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!!!!!