December 28, 2012

Had a great run today. It wasn't long, just something short and simple to get the legs going. The run was just over 2 miles. The run started out with just a slight incline that went over a mile, down a hill for about 300 yards then the second mile had some rolling hills. I was glad to see that my average mile time came down about 12 seconds. I always like to see the improvement, as it helps keep me motivated.

The conditions were really great for the run. It was a little cloudy, but the sun was out, still a little on the chilly side, but overall it was a great day for a run. I went by myself as I couldn't get a hold of my brother to go with me. I had done really well at keeping myself motivated to run the whole way, but ended up having to walk twice due to my heart rate getting too high (trying to keep my heart rate below 173 bpm).

I am definitely feeling like I am getting in better shape and can't wait to keep moving along in the training for the Half Ironman in St. George this May.

December 26, 2012

Had a great workout with my Dad the day after Christmas. We went out to Silverdale and walked a trail that was pretty flat, but tried to keep up a decent pace. The conditions were kind of nasty, as it was really chilly that day and it was raining off and on. I ended up getting sick that night and had some chills and a fever. It wasn't a very pleasant feeling, but thank goodness for hot showers and fireplaces that kept me warm and got me feeling better pretty quick.

We walked for just over 2 miles and I tried to keep the pace up, but had to slow down every now and again for my Dad. It was good to be able to visit with him along the way and have some good conversations though. I would say that it ended up being a nice recovery workout to my run from a couple of days before.

If you are ever up and around the Kitsap County area and want a good place to go out for a walk, try the Clear Creek Trail just North of the Kitsap Mall area.

December 24, 2012

Christmas Eve was the first workout here in Washington. It sure is nice being at sea level, compared to being at over 4,000 feet in elevation when running. The conditions were fair, a little chilly and it drizzled a little, nothing new for Bremerton. My training called for a 3 mile time trial run, as fast as I could. I had spent the previous day trying to map out a course that was going to be fairly simple to run, as Bremerton has a lot of hills. It was my brother Mike that had recommended the course that I ended up running. Mike even came with me on the run, which helped me a ton, as he really pushed me even though he probably didn't know it. 

The course took us along Petersville Rd, up Riddell, along Perry Ave., up Sheridan to Snider Ave. I calculated the course to be a 5k, so that I could get an idea of how long it would take me to run it, and see if I could improve upon my last 5k. This course still had some decent hills, but it felt good all the same. I had to walk a few times, as my heart rate really climbed on some of the hills and my legs got really heavy for a stretch as well. I was really happy to see after we finished that I had shaved off over 5 minutes from my last 5k run. I still need to work on my pace, as the average pace was a 12:15 minute mile and my goal for the Half Ironman is 10:00 minute miles.

Again, I have to thank my brother Mike, as I know that there were times along the run that I would have started walking, but I wanted to try to keep up with him. It was such an easy run for him, as he is such a natural runner compared to me, so it was very nice to have a running partner.

Great Ladder Workout on Treadmill

If you are like me, you get tired of just running on the treadmill and want something to do to change things up. My wife told me about a ladder workout to do on the treadmill that I am addicted to now, so I want to share it with those that are looking for something new to do on the treadmill.

There are all kinds of "Ladder" drills that you will find out there. I remember running these drills during both cross country and track during high school. The days that I would be able to do the same workout that Coach Becker would have us do, are way out of my ability right now. I have done a couple different variations of the drill, and you will probably change it up to fit what your abilities are as well. The key to running these drills is to run/walk at a consistent pace both up and down the ladder. The workout takes just under 35 minutes, and I average about 400 calories burned. I change mine up, where I add an incline from 1% incline to a 2% incline. As you start to get stronger at it, bump up the speed for both the walk and run.

Good luck, come back and let me know how it went for you!

Don't Go Over the Physical Cliff with Holiday Eating

With all the talk of the fiscal cliff that our country seems to be moving towards, it makes me think of years past when I would go over the physical cliff with the holiday foods and treats.

My family is really big on tradition, from holiday activities to holiday foods. That is one of the things that I love the most about spending the holidays with my family. Unfortunately, in the past for me, it has lead to over-eating and weight gain. The holidays don't need to lead to either of these choices. Instead we just need to focus on a healthy balance of activity, food and fun. With all of the success that I have been experiencing, I have a few things that I am going to work on to help me through the holiday eating traditions.

1. Plan time for some physical activity. I am planning to add regular exercise into my daily routine, which will help relieve some of stress, and hopefully curb the gaining of weight. Some of my activities that I am planning are; basketball, running/walking and some swimming (since I am starting to train for a triathlon).
2. Don't skip any meals. I find that when I miss a meal, I tend to overeat during dinner. If you find that you experience the same thing, eat a light snack 30-45 minutes before your meal or before leaving to a party. A light snack doesn't mean something sweet, try some raw veggies or some fruit.
3. If you overeat at one meal, try going light on the next. It takes 500 calories per day above your normal caloric intake for a day to gain one pound.
4. Don't eat until your stuffed. Eat until you are satisfied. Savor your food/treats, but in smaller portions. One thing that has helped me by being on the WIO diet, is by eating smaller portions, I tend to eat a little slower, and savor the taste more. I can't believe how the food seems to taste even better now that I can't overindulge when eating meals, and knowing what is on my plate, is it making me want it to last.
5. Be realistic. Don't try to lose weight during the holidays, instead try to maintain your weight. For me, I lost weight over Thanksgiving, and I plan to for Christmas as well. If you follow the steps listed here, it will help you maintain where you are right now.

Good luck with the holiday eating, and come back and let me know what worked and what didn't for you!

December 6, 2012

Today was a group workout day at Elevate. I was supposed to do the VO2 Max test to figure out what my heart rate zones should be while I work out, but it didn't happen. That was ok though, as it was good to workout with the rest of the group and get a good hard workout in.

I think that Rich really likes to work on the legs, because for the second time this week, we were working the legs a ton.We do a lot of core work as well, which is desperately needed, as I usually cramp up half way through the core workout. Better than when I first started though, nearly a month ago I would last about 20 seconds and then cramp up so bad that I could hardly breathe.

Looks like the VO2 test will be on Tuesday afternoon during lunch. Not sure that it is going to be the way that I want to spend my lunch break, but it will be worth it in the end. If you don't know what the VO2 Max test is, it is a test that measures the aerobic power in a person. They basically hook you up to an oxygen and carbon dioxide analyzer, and you perform an exercise such as running on the treadmill, cycling, etc...While you are doing the exercise, you go from a moderate to a maximum intensity. The analyzers measures the oxygen consumption, and gives you the measurement of maximum heart rate by recording the heart rate during the test. There is a really great article that was written by a guy named Pete Williams back in 2009. To read the article Click here.

December 5, 2012

I had a great workout today! Originally, I was planning to take it as an off day, as tomorrow I am doing a VO2 Max test. But, I got a Garmin Forerunner 610 GPS and heart rate monitor. It also came with a foot pod that tracks my cadence if I am running on a treadmill or running indoors and it can't connect to the satellites. So, because I got this new toy, I needed to go and try it out.

Since the watch would tell me elevation, as well as time, heart rate, cadence and other data, I didn't want to run inside today. I talked with April about some of the places that she goes for walks with Ellie and checked her app Map My Walk to see the distances, etc... I found a course that she walks that was about 2 miles and decided that was the one for tonight. I felt great! For the first time running outside in probably a couple of years, I admit I was shocked about how I did. Since most of the beginning is down hill, I decided that I was going to try to run the first mile without stopping. I went nearly 1.25 miles before I got stopped at a stop light. I was happy that I hit the stop light as I was pretty tired. My legs were starting to get kind of heavy and I knew that the hills were coming up. When I finally got to the hills, I knew I wasn't going to be able to run the whole thing, so I decided to count out my steps and go 40 steps running, the 40 steps walking. This was great, as it kept my mind off of me being tired, as I had to count the steps out. Right at the end of the run, as I was about to turn the corner to run onto my street, a dog jumped out at me! Freaked the heck out of me and I am sure that my heart rate graph will show the spike in my elevated heart rate as it was racing!

In the end, I was really happy with my run tonight. Minus the warm-up walk around the block, it only took me 21:44 minutes to do the two miles. That is almost a 10 minute mile, which is my goal pace to run a half marathon in. The data that the watch and accessories captured were awesome to look at (check out the image below for a sample), and will be a great help to me in my training. Now I just need to save up my money to buy the accessory for the bike...