Good News, Bad News and Big Decisions

I apologize to my faithful followers. I've been really busy and that means some things lose priority. Like Weigh-ins, Journaling, Book Club, Finances, Recycling and this Blog. But life is full of good news, bad news and major decisions. So sit back, relax and enjoy. I’ll start with the bad news…

Bad News #1 – 18 miles!!! (More or less.)
Today we ran 18 miles; well my group ran 18 miles. I started having knee issues after mile 13 and my feet were wet and swelling beyond the limits of my shoes. Did I mention it rained the entire time we were running? But after mile 14, I switched into a power walk for the last 3-4 miles because I figured I could walk as fast as I could run at that point and it put less pressure on my feet and knees. I also wasn’t ashamed to cut out the last mile and take a short cut back to the starting line. I saw no point in torturing myself any longer than necessary. We have 2 more long runs left this season; a 20 miler and a 22 miler. I think I’ll do the Half Marathon course on those days seeing how I’m not running in a marathon this year and I see no need to sacrifice my knees if it’s not necessary.

Good News #1 – 9/24/05: My Very First Triathlon!!!
On September 24th I'll be traveling to Bethany Beach Delaware to compete in my very first Triathlon! Yeah!!! My friend Vijay, the “Tri-athlete”, is doing the complete triathlon. He invited me to participate in the relay with two of his friends. I’ll be competing in the anchor leg which is a 10K race. My 10K time is somewhere between 1:15 and 1:30. But they said they weren’t trying to win, but just be able to participate. I wonder if I should be offended. Anyway, I have to raise $275 dollars for the Make a Wish Foundation in order to compete. Vijay left off this detail when he asked me to do this race. So, if you’d like to support me by making a donation please do so at the following website - http://wish.kintera.org/runvalerie

Good News #2 – Return to Gia-ninh’s Step Class
If you remember a while back I was literally gushing over the best step class offered in Washington, DC. It’s taught by this little Asian guy named Gia-ninh (pronounced gee-ahn-knee). He’s fantastic because he comes up with the most challenging step combinations that I’ve ever seen and he has so much energy and enthusiasm that people can help but flock to his class on Friday nights. He’s so popular that you have to reserve a spot in advanced. Well after weeks of withdrawal, I finally made it back to his class and had a great time. I’m still not able to do all the combinations, but the basics are still pretty challenging. Sorry to say with the new job, I don’t know when I’ll be able to get back out there but I’ll definitely try.

Decision #1 - Taking a Break from School This Fall
Well, it’s official; I’m not registering for classes this fall. I looked at my up coming schedule. In addition to 6 races, I’m also looking into scheduling personal training sessions to get into better physical condition and doing more long runs alone to get ready for the Disney Half in January. This semester, although not tough, I really felt like I put little or no effort into really absorbing the course material. The majority of my studying was crammed into Sunday nights in order to get the assignments in before the deadline. So, I decided something had to give. Winter session starts right after I return from the Half. Then I can take a break from training and focus on my classes.

Decision #2 - Getting a Personal Trainer
After DCFit ends in October I’ll be on my own in terms of training for the Half. I think the beauty of running with a group is that I was obligated to demonstrate progress each week. This is part of the reason why I made an effort to run during week, so I won’t look bad on Saturdays. I think this is the same effect Weight Watchers has. I was more focused on losing weight when I had to get on the scale each week. Anyway, I’d like to schedule a trainer through my gym that will work on strength training and toning. So, far I don’t do any weights and I need to build muscle to improve my endurance.

Good News #3 – Saving the Best for Last
Hard to believe that I’m going to put this in my blog, but it is blog-worthy information. I’m seeing someone. What's that you say? Yes, I’ve been seeing this guy for a few weeks. We met in July and we've been out a few times since then. Things have been going well. Which means it’s only a matter of time before I screw everything up. But he’s also into running and working out. He’s got this charming, nerdy, nice guy thing going on which sort of grew on me. So, he’s coming to Bethany Beach to cheer me on in September. So, we’ll see what happens. Wish me luck.

Off to the Races
Here’s the list of Races I'm Registered (or Planning to Register) for...
9/11 - Fairlakes 8K (Registered.)
9/24 - Sea Colony Triathelon (Registered)
10/2 - Army 10 Miler (Registered.)
10/30 - Marine Corps 8K (I’m going to do it, but haven’t made it official.)
11/6 - Veteran's Day 10K (Registered.)

And the big one....
1/7 - Walt Disney World Half Marathon (Registered.)

I'll try not to be such a stranger.
- Gotta Run

16 miles and Other Updates

I apologize to my regulars, but no long posting this week. I don't really have the time or energy to remember it all at this point. But I did want to update you on other stuff.

16 Miles!!!
Yes. On Saturday August, 6th 2005 I ran 16 miles in 4 hours (= 15 minute/mile = 4 mph). I use the term run loosely. I basically stayed with the 4:1 interval for about 13-14 miles. I took 2 fueling station breaks, 1 Goo break and 1 bathroom break. But somewhere after that it was pure mind over matter to keep going. I've been running for 3 hours and 30 minutes and it was starting to get hot. The sun was out in full force, my feet were getting soar, my legs felt like lead, I ran out of water and I was sick of hills. So, I realized that I could walk as fast as I could run and I made it back to the finish line in my goal time. Next 2 weeks are an easy 10.

Weighing In and Journaling
I finally made it to Weigh-in just in time too because they were getting ready to pull my card since I missed 4 weeks in a row. But the good news is as of today, August 11, 2005, my official weight is 172.2 lbs. I'm down 36.8lbs!!! Yeah!!! I've also started journaling this week and I'm seeing a difference. I'm doing 20 points a day which is the lowest you can do on WW. My goal is to break the 40lb mark by the end of the month. Just 20 days. I think I may be able to get to the 45lb mark, but we'll see. I don't remember the last time I weighed under 180lbs. I celebrated a few weeks ago when I bought a pair of fitted low rise jeans from Old Navy and a jacket from Eddie Bauer. But when I make it down to the 160s I may have to shop someplace really special. You know where I'm talking about... the Limited - Home of the XS.

Races I'm Registered (or Planning to Register) for...
9/11 - Fairlakes 8K (Registered.)
9/24 - Quantico Half (Maybe. A couple of folks from the Red Team are registered and DCFit is cancelled for that day.)
10/2 - Army 10 Miler (Registered.)
10/30 - Marine Corps 8K (Still thinking about it.)
11/6 - Veteran's Day 10K (Registered.)

And the big one....
1/7 - Walt Disney World Half Marathon (Registered.)

That's all for this week. I have ore to say, but I'm trying to keep it short. So, hopefully I'll be more verbose next week.

Later, Gotta Run

This Week’s Workout (7/25/05 - 7/31/05)

Guess what? It's that time again. It's time for another long update. So sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Monday, July 25th, 2005
Workout - Great

This week started off really well. I went to the gym to do a 1 hour tempo run on the treadmill. I ran a 12 minute mile pace and did really well. In fact, if I didn't have to switch treadmills at the half way mark, I would have ran the entire 5 miles in an hour. That would have been a treadmill PR for me. I had to switch to another treadmill at 2.53 miles because it started feeling kind of jerky and unstable like the power was fluctuating or something. So, I did another 25 minutes on a different treadmill. I believe I've gotten use to this pace. So, the next time I do a tempo run on the treadmill, I'm going for a 5.2 mph pace which translates to about an 11.5 minute mile. Eventually, I want to be able to do a full 30 minutes at the 10 minute mile pace. This would be equivalent to finishing a 5K in a little over 30 minutes.

Tuesday, July 26th, 2005
Workout - None

Like I've mentioned in the past, when I have a bad week for working out I had a great week for socializing. On Tuesday I met with some friends for dinner. We hadn't seen each other as a group since I went underground, so it was fun to get together and catch up with them .

Wednesday, July 27th, 2005
Workout - None

My friend Aurelia, who I hung out with on Tuesday, wanted to go running with me. But unfortunately it was raining. So we had to take a rain check! Get It?! Rain check! Ha Ha Ha. I crack me up. Anyway, instead of running I began work on my mid-term project and I continued working on it until Sunday 6 hours before I had to turn it in.

Thursday, July 28th, 2005
Workout - None

Well, the social bug bit me again. A former co-worker and friend of mine from my previous employer was having a farewell Happy Hour. After a bazillion years of service on the Deployment team he finally decided it was time to move on. Actually he decided it was time to move on about a year ago, but now he finally found something to move on to. I left work late wondering if they would still be there. So I called Tricia. She said that they were going to wait for me. How sweet. When I finally arrived they were literally sitting there waiting for me. So, I wished Rashad good luck. Said hello and good bye to a bunch of folks I hadn't seen in a while and went formal gown shopping with Tricia. I hope she found one. Good gowns are hard to come by in the post-prom-pre-homecoming season.

Later that evening I came home to take one of my mid-term exams, which I aced. That was the easy class. I was still struggling with the mid-term project for the other class. No solution yet.

Friday, July 29th, 2005
Workout - None

Today is rest day although I really don't think I need the rest. I only worked out once this week. If I could I would go to Giahani's (aka Johnny's) step class on Friday night like I did back in the good ol' days. But I'd never make it there in time from where I work now unless I left and hour early and that's not going to happen any time soon. Anyway, tomorrow I run 10 miles.

Saturday, July 30th, 2005
Workout - Fantastic

Today was another easy 10. And it was pretty easy compared to the last 10. The weather was mild. The sun never came out. And part of the course was along the C&O Canal, which I use to run before I joined DCFit. Here's the route: From the Pentagon - along the GW Parkway - around Iwo Jima - through Rosslyn - across the Key Bridge - down the C&O canal to Fletcher's Boat House - turn around and come back same way until after the Key Bridge - take the Crescent trail along the Potomac - under the Memorial bridge - and back to the finish line. All the slackers that skipped out on me and Michelle last week were out in full force this week. We stuck together until somewhere along the C&O Canal when Michelle started to speed up. Since I was running next to her, I sped up too. Then she said I was running too fast, but I said I was trying to keep up with her. Either way we totally left the group in the dust. We paused at the water station which was located at the turnaround point. I figured we would wait for the rest of the group since Michelle was refueling. But then she said "I see an opportunity." And I saw it too. So we left the water station behind without saying farewell to the rest of the Red Team and chased down our opportunity.

The opportunity was that we had a chance to beat Sheldon. Sheldon is a race walker. The race walkers usually are the last to start and the last to finish except for Sheldon. Sheldon manages to walk right past all of us week after week without breaking a sweat. Each week, somewhere around mile 5 or 6, we start getting full of ourselves thinking we're finally going to make it back to the finish line before Sheldon, but around mile 8 when we're on our last leg, here he comes out of nowhere and we can't catch up to him. Well, this week we were not going to let that happen or at least we were going to die trying. Michelle and I stuck with Sheldon until the end of the C&O Canal when 2 hills and 2 sets of steps slowed us down quite a bit. But he was never out of site. It wasn't until the last quarter mile to the finish line when I told Michelle, who is a stronger runner than she lets on, that if we were ever going to beat Sheldon it had to be now. So we waited until we got to the downward slope that lead into the parking lot then we opened up into a full on sprint to the finish line leaving Sheldon and his walking partner in our wake. Michelle was able to sprint the entire way to the finish line. I started to get nauseous and dropped back a few yards before the finish, but I still finished in front of Sheldon and that's all that mattered. Unfortunately, I didn't have my watch, but I'm sure this run was a 10 mile PR for me. I think we finished somewhere between 2:10 and 2:15.

Sunday, July 30th, 2005
Workout - Good

Ok. I wasn't planning on working out today, but I experienced a major traumatic stressful episode; I think I got a B on my midterm. This was the harder class and I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. I finished the project, but the written exam was tough. I needed to clear my head after that. I had been dealing with this class since Wednesday. Working on the project and then falling down on the written test really made my head spin. So, whenever I get this way I can only think of two things to put me in a better mood. A. Go shopping or B. Workout. Since it's Sunday and all the stores closed early, I chose B. workout. But I didn't do my regular well-paced 4:1 intervals, I ran. I ran until I couldn't run anymore, because the feeling of exhaustion replaced the feeling of stress. With my I-pod blasting heavy metal mantras courtesy of Korn and Dope I ran around my neighborhood as far and as fast as I could manage. But it wasn't until later when I went shopping at Target (the only store open late on Sunday) that I started feeling normal again. I bought a miniature disco ball. All it takes is spending money on some useless flashy object to reduce my stress. If I thought I got a C on the mid-term, I would need a to buy a digital camera in order to feel better.

Wow, that was a long one. So, no schedule for next week. No list of races that I'm registered for. No weigh-in. No Journaling. No final thoughts, although I do have a few. I'll get to them next time.

Later Guys. Gotta Run.