This Week's Workout (5/16/05 - 5/22/05)

This was a good week for workouts. I did a lot less socializing than last week, so I was able to stick to my workout schedule. Unfortunately my journaling is still falling out of focus. For the most part I'm trying to stay within my points, but w/o the journaling I can't be 100% sure. So, here's how my week went...

Monday, May 16th, 2005
Workout - OK

I decided to go to Ronya's step class instead of running. I wanted to run the Crescent Trail on Tuesday. So I figured I'd take it easy and do step to gear up for running the following day. The class felt extremely easy. Even after adding in the high impact moves, I only felt slightly fatigued. I may add another riser to my step if this keeps up.

Tuesday, May 17th, 2005
Workout – Great

I ran 4 miles along the Crescent Trail in Georgetown. I ran from the Georgetown Park Mall to Fletcher's Boat House and back in 1:15 intervals. It was a great day for running and I like the Crescent trail because it's a soft dirt trail right along the water. You could walk into the canal if you wanted to. Plus because it's dirt, there aren't that many cyclists zooming by like there are on the Mount Vernon trail and the scenery is very nice. On my way back I passed a family of ducks on the edge of the canal. There were 4 adult ducks and a bunch of cute little baby ducks. As I walk by each of the adult ducks lowered their heads and made this hissing noise warning me to stay off their turf. I thought this is something I would have never seen if I didn’t start running.

Wednesday, May 18th, 2005
Workout – None

I went to this Pre-Dating thing where you meet and chat with a bunch of guys for 6 minutes each. If you like them then you indicate that you want to get together again. If they say the same about you then you're a match and the coordinators send you their information. I met 8 guys, listed 6 as people that I want to chat with again and out of those 6 I matched with 5. So, far only one of them has called me. I need to stop being so indifferent and give the other guys a call.

Thursday, May 19th, 2005
Workout – Great

Because it was kind of a gloomy day I decided to run indoors on the treadmill. I ran the entire 5K distance (3.1 miles) without walking for a total time of 41:33! Yeah!!!! Then I did a lot of stretching. I think I’m ready to up my pace from 4.5-minute mile to 4.7 or 4.8.

Friday, May 20th, 2005
Workout – None

Because I had such a great run the day before and I was going to run the following day. I took a break. I did a little reading and a little studying then went to bed.

Saturday, May 21st, 2005
Workout – OK

Today was the 5 mile long run with DCFit. Our group ran / walked in 4/1 intervals. I skipped the first walk break and stayed w/ the group until after the first hill where I burned a good chunk of my energy. I ran / walked (more walked) across the 14th street Bridge where super runner, Coach Joe, ran past me on his way back to the finish line. I somehow managed to catch up w/ Coach Irene who probably slowed down to wait for stragglers like me. We ran together for a while and turned around at the monument where I took another break to drink some water. So, she went on ahead. I found a partner who walked with me back to the 14th Street Bridge where Coach Joe was about to pass me again on his way back from the finish line. When I saw him coming we faked like we had been running and then ended up running across the entire length of the bridge. I caught up to and passed Coach Irene on the bridge. On the other side of the bridge I kept running until I got to a long steady incline along the river. With the wind adding extra resistance I decided to walk it. Of course Coach Irene passed me again. When I got to the top of the hill to start running again, my legs felt sooooo heavy. I wanted to run! I wasn't winded. My heart wasn't pounding. I didn't feel that tired, but my legs were not going to cooperate, so I walked. I finally convinced my legs to run the last half-mile to the finish line. But overall I was not happy w/ my time. I was into the 17:10 min/mile area. The steep / long hills really killed me and the long walks didn't help either. And that was only 5 miles!!! In the schedule we’ll be running twice that distance on a regular basis. I'll definitely have to put more emphasis on hills during my weekly runs. Or else I'm going to have to join the Orange Team, which is geared towards race walkers.

Sunday, May 22nd, 2005
Workout – None

This is a mandatory rest day for DCFit. It gives the muscles a day to recover. So, I went to visit my nephew because his birthday is on Monday. I gave him a new bike. We had cake. Then I went home to finish my assignment for class and pig out in front of the TV for the rest of the day.

BTW, due to scheduling conflicts I didn't weigh-in this week. But based on my scale at home, I'm down 2lbs. Yeah!!


What I've been reading….
I've been reading the book entitled "Marathoning for Mortals". It's a pretty good book geared towards people who have never run before. They stress things like don't push yourself too hard. Don't try to finish a race under a certain time – Just finish. Don’t sign up for a race then train. Don't expect to be ready to run a marathon in X months. One of the authors didn't make it past the first mile in his first marathon. Then he explains everything he did wrong leading up to the race. This is a very good book for me because now I don’t feel so bad about bowing out of running a 10K w/ the Vagas. Each of them had running in their background. I was the only one who just got off the couch one day and decided that I could run a 10K in 3 months. It took 3 months just for my shin splints to go away.

For Next Week....
I have no social events planned for this week. So, I'm hoping to stick to the following schedule.
5/23 - Run 4.0 - 5.0 miles
5/24 - Spin/ Strength Training
5/25 - Run 4.0 - 5.0 miles
5/26 – Rest/ WW Weigh-in
5/27 - Ultimate Step Class
5/28 - DCFit Long Run (6.0 miles)
5/29 - Rest.

Races that I'm registered for or planning to register for....
6/4 - Race for the Cure 5K (Registered)
9/11 - Fairlakes 8K (Planning.)
9/24 - Quantico Half Marathon (DCFit is participating in this race, so I'm considering it.)
10/2 - Army 10 Miler (Maybe. The Vagas are talking about registering for this race. So, I'll probably do it too.)
10/16 - Oy Vay 10K (This may be my last chance to fulfill my New Year's Resolution of running in a 10K, but not if I run the ATM.)
10/30 - Marine Corps 8K (Although it's not the Marathon, I'm thinking of doing this fund-raiser in order to participate in the 8K.)
And the big one...
1/7 - Walt Disney World Half Marathon (Registered)

This Week's Workout (5/9/05 - 5/15/05)

This past week was a mess. I hardly had any time to workout and staying within my points was also not on my schedule. It seems like whenever I had a bad week of training, I had a great week of socializing which leads to eating. So here it is...

Monday, May 9th, 2005
Workout - Super

It was a nice day so I went down to Gravelly Point and ran 2 miles to the Memorial Bridge and back. I totalled about 4.0 miles within an hour using 2/1 intervals (2-minute run/ 1-minute walk). I kept track of the intervals using this really cool sports watch that I got from Gotta Run Running Shop. I like it because it's pink. I felt pretty good about my run, no pain or unusual fatigue. I even ran up some short hills. I'm definitely going to return to this course next Monday.

Tuesday, May 10th, 2005
Workout - None

Tonight was book club night. So I didn't have time to go workout. My eating wasn't so bad. But I did indulge in some wine and puff pastries.

Wednesday, May 11th, 2005
Workout - None

My hair was way overdue for a touch up. So I made a visit to my hairdresser. Afterwards I went to a friends house for a Mexican-style dinner party, but I wasn't very hungry. Plus I brought over a few leftovers from the previous night's book club meeting.

Thursday, May 12th, 2005
Workout - None

No! No! Not another party! That's right on Thursday I attended a surprise party for a friend of mine. It was at a seafood restaurant. She was definitely surprised and I had a nice time catching up with everyone.

Friday, May 13th, 2005
Workout - OK

Eventhough I had yet another social event to attend that evening, I managed to race through unusually bad traffic to get to Ultimate Step class that evening. There was another woman teaching the class and I missed the very beginning of the routine. I kept up pretty well, but I bailed before class finished, because I had to get dressed to meet my friend and I really needed to pee.

Saturday, May 14th, 2005
Workout - Fantastic

Although I got home around midnight, I managed to get like 5 and a half hours of sleep before getting up to run w/ DCFit that morning. I was worried because I didn't train much during the week and I didn't get much sleep the night before, but my performance was really good. We ran 4.0 miles in 4/1 intervals from the Pentagon, twice around Iwo Jima and back. I managed to keep up w/ the coaches who were pretty cool. They chatted with me, cheered on other runners and told jokes while we ran. My overall time was 54:36. I need to do better if I'm going to complete a Half Marathon in under 3 hours, but I have time. This group is a really good motivator for me. I think I excel at things whenever I have to demonstrate my progress on a weekly basis. Kind of like Weight Watchers.

BTW, Due to scheduling conflicts, I didn't have time to weigh in this week. Plus I fear that I would have gone up anyway due to lack of journaling.

Sunday, May 15th, 2005
Workout - None

I took it easy on Sunday. Went shopping, did some studying and finished my laundry. Ahhhh, Sunday.

For Next week....
So, far I only have one social event planned for Wednesday. I'm hoping to stick to the following schedule.
5/16 - Run 5.0 miles
5/17 - Spin/ Strength Training
5/18 - Speed Date (Wish me Luck)
5/19 - Run 4.0 - 5.0 miles
5/20 - Ultimate Step Class
5/21 - DCFit Training
5/22 - Rest. Ahhh, Sunday

Races that I'm registered for or planning to register for....
6/4 - Race for the Cure 5K (Registered)
9/11 - Fairlakes 8K (Planning. I have the form sitting in front of me. Need to send it in.)
9/24 - Quantico Half Marathon (DCFit is participating in this race, so I'm considering it.)
10/2 - Army 10 Miler (Maybe. It's another DCFit participation event, but the overall turnout for this race will be massive. Can you say stampede.)
10/16 - Oy Vay 10K (This may be my last chance to fulfill my New Year's Resolution of running in a 10K.)
10/23 - Winchester Half Marathon (A DCFit participation event for those not running in the Marine Corp Marathon the following week.)
10/30 - Marine Corps 8K (Although it's not the Marathon, I'm thinking of doing this fund-raiser in order to participate in the 8K.)
And the big one...
1/7 - Walt Disney World Half Marathon (Registered)

Well, that about sums it up for this week.

- Catch you on the flip side.

This Week's Workout (5/2/05 - 5/8/05)

Well another week has gone by. I'm not too pleased with my performance this week because I was a little under the weather and not much in the mood for running or journaling. It was also the week of mid-terms. So, I focused on studying and took it easy this week.

Monday, May 2nd, 2005
Workout - Good

I attended Ronya's step class. To my disappointment she was recycling the same routine from the previous week. Yawn. But it was still a good workout.

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005
Workout - None

I'm pretty sure I didn't workout on Tuesday because I can't remember where I went or what I did. I have been under the weather since last Thursday. So I probably went home and did some studying, drank some tea and went to bed.

Wednesday, May 4th, 2005
Workout - Great

I ran/walked 4.0 miles in 55 minutes!!!

I woke up feeling really crappy. I believe I had an upper respiratory infection. My nose and throat were dry and I had these terrible coughing fits. So I skipped work, took some Nyquil and went back to sleep. When I woke up I had to study and I completed one of my mid-terms. I was feeling better by the end of the day so I went to the gym and ran on the treadmill. I had a really good run which was motivated by the fact that there was this really cute guy running on the treadmill next to mine. So I was sort of showing off too. Who says running indoors is a lonely activity?

After that I weighed in at WW and I was .8lbs shy of my 25lb star!! I'm hoping to get it next week.

Thursday, May 5th, 2005
Workout - None

Once again I decided that I needed to take time to rest and recuperate instead of stressing myself out. I decided to go straight home and then I realized that I had a few errands to run. So, no workout.

Friday, May 6th, 2005
Workout - None

I almost went to Johhny's step class, but a late evening outage here at work put an end to that dream. Plus tomorrow I start DCFit and I didn't want to be too tired. I don't think it would have made a difference, but who knows.

Saturday, May 7th, 2005
Workout - Good

It was the first day of DCFit Marathon Training. We started the morning promptly at 8:30am. After several orientation speeches we headed out for our 2 mile time trial. I ran pretty well, but I could have run better if I wasn't still sick. Because I was breathing heavy, my entire mouth dried out. I literally couldn't feel my tongue. Plus my nose was running faster than I was. I need to remember to bring tissues w/ me when I run. But other than that I wasn't tired and didn't experience any pain. However my breathing was really off. I was huffing and puffing like I've been running for hours. I need to work on that. Anyway my total time for 2 miles was 26:32 a little over a 13 minute mile, which put me solidly in the Red group (12-14 min/mile). I think the program and all the people I met will be a big help as I'm training. I think I set my sites low by selecting the half marathon in January, because all the people I met are running their first full marathon in October. But I believe in the philosophy of Baby Steps. Baby Step - Run on Treadmill, Baby Step - Run Outside, Baby Step - Run 5K, etc., etc.

Sunday, May 8th, 2005 - Happy Mother's Day!!!
Workout - None

Spent the rest of the weekend w/ my mom for Mother's Day. I was also cramming for Book Club which is next Tuesday. The book is pretty good. I really want to finish it before we meet. I might have to read during work. which isn't too hard to do.

Speaking of work....
Another one bites the dust. In the last 2 months my little project has lost a Project Manager, a Manager and a Unix Admin. I don't know why I'm hanging in here, but I want to see how the new guy runs things before I try to bail. I'm half searching for a new job and half procrastinating, because I like it here, but our mission is so vague. I'm growing tired of being on projects that really don't have a strong vision or (sad to say) purpose.

Speaking of races I'm registered for (and planning to register for) the following...
6/4/06 - Race for the Cure 5K
9/11/05 - Fair Lakes 8K
1/7/06 - Disney World Half Marathon

Hasta La Vista Baby

This Week's Workout (4/25/05 - 5/1/05)

Monday, April 25th, 2005
Workout - Good

I attended Ronya's Step Class. I like her class because it let's me start off the week with a good workout that's simple.

Tuesday, April 26th, 2005
Workout - Great

I went back to the new club in Georgetown, because I decided it was time for me to start running outside. (Plus I was planning on running w/ Vijay on Thursday and I wanted to know if I improved any since the last time I ran outdoors.) I went running along the C&O Canal in Georgetown. It was great!!!! The trail was flat and shaded. It wasn't crowded. The scenery was beautiful. I don't know how far or how long I ran, but I think I got pretty far. I turned back once it started getting dark. The next time I go out there I'll try to get an earlier start and leave my iPod behind to focus on my running.

Wednesday, April 27th, 2005
Workout - None

I decided to do some shopping then wiegh in at WW. I was down 1.2lbs for a total weight loss of 21.4lbs!! Yeah!!

Thursday, April 28th, 2005
Workout - Great

I went running with Vijay (the triathlete and former coach of the Vagas). We ran around his neighborood for about 45-50 minutes in 1 minute run/walk intervals. It was a good workout especially when we got to the hill. Good News: I am deffinately on my way to doing more running outside. No Shin Splints!!! Bad News: I caught a cold from running outdoors. Sniff - sniff - cough - cough.

Friday, April 29th, 2005
Workout - Great

I was a littled bummed because today was my manager's last day. So I went shopping during lunch. That cheered my up a little because I fit into clothes that would have been too tight 4 months ago. But then I still needed to go to Johnny's step class to make me feel better. Shopping and working out helped cure my blues.

Saturday, April 30th, 2005
Workout - None

I spent the day at my mom's. Mostly inside studying, because it rained for the greater part of the day. I also spent most of the day eating. I tend to eat when I'm bored or studying.

Sunday, May 1st, 2005
Workout - OK

My church is sponsoring a team for the Race for the Cure in June, so I signed up for the 5K race. Go figure me in a church sponsored activity, but at least I don't have to pay the entrance fee. After that I went to the gym and did 45 minutes of cardio on the recumbant bike and a lot of strength training. I also binged on a bunch of food Sunday night while watching TV and finishing an assignment for class. I'll get back to journaling on Monday.

On Friday night I had a dream about running. It had to do with my first day at DCFit, I think. I was trying to join the Orange group which is for slow runners (14+ min/mile) then some girl, who I didn't know, but she knew me, pulled me into the faster group (12 - 14 min/mile) and we took off running (she ran, I jogged). We somehow lost the trail and started to walk down a steep cliff. We were able to pull ourselves back up, but my overall time was messed up because we got back so late. I'm hoping to get out and run again at least once in the upcoming week. The DCFit training program starts next Saturday. Apparently they do time trials during the first session then place you into the appropriate group. I want to do well and not end up in the group for race walkers or the group that runs off cliffs.

- Ta Ta For Now