Thursday - 2.0/0

Well, at least I'm being consistent. Two miles is pitiful. I just didn't have time to run more today. The good news, my two miles is the fastest 2 miles I've put together this year and I didn't start out for that to happen. I was running on the YMCA indoor track and there were 3 walkers and 4 runners already on this tiny track. Running faster than everyone else was the best way to keep from getting bogged down. Ended up being really good and I felt great. A decent day tomorrow followed by two longer than normal runs (but not too long) Sat & Sun and I can still get in 30+ this week.

Wednesday - 2.0/4.6

Short 2 mile run on treadmill w/ ~12 minute ride on Lifecycle. Nothing to write home about but I actually got out my old logs (6 yrs ago) and noticed that I am doing more than then. Whatever that means...

Tuesday - 2.0/8.6

2 miles on the treadmill and 24 minutes on the Lifecycle bike at the YMCA.

Monday - 2.0/4.3

Monday is my rest day, so anything I run on Mondays is just to keep my streak going and a bonus. Also did a short 12 minute ride on the stationary bike. With January coming to a close, I have to start getting in some mileage on the bike while increasing my runs as well.

Sunday - 3.0/0

Weekly Recap - 28/0

Only ran 3 miles. The legs actually felt better than I anticipated (I really thought 1 would be tough) but not near good enough to do much more. I'm a little bummed I didn't come close to my goal (or even break 30) but my "short" week still ended up being 40% longer than my 8-week average just 3 weeks ago.

Saturday - 10.5/0

Well, I was able to put in something "special". Special to me is anything over 8 miles, regardless of pace or how. The how today came like this: run 3 miles on YMCA track (that's 57 laps), coach 4 year old basketball, run 7.5 miles on treadmill with a trip to the water fountain and 0.1 mile walk every 2.5. I would feel a lot better about the run had it been continuous, but I'll take it. It definitely taxed the legs which is what I wanted to accomplish, in addition to getting my weekly mileage up to a respectable total distance. Most of my running has been extremely slow for 2 reasons: 1) I've increased mileage so in order to keep coming back out day after day, my legs can't be too sore from hard running and 2) I'm trying to stay in that aerobic zone in an attempt to lose some weight. Anyway, I was barely able to step off of the treadmill and the legs feel very tired (coming off of 5 hours of sleep last nite makes me very tired). Now, the question is "Can I do it again tomorrow?" We shall see...

Friday - 3.5/0

Another short run. Seems this week is full of them. I am at 14.5 miles, where last week I was at over 21 by this time. I still have hope of reaching my weekly goal, though. But tomorrow is going to have to be something special, at least for me. Stay tuned.

Thursday - 4.2/0

Again, I had to change my planned workout. The YMCA was full of the local "Biggest Loser" contestants (I'm not making fun, they're actually having a contest)on the treadmills so I had to go upstairs to the indoor track. Which was perfectly fine, another day on the treadmill might have driven me batty. But I got started late and knew my planned 7 mile run would be impossible.

On a related topic.....I am tired!

Wednesday - 4.5/0

Not entirely what I wanted to accomplish, but longer than a mile. Around a 7.45 pace with 0.3 @ 6.11. It's going to take a good next four days to reach my weekly goal, but not unattainable.

It's supposed to be cold tomorrow so I know another treadmill day. I'm thinking intervals. Hmmm...

My streak hit 3 weeks today!

Tuesday - 1.3/0

I didn't feel as tired and sore today but from the moment I started my run I knew my legs didn't have it. Cut the run short. There is always tomorrow.

Monday - 1.0/0

A rest day. My entire lower body is a little tired. Especially my hips. I ran a mile just to keep my streak going, which is at 19 days now. Planning on taking another easy/short day tomorrow, like 3 miles.

My goal this week is 37 miles. Two back to back 30+ weeks for me have me fired up. I have a 10k coming up in 4 weeks, so I'm going to try an rev up the next 3 to about 43-45 miles then taper before the race. I'm really not putting much into the race, though. It's just another benchmark (the longest so far) to see where I am.

Sunday - 9.0/0

Week Recap - 33.1 run / 0 bike

I did it! I rebounded with a great workout today, especially considering it was inside. I ran 9 miles (4x2.25) on the treadmill. Some of it was actually at a fairly fast pace. My 1st two 2.25s were only at 7.53 & 7.47 respectively, but my 3rd 2.25 was all 7.30 or better with over a mile of it around 7.05. And about 0.6 of my last 2.25 (around mile 8) was at 6.40 pace. So, I was able to follow last week's record setting week with a new one this week, albeit barely. I'm happy I didn't allow my last 2 poor days drag down an otherwise good week.

Nutrition and biking need some work...

Saturday - 2.1/0

Yep. Followed up the stellar 1.6 yesterday with a whole 2.1 today. What was turning into my best week ever in terms of total mileage has gone to s@#t! I can still manage a 30+ week by having 6+ tomorrow.

Friday - 1.6/0

1.6!!! Do Zig & Ross know my friend/doctor Tim? The same 39-yr old friend who has for the past 3 weeks been on me to buy WARCRAFT. Which I did today; hence the 1.6 mile run. My wife and son were out of town until late, so I FORCED myself out of the house for even that. It's been cold so I went to the YMCA, where Tim met me with a game book on Warcraft!

Motivation - part 2

I've said before, motivation has always been a problem for me. I guess it really is for most people. I saw a quote today by Zig Ziglar, "Motivation is like bathing. It works a lot better if we do it every day" (or something to that effect) With that, I thought I would pass along a quote I'm using right now.

"I Do Today What You Won't, So Tomorrow I Can Do What You Can't"

I also came across something Ross Perot said about achieving success. It went like this -- After the moment of your greatest success, know that you will slack off. This is so true. I was actually talking to a colleague of mine about how I constantly do this (hit a high then back off, sometimes for years) with my athletic endeavors just the day before I read the quote. I hit a high for my weekly run mileage last week. So I am reminding myself that I may slack; pushing myself to have an even better week this week.

Thursday - 6.5/0

Easy 1.5, a 10 minute break waiting on my running partner, then another 5. Everything's easy right now while I try to get some mileage in. I'm already over 20 miles for the week. I've never done that by Thurs.

Wednesday - 7.0/0

wu) 1 mile, then 5 miles (slow, so is it a warm-up if you don't run faster?) and a fast mile to finish. I wanted to run a quick half mile (3.20 or so) just to remind my legs to go fast since everything I have done lately has been slow. Went thru the half at 3.10 so I decided to keep going. 1 mile in 6.17, the fastest mile I've run in a long time. And it felt good, not an all out mile.

Tuesday - 3.4/0

Just an easy 3.4 miles. Not much more to add.

Monday - 3.5/0

Easy run of 3.5. No training partner and grown-up type errands made me cut my run short. If I can make every run this week at least as long as last week's, then I figure I will total more, (I used to teach math). Oh, 12 days and counting!

Three hot dogs and two servings of chili AND pie for dinner. Ask me how my nutrition tracking is going.

Sunday - 2.2/7.2

Week Recap - Run 32/Bike 11.3

Only ran 2.2. Decided to take a rest day a day early, but was still able to get in my best week.

Short, but decent ride on the CycOps, too. Discovered watching Two and a Half Men makes the time go by.

Saturday - 5.5/0

Four days over 5 miles and 29.8 (only 0.2 behind my best week ever) with Sunday to go. I am feeling a little tired though. But not aweful.

I started monitoring my nutrition (NOT diet) today. I am tracking calories, carbs, protein, fat, and fiber intake and servings of fruits/veggies and water (oz). My BMR is 3,000 calories (with my running) so I am trying to keep my calorie intake to about 2,500 and my carb/protein/fat distribution to 50/25/25. My calories ended up about 2,650, which is good considering I had a brownie w/ ice cream at Ruby Tueday's tonite. My % were at 51/25/24. I didn't get enough fiber (about 75%) or servings of fruits/veggies, but I did hit my goal of 100 oz of water, though. So, all in all, a good first day watching my nutrition.

Friday - 6.0/0

I kept the momentum going today. Ran a 1 mile wu then another 5 with my running partner. It was slow, but that's OK. That's 9 straight days (42 total miles - 4.7 avg/day). I think it is enough of a streak to keep me from taking any days off.

Thursday - 5.0/4.1

Went to the YMCA and ran 2.5 on the treadmill, then hit the Lifecycle for a 12 min spin then back to the treadmill for 2.5. I'm still having a hard time running "long" on the treadmill, so I'm breaking my runs up. A good workout. I feel like I've lost a couple of lbs this week. We'll see in the morning. I'm feeling good about my week so far.

Wednesday - 7.0/0

2 miles on the treadmill this morning and 5 miles this afternoon. Finally got in a run at 5 or greater. It seems like forever (Sunday, but only the 3rd in 2 weeks). I got one of my running partners back today. It is amazing how just having him back gave me the boost to run longer. Luckily, after a 2 month layoff, he didn't seem to have lost too much. I have also ran 7 straight days. Nothing to celebrate, but I think the longest stretch in the past 6 months. It is not the end of my training week, but I have gotten in 31 miles in the past "week".

Now, the CycOps...

Tuesday - 3.4/0

Terribly windy today. I almost stopped in the first half mile but I kept going and kept making turns that took me farther away from my truck. I got started just a little late (as a rule, I wont run past say 4:40) but was pleasantly surprised at the 3.4. I was afraid it was only around 3. I am going to be off from work tomorrow, so I hope to get in 2 runs plus a spin on the CycOps.

I read a good article today, here, about nutrition, my weak spot (lol: like I've got only one). I really need to focus on this; may make a run (no pun intended) to the grocery, too.

Monday - 2.9/0

Ran from home. Slow and easy without my watch. Meant to run 5 today but I had a meeting that ran longer than expected. Any run on a Monday is a bonus, though, b/c it's normally a rest day. Just noticed I have run 5 straight days. It doesn't sound like much, but it is more than I can say for the past several weeks. My goals for this week are 30+ miles and at least 5 runs of 5+.

Sunday - 5.2/0

Ran 5.2 today. It was slow and easy, which is OK. My goal the next few weeks is to run without my watch in an effort to get my mileage up. I definitely need more consistency in my running. I only had one run this week over 5 miles (today's) yet, I finished the week with just over 23 miles; my best week since the end of November.

Saturday - 4.0/7.5

Did 4 miles on the treadmill again. Broke it up by doing some intervals though.

So, as I'm looking at my log I discovered something. My runs of 5+ miles have been steadily dwindling over the last 3 months. I like to tally running averages of my runs and pace (ie. average the last 4 runs by distance and when I log a new run it goes to top of the list, the fifth run falls out of the equation and the other 3 move down the list). I did this with my runs of over 5 miles each week. I used a 3 week average. Over the last 11 weeks the 3-week average of the number of 5+ mile runs during my week have decreased (or stayed the same) every week but one. Now I know with only 7 days in a week the most 5+ runs you can have is 7, so increases are out of the question once you max out, but decreases? I'm talking from an average of 4.3 at the beginning of the list to 1.7 the last 3 weeks. Do we think this affected my 5k earlier this week?

Rode CycOps for almost 23 minutes! Whoo Hoo! I still have tomorrow for the 30 minutes.

Friday - 4.5/6.7

Ok..I didn't get the 8 mile run in today, only 4.5. It's tough getting used to the treadmill thing again. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer so a run outside looks promising. Even with 2 average runs this weekend I'll log my biggest week in over a month. I'm not actually saying how long I plan on running. I'm getting tired of getting on here and making up some lame excuse for my not completing my planned distance.

Rode the CycleOps for 20 minutes. This is getting easier. I'll try for 30 minutes this weekend. Darn! I did it again. Let you know later how it goes.

Thursday - 4/0

Ran 4 miles on treadmill (it was cold outside). Wanted to do 6 but random stomach cramps forced me off. Other than that I felt good, though. Look forward to my run tomorrow. Will try to do 8 to make up for today's short run.

Wednesday - zero

Bevan Docherty - This is Motivating

Tuesday - 3.5/0

am) Ran New Year's Day 5k - I suck! Way off the pace I wanted to run. But I'm actually happy with my poor time. Why? I would have probably continued my current training as normal with few adjustments had I ran what I wanted. This race, this time, revealed to me that I have a lot more work to do. I need to make several adjustments, not least of which is to increase my weekly mileage. I've also got to get my weight back down. I really felt the 8 lbs I've gained over the holidays.