Sep 29, 2013

Weekly Roundup: September 29th

Credit: http://oilersnation.com/
My training has found its way back on track. We're rolling again, with no missed runs, some good paces and some weight loss. It felt good to have a more sense of accomplishment this week. One week is just one week, but one good week is something.

One Word to Describe the Week

Improved

Training

Weekly Total:
Miles: 5.96 miles
Time: 1:18:48

Sunday, September 22: Rest

Monday, September 23: Rest

Tuesday, September 24: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 3.70 miles
Time: 45:41
Average Pace: 12:18 min / mile

Summary: The legs were still a little heavy as I headed out for this run but I decided to push through it and go for a faster run. In the end I had a nice quick pace for me and was happy with the result. The one thing I learned on this run is that 123 is not lit for night running. I need to save that for daylight.

Wednesday, September 25: Rest

Thursday, September 26: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 2.26 miles
Time: 33:07
Average Pace: 14:39 min / mile

Summary: I took this evening run a little easier. The reason being is I planned on having a race on Sunday. Now, to make a long story short, apparently when I registered online, it never went through, so I had no race on Sunday. I still pushed my distance to Sunday, and actually ran a tiny bit farther than I would have otherwise at the 10K.

Friday, September 27: Rest

Saturday, September 28: Rest (Distance on Sunday)

WeightWatchers

While my month hasn't been what I've hoped, I did have a better week for my weight. I was down almost a pound from last week on my weigh in day. I'm also unofficially down a little more than that today as well (weigh-ins are Fridays). I ate pretty well this week and have been trying to cut back my caffeine some too. Those that know me, know I could drink coffee all day or hook and IV in if given the chance. I know it's better to have less, so I've been trying to cut back, but not out because I'm realistic.

Thoughts on the Week

This week was a stronger week than some have been lately. While this doesn't show it because of the structure of the roundup, I did have all my runs in this week, just with my weekend run bumped to Sunday. Looking ahead, the time improvement plan does look aggressive in its distances, so I need to keep up the good work.

Sep 22, 2013

Weekly Roundup: September 22nd

This month may have started good, but has been bumping since then. Last week was a little sidetracked by work. This week has been working to get back on track. While things are a little more lined up, they aren't fully upright yet. This did mark official week 1 of the time improvement training plan.

One Word to Describe the Week

Slug
Credit: http://spreadtheslug.tumblr.com/
Sluggish

Training

Weekly Total:
Miles: 7.18 miles
Time: 1:48:02

Sunday, September 15: Rest

Monday, September 16: Rest

Tuesday, September 17: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 2.17 miles
Time: 32:59
Average Pace: 15:09 min / mile

Summary: Starting this week off did not feel as good pre-work trip. My legs felt heavy and sluggish. It just felt like a lot more work to run and get the legs going. Sometimes I feel like this when I start runs and it shakes off but this continued the whole run, which lead to the shorter end of the run window duration.

Wednesday, September 18: Rest

Thursday, September 19: Missed Maintenance Run

Summary: I missed my second weekday run. Not going to make any excuses. On the slight positive I did walk about 1.5 miles with Steph and Sam after work (and then again on Friday). Not my run / walk, but still activity for being healthier.

Friday, September 20: Rest

Saturday, September 21: Distance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 5.01 miles
Time: 1:15:03
Average Pace: 14:57 min / mile

Summary: The first distance run of the time improvement plan was a 5.5 mile run. My plan was to get up just early enough to get my run in (giving me 15 min / mile in time), get home, showered and breakfast before heading off to gymnastics for Sam. My legs felt sluggish again today. At times during the run, it was a little better, but there was a degree of sluggishness through the run. Early, I was just over a 15 min pace, which was not making me happy. My goal is always 15 minute miles on my long runs, to be sustainable for whatever distance and still "have something in the tank" to be able to push when I need it. Before my week in Florida, I was doing that and then some on my 9 mile run which gave me great confidence. Unfortunately, this Saturday I did not have that. In the end, I did get my pace just under 15. However, I arrived back home a half mile short and stopped. While 5 miles is good, I'm mad after the fact of missing that little extra half mile.

WeightWatchers

I had done a little damage while away. Trying to get back into things went pretty well. I ate ok. Not great though. I had some cake here and there from the cake made for Steph's birthday as well as some ice cream with it. While not good, I did eat much smaller portions of it then I normally have in the past, so it is an improvement. In the end, my weight was unchanged from the last week.

Thoughts on the Week

I hate to of started off week 1 of the new plan with a miss. When I miss, it's usually in the same way, the same pattern for 90% of the cases. I hoped to start the new plan better than this (and the month) but you don't always achieve everything. Unfortunately, this was from a lack of trying, so I am at fault. I have a race coming up next week, the Perfect 10 K, so I need to be on my game this week and finish the month strong.

Sep 15, 2013

Weekly Roundup: September 15th

Clearwater, Florida
Not a bad view for work.
Wouldn't have been a bad place to run either.
This week ended up with some misses. Unfortunately that meant failing my goal of no missed sessions. This week I had some travel for work to Florida and unfortunately I let myself convince myself to sleep in instead of getting up early. I gave myself various excuses in my head at the time, justifying it, but in the end I chose sleep over running, so noone to blame but myself.

Training

Weekly Total:
Miles: 2.41 miles
Time: 33:57

Sunday, September 8: Rest

Monday, September 9: Rest

Tuesday, September 10: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 2.41 miles
Time: 33:57
Average Pace: 14:05 min / mile

Summary: This run went well. It was a good send off before flying to Florida that evening. I felt good running, took it easier but still put in a 14 min pace. I had a shorter run, knowing I was going to work all day then have to travel to Florida in the evening, I didn't want to over tire myself or be sore for flying.

Wednesday, September 11: Rest

Thursday, September 12: Missed Maintenance Run

Friday, September 13: Rest

Saturday, September 14: Missed Distance Run

WeightWatchers

With the traveling, my eating wasn't as good as usual. I pack a very healthy, low points lunches for myself most days. With traveling, my lunch options and choices were limited. I tried to pick healthier options when available, but it was definitely far from perfect.

Thoughts on the Week

My week was a good week. I really enjoyed the time in Florida. While it was work, it was work in Florida. Unfortunately, it was not a good training week for me. This week was my last "off week" between my training plans, so I just need to rebound next week as I start week 1 of my time improvement training plan. The steps towards Disney are getting closer!

Sep 8, 2013

Weekly Roundup: September 8th

First week in a new month, a new page. Trying hard to keep improving and keep on track. I think this first week in September was a pretty good start. My running stayed energized and felt good this week. I put in some good distance this week, including a long run on Saturday. The was week 1 of my 2 off weeks before the start of the new training plan that will lead all the way into WDW Half.

Training

Weekly Total:
Miles: 16.11 miles
Time: 3:42:31

Sunday, September 1: Rest

Monday, September 2: Rest

Tuesday, September 3: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 3.11 miles
Time: 41:16
Average Pace: 13:16 min / mile

Summary: I felt really good out running on Tuesday. I decided to go a push for 3.1 miles again and have another 5K maintenance run. I was energized and pushed a good pace for myself without really needing to try. I was not far over a 13 minute split just going out and running. It gave me some good confidence.

Wednesday, September 4: Rest

Thursday, September 5: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 4.00 miles
Time: 50:54
Average Pace: 12:41 min / mile

Summary: Thursday ended up being another great evening run. I started out feeling ok. I wasn't overly motivated or unmotivated, just ok. As I started running, it felt good and I decided to try and go for a full 45 minutes. As I was running, I was covering good ground, enjoying the cooler temperature, enjoying my music, enjoying my run. When I reached the point about where I should turn around timewise, I saw I was nearing 2 miles. I decided, why not, let's make it 4. I pushed my run out to the next stop light that put me at 1.95 miles, turned around, knowing I'd get 4 miles in to get home. In the end, I turned in a really great split and put in 4 miles. Ok, yes, I cheated and went a little over my 45 minutes on the plan, but so worth it.

Friday, September 6: Rest

Saturday, September 7: Distance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 9.00 miles
Time: 2:10:21
Average Pace: 14:28 min / mile

George Mason statue
Mornin' George.
Summary: For the first of the 2 off weeks, I scheduled myself a 5 mile run. With having such a good week, I thought of pushing for longer. There was also some guilt of missing my long 13 mile run 2 weeks ago playing into it. I set out to get at least 5 miles in, but geared up with my water belt and some GU Gels in prep to run longer. On a side note, I recently picked up a couple different flavors from PRR. The espresso and peanut butter flavors... awesome. At first my legs felt a little tight but loosened up. Before I new it, I reached George Mason University. I felt great. I was trying to take a slower pace, knowing if I was going to run longer, the pace from my week day runs wouldn't be sustainable for me at this point. After the first mile at 14:27, my app stopped giving me my splits every mile. It was a good / bad situation. Good, because kept me from overanalyzing, bad, because I wanted to know and would end up trying to do some close math to figure out my average anyway. I looped half the campus, then decided to cut through campus to go by the George Mason statue instead of continuing to loop around it. I learned my mental map of campus is not quite as good as I thought, which my split times will concur with. In the end, I made it back home and with a little hook around stopped at 9 miles. The crazy part? I wasn't too tired either. Sure, my legs were a little tired, but they didn't feel like dead weight or anything. Other than the bottoms of my feet a little, not sore either. I hooked off at this point though so I could grab a quick shower and catch up with the wife and daughter at her gym class, to check out a new place we were trying. The main downside to the run? Missed out on bagels with my wife and Dopey Dave.

WeightWatchers

This week was much more positive than the last. I forgot to weigh in until Sunday, but I dropped almost 2 pounds, getting back what I gained the previous week. I ate pretty healthy, cutting back on some of the less healthy stuff I was fitting into my points. Just because it fit into the points doesn't mean I should always have it. I need to make more of those right choices. It is still ok once and a while, just not as often as I've allowed it. This week will be a little more of a challenge, however, because I will be on a work trip which means eating out more often. I just need to convince myself of more of the healthier options than those that are not to come out not too damaged.

Thoughts on the Week

Training went well. Eating went well. Sleep... could use some improvement. The week, and especially the weekend, were busy but good. I hope the energized running feeling will continue to last. I'm hoping I just found that sweet spot of enjoying running. I know it can't always be there, but I hope that becomes the rule, not the exception.

Sep 2, 2013

Monthly Roundup: August

I can't believe it's already September and that the summer has already come and gone. It went by so fast. August was an interesting and busy month. It included vacation, some heat and humidity and a new job. My training and weight loss had some ups and downs during the month, but still moving forward.

Trainings

Not a bad place for a 14 mile run.
My training this past month wasn't great. It included a lot of missed sessions. In fact, I missed more times than I actually worked out. I'm not happy with that. I'm not happy with myself. I expect more from myself. With that said, it was not all bad. I did have my longest run to date: a 14 mile run that I did on vacation none-the-less. That did in fact save my monthly total miles to look better than it should have likely been. I have started to bounce back from the missed sessions as well and have a renewed drive to get all my runs in. As I've mentioned before, my biggest hurdle is wanting to sleep for morning runs and just plain forgetfulness for evening runs. But I only offer that as explanation, not as an excuse. I cannot let myself make excuses and expect to improve.

Races

I had no races in August, but I think the 14 mile rhn should count as a psuedo-race. September has the Perfect 10 races, where I plan to run the 10K. They offer a 1.0 mile, 10K and 10 miler. I'd want to try the 10 miler, but the 10K fits better with my training schedule.

Some Monthly Stats

Geeky stats time for the month of August.

Running the Roads
Total Distance: 24.19 miles
Total Time: 6:13:02
Average Pace: 14:49 min / mile
Best Pace: 13:34 min / mile
Best Split: 12:59 min

Total Distance Year to Date: 117.52
Monthly Distances Chart

Do you see that? I have run 117.52 miles since April. That's just on the road, nothing in the gym counted. Going from nothing, that number is hard to fathom for me. Then, I start to think what that number would be without all the missed training sessions and it's just so hard to take in. I can't even believe that number is real, for me to have done all that already.

Looking to September

Set Goals
Credit: austincc.edu
We're already fast into September. I thought a good way to look at the month is to set some goals for myself. Some will be more difficult to others. I will strive to accomplish them all. But goals should stretch you, so I'm not just picking things I know I can accomplish.

  • No missed training sessions
  • Add 1 non-running training session per week
  • Run 40 miles total
  • Lose 5 pounds
I think these are good starting goals. The first, no missed sessions is obvious. It is how things should be every month, but have not been yet so far for me. The second is something I want to add to increase my overall health and compliment my running. Ideally, I want to add yoga, weight and other cross-training activities to my workouts. I think I'd like to do yoga once a week to increase my flexibility and joint strength, weight train one day to work out other muscles and another day just doing other exercises, such as for my core. That is obviously a lot to add in, so I'm going to pull out the developer in me and apply the iterative approach. I'm going to start with one extra session a week, then come back and add more. Right now, with my new job, I don't have a gym. In our new office, we'll have one to use again, but for now that means my extra sessions will be something I will do around home. One extra time a week will be good for me I believe.

The next goal is to run 40 miles. My largest has been 30 outside, so I wanted to step it up from there. In addition, looking at the training plan for this month, this requires some of my week day runs to put the 45 minute side of the 30 - 45 minute window because I will need more 3 mile runs than 2 mile ones to meet this total. Lastly, I want to kick my weight loss up a gear. It has done ok, slowly losing a little with a slight setback recently. That is a change I really want to see that I haven't yet, so I want to push myself on that as well this month.

I've also decided to give the Nike+ Running app a try this month. We'll see how it goes. If you're on Nike+, look me up and add me. I used the screen name WickeeWickee.

What will September hold? More work, more progress, more success.

Sep 1, 2013

Weekly Roundup: September 1st

I've been working on getting back on track. This week, for training, was a step in the right direction. For the eating and weight loss, I think I need to step it up some. Though I believe this week might more likely be the lingering effects of the off weeks I've had.

Training

Sunday, July 25: Rest

Monday, July 26: Rest

Tuesday, July 27: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 2.19 miles
Time: 31:34
Average Pace: 14:26 min / mile

Summary: This was my first run out in 2 weeks. It felt pretty good considering that. I got up and out early, starting to run before the sun even came up. It was a pretty good way to start the day. My first split was a little slow so I pushed myself a little more the second mile and took over 2.5 minutes off my split. In the end, I was happy with my run.

Wednesday, July 28: Rest

Thursday, July 29: Maintenance Run
Where: Outside
Distance: 3.10 miles
Time: 45:12
Average Pace: 14:34 min / mile

Summary: For my Thursday run I ran in the evening as opposed to the morning. I was tired and couldn't get myself out of bad. One of the hurdles I have. I decided I wanted to push myself a little more for my run, so I decided to take the upper end of my 30-45 minute run. I wanted to get 3 miles in, which would mean a 15 min / mile split. Not too fast, but my current goal for the long distances so trying to find that pace. In the end, I was successful. I ended up running in the twilight into the evening, but the path I run has street lights, so lit enough to run just fine. I do need a reflective belt or something to wear all the time, to be safer. I ended up having my own personal 5K run that evening, getting my 3.1 miles in at the 45 minute mark. Goal accomplished.

Friday, July 30: Rest

Saturday, July 31: Missed 3 mile run

Summary: No real excuse here. With the holiday weekend, I was enjoying relaxing, didn't make myself get up early but didn't remember or push myself out in the evening. I'm still working on this.

WeightWatchers

I did a pretty good job on my food again this week. I'm doing a pretty good job of tracking, just occassionally needing to go back to put in dinner when I forget in the evening. I've had more sweets than I probably should have, though they all were within my allowance. I think the problem I have is the points allow me to cheat a little too much, when I have very low point lunches. I also feel like my daily calculated target is higher than in needs to be, allowing more than what I feel like I should be, but I can't give a real reason as to why. I also put on over a pound, but I think this is largely the effect of my non-training recently catching up to me. I've often seen positive effects lagging a week or so behind, so I could see negative going the same way.

Thoughts on the Week

In the end, a week with any training over no training is an improvement. 2 of 3 isn't bad, but it's not good. I need to be better. I have to be better. I will be better.