control, and finished the 7.2 mile loop without worry.

The downer, though, was that when I stopped the iPod, Lance Armstrong said in my ears “Wow, that was an amazing workout! You really burned a lot of calories!” Which, to my ears, sounded like “Yeah, lard-butt, if you weren’t carrying all that extra weight, you might really be a runner…” Plus, it also sounded like permission for wings and beer while I watched the Pats lose.

Outside

Had a delightful run outside yesterday lunchtime – really made my day.

I’ve been avoiding the out-of-doors lately, mostly out of weenie-ness, but yesterday I sucked it up and headed outside, and was happy I did.

It was chilly, and the wind was blowing, but somehow just seeing the wind, waves, and earth made everything seem better. I ran at what seemed a slow pace, trying not to push, but Nike+ told me it was 3.25 miles of 8:11 – which is not so shabby.

The scale’s still depressing me somewhat – still well into the 170’s, but at least it’s not going up any more.