something something this week...

  Tuesday nights run went pretty good.  They've started construction on part of the road I run for my hill run.  So my turn around point is closer to the overpass now.  The benefit is that there is even less traffic on the road now than there has been previously.

  The little dog also didn't come out to me Tuesday night either, I didn't even hear it barking, so maybe it was inside.

  Once the construction is completed, I've mapped out another route that will be a longer run for me and take me over 4 different overpasses.  It will be a 5+ mile run when I decide to tackle that one.

  For the most part, as long as the weather holds up, I think I'm getting re-adjusted to running outside again.  My legs are feeling much better now.

  Yesterday also marked the actual 1 year anniversary for my blog!

  Since it was such a nice day again, I decided I'd run some more tonight.  Instead of running my hill route, I just stuck to the neighborhood and attempted a bit of interval/speed work running.

  I need to find a better setup for Runkeeper to do actual interval speed work.  What I did tonight was 5 minute warm up walk, 1/2 mile "normal" pace run, 1/4 mile walk, 3/4 mile "fast", 1/4 Mile walk, 1/2 mile normal pace and finally a 5 minute cool down.

  My 3/4 mile fast segment turned into a "run as fast and long as I can then walk some" segment.  I'd pick a point and say I'm going to run to there as hard as I can.  Then I'd walk to catch my breath and pick another target and run to that.  It seemed to work out well, as my "normal" pace for 1/2 mile was 14:48 mile pace and the 3/4 mile I did in 14:05 mile pace!

  Heh... apparently there is a term for what I did tonight:

FARTLEKThis is Swedish for speed-play, a no-brainer speed session. You don't need GPS or a measured course, you simply run fast and slow - run between lamp-posts, or do timed bursts (30 seconds to 3 minutes). Or, try a pyramid fartlek session, for example, run hard five, four, three, two and one minute bursts with equal recovery time. This is a great way to run fast with no pressure and ideal when you're starting out.

  I also made sure to pay more attention to my walk segments.  I've noticed that I've been slowing down quite a bit when I go into them.  So now I try to keep walking at a faster pace than I have been.  In order to do this, I've been trying to lengthen my strides while I walk.

  Well, I think I wrap it there for now.


Thanks for Reading!  Regards,


~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon - January 7, 2012 FINISHED 3:48:49

Dog on the hill

I've been tackling going over a hill this past week.  I worked on it last weekend with my first run through of my new route.  I did it once again on Tuesday night, going for a longer run that I had originally intended because things were just clicking together nicely that night!

One concern I have had Tuesday and tonight is the fact that on my approach to the overpass, someone in the houses near it let their little doggie run around un-fenced and not leashed to anything.  Tuesday they came running for the dog, but tonight they did not.  Tonight I even tried to run on the wrong side of the road (running with traffic instead of against it) to hopefully avoid the dog running after me.

That was a bigger mistake then just sticking to the other side, as the dog zipped right across the road!  Now I'm even more concerned because now the dog is chasing after me across a road that does have a bit of traffic on it!  I'm more pissed at the owners of the dog for not having it properly fenced in or leashed!

About a 1/4 mile from my "hill"

I took the above picture after my turnaround point after going over the overpass.  It's around 1/4 mile past the overpass where I turn around at.  It pretty much has a steady uphill incline until I get to the steeper incline of the overpass itself.

I skipped my run night on Thursday and then I ran again tonight as my story above let you all know.  As well as Tuesday nights run went, that's how BAD tonight's run went.  Once I hit the 1.5 mile mark (near my turn around point after the overpass), my body decided that I've GOT to go.  It was the longest walk back, as any time I started jogging again I could tell that just wasn't going to work out.

Tomorrow will be my first day of yard work for the year!  I picked some stuff up at the store to that will hopefully kill off some of the weeds in this yard.  I'll also need to pick up some more seed to see if I can get some of these bad patches filled in this year.  It didn't work last year.

If the weather holds up, I'll think about doing another run Tomorrow, since I skipped Thursday.

Now on to the weight.  I can gladly say that this week I've started to turn it around.  Down 1 pound this week to 249.  Thankfully back down under the 250 mark!

After watching some of the Yoga routines on the DVD, I think I'm going to have to go through the poses first to see if I can figure them out so I can do them along with the DVD in the routine.

I've started in with the resistance bands too.  My shoulders are a little sore, as I've started doing my original therapy exercises for my shoulder & neck.  (I've dislocated my right shoulder 3 times, so without regular work, my neck and shoulder start hurting, ALOT).

I've also been working a little bit more with the stretching strap.  I've already noticed that my hamstrings don't bother me as much now when I run.  I still don't have much range of motion, but that won't work itself out in just a few workouts.

I think I'll wrap it up here for now!


Thanks for Reading!  Regards,


~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon - January 7, 2012 FINISHED 3:48:49

The Year in Review

In just over a week, it will be my 1 year anniversary for my blog.

I'd like to share a few highlights of the past year.  I've linked to the blog posts, just click the date to take yourself to that post if you wish to read it.

March 27, 2011 - I began this blog, in hopes of loosing 100 pounds in one years time.

April 23, 2011 - I registered for the 2012 Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon!  Last day to use my Disney Debit card discount and also before the first price increase.

June 9, 2011 - I start running outside, taking a giant step backwards in my C25K training.  Going from week 7 back to week 3 due to the difference in running on the treadmill-o-doom and pavement.

July 26, 2011 - I've been running outside for a while now and I've been making steady progress.  During our reunion, I take a run out in the country and enjoy some "country air".  AHEM.  I'm right at the boarder of getting past the 250 lb mark.  [Disappointing that I've recently hit that mark again.]

August 20, 2011 - I've made it through the C25K Program!  I reflect a bit about my journey so far and Dad has pretty much thrown in the towel on our competition.

August 30, 2011 - It's the end of our contest.  This is my post right before heading down for my Florida vacation.

September 25, 2011 - After a long absence of not blogging, I return with a vacation recap and discuss the vacation and a little weight gain while away.

October 15, 2011 - This is it!  Half Marathon Training begins!  I note that I've run through my Brooks Adreneline GTS 11's!

November 26, 2011 - According to my stats page through Blogger, this is one of my most viewed posts!  My new Asics 2160's presented a challenge in the lacing department.  I discuss how I had to learn to tie shoes over again to make them more comfortable!

December - In preparation for the Half Marathon, I experiment with a bunch of runner fuel packets, mainly from CLIF, Gel Packs.  Also I continue my upward trend in weight.  Pretty much about where I've been holding on to ever since.

January - The Half Marathon Recap! - After posting about my journey, I kinda fall of the face of the Earth for a few weeks.  I don't do anything as far as running, but I keep maintaining a steady weight.

February and March so far have been fairly uneventful.  After weeks of flirting with it, I once again hit the 250 lb mark.

Which brings us to NOW.

I'd like to welcome you to Year 2 of my 1 Year weight loss program!

For Year 2, I have 3 major running goals:

1) I have to enter and do very well at a 10K or longer distance for a better corral placement for next years Walt Disney World Half Marathon.
2) I will also be entered into the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon for November.  I want this to serve as a gauge on how well I can perform a couple of months later at the Disney World Half.
3) This time around, I'm going to enter the 5K race on 1/11/13 AND the Half Marathon on 1/12/13 for Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend.

It's time to re-commit to being serious about getting the rest of this weight off.  My next target is a 40 lb weight loss by the time I run the Monumental Half at the beginning of November.  That is still short of the 100 total that I want to loose, but it's a target that I KNOW that I'm able to hit.  I've already lost 40 lbs once!

November 3, 2012 Target:  210 lbs!

The next target will be for the 2013 Disney World Half Marathon, I want to make it through the holiday season, actually DROPPING 10 lbs!  This will prove to be somewhat difficult, as I'll have a Florida vacation at Thanksgiving time.

January 12, 2013 Target: 200 lbs!

I'll have some big hurdles to overcome this year.  Money is going to be tight, VERY tight.

I need new tires and re-alighment work done on my '04 Sebring Convertible.  With the alignment being off, I've been tearing through front tires.  I had just been buying re-treads to get me by.  Okay for driving while the weather is good, not so good when it gets snowy and icy.  This may not happen this year, as I was originally going to use tax returns to do this this year.  Due to circumstances, it didn't.  So, my convertible remains something I only get to drive a little bit during the year.  I need to at least get a new set of re-treads for the front again so I can drive it a little bit during the nice weather.

My '04 Sebring Convertible

I need a new muffler on the '00 Malibu, this one will come first because this is usually my travelling car.  It's also been my normal day to day car due to the Sebring being in questionable shape.  The Malibu may look rough on the outside, but it's a comfortable car to travel in and still runs well.  Just a bit noisy at the moment.

I'll need to pay for these races I'm entering into AND manage to save back some money to actually be able to travel.  I also figure that at the rate I went through my shoes last year, I'll need at least one more pair this year.

I want to visit friends in the DC area very badly this year.  I missed seeing them last year so much.  So there is this trip to also pay for, whenever we decide this will be.

If I cannot find a great deal on airline flights like I did for this years Marathon Weekend, I'm looking into the possibility of driving down.  I can make it from home to Disney in about 18 hours.  A doable drive for me.  I've already figured out the make/break point for flying versus driving.

On top of all of this, there are of course new toys I'd like to get.  One of them being a GPS watch (Garmin Forerunner 405cx), why?  Because I think it's cool.  I really like the Polar watch I have for Heart Rate, but the Garmin has that plus GPS.  Now that I have the new iPOD Nano, it would be nice to clip that on my hat like I've seen others do and cut down on more clutter while I'm running.  The 405cx is now a few years old and can be had for much cheaper than it originally was when I was looking at it last year.  This is a doubtful purchase, just a wishlist item.

Another toy I'm looking at getting is a new transmitter for my iPhone/iPOD.  I lost the one I used to have when we moved down here to Indy.  I'm going to cancel my subscription to Sirius/XM to save a few dollars this year and I'd like to return to listening to podcasts that I get.  This toy is what I'm more likely to get, as I'll probably use the $40 from what would have been my next Sirius/XM payment to get this instead.

So there it is.  Where I've been the past year and where I'd like to go for the next.

Thanks for Reading!  Regards,


~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon - January 7, 2012 FINISHED 3:48:49

The hills are alive with the sound of

... well, the only music was coming from my iPhone Touch 3 (iPhone 3g with no phone service).

With this weeks unusually high temperatures, I've been able to run outside!

3/13 - Tuesday - First run back outside.  OUCH!  After my warm up walk, I started out MUCH too fast. It all went downhill from there.  At the 2 mile mark I had to make my way back home as quick as I could.  My body decided that it was pitstop time, NOW!  Once I was done taking care of business, I hopped on the treadmill-o-doom just to get another mile in.

3/16 - Friday - I was still feeling sore from Tuesdays first jaunt back outside, so I didn't run Thursday.  Getting used to the jolts you get from running on hard surfaces will take some getting used to again.  This run went much better.  I concentrated more on keeping a decent pace and I was able to run most of the segments of the Runkeeper coaching session (I've been using Bridge 2 10K week 1 to get back into the swing of things.)

3/17 - Saturday - St Patrick's Day!  I don't drink, so, I ran.  I decided to take a spin at going over some hills.  The closest thing to hills I have around here are a couple of overpasses.  One of them is a less traveled road and the busier road does have a walking area.  I decided to try the less traveled road tonight.  WOW!  Did I ever feel that tonight.  My run tonight was basically an out and back.  I went over the overpass and down to a marker point that I'll remember and turned right back around and headed back.

Once back home, I decided that I've not posted a recent picture, so here it is!

I of course ran in my GREEN shirt today.

I'm quite sure that some people might be thinking that I have been drinking before I go out for my run.  I've been doing a little bit of practice "going around people" when I run.  I noticed after the half back in January that I had new sore spots which I attributed to not being used to doing the side to side while running.

I did a weigh in, and did drop back below 250.  Back to 249 once again and I hope to keep knocking that down from here on out.

The Yoga DVD and Thera-band straps did arrive this week!  I've done some of my shoulder exercises that I've not done in ages with the bands.  I took a look at the routines that I had been thinking of with the bands, and I think I've overloaded them.  I think I'll need to split up how I've got them instead of trying to do all of the exercises each night that I will do them.

I've been watching the first part of the DVD to see how poses are done.  Later tonight I'm going to check out some of the routines to see if I need to practice poses first, or if I can just jump right into them.

Well, I've had my after run banana and shower.  Written this post up, I think it's time to get on out of here.


Thanks for Reading!  Regards,


~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon - January 7, 2012 FINISHED 3:48:49

BLAAAAHH!

So far this season, I've been luck in not getting a cold.  I think my luck has ended.

I've either got a head cold, or my allergies are already acting up for this season!

Just a short re-cap of this week.  I'm up in weight again.  I hit 250.  That's really been a big disappointment to get back to that number again.  My biggest out of control eating is happening at Lunch.  I've been going out as I have been for quite some time, but now I've just not cared what I've been ordering.

It's showing.  So, starting this week, the debit card stays home and the lunchbox goes with me to work.  I've been way short on my water intake also, which I'm sure has led me to the difficulties that I've had on the treadmill the past week.

That brings me to running for this week.  After pretty much recovering from the 77 flights of stairs that I did last week, this week I started back up on the treadmill-o-doom.

Monday, March 5th - No activity.  Went out for dinner and went to see John Carter for free thanks to Disney 23 fan club.  It was an interesting way to see a movie.  They reserved a row in the theater only for "DISNEY".  Two rows in front of us, it was all reserved for members of the press.  There were several security guards and they were watching people like hawks.  No previews or anything.  Just straight into watching the movie.  They had a list of instructions before showing the movie, and they requested either phones be OFF or if you must, go back to the lobby.  One person during the movie got their phone out and one of the guards was there almost immediately asking the person to either put it away or go to the hallway.  YEAH!  I wish ALL movies were like this!  BTW, I loved the movie :)

Tuesday, March 6th - MOST of the soreness in my calves was gone for this run.  But my lack of working out AND no stretching was really beginning to show.  This short 2.25 miles was TOUGH.  I was having troubles with getting into ANY type of rhythm at all.  Breathing, pace, NOTHING was coming together.  I was quickly hobbled with muscle pain, my calves and shins letting me know that they still weren't happy from the previous week.

Wednesday, March 7th - No activities.

Thursday, March 8th - I put on the iPhone and loaded up the Bridge 2 10K program.  Figuring that I've got to keep to something.  I set the pace quicker than I normally would, so I was going at a 3.2 to 3.5 walking pace for warm up and the in-between segments.  For the running pace I was trying to keep to 4.1 or 4.2 pace.  The first run in the B210K is the 4 10 minute run segments with a minute walk in-between.  My walks were much longer an more frequent during the later segments.  The only segment that was all run was the first 10 minutes.  I also noted that once I finished running that my nose was stuffy and very runny.  Either Allergies were acting up, or I was getting a cold.

Friday, March 9th - Movie night again!  I had already bought my IMAX tix for John Carter back in early February.  So I once again went out for dinner (Stir Crazy - "lunch portion" of Sweet & Spicy Chicken, I love this stuff!  IF this is the lunch portion, I don't want to see the dinner portion!)  I stopped by Barnes and Noble and picked up the latest issue of Runner's World, then I headed up to the theater.  It was fantastic to see this in IMAX.  This time through I was able to really watch the movie for more details since I had just seen it Monday :)  Again, its a fantastic movie.

Saturday - March 10th - Grocery Shopping and watched the Nationwide NASCAR race at Las Vegas on TV.  Really started to feel run down.  Decided to hold off on the treadmill-o-doom.

Today - March 11th - Been doing laundry and that's about it.  Sneezing like crazy and just feel BLAH in general.  It's been such a great day outside too..  warm and sunny most of the day and I just don't feel like even moving.  In the very least, I'm planning on getting onto the treadmill-o-doom to do some walking tonight.

Looking forward to this week, I've got a package that should be here about Wednesday-ish.  I finally ordered new resistance bands and also a Yoga DVD.  This DVD has favorable reviews in being VERY basic, so it shows each pose very well.  It also has segments that try to point out good things for runners to be doing.


Yoga For Beginners : The Essential Beginner Yoga Guide For Runners, Walkers & Desk Jockeys



Thanks for Reading!  Regards,


~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon - January 7, 2012 FINISHED 3:48:49

Status Update: Part Ducks

After grocery shopping and dinner while watching the Nationwide NASCAR race in Phoenix, I did get back onto the treadmill-o-doom.

The results still weren't pretty, but my legs felt a lot better than they did earlier today.  I went for another 2.25 miles.

I basically rotated with 1/4 mile walk and 1/4 mile run.  I took it easy, just trying to get good legs under me again.

Next bit of news is that I'm putting a new race onto my schedule for this year!  I'm going to enter into the Monumental Half here in Indy for November 3, 2012!  Yeah, I know... it's gonna be COLD!  A runner from the Chicagoland area that I met online and got to meet face to face during the Disney World Marathon Weekend will be coming down for it and asked if I'd be interested in doing this event too.

I've heard good things from people at work that know people that have run this race (wow...) that they like this race better than the Mini Marathon for the Indy 500 in May.  I've heard that the entertainment is just as good, or even better in some instances than the Mini, and the route is much more enjoyable.

So I said yes, I'll run the event.  The only thing I have to do now is actually sign up for it.  I just missed a $5 off sale they had yesterday.  I'll keep an eye on it this week to see if they do something again, otherwise I'll just sign up on payday next Friday.

Rick is the runner that I'll be entering with.  You can read about some of his journey at his blog (link).  He too got the news about his health and decided to something about it.  Very much like myself, he chose to start running.  Rick has advanced much further than I have, and has already passed the century mark on weight loss!  He is also much faster than I am at the moment.  Rick has also been very generous to me.  He and I had the same Polar Heart Rate watch.  He wrote an article for Polar about his journey and won his choice of any watch they make as the prize!  He gave his old unit to someone, but they didn't want the computer link.  Rick sent me the link because I mentioned that it was one of the toys I wanted to get!

I'm trying to find out a tentative date for our family reunion this summer.  I'd like to enter the Rock'n'Roll 1/2 in Chicago, but it is right around the time that we normally have our reunion.  I'm quite sure that if I were to go ahead and enter it, THAT would be the weekend it will be!  The other hiccup on going to Chicago may be the room prices.  OUCH!  Much worse than last time I looked into staying up there!!

In the near future, I'll be posting a 1 year re-cap of my own personal journey and my plans for the next year!




Thanks for Reading!  Regards,


~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon - January 7, 2012 FINISHED 3:48:49

Status Update!

Just a bit of an update on how the running has been going.

Last week was really rough.  I had alot of trouble focusing and really getting into a good (or even bad!) rhythm.  I did manage to post in some runs and really was just glad to be off the treadmill once I was done with those runs.

I think I'm beginning to really look forward to starting to run outside.  I've still not finished tinkering with the treadmill-o-doom, so it's still stuck on 0 incline.  I know, once I start back outside, that I'm REALLY going to feel the difference.  I really felt the difference when I hit the pavement for the 1/2 in January!

This week started off with me working some after hours time on Tuesday, my normal run night.  Although I still got plenty of exerciser that night!  I went down 77 flights of stairs in just under an hour!  We had some testing at a project that needed to be done, and I was the one that finally said that I'd do it to just get it done.

I felt pretty good after I did that.  It was 32 flights down one side of the building and 45 flights down the other side of the building.  Legs were just a tiny bit rubbery when I was headed back to the car.

The next day I was sore.  Two days after I was hurting.  My calves had tightened up so bad, walking was not comfortable.  Then I hit the stairs up to the 2nd floor to go to my office.  OUCH!

So the past couple of days I've been nursing the legs back to "normal".  I did a little run earlier today to see how things would go, and it was not good.  I decided to let it go at 1 16 minute mile and hit the shower.

Oh!  And I bought the new Brooks shoes!  They knocked a few more dollars off the price, and with the W.I.S.H. discount from the DISboards team I really got them for a great deal.  $140 shoes for $67.  Running Warehouse even ships 2nd day for free!  So today was mile 1 in them to start breaking them in!  They felt great, my legs did not!

So, my plan for the rest of today is to go grocery shopping, grab some dinner and then see how the legs feel early this evening to give it another go.



Thanks for Reading!  Regards,


~Kipp

Lighter, Stronger & Faster for 2013! Walt Disney World 1/2 Marathon - January 7, 2012 FINISHED 3:48:49