This just in....

Booze is bad for you. It leads to eating. I manage food well when boozing it up, but it is the hangover day that kills me every time. Like today, I am just eating and eating because I had some beers at a Work Function thing last night. Not that it matters as I weighed in this week, yes I still weigh in on Tuesdays, at 170 pounds. Well, 169.4 to be exact. A quick flashback to January 2006 will show my weight was approaching 240 big ones at that time. Crazy. What was I complaining about again?

SCRUBS is back tonight. Finally something to watch on TV. Great freakin show that I suggest everyone check out. Of course, I will TIVO it and watch it this weekend, so keep your Scrub thoughts to yourself.

Weird, but I am really looking forward to running tomorrow. That is if the evil doer of a snow storm doesn't take out the entire Midwest. Could the Media blow this thing up any more? I mean how many times do we need to see that lot of snow plow trucks and giant pile of salt?

Later.

Turkey Wrap Up

Doesn't a Turkey Pita Wrap just sound delicious right now?!?

My Thanksgiving Holiday has come and gone way to quick. The past five were something else. I consumed Thanksgiving Dinner like it was my first and last ever. Man, it was soooo good. At the time I knew this was too be my first of two feast, but I still had 3 full plates of turkey goodness.

Thursday night the wife and I caught some type of nasty flu bug that laid us up for two days. Due to the sickness we had to skip the trip to her family's feast and headed home Friday afternoon. Friday,Saturday, & Sunday were spent chasing the little one around house and napping.

The weather has been off the charts for late November in the Midwest. Temperatures have been above 50 for days now, but yet my road bike sits idle in the garage. I do miss my bike. I wish I could ride my bike.

I did manage to log 12 miles running in the last 5 days and over 15 for the past week. Check out my training log over to the right. I am a big fan of stats, well my stats for my workouts and training. The log at BuckeyeOutdoors.com is a do it all and track it all and as far as I am concerned a must for the serious fitness freaks. Check it out. Later.

At Least......

I have logged 13 miles so far this week. Why is that a good thing? Well, it is 2pm and I have taken in over 4000 holiday calories today!! My one serving of everything turned into a three serving of everything. Yummy. It was all sooooo good. :)

Last Sunday I set a PR for a 5k then I ran 4 miles Monday, 5 miles Wednesday, and 4 miles this morning. You can call it my Thanksgiving Holiday Eating Training Plan!! Where is that pumpkin pie!

Happy Turkey Day to ALL!!

Later.

And the winner is......

Well, it was not me, but I did a have a nice result. This was the third race, second 5K, of my short running carreer. As some may know I started running more seriously this fall as the weather turned cold and windy. I am still a cyclist at heart, but this running thing has been fun.

My goal for the 2006 Chili Chase 5K was 23 minutes. That would be a minute faster then my first 5k. Based on my finish for the first back in September, the miles I have logged since, and the little speedwork I have done here and there, I thought this was doable.

This was a big race for a 5K with over 400 runners lined up at the start. It was cold, windy and I was slightly tight and sore. I started near the front, say 10 rows deep. I started with a good buddy and co-worker of mine, who had a goal of 29 minutes. We quickly departed ways as it was crowded and I needed to get me some space.

I went out fast. I needed a 7:25 pace to make my goal and figured if I didn't get the first mile in fast I would have no chance. Just short of mile one my freaking shoe lace started flapping in the wind. Crap, I even tied it in a double knot!! Do I keep running? Will I trip and break my face? CRAP!! And F&@K!!!

As I ran on I took my gloves off and put the Garmin Edge I carry in my pocket. Then I found a curb, stopped for what seemed like forever, and tied the shoe lace. Only one knot to minimize the time damage.

I was off, but with no gloves because they were tucked in my pocket and I couldn't afford any more delays. I managed not to panic and NOT to run at super human speed to make up what was surely a minute delay. I reached the mile 1 time split and heard "7:10" which made me happy.

Next up was a turn uphill into the wind and an evil doer of a side stitch. From the begining things were off for me "GI" wise. I had water rolling around in the stomach and loud animal like growling coming from the belly region. I think me had to much protien the night before?? I contined on, powering up the hill, passing other runners, and grunting all the way. At the two mile marker no one was calling out splits. I knew I was slowing, but just how much was unclear.

Miles two to three presented more running into the wind and the hope the next turn would be the last turn. This mile felt really slow for me. I had a little kick at the end, but it was nothing like last weekends 10k finishing kick. I approached the finish and heard 23 called out just prior to crossing the finish line.

0:23:07.9 is the official time. That is a 7:24 pace for 65th place out of 413 runners.

The Garmin Edge had me at 3.15 miles with the following Splits:

1. 7:10
2. 7:22
3. 7:30
4. 7:07

See all the stats HERE.

My buddy finised just under 27 minutes and put forth a very solid effort for his first ever race. It was a good day. Later.

Next Up....

This weekend it is a 5k. It will be my 3rd race and second 5k. The first was a 24 minute finish, but a finish were I felt like I had plenty of gas left in the tank. I am learning that a 5k is like a sprint. Well, sprint meaning I should be at or near max effort for the entire 3.1 miles. That is my plan this time around around and the goal is a lofty 23 minutes or 7:25 pace. Yep, a minute faster then the September 5k. We shall see.

Running this week has been good. I have logged 10 miles so far and plan 2 to 4 more today. I think I would like to do 1 mile of all out effort with 1 mile of warm/cool down combined. Or maybe I will get Eddie Vedder, the dog, out for fast paced Rat Terrier Style walking?

No matter what I do toady or how I finish Sunday, I am feeling good and enjoying this being in shape stuff. Later.

49:47

My goal was 50 minutes. As I approached the finish I did not think I would make that goal. However, this has been a year of exceeding goals for me and as I went full out crossing the finish the clock was just short of 50:00. I think it was 49:47, but I was moving so damn fast and breathing so damn hard I could be wrong. Official results will be posted online later.

Of course I got the Garmin Stats. Once again I carried my cycling computer in my hand as my one and only companion. See them HERE.

This race was tough. First the weather was cold and windy. Average temp was 36 degrees with winds at 19 mph average. Second this was my longest run ever by 2 miles. Third, this was only my second race and I have no idea what I am doing. Well, not totally true, but I am a running noobie.

The Garmin had me at 50 minutes for 6.33 miles and the splits break down like this:

1. = 7:49
2. =7:57
3. =8:13
4. =7:51
5. =8:11
6. =7:38
7. =2:18

I thought I woud struggle in the middle with the distance being new to me. Miles 3 to 5 I paced off a very fit and steady running female. Unknowing to her, but she was a huge help to me. I passed her for good around mile 5. I am very happy with the finish. I felt like I left it all out there and ran my fatest mile at the end.

Today I will reward myself with a Grande PepperMint Mocha Latte from Starbucks!!!!!!! Later.

Go Time ?

My second ever running race is today in two hours. It is 10k and will be the longest I have ever ran. The weather is against me. I am nervous about the weather and the distance. Time to suit up. Later.

Holiday Season Is Here

Starbucks has rolled out the Holiday Lattes and Red Cups. This can only me one thing..........Peppermint Mocha No Fat No Whip Grande is back in my life!!!!! Yeah for me. Later. (the pic is current, excuse the date, borrowed a co-workers camera.)

Retirement?

This pic has been around the net for a while, but damn I hope I look this good when I retire.

On a side note it hit 70 degrees today and my off day became a 30 mile cycling ride at 16.7 mph. I was really missing the bike and could not pass it up. Since I am training for a 10k this Saturday today is offical Cross Training Day! Later.

Running and Running and......

Running. I have been running and running a lot for me, an avid cyclist. I am sure others, the real runners of the world, will laugh at my running statements, but we all start somewhere.

The running has come about due to the cold & rainy miserable fall we are having in the Midwest. Is it too early to start bitching about the weather? To keep the training train going I decided to do a 10k, which is this Saturday. Then the following weekend it will be a 5k with some friends. This will be a fun run and nothing to serious.

The past four weeks I have logged only 95 total cycling miles and 29 running miles. The week of 10/23 I ran 8 miles, week of 10/30 it was 9.6 miles, and this week I will slow it down with only 5 easy miles before the race. I may throw in a road ride as there are a few 60 degree days projected for this week.

My goal for the 10k is 50 minutes. Not world record setting, but respectable for a guy who's longest run is 4.6 miles. I plan to start out slow and steady. If all is well at mile 4 I will pick up the pace. Unlike my one and only other running race (5k on 9/24 in 24:07) I plan to finish with NOTHING left in the tank. I do NOT want to finish the 10k and feel like I had more to give. The key is to determine when the right time is to GO. For a noobie this is the hard part.

While I am enjoying my running season it has brought back some old and painful memories. I use to play a lot of basketball and suffered from sever shin splints. As I have increased my running mileage I can kind of feel the twinge of shin splint pain in my left leg. Nothing to significant now, but it does bring back the memories of the burning! Time to bust out the ice and do some Shoe Research! Later.

I Double Dog Dare You........

No, I triple dog dare you to eat 12 mini KIT KAT bars then run 2.3 miles (8 min mile pace) on the treadmill. Wait, I don't dare you, I mean I DO NOT recommend you do this???? Cause I did last night and it was not pretty. KIT KATS GOOOOOOD!

Today after work I punished myself with a nice little run outside in the cold and wind. I managed 4.3 miles in 36 minutes. I battled through a toughie of a side pain at mile 1.5 that just wouldn't quit. The legs felt really good, but my pace was a bit slow. I hope to maintain a pace better then 8 minutes per for the 11/11 10k I am attempting.

I think there may be one, hopefully two, of those little minis around here some where. Later.