The Chances

How a 250+ Pound Couch Potato Got Healthy

Friday, December 19, 2008

Weight Workout & 2009 Race Schedule (tentative)

It was back to the gym today. Not the most calories burned, but anaerobic exercise is always that way. On weight training days, typically I burn more calories during the aerobic warmup, but today's warmup was anything but. Still, my muscles certainly got a pounding.

Warmup, w/45lb bar, 3 circuits
* Overhead Squat
* Squat
* Good Morning
* Barbell Lunge
* Romanian Deadlift
* Bent-over Row

Workout
* Dynamic Pushup, 3x6
* Bench Press, 1x105lbs, 8x95lbs, 6x95lbs
* Chin-Up, 1 set of 2, 2 sets of 1
* Combo Raise, 3x10x10lbs
* Horizontal Lateral Raise, 3x10x15lbs

33 minutes, 132 calories burned

Today was also my work potluck & gift exchange. I did extremely well, making up a salad with tomatoes, turkey breast, and swiss & american cheeses. Then at the end of the day I screwed up and had a large cookie. I hate when I do that! That is, I hate when I do that AFTER I do that, while I'm doing that, I want to be doing that a whole lot. Otherwise I wouldn't do it, right? Mm-hmm, sure.

Then tonight while watching the Sarah Connor Chronicles, I got a bit crazy and mapped out a tentative 2009 race schedule. Three of them are repeats of races I ran last year. You know, it's interesting, last year I didn't plan it out ahead of time and still ran 4 races in addition to the hiking & backpacking!

Ah yes, that. As I said, this is tentative. In most cases for the spring & summer races, I'll be waiting until the last minute to sign up for them, since there's other activities to consider. The nice thing, of course, is that with the training involved with running vs. hiking, most of my hiking will be after May anyway, so the change in training shouldn't affect marathon training (should I go that route). SO, here's the tentative schedule.

1-17-09 Frost or Fog 5k, Chico, CA
3-15-09 Shamrock'n Half Marathon, West Sacramento, CA (I'm registered for this one)
4-19-09 Sacramento Zoo Zoom, Sacramento, CA (ran last year)
4-25-09 Run Drugs Out of Town Run, Yuba City, CA (redundant name, ran last year)
5-3-09 The Ave Marathon, Avenue of the Giants, Weott, CA (very tentative)
6-20-09 Shriner's 8k, Sacramento, CA (ran last year)
8-1-09 Squaw Valley 5k, Squaw Valley, CA (Lake Tahoe)

There could be races after August as well, such as a repeat of the Turkey Trot I did this year. Still not 100% decided on The Ave yet, but in all likelihood it'll happen.

I'm also not sure yet about Christmas Day this year. It's my normal run day, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to fit it in during the day. We'll see how it goes.

Today's Tweets

05:49 Wt: 162.2, RHR: 58 #

06:47 Is it morning? I hadn't noticed, I was too busy scraping ice. #

08:09 User, on Thunderbird: "It doesn't say save, it says remember!!!" #

08:52 Runners: Would it be too much to do a half marathon in March and a full in May, or would it be better to wait until October for the full? #

09:15 I do my long runs on Saturdays, usually 12-14 miles. I see people doing them as short as 8 and as long as 20, why the variance? #

09:55 So then, Shamrock'n Half in May, The Ave (Avenue of the Giants) in May. Hmm. #

09:55 Then CIM in December? Hehehe. #

10:20 Speak of the devil, a box just arrived from B&H Photo. I tried to get this girl Miranda to give it to me but she refused. 200mm macro... #

11:23 Probably not a big deal to some of you, but today's the coldest temp I will have ever run, 38 degrees. #

14:41 What the heck? And I thought I had a blister! How'd THIS happen? tinyurl.com/3sxvu3 #

14:50 New Flickr upload: 12-18-2008 Splits: Gregoriopolis posted a photo: Look what the wind did t.. tinyurl.com/4zrrns #

14:51 New Flickr upload: No wonder my toe hurts!: Gregoriopolis posted a photo: I thought I got a .. tinyurl.com/3sxvu3 #

16:42 Reminder, if you needed it: 1 week until Christmas. #

16:43 Mapped 12/18/2008 Route (6.21 mi.) #

16:45 Completed 12/18/2008. 692 (kcal) Distance 6.21 mi. Duration 00:58:43 #

16:55 I'm off. See you after the Dew. ;) #

17:11 Mmm, Diet Dew. Fact: Cans of Mountain Dew were what kept John McCain alive in the Hanoi Hilton. #

20:07 My 3yo was throwing a fit because she thought we weren't buying what she wants: lettuce. #

23:38 Watching Babylon 5. Almost done with S4! #

---
Follow My Tweet | Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter
Today was interesting, to say the least. When I got up this morning, it was extremely cold, colder than yesterday. Once the sun came up though, it wasn't too bad.

I thought I'd be able to run around noon, but instead ended up waiting until about 1:30. The upside here is the temperature had risen to a whopping 44 degrees, which I realize was higher than the 38 I had expected to run in, but still.

Once out there, the wind was as bad as it was yesterday. I had an excuse not to run yesterday, because it was a gym day, but today? No excuses. I wore tights and a compression shirt along with shorts and a regular technical shirt over, which took care of the chill, but there was just no escaping the wind. So, no records today.



Just looking at the splits, you can tell where the wind made me cry like a little schoolgirl. My triumph today was the fact that I got out there and did it.



As I was getting to the end of the run, I noticed the big toe on my right foot felt like I had a hotspot, possibly a blister. That wouldn't be he end of the world, it's happened before, just a bit annoying. When I got my shoe off, there was nothing wrong with my toe. I reached my hand into the shoe, and found the problem. I immediately pulled out the Superfeet insole, and this is what it looked like:



The toe of the insole had been folded completely underneath itself. What I was feeling in my toe was actually the dropoff from the front of the stinkin' thing. I must have been running with the thing like this for a while, because I haven't had the insole out of my shoe for at least a few weeks. I'm lucky nothing too bad happened to my toes!

Another thing I did today was pose a question on Twitter: would it be too much for me to do a half marathon in March, and then a full marathon in May? Everyone answered "yes", but I'm still debating on it. I'm already signed up for the Shamrock'n Half in March, so that's a definite.

Originally the idea was to do the Humboldt Redwoods half marathon this past October, and then spend the next year training to then do the full marathon the following year, but with all the training I did for Mt. Whitney, it meant I was hiking & backpacking on weekends instead of long runs. I just didn't feel I was doing the right kind of training for the job.

When the date arrived, I was doing a long run and said to myself, I think I can make the distance, and went for it. While I wasn't a speed demon, I went ahead and did it, and finished in 2:30. The following Saturday, I did it in like 2:15, then proceeded to do the same mileage and then some for the next 5 or 6 Saturdays in a row.

My point is that I'm definitely ready for an official half. The full marathon is a possibility, but I'm still nervous about it. Yet, when I think about it, I don't think I'll ever "feel" ready for it and feel like I should just take the plunge with it.

So how about it? You have access to my training logs here and on MapMyFitness.com. Up until the last week or two, I've been averaging 28 to 30 miles per week. The longest I've ever run is 14 miles, but I'll also have 3 months of training before the half, and 5 months total before the full.

I await your opinions.