And now we wait…..

One bad thing about running a race that starts at midnight is you have all day to prepare and then wait.  Unlike a 8AM race, where you prep the night before, wake up, have breakfast, get there before the race and go run.  I just picked up my shirt, my number and my timing chip and I have all my clothes laid out, and now I have about another 7 hours before the race starts.

It’s not going to be too terrible cold tonight, but I’ve been getting cold on my runs lately, so I have all my cold weather gear laid out.  My underarmour leggings, shorts, long sleeve tech tee, skull cap and gloves.  They gave us a nice shirt for the race, but I will wear my red tech shirt, it’s a little thicker.  Here is my stuff laid out.

I’m running this race tonight with two newly met fitness buddies: Kim, who I met on MyFitnessPal and actually talked her into running with me for her first race, and Jennifer who I met on DailyMile.  Can’t wait.  Should be an exciting way to ring in the New Year.

And now we wait….

2011 Year in Review

There are a couple days left until the New Year, but not a whole lot is going to change between now and then.

Looking back at my 2010 Year in Review post, apparently I weighed 285 pounds, which is also what I weigh right now, however I have not maintained that weight the whole year.  I joined the YMCA in August of this year and started tracking my weight in September and I weighed 302 and then gained a little bit more up to 308 before I started losing it again.  I have since lost that 23 pounds in the last three months back down to 285, but for next year I need that to keep heading downward.

In October of this year, I joined a fitness community website, MyFitnessPal.com.  It is a “Facebook-like” site where people can comment and send messages of encouragement to friends and also a forum where you can ask questions about anything fitness or nutrition related.  The main part of the website that has helped me is the food database and the daily food diary where you track what you eat.  Yes, it’s counting calories but the database makes it so easy and effortless it’s not a “chore”.  I’m sure 90% of my weight loss since I joined has merely been from dropping my calorie count and eating better.  I was doing the running before, but not losing weight cause I was eating so much.  This has been a huge encouragement for me.  Also seeing the success stories of hundreds of people who have lost over 100 pounds like my friend Amanda.

I only ran one race this year, which if you read the review was a horrible experience, but something to learn from and build upon.  I ran the Go Far 5K at the North Carolina Marathon in High Point North Carolina.  I had some issues with the weather, the course, my pants, sleep deprivation, personal stress issues and other things.  I finished the race in 44 minutes and 12 seconds which bested my personal best time by 43 seconds.  Was I happy with this? No.  But it is a PR (personal record).  I had completed the Hal Higdon’s novice 5K trainer and had expected to do much better.  But I finished a race I had no business starting in the first place.  Most of my friends were surprised I even got up that morning to go run, much less started and finished the race.  So there is that.

According to my statistics on DailyMile.com, I have walked or run 115 miles in 2011.  This doesn’t sound like a lot, but I also didn’t start back into until late August.  I also decided to switch what I consider my workout from walking to running as my jogging periods get longer and longer and my walking breaks get shorter and shorter, so this is walking and running miles combined, but 2012 will be all “running” mileage.

I have another race coming up, although since it will start at Midnight on Sunday, January 1st, it will technically be my first run of 2012.  It is a 5.5K race through the Christmas lights at Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, NC.  Should be a good time, and I am running it for the sake of running it, not trying to set a course record or anything like that.

The other major thing I’ve done this year is I have registered and begun training for my first Half Marathon.  The race itself is not until March of 2012, but I registered for it and have begun my training. I’m currently on Week 3 of the Hal Higdon’s Novice Half Marathon trainer.  If you asked me 6 months ago about doing a 13.1 mile race I would have laughed at you, but I found out that all of my running friends from Alabama are running in this particular race and looking at the calendar I had plenty of time to train for it and even did the 5K training and 5K race to get me back into running.  The race I am training for is the Rock and Roll Marathon/Half Marathon in New Orleans Louisiana.  I’ve been dying to go back to New Orleans, so I didn’t need a lot of encouragement and the fact that Amanda, her husband and several of her friends are all going down as a group sealed it for me.  I wouldn’t have done it by myself but with a support system all training for the same thing I think I can do it.

Here’s to a happy and healthy New Year.  Come at me 2012!

Week 2 Half Marathon Training Recap

Week 2 is  now in the books.  This becomes like a Christmas paper chain countdown now.  As each week rolls along the race gets closer and closer and closer.  10 more weeks until race day.  I got in my full mileage this week, no more cutting runs short.  Also got in a test run with my new Garmin, although the cold really took it out of me, slow pace 4 miles in just under an hour.  Here’s how this week shaped up.

Starting weight – 286 pounds
Running – (3, 3, 4) – 10 miles total
Biking – Crosstraining – 5.5 miles
Yoga – 60 minutes
Total Miles – 15.5
Ending weight  – 285.2 (0.8 pounds lost)

The Garmin worked perfectly, and the nice thing is you can set up the watch to automatically take “laps” at 1 mile intervals, which in reality is not a “Lap” but gives you a mile split time.  I could tell how bad I slowed down, as I walked most of the second half of my 4 mile run, freezing cold and pushing into a hard headwind.  My splits were 13:04, 13:48, 14:58, and 15:18.  4 miles in 57 minutes, Average pace 14:30.  Not awful, but on the treadmill I’m pretty consistently in the 13:20 range.  I will certainly need all my cold weather gear for my midnight New Years run on Sunday morning.

Merry Christmas to me!

I’m very excited! My parents got me exactly what I asked for for Christmas and it’s a training tool! I wasn’t sure if I would get it or not since they are kind of expensive, but I know they support my fitness goals and weight loss so I was hoping a would.  I present to you my newest toy!

A Garmin 305 Forerunner GPS fitness watch with Heart Rate Monitor chest strap! No more trying to track distances, no more trying to remember what time I started and subtract back running time, this will track all of that for me! And it will follow my every movement with the GPS so if I get lost in the park again, or off a selected track it will know where I am and follow me.  In fact, I won’t even have to plan out routes in advance anymore, just get to where I’m going, press start and go RUN!

Thank you so much Mom and Dad! My running and training just got a million times easier and so now I have NO EXCUSES! Thank you for the push and motivation. It will get used and used often!

I hope everyone else has a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday season and spend lots of time with your families and don’t worry about what you eat, at least for the next couple days.

Week 1 Half Marathon Training Recap

Now that the first two “gap filler” weeks are finished we move into the actual week one of the Hidgon trainer.  This is the first week of the 12 week program.  I don’t know what it is about the Tuesday runs but I can never finish them.  Once again shortened this one to 2 miles that should have been three.  No cross-training this week, but I did two sessions of Yoga this week, the normal 60 minute Wednesday session, and a special Winter Solstice Celebration 90 minute class on Saturday.  Here’s a look at the stats.

Starting weight – 287
Running – (2,3,4) – 9 miles total (should be 3,3,4).
Yoga – (60, 90) – 150 minutes total
Ending weight – 286 (1 pound lost)

I am 4 pounds away from my lowest weight from June of last year (282), before I gained back up to 308.   To the best of my knowledge, since I only started logging in September of 2009 when I reached my highest point,when I break through that goal again, I will be getting into “Lowest adult weight” territory.  I probably haven’t weighed this light since early HS or even Middle School, I believe I was around 295 when I graduated, so I’m already  back down to my “High School playing weight” as the football players would say.  I still think my highest weight was 355, I have that number stuck in my head, however my excel file starts at 345.  So based on that, I have lost 59 pounds (total, not counting gaining back 20) in two years.  In the last 8 weeks or so since joining MyFitnessPal I have lost 22 pounds.  I’m 1/4 of the way to my goal on MFP (308 to 225 – 83 pounds), but counting the weight I lost before I’m over halfway there.  (355 to 225 – 130 pounds – 69 pounds lost to date).  It took me 29 years to put on the weight… so half of it coming off in 2 years is incredible!

That just made my day.  🙂

Week 1B Half Marathon Training Recap

This is my second week (of 3) of “Week 1” of the Half Marathon training.  Had some struggles this week but accomplished most of what I set out to do.  Cut my Tuesday run very very short (1 mile instead 3).  I won’t get into the reasons, it just wasn’t gonna happen that day.  Had a good three mile run Thursday.  Tried to do my 4 outside at Tanglewood Park but got lost and off track. No idea at the distance but based on time and a slower pace, I’m guessing 3.5.  Here’s the rundown.

Starting weight – 289.4
Running – (1, 3, 3.5) – 7.5 miles total
Cycling – 4.55 miles
Yoga – 60 minutes
Total mileage – 12.05 miles
Ending weight – 287.0 – 2.4 pounds lost.

I needed a lot of inspiration this week, but I got a good bit from my friend Amanda who ran her first FULL MARATHON on Saturday! Whoohoooo Go Amanda!! Check her blog later for the race recap and I’m sure lots of picture.

I also wore my outside gear that I plan on wearing for my New Years run during my outside run today.  Still a few things I will need.  Gloves, and ear warmer/sweat band, maybe a second shirt. The Underarmour pants were good though, kept me warm without over heating.

Before and…… During?

Ok, so this is not before and after because the journey is not yet completed but I stumbled across some old pictures and was astonished at the changes.  The funny thing is, I’m getting close to what I weighed in college, but I found an old college pic and I am slimmer looking now then I was then, at a similar weight.

This first picture is one of me and my best friend Gray.  I think this is spring of Freshman year, which would make it 1999.  We are wearing short sleeves, but I don’t think it’s fall freshman year since I have my full year of beard going on, but it could be fall of Sophomore year but still 1999. Like I said I don’t have any clue what I weigh in this picture, but best guess is around 295.

Ok.. so this next picture is well….. it’s not flattering.  But it needs to be out there since this is the “beginning”.  This is the worst of the worst… this is me at my heaviest.  At the wedding of my former brother in law.  It’s not pretty.. you’ve been warned.  Don’t know the exact weight but in my log from September of 09 is listed 345, and my highest was 355 so somewhere in that neighborhood.

Obviously I am the one in the orange shirt and not the flowery dress, just in case you were wondering.

This last picture was taken at my last race, at the NC Marathon 5K, Nov 19, 2011 .  My weight in this picture was 292.  So only a few pounds less than what  think I weighed in the college picture for 12 years ago.  (I wieghed in today at 287, so I’m still moving down)

There it is.. fun with pictures.  Since the picture can show us what the mirror doesn’t or what our brain doesn’t see.

Week 1A Half Marathon Training Recap

For the Half training, the long runs are on Sunday’s, but I’m going out of town today so I did my long run last night and I am done with the week.  As I mentioned before, I will be doing this week’s layout 3 times to make up for what would be a gap between the 5K and the Half.  I feel like I did good, although I did cut Thursday’s run short.  I also did Yoga for the first time this week (the reason I was so sore/tired on Thursday).  I hope to continue doing the Yoga and hopefully I will get used to it.  Here’s a look at the numbers.  No biking this week since the compressed schedule cost me a cross-train day, but I had the Yoga instead.

Starting weight – 290.6
Running (3, 2, 4) – 9 miles
Yoga – 60 minutes
Ending weight – 289.4 (1.2 pounds lost)

The Thursday run was supposed to be 3.  Maybe next week I will be able to do the 3,3,4 that’s on the schedule, but 2 is better than zero and if you are tired/sore/hurt listen to your body and don’t force anything.  I rocked the 4 miler on Saturday so I am proud of that.  I didn’t pay attention to all 4 splits, but the first mile was 12:40 and my overall pace was 13:20 so I only slowed down a little bit (even though it felt like I took a couple of LONG walking breaks).  4 miles is my longest run ever, and I was thinking of the 3 miles I’ve been doing in training, but it’s also the first run longer than 5K distance, since 3.11 has always been my max.

Week 1B starts tomorrow…

*EDIT* And totally forgot! This is my 100th post!

Losing my Yoga virginity.

So, last night I attended my first Yoga class.  I was a good boy and talked to the instructor before class, and also set up my mat front and center right next to her.  I was the only man in the room, which didn’t surprise me in the least.  My running friends swear by yoga and so I wanted to give it a try.  For those that follow yoga I’m going to describe what we did, forgive me if I mess up or don’t remember the names.  I didn’t catch everything.

We started with some sitting stretches, sitting cross-legged and turning our shoulders to one side and then the other.  Reminded me of the stretches we used to do in marching band.  Then we got on our hands and knees to stretch our backs.  We alternated between back bowed up, head down (cat, I think) and head back, belly down, back bowed the other way (Cow pose).  So far so good.

Next came some standing poses.  Didn’t have too much problem with these.  Right off the bat we get into one Amanda showed me, Warrior 2.  This ones not bad, but the deeper you take the leg bend it will burn more.  Did that to the left and right.  Next was triangle pose.. another simple one, left and right again.  Then we did a sequence of poses linked together.  Warrior 2  into Triangle into a pose with bent knee, arm on the knee and upper body leaned down (missed the name, side stretch? side triangle?) and then arch the back the opposite way and raise the arm into the air into a Reverse Warrior.

Now things started to get a little interesting.  The instructor said she wanted to get some heat in the room (and she wasn’t lying).  We started a series of Sun Salutations (from the video I watched this was a variant of SS 1).  We did this three or four times in the following sequence.  Front fold down.. step back into Down Dog, down to Kneeling Plank down to flat on your belly, and then back arched into Cobra then push back up into Down Dog, and then walk forward back into Front Fold.. Rise up, arms up and then down to Heart Center.  It was like the up downs you see football players doing (standing to push ups back to standing) only slower and with some other stuff in between.  I was sweating at this point.  Heat into the room indeed.

Next came the part that really sucked, and the only part I had to skip some.  We started a series of poses and moves that started from hands and knees that I have no idea what the names were.  My knees started hurting really bad (by the time the instructor mentioned doubling up the mat it was too late.) and when she got to the pose that was one arm up and one leg up.. I couldn’t lift my leg.  After trying valiantly I stopped and sat down cross-legged and tried to catch my breath.  (The instructor quietly asked me if I was OK and I said yes but that my knees were hurting too bad to continue).

After that we got into Child’s pose and took a breather for a little while (i couldn’t remember this pose when i needed to “tap-out” earlier, but now I know).  Then we stood up and did some hamstring stretches.. these didn’t have a name other than hamstring stretch, but it was one foot forward, one foot back then hands clasped behind the back and lean down over the front leg.  I won’t lie.. this hurt.. bad… but it showed me how important it is to stretch your hamstrings.  (And I’m starting to understand why my running friends do yoga).

Thing’s were starting to wrap up now, so we are in the home stretch.  We sat down and did some leg stretches, one leg extended, the other tucked in, and then leaned down over the extended leg.  She jokingly called this Nose to Knee pose (yeah right, not this fat boy).  Then we rolled onto our backs and stretched our leg up into the air with a strap over the foot to push against.  Did this for both legs.

Then it was…. relaxation time… flat on your back, arms out to the side, eyes closed.  Laid there for a couple minutes while the instructor talked about crashing waves on the beach.  Then back up to a seated pose, hands to Heart Center and bow to each other and the class was over.

The instructor looked at me and quietly said.. “You survived!”…. Not sure if that’s encouraging or not.  We talked briefly as people were packing up and she said I did great for a first timer and had surprisingly good flexibility for a guy my size (I felt like I could barely get into the poses, but I guess it wasn’t as bad as I thought).  At least that was enough to get me thinking about going back a second time.  I think I will try it again.  I don’t feel as though I made an ass of myself and I was only slightly self-conscious about being the only guy in the room.

And so thus was my introduction to Yoga.

Namaste 🙂