Day 58, 307 To Go

February 27, 2013

As we approach the end of the month, I find myself getting bored with my routine and I am using my runs to try to come up with something new.  As it is, I run the same route every day.  I live in a gated community and I am at the end of the street, so I really only have one way to go.  I supposed I could drive somewhere to go for a run, but normally, my time is precious and I have to escape for my 15 minutes anyway.

So, what do you do to spice up your runs?

There are a few things you can do like speed work or running hills.  Unfortunately for me, while I am only running 15 minutes, speed work is out of the question because I need 10 minutes to warm up and that only leave me with 5 left.  And hills?  I live in Florida.  The only hills here are ant hills and if you try to run on those, you will regret it.  Bitches are vicious!

So, I tend to get my variety through music.  Or lately, talk.  I found an ESPN app and I can listen to my favorite shows from up north like the Michael Kay show.  He is the Yankee announcer and he talks a lot of Yankees.  Since baseball is back, it piques my interest!

But is that enough?  No, I don't think so.

Honey was running with me more earlier in the year, but now, not so much.  My pleas of "Honey, honey, let's go for a run" are going unanswered.  What's a lonely runner to do?

Suck it up and stop bitching!

Ok, I will...but I will not stop trying to come up with interesting ideas on my runs.  Soon, I will be increasing my runs to 20 minutes and if I really want to get faster, I'll need to do a couple of longer runs during the week.  This will put a lot of stress on my body, but I'm hoping it is getting used to it by now.  I do feel like I can run 15 minutes a day for the whole year without issue now.  Almost time to get serious!

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.66 miles

Pace: 9:04/m

Max Pace: 7:56/m

Calories: 213

Avg HR: 133

Max HR: 148

A little faster today.  I am feeling good.  Bring it on!

Run for life!

Day 57, 308 To Go

February 26, 2013

I'm back to work and back to my normal schedule.  Another thing that is back.

Fat.

I gained  6 pounds over the weekend.  Seriously.  That's 2 pounds a day.  If I went away for two weeks, I'd come back 28 pounds heavier at that rate.

I can assure you, though, if I gained 28 pounds on a vacation that it was a GREAT vacation!

However, it is still not a good thing.  This begs the question, "How do you go on vacation and enjoy yourself yet stay healthy?"

The answer is, "You can't.  Just give up and enjoy your vacation."

Seriously, that is really the only answer.  It isn't hopeless though.  There are things you can do before and after to lessen the blow of coming home to tighter pants and unflattering glances in the mirror.

Chances are if you are getting away, unless you are going skiing, you are getting away somewhere warm where you want to be in your bikini (I look great in a bikini, by the way...oh wait...Honey looks great in a bikini!) So, you already have the right idea.  You go on a diet.  This is a good idea.  I'm not talking about some fad diet or some crazy diet where you take in only fluids or you just eat Special K or you take those weight loss drugs that keep getting banned by the government because they kill people.  No, I mean a normal diet where you just take in less calories over a period of time.

Sound too simple?  It is.

A pound consists of 3,500 calories.  If you want to lose a pound, you need to consume 3,500 calories less than you usually do.  Say, over a week?  If you are really motivated, you can try to lose two pounds in a week...but any more than that and you are going to lose muscle and you will just end up hurting yourself over the long run.  Muscle burns calories...the more muscle you have the more calories you burn in a day.  Lose muscle, and your metabolism slows down and you end up gaining more weight than you lost.

This is the endless cycle of dieting that many go through.

Start a food diary.  They have a ton online and if you have a smart phone, you can do it on there.  I use Lose It! and when I do, I lose weight.  When I don't, I gain.  The simple step of writing down what you eat has the affect of making you eat less.  And the app makes it so easy. 

So, I am back on the app and back on my diet.  Now, I am not overweight and I never have been, but at 40, I have to fight to stay at a weight I am comfortable at.  It only gets harder every year, so I have to work harder.  It is a lifestyle decision.  Is it one you can make too?

Here are my numbers:
Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.62 miles

Pace: 9:17/m

Max Pace: 8:11/m

Calories: 206

Avg HR: 133

Max HR: 148

I have some work to do over the next few weeks so I can get back to a good race weight.  I have about 10lbs to go.  That should take me about 10 weeks.  Not enough time to lose what I want before my race, but I'll have to live with it.

I don't regret it though...I enjoyed every bite and I'll do it again.  I'll also diet again.  And so it goes...

Run for life!

Day 56, 309 To Go

February 25, 2013

So, it's Monday and I don't have to work.  That means this week, Monday is my favorite day of the week!  On top of that, I am waking up in a sweet hotel next to my love, Honey, and we are in a comfy, plush bed too boot!

Excuse me a minute...

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, it's time for some Disney!  We checked out and made our way to Disney (by way of a McDonald's breakfast) and we ended up at The Animal Kingdom!

We went straight for the new ride, Expedition Everest!  It was awesome!!  We went on a couple of times...once in the front and once in the back.  The last seat was intense!!  We went on another coaster, some silly thing that goes around and around and that didn't make us feel too good.  We decided to leave The Animal Kingdom and we made our way over to Epcot!  We checked out the big golf ball ride first then went over to Mission Space!

This is still one of my favorite rides, but I am getting too old to go around and around.  Honey didn't like it at all and she was feeling a bit woozy afterwards, so we got something to eat and decided to call it a day, but not after we got rained on!  We were soaked!

We made a stop at a local Brazilian supermarket so Honey could get a taste of home.  Then it was time to go home and see our family again!

We had a nice reunion with our little Derek and we resisted the temptation to wake up the babies.  You learn early on, NEVER wake up a sleeping baby!  NEVER!

What did I forget?  Oh.  Yeah.  I still have to run!

These are the days that truly test you.  Tired from a late night and a long day, I still had to run.  So, of course, I did.

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.51 miles

Pace: 9:55/m

Max Pace: 8:32/m

Calories: 194

Avg HR: 130

Max HR: 145

Serviceable run.  I trudged my way through it and went home and watch the Oscars.  I still haven't seen Argo yet...guess it should go on my list of things to do! 

I'll leave you with a little video from the concert last night.  Once again, P!nk was awesome.  The woman can sing even when she is doing some crazy stunts.  Enjoy!

Oh...

Run for life!!

 

Day 55, 310 To Go

February 24, 2013

Ah, Sunday...the long run day...

Uh, not today it isn't.  Even if I wanted to, it would be impossible!  I ate a cow.

Today is day two our our exile from the kiddies.  We had a great day planned with a trip to Disney and then to top off our day, the P!nk concert at the Amway Center in Orlando!  Yeah! 

Well, things didn't start off too good.  We got to MGM studios...I think they call it Disney's Hollywood Studio now, but whatever...and our first order of business was to upgrade my ticket to an annual pass.  We did that, but then realized that my upgrade - the same one Honey did last week - was just for the weekday annual pass.

It is Sunday.  Oops...

So, we made a game time decision...we switched things up...we did something that is impossible to do with children.  We improvised!  We upgraded the ticket anyway, and then drove back to International Drive and went for our lunch at Fogo de Chao!  Unlike most Churrascaria restaurants, they serve the same meat at lunch as they do at dinner...and it is cheaper...so why ever go to dinner!

We brought healthy appetites and we ate until our heart's content!  A cow and a half, at least, was devoured by Honey and I!  We were in heaven!

We got out of there mid afternoon and we still had to check into our new hotel for the day.  Check in wasn't until 4:00, so we had some time to kill, so we played miniature golf again.  This time, we played at Pirate's Cove miniature golf.  It was much better and we ended up playing two games.  The best part was that it was right next door to our hotel! 

Honey played a great game the first game and easily kicked my ass!  I couldn't let that slide, so we played a second game, and this time I came out on top.  I even broke par which I'm pretty sure I never did before in mini golf.  I had to turn up the heat to win.

We drove next store after the game and checked into The Castle Hotel and made our way up to our room.  We certainly felt like royalty!  Honey took a quick nap and I...well, I had to go for my run.

With a cow in my belly...

Here are my numbers:
Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.48 miles

Pace: 10:08/m

Max Pace: 7:57/m

Calories: 193

Avg HR: 132

Max HR: 145

Yeah...it was slow and as a bonus, I got to retaste much of my meal as I ran as it would not stay down.  It tasted better the first time around!  That is dedication to my fitness, I tell you!

It does take dedication to exercise when you are on vacation.  I have rarely done it except when I was in Brazil for extended periods of time, but usually, I was still working, so it wasn't really vacation.  Normally, when I am on vacation, I don't do a damn thing.  That is how I like it.  This time, that was not an option, and really, it shouldn't be an option ever.

Exercising is more than just something you do to stay in shape.  It is a lifestyle choice.  It is a choice you make to be healthy.  It is a choice you make to keep yourself in good shape and healthy for life.  Hence, my moniker, run for life.  This is as true on vacation as it is when you are home.  One of the best reasons to keep it up even when you are away is that the hardest part of exercising is starting.  If you stop while you are away, you have to start again, and that doesn't always happen.

Anyway...back to our evening.  P!nk!  Wow...she puts on a great show.  Not only do I enjoy her music, but she has a lot of energy, she actually sings (unlike many so called artists out there) and she does some intense acrobatic stuff all while she sings.  Awesome!  We had great tickets right up front (see pic...Honey's head appears to be cut off...hmmm...next time, I'll get a better pic of her).  I could almost reach out and touch her!  And let me tell you, she is in GREAT shape.  I suppose she has to be to do the athletic stuff she does, but it must take extreme dedication to stay like that while on tour.  I give her a lot of credit.

We got back to our hotel pretty late and we played King and Queen, and went to bed exhausted!  Check out some more pics from the concert below!

Run for life!

 

Day 54, 311 To Go

February 23, 2013

Holy crap, it's Saturday!  I need to wake up, go run, finish packing and get the hell outta Dodge before the Dynamic Duo (that would be the two grandmother's babysitting for me and Honey) change their mind!

So, I snuck out really fast for my Saturday run and came back and showered. 

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.48 miles

Pace: 10:08/m

Max Pace: 8:29/m

Calories: 191

Avg HR: 128

Max HR: 143

Slow, and I suck.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.  That's not that important today.  I'm going for a weekend away with my Honey.  No screaming babies.  No complaining, disobeying four year old.  No work.  Just fun and relaxation!  Sure, we'll miss the little ones.  I know I will and Honey was already crying before we left the house. 

I mean, if you could somehow arrange to go on vacation with your kids and you could guarantee that they would behave, not whine, eat what you served them, they didn't ask for you to buy EVERYTHING, you didn't need to carry 10 extra bags to go anywhere, they thanked you for taking them somewhere special, were polite to everyone, you didn't have to carry them after five minutes of walking and last but not least, they paid their own way...well, then taking your kids on vacation would be awesome!  You could spend time with your family AND have fun at the same time.

Since every person reading this with kids knows that will never happen, I suggest you arrange to go away without your kids!

So, we drove into Orlando and we decided to start our fun at one of the Disney water parks: Typhoon Lagoon (Blizzard Beach was closed for upgrades/repairs).  Honey and I acted like kids and had a blast on the water slides.  We forgot to bring towels, but it was nice and hot so we didn't need them. 

After that we checked into our first hotel and then walked to get something to eat.  We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings (just the start of my horrible weekend of eating).  I had their hottest wings and they were pretty hot, but bearable.  Then we walked to get ice cream and found a sex shop next to the ice cream shop. 

You can just wonder what we bought at the sex shop...

Then we played miniature golf after another long walk down International Drive.  By the time we were done, we were done!  We went back to our hotel and stayed in for the night....yeah, you know what that means... 

Run for life!

Day 53, 312 To Go

February 22, 2013

Its the weekend!  Holla!!!

Yeah, I am so not street, but I still like to say that.

Holla bitches!

Not bitches in reference to women in particular.  I mean everyone.  Holla!

I guess you can tell I'm happy to be off work and one day closer to my mini vacation in Orlando with the Honey.  The bananas are packed, and we are ready for action (see yesterday's blog for a reference to the bananas...)

On the menu for the weekend is some combination of the following in no particular order:

1. Sleep
2. Ooo oooo ahhh ahhh (again, see yesterday's blog for reference)
3. Pink Concert
4. Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse
5. Disney Water park or other Disney park
6. Mini golf
7. Room service
8. Snuggling with my Honey with no interruptions
9. Frequent, frantic calls home to check in on the babies
10. "Dodge the Tourist" runs on International Drive (with or without Honey?  Time will tell)

I think that about sums up our little excursion.  I will not be blogging while I am away, so I'll have some catching up to do when I get back.  At least I am all caught up now.

Today's run started out easy and then I picked it up once I got loose.  I wasn't 100% comfortable, but nothing that would stop me from pushing.  My heart rate inched out of the aerobic zone for a bit so I dropped my pace a bit and eased it on home.

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.70 miles

Pace: 8:49/m

Max Pace: 7:32/m

Calories: 218

Avg HR: 141

Max HR: 154

I hope you all have a great weekend and I hope that the predicted snowstorm up in the Northeast fizzles out.  I can imagine that it is still a mess up there and you certainly don't need any more of that white stuff.  Spring is right around the corner and baseball along with it.  Yeah, I'm a big fan.  Go Yankees!!

Run for life!

Day 52, 313 To Go

February 21, 2013

Ah, freedom at last.  Freedom from guilt, that is.  Honey even came out for the run today.  Personally, I think she was just trying to keep an eye on me because she was worried about me (unnecessarily, of course).

I think she just wants to make sure I am in tip top shape for our weekend away from the babies coming up.  I don't blame her.  Of course, often these trips away from your kids end up being a non stop sleep fest.  My plan is a bit more, can I say, animal?

Yes.  I'm talking about wild, monkey sex. Swinging from the chandelier, breaking the headboard, complaints to the manager...monkey sex.  You heard it here.

And, yes, probably a lot of sleep too.  Hopefully more monkey than sleep.  And lots of room service too.  Now if I can just find someone to foot the bill, I'm set!

How will I run, you may ask?  Well, at least one of the hotels we are staying at has a gym.  Yeah, we are staying at two separate hotels because of scheduling issues.  On the other hand, I don't see why I can't play "dodge the tourist" with a run down International Drive.  I used to do that all the time when I lived in Hawaii and I would run down Kalakaua Drive in Waikiki.  It adds a technical aspect to your run with all the dodging and ducking.  Add to that the occasional running over of a tourist or their precious little child, and you are not in a foot race to escape from an angry father.  Luckily, most tourists are fat and slow.

Here are the numbers for today:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.19 miles

Pace: 12:38/m

Max Pace: 10:25/m

Calories: 127

Avg HR: 102

Max HR: 112

I felt better than yesterday and I think I am ready to open it up a bit tomorrow.

Run for life!

Day 51, 314 To Go

February 20, 2013

Day two of my doctor advised ban from running went better than day one.  I ran, of course, but I felt much less pain and I was able to run a little faster.

What do doctor's know anyway?  They only go to pre-med for four years, and med school for another four and probably a couple more years to get some more training and then some years as an intern then you add in all their experience working as a doctor...um...that comes to like hundred's of years of practice and knowledge (you may want to check my math). 

So, I probably should have listened but it would have gotten in the way of my goal.  Please don't follow my example.  ; o )

Another thing you shouldn't do...if you are given pain killers and you aren't in pain, don't take the pain killers.  Even if they are reallllly good.  I took them...twice...and when I emerged from la la land, I was exhausted.  The side effects aren't always too pretty: headache, dizziness (the good kind though), trouble urinating (that was annoying) and an inability to give a crap about anything.  I can see why they are addictive.  I've put them in a safe place until I am actually in pain (no guarantees on that part!)

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.23 miles

Pace: 12:12/m

Max Pace: 10:57/m

Calories: 148

Avg HR: 109

Max HR: 117

Not as horrible as yesterday.  I'm hoping tomorrow is better. I'll be free to run without the guilt of disobeying my doctor and without Honey giving me the evil eye.  Life is good.

Run for life!

Day 50, 315 To Go

February 19, 2013

Day 50!  Yay! 

And how did I celebrate my 50th day running in a row?  By ignoring my doctor and running when he told me not to!

Yay!

Sure, I tell you all the time to listen to your body and to not do anything that will cause you to be injured longer than you may already be.  So, that is what I did.  My body told me I could run (it kind of lied) and my injury, if you can call it that, is not related to running at all.  So, I ran.

You'll see by my numbers that you can hardly call it running.  I could speed walk faster than that.  However, I felt I had not choice.  I HAD to run.  It was day 50, for Zeus' sake!

So, I had a minor medical procedure done today.  It was an outpatient procedure that required a stitch or two.  No big deal.  And no, I'm not giving any details, so don't ask!

Needless to say, it was a difficult run.  It didn't hurt exactly, but I was tentative since I did not want to tear my stitches.  So of course, I ran a bit awkwardly.  Since it was a short, slow run, I wasn't too worried about hurting myself by altering my running form.  That is an issue if you have an injury. Say you have a sore calf muscle or a sore knee.  If you run, you will tend to alter your running form to deal with the pain.  This tends to cause you to injure other parts of your body.  I suppose I was at risk of that today.

Oops.

I should also mention that Honey was dead set against me running and she made her feelings known.  Her continued silence indicates that she did not approve of my decision to run anyway.  Sorry Honey!!

But, as you know, I always end my blog the same way, and my many followers (that was indeed sarcasm) would be disappointed if I did not run.

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.11 miles

Pace: 13:29/m

Max Pace: 11:16/m

Calories: 98

Avg HR: 102

Max HR: 111

Yuck!  Tomorrow I have to take it easy too...but on Friday, I'm back!

Run for life!

Day 49, 316 To Go

February 18, 2013

I was pleasantly surprised tonight when I went out for my run.  I felt pretty good.  Why?  Well, I'm glad you asked.

Foam Roller.

Never heard of it?  Well, you are in for a treat.  Go online and...I guess you are already online if you are reading this...go to a new browser window...uh, after you are done reading the whole blog and becoming a follower...so go to a new browser window and do some research.

Here is a nice starting point: Foam Roller Exercises

The Foam Roller is mainly a tool you can use for self massage.  Not the comfortable, relaxing massage you get when you are at the spa.  No, this is more like the one time you decided to go to for a sports massage and you were gripping the table like you were getting an deep, penetrating colonoscopy from Bertha the Nurse after she had a bad day.  How bad?  Well, go get a sport's massage and you'll know what I am talking about.

So, why use a Foam Roller then?  Because it really isn't all that bad.  You control the pressure with your body weight and the Foam Roller provides the surface that gives you the massage.  You can massage your glutes, your hamstrings, your calves, your back, your quads and a host of other body parts.  You'll be surprised how a couple of minutes on each part can make a difference.

I used it today about an hour before my run on my calves, quads, hamstrings and lower back.  By the time I went for my run, I was nicely loosened up (no colon jokes necessary here...)

Add to that the fact that I was listening to my new favorite band, Twelve Foot Ninja, and I had a good pace going without much discomfort.  I have noticed that my right calf is a bit sore, so I may use the Foam Roller again tonight. 

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.66 miles

Pace: 9:04/m

Max Pace: 7:57/m

Calories: 212

Avg HR: 133

Max HR: 146

The music made me run a bit faster.  If you are into quirky, hard rock, you'll love them.  If you like Justin Bieber and Niki Minaj, go fuck yourself I feel sorry for you.

Run for life!

Day 48, 317 To Go

February 17, 2013

Sunday is here again and almost gone again too.  It is in the evening and I am resting with my Honey getting ready to watch a movie and the Walking Dead!  Nothing like some blood and gore to prepare me for work the next day.

Today the original plan was to do some more triathlon training, but since it was near 40 degrees this morning and it didn't get much past 50 all day, we decided to be lazy (and warm) and skip the torture.  I did, however, get out for my long run.  Since I was not all tuckered out from a swim and bike, I was able to stretch my long run out to an hour today.

I donned my long Under Armour, some gloves and arm warmers, and I set out for my run.  The gloves didn't last too long, but I kept the arm warmers on for the entire run.  Amazing how much those things can keep you warm.  You'd be surprised how much heat you lose through your arms.  Also, the next time you are out in the sun and the heat is getting to you, cool yourself off by dipping your forearms into cold water.  It will drop your body temp nicely.  So when it is cold out, arm warmers are just the article of clothing you want on.

I kept up my high knees and my butt activation on my run, but I can only honestly say it worked for the first half.  As I started to tire, I had more and more trouble keeping my knees up and engaging my butt.  A couple of days ago, I did some body weight squats (3 sets of 20) and I was still pretty sore.  I know, it is pathetic that that would get me sore, but I can drive by a gym and wake up sore the next day, so it is not surprising to me.

So you add the soreness, the cold and the long run, and by the end, I was a sloppy, inefficient mess.  I did do a nice fast 15 minutes at the 30 minute mark.  I stayed anaerobic and worked on my lactic threshold.  After that 15 minutes, I only had 15 to go, so I took it nice and easy.

Here are my total numbers:

Time: 60:00

Distance: 6.50 miles

Pace: 9:14/m

Max Pace: 6:34/m

Calories: 833

Avg HR: 145

Max HR: 163

I was pleased, overall, with my pace and with my mileage.  Tomorrow, I'm sure I will be slow and stiff and that can be partly attributed to the fact that I forgot to stretch after my run.  Oops...I should do that now, but that would entail getting my lazy (but super) butt out of bed.  Not gonna happen folks.

Run for life!!

Day 47, 318 To Go

February 16, 2013

Today, I'm going to talk about my butt.  Well, not just my butt, but everyone's butt.  We all have one, you know.

Honey says that I have a great ass.  She says it is the best she has ever seen.  She says it is a Super Ass.  Now I have never seen my ass from her perspective, but I'm inclined to believe her.  I don't think this is something I should just take lightly.  I think everyone, from now on, should refer to me as the Super Ass!

Hmm, that didn't quite roll of the tongue like I expected to.  I'm not sure I like the way that sounds...let's forget the whole thing and get back to the butt...uh, yeah.

So, the butt.  It is a great big muscle that resides at the top of your legs and it is often overlooked by runners.  We don't exercise it.  We don't stretch it.  We don't engage it when we run.  To sum it all up, we don't give a shit about our butts (until the next race when we are on line at the port a potty...then things change).

I want to change that.  You see, the butt muscle...the gluteus maximus, as it were...is instrumental in running efficiently and fast.  Most runners don't think that weight training is necessary, but it is.  It helps stave off injuries and it builds up all that muscle that all those miles you do break down.  Squats are your friend...and your butt's friend too.  There are also plenty of ass specific exercises you can do when you are at the gym or at home.

Here are some the ladies will like: Butt Exercises
Here are some for the men: More Butt

You can easily find a ton of exercises for your butt online, so go for it.  The bonus is that you will have a toned, super butt.  The benefit as a runner is that it will help increase your stride length which will in turn increase your speed.  It will also help you stay injury free because the more muscles you engage when you run, the less likely any one muscle will be overworked.

When I say engage the butt, I don't mean I want you to get on your knee and stick a ring...or anything else for that matter...in it (unless you're into that, then I say go for it.)  I mean that when you are running, you need to consciously attempt to utilize your gluteus when you run.  You may think you already do this, but next time you are running, give it a shot.  You will immediately notice that your stride changes a bit and that you are running stronger and more efficiently.  The trick is to do this every few minutes so you get used to it (and so does your butt) so you don't have to think about it any more.

Here are my numbers for Saturday:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.64 miles

Pace: 9:09/m

Max Pace: 6:51/m

Calories: 215

Avg HR: 132

Max HR: 143

Again, my numbers are pretty consistent with the past few days.  I have been keeping up with my running form changes and I have been engaging my butt too.  Honey would be proud.

Run for life!

Day 46, 319 To Go

February 15, 2013

Hello folks!  I'm back!  Did you miss me?  If so, follow my blog.  Seriously!  I need more followers!  I'm feeling lonely, and after my V Day blog yesterday, I'm really lonely.

So, today, I wanted to talk about a slight change I am trying to make in my running form.  The change is simple and really just an exaggeration of what you do when you are running now.  There are many keys to good running form, and one of those keys is when your foot lands, it should land beneath your body, not in front of it.  One of the ways to accomplish this is with a higher knee kick.

Let me back track a bit...speed is comprised of two things: your running cadence and your stride length.  Your cadence should be fairly steady regardless or your speed although it will drop a bit at slower speeds.  If you keep your cadence at around 170 - 180 steps per minute, you are in a good spot.  To increase speed, then, you need to increase your stride length.  This is accomplished by driving your knee up from the ground with more power and force.  The longer your stride length, the higher your knee will drive upwards.  And the higher your knee drives up, the more likely you are to land with your foot underneath your body.

So, by working on driving my knee upwards with more power and by extension, more height, I am increasing my stride length, my speed and my efficiency.  The problem is that since I am just beginning this change, it is hard!  Not only that, I am not seeing the increase in speed yet, although I do at times feel more fluid and my feet are landing on the ground with a lighter touch (remember easy, light, smooth and fast).

I believe if I can continue to work on this, I will improve my running efficiency which at my age is one of the best ways to improve my speed.  I'm not getting any younger so if anything, my strength and power will diminish so my speed will decrease.  By improving my efficiency, I can fight the ravages of time and continue to improve.

I'll let you know how that goes...

Here are my numbers for today:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.64 miles

Pace: 9:11/m

Max Pace: 8:05/m

Calories: 212

Avg HR: 130

Max HR: 143

Again pretty similar to the past couple of days.  I started out pretty stiff since it is Friday and I spent the entire week sitting on my ass.  I need to do some stretching which I will do now.  Time to get off my ass and onto the floor on my back. 

Run for life!

Day 45, 320 To Go

February 14, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yes, Valentine's Day, the least essential, most overrated, most commercial, least necessary of the holidays (unless you are a florist...or a woman!)  Of course, being a man married to a woman, I am obligated to go out of my way to do what I do every day: Make sure my love knows how much I love her.

Instead of the usual way I do that such as tell her how beautiful she is, how much I love her, doing household chores, taking care of the children, supporting the family, playing hide the bologna, lending a shoulder to cry on, listening to her complaints, fears, loves, likes and whatever, and just being an all around good partner, I have to go the extra mile and buy flowers, chocolate, take her to dinner and a movie, buy special presents and they all have to be accompanied by heart shaped balloons and colored blood red.

Seriously, I am not a fan of the holiday.

However, since Honey is my honey, I did what needed to be done...sort of.  Honey likes shoes.  I don't mean she likes shoes like someone who has been walking barefoot over hot coals would like some shoes, I mean she would take the shoes off of a dead woman in the street if they were the right brand kind of likes shoes.  So, I bought her four pairs of fancy heels and boots that she absolutely loves and they are perfect and comfortable and like 6 inch heels (I'm still taller than her...barely!)  And, we are going into Orlando to stay at a hotel and to go to a concert and eat out, etc., etc., to celebrate our anniversary and Valentine's Day.

Still, Vday sucks.

At least I got to run nice and early in the day since I had a doctor's appt and I didn't want to run late.  My running has been consistent the past few days and I like it like it that.  I feel like I have hit my stride.  Tomorrow, I'll discuss some changes I have made to my running form that I think will pay dividends in the long run.

Here are my numbers:
Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.66 miles

Pace: 9:01/m

Max Pace: 7:35/m

Calories: 214

Avg HR: 133

Max HR: 150

Pretty similar to yesterday.  Nice.  Talk to you tomorrow!

Run for life!

Day 44, 321 To Go

February 13, 2013

Honey, do you want to run today?

"No, I do not, but I love you," says Honey.

Trying to bribe me with sweetness, I see...

"I love you too Honey, but I'd love you more if you ran with me."

As you can tell, I'm not as sweet.

So she came out with me.  Unfortunately, Honey had a good reason to not want to run with me.  Her uterus was acting up again.  If I were her uterus and she stuck three babies in me, I'd be pissed too, so I can understand what her uterus is thinking. 

So Honey got about 2:30 minutes in before she was doubling over in pain, so we decided that she had had enough and she could always run another day.  The worst part was that she had just bought a brand new sports bra that look fabulous on her.  There will be another day when she can sweat all over it!

You have to listen to your body.  There are times when it screams at you.  Other times, it may bark, but has no bite.  You have to be in tune with your body.  If you are not, you will push yourself to the breaking point.  Honey realized that her breaking point was at 2:30 and she stopped.  As it is, she will probably be in pain for a good part of the night so she definitely did the right thing. 

If you ever have a pain that makes you say, "OUCH" out loud when you are running or playing any sport,  just stop!  Evaluate what happened and if you want to run or play whatever it is you are playing again in the next few days/weeks/months, you owe it to yourself to put the brakes on and take a rest.

One of my biggest disappointments in my running career was when I had to sit out the Honolulu Marathon because I pulled my hamstring.  I believe I have mentioned this before.  If I had stopped when I felt that pain in the back of my leg (although I'm not sure I said "ouch"...more like "fuuuuuuccckkk!!") I may have been able to run the race.

So, the next time you feel the need to scream out in pain or to throw a slew of four letter words into the ether, just stop what you are doing.

Here are my numbers today: 

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.69 miles

Pace: 8:51/m

Max Pace: 7:32/m

Calories: 217

Avg HR: 134

Max HR: 152

The above doesn't include the 2:30 I ran with Honey.  I decided to start over from scratch.  I felt much better today.  Although I am not 100% yet, I am recovering from my cold nicely.  It helps that it was over 80 degrees today.  The humidity wasn't nice, but I'll take it over 30 and dry any day.

Stay warm my friends...

Run for life!

Day 43, 322 To Go

February 12, 2013

Honey is apparently contagious.  Now I am sick.  It has been a merry go round of sickness.  First Derek was sick, then Honey, then Joshua, then Ayla, then Honey again...and finally me.

Remember my warning yesterday about running while sick?  Yeah, I ignored it.  Of course when you look at my numbers (keep in mind this was a solo run) you will think that I should just have stayed home.  Screw you and your thoughts!

It's not that bad, really.  I have a bit of a headache, I'm a little warm, and my head/nose/ears are stuffed like a 15 point buck taken down by an NRA member on a hunting trip.  I think I would actually feel better if my head was mounted on a wall right now.  I'd have just as much energy as I did today.

But I did the run anyway

yay.

Sometimes, a lack of motivation, a busy life and sickness all intersect and you have to dig deep to still do the work.  In my case, my ill conceived goal of running every day was my motivation.  I'm only 43 days in, so missing a day now would be, in my estimation, pathetic.  So, I went.  I slogged through it.

I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow (being that tomorrow is actually today when I am writing this, I can confirm that I do, in fact, feel a little better...just a little though).

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.29 miles

Pace: 11:40/m

Max Pace: 9:29/m

Calories: 167

Avg HR: 109

Max HR: 117

Seriously?  An 11:40 pace?  To be clear, I am not denigrating anyone who normally runs at an 11:40 pace.  Your pace is your pace.  You may be faster, you may be slower and you may work to get faster.  It's all good.  I respect all runners who put in the time.

But...

11:40 is not my normal pace, and for me, that is horrible.  I've done one marathon and my pace was 10:01...that was for 26.2 miles, for those of you unfamiliar with a marathon distance.  Yesterday, I travelled just 1.29 miles.

I'll chalk it up to not feeling well, and today, I'll push myself a tad bit more.  If you are reading this, I encourage you to push yourself too.  Whether it be in running or just being a couch potato...be the BEST couch potato you can be!  Watch that entire Golden Girl marathon on cable!  Do an all nighter and watch every episode of Star Trek, The Next Generation on DVD.  Push yourself to be the best, no matter what.

Run (or sit on your ass watching TV) for life!!

Day 42, 323 To Go

February 11, 2013

I felt good this morning.  Most of my soreness was gone.  My foot felt a little better, although there is still a bit of a bruise on the bottom.  I didn't feel like I had done all that training yesterday and I had a decent night's sleep! 

What a great way to start a Monday...

Then I started working...

And my soul slowly drained from my body and pooled on the floor at my feet looking forlornly up at me, pleading me to stop.  Begging me to just get up from the prison that is my office chair and go for a run or practice the piano or get a root canal or play with the kids...anything except work.

Alas, I ignored my tortured soul and continued to work.  Due to a small mistake by one of my coworkers, I am actually still working.  But, I was able to scoop up my soul and go for a run.  Yay!

Yay until I started running.  As I said above, I felt good, but holy shit, I could not run.  I felt like Frankenstein clomping around out there.  There was no easy, light, smooth or fast today.  What that tells me is that today SHOULD have been a recovery day.  Let that be a lesson to all of you that you NEED to take a day off once in a while.  If you don't, you'll get hurt or worse...you'll be slow!

Anyway, I finished my run and towards the end I was starting to loosen up.  Since I ran fairly slow, I'll just tell myself that today was a recovery run so I can feel better about going against every piece of advice every coach, trainer & book I have come across.  ; o )

Here are my numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.39 miles

Pace: 10:48/m

Max Pace: 8:52/m

Calories: 181

Avg HR: 119

Max HR: 129

Honey did not accompany me today since she wasn't feeling 100% and considering she just got over a bad cold, it is better that she doesn't push herself.  The general rule regarding sickness is that you should not run if you have a fever or a cold in your chest.  Of course, even a regular cold can be exacerbated by strenuous exercise. You are taking away resources that your body needs to heal to run, so sometimes you are better off taking a day or two off.

I had better not get sick because the above is just another rule I will have to ignore!  I may have to sneak out of the house to get around Honey, but I'll do what I have to do!

Run for life!

Day 41, 324 To Go

February 10, 2013

Ah, Sunday, a day of rest.

Says who?

Not me.  Not when you have kids.  Not when you work all week.  Not if you want to get anything done ever.  This Sunday was no different.  It is unfortunate that I have to work tomorrow after four days off.  It is unfortunate that I have to work on Monday ever, but that is another story.

Today I was up and ready to go at 7:15.  This week, it wasn't too cold to go for a swim.  Mike and I arrived at the river in Melbourne.  That's Melbourne beach in Florida, not Australia.  I would much prefer it was Melbourne, Australia though.  Except for all the deadly spiders, snakes and Great White Sharks that abound in Australia, it is a great place that I very much want to visit one day.  The chance that I can get Honey to visit when Australia is home to like 10 of the most deadly spiders in the world is slim to NEVER!

So, we donned our wetsuits and walked to the end of the pier and jumped in.  COLD!  At least at first, it was, but really, it wasn't too bad.  I have spent the last five years swimming in the Long Island Sound and THAT is cold water.  Not only that, you can't see more than an inch in front of your face.  The water is just plain nasty.  I think the water is purposely dirty to hide all the bodies dumped there from Long Island.  I probably shouldn't point any fingers lest my fingers end up all bloated and partially nibbled off as I float in the dark, dirty waters of the sound one day...

After a minute in the water, it started to feel ok.  We got to swimming and it wasn't pretty.  Normally, I am fairly good swimmer.  My form is good and I can swim a long way and pretty fast.  Today, I think I can best sum up my performance as drowning with style.  It was sloppy.  I haven't swam since October and I haven't swam with a wetsuit in about two years.  I have some work to do.

We exited the water after a short 800 meter swim (short on distance, but not on time...probably took about 18 minutes...hey, there was strong current too!!) and got ready for the bike.

I still suck on the bike.  I know why though.  Its because I don't ride enough...but I don't ride much because I suck.  Its an endless circle of sucking (but not the good, dirty kind of sucking).  We rode 20 miles today.  It was a short ride since it was our first ride of the season (at least for me...Mike and Daryl, our other training partner, have rode this year already).  The 10 miles out were into the wind.  I am completely neutralized in the wind because I have weak chicken legs that are good for BBQ sauce more than riding a bicycle.  On the way back, the wind was at our backs and we went from an average of 17mph to about 22mph.  What a difference.

I always show my running numbers, how about some cycling numbers:

Time: 1:05:15

Distance: 20.07 miles

Pace: 18.45mph

Max Pace: 26.22mph

Calories: 1,235

Avg HR: 135

Max HR: 163

How about those calories, huh?  Gotta love that.  Makes we want to go out and splurge calorically on McDonald's or something.  But I didn't.  I ate fairly healthy today, unfortunately.

After the ride, we went for a run.  As I feared, my foot was still hurting.  Not to mention that my entire upper body was sore from playing golf on Friday.  Yeah, it's two days later, but it's called DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).  The 2nd day after a strenuous or new activity is always worse.  So, I was stiff and slow, but I eventually picked up the pace and finished strong.

Here are my running numbers:

Time: 30:07

Distance: 3.32 miles

Pace: 9:04/m

Max Pace: 7:11/m

Calories: 431

Avg HR: 152

Max HR: 167

My plan was to run later with Honey, but she was out with Mama Honey shopping at Joanne's, Bath, Body and Beyond and who knows where else.

I'm afraid to check my bank account...

By the time they returned and the babies were in bed, I totally forgot, so Honey didn't run and I didn't run a full hour today as was my plan, but I think I made up for it with the swim and bike.  I may run extra tomorrow to make up for it.

And maybe I won't.  I do know I need to add some speedwork or tempo runs to my weekly routine to get faster, because if today was any indication, I have a lot of work to do to get ready for my next race.  Looking forward to it!

Run for life!!

Day 40, 325 To Go

February 9, 2013

My house is a little less full today.  Only Mama Honey is left...Fluffy Honey and Fluffy Honey's girlfriend (I suppose we can tell you her name...Renata...you pronounce it like Henata) have gone back to Brazil.  They had a nice full week here and they are always welcome to return.

Fluffy and I played a few more games of Ping Pong of which I was the victor in all but one game.  And in a moment of pure stupidity, we decided to play basketball on my driveway...my concrete driveway...barefoot. 

Ouch...

I'm pretty sure I have mentioned in the past that I hurt myself playing basketball barefoot.  I'm not that bright sometimes.  This time, I didn't stub my toe or anything, but we played a game with all that goes along with it...jumping and cutting and stopping.  My feet weren't torn up, but they were a minute or two away from that and even worse, my bruised my heel on my right foot.  So not it only hurts when I step on it.  That's every step.  Yay running!

Needless to say, Honey and I went for a run anyway, of course.  For once, it was me slowing us down.  I could barely keep up with Honey.  She was like a Kenyan, and I was a tortoise.  I was like, "Wait for me Honey!"  She was like, "Eat my dust beatch!!"

I eventually caught up to her, but she made me work for it.  I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll feel better.  My plan is to do some triathlon training with my friends Mike and Daryl.  Could be troublesome if I can't run.  At least I can swim and bike.

Here are our numbers for today:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.21 miles

Pace: 12:27/m

Max Pace: 10:06/m

Calories: 102

Avg HR: 102

Max HR: 116

Not too bad considering my injury and the big going away lunch we had today.  We grilled some steaks, deep fried some french fries, had some corn on the cobb, rice, and a dessert of brownies ala mode!  Yeah baby!

And now that Fluffy is gone, we can go back to eating healthy again.  He is a bad influence.  Probably because he is now gordochino (for those of you who do not know Portuguese, that means a little fat).  HA!  Ok, he probably weighs less than me, but I had to put that dig in here.  Get out there and run Fluffy!!

Run for life!

Day 39, 326 To Go

February 8, 2013

Hello peeps...today was full of sports and games, and of course, running!  Fluffy Honey and I played about nine holes of golf and about, oh, 15 games of ping pong.  On top of that, Honey and I did our requisite 15 minutes.

I suppose I can explain Fluffy.  When Honey and I lived in CT, it got quite cold.  As those of you up there right now can attest due to the blizzard currently blanketing the area.  Can I say once again how happy I am NOT to be there?  Anyway, Fluffy Honey's real name is Fabio.  And no, he isn't the Fabio on all those romance novels, although he surely thinks he is sexy enough, but that is another story.  So Fabio and I bought some flannel pants from Old Navy.  You know the kind..the fuzzy pants that keep you nice and warm in the cold winter months.  Well, I happened to refer to them offhanded as fluffy pants.  Well, a nickname was born.

Fabio calls me Fluffy, and I call him Fluffy.  In fact, if you own a pair of these pants, you can join the Fluffy club.  We need new members since currently, only Fabio and I are members. 

So Fluffy and Fluffy played golf today.  It was quite a disaster, at least for me.  Fluffy did ok, but I was pretty fucking bad.  That is the only way to describe it.  I think I averaged over 10 shots per hole.  Now, there were some great shots in there, but I have a problem with losing my balls....golf  balls for you jokesters out there.  I keep on driving them into the rough...or the water...or over some trees far, far away.  At least when I do that, I know I hit the ball really hard, and that softens the blow of losing the ball...and another stroke.

Here is Fluffy Honey and Fluffy, uh, me...

As I look at this picture, I realize how unfortunate that hat looks on me, but I know how to hold my club...


Before and after golf, we played a ton of ping pong games.  It was a massacre.  Fluffy Honey won a total of two games.  I am a ping pong MASTER!!!! 

I get carried away with table tennis.  I kind of suck at real tennis, but I know my way around a ping pong table.

It was a fun day made all the more fun because I had off work!  I am fairly certain, with about 98% certainty, that if I had no job I could easily find plenty or nothing to do every day and be perfectly happy with adventure or sloth (bi-polar much?) 

That is just a pipe dream though...still gotta bring home the bacon.

Isn't this blog supposed to be about running?  I think I sometimes tend to get off track, no?

How's this then...here are our numbers:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.22 miles

Pace: 12:15/m

Max Pace: 10:53/m

Calories: 142

Avg HR: 110

Max HR: 118

Honey and I had a nice evening run.  There was a slight chill in the air, but our motion chased away the cold after a few minutes.  The stars were out and I was running alongside the love of my life.  What a perfect way to end my perfect day.

Stay warm and safe, my friends up in the Northeast.

Run for life!

Day 38, 327 To Go

February 7, 2013

Hello folks, today, I'm going to talk about motivation.  Tonight, Honey did not want to run.  She just wasn't into it.  Understandable.  After you factor in taking care of your family, your kids, your husband, the house, etc., sometimes, you just don't have anything left for exercise.  This is something that happens to everyone.

I often don't want to run.  I often want to sit on the couch with the remote in one hand, a bag a chips on my lap, a beer in my other hand, and the night open and free of responsibility.  In fact, if I could do that every night (and day and morning) I would.  In fact...see ya later!!

Ok, ok, I'm back.  I guess I should at least finish the blog today before I get smashed and pass out on the couch while watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns. 

Motivation.  Motivation, basically, has to come from within.  If your spouse, friend, lover, brother, mother, whomever is pushing you to do something, especially exercise, and you don't want to do it for yourself, you will eventually stop.  Exercise is, by design, personal.  You are the one who struggles through a run.  You are the one who has to deal with any injuries or aches and pains.  You are the one who has to carve out the time out of the rest of your day to exercise.  So if you are doing it for someone else, your heart will not be in it.  You have to do it for you!

I exercise for reasons that are all my own.  For one, I enjoy the challenge.  Second, I like the way it makes me feel and look.  I also like the camaraderie and friendships that have developed from my running and triathlon training.  At the end of the day, I do it for me.  I often need to put aside other things I like to accomplish my exercise and racing goals.  That only comes from my internal motivation.

So, how do YOU find what motivates you?  It isn't as hard as it sounds.  Other than running, there are only, oh, like 1,000 different things you can do to get in shape or stay in shape.  You can bike, swim, walk, dance, zumba, yoga, hike, rock climb, rollerblade, ski, cross country ski, snow shoe, jump rope, have lots of sex, chop wood, play with your kids, mud wrestle, hula hoop, martial arts, and on and on and on.

Find what you like and just do it for yourself.  Chances are, there are lots of other people who like doing it too and you'll soon have a new group of friends to exercise and hang out with.  You may even meet someone special.

Now, you may have to find your own internal motivation, but if you find someone else who likes what you like, you can lean on each other and push each other to achieve your goals since they are parallel.  This is the best way to keep up with any routine...find a like minded person and get moving!  And even if you don't both like the same thing, you can trade...you do an activity with them and they can do something you like with you.  Whatever gets you off your ass!!

Here are my numbers today:

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.61 miles

Pace: 9:18/m

Max Pace: 7:38/m

Calories: 209

Avg HR: 137

Max HR: 154

If you are reading this...send some positive vibes (or better yet, actual comments) to Honey to help get her motivation back.  I need my running partner! 

Run for life!!

Day 37, 328 To Go

February 6, 2013

Happy Anniversary to me!  Happy Anniversary TO me!  Happy ANNIVERSARY, to MEEEEEeeeee!  Happy Anniversary to me!

Yes, today is Honey and my anniversary.  You would think that we would be holding each other's hands, snuggling, perhaps attempting to make more babies...but no.  Why?  Children, that's why.  We promised Derek that he would go to Disney, and since we both screwed up the dates, Wednesday (today) is when the he was supposed to go.  Since we didn't want to cart around the triplets (it is a circus whenever we go out....everyone stops you to ask questions and look at the babies, etc.) I stayed home with the babies and Honey went to Disney with Derek, Mama Honey, Fluffy Honey and Fluffy Honey's girlfriend.

Yup.  They are in Disney, and I'm here talking to you.

I'm a saint, huh?

However, I did do something fun today.  You may remember a few days back when we picked up that piano.  Well, as it turns out, I got screwed on that piano.  I had a piano tech come to tune it only to tell me that it was untunable! 

WHAT!

There goes $225, a sore knee and a dream down the toilet.

The piano tech did tell us about a local piano dealer, Premier Music, that carried a lot of great, tunable, used pianos.  So, maybe all was not lost....

Honey and I went yesterday to check them out.  We fell in love with this Taylor piano.  The problem is, it was new.  Not used.  Not cheap.  Not going to be ours...

Honey and I have had our share of financial woes recently (you try having triplets and see how you end up!) so financing it was out of the question.  What could we do...

Enter SUPER MOM!!!!!

Yes, my mom came to the rescue, and today, my mom and I went and bought the piano!  Of course, we have to pay her back (how much...is still to be determined...) but the great thing about borrowing from mom...no interest!

Thanks Mom!

So, we have a gorgeous new piano sitting in our living room...
 

It is much smaller than the other one, but oh, does it have a beautiful sound!  As any musician will tell you, the key to a great instrument isn't what it looks like, but how it sounds. 

Now, I have four little ones who will be taking lessons at some point.  They may not know this...they may not like this...but they also don't have a fucking choice!  Daddy paid out his ass for this piano and they are going to play and LIKE it or else!!

Ahem...anyway, I am looking forward to learning as is Honey.  I play other instruments, bass and guitar (just a little guitar) but I have always wanted to learn piano.  As I was a music major in college, I do have a rudimentary understanding of the instrument and I know my scales, etc.  That is just not enough!  I think I am going to practice right now...

Oh, but first, here are my numbers (Honey was in Disney, so I ran solo):

Time: 15:00

Distance: 1.89 miles

Pace: 7:57/m

Max Pace: 6:54/m

Calories: 246

Avg HR: 149

Max HR: 170

It was a nice quick run today.  I didn't look at my heart rate, I just ran.  I was trying to work off the cow I ate yesterday, so I pushed a bit today.  It felt great.  Until tomorrow...

Run for life!!