The Final Week

Well, it's almost here. The Omaha Marathon is this Sunday. Nerves haven't kicked in yet. Still plenty of time for that. I haven't posted in the last 2 months and quite a bit has happened in the last 2 or 3 weeks alone.

On Labor Day, I woke up from a short nap with severe chest pain. It also included shortness of breath and I could barely get any words out. I went to the local emergency room to try and figure out what was going on and was sent on to see a cardiologist and observed overnight to make sure everything was ok. Long story short, everything is great with my heart. The day before this occurred I completed the longest run of the training, a 20 mile run. Afterwards, I had a bunch of buffalo wings and other fried foods in celebration of a friend's birthday and I'm fairly certain that contributed to my chest pain. My doctor thinks it could be GERD or what's called a nutcracker esophagus. It could also be a gallbladder problem but it can wait until after I'm done with the marathon before figuring that out for sure.

This past Saturday, I ran the 6th Annual Raider Run. I ran the 10k this year. It was this very race 2 years ago when I ran my very first race ever, a 5k. Before, during and after the race, I thought a lot about where I've been and what I've done in the last 2 years. And how I have a lot of people to thank - for their help and for their inspiration. So I'm just going to start writing and putting words to the text box as they come to me.

First, I want to thank Ben Davis. Without his video, his story, his blog, I wouldn't have had that final push to finally do something about my life and get this ball rolling. Next I want to thank my friend, Chris King. He ran my first 5k with me 2 years ago. When I couldn't run or needed a break, he walked with me. When I ran, he stayed at my side, encouraging me the entire way. Chris is also running the marathon with me on Sunday. I want to thank the various people who have run with me since I started running regularly and during my marathon training. Thank you to Callie and Kara (Kara is running her first marathon in Omaha as well) for our early morning or evening runs during the week or on weekends earlier this year. And thank you to Jina Kugler. Jina was a teacher of mine in high school "a few" years ago and we are friends on Facebook. She had been following my status updates and emailed me one day that if I wanted company on my long runs during my marathon training to let her know. I was hesitant at first because I knew she ran a faster pace than I but she pushed me while I would get her to run longer than she had planned so we both benefited. Another thanks goes to Meghan Kearn. She's a high school classmate of mine who has been running for a while now. She's training for her first official half marathon in October but she ran the TK Invitational with me a week ago on Sunday and she did great. And she's going to do even better next month. We ran the Raider Run 10k together and she helped me run much faster than I intended to and I ended up with my fastest 10k time to date.

I have more people to thank but I want to save that for an after marathon posting.

8 weeks down, 10 to go

Toured downtown Omaha; Carter Lake, Iowa; the riverfront; the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge; River City, Iowa; TD Ameritrade Park; the CenturyLink Center and several places in between during the 13.1 miles I ran Saturday morning.
Although I stopped a few times to figure out where to go next and to get something to drink in order to stay hydrated, I did run the entire distance although it was a slower pace. Hopefully in the coming weeks I can build up some speed on the longer runs.
My wife informed me today that the marathon will be about 2 years since I decided to go on this journey.
I just checked and it will be exactly 2 years. The Omaha Marathon is on Sunday, September 23rd, 2012. On Thursday, September 23rd, 2010, I posted my first entry on this site.
How awesome is that!

It's good to be back

That's not entirely true. Yesterday was my first day of running since injuring my right hamstring at the Rib Run 2 on June 2nd. And while my hamstring was appreciative of the time off, the rest of me wasn't. I ran an easy 3 miles yesterday morning and that wasn't too bad. I ran 11+ minute miles. I stretched my hamstring before running, again at miles 1 and 2 and then afterwards. Today was 5 miles but I ran in the evening which was nice and hot, first day of summer and all. I stopped to stretch a few times but I ran the entire distance. I was hurting though, everything except my hamstring anyway. I'm supposed to run 10 miles on Saturday and I really don't know if that's going to happen. I'll definitely go running in the morning when it won't be as hot. I also run better and have more energy. So fingers crossed all goes well.

In a funk

So I've been in a bit of a funk this week. I pulled my hamstring on Saturday during a 10k race. It happened just after mile 3. I walked the rest of the race. I finished in 75:27.

Since then I've been icing, stretching and just about everything else other than running to get me back to doing just that. I'm going to attempt to run again on Saturday and take it very easy and see how it goes. I also bought a compression sleeve for my thigh to use while running.

I blame myself for the hamstring pull. I was running too fast, about 8:15 or so per mile for the first 3. I have another race on 6/16 and I plan on taking it easy. It's going to be a bit of struggle to get back to where I was but if this had to happen, better that it happens early on rather than a few weeks prior to my marathon.

Skipped today's run

So I didn't go for a run today because of my hamstring being sore. Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day and Saturday's run (regardless of the race) is more important to the marathon training overall. The long runs are more important according to Hal Higdon's training program.

I've been icing my hamstring off and on this evening so I'm hoping the combination of that and resting today and tomorrow will be enough time to run on Saturday.

Also, I just registered for a Double Half Marathon outside Lincoln, Nebraska this October. Not sure what I just got myself into.

What to do, what to do

I'm set to run in the morning. Yesterday and today's runs went really well but today I could feel some soreness or tightness in my right hamstring. I stopped just a 1/4 mile of the way into this morning's run to stretch it out and then started back up and finished strong and about a second faster than yesterday.

I've put a hot pad and ice pack on it as well as stretch it out. I'm really worried about it because I've had problems with my hamstring in the past. I pulled my hamstring at the beginning of football season my senior year of high school and the spring of my freshman year at Garden City Community College during spring football workouts.

Pulled hamstrings are not fun to deal with. I really want to finish strong with this week's workouts and I really want to do well at this weekend's 10k race in Marysville.

What to do, what to do.

Do Life Kansas City

On Saturday I ran a fast 6 miles thanks to a new running partner. I told her to plan on running 10:15 per mile because I thought that's what I'd be able to handle but we ended up running 9:05 instead. I was gutted and tired but the sense of accomplishment far outweighed that. This week's training is the same except for an extra mile on Saturday.

Today I had the privilege of seeing Ben Davis and his dad again. This time was the 2nd stop of the 1st leg of the Do Life Tour 2012. We met at Loose Park in KCMO, an absolutely gorgeous area to walk, run or just be around. Although it was a cross training day for my marathon training I went ahead and ran the 5k, much faster than I planned on running.

What's great about the Do Life Tour is meeting other people who are starting their journey, are somewhere along the way or have finished the first part (losing weight for most) of their journey. I met a very cool guy who drove down from Omaha who just found out about Ben's story just 2 weeks ago. And one of the funny things is that he works for the company where the first Do Life Tour stopped in Omaha last July. He's lost 150 pounds. And it sounds like he might sign up for the Omaha Marathon too. He is signed up for the Color Run in July so I'm looking to meeting up with him again. Here's his site.

So it was a really good weekend and a successful week of training. And to cap it off with seeing Ben and Pa again made it even better.

Marathon training has begun

Mondays are rest days so today was the first mileage towards training for the the Omaha Marathon. I ran 3 miles at a pace of just over 9 minutes per mile. Felt good, pushed myself.

I only ran one day last week thinking that I'd take a little break before the real training begins and I hope that doesn't come back to haunt me. I don't think it will too much as I'd run a decent amount in the weeks prior or had at least worked up to a decent amount. We shall see.

I'm also doing better on the nutrition side. My weight has crept up over the last few months and I fell back into some bad habits. I hope to share and address some of those things in future posts. I know that if I've gone through them then there's a chance others have struggled with that also.

Rest of the week consists of 3 miles tomorrow and Thursday, 6 miles on Saturday and cross training on Sunday. Cross training will mostly consist of walking until the swimming pool opens for the summer and until I get a new bike.

I'll probably walk and run because Sunday morning I'll be in Kansas City to see Ben Davis again and participate in the Do Life 5k Tour 2012. It's not a race and it's for anyone and everyone. If you want to run it, great. If you want to walk it, awesome. Just come out and join the fun. Ben is a great guy and even though he's lost a bunch of weight and run a bunch of races, he has struggles like the rest of us and isn't afraid to admit it and help out others who need it.

Major News...

So it's obviously been months since my last posting but my blog is still getting a good number of visits.

I've gained more weight since December but after having what I think was iliotibial band syndrome, I'm back to running 3 to 4 days per week.

And because I'm ready for another challenge or maybe because I'm crazy, I'm officially registered for my very first marathon. It's Sunday, September 23rd in Omaha, Nebraska. I'll be following Hal Higdon's Novice 1 Marathon training and it officially starts next Tuesday, May 22nd.

Stay tuned to the blog as I'll be posting about my training. The next 18 weeks should be pretty interesting.

BOTW - Day 5

Forget yesterday but here's today.

Back on the wagon - Day 3

Didn't do myself any favors yesterday.

Back on the wagon - Day 2

Obviously weight fluctuates a bit so it'll be interesting to see where I'm at tomorrow.

Back on the wagon - Day 1

Not happy with myself. I've put 20 pounds back on since reaching my lowest weight. I've been eating more like the old me and it shows. I need to get back on track. I did go for a run finally on Saturday with some group runners in Lincoln. Super nice people and very welcoming. Ran over 6 miles. Pretty good for my first run since my half marathon on October 2nd.

Airline seats aren't that bad

I am on a flight to Minneapolis as I type this thanks to in-flight wifi. I was actually looking forward to sitting in my seat to see how much more room I had compared to 100 pounds ago. It's reasonably comfortable and I don't feel like I'm invading the space of the stranger in the seat next to me.

Other news...

I ran my half marathon 2 weeks ago today and did really well. Finished it in 2:23:08. I haven't run since then but I plan on it this week, i.e., probably next. A couple of my toenails have turned purple and I cut one of the big ones off last Sunday. That was really, really stupid and I recommend letting those types of things occur on their own. Much less pain that way.

I haven't been logging into MFP as much to see if I can manage on my own. I've done alright. My weight is still around 230 last I checked. Another big negative is that I've been having Mocha Frappes from McD's a few times a week. That has got to stop. It's reminding me of sneaking chocolate ice cream cones when I was 335 pounds. Those sugary drinks don't taste anywhere near as good as I feel after losing all of that weight.

Well the flight is coming close to its descent so I'll end it here.

1 year ago today

1 year ago today I started this blog and made the decision to do something about my weight and lifestyle.

Since then I've lost over 100 pounds and run 8 different races. A few days before starting the blog I ran my very first 5k. I finished with a time of 40:33 and had to walk some of it. This past Saturday, I ran that same race on the same route and finished the strongest I ever had before with a time of 23:58. It was such an amazing feeling to really feel what a difference a year has made.

Raider Run tomorrow

I'm pretty pumped about my 5k race tomorrow. It was one year ago that I ran my first 5k ever at last year's Raider Run. My time then was 40:33. I hadn't quite started my journey yet although I had been running and was about 6 weeks or into the 9 week Couch to 5k workout program. I'm planning on finishing at least 15 minutes faster.

 I should be in bed but I'm contemplating about what music I want to listen to during the race. I'm pretty sure it's going to be the Inception soundtrack.

 I'll have another post after I've run it. Wish me luck.

Losing "weight"

I've been having an internal struggle with something for quite a while about something pretty important to me. But before I say what that is, I'm going to talk about why I am.

For several years now, I've been wanting to do the BAK. And now that I've lost all the weight (and so far kept it off), it's something that I know I can do and really want to do. Well, you can't do the BAK without a bicycle. I have a bicycle but not exactly one for riding the sometimes flat, often times hilly highways of Kansas. I like my bike but it's classified as a hybrid and is great for commuting and riding around town. The farthest I've ridden it is 27 miles. My dream bike is the Surly Long Haul Trucker. It's made for touring and riding long distances. The bike is not cheap so I have to save up for it and that includes selling a bunch of stuff.

And that brings me to the struggle I've been having for a while. I've decided to sell my comic books. I love reading comics. I have since I was 9 years old when the 1989 Batman movie hit theaters and I've been collecting them off and on ever since. None of them have huge monetary value, just sentimental more than anything. I'm going to sell some next weekend at the city-wide garage sale. I'm going to try and get rid of a bunch of stuff and lose some "weight."

Just because I'm going to sell my comics doesn't mean I'm giving them up. I still buy trade paperbacks or multiple issues bound in one volume to get my comic book fix. I'm sure I'll bring some along when I do the BAK to help pass the time in the evenings.

It's going to be much harder mentally and emotionally to lose this "weight" than it was the 110 pounds I lost.

Training for a half marathon

So I started training for a half marathon last week. A friend has convinced me to run in his yearly group run that's right at 13.1 miles. Since that is considerably farther than a 5k or 10k, I can't just show up the day of and run like I have my last 2 or 3 races. And besides, the regular running is good for me.
I started last week and ran a 5k on 3 different days. This week so far I've run 3.5 miles on Monday and early this morning. I plan on running 4 miles this Saturday. My plan is to run 3 or 4 miles for 2 days and then increase my longer run on the 3rd day. So this week is 4 miles. Next week will be 5, the week after 6 and so forth. The half marathon is on October 2nd.
I hope to be up to 9 or 10 miles and the thought is what's another 3 or 4 miles. We'll see how that works out.
Also of note, on September 17th is the Raider Run. It was last year's Raider Run that was my first race ever. I'm excited to do that one again and see how different it will be this time. I'll be able to run the whole race this time around as well as improve my time by at least 10 minutes.
I'm still maintaining my weight. I'm in that 225 to 230 pound range.
I keep thinking that I'm in over my head on this half marathon deal but then I remember a few things. Up until last year, I never thought I'd run a 5k. Up until a few weeks ago, I never thought I'd run a 10k. So why can't I run a half marathon. I'm the only person standing in the way.

My first 10k in the books

I did it. I completed my first 10k on Saturday and had a great time doing it. That's not to say it wasn't tough or that I didn't hurt along way or afterwards because I definitely did but I managed to run the majority of it and finished strong at the end. I have to also say that the 3rd Annual Brew 2 Shoe 10k was a well run event. 418 people finished the 10k race whereas they had over 200 last year.
As far as my placing goes, I finished with a time of 1:10:30.2 and averaged just under 11:21 per mile. I finished 361st out of 418 finishers and 34th out of 36 in my age group. I ran the first 2 miles and walked for a bit after that water stop. Water stops were at miles 2 through 5. I walked after each water stop and probably walked for the longest length of time between miles 4 and 5.
I really surprised myself with how well I did. Especially since I just decided I was going to participate the week before last and didn't train one bit for it. I don't think that's something to really brag about but it's just a statement of fact.
The after race festivities were awesome. The pizza and beer really hit the spot but I made sure I drank plenty of water before, during and after the pizza and beer as well as eat a couple of bananas after the race. I'm already looking forward to next year's race. The folks at Manhattan Running Co. really know how to put on a race, especially with well over 400 people participating and all of the other sponsors, local businesses and volunteers (especially those in uniform - THANK YOU!) helping out make it an event Manhattan can be extremely proud of year after year.
Congratulations to Manhattan Running Co. and Tallgrass Brewing Co. on 3+ years in business. We all make choices with the dollars that we spend and both of these businesses really put forth the extra effort to show why it matters to shop local.

My race playlist:
Barbastella - Batman Begins soundtrack
The Birth and Death of the Day - Explosions in the Sky
Kids - MGMT
Shake It - Metro Station
I Like It - Enrique Iglesias
Hey Little World - The Hives
A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
Born This Way - Lady Gaga
List of Demands - Saul Williams
Last Known Surroundings - Explosions in the Sky
Human Qualities - Explosions in the Sky
Glosoli - Sigur Ros
Hoppipolla - Sigur Ros
Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor) - John Murphy

My first 10k this weekend

So I've decided to participate in my first 10k this weekend. I say participate because I don't plan on running the whole thing. I've registered for the 3rd Annual Brew 2 Shoe 10k in Manhattan. It's a point to point race starting at Tallgrass Brewing Company and finishing at Manhattan Running Company. There will be Tallgrass beer and pizza from AJ's NY Pizzeria at the finish. I'm looking forward to that even if the race starts at 7:30 am. It should be around 9 am by the time I am done.
Luckily it shouldn't be as hot on Saturday as it has been over the last couple of weeks. It's been sad seeing my bike in the garage and not seeing any daylight. I've been making plenty of excuses not to ride or not waking up early enough before the kids are up for the day.
So as a way to make up for all of that I'm doing my first 10k. Not sure what logic there is in that, probably not a whole lot.
I'm still keeping my weight between 225 and 230. I know that if I overdo it a day or two to not get overly upset with myself but to just get back to where I was and I'm just fine.
Something else I've noticed is that I still see what I think is the old me in the mirror. I still have a spare tire but I just have to look at the picture of when I started this journey and all of the ones before to remind me that I've come a really long way in what will be one whole year next month.
So I hope to live to tell about my first 10k. If you're in the Manhattan area on Saturday morning after 7:30 along Highway 24 west of Rambler's, McCall Rd and Anderson, be sure to honk and make sure I'm ok.