End of 2007

What a great year 2007 has been. 2008 is almost here!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Years.

See ya in 2008!

Come and Gone

Wow. What a busy holiday for my family and I. I won't get into all the details but I really had a wonderful Christmas with my family. Here is a brief recap of the past couple of days:
Thursday - Day off from work, Christmas shopping with my mom who came up from Florida with my stepfather, saw I Am Legend; Friday - another day off from work, spent time with Kim getting last minute things done, Reese got sick; Saturday - nice 1000 meters swim at the Y, need that; Sunday - Christmas dinner with Kim's nana and dad, lots of food and presents; Monday - Drive to NJ for Christmas Eve at Kim's Uncle's house, more food and Brady becoming sick; Tuesday - Christmas day, presents in the morning, Drive to Kim's other uncle's house for Christmas dinner and then drove 3.5 hours back to RI, got to sleep at 12:30AM; Today - Dropped kids off at daycare, Kim sick, went home and slept for 2 hours then back to work. Well thats it in a nutshell.

One really funny story I would like to share. So we are at Kim's uncle Mike's house for Christmas eve dinner and people were spread out all over the house. Kids running around, going nuts. While walking around I spot a dish of cookies. Oh and they had one of my favorites, peanut butter kiss cookies. I love them! Of course I ate one or was it two? After a few hours, I sit down in the living room and I look over into the next room and see Reese and Kim's brother's little boy Dylan standing next to the dish of cookies. I think nothing of it, but I wanted to grab another cookie. So I start walking over there and I see that the two of them were eating the cookies! So I say "Hey, what are you guys doing!? " Reese doesn't even look at me, and takes off into the other room, while Dylan looks up at me with his cheeks all puffed out. I look at the plate and those little stinkers ate all of the Hersey Kisses off of the cookies! I look back at Dylan and notice that his mouth is full of chocolate kisses. I just started laughing. It was a great moment that I will never forget.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!!!!

In the ZONE

Ever have one of those days when everything just clicks. You hit that ZONE where no mater what everything feels right. I use to have those days every once in a while when I was either skateboarding or inline skating. I would just be able to land every trick I tried. I had one of those days in the pool today. Lets back up a little. This morning I didn't want to do anything today. I didn't feel like swimming or biking or whatever. Staying home and sleeping or just watching TV just sounded so good. Then I read Me and the Boys and read what a great day michelle had in the pool the other day. It just got me super motivated so I grabbed my stuff and headed to the Y. After my initial laps I was going to do as many laps as I could without stopping. I thought I would make it as far as 400 meters then stop. 400 meters, felt good and kept going. 500, 600, ......900, 1000! I stopped at 1000 meters!!!!! I couldn't believe how fluid my motions were and how comfortable I felt during those 1000 meters. I just felt so relaxed and I could have kept going, but I had to stop due to time constraints. In total I swam 1800 meters today. Simply awesome. Hopefully I will have more days like that (especially during race day). After the swim I jumped on the stationary bike for 10 miles. If I didn't have to leave I would have jumped on the treadmill for 3 miles, just to complete my first YMCA indoor workout triathlon! NExt time!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hey

So over the weekend we saw Santa a few times. The kids are great with santa. I finished putting up the rest of the christmas lights, well actually 2 reindeer.

On Monday I wimped out and only went for a swim. It was too cold out and I still do not have proper cold weather running gear, so I didn't want to chance getting sick or whatever. So I jumped in the pool for a great 1000 meter. Of course it was not all in a row, 4 x 50, 3 x 100, 1 x 200, 2 x 100, 2 x 50.

As for today, I went to the Y early and did 10 miles on the bike,

4 miles on the elliptical and a circuit on the Nautilus equipment.

So there is not to much to talk about. Just going through the daily motions. Actually today Kim and I tried to take Brady and Reese's picture for our Christmas cards. They both looked really cute and it only took about an hour and a half to get a decent picture.

Friday!

Boy its funny how a week can fly by during this Holiday season. Went out for a 5 mile run around town today. I thought about running on the bike path but I just enjoy running through town. Don't get me wrong, the bike path is very beautiful, but there is something about people watching me run, kinda gets me motivated and keeps me going. The temp wasn't too bad today. It was probably around 35 degrees. I should have waited to run tomorrow when the forecast calls for 45 degrees.

Tomorrow I plan on getting up in the morning and heading down to the Y for a swim. I have a goal to swim 1000 meters tomorrow. That would be the largest distance yet!

So I have been thinking about what Garmin I should buy, the 301 or the 305. I know both have all the features I would need and I can care less about the size or the 301 over the 305. It basically comes down to cost. Both units get great reviews so I am leaning toward the 301. Plus I have found a few on Ebay that are under $100 for the 301. I should be careful about buying electronics from Ebay, but I figured if I could score a 301 for under $100, it might be worth it. I am still thinking about it.

Other then that, lets see....not much else is going on. I am still trying to decided what races I want to do next year. I know I will be entering a few 5Ks, the Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile race and probably a half marathon. I am still working on the Triathlon schedule. It kinda sucks that most of the early triathlons are either in Mass or Conn. My current thinking is that my first Sprint will be the Mystic River Valley Triathlon in June. I need to keep my schedule open for July 13 so I can watch the Rhode Island 70.3 Ironman and July 20 so I can head up to the Lake Placid Ironman. Both of those events will definately be awesome events!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

The Weekend Report

Saturday the family braved the cold weather and went to a local farm and picked out our christmas tree. Normally we take a good 30 minutes to find the perfect one, but since it was around 25 degrees with a wind chill in the teens, it took us probably 5 mins to pick the tree and get the kids back in the warm car. We got the tree home and Kim and Brady started decorating the tree while I went into the rafters of the garage to find all the christmas decorations. That night Kim and I went out with my sister and her husband to see a 80's cover band. We had a good time.

Sunday we chilled at home for most of the day. We went to a tree lighting party at a friends house in the late afternoon. Good times.

So here is my workout plan for December. I am really excited about it. I went over a little on today's workout, but I would rather be over then under!

Thursday

Well its almost Friday!!! It has been a pretty uneventful week. Yesterday I helped my brother-in-laws rake their Grandmothers leaves. Today I went to the Y and did some strength training and then went for a 3 mile run around town. It was another nice day so I am going to take every opportunity to run outside and avoid the treadmill. After the run I jumped in the pool for 800 meters. It was a good swim that consisted of 4x50, 3x100, 1x200 and 2x50. I was pretty beat after the swim.

I am currently developing a workout plan for December. The plan will have a heavy focus on running and swimming. I am also going to find some good core workouts to incorporate into my everyday workouts. I feel that my body is lacking strength in my core. If anyone knows of any good books or core website please let me know. When I have the plan I will post it.

As for tomorrow, I will head to the Y and spend 30 mins on the stationary bike, 30 mins on the elliptical and 800 meters in the pool.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Thanksgiving and Other Stuff

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know I did. We had about 18 people over for a great dinner on Thursday. The night before I cooked a 17lb turkey just for people to have left over turkey to bring home and Kim did some prep work on a few things just to make Thursday go a little easier. Thursday morning I cooked a 22lb turkey and cleaned house for most of the morning. Our guests started arriving around 2:00 and we didn’t eat until about 3:30. Lots of food, not enough space in my stomach to hold it all. So at my house we say grace before every meal. Normally Kim, the kids and I fill our plates and then we say grace. Well on Thanksgiving we said grace before we had food on our plates. So I started saying grace the way we always say it (we keep it simple and to the point for the kids, and sometimes Brady says it) “Thank you God for our food…” and I look at Brady who has the saddest expression on his face, he looks down and says “daddy, I don’t have any food”. I never felt so sad in my entire life. He just looked so serious and sad. I looked at Kim and she looked like she was about to cry. It was that sad. So both Kim and I got up and gave Brady a hug and gave him some food. After that I really couldn’t finish saying grace, but I did and the eating began. After dinner we all sat around and relaxed. Some of us went to the basement and played air hockey. Then it was dessert time. We had apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cream pie, ice cream….enough to feed an army. I had a piece of the chocolate pie and sat down and read through the sales flyers for Black Friday. After dessert everyone started leaving and after everyone had gone, we put the kids to bed and Kim and I went over the sales flyers again to plan our Black Friday attack. I found a really good deal on a Zune 30gig MP3 player at Toys R Us so I knew I would be getting up early to go stand in line for this thing.

So I get up at 3:50 and I was out of the house at 4:00AM just to make it to Toys R Us by 4:20AM. As soon as I got off the exit I saw the huge line of people waiting to get in. The store opens at 5:00AM so I have 40 minutes to wait in the cold weather for this MP3 player. I make it into the store by 5:10, get my Zune by 5:30 and I was home by 6:00AM with my new MP3,video, Podcast, picture player. AWESOME!!! Kim and I get ready to head out for a day of shopping and the crowds. Kim’s mother came over early to take the kids to daycare. We had a pretty successful shopping day. The crowds were not as bad as I thought they would be.

As for the rest of the weekend. We got the kids picture taken with Santa, took care of some more leaves in the backyard and put up some Christmas lights. I went for a short workout yesterday.

Today everything was back to normal. I went to the Y after dropping the kids off at daycare. Quick run on the treadmill and the elliptical. Finished the day with a 800 meter swim. The water felt great today. I was totally relaxed the whole time in the pool, even though MR. Splashy was right next to me the whole time.

So for not working out for a few days and eating a lot on Thanksgiving, I gained only 1 pound. I was thinking that I would have gained more. I am so glad I didn’t. Well I will have to lose that pound this week. I dropped out of the top 10 in the Challenge, so I need to step up my game.

Time Off and Happy Thanksgiving

I will be taking a few days off from blogging. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please remember our Armed forces this holiday. If you know anyone in the military send a quick note or a care package or just remember them when your family sits down at the dinner table on Thanksgiving. As a former military person, the thoughts, prayers, letters and packages were very uplifting and welcomed during time away from family and loved ones.

I will be hitting the gym tomorrow and Saturday, but Thursday we have family coming over and Friday is the BIG shopping day.

Enjoy and again Happy Thanksgiving.

Last Race of the Season, New PR!!!!

Going into yesterday's race I had my doubts about setting a PR. The course had a very large hills and the temp was around 38-40 degrees. Since I just began running in May I did not have any cold weather running gear so I had to make due with what I had. The race was a huge event. Talking to someone before the race, they said the first time the Mews Tavern held the race there was only 60 people running. Yesterday there were over 800 people running!!! As for the run, I knew it was my last race of the season so I wanted to break my last PR of 28mins 11 secs. The run starts with a nice hill that is probably about 1/4 long, definately a will breaker. After the hill I settled in to a nice pace and just cruised until the last hill. I told myself I would not walk any portion of the race including this last hill. I just put my head down and charged up the hill, passing walkers and other runners. I knew once I got to the top it was all down hill to the finish line. I made it to the top of the hill and started my decent to the finish. I looked at my watch and saw I had a chance to break my PR so I kicked up my pace. I saw this kid infront of me and made it my goal to pass him before the finish. I caught up to him at the turn onto Main Street. As soon as I caught up to him he started to sprint. SO I started to sprint with him but just couldn't pass the little bugger. We crossed the finish line almost at the same time. I told him I tried to pass him but he was too fast for me. Race time - 27 mins 43secs....NEw PR!!!
Just Awesome. I was really excited about me time and very happy with my effort. After the race there was a big BBQ and free beer for all who ran. Plus there was a huge raffle with over 40 differant items to win. I actually won a gift certificate to a local resturant, which my wife and I used last night. In all, it was a great racea and will definately run the race again.

The Weekend

Well its Friday! We have a few things planned for the weekend. Brady has soccer tomorrow morning and in the afternoon we plan on going to the Mews to pick up our bib #, shirt and free bear! Thats about it for Saturday. The race on Sunday is at 1:00 so I have plenty of time before the race. I am definately looking forward to the BBQ after the race. It should be alot of fun. Last year there was close to 600 people running and they will probably have the same amount this year. As for a goal, I hope to run the 5k in under 28 mins. That would set a new PR for a 5k race. This will be the last race of 2007. I will write a 2007 year in review sometime in December.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pre Race Run

Today I decided to run the 5K course that I will be running on Sunday for the The Mews Tavern "Gear and Beer" 5k. I wanted to run it becuase the course is full of hills and I wanted to see what I was getting myself into. So I began my run at the starting line where the first 1/4 is uphill, and not a slight uphill either. It was tough but I pushed through it and settled into a good pace for the rest of the run. There were a couple more hills in the run but nothing like the last hill toward the end. I tried to push it all the way up, but I started walking toward the top. The cool thing is that once you get to the top of the hill, the rest of the race, probably a good 1/4 mile, is all down hill. So I cranked it up and basically sprinted to the bottom of the street and then made the turn onto Main Street and sprinted down to where the finish line will be on Sunday. As I crossed the line, or where it said "Finish" on the road, I looked at my watch and it read 27mins 56secs. What? I just PR'd the hardest 5K I have ever ran? That felt good and now I can't wait for Sunday's race. The only thing that I am concerned about is the Temp for Sunday. The weather guys are calling for temps in the 40's. Pretty cold considering that today's temp was around 60!!! I guess we will see what happens.

After the run I took Reese to the Doctors for her 18 month check up. She got 3 shots and didn't like them one bit. But once we got to the car I said she was a good girl and gave her some M&Ms, which she loves. I dropped her off at daycare and went home to get my swim stuff and then off to the Y for a few laps in the pool. The pool was crowded but I shared a lane with a nice slow swimmer, like me! 600meters complete! Nice swim. I am completing 1 lap (50 meters) every time now. I think next week I will go for 75 meters before taking a rest.

After the swim I cleaned up some more leafs in the backyard, which seems like it will never end.

Weekend

Last weekend was pretty much uneventful. We had nothing planned which was a nice change. We actually found ourselves trying to find something to do. On Saturday Brady had his soccer class at the Y. He was so cute running around with his shin guards. Really didn't do to much for the rest of the day. Sunday was just as boring since the Patriots didn't play. We put together my new Lawn Sweeper so I don't have to rake leaves. I tried it out, why didn't I get one of these things years ago! As for Monday, I went to the Y and completed a 2 mile run on the treadmill and 600 meters in the pool. Then I went home and continued to cleanup the leafs in the yard. I made a huge pile for Brady to jump into. He loved it!!!!

No work out today. I had the kids and they don't like the YMCA daycare for some reason. I'll have to make up for it tomorrow.

Until then........

6 Mile Run

Well I completed my first 6 mile run today. I was going to run through town but decided to run the bike path instead. The bike path has mile markers so it was easier for me to keep track on where I was since I do not have a GPS unit. Starting off was a little cold and stiff even after stretching. I would say it took a good mile to warm up and get into a nice pace. Running on the bike path was awesome. It was such a nice day and the scenery was just beautiful. I was surprised to find only a few people on the path. I completed the first 3 miles in 31min 5 secs. I was running at a slow pace since I knew I was going for 6 miles today. Around the 4th mile my right Achilles heel started to tighten up so I made a couple of stops to stretch it out. At the 5th mile I decided to run the last mile without stopping. I was using the 5:1 ratio for the run today but at the 5th mile I felt pretty good and thought I had a chance to run the 6 miles in under 60 mins if I didn’t take my last walk break. Unfortunately I didn’t make it under 60 mins but I was so happy just to complete my first 6 mile run. I completed the last 3 miles in 30 mins 17 secs for a total time of 1 hour 1 min and 22 secs. I was a little sore but nothing major. I am going to make this a weekly run, except for next week when I have my last 5K race of the season.

My power week is complete. I didn’t hit all my goals but I did make progress on my running and swimming. The one goal I did hit was swimming for over 1700 meters. For the next several weeks I am going to concentrate on bringing that number up. My running goal of 20miles for the week was doomed from the beginning since I forgot that in order to get 4 runs in a week I need to start running on Sunday, not Monday since I run every other day. So this coming week I am going to start my running on Sunday with hopes on making the goal of 20 miles. As for the weight, I did lose another 2.5 lbs. Still didn’t crack the top 10 of the Challenge but that just goes to show that the others in the Challenge are just as motivated as I am which is awesome!!

As for the Challenge itself, I love it. I love entering my daily workout totals and reading others comment on my workout days and I enjoy commenting on others daily totals. It gives me such a boost to have someone comment on my day so I make sure I leave comments for others. I WILL CRACK THE TOP 10!!!!!!

As for the weekend the family and I really don’t have too many things planned. We are going out tomorrow to have pictures taken of the kids and then soccer class with Brady at the Y. I might try to sneak in a couple of laps at the Y tomorrow. Oh yeah and rake leaves, ugggh.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!

And its Thursday

Yesterday I was doing my blog rounds and came across a blog I think everyone needs to read. Stopping off at IM ABLE's blog, she directed me to Bolder in Boulder's blog. After reading his post I was full of emotion in which I can not put into words. So for anyone who reads my blog, please visit Bold's blog and help in anyway possible.

On Wednesday I went for a 5 mile run using the 5:1 ratio and it worked great. I ran the 5 miles in just over 50 mins. It's slower then my time for the Biathlon, but it was still a great run. After the run I was going to get a few laps in the pool but decided to go home and get some rest before work. That was about it for Wednesday.

As for today, I went to the Y and did some strength training and some laps in the pool. When I got to the Y there were tons of kids in the pool. I figured it was some type of swim class. During these classes there is one lap lane available, and there was already 2 people sharing the lane so I went and did my strength training first. After 40 mins I decided to check out the pool again. There was no one in the lap lane but all the kids were still there. So I decided to take advantage of the lap lane and threw my suit on and jumped in the pool. After one lap all the kids got out of the pool and headed for the showers....AWESOME!!!!! I had the entire pool to myself. It was me and the lifeguard. So for a good part of 30 minutes there was no one in the pool and I took my time and busted out 600 meters. Great swim!!!

Today is my stepfather's 51st birthday today. My brother and sister pitched in and got him a Homedepot gift card. Happy Birthday David!!!!

Tomorrow I am going to complete my long run for the week, 6 miles. I am going to use the 5:1 ratio for the 6 miles. I am totally looking forward to it. I hav never run 6 miles before so I am really excited. Wish me luck!!

Draft 2008 Schedule

For the past few weeks I have been thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2008. Right off the bat I knew I wanted to complete my first Triathlon. So I started looking for my "A" race. During that time I decided, basically today I decided, to make my "A" race an Olympic distance Triathlon toward the end of the summer next year. I think the amount of time between now and the end of the 2008 summer is enough for me to train for that distance. So I searched for an Oly Tri in the area and found Park City Mossman Triathlon that will be held on August 10, 2008. The Tri is a 1500 meters swim, 24.9 miles bike and a 6.2 miles run. I think the swim and bike distance is a little short of an true Oly distance, but this is close enough. So the next step is to register for this event. Hopefully it isn't sold out. That would suck!!!.

So on top of my "A" race, I am going to do a Sprint Tri toward the beggining of the summer. I ws thinking somewhere around the first of June. The Sprint Tri will be a warm up for the Oly Tri. Also in 2008 I will be running a few 5ks and 1 10 miler (The Blessing of the Fleet Road Race).
So I just need to find the Sprint tri for June and I will be ready to go for 2008.

As for today, I went to the Y and busted out 4.75 miles on the Elliptical in 30 minutes and swam 500 meters in the pool. Great workouts!!!!

Until tomorrow.....!!!!!!!!

Power Week

Ok thats the only name I can come up with. I am not good with my daily blog titles. I have been lagging behind on my weight loss for the THROUGH TH3 WALL Off-Season Shape-Up Challenge. I have lost 6lbs but I know I can do much better then 6lbs in 1 month. So this week I am going to increase my workouts. By the end of the week I want to run a total of 20 miles, swim 1700 meters and 20 miles on the elliptical machine. That might not seem like alot for some people, but it is to me. Along with that I want to shed another 4lbs. So let the POWER WEEK begin!!!

So for today I went on a new 4.5 mile running route through town. Basically took me all through town and a few minutes on the bike path. Great run! Then after the run I jumped in the pool for 500 meters. Straight freestyle swimming. Today was another break through day in the pool. I swam 100 meters before stopping. I didn't think I was going to pull it off, but everytime I would struggle getting a breath, I just relaxed and took it one stroke at a time. IT was great and I was very happy.

Tomorrow I will put in 4 miles on the elliptical, and circuit workout and some more time in the pool.

Halloween Report

Last night was great. After I worked 1st shift last yesterday so I could be home to take the kids trick or treating. It has been tradition for my family that we have Chinese food on Halloween. I was really looking forward on eating general tso chicken and Singapore mei fun. As we did last Halloween, we invited our friends over Chris and Andrea and their 2 kids Mark and Quinn to partake in the Chinese and to trick or Treat in our neighborhood. My neighborhood is any trick or treater’s dream. It is a wonderful place to live and there are tons of kids here. Plus in several of the houses I think the parents enjoy Halloween more then the kids do and go all out on decorations and dress up themselves. The trick or treaters started showing up around 6:15 last night, just as we were finishing up dinner. We got the kids ready and headed out into the neighborhood. Reese was a butterfly and Brady was Diego from Dora the Explorer. Both were very cute as you can see from the pictures. Reese wanted to walk the whole time. She did a great job saying trick or treat and grabbing 1 piece of candy, sometimes sneaking up and taking another. Brady was an old pro remembering from last year. He loved it and had such a good time. Everyone was wiped out by the time we got home. Talking with the neighbor, they said they went through 15 bags of candy. That’s a lot of kids. Both Reese and Brady made out pretty well. All in all it was a great night and lots of fun for everyone.

Today was the day to get back on track. After I dropped the kids off at daycare I went to the Y and started my work out for the day. I started off with stretching, then moved onto the stationary bike for a quick 5 mile warmup. After the bike I went for a 3.5 mile run. The past few times I have ran it seems like it is getting a little easier each time. I feel so comfortable running and I am not tired. Of course I get winded and have to slow my pace down or take a 30 sec walk break but it just seems easy. Maybe I should push my speed up a little more. I have a 5 mile run planned on Saturday so we will see how that goes I guess. After the run I jumped in the pool for 400 meters. Today was the first time I actually swam full laps. Normally I swim ½ laps and stop, rest and then continue. Not today, I was swimming 1 lap (50meters) and then stopping. A great accomplishment and I was really excited. I am just taking things slow and easy and I know I will be swimming multiple laps soon.

Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island

Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island coming to my home state on July 13, 2008. I was really excited to see that Ironman 70.3 is coming here. Unfortunately I will not be participating in the inaugural race but this will be my goal race for 2009. I will sign up to be a volunteer. How could I not!!!
I look forward to see if anyone out there in Blogger land will sign up for this race. Feel free to drop me an email if anyone has any questions about where to stay, go to eat....

Anyways, today was a busy day. Went and got my flu shot today. Then went out for a 3 mile run. Not a very exciting day. At least Kim and the kids were home today.

Have a good night everyone!

WORLD CHAMPION BOSTON RED SOX

Congrats to the Boston Redsox on sweeping the Rockies to win the World Series. It was an awesome year and hopefully they can do it again next year.

So I spent the most of the weekend in my bed. Friday I came down with some sort of virus and by 9:00 friday night I had a 101.5 temp and felt dizzy any time I would stand up. By Saturday I still had a fever and was very weak. I can't remember the last time I felt like this. I don't get sick very often, maybe once a year if that. By Sunday morning I was feeling much better and my fever was gone. Still, I didn't push it and basically stayed home and did nothing except watch football and play with the kids. Go PATRIOTS!!!

Today I was so busy there was no time to get any workouts in. I really wanted to at least get a run I, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give myself an extra day of rest. Brady had his first dentist appointment today. He did an awesome job. Kim and I were thinking that he would maybe sit in the chair and have the dentist count his teeth and that would be it. Nope, he sat in the chair for an entire cleaning. I was so proud of him. He got a toy and a new Shrek tooth brush. Good job Brady!!!

Weekend Recovery and Then Some

I took a few days off from working out to let my sore back recover. It was a good move on my part. By Monday my back felt great and I was ready to get back at it.

As for the weekend, I had a lot of fun. Saturday night Kim and I attended a dinner party over a friend’s house. We have a core group of friends that get together every 6 weeks or so and we all take turns holding the dinner party at each other’s house. So for this party Kim and I made stuffed artichokes and some type of spinach and orzo dish. I hate spinach and don’t care of artichokes either so I guess Kim made both dishes. The hosts, Tara and Randy, made tenderloin and served some sort of Cosmos which were really good and the other couple, Mary and Jeremy, brought over a cheese spread with bread crisps and smashed potatoes. The hosts invited another couple who were their neighbors, but they didn’t bring anything to eat. During dinner we were invaded by more neighbors who brought along the lady’s sisters from Scotland. The night just got crazy from there. The dinner party turned into a drinking party. We played drinking Jenga and ended the night with a well played game of Asshole. But the best part of the night is watching the Red Sox take game 6 of the ALCS. Got home at 1:00AM. Fun night.

The next day I woke up at 6:15AM so I can meet Jeremy at his house so that we can drive down to New Jersey to see the Giants vs. the 49ers football game. I am not a fan of either team but I never been to a professional football game. I was a little hung over from the night before but not too bad. Tailgating was great. We had steak tips and hot wings. I couldn’t fathom drinking a beer so I just drank water and sodas. It was a great game. Giants kicked the 49ers ass. But I really enjoyed watching the out of town score board where I saw the Patriots dominate over Miami. After the long drive home I tried to stay up and watch the Game 7 of the ALCS, but just couldn’t keep my eyes open. I woke up the next morning and the Sox won the game and are now heading to the World Series!
GO SOX.

On Monday I started to get back into the swing of things. I went out for a short 3.2 mile run and then hit the pool. A couple of laps into my swim I lost my left eye contact. Oh man what do I do, keep going and chance losing the other one or just get out now while I still have one good eye. I decided to get out. I didn’t want to risk losing the other one and driving home.

Today I planned a 1.5 hour bike ride but chickened out when I saw that it was very windy outside. So I just went to the Y and cranked out 4 miles on the Elliptical, a couple of circuits on the Nautilus equipment and swam 500 meters (I brought an extra pair of contacts with me today, just in case). Depending on the weather I will try and get in the bike ride from today. If not I will hit the Y again.

Thursday, October 18

After 5 hours of sleep last night I was considering just going back to bed after I dropped the kids off at daycare. But I didn't so I grabbed my stuff and set off for the Y. I dropped my stuff off in a locker and went to stretch before the run. The run was good. The first outdoor run since the 5K a few weeks ago. I was alittle concerned about my ankle, but it felt great for the entire run. I was scheduled for a 4 mile run, but the new route was only 3.8 miles, I guess I can live with that. During the run I was thinking about if I should do a few laps in the pool. I figured it wouldn't hurt and I brought all my stuff with me so why not. I changed and jumped into the pool. Boy was I tired from the run. I did manage to bust of 350 meters. Not bad for me and I actually swam 1 lap without stopping. That is huge for me. Things are coming together since I don't have to concentrate on breathing.

Tomorrow I have a scheduled 1 hour bike, 500 meter swim and circuit training. hopefully I will be able to do all of it without falling asleep. I can't wait for the weekend.

Swim, Bike, Circuit Train

I was singing that this morning with Brady. Swim, Bike, Circuit train. While I was singing, I was also doing the motions for each one. Then Brady picked it up and started to sang and do the motions with me. It was really cute.

I created a new training schedule for myself that last through the end of the month. The schedule focuses on swimming, running, biking and circuit training. For today I have a 60 min bike followed by 450 meters in the pool and a circuit on the nautilus machines. So I stuff all my gear into my backpack and rode to the Y to drop off my stuff in the locker. Then I continued my ride through town and onto the bike path. I was going to ride back to the Y but I decided to ride home instead and drive back to the Y. Bike ride – 13.3 miles in 56 min.

I open my locker and pull out my shorts and towel from my back pack, but I couldn’t find my goggles. I must have not put them in the bag. So I just decided to do the swim without them. I get in the pool and just floated around for a few minutes and decided to drive home and get my goggles. Out of the pool, dry off, throw some shorts on, drive home, find the goggles, drive back, put on cold wet shorts and then back in the pool. After a few stretches I was off and swimming. Today for some reason everything clicked. I had my best swim by far today. Breathing just came naturally with every 3rd stroke. At the time there were only 2 lap lanes open and I did a few laps by myself and then a lady came into my lane and asked if she can join me. I said sure but watch out, I was a beginner. She laughed and said no problem. So after a few more laps, I was leaning against the wall catching my breath and the lady came up to me and said, “Don’t tell anyone you’re a beginner, you don’t look like it.” That made my day. I was really excited that she said that. 3 weeks of practicing has started to pay off. Swim – 450 meters in 30 mins.
After the swim I jumped on the nautilus machines for 30 mins and then home for some lunch. Great workout day. Tomorrow I have just a 4 mile run schedule, but I might squeeze in a swim. But it all depends on the time, I need to mow the lawn, priorities.

Weekend Report

Didn't do to much on the fitness front during the weekend. Both my mother and father were up from Florida and wanted to spend some time with them. Saturday morning I met up with my father, brother and his family and my sister and her family down at the beach for some early morning surf casting. My father comes up from Florida every year at this time to catch the Hot Surfcast fishing. Its the last run of the year for Bluefish and Stripped Bass. This Saturday morning was probably the best fishing we had in a long time. There were fish everywhere. They were so close I could have just walked into the water and grabbed one. Everyone caught a fish and my brother's son caught 4! Its always a good time fishing, but getting up at 5:00 am is a little hard. I will post some pics later.

Sunday was a normal Sunday. We went to the Fantastic Umbella FActory in Charlestown and met up with some friends. Just to clarify there are no Umbellas at the place, just a few little shops and some farm animals for the kids. Besides the animals, the best thing about the place is store that has penny candy. Even though they are running alittle low since it is the end of the tourist season, there was plenty for us to grab. After that we went home and Kim started on her homemade sauce and I defrosted some chopped meat for meatballs. 4:00 came around and we all watched the Patriots defeat the Cowboys (very happy about that). My mother came over and had some pasta with us and stayed the night. She goes back to Florida on Tuesday.

Today I went to the Y after Brady's 3 year check up. I had a good swim workout. It seems to be getting easier, but still struggle with the breathing. Just need more practice. After that I did a circuit on the Nautilus equipment. I was going to hit the bike path for a 3 mile run, but I was convinced by my mother to have lunch with her. She put on the guilt trip about her leaving tomorrow and stuff, so I couldn't say no.

Tomorrow will have to be my off day since I have to work 1st shift and will have the kids at night while Kim goes away for business. I might try to see if the kids want to go to the Y, but Reese doesn't like going to the daycare they have. Brady could care less, but Reese just doesn't like it for some reason. Oh well.

Rain Rain Go Away!

Before I start I just want to say how much of a pain in the A#@ it is to come up with titles for every post.

Ok, I planned on taking a 4 mile run today but after I looked outside and saw the rain, I went to the Y and ran on the treadmill. My ankle felt really good for the 3 miles. So I was thinking that on Saturday I will be going for a 5 mile run. Also I jumped on the Elliptical for a quick 2 miles before I hit the pool. Thursdays are great for the pool. It is really quiet and I had a full lane to myself. During my swim today I felt like I have made great progress in the past weeks with my breathing. I felt more comfortable in the pool today then I ever have. I did notice that once I get tired and I lose focus and start breathing heavy and start losing my form. So I just flipped over onto my back and kept moving until my breathing slows down and then I would start over again. I guess this is all normal for a beginner. Good thing is that I have all winter and spring to improve and bring it to the next level.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. I bring my son to the Dr's office for a check up, then hit the Y and after that go out to lunch with my mom who is up from Florida. I'll need to be mindful of what I eat for lunch tomorrow. I have lost 2lbs already for this challenge and I don't need to take any steps backwards.

TTW Off-Season Shape-Up Challenge

Ok so I have taken up the THROUGH TH3 WALL Off-Season Shape-Up Challenge. Basically the challenge will "track measurements, weight, workouts and whatnot all winter, and the person who makes the most overall progress by January 1, 2008 will win a Podiumquest Duel Chamber Hydration System from NUUN and 9 tubes of NUUN to go with it. I was excited to sign myself up for this challenge. Superhero Ben from Buckeye Outdoors set up a website to track everyones progress. So let the challenge begin. I will be posting a Before picture shortly.
Here are my stats as of October 09, 2007:

• Weight: 234.5lbs (gained a little over the past few months)


• Body Fat %: 18.79% (Rough Estimate. I will obtain a better measurement shortly)


• Goal: Lose 34.5 lbs by January 1, 2008 (Even 200lbs sounds good!)

I will be using this challenge to not only lose weight, but to get myself into better shape for the upcoming race season. Winter time is not the time to be slacking. Just becuase it gets darker earlier in the day and the temp drops below 40 degrees does not warrant a trip to McDonalds or Taco Bell. If anyone else is interested click on the link above and COMMIT.

As for the St. Francis 5K, it was a great race and was very happy to set a PR. Halfway thru the race I didn't think I was going to PR since my ankle started to hurt and I walked for 30secs. But some how I pulled it off. I got a huge boost during the race when I saw Kim, Brady and Reese at the top of one of the hills with a cup of cold water. Brady ran out and gave it to me. The water was ice cold and seeing my family there gave me that little extra energy needed to finish the race. After the race, the church had apple crisp for everyone and lots of prizes to hand out from local resturants and stores. It was a great event and will definately add it to my race calendar next year.

My ankle is feeling better. I have not been running lately becuase I want to give it a few more days. I did run on the treadmill at the Y yesterday for 2 miles and it felt fine. Maybe tomorrow I will run 3 miles on the bike path and see how it is. I don't want to push it. Running is a big factor on my weight loss.

Good luck to everyone in the challenge!!!!!

New PR!!!!

St. Francis Fall Festival 5k Road Race & Walk - 28 mins 11 sec. New PR!!!!!
Great race!!!

5K Tomorrow

Tomorrow I will be starting my 4th 5K of the year. If I was going to set a PR, this will be the race to do it. It is a fairly flat course with a few small hills and the last mile is completely flat. I have run the route a few times so I know it very well. I am glad I rested my ankle this week. It feels really good so I should be all set for the race. I will do a warm up run in the morning just to see how the ankle will hold up.

After this race I have one more 5K and that will be it for the season. I probably won't do as many 5Ks next since I will be concentrating on my long distance running (Blessing of the Fleet 10 mile race) and hopefully at least 2 sprint triathlons and the Shoreline Biathlon. I am really looking forward to next season already. I just wish they would post the 2008 schedule so I can start planning my training schedule.

Sox Take the First Game!!!!

Lets hear it for the Redsox!!! That was a nice win against the Angels last night. Beckett was awesome! Hopefully Daisuke can pitch just as well on Friday.

Spent another 30 minutes in the pool today. I felt a little better with my breathing but still not comfortable with it. I actually made it down to the end of the pool without stopping for air, which is a huge accomplishment for me. I can't wait to read this a couple of months now when I can swim laps to the moon and remember how hard it was just to breath correctly. Untill then I will keep practicing.

Other then that it was a pretty uneventful day. After the swim I jumped on the elliptical for 3 miles and did a few ab workouts.

Swimming is Hard

Went to the Y today and did 4 miles on the Elliptical and 2 sets around the circuit. Then I jumped in the pool for more practice on form and breathing. This stuff is hard. While in the pool today I was thinking that I don't feel comfortable in the water yet. Maybe I am just thinking about too much while swimming. If I didn't have to breath I could probably swim forever. I will just continue to get the time in the pool and I am sure everything will come together.

My ankle feels better today. I was thinking about running tomorrow but I told myself not to push it. I'll just take a little warm-up run on saturday morning before the race. No matter what, I am still going to finish the race, running or walking.

Baseball playoffs started today. Good luck to everyone's favorite team and LETS GO SOX!

Office Olympics and Going Forward

So last Thursday my company held their first Annual Office Olympics. I was the captain of team Green Eggs and Cham, don’t ask about the name. There were various events such as compact discus, rubber band archery, stress ball dodge ball, and memo relay. So our team was doing very well and it was time to do the memo relay. For this event we needed to run around a portion of the office building one time and hand off a memo to the next person. Well I thought I would show off my running abilities and go really fast for my leg of the relay. There were a few tricky corners to get around. After my run I felt a little discomfort in my left ankle, but it went away after a while. I woke up on Friday and my ankle hurt. At times it was hard to put any weight on it. I had a long run planned for Saturday morning, but that was out of the question. Today I went to the Y to test out the ankle and I went .35 miles on the treadmill before I had to stop. So I am going to take it easy for the next few days and test it again on Wednesday or Thursday. I don’t want to push it and hopefully everything will be better by the 5k race on Saturday.

As for working out, since I couldn’t run on the treadmill, I thought I would test it out on the elliptical. BINGO! My ankle didn’t hurt so I did 4 miles in 30 mins. Before the elliptical I did a circuit on the nautilus machines. I drove home and grabbed my swim gear, went back to the Y and spent the better part of 30 mins practicing my breathing and swim technique for a distance of 400 meters.

Last Friday was Brady's 3rd birthday. Reese was in daycare for the day so Brady had special time with Mom and Dad. We had alot of fun going to Toys R Us were he proceded to ride whatever bike he could find around the store. Then we were off to Chuck e Cheese for some games and then too Cold Stone for his free birthday ice cream.

Here is Brady making his birthday cake!!!!

This week I will be going back into weight loss mode. I am going to bring down my running distance to 2 – 3 miles a day and bring back the elliptical and more strength training, and also swimming. I need to focus on my weight loss since I haven’t really been thinking about it for the past couple of months. Since August 1st I gained 5 lbs and now stand at 233. I don’t want to go backwards anymore. Lets Go!

A Little Faster

Yesterday's run was great! I ran 3.4 miles in 31mins which is a 9:08 pace. My fastest so far this year. As the end of my 5K race season comes to an end, I would like to go out on a high note and set my goal at 3.1 miles in 28mins. If I could hit that, I would be very happy. My first shot comes in 2 weeks. The St. Francis Fall Festival 5k is a local and the race route is almost the same one I run at least once a week. I know in race conditions I can bust out a little over 9 min mile. Lets just hope and see.

Salve Regina's 5K Mansion Run

Last minute 5K race.
Salve Regina's 5K Mansion Run - PR!!!! 29:02 - 9.21 pace.

2 Days in a Row

Well I learned a valuable lesson today, don't run 2 days in a row. Yesterday I ran a little over 4 miles and today I thought I could go out and do another 4, nope. Around mile 2 my legs tightened up and were very sore. I did manage to make it to the 3 mile marker but I had to walk the last mile back to my car. I don't think I will do that again.

Tomorrow will be an easy day. I will bike to the Y and hit the cross trainer for 30 mins, and then jump in the pool for a few training laps. I need to practice breathing!!!! I am going to take every opportunity I can to get in the pool and practice.

Back to Normal

It was back to normal today after taking a few days off. Went to the YMCA, did a quick nautilus circuit and then out for a 4 mile run. I tried to add some speed to my run today. I ran the first mile in just over 8 minutes. After that I settled into my normal pace and finished out the run with conquering the hill from hell. I decided that I can't be a hill wimp anymore. So from now on I will be running up that hill, even if it kills me.

At the Y I checked out the pool schedule to see when they had all lanes available. I figured since I am not really focusing on any events for the next several months that I should at least start swimming. There were 5 lanes available at noon, so I went home for an hour changed into my bathing suit (what do people wear at the pool? The only thing I have is my board shorts. I guess that will do until I get a few pairs of Tri shorts) and I was off to the Y again. Got to the pool and there was an empty lane, YES! I jumped into the pool and the water felt great. I put my swim goggles on and thought about what I wanted to accomplish today. Basically just get in the water and try to swim a few laps practicing my breathing and my arm positions. Everything about the swim today was great except for the breathing. I had alot of trouble with the whole breathing out in the water and breathing in from one side or another. I could not get a rythum down and choked on alot of water. In all I swam 250meters. I didn't feel tired at all. My body felt great, I just need to work on breathing and I should be good to go!

Shoreline Biathlon Race Report

The day was finally here. After a morning or making sure I had everything I need, double and triple checking my list, I was off to the race. You couldn’t have asked for better weather clear skies, little wind and no humidity. I got to the race area around 10:00. The race didn’t start until 11:00 but I wanted to get there early. After check in, I set up my bike in transition and then walked around checking out all the other cool bikes. I went into this race with a few goals in mind. The first goal was to simply finish the race. Second would to finish the race in less than 2 hours and the third, to run the 5 miles in under 50 minutes. Before I knew it, it was 11:00 and the race was about to start. After some announcements and a picture we were off.

Like the other races before this one, I started in the back knowing that a lot of these people are much better runners then I was. As it turned out, I passed a few people and only couple passed me in the beginning. There were no mile markers on the course so I just went by my previous split times to figure out were I was on the course. So for the first mile or so I felt really good. I set a comfortable pace for myself and even passed 2 people, YEAH! Starting from the back you can really see how the group of runners really spread out over time and people settle into there runs. I was with the same group of people the whole 5 miles. A fellow blogger and future Triathlete Michelle ran past me just before mile 2. I tried to keep up, but she is definitely a much stronger runner then I am. There was a water station around the 2.5 mile mark which I decided before the race I was going to walk through. I grabbed 2 cups of water, downed both and I was off again. From there to the end I really didn’t keep track of my time. I was just trying to stay in my rhythm. Within the closing mile or so I focused in on a guy and a girl that was just in front of him. I wanted to pass them before transition, so I kicked my butt in gear and passed both of them right before the entrance into transition. 5 mile run – 47:32 Goal Complete!

Transition went fast. I sucked down a vanilla Cliff Shot gel, drank some nice ice cold water, put on my helmet and was off. The coolest thing happened when walking with my bike to the bike start, someone yelled “Go 157!” How cool was that! Someone was cheering for me. What a boost that was. I grabbed my bike and lifted it over the guard rail and was off. I did that because there was a huge puddle at the exit out of the parking lot and I didn’t want to have a big line of mud going up my back.

At the start of the bike ride my legs felt great. I was totally expecting them to be screaming in pain or really tight, but everything was good. Around the first mile, the girl I passed right before transition passed me and I didn’t see her for the rest of the race. Around the 2nd mile, the race leader blew past me like I was standing still as he was just starting his 2nd lap. I would have to say the bike portion of the race went by pretty fast in my mind. I was mostly alone for the 2 laps. I probably passed 2 or 3 people who were on mountain bikes. I told myself I would take it easy on the first lap and then try to kick it up on the second. Once I started my second lap, I could feel the energy slowly slipping away. I just kept thinking to myself, just finish under 2 hours, just finish under 2 hours. With a mile to go I gave it everything I had. Coming up to the finish line I saw Kim and Brady also Michelle and her husband Scott cheering. Its so cool hearing people cheer for you. 16 mile Bike – 58min 25sec, with a total race time of 1:47:37 including transition. Goals Completed!!!

I had nothing left after crossing the finish line. After my first 5K I felt like I could have run harder, but after this race, there was nothing. I left everything on the course. I came in 65th out of 80. Not bad for my first multi-sport race. There is room for improvement in both the run and bike which I will start working on ASAP.

It was a great race and I can’t wait to do it again next year. Next year – 1 hour 25 mins!

Race Complete!

Well I survived my first multi-sport race yesterday. It was awesome! I completed the race in 1 hour 47 mins. Guess thats my PR for that biathlon. I ran the 5 miles in 47 min 32secs, which I was hoping for under 50mins. The bike took a little longer then expected, 1 hour for 16 miles. I can see I really need improvement there. Anyways I will post a full race report tomorrow.

Ready for Race Day

After 4 months of training, which includes running a total 113 miles, biking 199 miles and two 5K races, I am ready for this biathlon. Back in May I could barely run a mile and didn't touch my bike in probably a year. Looking back it has been so amazing to see how far I have come. Now I just have to go out there on Sunday and give it everything I have, and to not only complete the race, but to have fun and celebrate this major accomplishment. Thanks to everyone who has supported me and I will post my results Sunday.

Bike Course

I took a ride on the biathlon's bike course today. I didn't want to go full out but I did push it a little. The course is a 8 mile loop that will be done twice. It is mostly flat with a few small hills but nothing major. I completed the 16 mile ride in 54mins 40sec. A good time for me. I figure I will be around the same time on sunday since I didn't run 5 miles before today's ride. I am going to shoot for 50mins on Sunday. So If I can run the 5 miles in 45 - 50 mins and bike the course in 50mins, I am looking good for a sub 2 hour total time.

So tomorrow I plan on a short 3 mile run just to stay loose and to give my legs a little rest. Saturday I will not run or bike so I will be ready to go on Sunday. 3 days to go!

Last Long Run Before the Race

Today I set out to run my last 5 miles before the big race this Sunday. I planned on just running an easy 5 miles with no goal in mind but to finish. After a few minutes of stretching and getting some water into me I was off and running. I had a little trouble getting into a good rhythm but it worked it self out quickly. After the first ½ mile I noticed that I was running a little faster then normal. How could this be? I wasn’t going any faster then I normally do, I think? First mile – 9mins 13sec. Pretty fast considering I still have 4 miles to go.

While running the second mile I began to think about my running form, specifically how my feet hit the ground while running. I have noticed in the past that most of the time I am a heel to toe type of person. And from what I have read, that could be a bad thing, especially when it comes to shin splints. So today I began to land more on the mid portion of my foot rather then the heal. Second mile – 9mins 30 sec. Wow another sub 10min mile, Nice! But would I regret it later in the run? I was running faster then normal and I can only think it was my new foot placement while running that made me run faster. Third mile – 8mins 02 sec – Holy Cow??? Still going along at a good pace and felt great. Fourth mile – 9mins 19sec. On the last mile and I started to feel tired and my breathing became very heavy. Looking at my watch I knew I had a chance to run 5 miles in 45mins. So I struggled to continue my fast pace and had to stop for a 20sec walk break to catch my breath and relax and then back off again and once I could see the mile marker I ran as fast as I could to come in at a time of 45mins 30secs. That was awesome! If only I can repeat the time this Sunday it would give me a huge boost in my confidence to finish the race in under 2hours. I just don’t want to drain all my energy on the run. So I will see how everything is shaping up on Sunday to determine how fast I am going to run.

I got my bike back from the shop I plan on taking a ride on the bike course tomorrow. That would give me a great sense of what is in store for me on Sunday.

Mock Biathlon

For today’s training I went to the bike path and did a 4 mile run and a 12 mile bike. I wanted to see how I would fare completing one right after another. The run was good. For once I found my rhythm right away. It normally takes about a mile or so to find my running stride and breathing. I ran the first mile in 9.41, Second – 10.03, third – 9.55 and fourth – 9.44 for a grand total of 39.24. This is a great time for me and I did not walk once.

The bike portion was a little slow considering all of the stop signs and cross walks I had to stop at. This was the first time riding the new bike. I put it together so I was a little nervous about really kicking it up and riding fast. But the bike was great. What a difference between riding a mountain bike and a road bike. After training I dropped my bike off at the bike shop for a tune up. I want everything to be ready for the race this weekend. As for the training, I did 12 miles in 50.30 on the bike for a grand total time for bike and run, 1 hour 29 mins (if my math is right).

What this showed me is that I have room for improvement in the run and bike, but I can definitely finish the race. Going into this weekend I have a goal of completing this race and a side goal in completing it in less than 2 hours. It would be really cool to finish under 2 hours, I mean it is a race and I should push myself to go as fast as I can and to finish strong!

5 Miles

Ran my first 5 miles today with a time of 53 mins 32 secs. Great run on the bike path. It was a little humid but there is a lot of shade on the path and there was a nice breeze which definately helped.

4 miles Down!

Since I have been training for the Shoreline Biathlon coming up in 2 weeks, I knew I would have to up my mileage on my runs. So last Saturday I went to the local bike path which is nicely measured out and ran 4 miles. It was a great run. It took my 40min 58 sec. to complete the run. I was definitely happy with that and knew after the run I could run the 5 miles in the biathlon.

Today I went for another 4 mile run. I went to the bike path again and set out to do an easy 4 miles. Just before I started my run, a lady ran passed me. Watching her stride, it looked like she was going about the same speed as I normally do. So I started running with the full intent of catching up to her and passing her. I figured it would be like a race setting where you find that one person in the pack that you want to pass. I caught up to her within the first mile! I still had 3 to go. So I started talking with her and we chit chatted about running and kids and stuff. Next thing I knew we were at the mile 1 marker, I looked down at my watch and it read 8:30! I never ran an 8:30 mile! So I asked her what her normal pace was and she replied around 8:30. This was cool. So we agreed to run with each other for awhile. We hit the 2 mile marker, which was the turn around point at 18:20. Wow what a great 2 mile time for me! I was still feeling good at the turn around and I thought that I might be able to finish the run without taking a walk break. We separated around mile 3. She started running a little faster then me and I didn’t try to keep up. I did end up walking for approx 30 seconds, but it was good to slow down and catch my breath. When I started running again I could see the girl that was running with me and decided to try and catch up to her again. Well I didn’t catch up to her but I did post an awesome 38:32 for my 4 mile time! It was so cool that I ran the 4 miles under 40 mins and blew away my previous 4 mile time by over 2 minutes!

So this leads to this weekend in which I WILL run 5 miles. I have no doubt that I will complete the 5 miles this weekend which will boost my confidence going into my last week of training.

No Walks for Me!

Today I reached a milestone with my running. I ran 3 miles without stopping for a walk break. Now I know it doesn’t seem like much too some people, but to me it means a lot. I actually felt like a runner today. I found my stride right off the bat. I was cruising at a good speed, faster then normal. And nothing hurt. Just an all around great run today. So now my plan is to run 4 miles on Saturday, just to see how I do. If I can run 4 miles with maybe 2 walk breaks, it will give me a lot of confidence going into next weeks training runs and eventually the race on the 16th.

I just wanted to give a quick note about some fellow bloggers that completed their journey on becoming an Ironman. 140.6 miles: An Ironman Training Journal (Courtney) completed the Ironman Louisville race this past weekend, and Fat Girl to Triathlete (Jessica) completed Ironman Canada also held this weekend. Both of them did an awesome job and both are very inspiring not only for me but everyone who visits there blogs and followed their journey. Congrats to both!

3 Weeks and Counting

Well let me start off by saying that I didn’t have a recovery week last week, I just didn’t do anything last week. I really can’t say that. My schedule at work was changed due to training, my mother came into town from Florida and I was preparing the house for a family party on Saturday. I know I could have found time to get a run in, but I was just too darn busy.

I did realize something during the end of last week. Something I never thought I could imagine, I missed running. Kind of crazy but it was true. I couldn’t wait for Monday to arrive so I can get back into my little training mode, getting ready for the big showdown next month.

Speaking of the Biathlon, it is rapidly approaching. I have a little less than 3 weeks of training to go before the big day. Every run from now on must be over 3 miles with a focus on getting to 4 miles by the end of next week. Then try for one, 5 mile run a week before the race just to get a feel for what I need to get myself ready for. Sometime this week I am going to head down to Westerly and check out the run and bike course. I might even try to run the course once before the race.

So today after my bike ride I jumped in the pool and tried to swim a few laps. I did maybe 2 laps before everything came apart and got tired. I will need to focus on that some more after the biathlon.

Have a great day!

Run Hard and Bike Hard

So after yesterday’s little rant on lack of motivation, I went out today and ran hard and biked hard. That’s the best way to get back in the saddle and get things moving. So I took off on the bike and went to the YMCA, which is where I start all of my runs. I went inside the Y to stretch and do some abs stuff, then back outside to start my run.

The run was good, not great. About half way thru my run my right shin and ankle started to tighten up. That never happened before. I didn’t know if I should run through it or stop and rub it or something. So I stopped running and started to walk. After about 30 seconds it felt fine and I started running again. About a half a mile later it started to tighten up again. This was crazy. So I started walking again for a minute and then started running again, this time I wasn’t going to stop. Everything else felt really good. My left leg wasn’t sore and I wasn’t tired or breathing hard. Once again my right shin and ankle tightened up, but not as much as the previous times so I just continued to run to my finish point today. 2.77miles in 28:20mins. Would have been better but there is always tomorrow.

After the nice recovery walk up the hill of death (there is a big hill that the YMCA is at the top of. I normally start my runs at the top of the hill and end them at the bottom, but today I wanted to at least run up half the hill. I have only ran up the hill once, just once) I drank some fluids and jumped on my bike and headed into town. I really didn’t know where I wanted to ride my bike today. I only knew I wanted to go for a long ride. So once I got into town I decided to head down to my brother-in-law Mike’s new Mexican grill which was about 7 miles out toward Scarborough beach and Point Judith. It was a nice flat ride out there. Once there I found a seat inside and ate a powerbar and had some water. Mike was way to busy to talk so I just poked my head into the kitchen and said hi. So after my little break I got back on the bike and headed down to the beach and back home. I took Ocean drive home since I wanted to ride past Narragansett beach. The ride home was long and I started to get tired and my legs started burning. By the time it was all done, I rode a little over 16 miles, which is good considering that’s the distance of the biathlon next month. After this long ride I asked myself how much easier would the ride have been if I did this on a road bike instead of a mountain bike. I am hoping to get a road bike soon.

Well off to New Jersey this weekend. See you all on Tuesday!

Where is my Motivation?

Today was an off day for me. I had plans on going out for a 15 mile bike ride, but after I dropped the kids off at daycare, my stomach started hurting so I went home and relaxed.

Looking back on my training log, it appears that I have been slacking off on my work outs and training for the past few weeks. Is it because of the few days in Vegas or last weekends trip to Atlantic city? I don’t think that’s it. Could I be burnt out on the whole training thing? I look at my training log for June and July and see just how committed I was, going all out almost everyday, getting ready for my first 5K. Now, I should be just as committed since I have a biathlon coming up in less then a month and I haven’t touched a bike in almost 3 weeks. Its almost like I had slacked off because I reached one goal and that’s good enough. It seems to change every day, my lack of motivation, drive to achieve, commitment. What is it?

We are going away this weekend to Kim’s Uncle’s Lake house in New Jersey. It will be a welcomed peaceful weekend. Far cry from the past 2. I was actually thinking about trying to get some swimming in at the lake. I would love to see how far I can actually go.

I am sure this little phase of mine will pass. It better, or my times at the biathlon will suck!

Vegas Report

Standing at the starting line of my 2nd ever 5K race, I thought to myself, what am I doing? So here is the break down. I was in Vegas for a little vacation with some old buddies from my Navy days, Naret and Mark. We booked the room and flights about 3 months ago, just about the same time I started really training. So I figured it would be a good idea to see if there was a 5K road race in Vegas that would be my goal race to prepare for. After a little searching I found the Midsummer Nights Dream 5K/10K. Well if you have been reading my blog, you know that I have already completed a 5K 2 weeks ago, so this was not going to be my first race.

Anyways, so we get to Vegas on Friday the 3rd and the first thing I noticed was the heat. I knew it was going to be hot, but not that hot. Of course we go hit the clubs that night and get back to the room by 3:30AM. Just a little tidbit of info, if you calculate the time I got up to catch the plane in Providence which is 4:00AM and the time I went to bed, 3:30AM and add the 3 hour difference in time zones, I was awake for over 26 hours. So with probably 5 hours of sleep and drinking water all day, Mark and I get to the race with about 15 mins to get ready.

The course was a 2 loops around a drainage basin and a little path thru a park. Seems simple enough, no hills! At the start everything seemed good. Then around a quarter of the way thru the first lap my mouth started getting dry. Around half way thru the first lap I needed a drink. Did I mention it was hot? They had 1 aid station set up at the start finish line, which I think they should have had one at the other side of the loop. By the time I finished the race I was sucking down cups of water and Heed like it was going out of style.

I finished the race in 32:09 mins, not a PR but I am just glad I finished. Mark ran it in 28:18. We met a girl from Texas who was also on vacation with her husband and decided to run the race as well. We had celebratory beer while waiting for the cab to pick us up and drive us back to the strip.

I am glad I ran the race. I would probably do it again, but maybe in the winter time.

5 Days to next 5K

So I have 5 days until my next 5K. This one will take place in Las Vegas! Its the Midsummer Night Dream 5K\10K . This is the race I have been training for the past 3 months. Just think, 3 months ago I couldn't even run a mile and now I am running my second 5K in 2 weeks! Feels pretty good! The only thing I am worried about is the heat. I mean come on, it is Vegas in the middle of the summer. I looked at the forecast for Saturday, 102 degrees. Nice! yeah right. Good thing I am only doing the 5K and not the 10K. So tomorrow I am going to change my training plan a little and bike tomorrow as planned but run 3.5 miles on Wednesday becuase I am working during the day on Thursday and won't have any time to run.

This past weekend was the Blessing of the Fleet in Narragansett. This is a huge weekend event in the town and it is kicked off by a 10 mile road race and seafood festival. A few of my friends ran in the race. I wish I could have been there to cheer them on. Next year I will be running in the race. I'll have to put that on my goal list! I guess I should get ready for the biathlon first.

Slacking

Ok I have been slacking on my posts. But it has been a rough couple of days with my daughter waking up at 12:30 and not going back to sleep until 2:30am, then waking up at 5:30 with my son and on and on. But I have managed 2 runs so far this week.

So I have developed a training schedule to get me ready for the 17th Annual Shoreline Biathlon which will be held on September 16, 2007. It is a 5 mile run and a 16 mile bike. Since I have not ran 5 miles and probably only rode my bike 16 miles once, I created a structured schedule that incorporates a gradual increase in time in both running and biking. I figured with this training schedule instead of going for a certain distance I would put in times for both areas for the given day. With 7 weeks to train for this event, I should be able to finish with a decent time.

Today I hit 228 for my lowest weight so far. My goal of 220 before myVegas trip might not happen, but 225 or so will do just fine. I figure by the biathlon I should be around 215 - 210. Hopefully by tomorrow I can lose 1 more pound to 227 and that would put total weight loss at 40 lbs! We'll see!

First 5K!!!

What a great race today! My first 5K done and over with. It was a good event. I would say there was about 300 people there. I started at the back of the pack to let all the fast people go ahead of me. Well lesson 1, don't start all the way in the back. it took me a good 20sec to even start running, then I had to watch out for people slower then me, what a traffic jam. So next time I'll start in the middle. My goal for this race was to come in under 32mins. I figured a little over 10 min mile pace would be a good goal.

The first mile was good. It took me a while to get a good pace going for myself. It was differant to me seeing people on the side of the road cheering and handing out water. I grabbed a cup of water and tried to take a sip but half of it went up my nose. Guess I need to work on that.
First mile done in 9min 55sec.

The second mile was pretty more of the same. I took a 45sec walk break to catch my breath and give my legs a rest. After the break I was ready to go again, feeling nice and refreshed.

Heading into the final mile we turned the corner and there I saw Kim, Brady and Reese. It was great to see them there, cheering for me, even though once Brady saw me he wanted to run to me. The final mile felt like it took forever. But at the turn around I picked up my pace a little bit and when I saw the finish line I ran as hard as I could.

Final time: 31:03min @ a 10min mile pace.

Lessons learned:
1. Pee before the start of the race.
2. Dont start in the back of the pack
3. Leave it all on the road, you can rest when you cross the finish line.

Now I can't wait for the Vegas 5K. That will be alot of fun!

Race is on for Saturday

Well I signed up for the Celebrate Summer 5k that will take place in Snug Harbor. I am kinda nervous already about the race. I know I can finish the race. I just need to do it! So now for the next few days I need to prepare myself for it. So since I will be working until midnight on friday, I will get as much sleep as I can before work on Friday.

As for training, I ran 3.6 miles today with one, 1 minute walk. My main reason for signing up for the race is becuase of the distance run today. Plus, I found a $20 bill on the ground while running so I kinda took that as a hint to run the race. The run felt good. I find if I concentrate on my breathing helps me not think about my legs getting tired and other things. For some reason the first mile seems harder then the other 2 miles. Plus the walk break works wonders!

Well now I have my first race coming up and I can't wait.

Do I or Don't I

For the past week I have been thinking about running the Celebrate Summer 5k in Snug Harbor. I know I can run the race and finish, but how well I do at the run is questionable. Maybe I should just do it. I was checking the times from last years race and it seems like I at least won't be last. I will think about it over night and talk it over with Kim to see if we have any plans for that morning.

So today I took a nice long bike ride around town and up the bike path to the train station. In all I logged a little over 14 miles. I definately need a road bike, or at least a mountain bike that fits me to make the long rides a bit easier.

Long Term Goals

I have been thinking for the past few weeks what my long term goals should be. The past few months I have been meeting my short term goals:

• Hit 229, my lowest weight since getting out of the navy
• Running 20 minutes without stopping
• Running 3 miles
• After almost 2 months I finally got my pool clean and clear, no green!!!

So I thought I will make a list of long term goals and a new list of short term.

Short Term - 2 months:

• Run my first 5K in Vegas
• Lose 20 more lbs
• Run 5 miles
• Bike 25 miles

Long Term - 3 months to a year:

• Hit 190lbs
• Run 10 miles
• Bike 40 miles
• start a swimming program
• Train for my first Sprint Triathlon.

The Sprint Triathlon will be my ultimate goal for next year. I think by this time next year I will be ready to complete a sprint tri and not totally suck while doing it. Oh yeah, probably buy a new bike in the next few months too. I don't think riding 25 miles on a mountain bike is to much fun.

Long 4th of July Week

Well the 4th of July has come and gone.... GOOD! It has been rough for the past week trying to stay on my "Diet" and not eat to much bad stuff. From my birthday on the 1st, the 4th of July and my 6th year wedding anniversary(Went on a Breakfast buffet cruise in Boston, lots of good food and desserts!) on the 8th, I gained 3 lbs and now weigh 232. So I am going to spend the next week trying to lose the weight I gained and jump back into my training schedule.

So for the past few months I have been eating powerbars before my bike rides or runs. So today I thought of trying those Cliff bars. Damn are they good!!!!! I almost felt guilty eating one. I had the Chocolate chip one and it was so good. So from now on its CLiff Bar all the way!

Today I ran a little under 2 miles, 2.7. I struggled with the first mile or so. It was probably do to the heat. By mile 2 I was soaked from sweat and couldn't wait for the run to end. So I pushed myself until the end of my run.

For food:
Breakfast: bowl of wheaties
Snack: a little slice of heaven called Chocolate Chip Cliff Bar
Lunch: small piece of pork chop
Snack: handful of peanuts
supper: turkey sandwich on Pumpernickel
snack: either some lite peaches or a yogurt.

Later!

First 3 Miles!!!!!

My first 3 miles! It felt great! I decided to run through town today instead of the side road I have been running on. I figured running through town would give me more to look at and keep my mind off of running, breathing, leg pain..... After 2 1/2 months of training I finally ran the 3 miles. Now I feel I am ready to run a 5K, even if I only ran 3 miles once. I felt strong in today's run. Now I am going to build on these 3 miles and get myself ready for the Hot 5k in Vegas in August.

Feels good to accomplish one of my goals!!!!!

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.

Shawns Photo