More Hot Air Balloons

There's something about waking up early on a weekend morning and getting out of the house that I just love. The world is different, calmer and mellower. Today was my 3rd running day of this week's cycle, so I got up at 6 and headed out of the house towards the park at 6:30 or so. I was heading down the road when I rounded a bend and looked to my right to see three hot air balloons lifting off from a field next to a super market. I stopped at the light right next to the field and thought how disappointed the girls would be to miss this.  Then I remembered my phone and I pulled it out to take pictures. I pulled into the parking lot next to the field and fired up the video camera on my phone and took some video of the final balloon taking off.  I was a little late starting my run but this was a cool way to start the day.

The run went well.  My new shoes and socks felt pretty good and after the first two running intervals I felt like I could have gone longer. The one part that is giving me trouble is the transition between running and walking. My calves burn pretty badly for the first 30 yards or so after I slow to a walk. I'm not too worried about it because as the weeks go on there will be fewer intervals with longer runs. I went about 2 miles in just about 30 minutes, which felt pretty good. My next run will be Wednesday, where I'll start the 3rd week of the program. Tomorrow will be a full day off and Tuesday I'll cross train, probably weights and maybe some time on the stationary bike.

The rest of the day was nice and relaxing, watched the A-Team movie while the wife napped. Went to the pool and grilled some steaks for dinner. Tomorrow, back to the salt mines.

Saturday in the Park, Everyday's the Fourth of July!

Wow, had an awesome day today. Today is a cross training day for me, so i did 45 minutes on the elliptical at a low HR.  I kept it between 135 and 140 the whole time and felt pretty darn good. On Saturday mornings there is a boot camp workout at the gym, and they work out in the row that's right in front of the machines I use. It looks pretty tough. I feel like a creep watching these ladies working out in front of me, but its not like I can turn around and look backwards.  right?  I'm really beginning to respect anyone who gets up and gets moving, no matter how they work out.

When I got home, I had breakfast with the girls and then my wife asked me to get them out of the house so she could do some housework. We loaded their bikes into the truck and headed to the park.  There's a loop at the park that's about .35 miles around the soccer fields and they love to ride their bikes around the loop. I brought the new camera and we all had a ball. They rode around and I snapped a few pictures.  OK, maybe more than a few.  OK, maybe 350 pictures.  I got a little carried away with the continuous shooting, but that's the joy of the digital camera, you can waste as many shots as you want. I got some fantastic shots of them too.

Had some lunch and then I headed to the running store to get some shoes. They were very nice and patient with me, and after trying on about a half dozen different pairs I picked the ones I liked. I almost bought a shirt that says "I may not look like a long distance runner, but I sure smell like one," but I decided against it. I got some socks though and now I'm pumped for my run tomorrow.  Yep, tomorrow is the last run of Week 2 of my program. I'm really looking forward to it.

I've been reading some awesome inspirational stories over on the forums at runnersworld.com. There are some great supportive people there who run at all levels. I read some of their stories and they almost make me want to run a marathon.  almost.  Its just a great group, who don't take themselves too seriously but are serious about their love of running. One thing I've seen there several times which really got to me was this: "Even if you finish last, you've lapped everyone who never got off their couch."

W2D2

Today was all about 2's.  My 2 daughters had their 2nd day of school and I did W2D2 of my program. It was a gorgeous morning, the sky was brightening as I got to the track and I noticed a hot air balloon rising over the park. I wished I had my camera as I started my warm up.

I felt pretty good, relatively speaking. I got through each 90 second segment without struggling the last few seconds. I tried to concentrate on keeping my stride short, my breathing steady and relaxing my body. Back when I was playing sports (waaayyyy back), everything I did was focused on quickness, so my instinct is still to try to tighten up and explode through each stride rather than relax and move my body. The breathing was hard, but I didn't feel terrible. I was going so well that I was surprised when the podcast announced my last run.  Thought I had 2 left at the time. Besides the general struggling, the only pain I had was transitioning from the run to the walk. Each time my calves would feel like they were tightening up for the first 20 yards or so of walking. After the run I took some time to stretch my legs, focusing on my calves.

I did notice that I stopped about 100 yards shorter on the track today than I did on Wednesday, but I have no idea if that's because I ran less or more because I haven't been counting my laps.  Not that I really care at this point.  I'm focusing on the time more than the distance.  I'll worry about distance later.

Yesterday I registered for the race, so now there's money on the line if I don't make it! Tomorrow I'm going to go to the local running store and get a new pair of shoes. I want to be very careful about doing everything the right way and not injuring myself. Its been a long time since I put my body through this type of stress.

So to review the last 7 days ... Saturday I did 45 minutes on the elliptical, Sunday I did weights and 30 minutes on the elliptical, Monday I did the same though I tried to run a bit on the treadmill too.  Tuesday I took off. Wednesday I did W2D1, Thursday I did weights and Friday I did W2D2.  Overall it was a good week, what I would deem my first full week of training.  Tomorrow I'm going to try to do cardio again, either bike or elliptical, then Sunday run W2D3 and take Monday off.

Thanks to everyone who is reading and who have sent me good wishes.  I promise to write some more interesting posts in the next couple of weeks so this doesn't just become me droning on about my exercise.

First Day of School

Well, I'm now officially the father of two kindergartners. The first day of school was a success. I was really proud of the way both girls got up and got ready for school. They were so excited. I took a ton of pictures with the new camera of them walking to the bus stop, them standing at the bus stop, them getting on the bus, them sitting on the bus and even took some of the bus as it came around the block to leave the neighborhood. There were no tears at all.  1 day down, 13 years to go.

After getting the girls on the bus, I went to the gym and did some weight training. I want to make sure that I don't burn myself out by doing too much, but I know that strength training is important. I felt pretty good, definitely getting stronger than I was 2 weeks ago. Today I felt soreness, especially in my legs, but no joint or back pain.  Tomorrow I'll do another day of running. I'm still in that "excited to see how I can perform" stage.  I know there is going to be suffering, but I'm looking forward to the challenge.

I had a great chat with my neighbor Romeo last night. He's a really positive guy and very good at crystallizing the thoughts and motivations that are going to be important for me going forward. I tend to minimize my accomplishments, especially in light of the challenges I'm still facing.  Romeo takes the time to remind me of what I've done.  I've lost 40 pounds, which is a feat in and of itself even if I have more to do.  Its ok to be proud of an accomplishment without resting on your laurels. Long road to go still, long road to go.

Wake Up!

OK, so ... I did my first running workout today. It was a wake up call for sure. Thankfully, I decided to start with the Week2 workouts, which consist of a 5 minute warmup walk, then 6 intervals of 90 second run and 2 minute walk, then 5 minute cool down. About halfway through the first run I realized that this was not going to be an easy task. During the second run I was thinking about pushing my first 5k out a few more weeks. But I settled in and decided I would trust the system and not make rash decisions on the first 20 minutes.

On the positive side, I did not have any pain when I was running. There was soreness throughout the day, but nothing overwhelming. Nothing that felt wrong. I was definitely working hard during the runs, and my pace was pretty slow, but I'm still looking forward to trying it again. The track that I ran on is asphalt and I was a bit worried that it would hurt to run, but it wasn't too bad. As I get into longer distances I'll probably have to find somewhere else to run.

One thing I did learn ... there's a lot of stuff bouncing around when I run. I wonder if they make a sports bra for a guy's belly, because that thing is flopping all over the place. Just another incentive to keep losing weight.

I found these podcasts for C25K that play music and give you cues for when its time to change paces, so that was really helpful. It made it a lot easier to not have to worry about watching a clock, just listen and run.

I feel pretty good now and think I'll probably go to the gym for weights and low impact cardio tomorrow morning after getting the girls off to their first day at school. I plan on doing the running workouts on wed, fri and sunday.  I'll take Monday's as a full day off, and leave Saturday as an optional day depending on how I feel.  Tuesday and Thursday I'll do cross training, weights, maybe the bike or the elliptical machine.

School Approaches!

So today was a rest day in the fitness arena.  I know it seems odd to take a rest day the day after I announced my big project, but I have been hitting the gym for a couple of weeks now and I worked out Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  I can do 45 minutes on the machine for which I do not know the name (the one that looks like a nordic track or something) keeping my heart rate between 135 and 145 the whole time, so I'm not too worried about the endurance to do the running. What I am worried about is my legs, my knees and my ankles taking the punishment of running.  I'm going to hit a track tomorrow morning and see how that goes.

Today was kindergarten open house for the girls.  We got to go in and meet their teachers, see their classrooms and write checks for lunches and PTA and all that fun stuff.  Quite a scene. You can tell the parents who have been through this before from those of us who are going through it the first time. We first timers have the same awed look as the kids, poring over all the paperwork that still needs to be filled out and trying to remember bus routes and emergency contact numbers. Having two of them in different classes makes it all the more nerve wracking. The girls handled it really well. Both of them have kids in their class that were in their pre-k program last year, and both seem to love their teachers, so it should be a good start to the year. School starts on Thursday.

We'd been thinking about getting a DSLR camera for a while now, and I've been doing tons of research. We had planned on waiting until later in the month to get it, but that planned changed a bit today. Neither of us wanted to take pictures of the girls first day on the bus with our cell phones, and our point and shoot is conveniently misbehaving, so we finally pulled the trigger on the camera. Quite different than what either of us is used to, but we're already having a great time with it. Between getting fit and learning to take cool pictures, I think the next couple of weeks will be pretty full.

Oh, and forgot to mention, thanks to my neighbor Romeo who will run the 5K with me. All I need to do now is pay my $25 and the miser in me will not let that money go to waste by quitting!

Goals

One thing that I've learned about myself over the years is that I need goals to be able to perform to the best of my ability, in almost any facet of life. Unfortunately for me I figured this out a little late and ended up having to dig out of a few holes that took some time to work through.  Over the last 10 years I got my career in order, my relationships with loved ones and finally my finances.  One glaring omission is my physical health. I let my body slowly grow and my fitness slowly deteriorate until I found myself at 317 pounds and winded from walking up the stairs. Over the last couple of years my doctor warned me of high blood pressure, bad cholesterol and finally this past March she uttered the D word.  I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. This one was  wake up call for both me and my wife, so I began changing the way I eat.

Gone were the cans of soda and bowls of ice cream. I started watching my portion sizes, eating more fruits and vegetables and choosing whole grains instead of simple carbs. Being as heavy as I was, the weight started melting off of me. By the middle of July, I had lost 40 pounds. I have a goal of losing another 30 pounds before Thanksgiving, but I know I'll need more than just diet to achieve that. The one piece that I was still missing was exercise.

My wife and I had been dream gym customers for two years. You know, the kind that pay their membership every month but only set foot in the gym 4 or 5 times a year. We had finally cancelled our membership two weeks before I was diagnosed.  So, a few weeks back we reinstated our membership (which they let us do at our previous rate, thankfully) and I've started going to the gym again.

Now is where I get back to my need for a goal.  Getting on the ski type machine thing (no idea what its called) and pumping my heart for 45 minutes is not going to last if I don't have something to work towards. So today I found a goal. I am going to train to run a 5K on October 3rd, just 8 weeks from now. I'm hoping to find a friend to share the experience, but I'm planning on using this blog to keep me accountable. I'm going to follow the "Couch to 5K" plan from coolrunning.com, modified slightly because I'm a bit more fit than the first two weeks indicate, plus I only have 8 weeks until the race.

Today I tried to run a bit on the treadmill at the gym, but i have a hard time adjusting to the pace of the treadmill, so I'm going to start running Wednesday on a track at a local park. My short term goal is to run this 5K race on October 3rd and finish. After that, my family is going on a vacation the week after Thanksgiving, and during that vacation there is a 5K run that I'd like to participate in.  Beyond that ... who knows.  Maybe a 10K, maybe even the Peachtree if I can get in, then maybe a half marathon.  Or maybe another fitness goal, I don't know, but I do know that I feel a lot better about exercising now that I have a purpose.  Stay tuned.