Monday night run at the Y

Tonight's run was not that great. In fact, I will do everything in my power to NOT go up there in the evenings. I spent most of the time dodging around kids too young to be upstairs by themselves, and having to pull up short for people walking side-by-side with little room to go by. There were too many bodies, and too many people to work around. I think I miscounted a couple of laps, so I guess I will make sure that I am closer to where I am supposed to be on Wednesday. I also think that the dodging stressed my legs a little more than a straight run would have. So, we will take a few Advil and rest the legs tomorrow, and see how I feel in tomorrow evening.

The new shoes helped a bit on Saturday, so on to that story. I probably got ripped off, but I will say, that the way to get sized for shoes at least once in a while is to go to a running store that looks at your foot print and walking and running style. It was about a 15 minute drill and you need to be barefoot and roll your pant-legs up, but it was worth it. I actually had a good idea about what my feet looked like and how I ran, but it was nice to actually watch my strides as I ran on a treadmill. They also took a pressure pad to show what the foot strikes look like. All in all it was very enlightening. You should definitely do it at least once.

Next Race scheduled! Shamrock Run Portland

Well, as I said, there is a new race in the near future, and I am pushing to actually make this a full run race. I have been to the gym running abound the indoor track at least three days a week. It is kind of fun having to do the math to calculate 1/4 miles when the track it 1/14 of a mile long. So on the Couch-To-5K training program, I just finished week 4, which is Jog 1/4 mile, walk 1/8 mile, run 1/2 mile, walk 1/4 mile, run 1/4 mile, walk 1/8 mile run 1/2 mile. So not quite running 2 miles, consistently added a bit of speed, and on Saturday, I shaved the walks and added to the runs, so I ended with an extra lap over all, but with less walking distance. So 1.7 miles run, and .3 miles walked on the last day.

I woke up this morning with the thought, that maybe I should go to the Y and do a run. I chose not to, as I pushed hard yesterday. Tomorrow morning....1/2 mile run, 1/4 walk, 1/2 mile run, 1/4 walk, 1/2 mile run. Then we add from there to a solid 2 miles with no walking by day three! Stay tuned.

Oh and I bought new shoes, more on that later.

A New Year---A New Challenge for the Mrs.

So, with the new year, I am training for a new race--info on that later. This post is for the Mrs. She is signed up for a "Biggest Loser" type competition. There are 18 competitors, and they all ponied $50 each into the pot. The person with the most weight lost by percentage will win the pot. This makes for a nice incentive and payoff for the hard work. We have both switched our diets and she is going to the gym at least 5 days a week. She has lost 10lbs so far, at a little over 1 week in. We are both getting back into the full swing of things and my work schedule caused a little break-down of the work out schedule for her. If I work too late, she can't get up to the Y before they close. I will begin adjusting the various after-hours work I have to be more on Saturdays so that I can be home in time for a nutritious dinner and she can get to the gym. We are both looking forward to shocking a few of my family members with the changes we have made.

So I will post periodic updates on the Mrs.' progress. So here is to my better half getting into better shape.

Jingle Bell Run --Recap

So, the Jingle Bell Run 2009 was a COLD race. It was around 28 F, with a lovely little wind to go with. I, as promised, wore my Utilikilt. I did not go "regimental" that morning, as I was wearing a nice pair of Nike Running tights. Not the thermal verity, but they definitely helped. I was happy to have them and the sunglasses I was wearing. The wind would have played hell with my eyes and they would have been watering so much it would have been hard to run. As it was, due to sickness, laziness, and Thanksgiving, I did not go to the Y or run at all for the entire month of November. I ended up Run-Walking the race. I completed it and had fun doing it. My time was just under 40 minutes, so I have left myself a little room for improvement. I will have to post some photos at some point.

The run went down a slight grade to the 1/2 way mark and then back up that same grade to the start-finish line. To say it was windy is being kind, the Start-Finish sign blew part-way over at some time during the race and they had to have the runners stay away from the base on the opposite side of the road from the van. It was not the best of running conditions, but the guy who "won" was a 51 year old you cooked it off in 18+ minutes. Ahhh to be that fast again.

Until next time true believers.

WOW! Where does time go?

So it is now mid-January, and I haven't posted for a while....I need to get some paperwork done, and then I will fill in the details of the Jingle Bell Run in December and the upcoming Shamrock Run... Also, need to fill in the progress of the Mrs.' "Biggest Loser" competition. There is a lot to post about.

Back later to fill you all in.