Creating an atmosphere of confidence in your mind for your journey

image from studentbranding.com

I had a terrific week and a few days ago I wrote a lot about the confidence I had in running long distance training or race runs.  As I ran my 6 mile run today I thought and thought and thought about this but I didn’t know I was until I finished.  I said to myself mid-way that I should go for ten miles because I knew I could do it and it would increase my long run distance build-up faster.  I held back though.  I thought to myself that I am 100% sure that even right now I could push through and battle out a marathon finish.  I mean heck, when there is so much on the line (a finishers shirt!!!  🙂 ) you always finish.  I know I could.  Would it be really fun?  Would it be “relaxing” and benificial?  Would it foster good thoughts or bad ones?  Then it struck me about training for me personally.  My body responds well to pretty much any kind of training I think.  I recover well.  I can go a long ass ways.  But it REALLY struck my that a conservative build-up (like the one I did when I first started running) did more for creating an ATMOSPHERE OF CONFIDENCE within my own mind than it did for creating a super fit person.  Of course the super fit goes along with the running but the multiple ultras and marathons, the way I explained to myself in my writing how I thought and felt going into a race, the sense of almost scoffing at a distance (with respect though) because I had done the work in the trenches far before hand.  It struck me that the ATMOSPHERE OF CONFIDENCE in my own mind was what I need to foster more than anything.  THAT is what creates IN ME the ability to stick with it, the ability to enjoy it, the ability to endure much longer distances.  In other words, I held back.  I cherished the “small” 6 mile victory.  I saw in my minds eye the red line on my confidence meter bump up because I finished my 6 miles in complete comfort and with a sigh of satisfaction followed by a smile.  There is plenty of time to build-up to 20, 30, 40 mile long runs.  I was reminded of the times where I had a 30 mile long run and I felt this exact same way when I finished: in comfort and with a smile.  Not sore for days, happy I did it, confident I could do it again. 

 

It also then dawned on me that training (or even starting exercise for the non-exerciser) is  a work of creating that atmosphere of confidence in the mind.  Making sure to work it in a way to create small victories to maximize and ensure that the confidence builds.  The body will make the changes it needs to, but the mind almost needs to be tricked into believe in itself if that makes sense.  It may seem slow forcing delayed gratification but suddenly you end up doing 50 times more than you ever thought feeling like its easy just like that 6 mile run.  I am committed to this.  Developing that atmosphere of confidence, developing that consistency of victory.  Maybe not moving on too fast but making sure I have lots of victories along the way.  Building, building, building.

 

Hopefully that all made sense because I just rambled a lot. LOL.

A new dawn ahead: Weight Watchers, Running, and a Fresh start

A new year is ahead of us.  This year has been a very wild ride for me personally.  I have not been posting here at all for sometime for various reasons but have not stopped writing because writing is something that helps me learn about myself, my ways, and my weight loss journey.  I hope that I have not lost all my friends here.  I am going to start posting regularly again and I am pretty darn excited about it.  Please feel free to join in on my adventures for 2011. 

For starters, I have gained about 50 lbs.  Yeah that is a lot but what can I do about it now except move forward into a new and exciting dawn. 

This was during my run tonight.

Here I am just days ago during my family christmas

Running

Part of the weight gain came about because of a serious burn out on running that was largely due to personal life stuff that I described on the blog earlier this year.  I tried hard to hold on to all the running I was doing but I just couldn’t, not with the mental stress and life changes.  Plus, I was working really hard on balance. I think I went to far with it though………….LOL!  So I never stopped running but I cut way back and am currently on my way back to running more and getting fit.  Come along with me as I progress again in my fitness, endurance, and running.  I feel like I am practically starting all over with running but I am far from that I think.  Still, way out of shape in my opinion and the extra wait is not fun to run around with.

Weight Watchers

I am, as you may have guessed, doing weight watchers for the “healthy eating” portion of my journey.  I get lots of points on this new POINTS PLUS plan.  Seems pretty well.  At the current time I am not going to meetings but doing it online.  I am having good success with it so far and plan to continue that for sure.  With the exception of xmas day I am eating pretty good and counting EVERYTHING. I know what to do, I am not making excuses, and I will succeed. Soon enough I will look like this again. LOL

Stay tuned to the blog to follow my journey-a-fresh.  I am excited and I hope that my posts can help you on your own journey with real life inspiration.  IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK.  I AM COMING BACK TO MOVE FORWARD!!!

Running pics

I plan to be taking more pics of my runs.  I got a new camera for Christmas and want to put it to good use for the blog.  I am sure some will be good and some not so good.  At the moment I am doing walking, walk/jog’s, personal training three times a week, and of course building up my long run.  I feel pretty bad about not being able to run as long as I used to but I am not going to let that stop me.  I ran 18 miles six weeks ago but went on vacation to hawaii and did not exercise at all.  So 18 miles is out of the picture for now and I don’t really care much.  I am just going to start slow and move forward in small steps just like I did when I could only run one mile.  I will keep the blog updated on my running and especially with any marathons I do.  I have done about 26 or so marathons.  I plan to get to 30 in 2011.  Here are the pics from tonights run.  It was a cold and rainy time with flooded streets.  It was exhilarating really.  Went out for 30 minutes and burned around 290 calories.

Cool street lamp so I thought I would take a pic

The cold rainy night gave all the light around a golden glow that intrigued me

Main street still decorated in christmas lights

Very Tired but Happy Too!

Oh boy am I tired today.  I have been staying up pretty late but it has been well worth it.  So I am happy with it.  Lots of stuff has been happening of late and I really like it.  I hope to keep experiencing more and more of it.  On another note, I am totally seeing visible changes in my body when I look in the mirror.  Not huge ones but they are apparent so I feel good about it.  I am getting leaner and it seems to be working its way down from face to shoulders to arms but not to the stomach yet.HAHHAHAHA. That will come in time.  The resistance training is now cut back to two days a week becasue I just can’t do legs the way the trainer wants to and still keep my paces during my running since my legs are so tired.  Running is my first priority but I really like what the training is doing for me.  My eating is also doing well.  It’s not perfect and it probably never will be and I don’t even care if it is.  I have much more mercy on myself now.

Today I have a hard track workout.  It is supposed to be stormy, windy, and raining.  Fun huh!!!  I will be doing 20X400 meter repeats at my 5k pace.  I may not hit all the reps at that pace but will work my booty off to get it done.  These are always really hard workouts for me yet at the end I feel so good that I accomplished something hard.  Doesn’t it feel good when we accomplish something hard or difficult.  When I am done I will crumple into my truck seat and drive home feel exhausted yet exuberant about the achievement.  I will probably tell my friend and coach soon after that about the victory.  The cool this is, is that they will probably ask me how it went and to me that is special because someone cares enough to ask.  Knowing this, I also try to ask about what concerns the people I love and care for.  What they care about concerns me and what hurts them builds compassion in me.  Anyway, things are going well.  Keep on fighting the good fight of health guys.  It is so worth it.  So so worth it.  No need to give up, you CAN get to your place.

I’m hoping for the best!

Since I am working out using resistance training, I am hoping that it will make a difference in my journey to lose the weight I have gained.  So far I have not experienced much of a difference but I have not been eating that great either.  Eating is more than 60%+ of the battle if you ask me.  I mean heck, you can lose the weight without exercising if you have too.  I want to retain and even gain some muscle but also want to be as light as I can for the running.  I don’t really want the concentration camp look but I would like to make my running as easy and as effecient as possible.  So all in all I am hoping to shred the fat off my body, get down to a pretty low body fat %, and build up my running speed and endurance.  I think that this is all feasable but I am having a hard time being patient.  I think the fact that I know what it is like to be where I want to be makes it hard to except the fact that I am where I don’t want to be.  But I will make it to where I am going.  I will keep on keeping on.

Running through it

Over the last several months I have not done a whole lot of being consistant.  I have had a very hard time getting my life back together enough so that I can once again stick to a “normal” schedule of daily operations.  At least this is what I have thought……………………….but I have had a stroke of insight today.  I have not been doing ALL BAD!  So I will look on the bright side of things.  I have developed and implemented a new system at my work place that will change it forever and for the better.  I have followed my dreams of training for, and finally attempting to run 100 miles.  I have continued to eat ok enough not to gain ALL my weight back.  I have held it together in many ways but it still does not take away the fact that it has been really really hard.  And the hard stuff is not over yet either.  Sometimes I feel it is only getting harder.  But one thing I know for sure is that I have been running through it all.  It is the constant (other than God) that stands firmly in place.  Well, not always firmly but I have not let go of it.  I have cut back, gone hard, eased off, etc. etc.  But I have not turned my back on running.  I have pretty much stayed with at least two days a week of running.  My come back races were 32 and 41 miles. 

This tiny piece of consistancy, with which coach dean has helped tremendously, has helped me piece things together.  It has helped me have a foundation to build off of again.  I am back to exercising with cross-training.  I am excited once again about my running goals.  I am looking forward to doing more running in the very near future and Coach Dean will help me attain physically what I want to attain emotionally as a way for me to set a foundation for all that is to come.  I have to start somewhere.  Heck, I have already started long ago, but I have finally realized I cannot do this all at once.  I cannot go at this with an all or nothing approach like I normally can.  i just don’t have the mental nor emotional energy to do so.  So it will go step by step but I will keep on keeping on.  I will run, I will eat, I will workout, I will talk things out with people I trust, I will remember my blessings and……………………………………..things will become what I desire them to be.  I have learned a lot about being patient with myself and that has been hard.  But I am glad I have learned it.  VERY GLAD.

Out of hermitville…………New life Check Up

Hello everyone.  I have decided, for the benefit of my own health to come out from being a blog hermit.  I have experienced a lot since the last time I wrote to you all.  My life has changed drastically, my heart is soft again, I have opened up myself to other around me, and I HAVE EATEN A VAST AMOUNT OF FOOD. HAHAHAHA.  I am not complaining though.  For today I show myself mercy and I don’t do that too often.  At this time it is needed however, so I will give myself a break.

• I am current 8 lbs over my WW lifetime goal.  Yup, that is right, I actually had to pay the last time I went and that was the first time in around 2 years. 
• I am having a hard time with recovery in my running lately.
• I have stood up for myself and been authentic more in the last three months than I ever was in my previous 33 years of life.
• My heart has changed drastically and I am excited to move on in my life to experience even more love and growth than ever before.
• I am back to WW and starting out on a new path.  I will do well for sure.

I have received so many emails from all of you who care.  I appreciate it more than you would ever dream.  I did not return any of them for the most part but I did take each and every word that you spoke into my life and used it for good.  I have slowly (some would tell me VERY quickly) but surely emerged from a lot of crappy darkness.  I will never be the same but I will be better instead of worse. 

I will tell you all, that I have learned so much about myself and about people.  I have experienced and learned so much mercy and understanding.  When I think of it all I kind of melt into a lump of thankfulness.  I get filled with emotion at the realization that people (yeah, all of us) have the capacity to endure and grow more than even I ever imagined.  And I saw that Love and Compassion for others is a major factor in my ability to endure such things that I have.  I saw that my running is more of a picture of my life than I thought, and that it has taught me good lessons that will stick with me for a lifetime

A LITTLE MESSAGE TO YOU ALL

You know what guys, sometimes things just get hard don’t they.  Sometimes they add up over time, and other times they rush in to overwhelm.  I wanted to tell you that no matter what happens or has happened, just about anything is possible for you.  Now is not the time to give up on what you want in life.  Now is not the time to think of yourself as a throw away.  Now is not the time to let others talk you out of your dreams.  I know you can do what it is you want to do.  Just take one step, just one.  And in time, you will one day be where you want to be.  And during those many steps you will fall down.  This is ok.  This is nothing to panic over.  This is the normal human experience and it is highly desirable albeit not enjoyable.  Because when we do fall, we learn how to stand once again.

What is running? What does it mean to you?

I was thinking this morning about running.  While thinking on the subject, a grand vision appeared in my mind.  A wonderful and true landscape of beautiful running.  As I sat there in thought regarding why us adults hate exercise so much, I was reminded by the vision of a wonderful time in my/our lives. 

When I was young and in grade school, we had recess time.  I think we all must have had it.  In my little vision I recalled a most common phenomenon about recess.  IT IS THE SPRINT!  When we got out of class for recess, practically every kid big and small sprinted as fast as they could the short distance to get to the playground of the school.  It was only maybe 20-100 yards depending on what classroom you were in.  But we all ran together, we all ran hard, we all ran with complete and utter joy.  I remember running with everyone else.  I remember laughing histerically inside about all of us running.  I loved it but what was the point.  I even thought that as a kid.  Why were we in such a hurry to get to a place that was so close.  Walking could have gotten us there probably only one minute slower.  In fact, the teachers were probably yelling at us not to run until we got there.  But we did.  We ran because it felt good.  We ran because it invigorated us for more play and exercise.  We ran for the increased joy that it brought us for our short time at recess.  We ran because it gave us the most bang for our buck time wise.

Sometime later, as I/we got older and started going to highschool, all of a sudden this joyful activity seemed stupid.  It seemd uncool to run as fast as you could to go do more exercise.  But still, even at that older age, running was easier and not such an evil to trudge through.  And still as time passed us by even more, running became something of a long lost memory where I could only remember coming in last in the one mile trial with all my friends in P.E.  It became something you did as torture for football and basketball practice.  IT BECOME BORING AND TIDIOUS.  IT WAS NOT FUN ANYMORE.

What happened to the meaning and joy of running?  What happened to us is the real question.  Running has not changed really.  It is the same as when humans first started doing it to get food and what-not. 

Here is what running is to me when I can remember it’s novelty.

• Running is the great escape.  It was the release from the pressure of the classroom to start a fun filled 30 minutes.  It is still the wonderful release from a pressure filled adult workday.  It leads me into fulfilling thoughts and feelings.  It helps me, even if only for 30 minutes, to forget the junk and remember the basic joy of movement and life.
• Running is the opportunity to live right now.  When I am running, I am living right then.  Right at that moment I am alive.  I am not weighed down.  I am flying high.  Nothing else matters.  Just the pitter-patter of my feet taking me away.
• Running is fun and joyfull.  When the weather is nice and the spring times flowering is exploding, I glide along the country roads of my home town with a grateful heart.  I take in the beauty of it all.  In a sense, I become part of the big explosion of life.  I take part in the growth and the life.
• Running means “I CAN” more than “I CAN’T”.  No matter what the pace, running is an opportunity to know that I can and I did.  I got out there and did it.  Not because I had to, not because I am obligated, but only because I CAN.  Just like recess and the playground only being 100 yards away.  As kids, we ran because we could.  We ran because it enhance the whole thing of recess.  We ran because we wanted to.  When running to recess, we all went as fast as we could but there was not first or last, we all just got there and kept having fun.

My running workout today!

Speedwork is tough.  It is a great character builder if you ask me.  I have only had a couple of speedwork sessions that were kind of easy.  The rest are just plain hard.  Today I had 6×1000 meter reps with one minute breaks in between.  The laps are done as part of a 6 mile total for the run.  Here are my stats for today’s workout.

1st 1000 meters= 5:55 pace

2nd 1000 meters= 5:55 pace

3rd 1000 meters = 6:03 pace except I almost puked and had to stop at 600 meters and take a 4 minute break. HAHAHAHA

4th 1000 meters= 10k pace @ 6:28  minute miles

5th 1000 meters= 6:30 pace

6th 1000 meters= 6:30 pace

Overall pace counting running to the track and taking my one minutes walking breaks was about 8:04 average pace.

I was supposed to do the laps at 5k pace which is about 6:08 for me.  I went out to fast and this hurt me especially on these longer reps.  Usually I do 400 meters at this pace.  Needless to say, I could not keep that aggressive pace for all those reps.  Also needless to say though is that I built up mental strength (physical too I guess) because I did not quit and I just adjusted my paces so that I could finish.  My coach says that paces between 5k-10k are considered high quality paces for high quality workouts.  In two weeks,  have my last easy/slow marathon prior to my PR attempt at the Portland Marathon.  Hoping all will go well.

More on food, WW, life, etc. in the morning.  See you later.

Marathon #18 and more golf

I had a good but slightly lonely marathon weekend.  I went to bend/sunriver, Oregon on Friday night so that I would be able to pick up my race packet on Saturday morning.  I went to bed as soon as I got there because I had to get up at 4 a.m. to do a 10 miler before I went golfing at a really special golf course in Bend.  My 10 miler went very smoothly with no hiccups.

Saturday I played two rounds of golf so I got in a lot of activity even after my 10 mile easy run.  I didn’t play well but I had a good time.  I got done golfing around 8 p.m. and again went to bed right away so that I could get up around 3 a.m. to do 10 miles before the marathon start.

Sunday came in a hurry as I struggled to get out of my warm bed.  I was able to fit in 8 miles and finished this run about 5 minute before the marathon start.  At 7 a.m. the race started and all 112 marathoners took off up the 14 mile hill.  At first the hill was not very bad at all and I was able to run most of it with no problem.  I did a 4:1 run/walk ratio for the entire marathon except from miles 11-14 where the hill was just to steep and I walked.  Once we got to the top is was smooth and fun sailing down to about mile 20 (my mile 28) where the course flattened out.  Over-all the marathon was not really hard and it was enjoyable too.  I finished in 4:50.  This pace has allowed me to have post-race days without much soreness at all.  That has been VERY nice.

It was a good weekend and although I played golf and ran with many great people, I was really lonely without my wife.  I love her so much and she is my best friend.  I don’t like going to bed at night without her.  I don’t like not being able to see her in the evenings.  The good things is that she was able to have fun with her visiting family while I was gone.  I was happy for her in this respect.  She loves her family and that is a great thing.

Bye bye now!

Q&A Post: Weight gain after events, sore muscles, and hard efforts.

I was asked this weekend about gaining weight after an intense effort or an event.  This is an extrememly common question to me and one that I also hear in my WW meetings all the time.  Here is the basic question that I recieved:

“I read that one can gain 2-4 pounds in water retention when muscles are sore ……….  Do you have any experiences with how some of your hard runs/races have affected your weigh-in’s?”

Here are some simple points directly from my own experiences.

• I have gained weight after EVERY event that I have run in. 
• I have gained weight most of the time after HARD EFFORT workouts.
• I have gained weight EVERY time when I do my weigh-in with very sore muscles.

Now I don’t have a Doctoral degree in musculo-skeletal issues, but I do have some experience with the issue at hand.  I have found that hard efforts (that is whatever pushes YOU hard), your muscles get sore, and this translates (for me) into gaining weight on the very short term.  This NEVER ends up being permanent weight gain.  In fact, after a gain  at the school I will almost always post a loss the next week after the healing process of my muscles.  Hear is what I have heard as to the reasons a person can gain weight even after buring 4000+ calories:

• After are hard workout, glycogen is depleted and when you eat sugar (from simple or complex carbs) your muscles will soak up a fair amount of it along with some water right away.
• When you work out hard, you get tiny micro-tears in your muscles.  To repair, they retain some water to help the process along.
• Once your muscles get better even though maybe not fully healed, your body starts to move the water, waste, blood, etc. through you muscles much more normally causing you to “lose” the weight.

In reality, the weight gain is false.  It is part of it.  It is possible to lose weight after events especially if you get dehydrated but once you begin to re-hydrate you will gain it back.  This little yo-yo in your weight should not be taken to seriously.  I do not weigh-in anymore after most of my hard events just so that I don’t feel bad for gaining because I am pretty positive I will and I also know that it is essentially meaningless.

So keep your head up and don’t worry to much.  In this type of circumstancial weight gain, the weight will come off just as easy as it seemed to come on.

A new life of activity and eating.

Some people have asked me what the difference is between my life now and my life prior to weight loss.  A very significant difference between the old and new life is also the same factor that is essential in keeping the weight off.  It also is a big factor in simple enjoyment of life.  The main difference is ACTIVITY!

Let me take you through a typical week day prior to my weight loss.  I wake up breathing heavily and roll myself out of bed.  I hurry up to get dressed and ready to go.  I don’t really make a lunch I just through some salami and cheese in a bag.  On the way to work I stop and get 2-3 donuts and have a giant coffee with full fat/sugar creamer.  Then right before I get to work I stop and get some bisquits and gravy to eat at work.   I go to work for twelve hours and eat out for lunch.  When I get off I go to the gas station and get fried foods to eat on the way home before dinner.  When I get home I talk to my wife, play video games and then we watch movie.  I eat some more, stay up late, and start the whole thing over again.  Now for a day on the weekend.  The only difference between a weekday and the weekend as far as activity goes is that I don’t go to work on Sunday.  I get up early because I can’t sleep in.  I go out to eat a huge breakfast.  I lay around all day and maybe go visit my family with my wife.  Then we all go out ot eat or something.  I never ever worked in the yard, I never exercised no matter how much my wife asked me, I just didn’t do much I did not live.

Now for day in the present time.  My typical weekday is like this.  I get up early without breathing hard.  I make my lunch and get ready to go.  I typically make this high protein shake with instant coffee in it.  It is 4 points but it is actually eating breakfast while getting my cafeine going on. HAHAHA .  I go to work and pass up the gas station with the donuts.  I get to work and eat every two hours and usually never go out to eat unless it is subway.  Sometimes I go for a walk at lunch and sometimes I go for a run.  I check out my running schedule at work to prepare my mind for the workout afterwards.  When work is over I change into the running clothes that I brought with me.  I head out for a run that will last at least 45 minutes.  Once that is done I document the run and drink some fluids.  When I get home if it is light out, I will go outside and work in the yard.  If not, I will eat a healthy dinner with my wife and we will either talk or watch a movie.  Sometimes she will read to me from the book she is reading.  I love that.  My typical sunday.  Wow, this is really different.  I wake up early to go running.  I run for anywhere between 2-6 hours.  Sunday is my long run day.  Sometimes I run before church sometime I run home from church.  When I get back I try and work in the yard for a couple of hours.  Then I am off to have a healthy lunch with my wife and we go for a walk, go walk around the mall, visit family, etc.  In addition to these activities, I will go hiking, golfing, go for walks with my sister, and many other things.

THis new way of life is much more active.  It is funny.  I burn much more calories and I eat much fewer calories.  I guess that is what is keeping the weight off.

My first run since the race recovery

It felt so good to get back on the roads.  I took a decent amount of time off from running to recover from my 40 miler.  I am sure that I am not all the way recovered even now but I am good to go for easier running.  I was invigorated during my three mile jaunt around the lake.  I did the run at around an 8:55 pace.  It seems fast but for a three mile run, it is not really that fast.  For a 20 mile run that would be fast, but not for a three mile run.  I felt easy and relaxed throughout so I feel that it was within the limits of recovery.  I am not expert though but I do know how to listen to my own body when it comes to running.

Anyway,  just wanted you all to know that I am back in the game.  My new running schedule will be in my email box soon.  Who knows what is in store for the next four months.

Tired! Tired! Tired!

I am tired.  My legs are tired and a bit sore and they have remained that way since Saturday.  It is not a big deal but my body is definitely talking to me.  Last night I did 14×400’s at 5K pace.  What a great workout it was and I hit my pace very well for each rep, but I was tired.  I made the best out of a bad running day.  I accomplished much with the workout.  However, there were no good feelings, no runner’s high, no euphoric revelations, no sun, no scenery…………..

I still finished it up though and that is where character building comes into a persons running program.  You make the best out of a bad running day.

I have also woke up late for the last two days now.  I hate it when I wake up late.  I pack a crappy unplanned lunch, hurry out the door, and just tend to have an overall unorganized work day.  I think my tiredness is normal and it is coming from the cumulative effects of my training over the last four months.  I had a very good 4 months of running and now it is time to taper off until the big race.  I am glad to be in taper mode and I will be taking today off completely even though I have an easy 6 miler on the schedule.  It won’t hurt me and I need the rest.  I just need it.  I know I need it and my body knows I need it.  Taking today off I have 4 more runs before the race.  A 6 mile tempo run, two easy 3 mile runs, and a 1o miler at race pace.  Then I will have 3 or 4 days off completely from exercise.

Here’s to getting some rest.  See you later.

6 mile easy run

Here I am at mile 14 as Audrey joins in on my run with me.

Yesterday was my “easy” running day.  It is a day the seperates hard workouts with easier paced running that aids in recovery while maintaining fitness.  I enjoy the easy days.  I am thrilled to report that my “easy” pace is about 2 minutes per mile faster than it was about this time last year.  That is pretty cool.

I ran around the lake where I work.  My route is three miles exactly and it is very flat.  It is the perfect route for an easier run.  My legs were tired though.  Maybe it was from my 6 miles with 6 hill repeats from the day before.  I guess that is why I get easy run days.  Tomorrow I have 12×400 repeats at 5K pace at the track.  The run will also total 6 miles with warm up and cool down running.

Big weight loss journey success.

Skinny guy with the fat mind

I finally got to run again last night.  It felt so good.  I did 6 miles with three hill at 5K pace.  It was kind of a combination of Wednesdays and Thursdays workouts.  I did not want to push it to hard yesterday because of my foot but the foot felt fine for the whole run.  It also felt fine after the run all night but I do feel it a little this morning.  Not injury like but just feel that I have a foot.  Normally you don’t notice that you have a foot, it is just there.  Well, today I feel that I have a foot.  So the run went great, I lifted my spirits a lot, and I ended up doing it at around an 8:40 pace.

My eating was also very very good.  I woke up late yesterday so I did not have time to prepare my normal daily work food.  I just through my “healthy fast foods” into a bag an took off.  The good thing is that this left me with 20 points for my dinner.  I ate 15 points in the evening so that put me at consuming my 35 maintenance points for the day.  I did not touch my weeklies or my AP’s.  I was happy with that.  I earned 6 points on my run so it did not necessitate that I eat any of my AP’s (I only force myself to eat AP’s when I get 8 or more in one day.

Before my run, I went to the rock place and hand picked some rock.  I got 6 small boulders (300 pounds) to finish the fire pit and an 8 pound piece of ledge stone that is of the same sort that my flagstone path is made of.  This will be a base for the step to my cross sculpture.  It is a piece of stone.  It has lots of lichen on it and lots of colors.  If I don’t have to work tomorrow I will be getting my fire pit, patio, and cross sculpture are finished this weekend.  If all goes well with my wife. HAHAHA

Calculating calories burned for running and walking.

image credit: graphics8.nytimes.com

So you go out for a run or a walk.  You enjoy the exercise and physical movement.  You feel better about yourself and the work you are doing to get healthy.  But when you get home you wonder, “I wonder how many calories I just burned.”  Well, I am putting this post up so that you can calculate this for yourself anywhere and anytime.  It is pretty easy to do and the formula is based on research performed on walkers and runners.  The link I am putting at the bottom of the post is from a Runner’s World article that a fellow WW attendee pointed me to.  The article is based on the assumption that walking a mile and running a mile burns the same amount of calories.  This is not true although they both do burn a good amount of calories.  And if you don’t or can’t run, then walking is far superior than doing nothing at all.  I personally enjoy walking very much.

During the research the scientists found the running burned 2 times more calories than walking.  They noted also that if you can run two miles in the same time it takes to walk one mile than running would burn 4 times more calories over the same time period.  They also found that walking would burn more calories than running once you reached a particular pace.  Any walking done at a 12:00 minute per mile or faster pace burned more calories than running because it was inefficient.  So speed walking is a very good calorie burning exercise.  Here are the equations for calculating your calorie burn and the link to the article.

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Running-  .63 x body weight= calories burned per mile running.  So when I run 5 miles I burn 582 calories.

Walking-    .30 x body weight= calories burned per mile walking.  So when I walk 5 miles I burn 277 calories.

Here is the original article from Runner’s World as well as the research bibliography.

Run4change review of V-moda headphones

From the time I can remember, I have always been a lover of music.  My first CD was Europe “The Final Countdown”.  I listened to that song over and over.  Then one day I got a portable CD player.  The only problem was that if you used it during any type of exercise it would skip like crazy.  Then on another day the Ipod came out.  Wow, what a revolutionary idea that was.  Now people could run and exercise while listening to music without this big heavy thing that skips.  The only problem is that the Ipod comes with these white yucky ear buds that just hurt the heck out of my ears and they don’t stay in very good while running.  Finally, one of my ear buds went bad so it was time to do some replacement shopping.  So off I went to find me some new headphones.

I ended up getting some pretty good “in the ear” headphones by V-Moda.  I got red “bass freq” ones.  These headphones are small just like the normal ear buds but they are far superior.  They have nice silicone covers in three different sizes to fit into your ear comfortably.  No pain, not much outside noise coming in, and the sound quality is great.  These tiny little things really do put out some bass along with some cleanly smooth mid’s and high’s.  I love them.  They were developed as an active lifestyle headphone so they made them specifically for those of use who listen to music on the run or bike or hike or weight lifting or even the evil stairmaster.  They are mid-level on the pricing.  Lots of others out there are cheaper and lots of them are more expensive.

I highly recommend these headphones.  Here is a short break down of the good things I have noticed while using them with some links to the competition so you can make your own choice.

• Comfortable- No more ear rubbing when you take them out
• Noise isolating technology
• Good bass for a small phone
• Secure in the ear
• Attractive color choices so you don’t have to be like everyone else
• Modawrap cable manager lets you keep the cables nice and tighty without the hassle of tangles.

Competition

JVC air cushion ear buds

Danon AH-c35

JVC HANCX77 In-ear canal buds (more expensive)

Future Sonics Atrio Series (VERY EXPENSIVE)

Otto V35

You CAN run an ultra-marathon!

image credit: news.bbc.co.uk

GOING BEYOND 26.2 MILES IS TOTALLY INSANE!!!!!!!!!!  The image above is a guy working on finishing the Badwater Ultramarathon.  It’s a 134 mile race from the lowest part in the United States to the Highest.  That’s hardcore, not to mention that the race goes through Death Valley in the summer when the average temperature is 120. An ultramarathon is any race longer than 26.2 miles. It can be done, but ultramarathons are not something you do to get or stay healthy.  They can really beat your body up.  I am not saying never try it, I did it, but it’s not for everyone.  Even before I wanted to do a marathon I desired the ultra.  I read about a guy who ran 50 miles and I just could not believe it.  That made me want to do what I couldn’t believe was possible.  It took me a long time to do it.  I did several marathons first and then I slowly worked my way up the ultra ladder by doing the shortest races first until I reached 50 miles.  I just don’t have the time to train for anything longer than that.  If you have running experience you can give it a shot.  I also talked to my doctor before I did an ultra.  He was not real excited about it, but he told me I was healthy.  You should do the same.  If you don’t have experience and want to do an ultra, keep it on the back burner until you have some, but don’t forget about your dreams.  Here are some resources to help you get started.

• Ultra running resource site.  Just about all you need to know.
• Runners world ultramarathon training
• Hal Higdon 50 miler training
• UltraLadies 100 miler training schedule

One of my favorite cardio exercises.

Before I started running and during the first stages of my running when it did not take up as much time, I used a rowing machine for cardio.  I love the rowing machine and would like to buy one.  I have not gotten around to getting one yet but I am pretty sure I will in the future.  It is such a good work out for the whole body.  Most people think that it is all back and upper body but that is not the case.  If you do it correctly you will use your legs to produce most of the power and that is a good thing because your legs and your butt are your biggest muscles.  They make up 50% of your body so they burn the calories.  Do you know of any activity that really burns the calories that does not use your legs?  Anyways, here is a video that shows you how to use a rowing machine the correct way so when you are at the gym you’ll look like a pro.