Good Intentions and all that...

I had intended to update a lot sooner than twelve days but you know how things can go. I am a new job, it is a temporary thing but the hours are demanding right now. I am singing to the tune of 65 hours a week right now. The good news is that I can put together a bank roll while I try to find something permanent.

I have been trying to keep up on my exercise, the point of this blog after all. I managed three runs and 3 martial arts workouts last week and and 2 runs and two martial arts workouts so far this week. As this is the last day of the month I will be going out to do at least enough to get me to 50 for the month or 4.08 miles. I think 4.12 sounds good.

It is cold out there and I have been retreating to the gym in the cold but it is closed. So I have no choice tonight. There is always an excuse if you look for one, always. I say don't give in. It is always easy to seek comfort and difficult to force yourself to choose pain. That is in fact what we all do us "exercise people" as one coworker labeled us. We choose pain over comfort. It is the right choice. Here is my nugget of wisdom of the day. We are all choosing pain all the time those who do and those who don't. If you choose the couch over the road, you will pay for it. It won't be today or even tomorrow but it will catch you and the payment when it does will have a good deal of accumulated interest to deal with. So I say run and exercise now the payment plan is much more reasonable today.

Blog Transfer

Over the last month I have gone from 248 to 242. That is only 6 pounds but it really is more than that. I was sick near the turn of the year and when I got better I put that weight back on. I jumped back to about 252 and then I started this new diet and dropped 10 pounds in two weeks. I think I have this figured out. I will see as time goes on. But I am feeling normal again and I have to think what comes next. What does come next? I want to keep this fitness journal up so I have changed my site to:

New Site Address: I Dare

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I will be posting all new posts to this site. In this way I can transition from a weight loss focus to more fitness related. There is nothing preventing me from doing that here, but I feel like I have turned a page and that it is important to change my focus to go along with that.

My goals are getting bigger and I feel that my site should reflect that. I hope you will all join me over at my new diggs.

I Hate Injuries

Last night I was at mile 2.8 of my 5 mile run when I stepped on a tree branch on the sidewalk that I did not see and twisted my ankle. Of course I cried like a school girl. Well I really winced in pain and hobbled around for a couple of minutes before calling it quits for the night. I did a hobble run back home to R.I.C.E it up. On the way back I think my running looked similar to Cornelius in Planet of the Apes. I would have made a good extra with that funky gait.



I treated myself at home during the night and the ice seemed to help (last night and again this morning). I believe this is a minor thing and will not affect my half marathon coming up. Just a twist that will probably take 2 to 3 days to remedy itself. Injuries are a part of sport, it is true and there is no getting around it. If you exercise you will get hurt as some point. But I will take this little twist over the plantar injury that hounded me for 6 months any day of the week.



Oh well I get two to three days of rest. Things could be a lot worse. Everyone put in an extra mile for me.

In other news, I love this story from Muncie

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/15181455/detail.html

I love this story.

First Race of the Year

I have registered for my first race of the year. I have been looking high and low for something close enough and long enough to peak my interest. I have found...

Citizens Bank Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in Wilmington Delaware.

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This fits both criteria, 1) close as it is only an hour from home and 2) far enough - since a half marathon is my longest race to date I think this qualifies. I am very pleased with the find and am looking forward to the race. I have been training hard but I didn't have anything to really get up for per se. So now I have something to train for besides the beloved Broad Street Run, a great race through the heart of Philadelphia.

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As to the Ceasar Rodney Half Marathon, I will be increasing my mileage to get up for it. Well, I can run the thing today but I want to have steady energy so here is the plan for my long runs.

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This week 2/2 : 10 miles

Next week 2/9: 11 miles

Third week 2/16: 12 miles

Forth week 2/23: 13.1 miles

Fifth week 3/1: 6 miles

Race week: Race

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I will not scale back for a month on this plan. But I think that will be ok, I will keep everyone updated.

Jogging or Running?

I have to admit that I needed something to post about. So when Scott accused me of jogging on his blog, I felt that I had to post about that. I won't say I am offended at the characterization but I will say that I feel it is incorrect. From a gut perspective I know that I work to hard out there for it to considered simply jogging. I may be a recreational runner but I am still an endurance athlete. But being a law school graduate and an officer of the court within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (just a fancy way of saying lawyer) I do want to thoughtfully evaluate the situation. I would not want to dismiss it out of hand as much as that appeals to me.

What guidance can the dictionary give me in determining if I am a jogger, heaven forbid, or a runner. (definitions taken from dictionary.com)

Jog: to run at a leisurely, slow pace, esp. as an outdoor exercise

Run: to go quickly by moving the legs more rapidly than at a walk and in such a manner that for an instant in each step all or both feet are off the ground.

The definition of jog seems to indicate a reduced effort as I thought was the case.

1. Leisurely run
2. Slow Pace

The slow pace might be accusation that might be leveled against me but not for lack of trying. However, slow is a relative and subjective term much as leisurely. However, leisurely seems to be something that is best left to self definition rather than external definition. Whereas, it would seem that the exerciser is the only one in the position to determine if the effort is leisurely. As each persons level of fitness is different leisurely for one is not leisurely for another. For me leisurely these days might be a 13:30 minute pace. However, leisurely for Ryan Hall, U.S. half marathon record holder, I believe his leisurely pace would simply put me in the ground and would embarrass most recreational athletes. I think I can lay to rest, from a legal analysis, that I am not a jogger. As I have turned the definition into a test, I can see that the leisurely criteria fails as this is a self defined criteria where slow may or may not be externally evaluated.

Am I a runner? This is a good question. My gut reaction is yes. Also, if I am not a jogger than wouldn't I necessarily become a runner? Perhaps. What does the definition require:

1. quick movement faster than a walk
2. for an instant both feet off the ground

As to the firs criteria, I think this would apply to what I do out there. I move faster than a walk. My fast walk is about a 15:00 mile and I run between 10:30 and 11:45 mile. I think this is not world record worthy, but I still think it is running by terms of the definition. The second part of the test I also satisfy, during my runs I do have both feet off the ground for an instant during my run. I do not think this should actually be required at all times and may actually be impossible during some hill work. But needless to say, over even or downhill slopes, I do in fact become airborne (for an instant).

May it please the Court, defense counsel respectfully submits that the definition of jogger does not apply as the leisurely component is necessarily self defined. Additionally, the slow portion of the definition is vague as to the definer of the slow component. Does it mean slow for me or objectively slow. This is unclear. As such, the jogger definition does not apply.

Rather, the definition of the term run is more applicable to the instant situation. Please refer to the above definition for your ready reference. Run requires speed in excess of a walk. This requirement is satisfied with the current pace of this practitioner. Finally, the movement taken place does leave the practitioner suspended in mid air for an instant. In short, this definition more closely defines the practitioner.

-- Just as I thought, I am a Runner!

Week of Running in Review

Here are my results for the week:

Week in Review 1/21/08 to 1/27/08
Date..... Time .....Miles .....Pace .....Calories
1/22/08 ..44:31 ......3.85 .........11:34 ......757
1/23/08 ..56:05..... 5.06......... 11:06...... 1005
1/24/08 ..44:03...... 3.75......... 11:45....... 718
1/26/08 ..59:19...... 5:06 .........11:44 ......970

Totals Days ...Time..... Miles ....Pace .....Calories
..............4 days ....3:23:59.. 17:71 ......11:31....... 3334

This was the scale back week. A couple of small notes about each run:

1/22 - runners trots - well enough said really. We all know what that means. I had to cut the run a little short.
1/23 - 3 miles at a sub-11:00 pace (10:58, 10:55, and 10:58). This was fast - well for me.
1/24 - I did this one at 6:00 am -- I haven't done mornings in a while and I was tired.
1/26 - This was the usual hill route with the exception that it was condensed in that I had to do each hill twice in a short period. It was tough, but I did it.

New Diet - How goes it?

When I started running back in March of last year I was tipping the scales at 293, today it is 245. I knew back then that I had to do this in a two part process. Trying to diet and exercise at the same time back then, when I had done neither was going to be too much for me, I knew that. So I took last year to make exercise a priority and this year diet. For the past week, I have been really watching and regulating what I have been eating.

This is the challenge for me. I have never really thought much about my diet until now. I always just grabbed something or cooked but didn't really think about it much. Just eat it and forget about it. Portions were what I felt like there really were no limits. Now I think about it, a lot. Here is the typical day now:

Breakfast: Yogurt, oatmeal, banana
Snack: carrots or broccoli - I tried the broc raw today, I won't do that again.
Lunch: half sandwich, cup of soup, celery, apple
Snack: pretzel or orange or other fruit
dinner: fruit, vegetables, small portioned meat
Snack: piece of fruit

I mix some things in and out but you get the general idea. On top of this I drink the recommended 8 glasses of water per day. If I run it is more like 10 or 11 glasses of water. I have noticed that I never feel over stuffed on this new system. I think that will take getting used to. I know portion control is my biggest challenge. The good news is that the reduced caloric intake has not affected my running at all.

On Wednesday, I did a 5 miler where I had three miles sub-11:00. I think the diet is helping. I also have been supplementing with vitamins. I will let everyone know how it is going on this. I will say that I am not miserable eating celery and I don't feel hungry.