Weekend Blog Dump + Weigh In

Friday
I did my weights routine, nothing eventful happened. Word on the street is Santa Claus has an exercise bike with my name on it. I look forward to that as opposed to what I did today.

Saturday
I ran my 2.5 mile route today. I got a new pair of running sun glasses and the weather gave me opportunity to try them out today. They are just cheap-o plastic sunglasses, but they worked great. My times weren't especially encouraging at the driveway (.7 mile) 11:52, or the last mile mark (1.5 mile) 11:45. I think part of the reason is the dirt road I run a portion on was recently regraded. It had become riddled with potholes, so it was time, but the surface quality has gotten a lot worse when it comes to running. Now it's all loose and feels like running in sand if I get too close to the side of the road. So that's what I'm blaming my bum times on, unless somebody else has a better victim, I mean idea. I did finish strong though, ran the last mile in 13:24. The total for the day was 37:06.

Sunday
The plan today was to run 5 miles. Ambitious is what I called it. Foolish is what my wife called it. The route was very similar to the one I run almost everyday, I was just going to go about a mile further down the road. Plan solidly in place I planted a bottle of water on the side of the road at the 2 mile mark. That way I could have a drink and then toss it across the road for the 4 mile pass. Since I was running at about 11:00 am and I knew it would take about an hour and fifteen minutes, I wasn't quite sure how to fuel. I ate oatmeal for breakfast, then about a half hour or so before my run I ate an apple and a banana. I never did bonk so I think I will stick with this fueling plan for next weekend's 5k. The run itself went really well. It seemed to go by faster than the last two weeks runs, but to be exact it didn't. Having the water at 2 miles was perfect. There is a pretty big hill on this route. I get to run down it at about mile three, but then at the turn around it's right back up it I go. It just gets steeper and steeper with every step. Just when you think it can't possibly get any worse, it's done. Though ideally it wouldn't be there, it's actually in a great place on the run. I was good and warmed up by the time I hit it, and afterward, everything else was easier. I finished the run in 1:15:52. Overall it is a great route, I hope I get at least one more opportunity to run it this year.

Monday
I weighed 316 lbs this morning. That is a loss of 4 lbs this week, bringing my total weight loss to 51 lbs. Hey alright, losing more than 50 lbs seems like a little milestone. I've noticed muscles in my legs that I never knew existed. I am now exactly a hundred pounds away from the lowest adult weight I ever got to back in 1999 when I did no-carb. I'm willing to bet though that I am more fit now than I have ever been, even with that extra hundred hanging on.

After work today the plan was to run 2.5 miles on my normal route at home. Unfortunately the weather was being rather uncooperative. The rain was getting harder the closer I got to home. Then right as I was pulling in the driveway it turned to snow. Definitely not what I wanted to be out in for 36-37 minutes. As I pulled into the garage I remembered that we have a perfectly good treadmill in the basement. Having only been on it once since I started running outside I was not looking forward to it. This winter though I know it will have to be my home so I have to bite the bullet sooner or later. I've read about people that run their long runs on the treadmill that start out at a comfortable pace and then up it every ten minutes. Since I wouldn't be running for very long I decided to up the pace every 5 minutes. I'm not sure why but it takes a lot more energy for me to move at a slower pace. I log all my runs in an excel spreadsheet that figures out my average MPH. Looking back at the last week my average was 4.0 so I figured if I started at about 3.7 then the middle of my run I'd be about 4.0 and by the end I'd be at 4.4 with an average of 4.0. The running went fine. The five minute progression worked out well. I did the first mile in 15:49, the second in 14:35, and the last half in 6:56, for a total of 37:20. I wonder if I could start my next run out at 3.8 and get the whole thing done a little quicker. I guess I'll see as the weather looks grim for the immediate future.