Cross-Training Day

Well, running is helping my soccer a bit. I was using today's scrimmage as a bit of a barometer, and planned to make a final commitment to play (or not) following the scrimmage. Without going into details, I have felt like sh!t most during most of our offseason workouts. I wasn't going to play if I was out of shape, or my age was showing. Anyhow, within 10 minutes I knew that I could run with anyone on the field, and made my decision to play this season. We beat Fiddler's Green 6-5 in a farily relaxed match. The win was nice because we are playing a new formation (3 defenders, 5 midfielders, and 2 strikers), and also because the events of the final weekend of last season saw Fiddler's get promoted while we are stuck to run Division 1. Anyhow, looking forward to a good run tomorrow. While I did this, Sean was playing Oregon Trail:

3.2 in 25:01

Ian and I ran a 5k course around Lake Katherine this morning (Satureday) at about 8 am. We started with a 1/2 mile warmup of about 10 minutes then really pushed the pace up until we hit about 7.5 minutes for the last mile and a half or so. Our next run should be a bit longer, so this was a run to work on pace a bit.

Even more Gooder : 37:01 of Straight Running

Another great day. Woke up feeling good after the longest run of my life. Tonight after work Ian and I proceeded to run about 5 miles in 37:01 with a 108 degree heat index. (I am writing this after 9:00 pm and the temp is 85 while the heat index is 95). We started off nice and easy..somewhere in the 10-minute range. After a mile or two we worked to a pace just over 9 minutes. Finally, we finished with a hard sprint to the neighborhood pool. I was dog-tired after the run and barely got my shoes off before I collapsed in the pool.

I feel good now thanks to some of Amy's now famous chicken pot pie. I am now looking at the possibility of running a 5k Saturday morning. Sleep is the issue, as I would need to leave the house at 5:30 am, or the same time I leave for work every morning. I am pulling just over 5 hours a night, which just isn't enough. My Friday and Saturday night I catch up with a good 8-hour night. In about a month I will be up to running for about two hours. Merely doubling that for sleep isn't gonna cut it!

Stats: Today's weight at the gym: 183

Great Progression

Today I ran just under 4 miles. We didn't clock the mileage because we ran quite a bit on trails. The biggest breakthrough.... NO WALKING. We ran for 31:08 straight (the longest I have ever run by far).

I have Ian to thank for this. Ian has run two-marathons and several adventure races and is a natural runner. We met at the house, and he helped me out. Running with a partner made it infinitely easier. We started with about a 9:25 minute mile pace for about 2 miles, kicked it to about 9, and finished at about 8:25 or less. We had a nice hard run for the last 1/3 mile. I felt really good during the run, with just some standard calf pain. I was definitely feeling it for a good 10 minutes after the run...lightheaded with my ears popping a bit.

Ian and I are going to make the training runs a regular practice. Depending on what shape I am in, I am going to head over towards Ian's place for a run tomorrow night.

Random Notes: I bought some protein power after I picked Erin up and had a shake and a little bit of shepherd's pie (turkey not beef) for dinner. I lifted shoulders and back at the gym today. Higher reps and lower weight than normal.

Hoops and a Short Run

Haven't played hoops in about year until tonight. I would have rather run, but my co-workers and I have talked about this for about a year now. We had 12 of us out there and we had a good-time. I ran about a half mile when we were done, but it was 100 degrees and I had a one hour drive home ahead of me. Tonight I am running with Ian, a buddy from my soccer team. He has run in two marathons and several adventure races. We talked running for quite a while last night...I think I will run better with someone than I do solo. If I do, I will more agressively pursue this path, as well as joining the Orlando running club.

Current temperature - 93
Run-time temperature - 87 and thunderstorms (running anyways)
Current Weight - 184 (185 yesterday on same scale at same time)

3 miles in 26:01

Nice lil improvement...dropped from 10 minute miles or so to under 9. I was able to pick the pace up a little bit and majorly cut back on the walking. All in all I only walked about 75 feet today and that was primarily for some calf stretching. Tomorrow I am playing basketball in Melbourne with co-workers and will try to put in 2-miles or so before I hop in the car to head back to Orlando. In other news, my view of the rocket from the top of my building tomorrow will be phenomenal.

This weekend I played in a softball tournament (batted a perfect 4/4 with 2 walks in two games), and had soccer training from 10-12 Sunday morning. Following soccer I ran 1 mile around the track while everyone else either looked on and laughed or hotfooted it to their AC.

4.4 mi in 44 min

Well, 6 just wasn't going to happen for many reasons. The biggest factor was time for work. Between measuring the course, stretching, changing, running, showering, and grabbing a drink and an energy bar, I was out of the office for about an hour and 40 minutes.

So about the run: 4.4 miles in 44 minutes. 10 minute miles. I ran on a very lightly traveled two-lane road with NO trees or shade. The heat was pretty unreal (see image to the left). My calves were still pretty sore, so I would say I was feeling about 80-85% to start the run. Again, I had to walk several times...Each time was maybe 50 feet and was due to burning legs or heat..not being winded. I was so hot that I got the chills a couple of times. Anyhow, I would estimate that while I was actually running I was pulling 8.5 minute miles early and tailed off to 9.5 minutes towards the end. Softball game tonight, and softball tourney tomorrow. I guess I am running 3 miles tomorrow. Well, its less than 4.4.

Weight - 179 (AFTER RUN)

Rest Day (Sorta)

Today was a rest day from running. Filled in for a softball team that 6 guys quit on case they were sick of losing. 6 of my Friday night teammates filled in and we won. Hmm. Anyhow, I went 2-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Ehh, not bad. Tomorrow I have a full day but I need to squeeze in what will be by 2 miles the longest run of my life. I am either going to do it at 5:15 am or at 9pm after softball. Stay tuned homies. Also, for those of you that know the site, I recently updated Find New Homes in Florida. Be a good friend and go there and click ONE google ad link for me. I am pulling in a bit 100 visitors a day and making some nice side 'ching on the advertising revenue. I plan to ramp it up soon. Ok, no more marketing propaganda.

Gnight. Time for dinner and a couple ice cold beverages.

Day 3 and OMFG

You have got to be kidding me Sean. I mean seriously. I don’t mean to sound overdramatic but that was seriously one of the hardest things I have ever done. After 25 years of athletics, I have never actually run more than 3.2 miles. I have no idea how I pulled that off, but it’s a fact. Well, tonight I attempted to plan out a 3 mile course. It felt like 10, but in actuality it was 3.7 miles. The course was near Amy’s parents house in 93 degree heat at about 7 pm.. 3.7 miles in a whopping 37:10. That is about a 10 minute pace. Much slower than I anticipated (by about a minute), but I did it. I wanted to pack it in so many times, but I kept it together and finished. I had to walk for about 50 feet quite a few times, but I didn’t cheat myself. Cardiovascularly speaking (I think I just invented a word) I was fine…but my legs were on fire. Definitely the result of three days in a row running, as well as just not being conditioned for this type of workout. I hurt much more than after a long, hard fought soccer match.

I have a LONG way to go. Father than I thought in fact. Tomorrow is a much-needed day of rest. Friday is supposed to be a six-mile run. I don’t think that I am ready for that, and need to look into modifying the training so that it is more realistic and effective. If I determine that that won’t get me to my goal, I will stick with the program I am on. Anyhow, I am proud to say that I made it another day.

7am the next morning...update - Suprisingly I am not as sore as I thought I would be. A bath and a massage from my loving wife worked wonders. Hopefully I am not too sore Friday for my next run. My upcoming sporting schedule is a bit hectic, and I will have to work my runs in around them. I am filling in for a softball team tonight at 6:30, have a game tomorrow night ( I am also supposed to run 6 miles that night), a softball tournament all day Saturday (will run 3 miles between games..but I will be so sore after 6 I see me adjusting the schedule), and soccer practice for three hours Sunday morning.

Day 2

I wasn't too sore as I enhusiastically started my second day of running. Unfortunately I did not hit my three mile goal, due to course miscalculations. I used my scooter to measure out a 3 mile course. After completing my run and looking at my trusty cell-phone timekeeping system, I realized that I had either run much less or run a 5 mile pace. Take your guess at which was correct. In fact, I only ran two miles in about 19 minutes. A blazing 9.5 minute pace. Ugh. Amy, in keeping with Sean's motivational tecnhiques, learned of my shortfall and send me out for another lap. So I did hit just shy of 3 miles today. Jeez, I am almost up to 26.2! Riiiiight.

I have been running in an OLD pair of Nike Shox cross-training shoes with ripped lace eyelets and rubber falling off. I went to Sports Authority and got a 69 dollar pair of Avia running shoes for 29 bucks. Score! I also got a nice Casio Triathlon watch for 22 bucks.

The First Run

Yeah, so I ran a whopping 1.8 miles on my first run. I did not time myself due to the fact that I do not own a digital watch (or any watch that works for that matter!). I don't have much positive to report other than the fact that at least I got started. I ran a pretty slow pace and my legs were on fire. It was 95 degrees and humid, but I actually prefer to run in the heat. Might as well be sweating off some pounds. I think that one of my biggest challenges over the course of this journey will be changing my body. I am currently weighing in at about 184 and have been lifting pretty heavy. I have begun to alter my workouts to include lighter weights and more reps. I think that once I can trim some fat and tone up some muscle my legs will have an easier time lugging around the rest of my body.

Get With The Program!

Ok, so we have decided to go with the famous Hal Higdon (whoever that is) Marathon Training guide. I have a feeling that I will be cursing ole Hal on a daily basis. Hal's program is 18 weeks long and consists of 4 running days, 1 cross-training day (my soccer games) and 2 rest days each week. The first week includes 3 3-mile runs and a 6 mile run. In order to ramp up, I am delaying Week 1 for a week while I just get into the swing of running.

The Challenge is Laid Down

So…this is how it all started. Sean sees two pictures titled 30andfat.jpg and sweatinoldie.jpg on my latest batch of Roystory.com pictures. He instant messages me something along the lines of “You aren’t old. Challenge yourself. Run a marathon with me.”. Well, clearly not thinking, and as usual not being able to turn down a challenge, I respond with a dopey “Ok.”

So, at 30 years old, I have exactly 4 months to train for the Philadelphia Marathon on November 20th. A bit of my running history: ______.


Ok, it’s not that extreme, I did run in the Chase Corporate Challenge 5k in 1999. Prior to that race I trained 2.2 miles a day for two whole weeks. To date, that is my longest stint of consistent running. Now, 6 years later, and 15 pounds heavier, I take on what is undoubtedly the greatest athletic challenge of my life. To be brutally honest, I have significant doubts in my ability to accomplish this goal, but I am going to give it everything I have and then some. Making the task more arduous, is the knowledge that Sean has been running competitively for about 10 years, and goes on 7 mile runs when he is bored. Worst case scenario is that I get in better shape and have fun trying. Best case scenario is that I tick another "life goal" off of the list.

We hope to convince Stephen to join the shenanigans but being that he just got married and bought a house, we aren’t sure that he can make the commitment THIS year.