Challenging But Attainable....

....although not without work. I ran 10 miles yesterday. And it wasn't easy. I took two, two minute walking breaks during the run. But I did it, and I took an ice bath afterwards. By ice bath I mean I sat in the ocean water off east end beach (pictured) for 5 minutes or so. After the initial shock it felt great.

My goal (challenging but attaninable) is to re-gain fitness. To do so, I need to lose about 20 pounds before I can even talk about fitness. So, I ran-walk-ran home today. It went pretty well. I'll run-walk-run in tomorrow and take it from there.

Let's call this: Operation 220 (100kg).

Moving Forward

I had a decent track session on Wednesday, continue to experience no significant hamstring pain, and the low back issues continue to improve. I'm off for a 10 mile run this morning. We'll see how it goes.

I'm also going to experiment with some conservative run-walk-run commutes in the coming weeks. My weight seems to be my major barrier to fitness at this point, ramping up my calorie burn would help address the issue.

On the track, the workout was 4 X 1K. I averaged 4:33 per K, and recovered for 3:00 between work intervals. This coming Wednesday, we'll run 6 X 800m.

More on BtB

The Beach to Beacon is our showcase event and it is impeccably organized, extremely well hosted by the Cape Elizabethians--for whom it must be a bit of a pain--and it has become a great tradition. I'll plan to run it every year. It's the one race where I'll suffer through the process of registering way, way in advance.

My splits were pretty consistent with years past, just slower. By that I mean I went out a bit too fast, ran a slow second mile, then recovered a bit until the 5th mile:

7:57
8:26
7:59
8:09
8:06
8:44
1:34

This pattern is consistent with prior years, and is also consistent with the hill pattern of the course, although I ran the uphill bit at the end of mile 3 better than expected.

I ran again Sunday, 40 minutes, give-or-take, just missing a ferocious thunder storm. I have no lingering effects from the weekend running.

Happy with a PW

I ran the Beach to Beacon race today and despite my worst ever time (50:55) I was pleased with my effort. The result was an honest reflection of my fitness level. The race is inspirational for me this year, with a simple message: get in shape, asshole! I plan to heed that message and hope to have a good 5K race before the end of the year. I'm not sure what defines good at this point. Anything under 22 minutes, I guess. But my back didn't really bother me during the race, nor did my legs, particularly. It was hard work and I'm pleased to have gotten through it.

I'll get right back to my routine with a recovery run tomorrow, and a hrad workout Wednesday. I'll continue that pattern (running Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday) and mix in my gym workouts the rest of the week. The stretching and core work makes a difference, and the rowing machine boosts my aerobic fitness.

Race Week

Kind of. I'm feeling pretty good about hitting my modest Beach to Beacon goal (sub 53). My back is a bit better, and I ran both days on the weekend. I've also been very consistent with my gym workouts, and my twice per day hamstring and hip stretching. Unfortunately, I've also been consistent with my intake, so my weight is unchanged.

I enjoyed watching the Urban EPIC Triathlon over the weekend. Triathletes look great and are super fit (especially those at the front of the pack). They have upper body definition that you don't typically see in runners. And they seemed to be having fun. That is, until I positioned myself at the top of Walnut Street and watched them tackle a brutal hill on the tail end of their bike leg. I was a bit puzzled though: the beer garden (good beer, too) at the finish was completely empty. These folks had just worked really hard for 3 hours or so, why weren't they drinking beer? With my foolish "no beer before 5 PM rule", I didn't drink either. The poor bartenders looked so lonely. There was a great band playing, too, and it was largely ignored. The athletes seemed to eating gu and gel and looking at the latest bike parts. There are aspects of the sport I just don't get. My friend John was having a good race until he flatted halfway through the bike leg. All in all, it seemed like a wonderful event, though. The webpage is here.

Stages of Loss

I'm a little reluctant to use this title, because people lose loved ones, jobs, freedom, and other big stuff. I lost my fitness. I just kind of fumbled it away, it was a result of my own (mis)doing. Nonetheless, I've been through the stages of loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and, now, acceptance.

Here's where I am: 10 days ago I ran a 5K race as hard as I could. It took 24:46. I'm in the worst physical shape of my adult life and, at 53, if I don't address it, a steady downhill seems plausible. I weigh 238 pounds. My back hurts, almost constantly. For the third year in a row, I've struggled with hamstring trouble.

But, given where I am physically, I just completed a decent workout week. I rowed 20K, in 5K increments. On Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, I followed those rows with core strengthening and stretching exercises that helped my back feel better and helped my regain some psychic balance. I walk every day. I'm fat, but no longer getting fatter. On Wednesday, I ran, 800s on the track. On Saturday, I ran again, 5.5 miles. I ran again this morning, 3.5 miles.

I have a modest Beach to Beacon goal. I want to run faster than my age. It's a challenging but attainable goal. It'll take work, but I'm ready to work again. I've accepted my current status. I still hope for progress, though, and I'll report in along the way.

A Day of Reckoning

Today is my birthday. It's a minor one--not a milestone. I'm still closer to fifty than to sixty. I am in the worst shape of my adult life. My weight is near an all time high (240 lbs.) and I can't run far or fast (even by my meager standards). I paddle rather than row. It is time to make changes!

I've been whining about back and hamstring issues. Then I saw this poor bastard's injury:

Catcher Chris Snyder left Monday night's game after getting hit by a foul tip in the groin area. About an hour before Tuesday's game the Diamondbacks put him on the 15-day disabled list with a left testicular fracture.

Snyder will undergo surgery on Wednesday with Melvin hoping his return is relatively soon.

"Hopefully looking at a 15-day period, where he is back after the All-Star break," Melvin said after the D-Backs 8-6 loss to the Brewers on Tuesday night.

That's right, a broken ball. You can watch it-- here.

Anyway, I'm going to break my balls to get back in shape.