Awesome run today...

I feel like I am getting the hang of this heart rate training...both Matt and Mom were correct, once I got some decent weather, it seemed so much easier. I was able to stay in my zone for 80% of my run. Which was awesome. I ended up doing 4.1, I normally do 3.1, but I felt so good I had to keep going. If it was not a work day, I would have gone even further.

It honestly was a run that reminded me how much I enjoy running. When we started this last year, I honestly believed that this would be a year that I would dedicate to 1 race (Disney Full), but at this point I can not picture my life without running. I may not be the best at it, or the fastest, but I love it, and as my brother is finding out...I want everyone to love it too...or at least try. Hell, if I can do this, anyone can.

Day 15 Weigh In

241.8

I did not lose as much this week...we did go a little crazy on Saturday with eating popcorn at the movies and I probably could have exercised a little more self control at our dinner off Saturday night at Chili's...

I still am sitting at about 7 lbs for the 3 weeks we have done this...that is still pretty good.

I am excited about my runs this week, the weather is supposed to be very mild...I do not think we are going to be breaking 80 today.

Great Long Run Yesterday...

I was without my Garmin (Karen was running with it), so we went on Mom's heart rate and ended up doing a very comfortable 9.5 miles. We stopped frequently to stretch, plus a nice stop at the Kroger to refill water, go to the potty, etc...I really like that we are getting to the point where a close to 10 mile run can be uneventful. It was more humid than it has been, but we are looking forward to some cooler weather. Yes, it screws up the end of our pool season, but I have heard that heart rate is easier to do when you are no gasping for air with all of the humidity.

That is all I have to report at this point...I may do a short run later tonight and tomorrow I will blog my week 3 weigh in...not really to happy about that because I somehow gained 3 lb's yesterday...

Been a bit...

So, I have had 2 good weeks of runs...I feel pretty confident that I can get 4 runs in a week, plus a swim or two...

Over the past week, Mom and I have been doing our long runs in Spring Hill which is different than normal. We normally like to go up to the River Park in Brentwood, but it has been a bit easier to run close to home. We found a pretty good route that has some hills and also passes to restrooms, so we have been running that...

During the week, I have been running 3ish miles at the River Park...I am comfortable running there...if I forget the Garmin, I know my distance so I know where to turn around...

On to the Heart Rate training...it is going well...Mom and I ran 8.4 miles last week using HR instead of intervals...we were slow, but we could have gone on for at least another mile or two. This is going to be really helpful for the marathon...right now, I feel confident that I can run a half and know that around mile 10, I still have enough in the tank that I can open my speed up at the end if I need to...for the full, it will prety much be about survival. As long as I can keep running even at a slow pace, I can stay ahead of the sweepers...

Nothing else really new to blog...I have been reading this book...

http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Fat-Triathlete-Athletic-Dreams/dp/1569244677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251512244&sr=8-1

I am about 70% through it...it is more or less a beginners guide to triathlons told by a "normal" athlete...someone who started running to lose weight...starting at 269 pounds and graduated to tri's...which I think is going to be next years project...we will see...

Day 8 Weigh In

243.2

I am pretty happy with that...I got a little nervous after our "off" days but everything seemed to work out. The diet is pretty easy to keep up with and I can eat pretty much everything that I like (except cookies)...

I had a couple of great runs that I will blog about later, plus added swimming into my rotation so, it was a pretty busy week as far as exercise is concerned. I really feel like I am getting the hang of the heart rate monitor...it is still slowing me down, but I am slowly getting to the point where I can run for longer periods of time...Look for the run post tonight...

Day one Weigh in...

248.0

So far so good. I do not have any lofty goals as far as weight loss is concerned, but I figured I would throw the number up there weekly...

On day 1, I figure the most difficult thing for today is to stay away from the cookies here at work...other than that, I am ready for my lunchtime workout...which will be a bit slower than normal due to I am still a little sore from the spin class...

Spin Class...

So, I attended "spin" class with Karen this afternoon, it didn't suck...however it is not something that I will do regularly. It was a great workout, I definitely worked up a sweat, but any XT I am going to be doing is going to be moderate and at my own pace. It was really amazing watching Karen and the rest of the class "sprint" up the "hills" and whatnot, but I have been injury free since February and I want to keep it that way...any cycling I do, will be on a real bike through the neighborhoods.

Tomorrow, Karen and I start the big diet. One of the big concerns of this diet was one of the "rules" is no soda...meaning no diet coke...on a bet, I started a week early. So, as of tomorrow, I will be off the diet coke for a full week...so far, it has been pretty easy...I wake up with a small headache, lack of caffeine I guess, but that is easily remedied with my morning coffee. Other than that, there is really nothing special about the diet...eating the right carbs, lean meats, etc...no fries, no pizza...smaller meals, but more of them. It last 4 weeks, we will see what happens...

I am going to do my best to run during lunch tomorrow. I decided than instead of being out late 2 nights in a row, I would try to run during lunch on Mondays...the temperature difference between 11 and 5:30 has been minimal lately...

Also, I booked the Disney trip for January, I already had our hotel booked (Pop Century), but I had not made the decision on how many days of tickets we would need...just a quick call to Disney reservations and all of that was fixed. I love talking to those people...they really know what they are doing...

Have a good week...