Hello

I think I am going to sign up for 13th. Annual Celebrate Summer 5K Road Race that will be held on July 21. I have been feeling really good about my running and I think I can finish the race. Its a local event and I know the roads so it shouldn't be to hard. I really want to see how far I have progressed in these past few months.

I have thinking about my long term goals and the one I have been thinking about the most is doing a sprint tri sometime next year. I think in another year I would have enough training for me to accomplish a sprint triathlon. I figure for the rest of this summer i will work on running and bike and during the winter I will start on the swim. I can swim, but not that far, maybe 50 yards without stopping. So by the end of the winter I will start to incorporate all 3 areas and by this time next year I will be ready to go.

2miles on the Road

Today was another hot day, but wasn’t as hot as yesterday. So this morning I decided that I would do a 2 mile run on the road today. To be honest, the treadmill is getting kinda boring. So after 2 circuits on the Nautilus machines I headed out for the run. Before I even got to the Y I drank almost a whole bottle of Gatorade and ate a powerbar. So I started the run and it wasn’t long for my shirt to be soaked. It was hot but I was feeling good. At the end of the first mile (basically the turn around at the end of the road) I was a little winded but my legs felt good. But as soon as I turned around to head back to the Y I was really starting to breathe harder and my legs started to get tired. So I thought about what I have been reading in a lot of other’s training blogs about walking during races to give your body a little rest and to catch your breath. Let me tell you it works. I timed my self and only walked for 1 minute, but that minute made all the difference. I started to run again and for the rest of the run, I wasn’t winded at all and my legs felt great. So for that reason I pushed a little further then 2 miles. Overall it was a good run. Time: 21:20 for just over 2miles. The pace was around 5.9 which is faster then I am used to on the treadmill.

My weight is down to 231. So close to the 220’s! I can’t wait to hit that 229 mark.

Later!

Very Hot Out Today

Today was a very hot day. I picked today to be a rest day for myself. But even though it was hot, I thought I would take a bike ride to the kid's daycare and drop some stuff off. So drank 2 glasses of water, filled my bottle with Gatorade and jumped on the bike. I didnt even get to the end of the road and my shirt was soaked. Reese was eating her mac and cheese that I made for her lunch. She was so cute sitting there. So I dropped off all her little snacks, gave her a kiss on the head and went on my way. I was going to see Brady, but I kinda figured he would flip when I left, so I just peeked in and saw him playing.

So after I left Daycare, I went down onto Main Street in Wakefield and sat on a bench under a tree next to the river and ate a powerbar. The vanilla crisp powerbar is actually pretty good!
After that I just took a nice ride thru town, around Old Mountain Field and back to the house. I was well tired after I got back. During the ride, I didn't push myself at all. It was just nice to get out and enjoy the day. Tomorrow its back to the Y!!

I jumped on the scale today and it read something I haven't seen since before I was married, 231.5. Wow! I just feel so good these past couple of weeks. And to see my weight drop to almost 230 is such a confidence boost.

Breakfast: bowl or Wheaties
Snack: Powerbar
Lunch: Roast beef sandwich
Snack: Handfull of peanuts
Supper: Lean Cusine Pizza
Snack: Fat Free Yorgurt

See Ya!

June 26

All night last night I was looking forward to today's workout. Its pretty cool knowing the I can't wait to workout. That might be strange to some people, but working out is fun. I went to the Y early today since Kim was home from work. When I got there I did a quick circuit on the Nautilus equipment and then jumped on the stationary bike for a quick 10 min ride to loosen up. Then jumped on the treadmill for my 2 mile run at a 1.5 incline and 5.6rpms. While running it helps to listen to my mp3 player and watch TV. Keeps my mind off of the running. I think it was last week that I forgot my MP3 player and the only treadmill available was looking out the window and the whole time all I could think about is my breathing, how my knees felt, can I go the distance. It really was a pain!!! Anyways, after the treadmill I jumped on the Eliptical for 4 miles at level 8 for 30 minutes. Overall another great workout!!!!!

I have been thinking about signing up for the Shoreline Biathlon taking place in Westerly, RI. Its a 5 mile run and a 16 mile bike in September. I have my reservations about signing up since it is 5 miles and I haven't even run 3 miles yet. But it is about 3 months away. So I will be thinking about it for the next few weeks. There is another road race I was going to sign up for that takes place at the end of July, the Snug Harbor Celebrate Summer 5K walk/run Road Race. I was thinking that it would be a good test for me to see how well I can run this 5K before the Vegas 5K. I will think about this one also!

Later!

Back on Track

So since last Thursday things have been quite busy. My father was up from Florida for the week and we had alot of plans for Friday and the weekend. Friday my brother, my dad and myself tried to go fishing but the motor for my boat would start to overheat if I went above 4000RPMs and the chop was bad. So it justed ended up being a nice boat ride. That night we meet up with my Uncle and went to Mohegan Sun in Ct until 2:00am. The next day we had a small little bbq for my father. It turned out to be lots of fun, great food and great company! That night we all went to a bar in Westerly to hear my brothers band play. Again another late night. Sunday was basically a recovery day. Took the kids on a little walk to a playground, the went out to eat at the local seafood resturant with Kim, Dad and my uncle. Then for the rest of the day we just hung around the house and didn't really do anything.

Today it was back to the weight loss, 5K training. I decided that I would ride my bike to the Y and then continue on to Narragansett beach. It was hot today so before I left, I drank 2 glasses of water. The Y is about 2 miles away with a few little hills. It was a quick ride, but the heat was slowing me down a bit. Once at the Y I just jumped on the first treadmill I could find and ran 2 miles, 1.5 incline in 21 mins. The run seemed easy. I think the bike ride to the Y warmed up my legs. Cool!

After the run, I jumped onto my bike and went down to the beach. Stopped at a market and picked up a bannana and a powerbar which I ate sitting on the wall that was overlooking Narragansett Beach. By the time I got home, my legs were aching. Today was the first time I combined running and riding.

After the long weekend, I am back on track!

Breakfast: Advantage shake
Snack: bannana and a powerbar during the ride
Lunch: bowl of Wheaties
Snack: handful of wheat thins
Supper: Turkey sandwich on Pumpernickel

June 21

So far today has been a good day. I would have slept until 6:30 this morning but my wife calls me up and tells me she is going to be on the radio at 5:50 this morning. At least she won some movie passes, Go honey!

Working on 5 ½ hours of sleep my energy level was kind of low. I had to be at work early today so I really didn't have time to do a full workout. So I went to the YMCA and completed 2 circuits on the nautilus equipment and then jumped on the treadmill for 2 miles. Not a complete workout but still felt good! Running 2 miles has been getting easier and easier. Next week I am going to push for a consistent 2 ½ miles each time I run. I am hoping by the end of the first week in July I would have run 3 miles on the treadmill at least once. I think a month of running 3 miles from the treadmill to the road is enough for me to finish the 5K in Vegas.

As for food, this morning I ate a half a bowl or Wheaties and a banana, mid morning snack was a handful peanuts. For lunch I had a fat free yogurt and a ham and turkey wrap with lettuce, tomato, green pepper and mustard. For dinner tonight I will have a salad and probably another yogurt. For a snack this evening I will munch on some sunflower seeds while I sit in front of my computer.

The scale read 233.5 this afternoon.

Later!

For the First Entry

For my first entry I would like to say that since I have started working out and losing all of this extra baggage that I have been carrying around, I have never felt better! After the Navy I started packing on the pounds. Through school and after Kim and I got married, the pounds keep coming. For the past couple years I have battled with so many different weight loss diets. For me, no matter what diet I was on, I just never really had my heart set on losing weight, and i would fall off the wagon just months into the programs. I felt safe and secure with my weight and the way I look. Then my Brady was born 2004 (the year the Sox took the Series!), then Reese in 2006. After they were born, I knew I needed to control my weight.

Around the end of September, early October I started going back the the gym and watching what I was eating. After a month I went from 267 to 255, a loss of 12lbs. Started feeling good about how my mind was totally committed this time about losing weight and getting fit! Then in the 2nd week of November I suffered a minor herniated disk in my lower back. Not what I needed. Stayed in the hospital for 2 days, couldn't even walk the first day. This was a major setback. After 2 weeks of not doing anything and eating what I wanted, all weight came back.So I started going back to the YMCA, maybe 2 or 3 times a week. I really felt like this was my time to get a hold of myself and just bust out!

As of today I weigh 235 and feel so good about myself and what I have accomplished so far. I am running almost 2 miles a day and started riding my bike again. I probably feel better then I have since my Navy days. I have been setting small weight loss goals for myself, but the ultimate goal is 190.

Currently I am training for my first 5K which I will be running in Las Vegas on August 5th. I am meeting up with Mark, Naret and Tree in Vegas for the weekend so I thought why not run a race there. Yes I know it will be hot but I like the challenge!

Well I hope you enjoy reading this Super Happy Fitness Journal of mine.