Back at it...

while thinking about the coming baseball season...

Another Rainy Tuesday

So yeah. I didn't post that last Thursday, but I did run 2 miles. My calf hurt A LOT! I felt something kinda pop in it, so instead of the 3 miles I had planned to do, I shut it down at 2. Then the next day I was walking with a pronounced limp. I decided to rest it until it felt better. Running on it was a poor decision. Resting it was a wise decision.

Anyhow, I ran two miles today to get back into the swing of things. I felt very good, and probably could have done the extra mile, but first run back from an injury I didn't want to push it. I'll do 3 on Thursday, then 1 or 1½ miles on Saturday to prep for Sunday's 5k!

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: 16 stone, 12lb. (236lb, 107.0kg) *
Current Weight: 17 stone, 0lb. (238lb, 108.0kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 4lb. (+4lb, +1.8kg)

* - a note on weights. I'm considering Sunday weigh in's the official weigh in. I did in fact weigh myself last Sunday, despite not running.

Mile goal this week: 9
Miles today: 2
Miles this week: 2
Miles last week: 0
Total Mileage: 17

Weather:6˚C (43˚F), Partly Cloudy, 8mph WSW, 87% R.H., Wind chill n/a. Walking home from work was miserable. 17 mph wind from the W and raining. I guess a small front moved through because it was downright pleasant this evening.

Aches and Pains: Bueno.

Random Thoughts: I wonder if the canals are subject to the tides.

-rusty

Tuesday 5k

while waiting to see who those Michiganders voted for...

Rainy Tuesday

Three miles today. I was a little worried about how my left calf, more on that later. I felt really good! My legs feel a ton stronger, my lungs feel like they have a better capacity, and whether I was faster or not, I felt faster. I haven't been losing weight, but my legs are getting strong very fast.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: n/a *
Current Weight: 16 stone, 13lb. (237lb, 107.5kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 3lb. (+3lb, +1.4kg)

* - a note on weights. I'm considering Sunday weigh in's the official weigh in. Since I didn't weigh myself last Sunday, it's still n/a. Also, I'm not worried that I"m actually gaining weight at this point. First of all, it's only week 1, and 2nd, I can see some of the weight coming off my face. I must be building some muscle, hence the minor weight gain.

Mile goal this week: 10
Miles today: 3
Miles this week: 5
Miles last week: 8
Total Mileage: 13

Weather:6˚C (43˚F), Light Rain (or drizzle, it was tough to tell), 4mph SSE, 93% R.H., Wind chill n/a

Aches and Pains:I was a little worried about how my left calf would feel, but it was fine, until I cooled down that is. It's pretty tight right now. I'm wondering if substituting my Thursday run for 30 minutes on an exercise bike is ok. I'm guessing now that I'll be better off resting it an extra day, but I was able to run without an issue. Also, I loosened the laces on my right shoe and that eliminated that problem!

Random Thoughts: There were Greater Manchester Police and a bunch of Metrolink workers out tonight checking tickets and assessing fines to those without valid tickets. Way to go!
-rusty

Baconated Grapefruit? I Love the Future!

while digesting baconated chicken...

One Healthy Thing, One "Healthy" Thing

Did 2 miles in the morning whilst it was VERY windy. I felt like I was barely moving into the wind, but out of control with the tail wind. That was healthy.

Danny's mom makes what I like to call baconated chicken. We fried up 2 pounds of bacon, then using the grease we fried 16 thighs and drumsticks. We ate all but one... just because Alison wanted it for lunch tomorrow. Oh, and this includes our hors d'vours. Bacon wrapped pineapple. We still have a ton of bacon leftover, even though we ate about a pound between the three of us.

Forgot to mention, for a post dinner snack before the christmas pudding is ready, we dipped some leftover bread into the bacon grease to scoop up the tasty morsels of chicken crunchies.

Screw 10 miles this week, I'll consider it a success if I walk to work tomorrow without keeling over with a cardiac arrest.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: n/a *
Current Weight: 16 stone, 13lb. (237lb, 107.5kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 3lb. (+3lb, +1.4kg)

* - a note on weights. I'm considering Sunday weigh in's the official weigh in. Since I didn't weigh myself last Sunday, it's still n/a. Also, I'm not worried that I"m actually gaining weight at this point. First of all, it's only week 1, and 2nd, I can see some of the weight coming off my face. I must be building some muscle, hence the minor weight gain.

Mile goal this week: 10
Miles today: 2
Miles this week: 2
Miles last week: 8
Total Mileage: 12

Weather:10˚C (50˚F), 21mph S, 87%R.H., Wind chill n/a

Aches and Pains: Left calf hurts a bit. Not sure what to make of it. It feels like there is a knot in the muscle. Tomorrow is a rest day, so we'll see how that goes. As for my right foot, I tied my shoe very loosely and it felt good. It came untied though at one point, so I tightened it down and it hurt a bit again. I'll play with that a bit.

Random Thoughts: My christmas tree is really sad. All the needles fell off and it's not getting collected until Tuesday.

-rusty

Early... Ok Midmorning... okok...Almost Noon Run

while eating a very tasty egg and cheese on a REAL bagel...

The crack of 10:30am

Three more miles today. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but I did see another runner today! I think he was training for boxing because he was wearing sweatshirt, jacket with hood and periodically stopped to spar. Whenever we passed we smiled and gave a little wave.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: n/a
Current Weight: 16 stone, 11lb. (235lb, 106.6kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 1lb. (+1lb, +0.5kg)

Mile goal this week: 8
Miles today: 3
Miles this week: 8 (goal achieved!)
Miles last week: n/a
Total Mileage: 10

Weather:4˚C (39˚F), 8mph SSW, 87%R.H., Wind chill 1˚C (33˚F)

Aches and Pains: Felt pretty good, but since I did run first thing in the morning without any breakfast, I did feel like I was running out of energy towards the end. My right foot hurts a bit, too. I think I just tied that shoe too tight. It is the bigger of my two feet.

Random Thoughts: Random!

-rusty

This Ain't So Bad When...

while preparing for the arrival of Cash...

Three More Miles

As per my plan of doing 10 miles/week on only 4 days of running, I bumped things up to three miles today and it felt pretty good. I'm running at night, in the cold, where no one can see me going really slowly, and I don't feel like any eyes are on me at all.

There is something to be said for having someone pushing you. When I was in ROTC, Captains Stelzig* and Muhlenberg as well as Major Schrek** would help me with my running. When we were training individually (I remember one particular 4 mile run with CPT Muhlenberg and an 8 miler with MAJ Schrek), they'd purposely run a step or two faster than I was able. That kept me pushing hard. If I couldn't keep the pace and I slowed down, they'd slow also, but they'd still be a step or two faster so I'd be going as fast as I nominally could.

But right now I'm building a base and I'm building motivation. It's nice to be going at a speed and a pace I can handle. There are no eyes on me at all at the Tram station. I can just concentrating on making sure I finish my mileage goal. This way I don't think, "man that sucked," and I can look forward to running next time.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106kg)
Weight Last week: n/a
Current Weight: 16 stone, 12lb. (236lb, 107kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 2lb. (+2lb, +1kg)

Mile goal this week: 8
Miles today: 3
Miles this week: 5
Miles last week: n/a
Total Mileage: 7

Weather:6˚C (41˚F), 6mph S, 93%R.H., Windchill 5˚C (39˚F)

Aches and Pains: Nothing! I feel pretty good. No cramp today, and I think that's because I was much more conscientious about how much water I was drinking today. I do need a sweatband of some sort to keep sweat out of my eyes though.

Random Thoughts: I wonder if the people on the tram can see me when I'm not under a street lamp.

-rusty

*- last I heard, CPT Stelzig was MAJ Stelzig.
**- last I heart, MAJ Schrek was LTC Schrek.

Don't Start a Fitness Regime on Dec. 16th!

While still giddy after having watched the Rangers win game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals...

So What Happened?

Right, so I began running on a Sunday, and I planned to update after everyday that I ran. And I kept to my promise; I haven't run since that day! Monday the 17th was a rest day, then, well, Christmas happened. Lots of food, lots of drinking, long nights, a very ill wife (not from the drinking and long nights) and it all led to me deciding to restart after the holidays. So here we are!

Today's Run

Back to square one, eh? Two miles. Last time kinda sucked, but I felt pretty good today, actually. I also tried a different route that I think will work well for short runs.

Walking to and fro work, I go a bit out of my way to walk through an elevated tram station. It's a nice view around and there are rarely more than 20 people about. And it has the added benefit over the canal path, of having no broken glass and not smelling like urine! Anyhow, on the way home today, I thought to myself, "hey I could probably use this area like a track, I wonder how big the circumference of this area is?" So I whipped out google maps and violá, between the staircases is almost exactly 1/4 of a mile. Obviously that makes a roundtrip 1/2 mile. Like I said, good for shorter runs, like I'll be doing for the time being. I also measured out a few other paths so I can vary things up and it's not just the same laps over and over again.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106kg)
Weight Last week: n/a
Current Weight: 16 stone, 12lb. (236lb, 107kg)
Differential: +0 stone, 2lb. (2lb, 1kg)

Mile goal this week: 8 (I started on Tuesday, which is essentially day 2)
Miles today: 2
Miles this week: 2
Miles last week: n/a
Total Mileage: 4

Aches and Pains: Nothing! I feel pretty good. A lot better than I did last time I ran at least. It helps not having blisters. I did have a bit of a cramp in my left calf walking back home. I have to remember to drink more water during the course of the day.

Random Thoughts: I was running by the Beetham Tower and the lights on the eastern side of the building were lit up in such a way it looked like one of those ads for Channel 4.

-rusty