Comeback day 2

It's all coming back to me now...
The running experience is started to feel familier again. The wind at your face, the sound of your feet beating the pavement, the gasping and weezing while trying to catch me breath. Well atleast I enjoyed 2 out of 3! The soreness has gone away now and my body is really enjoying the exercise again. I can't believe I ever stopped running. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's run. That will complete week number 1. Only 7 short weeks to go to get back into my prior running shape. I talked to my former co-workers and confirmed that we're on again for the big sur marathon. Goals, gotta have goals.

Back on Track

So last night I got back on the road and started running. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The big difference was that I'm running at night now as opposed to early afternoon. It makes it little harder in the aspect that you really have to pay attention to where you're running. Curbs, hoses, and doggie doo are the main ones you have to look out for. My legs are pretty sore this morning, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Well I'll keep you informed on the progress...

How time flies...

So here it is, five months since my last post. What's the deal you ask? Not that these are legitamite excuses, but just a fact of life. One I started a new job but had to work two jobs for about two months. That sucked up a lot of my time. Two, school started up again. Sucked up even more time. So to cut to the point, I haven't ran in about 5 months! Yikes!!! So here's the plan. I'll start running tomorrow and work my way back to being a runner. I'll keep you updated.

Hit me baby One more time...

Distance: 2.7 Miles
Pace: 11:30 Minutes/Mile

Oh yeah!!! Yet another successful run for me. Knocked out 2.7 Miles without any major problems. I did catch a few foxtails in my shoes trying to avoid a mountain of Dog poo on the sidewalk. I had to stop for a sec to pull them out before they drew blood. Other than that, everything went pretty smoothly. I'll probably stay at this distance for 2 more runs then I'll jump it up to 3.1 miles. Which just so happens to be the distance that a 5K covers. Once I can run 3.1 miles without a problem, I'll begin to work on my speed. I'd like to finish the 5K in under 25 minutes. I know that's not exactly a fast time, but I think it's a pretty good goal for me to aim for. You have to remember, I was damn near 300 pounds not too long ago!!! My body is holding up to the training. But I do have some tenderness in my right knee. I'll continue to pay attention to it and give it some rest if the pain gets any worse. Other than that there isn't much else to say. Oh there is one thing If you're going to allow your dog to defecate on the sidewalk, please dispose of it properly. Don't expect people to just dodge the poop like its prop in an obstacle course!!!. Ok rant over...

Step by step

Distance: 2.7 Miles
Pace: 11:25 minute/mile

Best run so far today. I figured out a longer route that wouldn't kill me. 2.7 miles, an increase of half a mile over my previous distance. I hope to build up to about 5 miles per run before the 5K in November. I think I'll be able to meet that goal. Today's run started off pretty rough. I woke up at around 8:30. (a blessing bestowed upon me by my 11 month old daughter!!!) I got out on the road at about 10 o'clock. To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to run at all today. As I was doing my warm ups, my mind was full of reasons not to run. I finally told me self to at least run a mile and then decide whether to finish the run or not. I started my run and everything hurt. My ankle, my shins, my knees just about everything. But after I got about half a mile into it, my body loosened up. I reached the 1 mile mark and decided that it would take me too long to walk back so I decided to just finish up the run. About a half mile away from my house is a steep hill. That hill always whoops my ass. Today the hill was even more evil due to the fact that I had increased my distance before I reached it. I probably slowed down to a shuffle going up but I was determined not to walk. Eventually I reached the top and was able to catch my wind going down the other side. I powered through the last hill to my house and was able to finish in just over 30 minutes to my surprise. 30:50 to be exact. I increase my mileage by half a mile, but only increase my total time by 50 seconds! This was very encouraging to me. I ran at a faster pace even though I felt like crap to start off. On a added note, I'm creeping ever so close to that 249 pound mark. Woo Hoo!!!

1 mile, no sweat, 2 miles, better yet...

The title is a reference to my time spent in the military. Completed a good run today. I went back to my shorted 2.3 mile route today. I felt that jumping to 3.2 miles was a bit too much. So I completed my run with a smile on my face. Ahh the sweet feeling of success!!! Today's run was a special interest to me because I've recently purchased an Oregon Scientific Heart rate monitor. I must admit that when I first put it on, I thought it was going to be very uncomfortable running with a strap around your chest. But honestly after about 5 minutes of running, I didn't even notice it. I tried to keep my heart rate in the 160's. There was a few times that it jumped up in the low 170's while going up hills, but as soon as a crested the hill the heart rate dropped back to the 160's. I think having this information while running increased my pace a little, I was able to cover 2.3 miles in 26 minutes. I know that's slow, but hey its pretty good for me!!! Well tomorrow is a rest day and I think my body really needs it. I woke up this morning and my back was just killing me. I popped a few Advil and got it under control. I'll write again in 2 days!!!

Are we there yet?

So today I set off on my longest run to date. I know that you're only suppose to increase your runs by 10% to decrease your chance of injury, but I couldn't find a 2.75 mile loop. So the loop became a 3.2 mile loop. Lord have mercy! I tried to run the thing non-stop but alas I couldn't. About 2 miles into it I had to take a short walk break. But I resumed running and managed to straggle back home. The strange thing is that even though I walked for 2 minutes, my pace went down 30 seconds! I don't get it, but I'm not complaining. I must say that I probably bit off more than I can chew, but I'm glad I did. I was a great feeling accomplishment. I'm sure that I'll be pretty sore in the morning. I can't wait to get up and do it again in 2 days.