3.5 Mile Run and Yoga

Hello all. I've seen a little spike in traffic since Jeff pimped me on his site. So welcome to any new faces out there. Your words of encouragement are very appreciated!

Today, my half marathon schedule called for a 3.5 mile run. I was on the fence about getting out there to run because another storm system has moved in. Lucky for us, no snow this time. This one decided to dump sleet and freezing rain instead (fun!). It had just started when I got home from work today. I sat there looking at it trying to convince myself to go out and run. It seemed to be letting up a little, so I talked my self into running by saying I could squeeze in at least 2 miles before it started to get heavy and before the sunset.

I ran up to our bedroom, layered up the cold gear, grabbed the Garmin and the iPod and hit the road. Just my luck- it started sleeting heavily. It was all I could do to not stop during the first few minutes. It was cold, wet, sleet was hitting me hard in the face (and eyes). In short- it sucked. But after the first half mile, it seemed to lighten up again and I decided to keep going. At the 2 mile mark, I told myself not to be a wuss and that I was already out in it and wet, so why not just do the last 1.5 miles? So I did.

One thing I didn't do was look at my watch timer at all. I figured with the bad weather, I would be happy just getting it done- no matter the pace. However, when I stopped, I was shocked to see I had run those 3.5miles faster then any of my previous times at that distance. I am quite happy because I'm still seeing some real progress each and every time out. Baby steps I know, but encouraging nonetheless.

The P90X schedule calls for a recovery week this week as it is week 4. Today was Yoga. I'm short on time, so I only did the Warrior section at the start (1st half of the DVD). Still it was enough to get me sweating heavily again and reminded me how farI have yet to go to get back into shape.

5 Mile Run

Saturday was a scheduled 5 miles run. this followed a 40 minute cross training on Friday. So, let me start there.

Friday I decided to use the Kenpo X DVD for my P90X as my cross train. And I switched the legs and back workout to Saturday. I tried to push myself during the Kenpo to keep my heart rate up as high as I could. I figured it would be a good way to push my cardio base without pounding on my legs by running. Got a great workout in. Felt good and it als helped with osme of the soreness from my heaviest training week so far.

Saturday, I saw the running schedule called for a 5 miles run. I was quite nervous as this would be the longest I have ever run (4 miles last weekend was the record for me so far). I got a little bit of a break as the weather was awesome- well, awesome in comparison to what we've had recently. It was in the low 40's and really sunny. So, instead of 3 layers, I only put on 2 layers of gear, plus I didn't wear my hit or gloves. However, knowing that this run would probably take me over 45 minutes, I decided to take some hydration out with me as well as a GU gel pack. I didn't want to hit a wall while running.

Overall, I felt pretty good about the run. I managed to do this run in 54:10. So I was able to keep my mile paces under 11:00. Which for me is huge. Just a few weeks ago, I was struggling with 14-15:00 miles. I'm seeing improvement every time, which is positive. My only issues with the run were these:

1) I have to get used to running with a hydration belt and how to drink and run at the same time. The weight of the water bottle on my backside made me feel awkward while running. I really thought about it a lot in the first mile. And, to take my first drink (after abotu2.5 miles), I had to stop quickly to get it out, take a drink, and put it back in.

2) I have to get used to eating the GU gel while running. My hands were so sweaty, I had trouble getting the pack open and eating it. I ended up stopping quickly to do this. I'm sure this will come with practice.

3) I need to find the right thing to use as my liquid hydration. For today's run I mixed up a batch of P90X recovery drink. Normally, after a hard workout, I drink this stuff. And it tastes SO GOOD. but between the platic taste of my waterbottle, and the thickness of the liquid, it just wasn't a good fit for my run. It was fine after- just not during. I picked up some of the GU hydration drink mix as well as some Propel mix and I am going to test them out during my runs to see what I like best.

Anyway, today is sunday and I'm taking a rest day. I am not as sore as I was right after the run. When the run ended, I felt like I needed a nap! And my legs were pretty tight. Grabbed a shower and stayed in it a while just relaxing! So I thought I'd be sore today. but I really am not. Which is a good sign I think. It shows my body is adapting well to the extra work.

Shoulders and Arms

Got in a shoulders and arms workout last night. i have a lot of stuff going on with work right now. Much of it is pretty stressful. So it's really dominating my thoughts at the current time. As such, my focus duing my workout was lacking. I did the best I could and tried to do as much as I can. I still felt like I got a good workout in, so I guess it was ok.

I also had a late soccer game last night (11pm). We had no subs and the other team had two full lineups. It was fun! We ended up winning 6-3. I was pretty damn busy in goal. Since we had no subs my guys got pretty tired. Ususally, I would have had some trouble in this kind of game- especially beforeI started working out again. I would have gotten tired pretty quickly and had trouble making saves at the end of the game. But since I've been running and working out (and dropping weight), I felt good all game long. And it showed. I was on fire. I was damn tough to beat. And the other team had two former pro indoor players on the field- including one who just quit and is young (25). If I hadn't been in the process of getting fit, I bet I wouldn't have had the game I did.

Speaking of weight, it is amazing how fast I'm dropping weight. When I started this P90X round with the half marathin traiing, I was the heaviest I've ever been. I weighed 218 lbs. This morning, I weighed 205.5 and I haven't even completed 3 whole weeks of training! When I finished P90X last time, I weighed 197.5 lbs. So, I'm not that far away from thatlaready after 3 weeks. I don't expect to keep up this pace in terms of weight loss, but it's exciting for me!

3.5 mile Run

Hi there! Quick post as I'm tapped and need to hit the sack. I did a 2 mile run yesterday (per the running schedule). I pushed it hard (for me) and ran my fastest back to back miles since college. Of course- I wasn't even close to my time from college, but considering my lack of running experience, and my lack of overall fitness right now, I'll take it.

Today I got in a 3.5 mile run as called for in my half marathin training schedule. I got it done in a fairly good pace. this was especially challenging considering the strong wind we had today due to a small storm system coming through. It made it pretty cold too- about 25 degrees. Lungs were burning all run.

I was supposed to do shoulders and arms today too, but I'm wiped from an all day meeting. so I'm going to bump it to tomorrow.

Chest & Back plus 3.5 Mile Run

Hello! thanks for stopping by. Today was the start of week 3 for my combined P90X plus half marathin training. So far, in the past two weeks, I've dropped 10 pounds, and I'm always hungry. I forgot how good it feels to be this active!

Today was a scheduled chest and back workout. I brought it pretty well- especially consideringi had already run and I got little sleep last night as my wife was not feeling well. I was especially pleased with my performance on ab ripper. I actually made it through all the reps on all the exercises for the first time this round. A small accomplishment- but a tough one (which you know all too well if you've ever done P90X).

Today's run schedule called for a 3.5 mile run. I went out over lunch to knock out my run because they were calling for more snow in the late afternoon and tonight. so, I wanted to get the miles in while I could. I ran a similiar route to what I did on Saturday's 4 mile run, just cut a few things short to keep it to 3.5 miles. I was pretty pleased with my time, as I was just about the same, maybe even a little faster then my 4 miles pace from Saturday. Regardless, I'm making slow but steady progress in a lot of areas.

Schedule tomorrow calls for a plyo day for the "X" and the run schedule is 2 mile run or cross train. Depending on the weather, I may do the plyo or I may do both. We'll have to see. On Wednesday I'll be at a salesmeeting/training all day. In fact, I'm staying at a hotel Tuesday night so I don't have to get up and drive Wednesday. So, I'm going to get up early at the hotel and try and get my 3.5 miles on Wednesday done on their hotel treadmill. It will be my first time on a treadmill, ?so I'll see what it's like. The good news is I'll be able to get my run in regardless of weather that day AND I can run in shorts!

4 Miles

Decided to try and get a run in yesterday, since it's been about a week since my last one. That half marathon isn't going away, so I need to put the miles in. Strapped on all my cold gear, added some layers, grapped the iPod and my Garmin, and hit the road. Schedule called for 4 miles.

It was an interesting run. I couldn't run on the sidewalks because a lot of people never cleared them after our back to back blizzards last week. So, I was stuck running on the snow-narrowed roads. I stayed in my neighborhood and tried to run in as many of the little courts, etc as I could to avoid as many cars as possible.

This was an interesting run because I've never run more then 3 miles at one time. But I cam through it with shining colors! In fact, I ran 4 miles almost as fast in total minutes as I did on my last 3 mile run! I just had a better pace. also, another big difference was that I ran during the day vs at night. At night I tend to run slower because of the visibility issues, etc. I don't want to bust my ass! So on this run I could see everything and was able to run at a better pace.

Taking off today, as it's a scheduled rest day for both P90X and the runningschedule. then back at it tomorrow for a 3.5 mile run. We are supposed to get more snow tomorrow night and tuesday (at least another 6"). So, I want to try and get my run in before it starts if I can.

Shoulders & Arms

Quick post tonight as I have to hit the sack for an early morning. Missed yesterday's workout due to the second blizzard and all the associated shoveling, etc. I honestly was just worn out from the 20" of new snow we got on top of the 30" we already had. It's just nuts!

Did the Shoulders & Arms workout from yesterday this evening. I had trouble "bringing it" tonight. Lots of stuff going on with work, etc made my mind wonder a lot. Did my best and got through it. Hopefully tomorrow will bring more focus. Anyway, gotta get osme sleep. I have an early case in the morning.