I've not been good about sticking to my planned schedule of writing every week or two. I haven't even been that great at my four-times a week running schedule, but I've always managed to at least get something in the books a couple of times a week on that end. In spite of my best efforts at self-sabotage (including a spot in a suite for the Black Keys with an open liquor cabinet the night before), I got up bright and early last Saturday and headed up to the Courthouse/Clarendon neighborhood to take part in the Four Courts Four Miler.

One of the intimidating things about being a fat guy running is seeing the super athletic looking people all geared up and ready to go. You can't help but feel out of place and wonder what the hell you are doing there. Of course, you're there with the goal of becoming one of those handsome athletic people, but while picking up your packet you feel a bit like Danny DeVito's taller brother. Thankfully, that was never really a problem at the Four Courts - a "fun" run for 95% of the participants who just want to dress like Greenman or drink a green beer afterward.

The end of this course was kind of a sonofabitch for a person like me that has trained almost exclusively on flat surfaces. The first mile was almost all downhill from Courthouse to Rosslyn on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington. It's a pretty steep hill, as those who know the neighborhood can attest to. I am not a fast runner at all. Most of you probably don't consider my movement "running" so much as it is "quick walking". I aim for 10-12 minute miles when I go out and that's what I got on Saturday...for the most part. I felt great for the first two miles, both of which were pretty easy thanks to mile 1 being downhill and mile 2 being flat. I knew of my amazing turtle speed when I started seeing people headed back past me when I was barely beyond a mile myself. My two mile split was 25:29. Not terribly off my preferred 12 minute pace and okay for a guy who had a fair amount of clear liquor the night before. I also walked off about two minutes of those first two miles when I felt a little tightening above my knee for a moment and opted to take a little time to stretch it out.

The third mile and the fourth mile were my asskickers. The third mile was just a retracing of mile 2 in the other direction - still quite flat, but I was starting to wear a bit. I gave myself a couple of little 30 second breathers to walk quickly with a promise to myself that I'd then run to a certain point in my eyeline as a little motivator. It worked. I hit the 3 mile mark at about 38/39 minutes in according to my watch. A slightly declining pace, but still well on track to finish under an hour - a very very modest goal for myself. But, alas, there was mile four staring me down. The steep decline of the first mile was now a steep incline. I did not conquer Everest that day, my friends. My girlfriend met me at the bottom of the hill where the last mile started to cheer me on. We walked most of the incline parts together. I saw no reason to make myself miserable the rest of the day when I just wanted to finish and feel good afterward. I essentially walked 90 seconds for every 60 seconds I ran on that last mile, and eventually kicked it in for the last 400 yards or so and finished up "strong" by running. My final time was 54:37. Distance-wise it's not the longest I've ever gone by a good bit, but it is OFFICIALLY the longest I've ever run in an event. And it felt good.

You can find me in the results if you like. I was bib number 1419. I'm right there in front of three other males aged 30-39. A few more minutes of running and I might have beaten upwards of six other 30-39 year old guys. I've got a long way to go before Tough Mudder in September, but I'm on the right track. It feels great to finish a race and I'm on to the next one.

Hello again, friends. I had great plans of writing a post last week while I was on the road for work, but it turns out working at a convention for more than 50,000 people takes up all of your free time. Who knew? Between a trip to Boston for a wedding, a week of long work nights in preparation for a convention, and then the actual week there, my runs have been limited for the past few weeks. Instead of 3 runs and a long walk every week, it's only been about 2/3 of that. Maybe. Sometimes real life gets in the way and we make do with what we've got. I can tell you that after the miles I walked last week at the show, I don't feel like I lost too much activity overall, just the pace of it. Dead legs every night is no kinda life - so glad this is only once a year.

However, in spite of the dead legs and exhaustion, I did manage to get in two good-ish runs in Orlando last week that were each about 20 minutes and a couple of miles. The Convention Center area had enough sidewalks and paths to take care of my needs when I actually had the chance to do so. In the past, I think I would have been inclined to be discouraged after the past few weeks of limited training time. I fell out of my training rhythm just as soon as I got into it and that's led to some disengagement for me a time or five. But, I've taken the long view and realize that I'll be ok just as long as I get right back into a rhythm as soon possible. And that's what I've tried to do by going right back into my previous ordained schedule. And it has suuuuuuucked to do this week.

My preferred schedule is to run timed on Tuesday/Thursday, walk long on Friday, and then run a set distance on Sunday, but I ran Wednesday/Friday last week due to my schedule. When I got home from FL, I was exhausted from 6 crazy long days and didn't have a run in me on Sunday and slept instead. So, I went back out on Tuesday to get back on track, and the lack of running time over the past two weeks caught up with me. I had nothing in my legs. I struggled through 20 minutes. My calves burned and hurt and I felt as heavy as I am. It was the first run I've had to stop in the middle of and begin alternating running with walking during since the first week. Disappointing to be sure. Tonight, I'm hoping my legs will hold a little better. Either way, with a Four Miler coming up in less than a month, it's crucial that I get things back in order now that my schedule will allow it. We'll see if I can survive 3 miles this coming Sunday.

As a side note, I'm not one for buying shoes that I've never tried on, but a ton of great reviews for VivoBarefoot led to me pulling the trigger on a pair of Neos today while they were on a flash sale site. I've written before of my love of a minimalist shoe, so I'll let y'all know how those work out for me once they come in.

Just when I think I'm hitting a groove, something stupid comes along and knocks me right out of it. There I was, solidly into my third week (and my first "serious" week), when something comes up out of the blue that had been on my schedule for months. I had to leave town for a few days for a wedding reception. Stupid sexy travel.

For me, there's not much worse than trying to maintain some kind of workout routine while traveling. Bless those of you who can get down to the hotel gym and knock out your hour on the elliptical or whatever it is you do down there in that cramped converted meeting room that smells of missed sales quotas and too much family time. I have a bad enough history with sticking to my routine (and thus making it an actual routine) without the challenge of being out of my comfort zone at the Airport Hilton.

After starting my week off with two really great runs - at least great by my standard - I found myself on a plane to Boston and without a hotel gym to rely on. We had a jam packed schedule and we did the best we could to fit in something active over the course of the weekend. My standard running/activities for the week consists of two timed runs, one long walk, and one distance run. I knocked out my timed runs earlier in the week, and I knew it would be damn near impossible to get both my long walk and distance run in - we settled for a long walk. Unfortunately, there was also a brewery tour in the middle of that long walk. So, the benefits of a brisk three mile plus walk around the Boston harborfront were likely negated by my embrace of Harpoon's offer to keep me full of beers to try. Wamp wamp. Live and learn, right?

The siren song of travel is once again staring me down next week, and I'm trying to figure out what time I'll be able to exercise and what kind of running is available for me around my hotel. This is work travel and my days are generally tightly scheduled from early in the morning to well into the evening. I'll be in the delightful burg of Orlando's convention center for 5 days and 4 nights, three of which are my normal workout days, so if any of you know of a safe place to run around on International Drive that isn't the hotel treadmill, do pass it along below. I'm also obviously really interested in hearing what your routine is when you're on the road for work or pleasure.

I've got a planned 25 minute run tonight to get this week started off right. Let's get at it.

I've always tried to approach my prior efforts at fitness with a vague sense of "hey, just go get healthy" as my main goal. That kind of happy ephemeral thinking has resulted, for the most part, in a big cup of nothing for my end results. I need something lurking over me and threatening to kick my ass to make me really work for it. When I had a 5K on my calendar last year, I did the work to get ready for it. I wasn't going to let myself fail miserably at an event I'd paid to participate in. So, after a couple of weeks of quasi-dedicated warm-up workouts, it was time to set some real goals and make a plan for the year. I immediately regret and embrace my decisions.

Continue reading this post »

I've heard it said that one of the biggest challenges with any type of fitness routine is just getting started. But, I know in my own experience that just getting started is far from the hardest part of dedicating yourself to running again. Getting started, to me, is the easiest part there is. Remember what your gym looked like 2 weeks ago when all of the Resolutioneers started up? That's where I'm at right now. How many of the Resolutions crew have already dropped off the map slowly but steadily? That's where I don't want to be. That first week isn't the real challenge. This is still very much the cushiest part of getting back in the game. My soreness is limited, I'm still enthusiastic and I still want to do this.The kicker is going to be where I'm at in week five, ten, fifteen and so forth.

Continue reading this post »

This will come as no surprise to those of you who already know me from the internets or in real life, but I have never been much of a runner. I was, however, a fairly athletic chubby kid who was always engaged in sports during high school and part of college. But, none of the sports I played ever required me to be able to run for more than a few seconds at a time. In college, a third knee injury in five years convinced me that playing defensive end without a scholarship was no longer a good idea and I then stopped being even the slightest bit athletic. I fully embraced the college life of beer, pizza, beer, beer, beer, pizza and more beer. And now, at 31, I’m approximately 75 pounds heavier than that 19 year old kid who reported to two-a-days in the best shape of his life. Denny asked me if I’d be interested in writing about my struggles with running, and now that I’m once again staring at a fitness plan that I need to follow or risk having to call Wilfred Brimley for free testing supplies, writing about it seems like a good idea to keep me honest.

Continue reading this post »