FatManRunning - Couch to 5k (and beyond!)

The cycle

2011-05-11T11:21:00.000-05:00

Im not doing so well on either the exercise or diet department. I "know" what I should do but somehow what I do "do" isnt the right thing.

So I feel like crap because Im not eating right, exercising and sleeping enough -- then I eat some more to combat that feel like crap feeling. See -- the cycle is endless. Im hoping to get off this ride very soon. The ups and downs of the weight battle are very discouraging.

Ive very tired of regaining the same 2 or 3 lbs every week. I know its typical for weight to flucuate within 5 lbs -- its just that 5 lb radius is not where i want it to be. Its on the high end and I just dont feel very good, when I am there. I am trying to remember this is a marathon not a sprint but I want to be there already. i want to be done trying to figure this out. And I want to eat whatever I want and not gain weight --- ha! There I said it, thats really the crux of the problem. I want to eat and eat and eat and not have to do the work to keep the weight off.

So what do I do ? I dont find cutting things out completely to be helpful but I do know what types of snacks and foods are. So Im going to start by going to the grocery store and remedying that.

2nd -- Im in the process of reevaluating my exercise time. I find more often than not, if I wait til after supper, the pull of sitting and relaxing is stronger. I dont very often manage to get out and exercise at that time of the night. It was working well for me at least to go after school. The problem is it doesnt work so well for the rest of my family -- sigh. Im trying to gather up the motivation to get up early and do it then. It really is a great start to the day, I find myself more productive that way. And I cant then say, oh im going to eat this cause im exercising later and then not exercise. The calorie burn is already done. See above issues though with not enough sleep. Its just really hard to convince myself that 5 am is a good wake up time. Let alone that -- convincing myself to go out and run or bike is even harder. As summer approaches, i wont want to work out in the heat of the day anyway, its probably a good move at this point.

3rd -- Im going to search for some sort of running plan. I do better if I have a plan Im following. Whether its a goal to improve my speed, distance or whatever, I need a prescribed plan to keep me motivated. Making my own goals and plans hasnt worked well this year. I really need to step up the running.

4th -- Im going to acknowledge that Im more than a number on the scale. Its so easy to get caught up in what it says that I forget to remember God made me beautiful just as I am. Im remembering to be proud for what i have accomplished. I went from hating running and exercising to doing so on a regular basis. Thats huge folks! I lost over 30 lbs and that my friends is no small feat.

So what if the last 10 lbs are plagueing me -- I am beautiful! Im really hoping I can find the balance again for eating and exercsing. :) Megamom

Logging the miles

2011-03-29T18:26:00.002-05:00

I havent been able to get out and run much these last two weeks. It was a combination of factors including a wet basement, weather, extra babysitting and the list goes on. So I purposed to start slowly easing back into a running routine. I long for the long runs that I used to be able to do. I know better than than to jump right back into that leval.

Meanwhile Ive been logging miles on my bike. Ive been able to increase my distance on the bike and keep a pretty good pace. Today I logged 11.25 miles at a 4:35 average pace. That averages out to 13.1 miles per hour -- woot~!

This time of year in Minnesota -- we are soo longing for spring. Sometimes we are lucky enough to have the snow gone by now and warm temps on the way. This year not so much. Last weeks deluge of snow really made winter feel long. So whenever the temp appears anywhere near 40 and the sun is out -- I feel obligated to take advantage of it. Biking in 40 degree weather isnt as easy as it sounds -- I learned what layers I need and what i can do wihtout. I went once this season without a scarf and I wont make that mistake again. I dont always need it for face coverage but i wrap it multiple times around my neck and it keeps that from getting windburned. I still need a fleece headband. I have a thin fleece hat that fits under my helmet but its not quite long enough to protect the ears. So i need a headband to help that.

None of my friends are big bikers but I like to compete against myself lol. I always want to go longer, faster and harder. Some of the hills were tough today. I reminded myself that the reward of getting up a hill is going down the other side!!

Last summer, Mr. F taught me how to actually use the gears on my bike (Thanks honey). Prior to that, I would shift a little but have no idea what i was doing. I really really enjoy biking now that I have an idea of what im doing. My butt is still adjusting to biking longer distances :) And today after an 8 mile ride on sunday and an 11 mile ride today -- my quads are feeling it!

One of my goals for this summer is to bike to a town 17 miles away on the luce line trail and enjoy a nice meal and bike back home. Last summer, I did that with a different town that was 11 miles away. That was one hard ride ... I wasnt accustomed to biking that far yet and I could feel it!

Thats all for now folks
Mrs. F

Weigh in

2011-03-25T08:59:00.002-05:00

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 155.2 lbs.
Today: 156.5 lbs.
Gain/Loss: + 1.3 lbs.
Goal: 140.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 26.3 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 16.5

Comment: Its been a very stressful week with sick kids and water in the basement. I didnt get any workouts in this week and the weigh in reflects that. I did okay on the eating front mostly, so I also think my body is holding onto some weight too. Mrs. F

2011-03-18T09:20:00.002-05:00

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 156.7 lbs.
Today: 155.2 lbs.
Gain/Loss: - 1.5 lbs.
Goal: 140.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 27.6 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 15.2

Comment: Im very pleased with my weight this week. Now, If I can just work on the overeating on the weekends -- I will be in good shape. I got in two runs this week and two bike rides, including a 12.35 one!

Mrs. F

P.S. Mr. F is looking to possibly order some vibram five fingers to try out. I hope he does!

Working out

2011-03-16T19:34:00.002-05:00

Im still working out how to handle things such as potlucks and eating out. This week my son has a wrestling banquet that is the typical Minnesota potluck style. Let me tell you -- its dreadfully hard to eat sensibly at a potluck. My weigh in day is the morning after the potluck. Fun timing!

Can you imagine if everyone made nutrition facts for every entree? Would any of us eat it knowing how much fat and calories are in some of those hot dishes??? So Im trying to think ahead about how I want to handle this. The first part of my plan is to get a workout in tommorrow -- that way I have some extra burn calories. Im going to try and eyeball half cup servings. Then I am going to take a measureing cup with me. I wont measure in line -- that would kinda silly and time consuming. But ill measure back at my table and give the extra to my teenage son. Hes always up for more food!!! Plus, Im supposed to bring a salad. So I think I will be a fresh salad with spinach and fresh veggies. That way, I know there is something that will be less calories and healthy!

On another front -- I managed to get in two workouts today. Go me! I took a run after school in beautiful Minnesota weather. It was 45 degrees and sunny, lovely day to run. I did 3 miles in 33:12, 11:04 pace. I managed to do a negative split as well! Woot! Then after supper, I was realizing there was too much time til bedtime and I wanted to eat. So instead of eating, I went for a bike ride instead. I went 5.75 miles in 28:54, a 5:04 pace. Too bad, it wasnt potluck today, a 600 calorie burn tommorrow would be awesome. Im not sure that I will have time to run and bike tommorrow plus my legs probably need a rest :)

Keep on running,
Mrs.F

Weigh in

2011-03-11T08:38:00.002-06:00

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 157.9 lbs.
Today: 156.7 lbs.
Gain/Loss: - 1.2 lbs.
Goal: 140.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 26.1 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 16.7

Comment: Since I overate on the weekend,I was up to 159 on Monday, so Im pretty pleased with the overall 2.3 down. Especially since its that fun time of the month!!! Im still not settled on the 140 goal weight, i might stop at 145, I*m not sure yet.

2011-03-10T09:29:00.002-06:00

The year I gained the most weight was when my special needs son was born. Can anyone say stress???? I made it thru the days of hospital visits, doctors galore, and many fears that he might not even make it. I would tell myself -- I deserved it, after all look at what im going thru.

It would start with one candy bar, and then another and another. Pretty soon, Id buy two at one shot. Or two bags of mini candy bars and eat them all. Im simply couldnt think about weight, too many other thigns crowding my brain.

It wasnt until after Gideon was more stable and I had my last baby -- that I began thinking bout me. I thought along the way I learned how to eat. Times like this, where Ive gained back 10 lbs, show me that I have a ways to go in that journey.

Gideon was sick this past week, 103 temps and coughing and all kinds of ick. It doesnt take much to take me back into the realm of the first year. My triggered response is to eat -- I cannot tell you how many girl scout cookies I consumed. I need to rewrite that schema in my brain that tells me to eat.

Is the hormones or body chemicals secreted during stress that cause us to reach for the food? How do we combat that?

Another trigger for me is lack of sleep. My willpower goes out the window when im tired. Again is the bodys natural response to try and stay awake by eating? Im not really sure. When all is well , I can do the right things, when things are stressful it becomes much more difficult to make those choices.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

My new bike

2011-03-09T08:37:00.001-06:00

022 a photo by MJae1974 on Flickr.

I bundled up yesterday and got in a ride of 5.25 miles at 5:35 pace. I loved being able to get out and fly on my new bike. This is what it takes to bike in the winter in minnesota!!!

Yesterdays run

2011-03-08T14:09:00.002-06:00

I really didnt want to run yesterday but a friend encourage me to do so. She was right as usual, I felt less tired after running than I did before.

I knew my two eldest were busy after school, so I elected to do two miles on the treadmill at home. I started out fairly slow and kept upping the speed every couple of minutes. As I needed 9/10ths of a mile, I upped the speed to 7.0 and ran the last tenth. That was hard! I wanted to challenge myself to see if i could do it. Next time I might even be brave enough to try 8.0!`

I did the same for the 2nd mile, although I ran that one faster. After running at the higher speed, the lower speeds felt dreadfully slow. It felt good to push myself!

Today, Im going to go try out my new bike. The thermometer outside just hit 40, so Im going for it. I plan on layering up and borrowing Mr. F's snowmobile gloves and googles. That should help with the wind.

Eating is going much better this week. I stayed within my calories yesterday and only ate a little into my run burn. For the most part, I want to not eat up those exercise calories.

Keep on running folks,
Mrs. F

New

2011-03-07T09:27:00.003-06:00

This week seems to be the week of new equipment. Ive had my running shoes for a little under a year. They have 350 miles of running on them plus some biking and the normal wear and tear. I decided it was time to replace them.

I did some research, did the water foot test, from asics, and found out i am neutral -to over pronator. REally pretty solidly stuck in the middle. So armed with the knowledge of some names that suited that style, I headed to Kohls.

I tried on several pairs,ran up and down the aisles, tried on pairs again and again. I finally settled on Gel phoenix 3's in navy blue, silver and white. I havent really gotten to wear them much yet. Walking in them seems very comfortable. The jury is still out on the running. I took one run in them(the one I spent chasing my speed running cross country son) and they felt sorta heavy. Im unsure if IM just not used to the style or if this isnt a good model for me. A little more concerning was some knee pain afterwords. Still unsure about that as it could be related to several factors including my lupus, osteoarthritis or the shoes. I was having some minor pain with it before the new shoes. So im just waiting that out. It seems to go away after a day or two.

I also got a new bike this week! I am beyond excited about this purchase. I ended up with a trek 7100 and I love it! Its a teal colored bike and I bought shiny silver fenders. The weather hasnt been favorable to riding it yet but I cannot wait. The little I rode up and down the sidewalk in front of the bike store has me longing for spring! The bike is yet unnamed, so I have been pondering names for it!

A friend and I have also started a weight loss blog together. We are both trying to lose weight, exercise and maintain healthy habits. Its certainely harder than it looks. Check it out -- its www.mandkweightloss.blogspot.com I plan to continue writing here and there as well.

Not so good of a weekend on the eating front but some success on limiting my coffee consumption. Onword and upward!

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

The Weight Train

2011-03-04T08:23:00.002-06:00

I reached my first goal of 150 lbs on August 27th, 2010. It took me a year to lose 32.8 lbs. I was estactic and very proud of myself. I had a 2nd goal of losing an additional 10 lbs but that proved to be very elusive. I found myself being okay with staying where I was at.

That slowly led to being okay with 2 more lbs and pretty soon, I discovered I had gained back almost 10 lbs. It didnt happen overnight, it went up and down and all around. Mostly though after Christmas, it stayed up and up and up.

I think I can describe it in one word:complacent. I wasnt as motivated as I was last winter to run. Last winter, I had weight to lose to hit that goal. This winter, I was already there. It was much easier to say, "oh its too cold", "oh im too tired", "im too busy". It just wasnt a priority. I wasnt completely inactive. I did rhythm boxing on the wii fit, some running on the treadmill,and some biggest loser workouts. The main thing though was I ate and ate and ate. I quickly fell into my old habits of I want this and I dont care mode. Id portion a snack(carrots and dip, popcorn or some almonds) and then proceed to eat 3 different snacks in one night. Is it any wonder the scale is going up?

Dont even get me started on girl scout cookies. I have found my willpower in that department is zilch.

That brings me to today -- Im starting over today. Its not going to be pretty, its not going to be easy and its most certainely going to be painful.

As for what I am doing -- Im trying to think through what IM eating, so that I can keep myself full longer. For example, when I was losing weight before, i had been eating 2 slices of bacon with my oatmeal. I cut that out along the way, as the price of bacon went up. So im going back to eating that protein again. Im attempting to my dessert coffee consumption from 4 cups to 2 or 3. Water, water and more water! The last thing I want to try to do better is planning out meals and snacks. Thinking ahead at the grocery store and buying foods that will help me reach my goals and not sabatage them.

I need to get back to running asap -- no more pussyfooting around -- I need to run a mininum of 3 days a week, no excuses. I ran in subzero last year, I can do it again. Besides spring is coming! One of my goals for this year is to run a half marathon. So I need to get my base mileage up enough, so that i can begin a training program for that. Im also hoping to replace my bike in the next month, so Im really looking forward to that bit of crosstraining. I miss biking!

It was challenging lately to get myself to write here. This was always something Mr. F and I did together. I miss his posts! Hes not currently running -- I hope someday he will get back to it.

Thats all for now folks, keep on running
Mrs. F

Lessons

2010-10-29T08:13:00.003-05:00

The first lesson I learned yesterday was if you intend to work on speedwork, make sure your Garmin is charged. It lasted halfway thru my speedwork and then promptly shut off. I did not realize how much I relied upon it, until it was gone. So I thought since the garmin is much beloved, she deserved a name. Yes -- Im a bit silly that way! Anyway I named her Gabrielle, Gabby for short. You know cause she gives me much data!

The 2nd lesson of the day was if you intend to work on speedwork, do not run straight into a headwind. If you do, it makes your work much much harder. I was slated to do 4 800's with 400 recoveries, along with a warm up mile and cool down mile. That first 800, I did not make my goal at all, I was off by 15 seconds. So I adjusted my route to go a different way, so I didnt have to run into the wind directly. The 2nd 800 was only 5 seconds off, so better at least.

The 3rd lesson of the day was be prepared. The cold season is upon us and I frankly wasnt ready. The sun came out and it was 37 degrees but I mistakenly thought that by doing speedwork and the warmth of the sun, I didnt need as many layers. Hah! So before my run even started, I came back to the house three times, to get another shirt, hat and gloves. It really threw my focus off. I took the warm up mile too fast.

The 4th lesson is although your garmin dies -- redeem the run! It died at about 2.5 miles, so I just picked a fairly steady pace and ran. Even if I wasnt able to do speedwork,I was still able to get out and run! Its somewhat freeing to not have a clock or pace to watch. I really though was lost without my tools, I normally rely on my heartrate, pace, distance and time to guide me.

So I dont have a time for my run yesterday or a pace, I have a guess on distance. So ill add that to my running totals.

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

Bullet list update

2010-10-27T08:25:00.002-05:00

Its been a long time since Ive written a post. I often think of posts while Im out on a run but the actual sitting down, uninterupted, to write them hasnt been happening. So Im going to update via bullet list with short bits of whats been going on around here, in no particular order.

--On the weight loss front, Im not doing so well. I have been losing and regaining the same 2 lbs over and over. Part of it, is not having the same urgency as I did when I was heavier. Im okay with being at this weight, overall I like how I look. And the other part, is now that Im at a lower weight, I no longer have the leeway room I once did. I used to be able to overeat on the weekends and pull it together during the week. It doesnt work so neatly now.On a positive note -- Im not gaining more than flucuation weight.

-- My son's cross country team won all conference in their division!!!! I was so proud of the whole team. I had the honor of witnessing that race and it was a really proud moment. I enjoyed watching the boys trying to calculate scores and figure out if they pulled it off this year. Last year they missed 1st place by 2 points. I also enjoyed watching the coach remind his players to be humble -- do you know how hard it is to keep teenage boy enthusiam down? Almost the entire varsity team scored personal bests in that race.

-- 3 of my sons ran cross country this year. My eldest, J, loves to run and lives for cross country season. He scored his personal best at the all conference meet with a time of 18:38~! My 2nd son, N, does not enjoy running, although is is pretty decent at it. So he joined to earn the software, I bribed him with, to get him to try the season. He also had the poor luck of fracturing his foot, so he was out most of the season. Im pretty sure, N, does not intend to return next year. My 3rd son, Z, is somewhere in between. He did well this season and worked hard. He has a good friend on the team and is pondering coming back next year.

-- The varsity team has one more meet of the year. They have sections tommorrow and J is very excited!

--I have been running. After getting back on my feet after my surgery, I started training for my 5k race on Nov 14. I will be running the Chaska Turkey Trot again this year. Its sentimental to me, as this was the first race I did, after completing Couch to 5k. I am currently using the smart coach tool, from runners world, and doing training with that. It generally consists of an easy short run, speedwork and a long run. My goal for this race is 27:00 or less. I think this will be particularly challenging as my last race this summer was 28:15. This course is particulary hilly and it will be colder. Who knows-- all I can do is try!

-- I have been trying to do negative splits on some of my runs. I was very excited when I did it on a 6 mile run! Its challenging to run slow enough to keep up enough stamina to finish each mile faster.

--On one run, I started thinking about running a half marathon. I started thinking of the scenario of my eldest son(who would have finished way ahead of me) coming alongside me and encouraging me to finish at a 9 minute mile pace. All of a sudden, I look down at my Garmin to find I was running a 9 minute pace at that moment. It really showed me the power of the mental battle of running.

--Mr. F has not been running. I am hoping that if he does not chose to return to running, that he will find some other form of exercise to incorporate into his life such as biking or karate or something. He is moderatly trying to watch his food intake. I am still hoping he will find his way back to the journey of getting healthy

--While Im not always eating well lately, I have been keeping steady on my training. Im slated for 58 miles this month. I had an original goal of running 500 miles this year -- it doesnt look like I will reach that. Right now, I have run 339.1 miles this year. I am extremely proud of that! My longest distance of running at one time has been 8 miles!

--After I complete my 5k race in November, I hope to start working on increasing my mileage base. Right now Im running about 14-15 miles a week. Then in January, start training for a half marathon in april or may. Ive had people say, well you have run 8, you can run 13.1. Im not sure I feel that confident yet. If I can run 10, then I think I can do a half. I am excited though to start training for it. I like running distance moreso than shorter runs.

-- I now have run in all 4 season and by far, I love running in the fall the best. The crunch of the leaves, the crisp weather all combines to an excellent running experience. Perhaps, too, its because I started running the fall in the beginning.

-- Last year, in the town over, they had a thanksgiving day race. Im really hoping they do that again this year. I really would love for my whole family to either walk it or run it.

-- Scale is looking kinder this week. Im hoping, I can keep my eating under control and finally get past this hump.

-- This post is dedicated to my friend, Nikki, who lovingly asks every week, when are you going to blog again. After all, she needs something to read at work!

Thats all for now folks
Keep on running,
Mrs. F

Weight Check 9/24/10

2010-09-24T13:03:00.003-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 278.8
Today: 277.1
Gain/Loss: -1.7
Goal:210.0
Cumulative: 24.9
Pounds to lose: 67.1
Comment: The loss was a pleasant surprise. With as stressful this week was at work, I ate more, and thought I'd be up. I managed to the afternoon off today because I have to work on Sunday, so I plan to enjoy the rest of the day.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 147.9 lbs.
Today: 149.2 lbs.
Gain/Loss: +1.3 lbs.
Goal: 140.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 33.6 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 9.2
Comment: I overate on the weekend. Now that Im lower in my weight, it takes longer to work off the overeating. I did get two good runs in this week and was able to maintain my calories for the week. I guess a lb up isnt bad!

Weight Check 9/17/10

2010-09-17T16:34:00.002-05:00

FatManRunning

Three weeks ago Friday: 275.6
Today: 278.8
Gain/Loss: +3.2
Goal:210.0
Cumulative: 22.2
Pounds to lose: 68.8
Comment: Do I get blame my wife's cookies? I didnt think so but they were really good.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 149.0 lbs.
Today: 147.9 lbs.
Gain/Loss: -1.1 lbs.
Goal: 140.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 34.9 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 7.9
Comment: I worked a little harder at tracking food and calories this week. I was able to not eat into the late evening hours on a couple of nights. That definitely helps. I really didnt run this week. I managed to sneak in a run this afternoon though. Its really exciting to see the number going down, albeit slowly! Inching closer and closer to that maintaining point.

Im back

2010-09-11T19:17:00.002-05:00

Its been a long month! Technically I was cleared for running as of last Wednesday, but I wasnt able to get out to run. Some of it was timing, first week of school and all but most of it was fear.

Strange, I know, but I just had this mental block. It wasnt that I was afraid of hurting myself, my body felt fine, but moreso afraid I couldnt run anymore. It all seems a tad silly now. So after battling the inner demons, I conquered my first run today.

I only went 2.3 miles at 11:15 pace, which is right in the ballpark for me timewise. You wouldnt realize I hadnt run for a month until you looked at my heartrate. Thats where it really showed! It averaged 200!!!!! I typically have a lower heartbeat, so this was a bit surprising. I am fighting off a cold still, so breathing was tougher. I didnt feel like I was going to die and my chest didnt hurt so I kept on running. By the end of the 2 miles, it was down in the 170s. I wonder though, if the strap just wasnt reading right. Even for not running for a month, it seemed really really high. My max was 239!

In addition to running this morning, I got away for a bike ride this afternoon.
I had taken a short nap and was feeling like a ride, so I did. I went 8.15 miles. At points the wind made it a much harder right, so I adjusted my route, so I had the wind at my back. Nothing like going all out for exercise!

We have 3 boys in cross country this year. Although N, my 2nd son, fractured his foot at the beginning of the season and is still out til at least next week. Z is in his first year and is running junior high. J has been running for several seasons and is running varsity. J pulled a 19:15 at his last meet for 3.125 miles and Z pulled a 14:30 for 1.8 miles. They both did really well. This was only the 2nd meet of the season, Im looking forward to seeing their improvements as the season continues.

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

weight Check 9/10/10

2010-09-10T16:52:00.003-05:00

FatManRunning

Three weeks ago Friday: 280.5
Today: 275.6
Gain/Loss: -4.9
Goal:Cumulative: 210.0
Pounds to lose: 65.6
Comment: Woohoo! Having that cold really helped.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 149.2 lbs.
Today: 149.0 lbs.
Gain/Loss: -.2 lbs.
Goal: 140.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 33.8 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 9.0
Comment: I was disapointed in this weeks weigh in. Several factors including overeating on the weekend, not exercising and the lovely water weight likely contributed. Im cleared to run but have yet to get out there. Im hoping tommorrow is the day I conquer that obstacle. Its a little intimidating to contemplate running again after a full month off.

Weight Check 9/3/10

2010-09-04T08:26:00.002-05:00

FatManRunning

Three weeks ago Friday: 278.5
Today: 280.5
Gain/Loss: +2.0
Goal:Cumulative: 210.0
Pounds to lose: 70.5
Comment: I invoke my 5th amendment right not to comment on grounds it might incriminate me. A new week begins tommorrow!

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 149.8 lbs.
Today: 149.2 lbs.
Gain/Loss: -.6 lbs.
Goal: 140.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 33.6 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 9.2
Comment: After such a large loss last week, I expected a lower drop this week. I didnt get out to exercise at all, so overall Im pleased with a half pound loss. I get to start running again next week -- woohoo!

Weight check 8/27/10

2010-08-27T13:02:00.003-05:00

FatManRunning

Three weeks ago Friday: 277.0
Today: 278.5
Gain/Loss: +1.5
Goal:Cumulative: 210.0
Pounds to lose: 67.0
Comment: Honestly, the way the past few weeks have been going, I was surprised I wasn't back over 300.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 152.7 lbs.
Today: 149.8 lbs.
Gain/Loss: -2.9 lbs.
Goal: 150.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 33.0 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 0
Comment: I am beyond excited! It took me almost a year to the day to lose the weight and reach my first goal weight. I will be posting some before and after pictures later. I am planning on still losing another 9.8 to reach my 2nd goal, so I will change the stats to reflect that after this week.

Monday Madness

2010-08-24T08:20:00.002-05:00

I got up really early around 515 am yesterday to get out to do some exercise. I was going to walk while Mr. F ran. Since he didnt make it out yesterday, I elected to try out my new bike helmet instead.

Ive had some occasional aching of my knees over the last two weeks, so I was unsure how this was all going to go. They started out a little sore but eased into riding just fine. I decided to not push for a long ride although I would have loved the calorie burn of one.

I ended up going 5.7 miles, not too shabby for the start of my retun to regular exercise.

It ended up being a far longer day than intended. The morning was filled with some doctors appts for the kids which involved a long drive to the cities. Then the afternoon was filled with drama of a broken arm. Our 3 yr old fell while climbing over a bench and landed on a skateboard. This was my first of the "I know its broken for sure" moments since it was so badly deformed. And the first time I saw Mr. F unnerved by an injury. Hes always been the rock in our emergency situations and he didnt fail here either. But I could tell that this one was tougher on him. It really was pretty hard to look at. Mr. F and our eldest son set about to splinting the arm and off the ER we went. We returned 5 hrs later -- after hours in the ER, consult with a surgeon, a closed reduction surgery and a casted arm.

Needless to say, I did not get up to exercise this morning. I havent felt this exhausted in a long time! My follow up appt for myself is this coming wednesay and Im hoping for an okay to return to running.

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

Weight Check 8/20/10

2010-08-20T13:10:00.002-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday:
Today:
Gain/Loss: .
Goal:Cumulative:
Pounds to lose:
Comment: Mr. F didnt make it into the clinic this week either.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 152.7 lbs.
Today: 152.8 lbs.
Gain/Loss: +.1 lbs.
Goal: 150.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 30.0 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 2.8
Comment: I havent exercised in two weeks and had a bad eating week, so Im very pleased with only .1 gain. In reality, thats basically maintaining where I was! Recovery is on the upswing and I hope to be able to get back to running next week.

Hanging in there

2010-08-16T09:35:00.002-05:00

This surgery has thrown off my motivation a bit. The complications made well more complications to deal with . Im just not as motivated. I thought before the surgery, Id be all gung ho on getting out and at least walking. Its just not there.

Eating has been hit or miss as well. Meal times, Im doing okay, generally and still portioning. Its the other things, like snack size candy for family night or ice cream cookie sandwiches for snack. Its not that I cant have them, its the amount Im having. We all have bad days now and then, the mental battle though that Im dealing with isnt helping. Im finding myself just not really caring. Need to shake that for sure!

I havent been a complete slug, Im still doing laundry and cleaning and managing the army of children. Exercise though has taken a back seat.

Cross Country practice started this morning. My eldest, has been counting down the days and all excited. His two brothers, in comparison, not so excited! I resorted to a little deal making in order to convince them to try out CC this fall. They love computer and in particular a game called Guild wars. They love computer and one of my sons would live on it, if I allowed it. I told them Id get them a copy of trilogy, a game they want, if they complete the season by doing their best and having a good attitude. Ive reminded them several times this past week and again this morning, no one held a gun to their head to get them to sign. They made the decision. I made sure as I offered this deal, that I was clear that if they really did not want to run, they should not do so. Both of my middle boys elected to sign up.

Im pretty curious to how this morning's practice went. My eldest, loves running, and generally does what the coach asks. Im not so sure about the other two. I call them the bandit boys -- they are 15 months apart in age and fairly close. The problem comes when they are together, they become silly, hyper and well boys! I prewarned the coach that separating them might be helpful! They ran a mile this summer in 7:20 and did pretty well at the 5k race this month as well. So I know they can do it!

Keep on running folks,
Mrs. F

Weight check 8/13/10

2010-08-13T12:33:00.003-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday:
Today:
Gain/Loss: .
Goal:Cumulative:
Pounds to lose:
Comment: Due to crazyness, Mr. F didnt make it to the clinic in time to weigh in. He may try on Monday, if he has time.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 151.1 lbs.
Today: 152.7 lbs.
Gain/Loss: +1.6 lbs.
Goal: 150.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 30.1 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 2.7
Comment: Given the stressors of this week (surgery, period,overeating,no exercise and recovery time), Im surprised it isnt more. Im not that disapointed with 1.6 gain, considering, and it could have been far worse!

Its tough

2010-08-13T09:19:00.002-05:00

I really want to run but I cant .... these two weeks are going to go by slow!. I can walk as I feel able to. I feel fine in that regard, its just a matter of getting up early enough to get out. The weather has been so hot and humid, that early morning really is the only chance to get out to exercise. And with having had surgery this week, well, Im just more tired.

So hopefully this next week, I can get some good walks in and keep my body moving and active. I expect my weight to be up this week. Many factors such as surgery, overeating, water weight and lack of exercise to name a few. Ill weigh in today anyway.

There are going to be weeks where Im sidelined for whatever reason, Im trying to look at this as training for those periods. I need to learn how to eat even if I cant get out and exercise!

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

Mrs. F is down for a couple of weeks; challenge for next 5k

2010-08-10T16:15:00.000-05:00

Mrs. F had a scheduled surgical procedure this morning. While taking care of business, the doctor noticed something unusual, and ended up doing a little extra work. It was nothing about which to be alarmed--just something odd enough to catch the doc's attention and have her conferring with her colleagues. As such, Mrs. F will spend a night in the hospital for observation, and, based on the weather reports and the fact that we don't have air conditioning, I'm guessing she'll be much better off (and more comfortable) there. As such, though, she won't be running for at least a couple of weeks.

As for me, I'm oddly numb and stressed at the same time. I did fine at breakfast, but because I was in to work an hour earlier than normal, I was really hungry and overate at lunch. The kids are all at home (the eldest two are holding down the fort), and we're due for severe weather this afternoon. I want to visit Mrs. F, but am also concerned about leaving the kids if bad weather does break out (I work only a half-mile from the house, so I'm close enough during the day for any issues that require immediate attention).

As some of you may know, I started a savings account this summer to start saving for a canoe. One of our friends and neighbors, who also follows this blog, offered me a wager I can't refuse. If I shave three additional minutes off my 5k run time at the Chaska Turkey Trot (coming up in November)--meaning a new personal best of 37:45 or better--she'll contribute $20 to the canoe fund. I told her that she had best write the check and set aside the funds now. I always see bets like those as taunts that say "I don't think you can do this--enough that I'm willing to put money on it." That's probably not her motivation, but that's how I respond to such things, as if someone is telling me I can't do it. Well, for me, that's a nearly certain way to guarantee I do something. I love proving people wrong (yes, I'll admit it), and proving I can do what people think might not be possible.

Right motives or not, I need to work on my speed before November.

I knocked that record right out of the park!

2010-08-07T11:04:00.002-05:00

My last 5k race time(last thanksgiving) was 34:48. I have been running thru the winter, thru the spring and training in the summer. I worked it. So I was anxious to see how my training paid off.

I ran todays 5k in 28:45 seconds~~~!!!!!! Thats a 9:12 pace and a full 6 minutes and 3 seconds off my previous race time. I am very proud of my whole family. My 10 yr old son ran his first 5k race today and ran the whole thing. He had never run a full 3 miles before. My 12 yr old son ran a 31:10 and my 13 yr old beat me with a 27:41!!! My cross country runner came in 3rd overall with a 19:01! And Mr. F beat his previous race time as well! Way to go Riemers!

Keep on running folks,

Mrs. F

Just a quick check-in after a 5k

2010-08-07T11:03:00.000-05:00

My last run was on Monday, July 26, so I wasn't expecting much today. It was cool and rainy, and I would have preferred being out fishing to racing today. Still, all said, I managed to finish with a 40:45, a 13:03mm pace. That's my personal best in a 5k.

Weight Check 8/6/10

2010-08-06T12:51:00.002-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 277.0 lbs.(Mr F went back to weighing at the clinic)
Today: 279.2 lbs.
Gain/Loss: +2.2 lbs.
Goal: 210.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 20.8 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 69.2
Comment: "Blech!" That all I have to say. I havent run at all this week and I have a race tommorrow morning.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 153.7 lbs.
Today: 151.1 lbs.
Gain/Loss: -2.6 lbs.
Goal: 150.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 31.7 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 1.1
Comment: I didnt get our weight check posted last week due to our out of town trip. I was down .6 and Mr. F was up 7 lbs. (Some of which we attribute to switching scales) I was really really happy to see the scale go down again! Woot -- I worked hard to stay within my eating range even though I snuck in a mini blizzard. I am very excited for my race tommorrow.

Speedwork Wednesday

2010-08-04T14:01:00.002-05:00

I did not want to get up and run today, let alone work on speedwork. I was tired and seriously contemplated staying in bed. Our sons alarm was going off though and since he sleeps like the dead, I went in and woke him up. since I was up, I then started getting ready to go out.

I did my typical half mile warm up walk and then jumped into my run. This week called for 5 miles but less speedwork time, so more mileage on the front or back end. It consisted of 1 mile warm up jog, 1/2 mile at 4:52 pace, 1/4 mile recovery(repeat that 3 times) and then 1.75 mile to cool down. I was feeling sore after 4, so I elected to cut the run short to preserve my muscles and legs for the race on Saturday. Then I just walked the last 1.4 miles home.

I managed to nail all of my 1/2 mile speedwork. It helped that a tired brain miscalculated the mile pace I was aiming for. I thought that 50 plus 50 equaled a whole minute, not the actual 1 minute 40 it was. So while I was supposed to aim for a mile pace of 9:46, I thought I was aiming for a 9:04 pace. I was booking it and it was hard but I did it! I pulled off a 4:32,4:38 and 4:31 respectively for those half mile segments. This left me with an overall average of 11:02 for the whole 4 miles. Not too shabby!

At one point, my chest was hurting and I thought I might just have a heart attack right there on the trail. So i looked at my heartrate, say that it was in the 160s and told myself that it wasnt possible lol. It really is amazing what our bodies can do.
I cannot wait to see what I can do for time in the race on saturday. I am down a significant amount of weight since my last race(I think at least 20 lbs) so I should be able to fly! Things that IM still pondering are what pace to go, what should i eat if anything and will my occasional sideache flare up. I think I just need to run :)

Well keep on running folks,
Mrs. F

Weekend recap

2010-08-03T10:28:00.002-05:00

We left early early friday morning to visit family for the weekend. I knew from the beginning, trying to eat well would be challenging while on vacation so to speak. I didnt quite grasp how hard though.

I was away from the internet, so I didnt have access to my daily plate and my tracking plan. In the future, I think Im going to try and make a list of commmon foods I eat when away and take a checklist with me. I know enough portion control, that I could make some good choices but I felt lost without my calorie numbers. Friday was overall okay. Breakfast was big ... those breakfast sandwiches at fast food places are high in calories! But the rest of the day was pretty good, I ate one hot dog at lunch, and one italian beef sandwich. I did claim one victory that night, when everyone else warmed up leftovers at 9 pm and had more sandwiches ... I declined. Oh did I want that sandwich though!

It didnt help that my bil and sil kept saying eat more, you are on vacation. Or you worry too much bout calories or if you go away hungery its your fault. It wasnt a very helpful enviroment to watch my portion control in. Im still figuring out how to be away from home and my supports here and still eat well. Its also hard not to talk constantly in the framework of calorie counting and running and exercise. All of my good friends, it seems, including my husband are all trying to lose weight. Its a great support when IM home but when Im away from those people, not so helpful.

I got up at 6 am on Saturday to run. Mr. F was off to pick up our son at camp and I suited up and went for a run. I left my headphones in the cabin, we were sleeping in,so that distracted me enough, that I forgot bug spray. Oh did I regret that! It wasnt mosquitos, I only had one bite from that. It was the dreaded deer flies, there were so many -- I thought I might just get carried away. So the run wasnt enjoyable in that aspect, I was uncomforatable with all the deer flies. I was constantly picking flies out of my hair, brushing off my arms and legs cause they were biting me. At one point, one bit me on my behind and i went to brush it off, only to discover like 12 stuck to my shorts. EWWWW!

On a different note, since I was so distracted with the deer flies that I did not pay as much attention to my pace. I ran on a gravel road in the middle of the forest -- it was beautiful. One deer ran across the path in front of me. I neglected to notice the downhill slope on the way out so I was very surprised at the 1.5 miles of uphill coming back. I did an out and back route -- run 4 miles out and then 4 miles back. It felt long. At about mile two or three, I found somewhat of a stride and just ran. It wasnt easy by any means though but I did it. I ran 8 miles in 1 hr and 32 minutes!!!!!! I did it with an 11:31 pace and 152 average heartrate. I was very pleased with that. The 992 calorie burn didnt hurt either! Thats my longest run distance to date.

Saturday was a little harder on the eating front. Meals were at odd hours and I knew i had a huge calorie burn but no real way to track exactly where I was. I ended up eating two suppers ... not particularly helpful. Im thankful to have had the run burn that day though.

I did okay on Sunday til the drive home and then it was snack city and pizza for supper. We came home sunday night but Mr. F had monday off as well, so we did some fishing at a local park. I didnt end up doing my normal monday run. I was sore still from saturday and more importantly, I was exhausted. So I decided Im going to stick with the original running schedule and run again wednesday. It was only slated to be 2 miles on monday, so I think I will be okay. Our race is this Saturday.

Oh well ... today is a new day :) So back on track, I have my supports back and while i may not lose this week, Im sure gonna try.

Keep on running folks,
Mrs. F

Back from a nice weekend away

2010-08-03T06:15:00.002-05:00

Aside from a trip to visit family over Christmas a couple of years ago, we've not had a week-long away-from-home vacation in nearly 10 years. Typically, it's due to financial constraints. Since changing employers a couple of years ago, limited vacation time has also become an issue. Still, we try to make the best of what we already have, so I took off this past Friday and Monday to allow us a long weekend away. One of my brothers has a house in northern Minnesota, so we stayed there, with most of our gang divided between a little cabin (imagine two connected storage sheds remodeled to serve as a simple shelter with a bedroom, pseudo kitchen {no water}, and electric power), and a large tent. Our eldest daughter was treated to a spare bedroom in the house. My father lives there, and another of my brothers (and his wife) came up for the weekend, too.

All in all, it was a wonderful and relaxing weekend, though I'm sure my caloric intake was off the scale. We had many family favorites, including Italian beef sandwiches, and fried fresh fish. As much as I knew I should have limited my intake, I indulged in these familial delicacies, though I avoided some of the extras (sides) that were served with them. In some ways, it really felt like being home again (though my family was not from Minnesota), but all the pleasures of the weekend came with their share of stress. Foremost among those also tied to food. Our hosts have a "we'll eat when we get home" mentality, and they also tend to have only one large meal a day (my brother skipping both breakfast and lunch and then eating a large supper). They didn't seem to understand that our kids, and especially our youngest and our special needs son, were used to a predictable schedule: breakfast not long after rising, lunch between noon and 1 PM, and dinner sometime before 6 PM.

We tried to be flexible. When they told us they wanted to have the big fish fry around 7 PM, we figured we could make it work. We packed snacks and even let the kids get desert before dinner (a little restaurant nearby has huge "small" soft serve cones for one dollar each). Even with that extra food, nerves were frayed by the time 7 PM arrived, since we all were accustomed to eating earlier. When we got back to the house, my brothers and their wives were nowhere to be seen. We waited a bit, but when faced with growing meltdowns from the youngest ones (whose bedtime would normally fall around 8 PM), we broke out the food we set aside for our return-trip lunch, and served up homemade bread, cheddar cheese, good summer sausage (from a small processor, not mass market Yard-O-Beef type stuff), and a stick of pepperoni. Soon, the kids were fed and the little ones were bedded down. Our hosts returned around 8:30 PM and commenced with the fish fry. They seemed surprised that we fed the kids, and that some were already bedded down for the night. There even was wondering aloud why I didn't start frying the fish when we got back. Besides not knowing which pots they wanted used for the frying, we had no idea what they were serving with the fish or what time they were returning. So, I think we'll arrange to prepare all of our own meals next time, or at least make them realize that we need to stick to regular meal times, or at least the times agreed upon.

Anyway, I don't mean to rant here. It was a good weekend overall. I got to go out fishing on Friday night with my brothers--something I never would have imagined years ago. It was the first time I was out trolling on big water for walleye in almost a decade, and the only time I've fished apart from my immediate family in six (or more) years. The kids got to swin in a lake with exceptionally clear water, and we made our return trip at a relaxed pace later in the day on Sunday. That gave us one more vacation day in our home area, so we headed off to a park in a neighboring town where we spent most of the day with the kids fishing and playing. It was, by far, the most enjoyable vacation time I've used in the past year, and the best long weekend we've had in a while.

It's just a shame my available vacation days are so few--two weeks of personal time (combined vacation and sick time) with my current employer, whereas I had four weeks plus dedicated sick time at my former employer. Of course, the cost of that extra vacation time was a commute that averaged nearly three hours a day, and that ate up far more time each year than four weeks of vacation (it was an equivalent of over 15 work weeks of travel each year!).

Anyway, I feel the weight (figuratively and literally) of how I ate this weekend, so I know I'll need to run it off. Now that we're home, my portions are back to their controlled normal, and I'm looking forward to my next run...when it cools down just a bit.

Tempo run 7-28-10

2010-07-28T09:05:00.002-05:00

Todays run comprised of a 1 mile warm up jog, 4 miles at tempo pace of 10:51 and a mile cool down jog. I can do a 10:51 fairly easily, the challenge comes in maintaining for that long of a span.

I got up around 6 am and discovered that I had forgotten to charge my mp3 player. I knew that long of a run without music would drag on and on, so I decided to charge it while I got ready to go, figuring some is better than none. It lasted til almost mile 5 -- so that was good!

Starting myself out, I kept having to slow myself down during the warm up. I ended up with 11:42 for the warm up. I knew i had many miles to go yet! Again, I had forgotten to set a pace alert for my garmin, so it was a bit more challenging to keep an even keel. The 2nd mile was in a 10:50 pace. It felt pretty good, not too hard, heart rate stayed fairly low. Although at this point, Im realizing in in for a long haul! My main focus was on staying below the 10:51 pace marker, if I was running 9:45, then so be it, but as long as i was under.

The 3rd mile felt the best. I really found my stride and was able to just run mostly without worrying so much about my pace. No real aches or pains at this point, just running. Dont get me wrong, this was definitely a "work" run but at times it felt good to just get out and run fast. I did that segment in 10:33.

The 4th mile wasnt without its challenges. My side started twinging -- with some concentrated deep breaths, I was able to keep the major sideache at bay. I was feeling a bit nauseous from the smells and running hard -- so I ended up stopping once cause I thought I was going to be sick. Another stop to tie the shoe. Just generally harder mile. I still managed to pull out a 10:59 pace for that segment though.

The fifth mile felt more challenging as well since I was starting to get tired. I didnt get to bed before 11 and 6 am rolled around far too quickly this morning. I knew though I wanted to finish strong, so I pushed myself a little harder. My side is still twinging a bit, so more deep breathing. Somewhere in this mile, the mp3 player dies. After that, the run seemed to go much slower. Probably due to the fact, I was concentrating on the distance! I decided i wanted to sprint the last tenth and pushed it into gear. I finished that mile in 10:28!!!

The last mile was hard. I was sore, tired and my mp3 player was dead. So the mile dragged on and on and on and on. At times I convinced myself to run faster -- not because I wanted the better time -- it was because I would be done sooner. I tried to speed up the last tenth but I had little energy for a full on sprint. I did get my time up to 10:40 but I couldnt push any harder than that. I finished that mile in 11:41.

Surpringly enough, I feel great now. My muscles arent sore at all. After some of my long runs, they have been really sore. So I expected that maybe this run would do it as well. The only thing bugging me is my sunburn from monday!

Im getting really excited for our race next weekend! Im still pondering how I should run it. It was far simpler when I didnt know as much and just ran. Now I wonder if I should do a negative split, or run the first mile slightly faster or run an even pace. Way too much info to wade thru on the topic.

Weight check will be early this week, due to leaving to visit family on Friday morning. The scale is being kinder to me today but time will tell on that front.

Keep on running,
Mrs. F

Weekend recap - Mrs. F

2010-07-25T15:27:00.002-05:00

I ran 7 miles yesterday with my friend, Amy. She started couch to 5k at the same time we did, and has kept up running. She actually runs faster than me but runs close enough to my pace, that we can do our slower longer runs together.

We started off with the warm up walk before running. It was a nice change of pace to have someone to talk with along the way. Yes, we ran at a pace that we could talk. I will admit at times, it was more challenging than others though. The first 3.5 miles for me were harder, as is typical. Amy was a few steps ahead of me and it wasnt as hard for her, breathing wise as it was for me.

I found my stride around 3.5 miles and soon enough I was the one running a few steps ahead. I find that the further I go, the easier it seems to find that stride point. Perhaps I am meant to be a distance runner!

My strategy on these longer runs, is to go with the flow of my body, while keeping my heartrate in check. Basically, if I feel like running slower( as long as im not going over my prescribed training pace), then I do. If I feel like pushing it up a few notches, then I do that as well. My heart rate stayed pretty low, in the 150 range, so it works for me. My pace for this run was supposed to be 12:31, for my friend, 12:00. We ended up hitting an 11:44 pace, so below both of our targets!

Im really looking forward to next saturdays run when I get to try running 8 miles. Its exciting since it will be a new distance record for me. On top of that fun, I get to run in a new location, as we will be out of town visiting Mr. F's family.

Today, I took a 15.11 mile bike ride at 4:31 pace. Thats not only a new distance record for me but a pace record as well. It felt good to get out and fly on the bike. Ive now built up enough endurance on the bike, that Im starting to burn a good bit of calories. Last summer, I was much slower and didnt go nearly so far. I was shocked though when I took a look at my biking stats. I biked 41 miles this week alone and 75 miles for the month of july! Wow -- I had no idea that put on that many this week! The long bike rides add up quickly. Thanks go out to Mr. F though for sharing his bike with me! Im hoping to start saving up for a new bike for me soon.

Well thats all for now folks, Keep on running and biking!

Mrs. F

And on and on and on and on...

2010-07-24T10:06:00.000-05:00

A friend was joining Mrs. F for her run this morning, since they both run about the same pace and planned to do seven. She tried to get me up, but I had a minor headache and really didn't want to move. Last evening, I got home from work just after 4 PM and was baking bread until about 9 PM--eighteen loaves, with some additional dough in the fridge and freezer. Needless to say, I was beat.

So, Mrs. F and her friend got up and left without me, but I did drag myself out of bed a few minutes later. I couldn't find my ball cap or my bug spray, so that added a little aggravation, but I did manage to start running by 6:38.

I knew I didn't want to run out and back today. Something about covering familiar ground makes that final mile seem really long.

Overall, it wasn't a bad run--few bugs, and early enough to beat the heat. I ran out to where the trail crossed a major east-west street, and then turned back toward home along the road.

[Out-of-town company just arrived, so I need to cut this short.]

I ran 6.75 miles in 1:48--a flat 16mm pace. I'm still slow, but I'm moving. And, hey, that's a new distance record for me.

Weight Check 7/23/10

2010-07-23T12:23:00.003-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 272.0 lbs.
Today: 270.2 lbs.
Gain/Loss: -1.8 lbs.
Goal: 210.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 30.2 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 60.2
Comment: I'm surprised to have lost any weight because I had a horrible week, as far as eating goes. We had run out of the vegetables that I had been eating for most of my meals and Im just getting back to eating them today.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 152.7 lbs.
Today: 154.1 lbs.
Gain/Loss: +1.4 lbs.
Goal: 150.0 lbs.
Cumulative: 28.7 lbs.
Pounds to lose: 4.1
Comment: I worked really hard this week and ate within my calorie bounds, so I was really disapointed with the gain. Out of the last 7 days, I either rode bike or ran for 5 of them. So im not really sure whats up, but Im just gonna claim that i gained 1.4 pounds of muscle :) I looked up my weight pattern and I havent gained for 6 weeks, so maybe I was just due for some water weight!

What was I thinking?

2010-07-21T23:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I slept in again this morning and missed my morning run. I figured that was okay considering my 20 mile bike ride the evening before. I was in such a hurry to get to work that I forgot to eat breakfast.

It was that kind of day.

During the day, I convinced myself that I would run this evening after work, but soon I got a call from Mrs. F--she was delaying her shopping run to this evening and wanted to know if I wanted to go along. I love stretching the family dollar (and finding good clearance deals), so I knew I wanted to go. Thus ended the idea of the evening run.

I did remember to eat lunch (1.25 cups of homemade chili with a quarter cup of jalapeño slices and a few tablespoons of shredded cheddar), but we had to catch dinner while out an about. I opted for two Whopper Junior sandwiches (sans mayo--about 290 calories each), and Mrs. F and I shared a mixed Coke-Cherry ICEE. Not the lowest calorie dinner I've had lately, but one of the tastiest! Given my other caloric intake for the day, I thought a 700 calorie supper wasn't so bad.

So, we didn't end up home until about 9 PM. By the time everything was in and put away, it was later. Still, I had that nagging feeling of wanting to run, so I asked Mrs. F if she would mind riding along as I ran. We started out with our dog, a large golden retriever, but he soon broke off his leash so Mrs. F had to take him home while I ran on. She eventually caught up to me, and we enjoyed some time together. The bugs weren't too bad, though I had to swat them away from my ears numerous times. Occasional raindrops fell, but not enough to cool me down.

We made the route an out-and-back route, starting out uphill before turning and heading downhill a ways. I turned around at a road where we'd turn to complete a 2.8 route, and headed back home. I've really noticed my stride change lately. There are times now when I'm really comfortable in calling it a run (compared to the labored slog that still comprises many runs)--my stride is longer, and I can feel the air beneath my feet. It's a good feeling.

So, back up the hill I went, before heading down the other way. Then, up another minor rise before descending toward the house where it began a gradual climb again. With all done, I headed in and took a shower--hot at first, and then turned down very cool. I'm not sure how quickly I'll get to sleep now, but I'm glad I got the run in. In some ways, I wonder "What was I thinking?" It's like I've become one of those crazy runners!

Two-and-a-half miles done in just over 36 minutes--a 14:30mm pace! Definitely my best pace for a two miler since my first 5k races last fall. Perhaps I might improve my time when I next race two weeks from Saturday, on August 7.

Speedwork Wednesday 7/21/10

2010-07-21T16:04:00.002-05:00

Since todays training was a bit more complicated, I elected to set up a workout on my garmin watch. Note to self: Dont do it at 1030 pm when very tired. I got it set up okay but didnt discover til midworkout, I forgot to change some distance values and the last 4 steps were wrong.

My plan called for a total of 5 miles: 1 mile warm up run, 1/2 mile at 4:52 pace, 1/4 mile recovery jog (This set done 4 times totaling 3 miles) and then a cool down mile. I was tired and drug out by last nights drama. I did manage to get a 9.11 mile bike ride in despite it all, at a 4:39 pace. So that was a great way to burn off stress but not so great for getting to bed early.

So getting up wasnt on the early side, I think I got up around 630 and made it out the door by 7 am. It was nice and cool to start with, so that was nice. I was feeling a bit sore yet from the biking, so I made sure I did my half mile warm up walk. I did the first running mile in a little over 12 minute pace.

Then the fun began. I began running my pace halves. The first two tenths of mile sped on by and I thought (mistakenly of course) that this wasnt too bad. The other 3/10ths though drug on and on and on. I did the first speed half in 4:55! Then the recovery jog -- somehow that .25 of a mile goes by super fast when the speedy stuff goes super slow. Hmmmm! The next interval, I hit my target right on and did a 4:52. I was super pleased with that. I deliberately picked a route with hills, as I figured races generally have them.

Heres where my late night set up comes into play. The next interval had a distance of a mile instead of a half. So I thought maybe i could run the half and skip ahead to the next step. I couldnt figure out how to do that and I had a horrible sideache after the 3rd half mile interval, so I elected to walk the other half of that mile. It really didnt help my sideache at all though. I kept trying to deep breath and get it to go away, but it really plagued me for most of the rest of the run. Running in pain , really, isnt so much fun.

I was hoping that i just messed up on the one step and could go ahead to the next .25 interval, but nope that was set for a mile too. So i reversed some steps and did my cool down mile next. Not quite what was intended but hey it worked. I then did the last half mile interval and recovery jog with a little extra added in to make sure I made 5 miles of running. I kept going til my Garmin hit 5:52, that way the half mile of walking didnt reduce my running total. So I didnt end up with the 3rd interval time but I was aiming for the same pace. I did my cool down mile in the 12 minute range and then did the 4th interval in 4:56. Overall I was pleased that I hit the pace time within a few seconds!

It definitely was hard and I was feeling it -- when I finished I was sore! So two day break and then another 7 miler on Saturday. Our race is coming up about 2.5 weeks. I cant wait to see how this training effects my total race time!

Keep on running,
Mrs. F

I missed my run, but that's okay...

2010-07-21T10:50:00.000-05:00

I must admit that I was feeling a bit lazy when I got up yesterday. I should have gotten out for a short run, but didn't. Last year, I woke up early in the morning as the sun came up, whether I wanted to or not. It's been that way for me for much of my life. This year, however, I just can't seem to get out of bed in the mornings.

Now that I think of it, we did get our first new mattress set in 10 years recently. I wonder if having a nice, comfortable bed has something to do with it...

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I've typically been a morning person and an early riser. Lately, though, I find myself wanting to be a night owl again. I really think I messed up my internal clock during my last two terms of studying (being up until one or two o'clock in the morning while working on assignments).

Anyway, I decided I would run in the afternoon, which is what I've been doing lately. When I got home from work, however, I learned that three of my boys, who biked to the next town to hunt for a hidden festival medallion, were not yet home. I had biked that route before and knew it would take them some time, but it was not like them to miss dinner. After grabbing a bite myself, I decided to bike out to where they should be--I hoped to find them on the trail, already on the way home.

I was about five miles out of town when the boys called me. One of the bikes broke down and they were still in the next town. Someone had let them use a cell phone, so they were hoping for a ride. I told them I was on my bike, but that I would be there soon, and that I'd call home to have Mrs. F get the van ready. Well, I did call home, but the call broke up. When I tried to call again, I realized my phone was dead.

What an evening it was! Mrs. F, not able to reach me via phone, drove the van to the next town, parked near the trail, and waited. The boys, meanwhile, got some help from a local man who patched up the bike and got them back on the trail. I came across them ten miles from home. We turned around and started back. The youngest of the three was on a smaller bike with only three gears, so he could not keep up very well. Since all the bikes were working and they were together, I opted to bike ahead, because I feared that my lack of contact might have put Mrs. F in a panic.

When I got home, Mrs. F was not there. I called her, and let her know that the boys were on the way home. She had been sitting in the van, and driving around town, for over an hour. Needless to say, she wasn't very pleased.

When she got home, she readied for her ride, but before she got out of the door, we were in for more family drama when a police car pulled up with another one of the boys inside. I won't go into details here, but let's just say that being taken home in a police car is never viewed kindly by parents, and it hopefully scared some sense into one of our boys.

As we were wrapping up with our police drama, two of the boys, including the slowest one, pulled into the driveway. The eldest? His bike broke down again. Guess what I'm going to suggest he do with his recent birthday monies? How far back did he break down? More than five miles from town.

Well, being our runner, we knew he had two good, strong legs, and we also knew that we had no way of telling when he'd be near one of the cross-streets along the trail, so we let him walk. He came in a little over an hour later, complaining of hunger, sore feet, and two-hundred mosquito bites.

Mrs. F came home feeling better after her ride.

So, I didn't get my run in for the day, but I did get in a 20 mile bike ride, half of it uphill, at just under an 11 mph pace (fat mountain bike tires on a trail are such a pain--I miss my old Trek 720 with its narrow hybrid tires!). I'll just chalk up Tuesday as a cross-training day.

I still can't believe this is possible

2010-07-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

Well, it wasn't the best week as far as consistency goes--I missed one run and ate too much one day [Dang you office donuts! Dang you!]--but still got my long run in today. That's what I can't believe--that I'm able to run these distances of five miles or more.

Today's run was pleasant overall, save for the final three-fourths of a mile, which was tough. Mrs. F and I started with a half-mile warm-up walk, and then began our runs out toward the Luce Line Trail, headed west. She pulled away from me early on, but that was fine. She was working on seven miles, and I was just hoping to complete five. The way I figured it, she'd catch up to me near the end of my run, since we both were doing an out-and-back route.

Mrs. F was carrying her Garmin, so I only had a watch with me. From my earlier long run on this stretch, I knew approximately where the 2.5 mile point was (though it would only be 2.0 today, since we walked the first half-mile), and I hoped to go beyond that point through the next segment of the trail. Also knowing that my last five mile time was 82 minutes, I planned to run just a little longer, shooting for a full 90 minutes.

At about the one mile mark, things started to feel pretty good. Breathing was easy and my stride was slow but steady. Unfortunately, that's when the lens popped out of my prescription sunglasses. I stopped and stepped back a few steps to pick up the lens, slipping it into my pocket before hanging the sunglasses from the sternum strap of my CamelBak. It took me a little time to find my stride again, but I settled in quite nicely. It was early, just around 7 AM, but the air was already muggy and the sun demonstrated its power by baking against my back. Along with my ball cap today, I wore a bandanna over my head and hanging over my neck and ears. I wore it to help keep the bugs off me, but I was glad that it also was keeping the sun off the back of my neck.

The trail moved by quickly. In the wooded areas, the angle of the sun left long shadows from the trees along the north side, providing some shade. Of course, the shade was not without cost--clouds of gnats and mosquitoes waited in ambush. As I passed through the clouds of bugs, I breathed in through my nose and out through my mouth, to keep myself from getting an unwanted snack. Mrs. F reports no problems with bugs on the trail, but I must be slow enough for them to lock on. Still, my bandanna did its job, and kept me from swatting at bugs on my neck and in my ears. There was one persistent deer fly, however, that kept buzzing my head--more of a nuisance than anything.

Timing was right. I crossed the first crossroad and still had time before my arbitrary turnaround at the 45 minute mark. I moved onward at a higher pace, wanting to reach some notable feature to aid my mapping when I returned home. I reached the next cross street at the 45 minute mark, allowing for a good turnaround point.

The next mile and a half was just amazing. It's as if my legs were telling me "we know what to do" and I let myself speed up. I don't know how fast I was moving, but my pace and stride were more similar to those final stretches where I try to kick things up a notch. My stride was longer, and smooth, and the trail was just flying by me. The slight breeze was in my face since the turnaround, and it felt wonderful. I don't know what pace I logged on that stretch, but I know I finished the return trip five minutes faster than the outgoing trip.

Now, as I approached the final mile, things got tough. It was uphill, and it brought me back out onto a gravel road in full sun. I felt myself slow to that familiar slog, and I looked ahead at the three inclines that remained ahead of me. [I just realized that I made that five minute improvement going uphill on the return when I had been going downhill on the outbound trip.]

Mrs. F caught up to me when we had about three-fourths of a mile left. She was still going faster than me, and I felt myself slowing, but as she ran alongside she said I was running a 14:30mm pace. How fast was I going just before?

The final quarter of a mile was tough. Though I intended to do a full 90 minutes, I opted to end at 5.5 miles. Mrs F told me that the road where I turned around was 2.75 miles from our starting point, so I knew how far I had gone. I kept moving, and finished in 1:24:37. I squeezed in that extra half mile in an extra two minutes, so I knew my pace was better: just under 15:23. On the outbound half, my pace was 16:22mm, though, and only 14:24mm on the return. And that was an uphill return!

It was a really good run! Now I just need to make sure I'm running three times a week.

My long run

2010-07-17T10:29:00.002-05:00

My training plan called for 7 miles today. I set the alarm for 6 am and Mr. f snoozed it at least once. It was tough to drag myself from the vestiges of sleep this morning. I got up slowly, dressed and woke up my daughter who was holding down the fort this morning. My cc runner was going for a short run this morning as well.,

I think Mr. f and I got out this morning just before 7. We started running together, even though we did most of our run time seperate.

I did a .4 mile warm up as well as .4 cool down as well. It seems to make the interior muscles of my legs behave better. If I run later in the day, after Ive been up and down the stairs doing laundry and whatnot, I dont really need it. Though for the runs just out of bed, it seems to be important.

The first 3.5 miles felt great! The last time, it was the first half of my 7 miler that dragged, this time it felt like I could run forever. It did get tougher though for the 2nd half of the run. My plan called for a pace of 12:24 or something like that, so I generally allowed myself to run as fast as I felt like, as long as I stayed close to that 12:30 mark. I did most of the run between 11:30 pace and 12:30 pace. If I noticed my pace hitting 12:45 or higher, I forced myself to speed up. Mostly though,I just simply ran, allowing my body to dictate the pace.

The bugs left me alone for the most part except for the lone bug that decided to lodge himself in my throat. That forced a stop and almost getting sick, but after that was cleared up, I ran on. I took note of mile maker points as I crossed roads on the trail, so I could tell Mr. f later. He was going for 5 or more today, while I was doing 7.

I caught back up with Mr. F at just over 6 miles for me. I ran with him for a bit, as we chatted and then I took off for the last 6/10 of a mile. I really wanted to sprint hard for the last 2/10. I took off too fast though, I was able to keep an 8 minute sprint pace for about a tenth. The last tenth was harder and I was able to only keep about a 9:20 sprint pace. All in all, though I was pleased with the run. I ended up doing 7 miles in 1:23:18, which is 23 seconds faster than my last 7 miler. Seconds count folks! I did an 11:54 pace.

I am far more sore today though. Im not sure if its just the adding up of more miles in a week with the training plan or what. I plan to take it relatively easy today for sure! I have run over 36 miles this month and July isnt over yet!

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

Weight Check 7/16/10

2010-07-16T13:05:00.003-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday:   274.8 lbs.

Today:         272.0 lbs.

Gain/Loss:      -2.8 lbs.

Goal:          210.0 lbs.

Cumulative:     28.4 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 62.0

Comment: At this point, Ill take anything I can get. I'm now about at the weight I was when Mrs. F and I first met.

Mrs. F

Last Friday:   154.3 lbs.

Today:         152.7 lbs.

Gain/Loss:      -1.6 lbs.

Goal:          150.0 lbs.

Cumulative:     30.1 lbs.

Pounds to lose:  2.7

Comment: I wasnt sure where Id be this week, since I had some water weight and whatnot. Im extremely happy with 1.6 down! I also ate up a lot of my exercise burn in calories, so I wasnt sure how that would impact the bottom line. Wow, it seems really amazing to be only 2.7 from my first goal point. And seeing the culmulative number hit 30 was a really proud moment!

Cross Training time

2010-07-15T20:36:00.002-05:00

Mr. F took the day off and most of the family went to the childrens museum today with some good friends. Then we enjoyed lunch at a park in our old neighborhood and the kids really enjoyed that.

By the time I got home, I was pretty exhausted. The kids watched some movies, Mr. F napped and I surfed facebook for awhile. Soon enough it was time for supper. We took a variation on our stuffed peppers and chopped them up and rolled them in a tortilla with some mozzerella cheese -- pretty yummy!

After getting some food ... I decided to go for a bike ride. Ive been slowly upping my miles as Im getting back into biking. I set out with the goal of going 10 miles. Generally I just enjoy biking and Im not pressed on trying to beat my previous time or speed. Although my competative nature still rears its head and I keep upping the ante on how far I ride! Thus the 10 miler today.

Since speedwork was yesterday, and I have two rest days before my long run, I decided today was the day. The weather was beautiful, not too hot and a nice breeze. I set off to go around the lake, adding in a half mile jaunt with a long hill for some extra heart rate pumping. After making my way around the lake and down the trail, I headed out of town just a little ways, making my way by our towns festival grounds and airport. I came back in on Cable Ave and made my way thru Grass Lake road. On the edge of town again, I followed grass lake instead and made my way to the other end of town and came back in. I needed to make a 1 block jaunt though to make it to 10 miles even. I think it actualy was something like 10.03 or something like that. I did it in 53:19, a 5:19 pace.

It felt really good to hit that 10 mile mark. Ive done it once before, last summer, when Mr. F and I biked 11 mile to a nearby town, ate lunch and biked 11 back home. That was hard! Im a little more in shape to do a jaunt like that now, I think.

Im not sure on weigh in tommorrow. The numbers have been all over the place this week, and a little water weight to boot. So time shall tell on that front.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

Speedwork Wednesday

2010-07-14T09:46:00.002-05:00

My training plan called for a 1 mile warm up run, then a mile at 10:15 pace, 1/2 mile recovery jog, another mile at 10:15 pace, 1/2 mile recovery jog, then a mile cool down run, totaling 5 miles.

I got up around 6:40, a little later than I hoped to get up, and headed out the door around 7 am. I walked a half mile for warm up and then starting running. As I began just walking, it seemed like everything hurt. My knees were complaining, my ankle hurt, my back even hurt. Thankfully the warm up walk helped get my body into groove. None of those things plagued me throughout the run. It was fairly humid out , so I was very thankful for a strong breeze. I did the warm up mile in 12 even.

Soon enough it was time for the speedwork. I find it hard to keep a steady rhythm but i just concentrated on keeping myself below 10:20 pace. I found myself quite often running in the 9 minute mile range, then the next thing I know im doing 11 again. The first fast mile was tough! I kept concetrating on that if I got to the end of the mile, I had a half mile recovery! I did that mile at 10:13 pace~! I allowed myself to walk up to a tenth of a mile during the recovery jog. I only needed .05 hundredth and then I started jogging again.

My 2nd fast mile came far sooner than I would have liked. It helped knowing though, that once that was over, I just had slow 1.5 miles to run home. I really wanted to do the 2nd mile of speedwork faster. My son was really happy that I was going to have to suffer the pain of repeat miles like he often has to during cross country season. They have to do each subsquent mile faster, so I was really hoping to do that as well. I came in at 10:07 -- woot -- faster than the first! I was extremely pleased with my pace mile times. I hit the mark and then some! Dont get me wrong, it was hard. I was breathing heavy and working really really hard. I was very surprised to find my average heart rate coming in at 154. I know during those speed segments, it was regularly over 160+.

This time, I took my full tenth of a mile walking during my recovery job. I wanted to get my breathing back under control and my heart rate down and I was tired! I found the last cool down mile the most challenging. Im not sure if it was that I was just ready to be done or what but I found it harder. It was a bit of the Dory mantra, just keep running, just keep running. My pace was all over the place but I ended up doing that mile in 12:10.

All in all, the 5 miles averaged out at a 11:31 pace. Ive run 29.1 miles this month so far. If I can keep up with my training plan, Im on pace for a record month of miles! Time will tell on that front!

Keep on running
Mrs. F

Sure it wasn't Monday?

2010-07-13T22:56:00.000-05:00

Today was one of those days that just felt like a Monday. I had a bit of a headache in the morning, and didn't feel well most of the day. The alarm went off at six o'clock this morning, but I didn't get up to run. I was up late last night, so I figured I could run in the evening, after work. When I did get home, I got busy around the house, and it was still bright and fairly hot--conditions I don't really like. Soon, dinner was on the table, and I hate the concept of running on a full tummy. I was ready to give it up for the day, but Mrs. F told me she was going for a bike ride. I told her I'd go for a run at the same time, if she'd wait a bit while the food settled. We waited around about an hour, and then we headed out.

I took a 2.8 mile route, one to which Mrs. F introduced me a week or so ago, with what she calls "a wicked hill." It wasn't a great run this evening--all effort, all the time. The air was so thick and humid as I began. About two blocks in, I noticed a small stone in my shoe. It wasn't sharp, so I continued on to the top of the first hill where I stopped and took it out. I continued on, the evening sun beating down on me, and I was simply hot, sore, and uncomfortable. I was so glad I was wearing my sunglasses.

When I took a turn southward, I caught a face full of wind, and that felt wonderful. The run, itself, was still tedium, but at least I felt cooler now. I didn't spend much time looking around today. I just ran on, keeping my feet in tune to a mental cadence that sounded some form of the Magnum P.I. theme.

Mrs. F soon caught up to me with the bike, while I was going up the steepest incline on the route. I talked her through adjusting her gears so that she could up-shift as she climbed, and I think I ended up taking the hill too fast. When I got to the top, I was well-winded and had to walk for a bit. I soon resumed and ran past the two mile point while Mrs. F rode on. Soon she circled around to me and stayed alongside for the balance of the route. I decided to end the run early, when I came to a specific intersection about a half mile from the house. That kept my run to about 2.3 miles, and I walked the rest of the way home.

My lower back and outer abs are a bit sore, as are my glutes and my quads at my hips, but other than that, I feel fine. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Mrs. F is slated to run again tomorrow morning. I'm thinking about going with her, just to get back on the same schedule. Otherwise, my next one will be Thursday.

Saturday run in review

2010-07-11T09:47:00.000-05:00

The alarm went off at 5 AM, but we didn't rise immediately. We fell subject to the tyranny of the snooze alarm, but we broke free of our shackles before the early morning slipped away. This was the day of Mrs. F's long run. Her plan was to cover six miles. I had missed my other runs this week, so I only had a two-miler under my belt since Monday. Part of me wanted to throw myself back down into bed with my favorite flannel blanket, but I knew I needed to run.

Mrs. F and I dallied a bit after rising, but we both made it out the door by 6 AM. After all the heat we've had, it was refreshingly cool. Since I knew I would neither be able to keep up with Mrs. F, nor cover the same distance as she, I opted to take another route. From the same starting point we went separate ways--Mrs. F off to the Luce Line Trail, and I headed north and uphill, the start of the route that marked my reboot two weeks ago.

With my earbuds in place and one of my favorite artists set to "play all", I made my way.

The first uphill segment caused me no trouble or discomfort. Rather than trying to keep my pace down, I let my body call the shots, running as fast or as slow as felt comfortable. Mrs. F was using her Garmin GPS today, so only had a watch to record my time. Yet, from running this way before, I had an idea of where the one-mile mark was located. When I hit it, I was just over 13 minutes.

The turn came that marked the route I took two weeks ago, but I set my eyes further east. Since I now knew I could run five miles, and the route around the lake nearly matched that distance, I decided to give it a go.

When our eldest son first started cross country, I thought he was crazy for running three miles at a time. Runners always seemed crazy to . Why, after all, would anyone want to punish their bodies in such a fashion? When he started running around the lake for his own enjoyment, which driving showed to be about five miles, I thought he was nuts, and that he must have gotten most of his genes from my wife's side of the family. Still, there I was, opting to make the same run.

The run out of town seemed mostly uphill, though a modest grade. Mentally, I had braced for a long jog out to the road that would take me south, yet it came into view far earlier than I expected. [It turns out that it was only 1.5 miles from my starting point, but in my mind's eye I thought it was more than two miles away.] About that time I also realized that the first mile of my run was in no way unpleasant--a marked difference from most of my running experiences--so now I was excited about the rest of the run.

I crossed and turned south onto the road that would take me along the western shore. [I always run facing traffic--a habit I picked up when learning rules for safe hikes with the Boy Scouts.] I never thought I'd tolerate running on pavement, but it's not been as bad as I imagined. Soon, however, I reached the end of the paved stretch, and I welcomed the scrunching sound of my feet on gravel. I ran past my dentist's house, and it was clear that he had been up already. The gravel along his property line was wet where he had sprayed it down not long before, to keep clouds of dust from rising when the cars whizzed by.

Soon after passing his house, there was a straight flat segment perhaps two-tenths of a mile in length. On the right, grasses, brush, and trees decorated the hillside that descended toward the lake. On the left, a large, open wetland field filled numerous acres. Hundreds, if not thousands of birds darted to and from across my path and around me. The electric line on my left that paralleled the road was wing to wing birds for much of the span, and the trees on my rights seemed alive from the throng of birds. The scene reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds", but my avian companions seemed to have no interest in pecking at my eyes.

Soon after passing the field, the road began its gradual descent, and curved to follow the contour of the shoreline. Fewer homes lined the road here, each on larger lots with many mature trees. Again, I was surprised when I approached a recognizable way point sooner than expected. The point where the Luce Line Trail crosses the road, the place where Mrs. F and I began our Couch-to-5k training program, was just ahead of me.

I made the turn onto the trail. I knew this segment well, but had not run on it since late last fall. My stride was still steady and I felt no fatigue, so it was a different experience on the tail this time. I quickly had run past the point where we would end our warm-up walks, and was surprised by how quickly the trail seemed to pass. There was the large curve where I'd often lose sight of Mrs. F, especially when coming from the other direction. Then there was the bench that marked the spot where I once gave up due to discomfort in my left knee and hip, before getting up and starting again. Many memories came to me that highlighted how far I had come.

Now, on the long, gradual climb the trail presented, my body started to feel the distance. Yet I kept moving on, striding past spots on the trail where I once agonized to finish. I rehearsed in my mind the fact that I soon would come to the end of the trail, but that it would not mark the end of my run the way it once had. Soon even that point was behind me as I turned briefly north before turning westward again. Now I knew the distance was short (given the length of my run). A small cough began to bother me from time to time, so I paid close attention to my breathing. I tried a bit of water, but it didn't help. Eventually, I took a deep breath and let myself cough hard before spitting away whatever it was that had been bothering me. Things were again better after that.

Reaching Second Street, I opted to turn north to take advantage of the shade cast by the trees along the road, something that would not have been available to me had I stayed to my original route. Since the roads were parallel, I knew my distance would be the same, so I had no worries of cutting myself short. As I drew closer to home, fatigue began to set in. It would have been so easy to stop and walk the rest of way, especially on familiar streets near home, but I resisted.

I turned west again, heading past some if the downtown stores and then past the grocery. At the main road that led home, there was no traffic, so I crossed and continued my run. Now, with home in view, my mind joined my body in wanting to be done. It's not that I physically needed to stop, but that my body wanted to stop. I did not feel that I could manage a sprint, but I pushed up my pace. Then I pushed up my pace again. Knowing that Mrs. F was running a longer distance and that she is also faster than me, I expected to see her returning as I approached home. I wondered if she was there already. I crossed my starting point at 1:13:17, covering a distance of 4.9 miles, giving me a pace just under a 15mm. Certainly not a fantastic pace, but a good improvement over my last long run.

Mrs. F didn't return until after I showered, while I was dressing so I could ride out looking for her. She ran six miles, and had added a half-mile walk both before and after.

The rest of the day was spent with family in Avery, Wisconsin, which made the 2.5 hour drive time (each way) bearable. My food consumption for the day was on target for a 1.9 lb./week loss, even before logging my run, so it was a good day indeed.

On a related note, my blood sugar levels are much better again, and my medicines are even causing me to get too low from time to time. I may yet be rid of them.

Weight Check 7/9/10

2010-07-09T12:21:00.002-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 277.2 lbs.

Today: 274.8 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -2.4 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 25.6 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 64.8

Comment: I'll take 2.4 lbs! I still need to run yet today.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 155.0 lbs.

Today: 154.3 lbs.

Gain/Loss: - .7 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 28.5 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 4.3

Comment: I expected to be up this week, I didnt overeat but I did eat up all my calories and some of my run burn. So Im extremely pleased with a 7/10 lb loss! The even better part was I looked at my bmi and I am officially, albeit barely, in the normal range with this latest loss!!!!!!!

Back to biking

2010-07-08T15:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I got back to biking to work this week. Mrs. F borrowed my bike to take a ride (hers was stolen a few weeks ago), and since she topped off the tires I no longer had an excuse. So, that gives me four quick half-mile sprints a day, except on days like today when I needed to run back and forth one extra time to fix a faucet. It feels good to be back in the saddle again.

Aside from July 4, calorie counts have been good over the past two weeks. We've had more fresh fruit and veggies around, so that has made a big difference. I'm due to run again today, but didn't feel like going out at five-thirty this morning. I should run this evening, but might postpone until tomorrow morning so as to be back on the same running schedule as Mrs. F. I'm due to run a longer one this week, and I'm not sure if that will be tomorrow, or on Saturday.

I've been thinking about doing a short (one mile) run on my off days, just for the calorie burn, but am wondering if that's a good idea. I'd still reserve one day as a complete day of rest, meaning I'd run my three primary runs and those three one-milers each week, leaving me one day for relaxation and recovery.

Temps have cooled off a bit here in the past few days, so the runs shouldn't feel like bathing in a roaster oven any longer. I'm looking forward to the approach of fall, when the days will be cool even when the runs make me hot.

Well, I must go for now (break's over).

Todays run 7/7/10

2010-07-07T09:06:00.002-05:00

Currently Im working on a 5 week training plan to helps with improving your time for a 5k. So todays workout was a 5 mile run - 1 mile warm up jog, 3 miles @ 10:52 pace and 1 mile cool down jog.

I thought, hmm I normally run around 11mm mile pace, this will be pretty easy. Um yeah ... It wasnt. It didnt help that I forget my mp3 player, so 5 miles felt really really long!

I took 8/10 of a mile warm up walk as well. I wanted to see if it made a difference to my inside leg muscles. It seemed to help some, the jury is still out on that one.It was bright and sunny as I didnt get out til after 7 am. I did the first mile at about 11:58 pace, nice and steady. Then came the fun part. I discovered that I really dont run at a very steady pace at all. One minute, id be pacing at 10:01 and the next 11:20. I focused on keeping my pace sub 11, that was a little easier than focusing on the precise second.

I did 3 miles (using the lap feature on my garmin) in 32:55, which comes out to a 10:59 pace. Thats pretty close to where I wanted it to be. I did walk a tenth of a mile after the 3 miles, I was beat! Then I took up running again. I ended at 5.0 miles even and walked the last couple of blocks home.

I did 5 miles in 57:20, which comes out to an 11:28 pace. Not bad at all for 5 miles!! and I beat my previous 5 mile time of 57:51!!! Even 31 seconds counts. My heartrate stayed pretty well within range, at least averaged out to 153. i think during the faster portion it was closer to 160's.

My legs are definitely feeling the workout today and Im glad to know there is a 2 day break after this! I have another 6 mile run slated for Saturday. I might shorten it depending on how my legs feel.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

Cross training

2010-07-06T21:16:00.002-05:00

I borrowed Mr. F's bike(mine still hasnt been recovered) and went on a bike ride tonight. I really had forgotten how much I really do enjoy biking. It was really nice to get out by myself and just ride. I didnt even take my mp3 player.

I started by riding around the lake, which from my house, is about 5 miles. After coming back into town, I was feeling really good so I decided to press on. I added in another running route that I somtimes use.

I thought pretty seriously bout taking a 10 mile bike ride tonite but then I remembered my slated run for tommorrow is a 5 miler. Yeah probably best to take it easy! I was going to add in another run route which would have brought the total to 10.

I also thought bout walking the dog tonight as well. Is walking considered cross training or is it too similar to running? I do enjoy swimming but it would take a 10 minute drive to a lake that I could swim in. So its just not as convienent.

Mrs. F

Two miles

2010-07-06T20:43:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of running with son #4 tonight. He's been practicing for a run during the city festival in August, but he's never run two miles before. We had a good run. He was running through the mile-and-a-half point, and then walked a fast walk while I ran on. As he felt able, he ran a bit more, then walked again. When we hit two miles, I was slightly better than 15mm (14:50), and we walked the last block or two home. It was a nice run.

Long weekend in review...

2010-07-06T09:33:00.000-05:00

I didn't post anything over the weekend, so here's the quick summary: one short run, too much food on the 4th, but otherwise a nice weekend.

We had a medical emergency Friday night (a daughter with significant burns from a bowl of soup), so I didn't get out running. [She's okay now--our quick reactions and plenty of cold water limited the blistering burns to a narrow band on her abdomen.] On Saturday, since I already had 12 miles in over the preceding seven days, I decided to run one mile as fast as I could. I did a mile in 12:28. I have no complaints.

I never imagined myself running 12 miles, ever--whether over the course of a week or even over 100 days!

With a good week behind me, I decided to take a couple of days off before running again.

Independence Day brought too much food for me--too many bratwurst and too much cake--but that just means I'll need to work harder this week. I planned to run this morning, but woke up with a headache, so I lingered longer in bed and will try for a run this evening.

Monday Madness

2010-07-05T08:48:00.002-05:00

I did not want to run today -- I just wasnt in the mood at all. I had Mr. F snooze the alarm several times before I finally got up just after 7 am. I couldnt find my workout clothes and I seriously thought of not going at all.

I looked around and found the various workout clothes in 3 different spots. Still wasnt really keen on going. Mr F. was still sleeping as this is his off day.

Im looking at a new training plan that a friend created for me off Runners World website. So today was supposed to be 2 miles at a 12:30 pace. So i figured I could take it slow and easy.

I set out to do my 2.8 mile route( I never did follow directions well lol) and kept my pace slow. I sped up at various points but today waS just hard. I fully realize that my mental game just wasnt there today. I had some emotional stress this weekend and a lot of that is still lingering. It didnt help that I discovered my mp3 player wasnt charged when I went to use it. So I had more time to think bout how much I really didnt want to run.

I even allowed myself to walk up a hill in the middle -- I hardly ever do that. I finished stronger than I started though and that felt good. I did 2.8 miles at a 12:01 pace. Not too shabby for a slow run!

I had a little muscle soreness on the inside of my legs again today. Someone mentioned needing to warm up or that happens. So Im going to try doing a half mile or mile walk first and see if that helps.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

How fast can you go?

2010-07-04T00:24:00.002-05:00

Today was slated to be a rest day for me. The weather dawned nice and warm and by 10 am, it was already 81 degrees. I thought -- you know Im kinda glad to not be running today.

Mr. F had gone out earlier in the morning, Ill let him chime in on his run later. Suffice to say though -- he did fabulous!

While chatting online with a friend -- a fellow runner-- she challenged me to run a mile as fast as i could. She guessed that Id do an 8:48. If you havent figured out by now, Im a bit competetive. I took that challenge and ran with it. I suited up in a tank top and shorts, strapped on my garmin and ran.

The first two tenths I was able to run between the pace of 6-8 minutes per mile. That quickly led to some serious huffing and puffing. I ended up doing the middle part of the run around 9-9:20 pace. At various points I was able to speed up a bit but not like the beginning. It was hot!

I ran a mile in 8:41, beating my friends guess by 7 whole seconds! Way to go me! :)
I seriously felt like I might just collapse right there in my driveway though. I was breathing really really hard. Ive wanted to run a mile as fast as I could go for awhile. I havent though wanted to give up a larger calorie burn to do that single mile run. So it worked out well that I snuck it in on a rest day. I wasnt feeling too sore from my 7 mile run yesterday and felt overall good.

As I sit typing tonight -- I feel great -- muscle wise at least.

On another note, eating today wasnt so well. I just felt hungry most of the day and kept eating and eating and eating. I think I ended the night 200 calories over and that already included 120 calorie burn for the run! Oh well ... tommorrow is a new day and its good to remember that. Part of me wonders though, if it could have been from undereating the day before. I ended up eating 1850 for the day, burned 823 on my long run, so only netting just over 1000 for the day. Hmmm ....

Switching back to a more fun topic -- I got a new dress today. Its really exciting to buy a dress in a much smaller size than I was 10 months ago! Im feeling really good about myself and Im really enjoying that. I even bought some toenail polish to go with my new sandals and dress.

I find myself talking bout couch to 5k everywhere. I mentioned to the fitting room clerk that I have lost almost 28 lbs. And she asked how I did it. It was exciting to talk about couch to 5k. The even more cool part was when she was skeptical about being able to do it herself. Thats when Mr. F chimed in and told her that he was over 300 lbs when he started and did this! I dont know if she will look it up or start it or anything but it was good to share a bit of our success.

I really should get to bed. For some reason, I stayed up late tonight. Usually its the opposite -- Mr. F is the night owl and IM usually the first asleep.

Keep on running,
Mrs. F

Thwarted twice over

2010-07-02T22:45:00.000-05:00

I got up early to run this morning, but when I realized that the garden didn't get watered last night, I ended up taking care of that. More than an hour later, my running time was gone and I found myself rushing to get to work by 8 AM.

This afternoon, things were going pretty well. We were allowed to leave a little early today, and when I got home, I found myself adjusting to the fact that I don't have any homework to do. I had started soup when I was home over lunch, so I decided to make some bread. Of course, in our house, making bread is more than baking a loaf. When all was done, we had three large whole wheat sandwich loaves, a wheat batard, and four French baguettes. In addition, I reserved half a batch of wheat dough to retard in the refrigerator, and used the other to grill up some flat bread to eat with the soup. My formulation came out far better than I expected--the flat bread puffed perfectly, making them wonderful, homemade pocket-style pita bread. All seemed wonderful, and all was wonderful.

Then, it happened. As we sat down for dinner and Mrs. F served bowls of extremely hot Cajun-seasoned soup, our four year old daughter tipped her bowl out onto her belly. Her wail made it clear it was no push from a brother or a minor injury. We rushed her into the bathroom, and I had her lay down in the bathtub. We got her shirt off, and immediately started applying cold water. Given the location, the upper part of her abdomen, it would have been tough to immerse the burned area. We took a wet rag, laid it across the burn (about 2" by 8"), and kept pouring cold water on the rag. Her screaming and wailing was... She was inconsolable. In time, she said her fingers hurt, too, so we soaked them in a cup. We let the tub fill part way with cold water, and kept her in as long as she could stand it. Then, getting her out of the tub, I loosely wrapped a cold, wet triangular bandage around her trunk. [Thanks, Mrs. F--They were a great birthday gift, and they've proven useful, too.] It was clear that some blisters were developing, so we headed in to the emergency room.

To make a long story short, our daughter is okay and I didn't get my run. Because we cooled the wound so quickly (and for so long), by the time the ER doctor took a look, she was left with a line of relatively mild second degree burns. The rest of the 2"x8" area looked like normal skin again. Had we not cooled her so soon and so long, she likely would have blistered over a larger area.

She's in bed now, with a bit of medicated ointment and a fresh bandage on. I'm trying to wind down, and wondering how cool it will be in the morning. My plans to run today were thwarted twice, but tomorrow dawns a new day.

Weight check 7/2/10

2010-07-02T12:43:00.004-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 280.2 lbs.

Today: 277.2 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -3.0 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 23.2 lbs.
[I readjusted this cumulative total after going to back to realize Mr. F's starting weight was actually 300.4]

Pounds to lose: 67.2

Comment: I don't feel too bad considering I've run 12 miles this week. I still need to run tonight.

Mrs. F

Last Friday: 155.4 lbs.

Today: 155.0 lbs.

Gain/Loss: - .4 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 27.8 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 5.0

Comment: I expected to have a small loss this week since last weeks was so large. So Im pleased with nearly a half pound loss. I really hit running hard this week, in the last 7 days, Ive run over 18 miles!

The 7 miler

2010-07-02T08:52:00.003-05:00

Today was slated to be my long run. I was planning on doing at least 6 today since my longer runs lately have been on the shorter end. I got up with the idea that maybe, just maybe, I wanted to try 7.

I set out on a gravel road heading out of town and then connected up to a state trail. Its an old rail line, so its fairly leval with minimal elevation.

The first 3 miles were tough. It just felt long and drug out and I started rethinking the plan. I kept telling myself that I just need to get to 2.5 miles(I was doing a turn around and doubling back). I just keep plugging away.

I set a pacing goal of 12-13 minute miles. It was harder than I thought to keep my pace slow enough to do that long of a run. There were points that I allowed myself to go faster for a short while at least.

At about 3.1 miles, I start thinking about how far out I am and the fact that I didnt bring a cell phone. I started wondering bout the brilliance of this plan. I hit 3.25 and I found my stride for awhile! At 3.5 miles run, I turned around on the trail and started running back.

This is the point where I really regretted forgetting my sunglasses as I was facing directly into the sun. Thankfully the trail was wooded and had various shade patches along the way. It was about 66 degrees out with a nice breeze.

My insides of my legs hurt for the first 3 miles, than at mile 4 my quads took up the mantra. The weird thing was the inside of my legs felt fine then.

I didnt hit the wall til mile 5. Then it was tough, I still had two miles to go and I was in direct sunlight. I had come off the trail section back unto the gravel road. Just keep running, just keep running was my mantra for awhile. The songs changed on my playlist and uplifted my mood a bit. I found a bit more of my stride at mile 6. It just might have been the fact that it was a downhill moment though.

For the last mile, I allowed myself to go as fast or as slow as I wanted. I ran sub 12 for the first half mile, then slowed to sub 13 for awhile and finished by sprinting sub 10. I ended up with overall average pace of 11:57.

This was my longest run yet for distance and time both. It took me 1 hour and 23 minutes and 41 seconds!!!

I will definitely take the next two days off as rest days as Ive run 13.9 miles this week total. And if I included last Saturday as well, it would be 18.6 in the last 7 days. I suspect its time for a rest!

Weight check later today. Im not sure what to expect. Part of me wonders since I had really really low calorie days(1200-1400) last week and had a big loss, if this week will be a gain. I kept my calorie intakes to a reasonale leval this week, but they just werent as low as last weeks. I also ran 3 days this week as well. Time will tell!

Stay tuned folks...

Mrs. F

New personal distance record, scary breathing problem

2010-06-30T19:41:00.001-05:00

[5.0 miles in 82 minutes]

I missed going out with Mrs. F this morning, because I was up until 3AM getting my paper done. Rather than letting it slide for the day, I decided to go out for a run this evening. I decided to push myself a bit, and ended up running five miles! I currently feel like warmed-over death, but that's much better than shortly after my run ended. Let me explain...

After the end of the run, I came in and planned to take a shower. As I entered the bathroom, I noticed an odd smell in the air. Mrs. F told me that one of our daughters had, without permission of course, sprayed a bunch of Febreeze air spray in the bathroom. I've always disliked strong smells (some will give me headaches), but as I prepared to shower, I found myself gasping for breath. I literally felt my lungs tighten up, and I couldn't get a good breath without making a horrible, wheezing gasps. We had an inhaler around, so I took two hits, and I stayed in our bedroom under the ceiling fan until my breathing was better.

Let me just say this: it scared the crap out of me. For a minute, I thought there was a chance I might die.

I've never been diagnosed with asthma, and this is the first time this ever happened. I'll mention it to the doctor. I think the thickness of that scent in the air, on top of my lungs being fatigued from the run, was the source of the trouble, but it still scared the snot out of me. I'm still coughing every few minutes, even thought I got home 90 minutes ago. Mrs. F is throwing the bottle away, and I plan on writing the manufacturer (at a minimum, they need to know what happened).

That was scary. It sort of took the enjoyment out of my accomplishment--five miles is my longest run ever, and it brings my total for the past five days to 12 miles.

A family affair

2010-06-30T18:58:00.003-05:00

Now that Mr. F is back on the running bandwagon, some of the kids are following suit. We had some discussions about what we wanted for our kids. Neither of us had good healthy execise habits. Imagine where we could have been if that had been part of our lives all along.

So we've decided that being active 3 times a week is going to be mandatory. Most of our kids dont struggle with weight and are fairly active. Although, like other kids, video games and sedentary activities like reading pull at them. So 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes(or they can do distance based like the minumum is a mile). Our family has a genetic history on at least one side of high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholestol and heart disease. So they have a strike right off the bat. I want to encourage them to develop life long habits of making exercise a part of their lives.

Most of the kids are fine with this. A few are puzzled at the requirement -- after all they are pretty active kids. The lone holdout is my 16 yr old daughter. She is very resistant to the idea of adding exercise into her routine. In fact, she is flat out refusing. It doesnt have to be running -- it can be walking, running or even dancing. The main goal is to get out there and be active. I might need to pull out my parental arsenal of consquences :)

I expect some resistence to change but Im hoping we can make this a family affair!

Musical words

2010-06-28T11:36:00.003-05:00

I had my yearly physical today. It had been a year since I was last in that clinic. The last time I weighed 183 pounds and today I weighed 155.4. My doctor said that Im at a healthy weight for my height. Those words were music to my ears. Its been a long and hard year.

There are other indicators that my health is on the right track -- my cholesterol numbers were fantastic and my blood pressure was nice and low.

This is the fruit of my labor. I think back to some of those frigid cold days of running. I remember putting on layer after layer just to get out to run. It was worth it. There were months that I thought Id never get here -- after the scale read the same or higher each week.

For some of you, the journey is longer. I just want to encourage to keep plugging away. Keep moving, whether its running or walking or dancing. You can do it!

Mrs. F

Two times in three days...not bad for a reboot

2010-06-28T10:17:00.000-05:00

Mrs. F and I were out again this morning. My pace was still a bit slow (over 16mm), but this route had more long climbs, and one steep one, so I won't complain. With today's 2.75 miles, that brings me to just a hair under seven (7) miles over the past three days.

My body still remembered Saturday's run as we began, and it seemed to take a very long time to find my slogging stride. I didn't get that feeling of "everything's good" on this run, and I didn't feel like I was getting into a grove until at least a mile-and-a-half in, perhaps closer to two miles. It was nice to be on a different route again, however--many visual distractions to keep my mind from focusing on its desire to go back home and crawl into bed.

There was a good, stiff wind this morning, and it was just cool enough to make me feel chilled as we began. We were going head-on into the wind after our first turn, so the wind and the hill opposed us. Mrs. F has run the route before, so she knew what we were facing. She told me that there was a "wicked" hill on our next segment, and I could soon see why she described it that way. I took my eyes off the hill and looked down and around. I admired the densely wooded lot on our left. By the time I looked up again, I was well up on my climb, and I just needed to keep moving.

When we reached the intersection that marked where we'd turn back toward the house, I thought about continuing on. Rather than risk pushing myself too far, however, I decided it was best for me to suffice with a bit less than three miles today. That four-plus route can wait for another day.

I'm looking forward to weight-check on Friday. In looking back on my chart (which I had to fill in with dummy numbers around those weights I had recorded in order for the graph to show up in Excel), I realize just how much I messed up over the past six months. Instead of losing another 30 or more pounds, I had gained back ten (or more) and am only now back to where I was shortly after our secret plan was revealed.

At the same time, however, the prospect of the November Turkey Trot suddenly seemed less intimidating. After all, I really could drop another 30 (or more) pounds between now and then, and I can only imagine that running will be easier when I weigh less.

Oh, well. That's all for now. I need to top off my bike tires so I can get back to riding, and I need to plan on running again on Wednesday. For today and tomorrow, however, I need to put my nose to the grindstone, and crank out my final research paper. I'm so looking forward to school being done. Hurrah!

Not bad, considering...

2010-06-27T22:18:00.000-05:00

I actually feel pretty good, considering I ran 4.24 miles yesterday. I can feel it in my quads, but I had expected to feel it in my lower back. My quads aren't too bad, either. I only really notice it when stooping, or when going down the stairs. Going up feels fine.

Mrs. F has asked me to run again in the morning. Though I need to get in to work early tomorrow, I just may go for that run (though I don't think I'll be trying for four!).

Good night.

The FatMan Runneth

2010-06-26T09:12:00.001-05:00

It's been a month since my last run, and that one was only a mile. At the end of it, I felt deflated and defeated. It seemed that all the progress I made last fall under the Couch-to-5k program had been undone. I wondered if I could ever get active again, despite all the encouraging comments I received here.

Well, over the past month, Mrs. F has been walking a fine line between encouraging me and nagging me about running. There's always been a reason not to run (e.g., up too late, need to get in to work early, headache, too hot, too many mosquitos, general malaise), so when she asked again last night, I was ready to blow it off again. "After all," I reasoned, "I need to finish my final paper, and I really need some sleep because it's been a long week at work and a stressful week at home.

To my surprise, when I woke at six o'clock this morning, I found myself waking up our eldest son to watch the kids so that Marie and I could go running. I guess I just took action this morning before I could think my way out of it.

It's been hot and humid lately, so I was pleased to find it in the low- to mid-60s when we left. The air was thick with mosture--fog clung close to the earth. It's my first summer run, so I wasn't sure what to wear. I went with a pair of compression boxer briefs and a pair of swim trunks for shorts, and a light tech shirt for on top. Knowing that I hoped to go more than a mile today, I grabbed a toy I picked up over the intervening months--a CamelBak resevoir--and took it along.

Remembering my last run, and the fact that I started out way too fast, I told Mrs. F that I wanted to pace at about 14 or 15 as we set out. My route was entirely new today, as I've never run along the roads in town before. I'm starting to think that Biggest Loser has done a lot for altering people's perspectives. Somehow, seeing that show available every week acclimates those "normal" or "healthy" body types to seeing a fat guy like me out there trying to make a difference. Well, that, at least, was how I rationalized things. I guess it (though I don't watch it regularly) has made me feel more comfortable about being seen as a fat guy trying to make a change.

The first half-mile was just what I expected--grinding against the machine. My body and mind were asking "Why?" and they weren't interested in my reasoned and logical responses. Mrs. F started ticking off milage, but I asked her not to do so--it was too early in the run. I didn't want to give my mind more fuel for fighting me. We began on an uphill stretch. When she did announce that we finished the first half-mile, I was still fighting to call the shots in my body. I wasn't as sore as I was on my last run, but I was still working to regulate my breath and to keep my arms relaxed. At that point, I determined that I had to try for two miles.

Mrs. F was being kind. She stuck close, and even ran backwards so she could stay with me. Perhaps three-fourths of a mile in, I told her to go ahead and take a loop through a subdivision while I continued ahead and to the right. I knew she wouldn't have a problem catching back up to me, and I didn't feel right holding her back.

She made her turn and I set my face on making it the two or three blocks to my next turn. Somewhere on that stretch, things settled in a bit. When I made the turn, I had to head down a fairly steep grade for about a block, and I let my stride lengthen as I tried to relax further. Coming up the next hill wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I made it back to the street where we were to rendezvous, and I looked for signs of Mrs. F. Part of me wondered if she had completed her loop, cut across, and gotten ahead of me. I quickly set it out of my mind as I began to notice something.

My body remembered.

Yes, after six months puncuated by only a single mile of running, my body remembered how to run and it found its stride. I didn't have a runner's high, and it's not as if it didn't require any effort. It's just that everything felt fine. I was happy with my pace, I had no aches or pains, and my breathing was not labored.

Soon after, Mrs. F caught up to me and informed me of our distance. I don't know if she thought I'd want to turn around or not. I found myself thinking about running home. After all, two miles was a big improvement over last time. Yet everything seemed right, so I decided to keep going for as long as I could.

We ran along the lake front promenade, and I enjoyed the chilled breeze that came off the water. We ran by one of the parks we like, and past the home of some friends. We soon approached the trailhead where we had done much of our Couch-to-5k running, and Mrs. F told me that I had already gone about 2.1 miles. That's when the craziness hit me. Rather than turning around, turning a corner, and heading home, I decided to trace my path back home. I decided to run more than four miles.

Now, I know that overdoing it when getting back into something is a real risk. Everything today, however, felt fine.

Of course, after turning around, we were headed uphill again. A couple of blocks later, I hit what I'll describe as my wall. The funny thing is that I remembered the feeling from my first 5k race, and I think it happened at about the same point. I reminded myself that my body does what I tell it to do, and that, if I were careful not to push my pace too much, I should be able to finish the four.

Things evened out again. They didn't seem as perfect as they had before, but I still knew I could go on. My next mental test came when we came to a point where I could turn left and make a straight shot to near our house, or continue on a block and then turn right to finish re-tracing our path. I decided to remind my body who was in charge, so I pressed on. I told Mrs. F of my plan to run to four.

The next turn brought a long, gradual downhill segment, and I enjoyed it, even though I knew what was ahead. That steep downhill I enjoyed on the way out was now a challenge to be faced.

I remembered advice someone had given me about hills--to shorten my stride, lean into them a bit, and to swing my arms more. It was certainly a challenge, but I made it to the top. When we turned west, however, I saw that the next half mile (or more) was a long, gradual climb. I slowed again to regulate my breathing, but kept myself moving along as best I could. Not wanting to disappoint myself, I told Mrs. F that I would run to 4.1, just to make sure the mapped route didn't come up under four. She told me as we hit four, and I told her I would run to 4.1. Seeing a stopsign and T-stop ahead, marking our final turn toward home, I decided to forego 4.1 and to run right up to the stopsign. As Mrs. F and I came up to the final street before the stop, we sped up. Her ability to sprint has really improved in the past six months! We both finished that last segment on a sub-8:00 pace--not too shabby for a FatMan who just ran over four miles.

The final tally for me: 4.24 miles in just over 1:10. That turned out to be a 16:50mm pace. I won't complain about that, since it was my first run in a month, my first run over a mile in more than six months, and my longest run ever.

Perhaps a new day is dawning...

Weight Check 6/25/10

2010-06-25T12:19:00.002-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 280.6 lbs.

Today: 280.2 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -.4 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 19.8 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 70.2

Comment: This was an extremely stressful week on many fronts. My head is caught in too many things to even think about exercising. I'm not getting enough rest, so it makes it hard to get up early in the morning to run.

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 158.5 lbs.

Today: 155.4 lbs.

Gain/Loss: - 3.1 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 27.4 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 5.4

Comment: I was really jazzed to see how much i lost this week. It was an extremely stressful week and I ate way less. For once, stress worked to my benefit!!! I was really busy and didnt get in any runs in at all this week. Im sure that next week will be a much smaller loss but im enjoying this one!

Weight check 6/18/10

2010-06-18T09:12:00.003-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 282.8 lbs.

Today: 280.6 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -2.2 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 19.4 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 70.6

Comment:

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 159.9 lbs.

Today: 158.5 lbs.

Gain/Loss: - 1.4 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 24.3 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 8.5

Comment: I was really excited to see the numbers finally go below 159!!! I worked harder at tracking this weekend and was successful on one of the two days -- Baby steps, though! And I got in two good runs this week before weigh in as well as a really good eating week. I kept my calories 1850 or less each day. Im pleased with the progress and IM enjoying seeing the cumulative total inch closer to 25 lost. Once I hit my goal weight, I plan to reevaluate once i hit 150 and detemine if I want to lose the other ten that reach my 2nd goal of 140.

Weight Check 6/11/10

2010-06-12T10:30:00.002-05:00

weight check 6/4/10
FatManRunning

Last Friday: 285.0 lbs.

Today: 282.8 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -2.2 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 17.2 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 72.8

Comment: I've not gotten back to running regularly, but I did my best to limit my portions to what Mrs. F was eating. I think doing that will help me feel a little better, perhaps helping me to get out running again.

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 159.8 lbs.

Today: 159.9 lbs.

Gain/Loss: +.1 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 22.9 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 9.8

Comment: I was discouraged with this weeks gain,even though its not much, it still was frustrating. I am thankful to be staying steady but being in the same pound range for 4 weeks is very frustrating. Part of it, Im sure is less consistency with running. Its been a lot harder getting up to run in the early mornings. Eating has been okay, although weekends are a lot tougher to eat consistently. I guess I just need to keep plugging away!

weight check 6/4/10

2010-06-04T13:53:00.002-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 285.4 lbs.

Today: 285.0 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -.4 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 15.0 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 75.0

Comment:

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 159.3 lbs.

Today: 159.8 lbs.

Gain/Loss: +.5 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 23.0 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 9.8

Comment: It was a week with more indulgences -- mememorial day picnic, birthday cake and housewarming party all factored in. So while Im not happy for the gain, Im thankful its only a half pound up.

Weight check 5/27/10

2010-05-28T13:06:00.002-05:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 285.6 lbs.

Today: 285.4 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -.2 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 14.6 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 75.4

Comment:

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 159.8 lbs.

Today: 159.3 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -.5 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 23.5 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 9.3

Comment: I was pleased to see the half pound gone. I didnt have a very consistent eating week, so I had feared it might have gone the other direction. Its very encouraging to see the numbers go below 10 towards my first goal. After I reach 150, I plan to reevaluate, and see if I want to lose that last 10 towards my 2nd goal of 140.

Recap

2010-05-26T07:52:00.002-05:00

I know its been ages since I blogged but Im still here. I made it through the winter,and did keep running. :) Now its on to learning to run in the heat of the summer!

I ran 39.5 miles in January, 26.5 in february, 33.5 in March, 39.4 in April and thus far 15.8 in May. Im still trying to find the balance of the right amount of running that doesnt cause my legs to hurt. I dealt with some shin splints along the interior of my legs. My desire to run more and faster may have had something to do with that!! I had to take a few weeks off here or there to let the muscles heal and then I dialed back the milage. I have been using runnign ahead to track my miles and i love seeing the numbers!

Mr. F got me my birthday present a few months early - a Garmin 305 watch! I absolutely love it. I love having the data at my fingertips and having the distance as Im running is very very helpful. I opted for the version with the heartrate monitor and have been using that as well.

My current plan for running is to do 3 runs a week, 1 longer run (4-6 miles) and two shorter runs (less than 4), totally 8-11 miles per week. The weeks I went past that and hit 13 and 14 miles run, were weeks that really did my legs in. So while the desire to run a lot is there, I just have to take my time in getting there.

Im also trying on the off days to bike anywhere from 3-7 miles. That hasnt been as consistent for me. Its not as high of a calorie burn so its easier for me to just skip that workout.

Speaking of calorie burn, I officially have lost 23 lbs since last august. I fully believe thats why I have kept running, i can see visable results in having lost 6 sizes of clothing. Well and the fact that I like to eat chocolate, running, allows me that indulgence in moderation. Dont get me wrong, there have been plenty of plateaus and losing and regaining the same five pounds over and over. Lots of weeks of bad eating thrown in there. I just keep on going though. One of the keys to making this work for me was learning not to beat myself up over a bad day. Nor to let that bad day torpedo me into many more bad days of eating. Just to let it stand for what it is and move on to eating better the next day. In fact, yesterday was a really really bad day for eating but today is a new day. Im still using my daily plate for calorie counting and then using the calorie burn on my garmin watch for a more accurate exercise calorie burn.

I dont have any specific races planned but Im hoping to do a few this summer. Im a bit anxious to see how my training has paid off. I can see the results in that my pace is getting better and better but race running is a different ballgame.

Im in the process of transitioning to running in the mornings again. Its been wickedly hot and humid here (80-95) and running in the afternoon was just not an option. Its been a much harder transition than I anticipated. The pull of sleeping is strong. I really need to be hitting the sack much earlier in the night, if Im going to pull off a 530 am run! Its way too easy for me to say, Im not getting up today. When I was running after school, I was very consistent in getting out at least every other day. Just need to keep plugging away at making the change, I guess!

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

15 Minute Mile

2010-05-24T08:24:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning, Mrs. F convinced me to go for a run. It was my first run in close to six months. The treadmill we bought has a belt-slippage problem, so it hasn't been used. We know what needs to be done to test it so we can get warranty service, but until the last week or two, I've been tied up with my grad studies and have not been available to help Mrs. F complete the test.

It was only one mile. I likely could have held on for more, but I spent most of the first half mile trying to get control of my breathing, and I was ready to be done before we even hit the half mile mark. On the way back, Mrs. F had to jog in place to stick with me at times, and she asked me if I wanted to walk some. Stubborn as I am, if I was out for a run, I was out for a run. I slogged through the entire mile, and Mrs. F's Garmin Foreruner told her that I had completed it at a 15 minute mile pace. Not bad for a fat old dog who has been sitting in his room reading books and writing papers for what seems like forever.

Actually, she said I started at an 11 minute mile pace, and slowed from there. When I get my stamina back, I might even surprise myself.

Okay, it wasn't just agreeing to go with her on the run, either. I don't remember what bargain we struck the night before, but when I asked her to do something, she replied, "Only if you agree to run with me in the morning." I need to watch what I agree to when I'm tired. ;-)

Speaking of bargains, Marie has been trying to bait me back into the health and fitness thing (I've not even ridden my bike to work since we hit a particularly cold stretch this winter). She offered that, if I can get to my goal weight, I can get a motorcycle. At first, I thought she was kidding, but she's made the offer numerous times over the past couple of months. Before some of you go off on how dangerous motorcycles can be, let me just say that I'm aware of the risks of riding an open-air vehicle at highway speeds. Had I gotten a motorcycle when I was in my 20s, I would have been afraid for me. As I am today, I'm much less inclined to be reckless--there's no one I want to impress, and I have plenty of reasons why I want to stay injury free (not the least of which is knowing that one good accident would mean that the motorcycle woiuld go bye-bye).

At first, the thought of a motorcycle really didn't motivate me at all. As the weeks have worn on, however, that little voice in the back of my head is saying, "Why not? You can do that." Perhaps I can.

I didn't weigh on Friday, but I did weigh at home on Saturday morning: 285.6. Thankfully, I've held at this plateau without losing too much ground.

It's not that my first run in a while went off without a hitch. I don't know if it is just starting again after so long, or the run coming so soon after all that time carrying our gear up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, but I really had some discomfort in the time after the run. Of course, my legs were starting to feel like Jello when I finished, but I really feel the strain in my quads. Then there was the back pain. On Saturday evening, Mrs. F and I made four batches of Hudson Bay Bread, and that left me standing and bending (for the lower oven) a lot. By the time we were done, I was too sore to stand.

Hudson Bay Bread, by the way, is definitely not a low-calorie food. It's basically ground oats, brown sugar, butter, honey, and molasses. We make some varieties with nuts and dried fruit as well. It was one of the foods we took with us to the Boundary Waters on our canoe trip, and since we signed up for snack at our church fellowship for the weekend after we returned, we thought it would be a fun treat to share with others.

Taking time to follow this rabbit trail, I'll admit that making it re-awakened some of my entrepreneurial leanings. We figured that, if it was well received, we could look into renting some food-grade kitchen space to make a few batches for samples and sale. I know someone who has a website through which he sells camping gear (aimed primarily at canoe trekkers), and I've seen a number of inquiries online from people who have searched for places to buy Hudson Bay Bread, so I thought it might be a good fit. Getting ready for this canoe trip also had me working on a design for a lightweight, packable, wood-burning stove, but that has not gone past the drawing stage (though I do have a friend who is a design engineer working up the sketches in AutoCAD). Thus, I've obviously had some time beyond my studies, but allocating time is always easier when you enjoy what you're doing.

When I first completed the Couch-to-5k program, I can't say I really enjoyed running. There were a few runs that felt great, but it never became the butter to my bread as it seems to have become for Mrs. F. She'll be the first to admit that it hasn't been easy for her by any means, but running did seem to "click" for her (I'll let her post as to whether or not I characterized that correctly). Of course, it probably helps that, since she was able to stick with it better than was I, she's seen a bit more of a return on her labor: she's looking great. It might not make sense to most of you, but while I'm glad for her success, it also makes me feel worse about my inability to keep going. I try to focus on the former (being happy for her success) without dwelling too much on the latter. She's able to run with another friend in town now, and she's talking about 10k races, half-marathons, and even mini-triathalons. All the while, I was just realizing how much my mind really is a one-track mind: when I got into running, that's all I cared about. When school started up again, that's all I could do. As our BWCA trip got closer, it was the only thing on my mind. Now that the trip is over, school is nearly done, and a motorcycle is being dangled in front of me, my mind might be realigning to return to running/fitness as its focus-du-jour.

Now, if I could only remember to brush my teeth every day...

Weight Check 5/21/10

2010-05-21T12:42:00.003-05:00

Mrs. F
Last thursday: 161.6 lbs.

Today: 159.8 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -1.6 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 23.0 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 9.8

Comment: I know i havent posted a weight check in several months but I have been tracking my progress. Its really exciting to be in thre 150's, even if its only barely! The boundary waters trip did definitely help in losing a bit more than my normal pound! Mr. F will weigh and report back later. Keep on running!

Finally, a break

2010-05-20T06:06:00.011-05:00

This past weekend, Mrs. F and I got our first alone-by-ourselves (no family or friends to visit) getaway in more than 10 years. We went past Ely, Minnesota into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (affectionately know simply as the BWCA) inside Superior National Forest. We paddled more than 15 miles in to our campsite, carrying everything we needed on our backs as we portaged between lakes. That included a 65+ lb. canoe and three packs ranging from 35 to 45 lbs. We made camp on Lake Insual, about eight or nine miles from a lake with native American pictographs, so that was our primary day trip. All in all, we paddled between 45 and 50 miles, and carried our gear around three miles! It was great fun, and quite a workout!

Long, dark winter

2010-04-22T08:46:00.000-05:00

I've been away (mentally) for too long. The pressure of finishing grad school is really getting to me. I've only taken one short run in the past three months. Health issues are starting to press again. Weight is still hovering on a plateau, though, so that's the only good news (beside the fact that I'm still upright and taking nourishment). I've really come to hate the short days of winter, so am glad to see spring finally here (and even a bit early in our area). I'm in a funk I just can't shake.

I have only 11 weeks of classes left, though I think I have a break in there somewhere for Independence Day. I walk in May, but am not very excited about it (but that's another story).

Stress levels at home are high. My fuse has been short, and I feel like a prisoner in my own home: every evening is defined by needing to do homework. Unfortunately, I get distracted far too easily, putting me behind, and that adds to the stress.

[Sigh!]

The only thing that has kept me going is knowing that Mrs. F and I will be taking a canoe trip together in May, to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. It will be our first four-day weekend together, without the kids (and without a schedule of family or friends to visit) in ten or more years. We're headed up into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA for short). We'll put in as early as we can on a Friday morning, and paddle out on the following Monday.

Mrs. F has continued running. She was already faster than me while we were doing the C25K program. Now, I don't stand a chance of running with her again. She's up to six miles, and I think I'd struggle through one now. I don't want her to feel bad about it, but it just makes it so much harder for me. This was really working when she and I were getting up and squeezing our half-hour in early in the morning. With longer runs and longer times now, however, it's best for her to run mid-afternoon, right after the kids get home from school. That's right before I get home from work, and I simply have no energy to run at that time.

I ran across an article in Newsweek (online) about Lesley Kinzel, who blogs at Fatshionista.com. She was featured because of all of the recent discussions on childhood obesity. She was overweight as a child, and it became central to her self-identity at a very young age. In reading her story, I realized the same was true for me: from an early age, I was always "the fat kid", and that became how I see myself. I was always "the fat kid", and, even as an adult, I still see myself as "the fat kid".

The real kicker is that I actuall dropped to a healthy weight for a while. During my senior year in high school, I was studying karate and was biking everywhere. Looking back on photos now, I see that I looked pretty good, but I still saw myself as "the fat kid". How is it that we can get a self-image so far ingrained into our being that it becomes the permanent filter through which we see ourselves and our lives?

I have no clue what I weighed when that picture was taken. All I now know is that I look at it and I want to cry. Had I only been able to see myself as I was, versus how I perceived myself to be, it might have helped me keep the weight off.

About four years later I was around 230 lbs. A year or two after that, I was 260 lbs.

Yet, to me, I felt no different at 260 lbs. than I did when that photo was taken.

Even now, as I hover just under 290 lbs., I feel just as fat as I've always felt--sometimes even bigger--even though I know my peak weight was 348 lbs!

There's a lot of pain tied up inside somewhere. I hate being "the fat kid". Right now, however, I have no energy or motivation to go out there and fight for a change.

This is how I looked during the summer of 2009, before I started the C25K program. I can see the difference between the pictures, but my mind has always seen me the same way, regardless of how large I was. When Mrs. F posts family picutres online today, I still cringe. I don't like the way I look. I never have liked the way I look, because I remember that no one likes "the fat kid".

Here we were after our second 5k, the Howard Lake Turkey Tagalong. This is after completing C25K and proving I could run over three miles. Yet, I still see myself as "the fat boy". How can I ever reprogram that image? How can I ever get beyond that identity? I know many of you will think of your own journeys, and the things that worked for you. I thought I had found a new life, but being "the fat boy" has been like a boat anchor. The way I figure it, I'll probably need to start C25K all over again, because I don't know if I can even run a mile at this point. The bike has been in the garage, too.

Am I feeling sorry for myself? Is that all this is? Is it just a pity party? If it is, I wish I knew how to stop the music. If this is a carnival ride, I want to get off. I'm madly envious of the success Mrs. F has achieved. I just feel powerless to follow in her footsteps. I'm back to feeling like I'll be trapped this way for the rest of my life, and I know that means it will be a shorter life. That just feeds the depressive cycle. I find myself craving more sweets and comfort foods because I'm feeling down. I know they're no good for me, but I want them anyway. I just want a little relief now--I'm not thinking about the long-term. As I'm writing this, I'm beating myself up even more, because I realize how odd it must sound for a guy to be rambling on like this. This struggle, and my self image, don't help me feel masculine. Do other overweight guys simply never feel this way, or are they stronger than I so as to shrug it all off? I wish it were possible for the old Simon and Garfunkel song to be true: "I am a rock. I am an island. / And a rock feels no pain. And an island never cries."

Weight check 2/12 - Mrs. F

2010-02-12T15:48:00.002-06:00

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 166.8 lbs.

Today: 164.9 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -1.9 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 17.9 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 14.9

Comment: Woot! Im very pumped to see the lose this week. Last week,I didnt even weigh in cause it was a bad week! I got back on track this week, did two good runs and watched my intake. I love seeing the numbers go down! Almost 18 lbs lost, it still amazes me.

Saturday run

2010-01-30T14:39:00.002-06:00

This week has been lighter on the workout front as Ive been dealing with shin splints on the side of my legs. Plus my knees were a bit achy. I thought it best to keep it slow and easy this week.

I did two runs on the treadmill on monday and wednesday at 2 miles a piece. I finally got my first outside run in over a week in today. I set out hoping to hit 3 or 4 miles today but my muscles didnt agree. I cut the run short and ended up going only 2.2 miles. My pace was 13:45 -- so I figured slow and short is good for this week.

I think I just need to ease back into upping my miles. I went too far too fast. I looked at my running tracking site and realized I doubled my output -- oops! I was doing about 6 miles a week and then the next went to 13, then 10. So thats likely why Im dealing with shin splints. My goals got a bit ahead of my body!

But I did put in 39.5 miles for the month of January. I am extremely pleased with that output. Ideally, Im shooting for 42 a month but I will definitely take the 39!

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

Weight check January 29

2010-01-30T14:34:00.002-06:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 280.9 lbs.

Today: 281.6 lbs.

Gain/Loss: +.7 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 18.8 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 71.6

Comment: My focus this week was homework, I only have three more classes to go.

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 166.9 lbs.

Today: 166.8 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -.1 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 16.0 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 16.8

Comment: I was dealing with some shin splints on the side of my legs so I deliberately took an easier workout week. I only ran 6 miles this week. I feel pretty good about not gaining as I seemed to eat a lot and worked out less! Hopefully I can get back in gear and get the numbers trending downward again.

FatManRunning and climbing and skiing...

2010-01-25T22:57:00.000-06:00

It's so nice to have a free evening. I got my school work in a day early this past week and am facing a lighter list of assignments for this week (one week before my finals). Tonight's Scout meeting was also cancelled because of the weather (blizzard conditions here resulted in recommendations against any travel this evening and two of the other leaders indicated that they wouldn't be able to make it). That meant I was home on a Monday evening without any real pressure to be doing anything other than getting the treadmill up.

I was excited to learn that Mrs. F and our eldest son got a head start on putting the treadmill together. By the time I got home, there weren't too many steps left to complete. I let our son continue the fine job he was doing while I went upstairs and made some calls to make sure the boys knew there would be no meeting tonight. When finished, I helped him finish the treadmill assembly.

Once it was up and running, I took the first run, and then a number of the older kids wanted to give it a try. My run was very short (I inadvertantly activated a pre-programmed run and worked myself up to a headache within moments), but I got on for another one later. Mrs. F got a couple of miles in. Since this was my first night of running in weeks, I opted for a single mile. I started at four miles per hour, and increased my speed as I went on, until I finished one mile at seven. I don't know why, but running that one mile on the treadmill felt longer than three miles outside! We do have the TV up on the wall now, though, so I was able to watch as I was running, so I did not focus on the clock or mileage figures in front of me. All in all, I finished with a 14 minute mile pace.

Since I've not been running, I kept it to one mile and will see how I'm feeling tomorrow before committing to run again. On my last weight check, I was glad to find out I was within one pound of where I was back at Thanksgiving. Since I've not been running--and have not been eating so well--I was afraid that I could have been up at least 10 lbs.

Last week, I chaperoned a trip with the local 6th grade class. We had lots of fun, and activities included cross country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and climbing on an indoor climbing wall. I've always wanted to try cross country skiing and snowshoeing, and was excited that they had gear I could use. Both activities were really fun, and I hope I'll have a chance to try them again. I never imagined, however, that I would ever try a climbing wall. I was always afraid of heights when I was a kid, and I've always figured my size and weight would make climbing a 45' wall an impossible feat. I agreed to give it a try (in part to try to convice one of the kids who was a bit fearful to try it), and I made it to the top! Wow!

That one activity helped renew my hope that I can yet get back on top of this weight loss initiative. I still have a hectic schedule ahead of me. Finals for my current class are just a week away, and I have three more classes coming in rapid succession, so I don't have any illusions about it being easy. I've also made it clear that I need someone else to take on my responisbilities with the local Boy Scout Troop, at least until I am done with my schooling. Hopefully, that will allow me to set aside a little more time for running.

It's good to be back!

The treadmill run

2010-01-25T20:36:00.002-06:00

Our eldest son did a good part of putting the treadmill together this afternoon before Mr. F came home from work and helped. It was very exciting! All the kids who were old enough were asking for turns on the treadmill. It was fun seeing them all run!

Mr. F got a run in as well, but Ill let him tell you about that. I was really excited to try it out. Overall I found it harder to use. I like the ablity to slowly increase my speed or lower it. But in general, it just seemed like my mileage progress was sooo slow! I think it will be great for short runs (1-2 miles) and great for bad weather days. I think I will stick to my outside runs for the long ones though.

I started the run with the intention of running for 45 minutes. I even let all the kids have their turns first, so that I could get my longer time in. Ha! After it felt like forever(really only 11:49 ) I got to the first mile point. I adjusted my plan to run for 30 minutes. At about 1.5 miles, I thought, forget it -- Im only running 2 miles lol! So I ended up doing 2 miles in 22:30 -- which is an awesome pace -- 11:15. Perhaps if I had slowed it down, maybe it wouldnt have seemed so hard. It just seemed to drag though.

My mp3 player wasnt charged. So Im looking forward to trying that option out. Mr. F also spent several hours getting our wires rewired so that we could get reception downstairs where the treadmill and tv are. I found it hard to concentrate though on the show. It might depend on how interested in the program. It would be interesting to run while watching biggest loser!

On the eating front, it was a tough weekend. On Saturday, I think I was about 300 calories over. Sunday -- I did okay during the day but watching the football game, gave in to the snack cravings. Eeek! Today, too, wasnt the best. But Im officially going to get back on track!!!

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

Fridays run 1/22

2010-01-23T10:15:00.002-06:00

I didnt get out as early as I normally do during the week. So it was a bit different running more in the dusk with the street lights coming on. I had to pick up Mr. F from the field trip, so timing was an issue. Im glad though that I pushed through and still managed to run.

I wondered if part of my problem on Wednesday, might have been that I was less active during the day. I had sat more than I was up and moving that day. Generally Im up and down the stairs lugging laundry, up folding clothes or loading the dishwasher. Those little things make a difference in warming muscles for sure! I still think Ive been pushing a little too hard and I need to back down on increasing my mileage so much but overall todays run was much better.

I didn't get any burning shin pain -- woot! I was really worried bout shin splints. I still got some pain on the side of my leg but that didnt start in til mile 2 or so. That periodically has been where I feel the strain, on the side of my leg and going up. Its almost like shin splints but on the side, kinda weird. Thankfully, it feels fine today, so I know I just need to slow down my adding mileage. Or if I do a long run, make sure I take a full rest day the next. I think if Im going to do multiple days in a row, I have to take shorter runs and only do one long run.

I did 3.31 miles in 44:25, thats a 13:26 pace. I tried to slow it down especially after my leg muscles were showing strain. That brings my total for the week to 10.6 which meets my goal of hitting 10 miles a week. Ive done 33.3 miles for the month! Im excited about seeing that number go up. I need 42 miles a month to reach my goal of 500 miles for the year. At first, the monthly number was going up so slowly, I was afraid I wouldnt make it. I think though I can do it!

Its raining today and with the potential of freezing rain on the radar, I wont be running today! If conditions are okay tommorrow, Ill try to do 2 miles or if Mr. F gets our treadmill up and running!

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

Weight check January 23rd

2010-01-22T22:51:00.002-06:00

FatManRunning

Last Friday: 279.4lbs.

Today: 280.9 lbs.

Gain/Loss: +1.5 lbs.

Goal: 210.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 19.5 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 70.9

Comment: I've been lazy and swamped with schoolwork. I'm not exercising regularly at all right now. I did get to chaperone a school trip with one of our boys, so I got to cross country ski, hike, snowshoe, and climb a rock wall -- all over two days. The treadmill is still waiting for my attention, as is the TV that we are going to mount on the wall (it's what most of the kids voted to buy with Christmas monies that came in). Once its up and running, I hope to be doing the same in the morning before work. I've not gained as much as I feared. I just feel pretty horrible right now.

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 167.2 lbs.

Today: 166.9 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -.3 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 15.3 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 16.9

Comment: I was pretty disapointed with today's weigh in. I really had hoped for at least a pound. I guess though overall, Im very thankful I didn't gain. Its likely that last weeks loss was artifically low(since i had been sick and undereating or not eating at all) and the regular eating put my weight back more stable. I thought I did well with my calorie counting but I know my sleep was dreadfully low. I dont sleep as well when Mr. F is out of town, so I tend to stay up later. That impacts weight loss as well. A friend pointed out that I lost 4.5 lbs over two weeks and if you list it that way, it doesnt sound so bad!

Wednesday

2010-01-20T19:01:00.002-06:00

I really wanted to try and run 4.5 miles today. I modified my favorite in town route and got it up to 4.5 miles. The weather was bout 28 degrees (20 degree windchill) with bright sun.

It felt good for the first mile or so. Then I noticed my left shin was starting to burn a bit. I slowed down my pace and that eased up some then. Anytime that I upped my pace again, it started hurting. I was also having some muscle pain along the side of my leg, which has plagued me periodically.

After this not getting much easier by the 2 mile mark, I elected to ditch my planned route and cut it short. I really was disapointed. I so badly, wanted to increase my mileage, even if it was only .3 more. I kept telling myself though, that its better to run short today in order to run long another day. And I know for sure, that I dont want to mess around with shin splints.

I love running. So I have my mind on my next goal and its already jumping ahead of where my body is. I need to dial it back and remember that I just started running 5 months ago and Im doing great considering! AFter all I ran 13 miles last week, thats no small feat.

I ended up running 3.07 miles in 41:40, which is a 13:35 pace. I was pleased that I at least got 3 miles in . That brings me my total so far for the month of January to 30 miles!!!!

I think I will see how I feel tommorrow. My original plan was to try and run 2 tommorrow. I think, Im scrapping that and just going to run 1 if I feel okay. If Im overly sore, then I will take it as a rest day and run again Friday.

I wonder if I need to get back to stretching. As winter approached, i slacked on the stretching routine. So that maybe part of it and the other part might just be that Im running longer and farther.

Looking forward to my weight check on Friday. Mr. F is out of town chaperoning one of our sons field trips, so weigh in will be not until late afternoon.

Keep on running folks
Mrs F

3 days in a row!

2010-01-18T20:52:00.003-06:00

I did get out and run on Saturday as well. So I made it 3.6 that day before I had enough. i think my pace that day was 13:30. That brought my weekly total up to 13 miles. Boy was I sore!!! I was pleased though, I had run 3 days in a row for the first time. I thought I might need two days of recovery but one was enough.

So I rested yesterday and began my new week today. I ran 4.2 miles in roughly 53 minutes. My watch disapeared between yesterday and today, so I didnt have as accurate of a time. I noted the time, on the stove clock when I left and then returned. So pretty close. That was a 12:23 pace!

Im thinking more about running the half marathon. Im still not sure I cna pull it off this year but Im thinking bout trying. Im trying to get my mileage up to 15 miles a week and running 5-6 days a week as well. Im aiming for 4 days this week as well, and then next week working my way up to 5. I plan on increasing my mileage slowly until IM running at least 3 miles every day.

I have been doing well on my calorie counting. So well that Im under on most days. Anyone know on the days you run or exercise, should you keep your net calories at a certain leval? Do you need to eat back some of the calories burned? Today, partly cause I skipped lunch and only had some peanut butter toast, due to crazy busy today, but after supper I had only eaten 957 calories and netted 257. I decided that was way too low especially since i ran a good distance today and then I ate a bagel. I know I need to work on eating regularly and not skipping when Im stressed or busy.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

An extra run and a weight check

2010-01-15T18:05:00.002-06:00

I did get out and do a 1.13 mile run. The little neighborhood behind our house, loops around. I calculated that and it comes out to 1.1 mile if I run the inner circle as well. I could defnitely feel that I had run yesterday. It wasnt as bad as I thought it might be. I was glad to only be running a mile though! I did 1.l3 miles in 13:50, which translates on the running site to a 12:15 pace. Hmm, doesnt quite seem right but hey Ill take it!

Mrs. F
Last Friday: 171.4 lbs.

Today: 167.2 lbs.

Gain/Loss: -4.2 lbs.

Goal: 150.0 lbs.

Cumulative: 15.6 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 17.2

Comment: I was sick this week, so I definitely had a little extra help. Im a little nervous that once my regular eating catches up to me, that I might gain a pound or two back. I was so excited to hit the 15 lbs lost marker! It finally feels like Ive made a significant dent in my weight loss. Plenty of work to go!

Thursday's Run

2010-01-14T19:07:00.001-06:00

The weather was great, even though the roads were a bit messy. It was 30.4 degrees, it felt heavenly.

I set out with no specific route in mind and with the intent of doing a minumum of 3 miles or at least 45 minutes. I was a bit brave today and went up one of the longer hills in town. I didnt really like that much but it was good to get it out of the way.

I varied my route again today in hopes that I would find one that totaled 4 miles that worked for me. And I did! I was looking for a route that didnt make me feel like I was doubling back. So I went from my house, up an east/west street and over and back down another east/west street. I also added in, an additional couple of blocks on another north/south street. And then went back to my traditional ending points. Overall it worked well. I didnt feel like I was doubling back, since I was on a different road rather than the one I started on.

I went 4.23 miles in 52:30. Thats a 12:25 minute pace. I was definitely pleased with that time! Im trying to build up my distance, so I can start the half marathon training. The treadmill hasnt been assembled yet so all of my runs are still outside. Once we get the treadmill up and running, then I want to add in my 1-2 mile runs on the off days on the treadmill. In theory, it should be easier to sneak it in during the day, while the little kids are watching a movie. Otherwise I have been going out after my big kids get home from school. I like running in the daylight and the warmth of the day but thats a tough time to be gone from the house. Its called the crazy hours, between 3-5 when the kids are a bit riled up! So Ive limited it to going out 2-3 times a week but I have been slowly increasing my distance.

I had a good tracking and eating day today. In fact, I probably need to eat some more since I burned a good bit with my run. My net is really low lol, I like having that problem. Im looking forward to the weigh in tommorrow. Im hoping for at least a pound.

Mr. F and our eldest son are off this weekend to a wrestling tournament. Im hoping maybe I can go over to a friends house and try out her new wii fit. It will be nice to try it, so I can see if I like it before I buy it. Thats on the longer term purchase list anyway lol.

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

Catching up (again lol)

2010-01-13T10:10:00.002-06:00

Ive not been able to get to blogging as regularly as I would like. I hope to get back into a regular pattern of writing again though.

Last week I was able to get out for runs on Monday and Wednesday. After that it got bitterly cold(-20 real temp) and I couldnt get out. I so wanted my treadmill!! On Monday, I ran just under 3 miles and Wed, I ran about 3.6. Its tough to find a good route that doesnt double back yet stays in town. I prefer to stay in town, at this point, since the roads generally are clearer and a little less icy.

I was really excited about wednesdays run. My pace was 12:02~! I was booking it! Usually the beginnings of the run are tougher and then I find my groove.

Thankfully this week, the temps went up to a balmy 21 degrees. Monday's run was foiled by an afternoon meeting. That really bummed me. I was so looking forward to getting out and running in the warmer winter weather. Plus I hadnt run since Wed and I needed to get moving.

Thankfully, yesterday's schedule allowed me to get out for a run. I had mapped out a route ahead of time to try to get up to that elusive 4 mile mark without running around the lake. It seemed a bit chilly at first, but I quickly warmed up. The fun part about running in town is Im definitely getting a harder workout with all the hills! I did 3.95 miles(running ahead rounds up the total to 4) in 50:51. Thats a pace of 12:58.

Once the treadmill is up and assembled, Im planning on trying to add in 1-2 mile runs on the off days. I want to run 3-5 miles every other day outside and then do 1-2 on the off days. My ultimate goal is to do a half marathon. I beleive though, I have to be running 25 miles a week before I can start the half training plan. So it looks like it will probably be the summer of 2011 before I get ready for my half.

Im rather sore and achy today. Not sure though if its the run or getting the stomach flu last evening. Not fun for sure! Thankfully I got my run in before I got sick! It started with our baby girl and of course at 14 months old, she cant hold her own throw up bowl. So momma got the duty of that one. Thus now its my turn to be sick. I have two others who have sucombed to this bug as well. I'm grateful though, that it seems to be a 24 hr bug and doesnt last long. Today, Im feeling somewhat better, just weak and dehydrated.

Oh almost forgot, my weigh in last Friday wasnt great. It could have been worse! Im up to 171.4. I just need to work off the holiday pounds and get back on track. There may have been some residuel water weight in there too. We shall see what this weeks weigh in brings. Im sure being sick will help lol -- not my preferred method of weight loss though!!!

Keepon running
Mrs. F

Holiday Recap

2010-01-05T08:15:00.003-06:00

Sorry folks for being absent so long ... it was tough finding some blog time with all the kiddos home!

I did a weigh in on christmas eve and was down about 3/10ths of a pound. I didnt get a weigh in the next week, but Im pretty sure I gained! Now its back to tracking calories and getting my eating under control. I didnt track the entire two weeks the kids were off of school -- oops!

On an upnote, I did get several runs in. One of the highlights was getting to run with my eldest son on christmas eve morning. He ran slow for his dear old mother but we ran together for 2 miles before he took off on his own. The week of christmas, I got 3 runs in. We had a major snowstorm that left us with 16+ inches of snow and I was pleasantly surprised to sneak some runs in! I ran Tuesday before the storm hit for about two miles. Then as Mr. F noted, we got a run in on Christmas eve during a lull in the snow. Then I got out on Sunday for another 3.6 miles. Ive started tracking my run totals with running ahead. One of my goals for this year is to run 500 miles. Its a pretty neat site and I love how it automatically calculates your minutes per mile for you.

I got an after christmas present of a new watch, so I have been enjoying the stopwatch features! I also got a new outer layer. I opted for a soft lined duo dry jacket from target. Previously one of my layers was a very light windbreaker, basically just the outer shell. So I tried out my new jacket on the run yesterday and it was great. I even left off the arm warmers and my fleece vest and was still plenty warm. Which really is amazing since it was about 1 degree!

I finally found a combo for pant layers that works. I borrowed hubbys spandex running tights and added those under my other layers and it works great! So I plan to eventually get a pair of my own. I wear those, then some warm wear, and two loose fitting running pants over the top of that.

Most of my runs have been in town now that its icy and snowy out. I find that when the traffic is light enough, I end up running down the lane of traffic to find the ice free road. Its interesting to me that my feet seem to automatically slow down as I come upon icy road patches. Even with the ice and the cold, I have been pleased that my pace is staying around 13 -14 minute miles.

I got out on the 29th and again on new years day. Each of those runs were over 3 miles. Im trying to work my way up to 4-5 miles on a run. Its been really cold here though, so its tough to run much longer than that right now. And this past weekend, it was dangerously cold, so I didnt get out to run. -23 real temp is just too much for me!

On another sidenote -- we finally ordered a treadmill. The really cold subzero temps and the plethora of ice around town prompted getting that in order. Im kinda excited! Im sure the lure of the treadmill will wear off after running in place for awhile. I like the idea of being able to run during naptime for the little ones while the preschoolers watch a movie or something. Plus I love then knowing how far I ran without either mapping it or driving my route in the car to map it! One of my wish list items is a gps watch ... although with the price range ... it will be a loong while before I save up enough for that one!

When we checked out the treadmills, we actually brought our running shoes in to try them out. I think it amused the store clerks to see such seriousness lol. We ended up with a medium range nordic track. Im hoping this will help Mr. F get back to running as well. Since we wont have to layer up for the run on the treadmill!

I got out for another run yesterday. Not quite as far, 2.86 miles, but I ran it in 36:51. So a good pace for the cold temps. My fleece scarf is a lifesaver on these really cold days. My total for the year, is 6.2 -- woot!

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

White Christmas

2009-12-25T20:23:00.000-06:00

Well, here in Minnesota it surely was a white Christmas. We had about 14" of snow going into midday today. I'm sure glad I got my run in yesterday.

Yes, I got a run in yesterday, on Christmas Eve day. It was the first real run I've taken in a month. I ran a bit over the weekend a week or two ago, but nothing major. I guess yesterday wasn't anything major, either. Since it was my first run in a month, I stuck to a mile (actually, just a bit over a mile). Since we had a break in the snowfall during the morning and the plows were keeping the roads clear, we decided to take a run through the neighborhood. Mrs. F and I set out with our eldest son and our almost 10-year old daughter. Josiah ran with Mrs. F, and Ariana ran with me. I was pleased that I was able to keep Mrs. F and Josiah in my sights--at the end of my mile they were less than two blocks ahead of me.

I could have pushed further on, but decided to take it easy on my first day back at it. Overall, it didn't feel too bad. At the end, I finally felt myself rolling off of my legs. I was tempted to keep running, but erred on the side of caution. Sitting here as I write, I'm glad I took it easy. My leg muscles are a bit sore today, but I can't be sure if it is from the running, or dealing with the snow yesterday, or helping to build some huge snowmen in the yard today.

I was up 1.9 lbs. this week, and my sugars have been edging higher again. I really need to get back to my regular exercise routine. I really need to get back to getting out with Marie, because if I'm left to do it on my own I'm more likely to just take a pass with the intention to try again the next day. Argh! I guess I'll just be thankful that I had some time off yesterday and today, and am now looking forward to a nice weekend.

Whether you observe it or not, I hope you've all had a Merry Christmas day.

Friday 's run

2009-12-19T10:07:00.002-06:00

Its been a very stressful week, so I was tempted not to run. I knew though, that I had a holiday party for Mr. F's work and probably needed to burn some calories before hand!

The temps felt tropical compared to the subzero stuff from before. Its amazing how relative tempature feels. I remember complaining bout running in 30 degree temps earlier in the season. Now Im particularly thankful for a 20 degree day to run in!

I ran my alternate neighborhood route. Basically I run from my house, through a neighborhood and out of town on a gravel/dirt road. It works well since the traffic ie really light and the roads are fairly clear of snow and ice.

Overall it was a good run, had a few slow spots but I did 3 miles in 44 minutes. Not too shabby for cold weather running. I keep reminding myself, its not so important how fast but that Im out there moving and improving my fitness.

Weight check went well. I was hoping for two pounds down but I'll take the 1.2!

I'm enjoying being in the 160s's even if its on the high end. Im down a total of 14.3 pounds. Seeing the weight come off definitely helps on the motivation end. Plus if I run, i can eat some chocolate. You know the important stuff!

Im hoping to get to run with my eldest son over break. Hes been super busy with wrestling, that we havent had a chance to run together. Im sure he will take off and meet me on the run back but hey, we can start together. Some of my younger kids want to come run too. They will likely not make it hte entire three miles but it should be fun getting out together.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

The run around the lake, number two

2009-12-16T22:24:00.002-06:00

The temps were warmer, a balmy 10 degrees, and the sun was shining -- so I took off for my long run around the lake ( 4 miles). It was nice not having subzero winds blowing for a change.

The first two miles are the tougher of the 4. So I reminded myself of that as I was running. I didnt get to borrow a watch, so I carried the cell phone instead. That gave me a starting and ending time but I elected not to pull it out as I ran each mile. Good thing I didnt, it died right after that lol.

I was looking forward to the mile segment of the trail I often run on. Last time, I was able to make up some time on that stretch as its mostly flat. Not this time! The recent snows left the trail tough to run down. Snowmobilers had packed down some of the snow but it made it hard to get traction to run. The uneven terrain of snow bumps didnt help either. I ended up walking 3 different times during that segment. It really was just hard slogging along. I allowed myself those walking segments, for 15 or 30 seconds. I figured I was at least moving!

Next time I run around the lake, I plan to take the parallel road nearby. It will add some distance but not too much more. It seems to parallel the trail fairly closely. I think though I will lose my flatness and have more hills to run.

The last mile seemed the easiest. Perhaps cause I knew I was almost done or perhaps just getting back to the mostly clear roads. It was much easier runnign there, than on the snow covered trail.

All in all, it was pretty tough running it out but IM glad I got out there and did it! I did 4 miles in 58 minutes. For comparison, last time I ran around the lake I did it in 52 minutes. It was warmer and no snow too though.

I made some good choices on food today as well. I knew I wanted a bigger sandwich at mcdonalds (the crispy chix), so I elected to skip the fries and go with water as well. I did ask my son if I could have a few of his fries and that satified my desire for those. Been busier and more stressed lately and less time for snacking. All good for weight loss, I suppose.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

A short run

2009-12-15T08:32:00.003-06:00

I knew I needed to get out last night, since I didnt run this weekend.

It really was an out of sorts day. I was really super tired and grumpy. So I elected to just go for 2 miles or so. It was getting colder and with the windchill warnings hitting like 30 below. I knew I wouldnt want to run in that!

It actually felt slightly warmer than when I went out in the 3 degree weather. I was dreadfully slow of course but I kept reminding myself that Im getting out there and moving!!!

All in all, I think it ended up being like 2.25 miles. I even got to try out my new headlamp since it was nearing dark.

I really enjoyed the run but coming home to chaos wasn't so much fun. My off day turned into the kids off day too. Sigh. Oh well, today is a new day.

I did semi okay on the eating. A bag of one of my favorite types of xmas candy did not help. Thankfully I ran, so i had a few extra calories of indulgence.

Keep on running folks
MRs. F

Into the new week

2009-12-15T06:31:00.034-06:00

I woke up tired and sore yesterday, and woke up down today. My calves are sore from running in my winter gear this weekend, and from hiking over many hills throughout the day. I came home from work yesterday not excited to run, but ready to run, but then I realized that all of my tech undergarments were still in the wash from this past weekend's camping trip, so I took a pass on the run. I made productive use of the time, however, and got nearly all of this week's coursework done by the time I turned in. I now only need to stay active on the course discussion board for the balance of the week. That will let me get a head start on next week's work.

I remember my mother being after me regularly to get my room clean. Typically, when I set about to do it, I'd find something interesting that would take my mind off the task and the task would then drag on and on and on. I think I started keeping my room better when I discovered girls, and was allowed to have an occasional visitor of the finer persuasion. Perhaps it is only fitting that my kids seem pretty much cut from the same cloth. Unlike my childhood home, where my mother would not let us do household chores apart from our rooms (she said it was her job, after all), our kids have been doing chores since they've been able to follow instructions. There's enough of them to spread out the work (perhaps that's part of the problem?), so none of them are overloaded. Each has one chore room or area to care for each week, along with one specific dinner-related chore (e.g., clearing and washing the table, washing up the little ones, doing the dishes, sweeping the floor). They are on a rotation. Yet getting them to do that oftentimes feels like trying to pull teeth from a velociraptor. If we put our attention one one or two who are slacking, the others start slacking. If one gets a room cleaned well and early, some others will toss some things in it or make it a complete mess again. I now understand why one of my schoolmate's parents made some rooms of the house off-limits, but that's a policy I would not be able to tolerate. Perhaps I'll resort to my mother's course of action: wishing that her kids would grow up to have kids just like them. No, I would not wish that on my kids, though should they ever have kids of their own they might finally understand why I could so often get so frustrated so easily.

Anyway, I just wish they would realize that they get more freedom, and more privileges, when they take care of the house and keep up on their chores. Time spent on chores--doing them, doing them again, re-doing them yet again--is time that could be spent elsewhere. The extra wear and tear on the house and furniture means we need to repair or replace things more often, taking monies we could have spent on other things.

To top it all off, I'm not super-handy when it comes to home repairs. There are some things I can do (I really like mudding and taping drywall), but most things take me so much longer and are so far outside of my comfort zone that I'm always second-guessing myself. When the budget allows it, I'd rather hire one of the handy fellows from the church to come over and take care of project A or B, but the budget rarely affords such luxuries.

I'm really starting to sense that being healthy goes way beyond nutrition, rest, and exercise. It has to do with limits and margins; it encompases how you live in all areas of life, not just what goes into the body through the mouth.

The cabin this past weekend had no TV, no computer, and no phone. Heat was a wood stove. While there was time for fun and conversation, much time was spent preparing meals and keeping the fire going (to keep warm). It hearkened unto a much simpler life. Admittedly, a much harder life, but a simpler one. I would just love to figure out some ways to simplify my own life, without making a drastic change like joining the Amish or moving to a cabin in the woods. I really believe that a lot of the inner struggles that plague me arise from all the craziness I've allowed to come into our lives. Running should be one of those things that gives me a taste of that simpler life, but in many ways it seems more like "just one more thing" I'm supposed to be doing.

Until my outlook changes, I just need to keep my feet going, my intake limited, and my sleep regular. For now, that's all I can do.

The weekend

2009-12-14T13:01:00.002-06:00

Mr. F was gone for the weekend, camping with 3 of our boys. It was a looong weekend with doing some deep cleaning and not getting enough sleep. Sick baby girl added to the fun.

I found it much more difficult to make good choices and get out and run when tired. So I didnt run either Sat or Sun. And I ate an entire small supreme pizza -- no I didnt track that day! I really dont want to know how many calories I overate!!!!

But Im trying to get back on track today even though kids were up again last night. Its hard not to reach for food when you are tired. I already had an extra cup of my coffee. That added enough calories with my creamer!

Mr. F and I plan to run tonight. So Im hoping to get my body back into submmission.

Mrs. F

A long overdue weight check! (Friday weight check - Week 15)

2009-12-11T19:02:00.004-06:00

I had to go all the way back to November 20th to find our last posted weights. I know that we have weighed in since then, just didnt post it in the format.

Friday weight check (week 15)
FatManRunning

Last Friday:   283.0 lbs.

Today:        279.4 lbs.

Gain/Loss:      -3.6 lbs.

Goal:         210.0 lbs.

Cumulative:    21.0 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 69.4

Comment: Mr. F isnt here to give me official totals from last week. So I estimated about where he was then. He will chime in when he returns.

Mrs. F
Last Friday:   171.8 lbs.

Today:         169.7 lbs.

Gain/Loss:      -2.1 lbs.

Goal:          150.0 lbs.

Cumulative:     13.1 lbs.

Pounds to lose: 19.7

Comment: I am so happy! My hard work, aka running, aka watching my caloric intake is paying off. I felt like I had a good week, so I was hoping for one pound down and was estatic when I realized it was 2!!!! It was so much fun to lower my culumative amount to lose below 20. Yay!!!

Although I haven't exercised...

2009-12-11T12:59:00.000-06:00

Although I've not run or done my pushups in two weeks, I have some good news to report. Simply by returning to getting a full night's rest and by being a little more careful with my food intake, my weight has dropped back to where it was on November 13! It had gone up a half pound on the 20th, about another pound on Thanksgiving week (I only got to weigh on Wednesday that week, so I cannot be certain), and was up almost two more pounds by December 3. As of today, I'm back to 279.4! What a relief!

I won't have time to post our regular Friday Weight Check today. Mrs. F might try to get it up later this evening. At 2 PM, I'm off to pick up some things for our Boy Scout outing this weekend, and then two of our boys and I will head out about 5 PM. Our eldest son, our first cross country runner, decided to wrestle again this year, so he'll be at a tournament tonight. Mrs. F will drop him off in the morning.

Have a good weekend, all! I'm looking forward to a fresh start next week.

Really cold!

2009-12-11T08:34:00.002-06:00

I did my first almost subzero run yesterday(technically the temp was 3 degrees!). I had the option of borrowing a friends treadmill but I really wanted to see what I could do in this kind of weather first.

This is a real change for me, I hate cold with a passion. So going outside in nearly zero weather is not first on my list, let alone running in it!

I added a few things to my running gear -- arm warmers, windbreaker pants, hubby's biking googles, and wrist bands worn at the ankles. I was looking for something to add as another layer for my arms, when I remembered that asics had sent us arm warmers. Bingo! Those worked great. I wore the wrist bands at my ankles since thats where my warm wear tends to ride up and i figured it would keep that area warm. I felt like a giant dork in the big ski type googles but hey I kept my face from getting frostbit.

I orginally thought Id just go two miles. The first mile and a half was great. I didnt feel cold and breathing was okay with my fleece scarf on . Although it did threaten to freeze to my face but since i kept breathing in and out, it didnt have a chance to. The run was feeling good, so I elected to go my full route of three miles. I did my alternate route through the neighborhood and out of town since hubby had both sets of the keys. My the time though I hit two miles, my thighs were pretty darn cold. Im wondering if its cause i put a cotton layer between the warm wear and windbreaker pants or if it was just that cold. Either way, I knew that walking would just make me colder, so i had no option other than running the rest of the way home.

There were challenges like the googles steaming up in spots but not wanting to take them off to clean them in the cold. Or my shoe coming untied. That always seems to make it extra challenging to get running again after stopping.

All in all, a good run. I went pretty darn slow and even slowed further at points when breathign was getting harder. I am pretty proud that I got out there and ran in that cold of weather. I, really , never thought Id be one of "those" runners!

After I got home, I remembered back to the early days of C25K and how some days, I could barely walk after running. And here I am doing 3 miles! Its pretty darn amazing.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

The run in the snow

2009-12-08T22:09:00.002-06:00

There is a wicked winter storm heading our way. It did start this afternoon and should give us 6 inches or so, when its all done. So although, technically I should be running tommorrow - I elected to get out today before it got too deep to run.

We still havent gotten a treadmill yet, so options are limited. My friend, Amy, did let me know that I can come over and use hers though.

It was around 16 degrees and blowing snow. The winds were about 12 miles an hour. Given the weather conditions, I decided that I was just going to run 2 miles.

I grabbed my fleece scsrf for todays run. That helped tremendously!!! It kept my face much warmer and kept the pelting snow off my face. Overall, the run was great. The last 3 runs have been tough for me, so it was really nice to have a good one.

The only time it was particulary cold is where the trail is more open to the lake. At those points, the wind blowing off the lake made the snow hit me like ice pellets. I tried to turn a bit to prevent it from hitting me as directly.

Since my mp3 was almost dead and it was snowing(I didnt want it getting wet), I elected to leave it home. Im kinda glad I did, it gave me some good thinking time. I found my groove and I just ran. Its been several runs since Ive had that good of a groove. I had a good pace and I kept it throughout until the last half mile. Then I slowed a bit. I was feeling good, so I ended up going 3 miles today.

I thought for sure the snow would have made a tougher run. Apparently not!

Ive been doing a better job tracking calories this week, so im looking forward to seeing the scale on friday.

Keep on running
Mrs. F

I am my own worst enemy

2009-12-07T22:00:00.000-06:00

For the first time in over a week, I have the time to write here, but I find that I don't have the desire to do so. I just finished up a class last night, so this is the first night in a couple of months that I don't have a boatload of writing or reading to do. Technically, I could get a head start on the next class, but I just can't.

If it were not for the fact that one of our sons celebrated his birthday this weekend, I'd have no clue as to the date. I've not run in 10 days, and I haven't finished the second week of 100 Pushups. I've been staying up way too late, getting too little sleep, and have been using food to get me through the longer study nights. I'm up a couple more pounds, and I have no desire to exercise. On top of that, I'm dealing with a lot of personal stress on other fronts right now. I just want to give up, but I know I can't. I need to get back in the game. I need to stop the snacks and get back to healthy portions. I need sleep, and I need to exercise.

Please don't be mad at me. This is a real struggle for me.

I'm so tired. I want to give up, but I don't want to give up! That sums up much of my struggle. It's a battle in my head, and my life and health are at stake.

I guess I need to celebrate the little victories, even in the midst of my losses. I've gotten back to biking to work regularly. When my knee was giving me problems, I laid off on the biking. I resumed a few times, but would stop again after the next rough run. Now that my knee is no longer bothering me, I'm trying to ride every day, even though we're below freezing and expecting six inches of snow. I have some gaiters that both protect my lower leg and ankle from the wind and keep my pants from snagging in the chain, a light fleece balaclava that fits under my helmet and keeps my face warm, large snowmobile-type gloves, and (since I wear prescription glasses) ski goggles. Overall, it makes me quite a sight, especially in this smaller town where most people think of bikes as three-season transportation. Mrs. F got me a set of studded ice tires last spring, but I don't yet have a second set of rims on which to mount them. I'm keeping my eyes open for a used bike I can rig with them, so I won't need to worry about switching them off and on as the weather changes.

I've had enough for tonight. I need sleep. I've come to learn that a lack of sleep affects everything else--my mood, my energy level, and even how much I crave crappy foods. When I'm well-rested, I feel better and think clearer. To that end, I'm signing off now.

Weekend Wrapup

2009-12-06T20:20:00.001-06:00

I managed to get in two runs this weekend - Friday and Sunday. That gives me a grand total of 10.6 miles for the week -- woot! I ran 4 miles on Wed, 3.3 on Friday and another 3.3 today.

It wasnt easy but it sure felt good afterwards. Both weekend runs were tough but Im thankful I pushed thru it.Fridays run was 3.3 miles in 42 minutes. I know I have done that stretch faster but the cold weather really does have an impact. It was 18 degrees and the wind was biting. My core was plenty warm, thanks to a new fleece vest from lands end but my thighs were ice cold!

I took my mp3 player out and got it charged. So I enjoyed having it on both of the weekend runs. My playlist consists of Go fish music. I love their upbeat fun music. I had on my christmas cd, Snow, and then snazzy and superstar as well. Some of the songs are so upbeat that you just want to run faster :)

Its a good thing that I started C25K in august. I know had I started in the cold weather I would have given up by now. Thankfully, I have learned to enjoy it and make it a habit, so the cold isnt as much of a deterrent anymore. Today it was 17 degrees, so chilly but less wind. I added an extra pant layer and that definitely helped. On my top, Im wearing a tech long sleeve shirt, then a light windbreaker and a fleece vest. On my bottom, Im wearing some warmwear, then my yoga capri pants and then a mesh long pants over the top of that. Top it all off with fleece gloves and a stocking hat!

The only part of me that really was cold today was my face. So next time, I think ill grab my scarf. I thought of it again today, but I just didnt want one more thing to mess with, if I got too warm while running.

I didnt have a watch today but I could just tell I was slower. The first mile was pretty good, as was the next .66. It was the 2nd half of the run that was just tough. The last mile in particularly was torturous. It didnt help that twice, my shoe came untied. So I had to stop and tie it, and walk some while getting my gloves back on. Its been a long time since I had the desire to walk, while running but it was strong today. Its good thing the bench that I run by was frosty or I might just have sat down!

To get through the last mile, I pulled out my mental trick of counting down 12 or 13 cement blocks. I picked a tree or spot ahead of me and then imagined hitting that block with a sledgehammer. That seemed to help me finish.

On an upnote, since its gotten colder, I rarely see people on the trail, other than an occasional dog walker. Today two doe bounded across my path, not even 30 yards ahead of me. It was really cool! Definitely can tell I live in a more rural area!!!

I need to do my weight post yet. I was pretty discouraged this week. Since I had the kids at the doctors office on Thursday,I weighed myself. It was an icky 176.2, another 2.2 lbs up. I hadnt tracked exceptionally well but still, it was disheartening. Well, on Friday, since I was going for a run anyway, I decided to weigh in my workout clothes, for the official weight check. I normally weigh in on fridays in workout clothes. Note to self -- Jeans are bad for weigh ins lol. And somehow, in the last 24 hrs, I dropped 4.4 lbs!!! I was down to 171.8. Strangest weigh in ever! Though that definitely made me get cracking on the tracking calories.

Still have to get back to the pushup challenge. Life is really really overwhelming right now. So its tough to do stuff like the pushup challenge that I really dont like at all. I still enjoy the running -- I get a break from the house and kids. So thats not too hard to get motivated to do.

Keep on running folks
Mrs. F

PS - Mr. F is writing his last paper for this class -- hooray! He starts another tommorrow but it only has 1 book, so its got to be easier!

Feeling dead tired (papers, papers, papers)

2009-12-02T21:45:00.000-06:00

Last night saw me up until nearly 2 AM to get a paper in on time. I was up this morning at 6 AM, so I'm running on fumes. Less than four hours of sleep definately does not cut it for me. Work has also required some longer hours of late.

I have a research paper due Saturday and another paper due on Tuesday. It's not the school work itself that is getting to me, but rather the lack of sleep and exercise. I've really started to feel the difference between when I'm rested and when I'm not, and I now can also feel a difference between when I am exercising regularly and when I'm not.

I need to finish Week 2 of the One Hundred Pushups challenge, and I need to run. I've not run now for a week (since Thanksgiving Day). I'm falling asleep in my chair as I'm writing this. I need to get in early tomorrow, because we have a new employee starting and I was informed just this morning. I have yet much to do to be ready for his arrival at 8 AM.

Yikes! I need a break.

The run around the lake

2009-12-02T19:50:00.003-06:00

I didnt get my run in yesterday -- life got the better of me and it didnt happen. Mostly cause when I did have time, my workout clothes werent dry yet. Then the evening flurry of activities occurred. This included a late night run to target for a black shirt for a holiday program and sheets for our new bed. I discovered I have no willpower whatsover at 11 pm at night.

I knew I only had 12 calories left but yet I found myself in arbys drive thru. Fast food is one of my weaknesses, so its a good thing we dont have any in town other than subway! I ended up with some mozz sticks and curly fries but at least I ordered a small and shared with my daughter. All said, i ended up 564 calories over -- yikes!

Mr. F wasnt going to be able to go with me tonight, so I took the opportunity to run when my big kids got home from school. I was excited to try to run around the lake. A bit scared that I wouldnt be able to complete it but still excited. The only bummer I had was that I forgot my mp3 that I just uploaded new music to.

I walked to my starting point, in this case, it happened to be city hall. That took about 8 minutes or so. I tied my shoes and I was off. I must say, it was a bit more intimidating for me to run in town. I realize no one probably thought anything of it, but it was a bit of mental battle for me. The route took me up a hill and then out of town, around the lake and back down my trail and into town again.

The first mile was particularly tough. I started out going uphill and it was an unfamilar route to me. If I measured accurately, the first mile was about 15 minutes. It was just about at the one mile mark, that I stopped to tie my shoes again and then walked just a little bit as I put my glove back on. Then back to the running I went!

The next mile was tough but a little easier. I was nearing where I could view the lake again and the road was far less busy, vechile wise. I had a bit of aches and pains during the run but nothing that caused me to stop, thankfully. I did enjoy running on the gravel road section, it was far softer than the asphalt of the first part of the run. That one seemed to be about 15 minutes as well.

The next part of the run was easier, since it was familiar territory. I ran the mile segment of my normal route on my trail. After having some different terrain(more hills and slopes), it was nice to get back to the mostly flat! I lost track of exactly how many minutes this took, but I think I was able to make some better time on this stretch, given the lack of hilly terrain. It was also encouraging to be able to see the city hall(where I started) and realize that I have made it nearly around the entire lake!!!

The last mile, was back on asphalt, and had a couple more hills. Though it didnt seem as difficult. I think part of it, was realizing, I was on the home stretch. At most, I only had a mile left. I was able to speed up the last stretch of hill by the lake park and finish strong.

My goal was to do it in an hour or less. It looked as if, I wouldnt make that goal. I told myself, that it was okay, after all Im out and moving and exercising. I finished 4 miles in 52:34!!!! I believe that calculates out to 13:08 miles. Woot!

It felt really good to complete that. In the beginning, I was a little unsure I would make it all the way around running. But I did! I even stopped in at our local pharmacy to encourage the people there that are doing couch to 5k!

The walk home though was cold!!! I was fine while warming up and running but afterwords it certainely was cold. The tempature today was about 32 degrees. I thought I would be colder than I was. I am encouraged, that baring 3 feet of snow, perhaps I will be able to run through the winter afterall.

Tracking calories is going better. I tracked yesterday and today again. It feels good to be getting back on that wagon and getting my eating under control somewhat. Dark peppermint truffles are a downfall! Even though I ate 9 truffles today, I got out there and moved my butt.

I plan to get back on track with the dreaded pushups tommorrow. So I will be finishing up week 1 of the pushup challenge tommorrow. Who's idea was this pushup challenge anyway(pointing the finger right at MR. F)

Keep on running folks,
Mrs. F

Quitting

2009-11-30T07:54:00.002-06:00

No - don't worry, running is the only thing right now that I dont want to quit. I know its a season but seriously I'm ready to give up on most everything.

Tracking calories and eating less is just plain hard. And the gain last week, really made me just want to give up. Thankfully, I still enjoy the running, so Im not completely sabataged.

Life is hard sometimes and I'm in a stage where I need to make some order out of chaos. My natural inclination is to hide and avoid. Thats really working well, I tell you.

I cant seem to get myself to do the pushup challenge either. I defitinely want to quit that! I managed to do the first two days of week 1 and havent done any since. Sigh ... I know I need to get back to it. It just feels like its one more thing for me to do. And I definitely have enough of those "things" to do.

I did get out for a run on Saturday. I was having a hard time, so it felt good to take it out in the form of exercise. I decided I was just going to run. I didnt have a watch or my mp3 player or even a specific goal in mind. I just started running. I ended up running the whole segment of trail and back and thats 3.3 miles. I briefly thought bout going on further until I remembered that I have to get back to the car lol!

One hour runner just doesnt feel challenging enough for me. Right now Im finding I want to run further and longer. Mr. F acknowledged too that hes nearly running an hour already. Im thinking bout creating our own plan. Both of us want to increase our distance, so we may work on that. Im just not sure and Im open to suggestions. I like the idea of following a program but OHR just doesnt seem to match well. I was thinking of first, running 3 miles, 3 times a week. Then adding in 1 mile runs on the off days, 1 extra day per week. So first week would be a total of 9 miles, then the 2nd week would total 10 and the 3rd would total 11 and the 4th then 12. So then, we would be running a total of 6 days a week. Still not sure on that though.

I find Im liking the longer distances. It takes a while for my body to find its stride and just run. So I think thats part of it.

Hope y'all have a great week, keep on running
Mrs. F