Blog Reading

Mini Survey:

How many blogs do you follow:


Do you read them directly or use a feed reader:

How much time do you dedicate to blogging per week( reading and writing):

Are you a lurker or do you frequently comment:



My answers:

I'm currently following 54 running blogs, but always on the lookout for more.

I recently started using Google Reader, and love it!

I probably spend about 8-10 hours a week on blogging.

I have to admit, the majority of blogs I follow I rarely comment. For the others, I've been lazy with commenting lately.

Marathon Training Schedule

Here is my training schedule.  I don't have any set speed work or cross training on here.  It is simply the mileage.  For speed work, they will be part of the Tuesday or Thursday runs depending on how training progresses.  I felt that by just listing mileage, it will be easier for me to maintain the schedule.

Calories, Trails, and Training

I've really been watching my caloric intake the last few weeks.  As you know, I haven't had much luck losing any weight this entire year, and I've suspected it's due to an increased appetite, late night snacking, and morning donuts.  I'm proud to announce that I've cut out the late night snacks completely.  It's been about three weeks since I've snacked after dinner!!

Getting back to calories, I've been trying to maintain a lower calorie intake and have been fairly successful (minus Thanksgiving Weekend).  During the work week, I've been drinking coffee alone for breakfast (no more donuts or other pastries), and I've been bringing lunches, mostly some variant of noodles.  Then I tend to have a large lunch.  Yeah, it goes against the recommended method of a large breakfast, medium lunch, and small dinner.  However, I know myself, and even when I eat heavier early, my body still wants a full dinner.  It's working well, and I've lost about 5 lbs total in the last couple of weeks. 

Since many other fitbloggers post weekly weigh-ins, I've decided to start doing the same.  SO to kick it off, here was my weight this morning: 207.0 lbs.

I'm hoping to hit below 200 before the year ends, then try and keep lowering it until I'm around 175-180.  Thinking back, that seems to be my ideal weight.

Yesterday, I hit the NCR Trail and did a long and slow 6 miles.  I ended up heading out later than I should, and it was fairly dark when I finished.  I didn't see a single person the last 20 minutes or so.  The run was great, I did a 1.5/1 run/walk and started out at an 11:30 mile, but slowed it down to an average of 12:42 finishing in 1:16:10.  Slow and steady!  My heal felt fine, however, I could feel some weakness in my hamstring tendon, which I hurt 5 weeks ago during the Army 10 Miler.  It wasn't painful, but enough to notice.  I'll keep an eye on it, and if it starts to act up, I'll adjust my training. 

Speaking of my training, I'll post my marathon training, which officially starts this week, later today.  My training calendar (modified from this) is too big to post, so I've got to create an excel spreadsheet that is easy on the eyes. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is ready for the Christmas season!

Oh Yeah!

I got a 3.08 mile run in today at lunch.  Yay!  This is the first lunchtime run I've done in awhile, and I need to get back into them.  Especially with it getting darker earlier now.  It's supposed to rain this evening and I've got several things I need to do tonight so I decided to bring my gear and run at lunch.  It turned out great!  The weather was nice and I ran the loop around the small lake outside my office.  Each loop is .77 miles, and I did 4 laps!  I forgot to bring my watch so I was forced to estimate my intervals.  I imagine it wasn't every consistent, but oh well.  I'll just call it a fartlek!  3.08 miles in 35:10 (11:26 pace).  Not bad for being out so long.  Here is the course, it's relatively flat, with great scenery. 

A Relaxing Weekend

This weekend was nice and relaxing.  We saw the new Harry Potter Movie (Awesome!) and other than that it was pretty much sitting around playing with the kiddos. 

Today I finally started back to running.  I was hesitant at first, it’s been two weeks since my last run and only my third run this month.  The hammy I pulled during the Army 10 Miler was great.  Not a peep of pain out of it. My left Achilles tendon was sore.  Nothing major, but enough to notice it.  I only ran 2 miles (technically about 1.9) and It felt great to get back out there.  I’ve got two weeks before I’m officially in marathon training so I’ve got some reconditioning to do between now and then. 

As for the Achilles tendon, I went to the doctor on Friday and he said it could be either bursitis or a bone spur.  He’s leaning towards a bone spur.  I got x-rayed and a referral to the office podiatrist.  I’ll make the appointment tomorrow and hope for the best! 

Tomorrow I should be getting my new car back from the service department.  They’re replacing the lower control arms tomorrow at 1:00 so I hopefully will be picking it up after work!! 

Time for bed so catch ya later!

Three Things Thursday

Numero Uno:  Good news!  my heal is basically back to it's normal state.  Not healed, but back to only being sore when I first start walking.  I have a Dr. appointment with my GP for tomorrow and going to probably be referred to the practices podiatrist.  The good thing is he's also a sports med doctor so once I get to see him, I'll probably discuss what's needed to ensure I'm injury free during the marathon.  Tonight will be my first run in nearly two weeks.  :)

Numero Dos:  I'm still loving my new car.  I ordered two decals for it and they arrived yesterday, a fire ant and a mosquito.  Yeah, I'm a bug freak, what ya gonna do? :)  Last night we took the family out to this awesome frozen yogurt place  called Ice Berry.  You pay by the ounce and they have a bunch of different toppings to put on it.  This was the first family ride and the kids loved it.

Numero Tres:  Jen is about to start the 30 Day Shred and I'll most likely start it too.  I skimmed the video and it looks like fun, challenging, but fun.  This will put us right up to Christmas. Jen is having surgery and we're going to Oklahoma between Christmas and New Years.  December should be a great time!

On The Mend

I think my foot pain episode is nearly over.  The NSAIDs are finally doing there job and my walking is returning to normal.  I should be back to normal by weeks end.  I'm still planning on seeing the doctor about it.  I'm trying out their online appointment request.  Waiting to get a response.  Most likely he'll refer me to the office podiatrist, which I'll end up waiting several weeks to see because of being a new patient (Jen just went through the same for her plantar fasciitis.

These last few weeks have sucked to go without running.  I can nearly feel my training evaporate away.  Ugg!  I guess the good news is I haven't noticed anything going on with my hammy the last week.  Hopefully it's nice and healed. 

So, I've been thinking that I know what I want for Christmas.... a new body. Anyone care to get me one?  lol   This year's been one roller coaster of a ride healthwise.  How about this:  For my Christmas present, I want to be healthy for all of 2011 and not have any foot issues, running or non-running related.  PLEASE!!!

I did get a new car yesterday. A 2007 Dodge Caliber.  While I was originally thinking of an SUV, after looking at them, I couldn't justify the price and low gas mileage compared to the crossovers.  Basically they same thing minus some headroom really.  With the luck of my trade-in and savings, I was able to walk away with a small loan which should be paid off before nest Summer!  I abhor having a car payment.  Once that is paid off, then Jen's car payment is next on the chopping block.  Getting back to the car, it has the premium options including sunroof, a 6 CD changer and satellite enabled (I really could care less for either as I usually listen to my Walkman), but the best part is that it has Boston Acoustic speakers and even has a built in sub woofer.  Yeah, I'll be ghetto bound with some gangsta rap soon! 

Oh, I was reading through the last of this month's Runner's World and saw the profile page on Scott Bakula.  It was awesome seeing him give a shout out to the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk/Run program!  Way to go Dr. Beckett!! Or should I say Captain Archer?

Busy Bee

Things around here have been BUSY!  First, I’ve been dealing with transmission issues on my truck and have decided to trade it in.  I was looking at SUV’s but I’m leaning more towards the crossovers now as they’re cheaper and get better gad mileage.  It’s very likely I’ll be getting something tomorrow.

Next, we’ve decided to rehome our little Fala.  She’s  too much to handle.  We live in a townhome and do not have a fenced yard, so she’s stuck on leash whenever outslde.  She really needs to run free and since she can’t outside, she does inside.  She also has seperation anxiety, chews everything, and tortures our senior mini poodle.  So, it’s time to find her a better home where she can have a yard to play in.  We have a potential home, that she might work out with.  Will find out this week.

On the running front, it’s gone nowhere.  My left heel is acting up.  I’ve had bursitis off and on for awhile on this heel.  It’s what gives me trouble in the mornings with being so stiff. Well something agrivated it about 4 days ago, and the inflammation has yet to go down.  Jen saw a podiatrist for her plantar fasciitis and think’s he’d great.  I’ll most likely be making an appointment with him on Monday.  Even if the inflammation goes down,  I need to see a specialist about it.   Given this, I decided to not sign up for a turkey trot.  Depending on how long it takes to get better, I’m hoping to get another race in before the end of the year.

I’ve also slacked off on the challenges.  I didn’t do them yesterday, and only did the situps on Wednesday.  This was my last week so, yeah, I didn’t make it all the way through.  But!  I’m going to try and keep going with them for a few weeks, until my foot feels better, then start Julian Michaels 30 Day Shred which Jen got and has started doing.

As for the blogosphere, I’m way behind on reading posts.  I’ll get back to it soon! 

I hope everyone’s having a great weekend!

Cool Video

I came across this video of runners at the NYC Marathon.  Thought I’d share. 

 

A First

I’ve been running in my neighborhood for nearly a year, and today was the first time a fellow runner actually stopped to talk.  Although mainly he walks, but I have seen him out and about before.  We talked for about a minute or two on where we go, then went our separate ways. 

As for my run, I did almost 3.5 miles.  I was planning a 4 miler, but I didn’t map out where I was going (our house up to Paige’s school), I wasn’t exactly sure how far it would be until done. I started out great, but conservative.  About midway I started noticing tenderness again in my right hamstring, so I slowed it down even further.  It’s only been two weeks, so I wasn’t expecting it to be full healed anyway.  Still going to take it nice and easy for the next few weeks.  I do plan to run more than once a week from this point on however.  Otherwise, it was a nice, chilly morning run.  I do need to get a good running jacket for the winter. I was using a regular hoody and it’s too stuffy.  Off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. 

Catch Ya Later!

Lack of Running

I have to admit, I haven't been running the last two weeks.  I got a slow 3 miler in last Sunday and that's been it.  Partially, I want to make sure my hamstring has plenty of time to heal, but partially because I've just been lazy busy with work and family. My plan, cause you know I've always got to have one, is to start back on Sunday, expecting that my hamstring issue should be resolved by then. When I ran last Sunday, I thought I might have felt a slight bit of tenderness, or I was just over analyzing it. I still plan to run a Turkey Trot in a few weeks so I have to get back into shape.  Plus my marathon training officially kicks off the following week.

Thanks for the input on Christmas stuff.  Winter clothes will definitely be a good thing.  Still debating about a watch.  If mine wasn't missing the plastic buttons, I'd be fine with what I've got.  Possibly just an upgrade of this version as it's about 5 years old.  I think I can find it on ebay pretty cheap.  Maybe some new running shoes.  The more I think about trail shoes, the more I think I can go with out, at least until spring rolls around and I start looking at the available races. 

The latest issue has been my poor truck. She's only a 2003, but the transmission is slipping in the morning, and other issues are creeping up.  It's time to get something new.  Something the kids can ride in.  This weekend I'll probably start looking around.  I've like the jeep SUVs (Patriot, Liberty, Compass).  Anyone have one and is there anything you don't like about them?

Christmas Gift

The Mrs. has been hounding me what I’d like for Christmas and I could use some input.  I’d originally thought about getting a Garmin Forerunner, but I really have no interest in using a GPS watch at the moment.  I like mapmyrun to find out how far I’ve run. I could use a newer watch though.  I’m using a Nike Triax Speed 50 that a dog got ahold of.  Some of the buttons are missing.  It has nearly all the functionality I want, except when doing intervals I have to hit a button for it to stop beeping at the changes.  Otherwise, it does what I need a watch to do. 

My question is, what are the better non-GPS watches out there? I’m looking in the $60-$80 range. 

Secondly, I need to pick something else as well.  I was thinking of a new pair of shoes, mine currently have about 225 miles, and by the end of my marathon, I’ll have put on another 400 miles (quite a bit passed the recommended life span).  I could also get a pair of trail shoes, and use them for part of my training.  I want to get some trail runs in next year so which should it be.  Trail shoes, or my normal running shoes?

And the Battle Continues

This week’s theme seems to be food.  A lot of people are posting about their efforts against their own food monsters. 

This week is tough. I’m attending the Armed Forces Pest Management Board committee meetings in DC this week and that means long drives, and getting home late.  Tonight I chose to pick up some Chinese food for dinner because Jen and the kids ate the leftovers from yesterday, and the house is pretty much bare. I grabbed a General Tso’s combo at a place down the street. I hadn’t been there before and when the food came, it was HUGE!!  Normally, I would stuff myself and eat almost all of it, but tonight I told myself that just because I had a huge amount of food, I didn’t have to stuff myself.

I ate less than half!!  I’m not stuffed, but not really full either.  Just satiated.  Inch by inch, I’m fighting my food monster.  Good luck with yours!

Challenge Update

Jen and I are still plugging away with the Push-up, Sit-up, and Squat challenges.  I just started week 5 (only 4 on squats) and I must say it’s kicking my a$$!  I did  94 push-ups, 136 sit-ups, and  94 squats tonight.  Wednesday it ups from 5 sets to 8!!  These last two weeks are going to kill me!!

We’re looking at doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred for the next challenge. Anyone tried this one before?

October Recap

Month In Review:


Running: 10 runs, 2 races, 42.3 miles
Walking: 2 lunchtime walks, 5.4 miles
Challenge:  Pushups, Situps, and Squats 3 times a week (no squats the week before the Army 10 Miler)

Monthly Highlights:

• Komen Race for the Cure: A great race with a PR.  It was challenging to navigate through all the walkers but a great run.

• Army 10 Miler:  A disappointing time, but a win regardless.  This is the furthest race I've done and minus the injury, it was awesome.  I can't wait for next years!

• I signed up for my first marathon (Shamrock Marathon March 20th 2011!).

• Took an entire week off work just to enjoy the fall and relax.

• No gout issues, and blood pressure staying down.  Only real health problem was pulled hamstring from race.

November Goals:

• Run a Thanksgiving day race (undecided at the moment, several to choose from).

• Allow pulled hamstring to fully heal and relax running until marathon training starts on November 29th.

• Finish challenges and start another.