a chilly run

It was a chilly run - but a good one. I thought with it being in the 20's it would be pretty good - but the wind was a killer! (20 mph) My ears and face got pretty cold. The road is still ice and snow covered. It is melting which made it really really slick in parts. My first slip was 200 feet in to the run - it was not my last. I never did fall though. I did a slow warm up mile, tried for a faster 2nd and a fastes 3rd. My cool down mile really lowered my overall pace. I am happy with that 3rd mile - shows me I still had something in the tank - especially since mile 3 has an overpass in it. Total calorie burn of 636 calories is nice, but was hoping for more. Hoof Gang run tomorrow. Hope to do better then.

Speedwork on the treadmill.

I really dislike the treadmill. Maybe it's because the one I use is rather generic. I will freely admit, it actually seemed harder than running on the road, like I was pushing the belt and it was harder than pushing the ground. In any event, the 'mill I use does not calculate distance. I tried to use the cardio app on my droid, but, then again, that is just a guess without a pedometer. I did monitor my heart rate, taking the average for my workout and using a formula I come up with 351 cal. burned. Since I normally burn 150-155 cal per mile, it's a reasonable estimate to say I ran two miles. (cardio trainer said 1.5 miles). I did a 5 minute warm up jog, then speed work. 4 sets fo 30 second sprints with 30 second recovery, followed by 2 45 second sprints and 30 seconds recovery and finally a 1 minute sprint. I think cooled down, but for fun threw in two more 30 second sprints. After that, I did 5 chin ups, 20 mason twists, rest, 25 mason twists and then 5 more chinups, just for some cross training. Of course, I did some foam rolling before the treadmill workout. I plan to run outside tomorrow. The roads should be a little clearer.

Running in the snow is fun! Running on Ice, is not.

After the run to the right...

Before the run below...



2 mph wind? My asterisk! I knew it would be slick with the ice underneath and the snow on top but I didn't know how slick. I wiped out before reaching my driveway, walking through my ice-packed snow covered yard! My wife is/was pretty irked at me for going, but I was determined. I made a mental note last night driving home as to where the ice was gone so I thought I could go a little faster there. Apparently my memory is faulty as I'd say all but .25 mile of what I ran was ice covered. It all had 1.5 inches (at least) of freshly fallen snow on it. I did slip once while running but never hit the ground. I failed at the elusive negative split, but I was able to keep it under 10 mm. I "ran" the first mile, took a little walk break and headed back. I took another, much shorter, walk break after about 1/2 mile. After finishing mile two I just jogged it on in. I did feel a little winded at the start and I'm not happy about that. I definitely need to up my cardio. I will do something tomorrow a.m. before church. We'll see if the roads are any clearer if I'll run outside, treadmill or elliptical. I hope to get to town later and donate some blood, but we'll have to see. My splits for this run were:
9:32 (155 cal)
9:36 (157 cal)
5:26 (73 cal)
Now, to go move some snow around...

Feb 1 Training Report

I got up this morning knowing I was not going to work and decided to survey the land to see what it looked like as far as ice accumulation. We appear to have about 1/2 inch. I took some pictures, which I will post later. Being February 1, it was time to take some measurements. I'm a little behind on my goals, only losing 3.6 pounds in January. I did lose 1/4 inch off of my neck, 1/2 off of my belly and 3/4 off my waist. This means my BF% is still far too high. I would like to be in the teens and not 20's. That will take a long time. Maybe by November I'll be there. I'm going to have to turn it on to lose 13 pounds in the next 51 days or so.

In that line of thought, I finally did an elliptical workout about 4:20. I did 25 minutes with an avg. heart rate of 148. I was wanting it over 150, but just couldn't get there. It was very strange being on the machine as I haven't been in some time. It took a solid ten minutes to get my rhythm going. According to a formula I found on the internet, this amounts to a 390 calorie burn. I also did some foam rolling and rolled frozen water on the arch of my left foot. Tomorrow, I will more than likely shovel some snow, and I am planning on doing P90X Plyometrics. I like that workout. I have a treadmill, but the distance calculator doesn't work and it doesn't look like I'll be hitting the road any time soon.


Well, the pictures aren't loading. Tomorrow maybe.

Jan 31

Ok. So the big storm has hit. I didn't get up this morning and run like I should have and there was too much water and ice on the road when I got home to try to run. To make matters worse, I ate too much for supper - and if you've ever done that - well, at least me it sucks the desire to run right out of me. I did however do SOMETHING today - which is what I promised I would do. In a recent issue of Runner's World they had posted a page on "Power Poses" as in Yoga. 6 moves. Supposed to take about 10 minutes. Jill and I did them together. She wants to do more "yogurt". I told her we'd try the P90X Yoga in the a.m. It's 90 minutes and a butt kicker. But to anyone reading this - do you do Yoga? Do you do it every day? Is it bad to do it daily, or at least some moves? I would like better poise and balance.

Oh - the moves were Chair, twisting chair, twisting lunge and then Warrior III, Arrow Lunge, Extended Leg Balance.

Group runs rock!

Had a good time today. This was the first time I ran with anyone since....I think the Sullivan Stuff and Puff. My goal was to run the entire distance, but I was running at a faster clip than normal so I ended up walking during Mile 3. I did enjoy chatting with Michelle Simpson while I ran. We met up at Common Grounds afterwards and had a meeting for our new club. We've decided the name is Hoofgang. Not realy wild about that, but I was one of few detractors. We'll be doing another run next Saturday. I'll post the map route soon.

I have attached some before during and after pictures. I tried to make them post at the end - but I'm still learning how to do this blogging thing.

Where has the time gone?

I have just noticed it has been a month since I have posted anything here. I have been running, albeit, not very much. There has of course been some bad weather and I've been a bit jammed up at work. I will certainly get more miles in during the coming weeks as official half training begins on 2/21. Tomorrow is the inaugural group run for our new running club. I hope it isn't quite so cold and nasty as I would like for a nice crowd to be present. If you are reading this and want to join, we will meet in front of WMCI before 9:00 and then run a 5K (about). We are going to meet up at Common Grounds for a social afterwards. I'm looking forward to the run and to the development of the club. I have some grand plans. Let's hope it works out for the best.

Oh, we do need a name for our club....suggestions?