Countdown to St George

Good run

2009-07-06T23:59:00.001-07:00

Ran 3 miles in just under 30 min... felt pretty good.

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-06T23:56:00.000-07:00

Fun day. Started out at the Danville parade, napped at the Proctors, BBQ at the Hoxies, fireworks back at our place, put the kids to bed, then finally made it to the gym for my run at 11 pm. I was scheduled for 7, but only made it 6.2 - but it was still a good night. Hammys are tight, extra ice.

Bad day for running.

2009-07-03T23:50:00.000-07:00

My wife was up sick all night... yuck. After letting her sleep in for a while, I had to venture out to Lowes for wood to build shelves. 8 hours and three rooms full of shelves later, I was beat. I thought I had it in me, but only made it 1.5 miles before I was toast.

7 miles tomorrow? We'll see how that goes...

4 on the treadmill

2009-07-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

I took a trip to the podiatrist today. My ankle has been bugging me for about a year, so I thought I would get a second opinion. I started going to physical therapy for my knee last year (tendinitis of the patella tendon), I just focused on solving that problem and have just dealt with my knee. I've always known I had somewhat flat feet (thanks mom!), and when I got my new shoe the salesman said my ankle pain was probably related to my flat feet/pronation. Sure enough, that seems to be the problema. I'm hoping some custom orthodics will help prevent bunions and hammer toes down the road. The Dr also prescribed me some topical anti-inflamitory, so we'll see if that helps any.

Anyhoo... I ran 4 miles on the treadmill tonight, it felt pretty good. Maybe if a car drove in front of me for the entire marathon, I could watch a couple of movies and the race would be over in a jiffy!

Lunchtime run

2009-06-30T15:44:00.001-07:00

Pier 39 and back w/ a high five to Monica as we crossed paths along the way.

Saturday

2009-06-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

Ran 5.3 miles on the Iron Horse Trail. I was passed by old men, a guy with a cast, Sammy Hagar, and a guy doing some type of walking yoga.

As soon as I was done running, I went and helped a family move. Long morning.

Very tired... must... go... run

2009-06-26T15:20:00.001-07:00

Long day. Very tired.
We got home after a crappy softball game and I was not in the mode to run. It was late and we had to put the kids down. I didn't want to run, and it was 11pm before I finally made it down to the treadmill. I ran 3 miles in about 32 minutes, but according to my new pedometer I ran 3.25 - ha! Looks like I need to redo the calibration.

When I got home, I stretched & iced my knee and ankle... then couldn't fall asleep until about 1:45 am... lame.

Once again, thanks to my beautiful wife for encouraging me to run.

New sneaks

2009-06-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

I got new sneaks last night - New Balance 850-ST. I went to Fleet Feet and got my foot/step/run analyze and they brought me 3 shoe options. Of course the ones that feel the best are the most expensive ($115). I realized the Nikes I had been using were completely wrong for my flat feet. I must say, they did feel a lot better than the old ones as I took them on their maiden run today.

Lunchtime run #1

2009-06-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

I got my run on at lunch today... office to Pier 39 and back to the office.

It was only 3.6 miles, but the fierce headwind made it more like 12 miles. The wind probably wasn't that bad, but I am- a) not use to running mid-day, and 2) not use to the bay winds. None the less, it felt good.

Back on it

2009-06-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

3 miles tonight... down to Lowes & back was the route tonight. I was jammin' the first 1.25 & the last.75... but in between was run - walk - run - walk.

Not sure if it is because I missed my Saturday run or what, but today was a little tough. My friend at work said running on a treadmill is easier than running outside, so maybe that is what it was.

lazy j

2009-06-21T10:24:00.001-07:00

I am a slacker... week one and I already skipped a day. I need to get used to the lifestlye changes. Baby back ribs two hours before a planned run = bad idea.

BAM!

2009-06-19T22:42:00.001-07:00

3 miles without stopping.

It's not so much the 3 miles part as it is the without stopping part. I know it isn't much, but it felt pretty good (especially after Wednesdays run-walk-run-walk session). I didn't want to run, but Beck kicked my but so I would go (thanks sweetie-poo!).

We'll see how tomorrow goes, the chart says 5 miles...

Blah

2009-06-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

So, I need to figure out this whole "when to eat" thing. I ate around 7:15 pm and didn't go running until 9:45 pm, but I still felt like I had a rock in my gut. I probably just need to figure out a better diet.

My program had me down for 4 miles today. My shoes traveled 4 miles, but I can't say I ran the entire way. I am guessing I ran 3 - 3.25 miles, while walking the other .75 - 1 mile. It was partially due to the enchilada & rice sitting in my stomach, but I'll give some credit to the fact that I'm still not in very good shape. It was a breezy 55 degrees tonight when I left, but I had my jogging suit on so I still worked up a good sweat. I had to dodge a bunch of sprinklers. I thought about sticking my head over the bushes for a little refresher, but saw the signs that said "Do Not Drink, Reclaimed Water" (Beck, if you wake up one morning and I have a horrible rash on my face, you'll know why).

I am hoping that after another week or so these 3-4 mile runs will be easier.

Day 1

2009-06-15T23:44:00.000-07:00

I had an interesting start to the training program this morning. I set my alarm for 5:00 am and hit snooze for about 45 minutes (love you honey). I got dressed and headed down to the gym. I remember having that empty/I need food feeling in my stomach but thought nothing of it. Punched in the info on the treadmaster 2000 and starting running 6 mph, 7 mph, 8 mph, 8.5 mph... as I approached the 1 mile mark I started to get thirsty and was getting a bit of a dry mouth (note to self- get a water bottle). I told myself 'as soon as I hit one mile, I will jump off and get a drink of water then jump back on.' Bad idea. As soon as I drank water I immediately felt nauseous. I went outside and sat down for a few minutes, then start to walk around. Still felt like poo. After about ten minutes, I went outside and tried to jog around the building but wasn't feeling it. I told myself I'd try again this evening. Was it the empty stomach? Too fast too soon? Who knows, probably a bit of both.

Believe it or not, I did make it back down to the gym for a second go at day 1 training. I took a bottle of G2 (Gatorade low cal) and headed down the stairs. I jumped back on the treadmill and decided to take it a little slower this time. 6 mph is good enough for day 1, right? So I did 2.33 miles at a 10 min mile pace tonight. Combine that with the mile from this morning and that makes 3.33 miles (that's right, I am an overachiver- kinda?).

Now, a little preventative ice for my bum knee.

The pain begins... Tomorrow

2009-06-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

I've thought about it for a while and I finally signed up. Many people have asked me why, and I really don't have a good answer. All I can say is it's something I've always wanted to do.

My pre-program training could have been better, but it is what it is. Tomorrow I begin my 16 week marathon training program begins. I just checked the marathon website, and I have 110 days 8 hours and 43 minutes to prepare. A few of my buddies are planning on running as well- Matt Brown (aka the Big Brown Bear/the Big Brown Captian) and Scott Paul Sabey (aka the Sabercat/the Pizza Delivery man) but they aren't local so I am training on my own.

I'm the heaviest I've ever been (221 lbs.) and assume this training combined with wiser eating habits will help me get back to my opening day weight from back when I played in the minors (ie, intramurals).

I plan on writing every day I run in hopes to stay motivated. I don't expect anybody to read my posts, but if you are and have any advice, please share.

It will be hard, there will be pain.