3rd time is a charm!

We began the morning predawn with not a whole lot of sun out. It was dark, it was just Dolce and I sitting on the curb waiting for the Shelbys. 10 minutes later Nate and Rascal show up and we wait until 6:30AM and call the Shelbys only to find them snug in their beds.
With Earl being on the INJURY LIST it was up to Dolce and I to tackle that Reid Park loop, not once, not twice but 3 times! I am not a fan of loops but we kept it spicy by going around and running the opposite way and running back the way we came.
Nate and Rascal finished 2 loops quickly and Amanda gave herself props for NEVER running that far in her LIFE!
Dolce and I slowed to a crawl the last mile and refused to walk because we wouldn't be able to start running again.
All I can say is that I've never been so happy to be in my flip flops after that run. It was brutal but necessary.
All Dolce and I could think about was the upcoming EASY 6 miles. It's all a mind game that we are winning.

ATR: 5 hours 33 minutes

9 freakin' MILES

Top Five Reasons...

And now, the TOP FIVE REASONS MY (ATTEMPTED) RUN THIS MORNING SUCKED...

1) My sore throat from Saturday has turned into a nasty head cold complete with snot, mucus, and a hacking cough. Bleh!

2) Due to that wonderful little cold, I COULD NOT FREAKIN' BREATHE!!!

3) Because I couldn't breathe, my pace completely SUCKED!!! (Meaning: I had to WALK more than half of my two miles.)

4) Out of NOWHERE I ended up with a random leg cramp in the back of my left thigh. Go figure!

5) It was still wet and humid from the rain, which you would think would have helped me to breathe a little bit, but IT DIDN'T!

That's enough complaining for now! :) Thanks for ignoring this little bit of venting! :)

HELLOOOOOOOO!

Am I the only one here? Oh well, I guess I'll have to go it alone.

I didn't complete the whole 8 miles which was disappointing, because I hurt my foot. I believe it is a pulled muscle and I like Tia suggestion that it was related to the fact that we were running on an uneven surface. So I am going to rest my foot for the next two weeks and see if I can't come back strong on 9/6/08. I won't be running or doing elliptical, just biking and I'll probably do a little weight lifting.

Also, I failed to reach 5000 calories in 5 days although I did get 4518 in 4 days which was pretty good. I am going to try again this week although my hurt foot will make it a little more difficult.

I snacked so hard this weekend that I actually gained 1.5 lbs. I am a bit discouraged, but I am in a good place mentally so I can bounce back. Weekends have been notoriously bad where my eating habits are concerned so I think this is a wake up call so to speak. Letting me know I need to get a grip on how I eat on the weekends.

5000 IN 5

I don't know if it was the fact that it was really hot by the time we completed the race. Maybe I didn't get enough rest the night before. Or maybe my body is wearing down. But the 6 miles on Saturday was my hardest run since we started this whole project. Now it was also my fastest time as well (12:33) so that could have attributed, but I felt extremely drained. So my plan this week is take weight training completely out of my exercising routine to give my body a chance to recouperate. Try and keep my pace a little closer to 13:00 minute pace. We will also start a little earlier so the sun won't be such a factor.

This week I weighed in at 279.2 which was another pound lost but 0.7 tenths of a pound under my goal. My next weeks goal is 276.5. I obviously crushed my time goal and my new goal is 12:50. 8 miles is a long way I'm anxious to see how I perform.

This week was my first week with my new ipod. Although it didn't perform correctly(I think I initialized it incorrectly), I am still excited about getting it to work and having it for the rest of the training.

I also have another side goal this week for added motivation. That goal is "5000 in 5"! The objective is to burn 5000 or more calories in 5 days. There are 3500 calories per pound and ultimately I want to get up to 7000 calories per week. Right now I think I'm at around 4000 calories a week maybe a little more. Wish me luck!

One more step closer

Only one thing went wrong this weekend. On Wednesday I had 2 and one half candy bars. Which probably accounts for the fact that I fell .6 lbs short of my goal for the week. Other than that I had a real good week working out.

As far as Sat run, I was in the lead for a little more than a mile at which point I was relegated to my normal position in the back of the pack. But we had a real good run, and I feel we have improved tremendously even though improvements are coming in much smaller steps. I feel like I am in a lull as far as my excitement level is going, but working out has become a habit and I think I can push through. This lull is why I have decided to host a Pancake Breakfast on Aug 23 which is the last Sat run in Sahuarita. It would also be a good time to get as many of the Raprunner team members together as possible. Feel free to bring your signifcant other and they can man a water station and cheer on the runners. I think this is a good time for some team motivation as we move into the home stretch. Guys (I use the term loosely since I am usually the only guy), let me know what you think and if you think it's a good idea and if you are going to attend. An RSVP would make things go a lot smoother.

Weekly Mantra: How am I suppose to breathe with no air.
Food Mantra: Don't stay wrong long! (Feel free to use this one in your everyday life.)

LONG week..

Well... I know that I never do this whole blogging thing but I kinda needed to vent a little... I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed and stressed this week with a lot of things happening.... I only got to the gym 2 times and that is not like me at all... but hopefully with next week and school starting things will go better and I will get back into a routine...

On a more positive note..... I'm bringing my twin brother Ty to come "run" with us tomorrow although he may walk it... He's done the Tucson marathon before but after spending a year in Jamaica he said he hasnt ran in a LONG time...

See you guys in the morning...

Katrina! Walk it Out!

When you get mad Katrina-
Just WALK IT OUT!

6 month injury?

From time to time in my running career, I come across a pain in my shins. It's deep and feels like I've bruised my shins. After each incident, I get sidelined for rest for 6 months or more.

Wednesday after my run with the "stroller of pain", I felt the ache in my shins. Could this really be shin splints or as the professionals say medial tibial stress syndrome? I am praying every night and every second I think about it that it's only because that crazy stroller keeps rolling to the left and I have to push it the other way which is having an adverse reaction to my running form.

In other words, this better no be freakin' shin splints or I'm gonna, "Pop off"!

Please don't be shin splints, please don't be shin splints.

Multitasking

It is truly a wonderful thing when you can exercise and accomplish something at the same time. Today, I road to work. 10 miles in 57 minutes. It wasn't as bad as I thought, but I don't know how I getting home!

I have a mountain bike, but I think I need a road bike. Looks like its time to help the economy.

The Big Picture.

On the surface a 13:34 min per mile pace would sound wonderful shaving more than a minute off my pace. I am only 34 seconds from my goal. This is what I accomplished Saturday in for 6 miles. But you know what? After the run my feet were killing me!!!! I actually got a cramp in the sole of my feet!!! What the heck is that about. I didn't even know there were muscles there. Man, it was horrible. And you know what, I blame....Dolce. YES, Dolce, I said it. There it is! It is her fault. I'm sorry but people have to know the truth. She knows she is my pacesetter and And where was she on Saturday? Not in Sahuarita! Now guess what happens, I end up trying to keep up with MacKnitty. Dolce knows how my testosterone levels force me to make poor pacing decisions. Oh, I heard she was out "sick". Well I hope she's happy for the pain she caused me because of her little respite! I think we need to institute a doctors excuse policy when missing Saturday runs because ..... if it ain't right it ain't right! But Dolce, I am willing to forgive this transgression, as long as you understand the overarching repercussions when you decide to take a wee little break.

On a more positive note, I also met my weight goal. I am at 282.2 lbs (9lbs total) and my blood pressure is 113/60 which is the lowest it's been in 5 years. My goal for this week is 280.4 lbs and 14:30 min/mile. Another thing, I was looking in the mirror, and while my gut is still protruding farther/further (pick one) than I would like, my legs are looking real nice especially my calves. I'm just saying, I think I could be a calf model oh yea I'm talking hot!

I have also gotten up to 9 miles on my bike rides, so I have decided to incorporate a little save the planet action with my training. So starting this week I will be riding my bike to work on Tuesdays. Which is a 20 mile round trip. I know I can make it to work, but I might be calling Trina to pick me up. I'll let you know how it went on Wednesday.

Also, my wife washed my MP3 player :( opening the door for me to purchase another one :) So I might be getting into the Nike+ club within the next two weeks. And finally, I did receive authorization to purchase a body fat monitoring scale. Which will give me an opportunity to more accurately monitor my progress in improving my physical fitness. If it comes in before Sat everybody can give it a test run!

Weekly Mantra: If it isn't love, why does it hurt so bad!
Food Mantra: Eat to Live, don't Live to Eat

Slacking

I failed to get up Saturday! I have been going to bed way past 1am! I need to work on getting my sleeping pattern right. See...I'm blogging at 1:09 AM! I started last week GREAT by getting up at 6am and running my two miles, however.... come Tuesday.... I had a little cosmetic work done and.... I was out of service for the entire week! No I didn't not get a tummy tuck, lipo or .... well you know....

I am really looking forward to getting up again Monday and restart my routine. I'm also going to start dieting (low fat/low cal). I've also been experiencing leg/bone pain whether I run or not which is weired. I'll ask my doctor when I see her this week.

I loved the shirt logo and about the naked running.... that's all I've been doing... I am yet to load my iPod with good running songs. I miss you guys and look forward to next Saturday and the lake!!!!! Have a great week!!!!!

100 miles!

After 39 runs, I have logged over 100 miles on my Nike+! I have run to Phoenix so far! I am very proud of myself.

I did slack off a bit last week and throw the diet to the floor but with Jas off to Denver it's me and my diet again. I am hoping that my running will pick up again.

I am feeling bummed that I can't increase my mileage too much during the week. I'm doing about 3.5 miles a day for 3 days, so about 10 miles a week with a long run on the weekends.

After checking out my run, I noticed a considerable decrease in my pace after running the lake, I feel like when I run I want to know that I got somewhere, not just run in circles. So that was hard on me mentally.

Hopefully a more focused me next week will yield better results and a more upbeat attitude. See you later alligators!

Current pace: 11 minutes 42 seconds

8/2- NO leisure suits allowed

Forget all that leisurely talk from last week, this week we had brutal mental battles, sickness, and heat battling down on our racers. Dolce and Yuma were sidelined this week with either illness or lack of AC.

For the full marathoners, it was definitely a mind over matter game. After running twice around the lake we realize quickly that we will need another 1.73 miles back to the house. It was the longest final mile in our lives. It hit the nail on the head when Chicka said, "I felt sorry for y'all."


We are quickly approaching the point of no return for any training. Our group has parred down considerably from 11 active members to a solid base of 6 team runners who have made almost every run, heat or distance. We also have a satellite group of 3 runners who run closer to home. As the founder of the group, I am so proud, it makes my heart beam that we have come so far. We are a mere 13 miles from our goal.


After the meeting, we sat around talking about the gels and blocks that we would like to try. Earl has decided on the chocolate which tastes deceiving like cake frosting. MacKnitty stands by her safety Strawberry Clif Blocks which also sounded good to Chicka. Rascal choose the Powerbar Vanilla which reminded many of us of butterscotch.

When deciding on how to add another mile onto the course Early simply said, "One more time around the lake!" MacKnitty promptly vetoed that choice because the lake was nearly the end of her.

It was not a leisurely race for anyone but Katrina who made it seem like a piece of cake. Maybe next time she can catch some fish on her stroll around that lake.

Well, Rascal was also very leisurely because she was running circles around us, literally. She circled the lake twice and did one "just for fun". She definitely in another league, maybe one day she will win the age division in some of the local races. HOWEVER, that will not be possible if she decides to "just run without" her inhaler.

See you next week for more miles and maybe a bit of vomiting from gels? Hopefully, not. We aim to be a family friendly racing group so let's keep the vomit in our bodies shall we?

See you at the lake!

ATR
MacKnitty: 5 hours 41 minutes
Earl: 5 hours 47 minutes

School around the corner....

Hello Raptor Runners!

The t-shirts look AMAZING! I love the logo! Nice art work! As for me, yesterday was my last day as a nanny. I had a very busy, but fun month working full-time with three little girls! In fact, I have included a fun pic from the Tucson Children's Museum. We all went this past week and had a blast! We should do a field trip!!!!!

Running has been slow. I am keeping at 5-6 miles a week thus far. At the club I am doing other workouts, swimming, classes, etc. I feel great... however, Monday I worked out so much my legs were in large amounts of pain for this entire week! In order to feel better I have been speed walking with my puppy. This has helped a bit....besides the pain meds. I also have been stretching a lot more and drinking plenty of water.

It is hard for me to believe school will start next week!!!! I am ready for the running meetings and I am hoping we can meet as a group at some point during the week from school. This might also help me since the Saturday runs have been nearly impossible for me to make. I am hoping this weekend at some point I can run 7 miles but, we shall see!

YAY US!
~Hellfire