Week 1 Day 3 = 4 miles

Today was a tough 4 mile run. Tougher than usual. Ever since the half marathon, I've not felt real good during my runs. My legs feel tired, or my breathing is harder to keep under control...something always seems to throw me off about 10-15 minutes into the run. Anyway, I completed the run in a total of 41 minutes. Not too bad, but I just wish I had felt more solid during it...if for no other reason but to get my confidence back.

Tomorrow, I have Back and Biceps, which I will probably do after I get off work. I'm excited about it. It's my favorite P90X workout probably. Just lifting, lifting, and lifting. I love it. I wish I had a solid pull-ups situation in my apartment. Right now, I'm using the bands, which is rather lame. Once I start getting to where I've done each workout a few times, I will start posting my numbers to show the increases.

I'm really happy for this time of year in sports to be here finally....the NBA, NHL, and NFL are all going now. I'm not a fan of baseball, so I get irritated in the summer when everything the sports channels talk about is baseball.

Well, that's about it for now. Time to go listen to some music and relax until I head to bed. Have a good one. Thanks for checking in!

Week 1 Day 2 -- Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

Still going strong and sore! These strength training workouts are incredibly hard when you haven't done them in forever. All went well, but wow. Sore, sore, sore. I have 4 miles to run tomorrow. Let's hope it goes well!

Week 1 Day 1 = Plyometrics

Okay, so I have officially started my workout regimen and it's going to be a tough transition if it goes anything like this morning did! Plyometrics is a tough, tough workout and I haven't done it in weeks. It thoroughly kicked my ass. Even when I am capable of running a half marathon, Plyo still kills me. It's a different type of cardio, I know...but still. lol

Tomorrow will be Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. That is a difficult one as well, so I am looking forward to tackling it the best I can. You can keep track of my weight loss on the sidebar where I have installed a tracker. I will update it every weekend. My goal weight is 190, and I want to be there by May 1st. Help me get there?

Thanks for checking in!

Planned Races

I've kind of worked out a list of runs I would like to do in 2010. These aren't set in stone, but I would like to do as many as humanly possible. Not to mention, on top of all the runs, I want to complete my first sprint triathlon by the end of 2010 as well (first one in a series until I reach Ironman capabilities).

So here the ones I will most likely do:


April 24, 2010: Kentucky Derby Festival miniMarathon (Louisville, KY)

May 1, 2010: Illinois Marathon (Champaign, IL)

August 1, 2010: The Chicago Distance Classic (Chicago, IL)
OR
September 12, 2010: The Chicago Half Marathon (Chicago, IL)

October 2010: Evansville Half Marathon (Evansville, IN)

December 2010: St. Jude's Children's Memphis Half Marathon (Memphis, TN)


So, the ones that may get deleted from the list at some point are the Memphis one (because of distance) and the second Chicago one. But I am not sure yet. Right now, my focus is the marathon in May 2010, getting stronger as I go, and losing a good deal of weight.

Thanks for checking in!

My Workout Regimen

I will post this on the sidebar eventually.

New Design Coming

Okay, so I mentioned a new design to the blog, and I am currently working on that now. I have commenced training for the Illinois Marathon, which is awesome. I will be posting my workout regimen on here for you to see. Give me time to get it all together, but it is coming...I promise.

I also plan to post more than just workout updates to keep it more interesting for you guys. When it is simply workout updates, I feel like it is redundant. I will try to keep it fitness-related, but I might sway from the topic once in a while, just for fun. Don't worry if I do sway from fitness topics once in a while....fitness will still remain the main objective of this blog.

Thanks for checking in, and hanging with me during my time away from documenting my journey. I'm back. And I am glad to be back to following you guys as well, and even meeting other fitness crazies like us.

Half Marathon Results

So, we ran the half marathon in Evansville, Indiana in 2:24:24! Not a bad time. Right at 11 minutes a mile. I was happy for it being the first time and all.

We've decided that we will be training for a full marathon, which will take place on May 1, 2010 here in Champaign, Illinois. I also plan on running 2-3 half marathons in 2010, along with a sprint triathlon. This blog will receive a makeover, become updated much more often to chronicle my experience, and will become the epicenter of my journey...

...in the end, I hope to be able to call myself an Ironman by the time I am 31 years old. I hope you'll join me for the ride!

Thanks for checking in.

1st Half Marathon = 2.5 Weeks

Wow, it's hard to believe it is that close! It's been a lot of hard work and sacrifice. I wish I could've been more diligent about recording my successes as time has passed. I ran 10 miles a week and a half ago. 10 miles! I had a back injury since then, so I've been taking it easy and healing. I am planning on running 5 miles tomorrow, and then Friday I want to try 11 miles. Perhaps even 12. I'd like to get as close to 13.1 as I can before the actual race day.

So anyway, that's all for right now. I will be shooting for an update every other day. I will let you know tomorrow how the run goes!

Thanks for checking in!

Triathlete in Training?

Okay, so this has been a summer of transition and commitment, which has been part of the reason that I have not been updating the blog so much lately. I have been keeping up with my half-marathon training to a tee. My latest run was 8 miles in 83 minutes, so all is well on that front. But I feel like my success will be even more deep if I begin working out my thoughts and getting the ultra-helpful feedback, from all of you who read this, that I know I need.

With the Evansville Half Marathon swiftly approaching, I am excited but already thinking about what I will do after it. October 11th is the date, so I will need a plan of action once the run is over. I know I plan to run the Illinois Half Marathon here in Champaign. That is May 1st, 2010. There may be one or two 5Ks or 10Ks in between October and May, but those are my ultimate goals. So, my other goal during 2010 will be to complete a sprint triathlon. Typically, a sprint triathlon consists of a 750m swim (0.47 miles), 20K by bike (12.4 miles), and a 5K by foot (3.1 miles)...all in a row.

The idea came from a phone conversation I had with a long-time friend of mine, who was the one who inspired me to attempt a half-marathon in the first place. After researching triathlons, we found the specific different levels of difficulty that you can attempt. We decided that we would start with a sprint triathlon and keep on increasing up the ladder of difficulty levels, hopefully reaching an Ironman by the end of it all.

My ultimate goal is to complete an Ironman by the time I am 35. I am 27 now. That gives me 8 years. I think it is doable. An Ironman is a seemingly-impossible feat, where you have to swim 2.4 miles, then bike 112 miles, then run a full marathon...all in a row. At the present moment, it seems virtually insane and impossible to accomplish. But, so did a half marathon not even a year ago.

So, I plan to use this blog over the course of time to record my accomplishments, document my training experiences, and continue pushing myself to the breaking point of my own fitness levels. I hope you will come along for the ride.

At present time, I am simply training for the half-marathons, which is no small feat of its own. I have yet to complete a half-marathon........baby steps.

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Today's Run

4 Miles at 10PM