Saturday Fleet Feet Social Run: 2/26

Thankfully, Friday was my off day because I honestly felt like I had been hit by truck.  It wasn't like I had overdone one exercise and had strained a muscle or group.  Instead, I just hurt equally throughout my body.  I spent most of the day shuffling around my office like Billy Crystal in The Princess Bride.  To top it off, my usual Friday Pre-Weekend 1,000 yard stare was now accompanied by a complete and total lack anything close to energy.  It was difficult to believe just how rundown I felt.  However, after completing six workouts/runs in four days, I also couldn't avoid recognizing just how slack I had been over the last few months.  Yes, I had been dealing with injury issues, but it was obvious that I had used my injuries as an excuse for not continuing to push myself.  So, on Friday I resolved to do away with my slothish ways and bring more focus and energy to my workouts.  The up coming week would be a race week, so I wouldn't be going crazy like I had over the past two weeks, but I also wouldn't be mailing it in either. 

Saturday, Fleet Feet was having a morning social run to help people prepare for the 8k on the 5th and to promote a sale on all of their Brooks stuff in the store.  I decided to use this Social Run as my Saturday run because I knew that I might be struggling a bit, so run with others might help me push through.  Since this Fleet Feet run wasn't after work, I had enough time to walk/jog to fleet feet rather than drive.  The store is only around a mile from where I live, but I usually have to drive, so I can make it on time and not have to come back in the dark.  On Saturday, I was able to use the use the trip to Fleet Feet as a warm up, which really helped.  I felt much better by the time that I got there than I had before I left. 

For the run, we did a 5 mile out and back down Ridge Rd. to the belt line.  Once we started running I felt much better than I had anticipated, but since this was a social run I stayed with the other people, who were running with me.  One of them dropped off at the turn due to a flare up from her Plantar Fasciites and the other lady stayed with me until the last mile when she decided to walk because she planned to run 12 the next day.  I decided to keep running.  I already had a mile walk home, and I wanted to run the full 5 miles to get in the right mindset for St. Patty's Run Green 8K.  After the run I treated myself to a Breakfast at Whole Foods, which is right next door to Fleet Feet.  It was kind of funny because the place was packed with runners from the the Social run, a training group that had just finished, and several people bak from running the Greenway.  I half expected them to set up a wather station.  As I ate my eggs florentine, I kept thinking about how happy I am that I have found running and just so desperatly wish that I had done so earlier in life. 

I did 5miles in  46:56.19 at 9.23 pace.

Mile 1 9:31.89
Mile 2 9:06.21
Mile 3 10:07.21
Mile 4 9:21.04
Mile 5 8:48.17

Fleet Feet Social Run -- Beating the Dead Horse: 2/24

Last week, I set out to have a huge workout week.  I wanted to hit it hard because I knew that I would be taking it a little easy this week in order to rest up a bit for my race.  By the time Thursday's social run came around I felt rough.  I had five workout in the previous three days and really didn't know how my legs were going to handle the social run.  However, the thought of skipping the social run never entered my twisted little mind.  I was ticked-off about falling out of the run the week before and wanted to prove to myself that no matter how crappy I felt that I could do this run. 

Before the run, as we were trying to determine the mileage and speed grouping, I had said that I didn't know what to expect because I was feeling pretty rough.  However, as we began to run I started out pretty well and kept my pace up as the first two miles ticked by.  On other group members commented that she thought that I wasn't feeling good, so why was I still running around my normal pace.  My response was that "I was too stupid to run any other way."  Which is partially true, I haven't been running that long, it still hasn't been a year since my first race, and there is so much that I don't know about my new sport.  I am trying to learn as I go.  But, I think one of my major problems is that I only know how to run one way.  I don't know how to run to conserve energy or how to get the most out of my body when I feel like hell.  I just try to run as well as I can at any given time . . . and sometimes I end up beating that old dead horse along, which is kind of what I did on Thursday.  I ran as strong or the way I did because I felt that if I went easier it would lead me to think that I was more tired than I was an cause me to slow down or walk.  I wanted to prove to myself they I had it in me to run those four miles, which I did.  However, on Friday I felt like I had been hit by a truck . . . twice. 

I wonder if it better to force myself to push through a run that I am not sure I feel up for or better to back it down a bit.  Also, I feel like I have taken it easy for so much of my life that I really want to keep pushing myself till I sweat out all the lazy!  I don't like the idea of taking it easy any more, and I am not sure that it is a bad thing.  Granted I don't want any injuries, but I also don't want to give myself any easy outs.  I would love to hear how other people approach a run when they are not feeling it. 



Thursday's run was 4.08 miles in 38:38.70 at a 9.28 pace.

The Demon that Never Let Lettie Mae Thornton Make Hoecakes

I am in desperate need of a race!  The Krispy Kreme Challenge, which I ran at the beginning of the month doesn't count.  It was a random act of extreme stupidity in which I am happy to say I took part, but it does not satisfy my need for a race.  The last race I ran in was the NHL All Star 5k, which ran while jetlagged out my mind from a 10 hour flight and only six days removed from running The Harold Chapson 8k, so to say that the NHL5k was not a chalked full of nutty goodness great time for me is a vast effin' understatement!  To put it bluntly, it sucked ass.  I showed up, froze my butt off, ran, and went the fuck home.  Therefore, my 8k in Hawaii was really my last honest to goodness race that satisfied the demon living inside me, which compels me to haul my big ass out to to race once a month so I can push myself to my vomit threshold.  Now, my demon is not as big of an asshat as The Demon that never let Lettie Mae Thornton make hoecakes, but trust me they're kin, and he's a Fucker nonetheless!

"Oh, my fuckin' God. Girl, this about to get ugly."

Now, over the course of the last few months, I have come to consider myself a serious runner.  Note, I did not say fast runner.  I am fat not fast, but I am serious!  I think about running all the time.  I train for running.  I read about running.  Given half the chance, I'll talk your ear off about my latest run.  And when I do get to race, I DO NOT dress up in costume, I do not take pictures with my cell phone (OK, I did take pictures with my camera in Hawaii but that was because I was a tourist and allowed to make a jackass of myself), I do not chat/wave to the crowd as I trot by, what I do is try to run myself into the ground.  And, I LOOOOOVE IT!  In fact, you know what I hate most about a race?  Waiting for the volunteer to pull my timing chip off at the end of the race because usually by then I am close the point of either blacking out, vomiting, or wetting myself -- note to insert your own Charlie Sheen Reference at your leisure.

So what am I getting at?  Just this . . . I need a race!  I am signed up for and 8k on March 5th, but my demon is impatient, and 9 days is like nearly as long as Charlie Sheen can take rehab ! So, I have attempted to placating my Demon with two-a-days at the gym.   Yesterday, I took Lisa's Sport's Conditioning Class twice: once in the morning before work and again after.  I was able to get Hiro to do the afternoon class with me, which made it hurt a little less.  We did station with 7 sets of 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise.  In the morning class (which is a little longer) we did sprints for the last 5 minutes of class.   We did:

Push ups
Back extension
Cariokas
side plans
side shuffles with weights
shuttle runs
Mt. Climbers on a basketball
Toe tap quad exercise

I was beat by the end of the second class, but you know what . . . this morning, I was still looking to see if I could find a race on Saturday in which to late register.  Haven't done it yet, but really . . .  really want to do it!  The demon says that I can Make some Hoecakes if I register!

Tuesday's with Toning: 2/22

Tuesday's afternoon Toning class is becoming a real staple of my workout week because it is a class that is easy for Hiroko and I to attend together.  Hiroko can't make the morning classes because of her work and her unwillingness to wake up.  Honestly, when Hiroko is sleepy, it is like dealing with a belligerent drunk (minus the the smell of cheap liquor, vomit, and urine).  So, I long ago gave up on the idea of getting her to attend the morning workout classes with me.  Afternoon classes and runs are a definite maybe, but unless we are talking about a race, even asking her to attend anything before 10am with me is a waste of a good 14 seconds of my life.  Luckily, Toning class is an easy sell because Hiroko HATES HATES HATES being cold, and unlike the nOg run or the Fleet Feet Social run, Toning Class is all in doors!
This weeks class was taught by Jana and it was the first time that either Hiroko or I had taken a class with her.  I enjoyed the class immensely because not only was her class awesome, but her comments had me crackin' up.  I don't mind instructors, who don't say that much and greatly prefer the silent type over someone that thinks they're funny and isn't, or the type that feel the need to drone on and on because they
can't stand silence.  (Here is a hint I might offer to any instructor type -- if a dude drags himself to you 6am workout class the night after his favorite hockey team loses a game 7 and can still muster the pride to wear their T-shirt to class, DON'T look at this a conversation starter!  It will probably end badly and make everyone in the room just a bit uncomfortable.) 



 Anyway . . . Still a little bitter . . . but . . . where was I . . . oh yeah . . . . Jana's Toning Class Awesomeness!  Along with some hilarious banter, you get a very balanced workout that leaves you feeling like you worked out hard, but doesn't cause you to hate the fact that you worked out hard, which I think is the point of a Toning class.  She used two sets of dumbbells: one heavy and one light, but must of the exercises were just body weight exercises.  She varied her rep count and the speed of the reps to add intensity to the workout.  Also, she made sure to balance out the areas worked.  She hit the the back and hamstrings as well as the abs and quads.  And, in my opinion balancing out a workout is a tell-tale sign of a quality fitness instructor.  Far too often, instructors will pile on the ab and quads work to the point that you are plotting their death by the end of class, but completely ignore the back and hamstrings, which over time leads to muscle imbalances and injuries.  Once, I notice that an instructor focuses on easy to work areas like quads and core, I tend to avoid their class because I start to wonder what else might they be doing wrong that I don't realize.  Therefore, I was really impressed when our instructor not only worked our back and hamstrings but commented upon the need to do so. 

After class both Hiroko and I agreed that we got a quality workout.  Personally, after the Two-a-day on Monday, this well balanced workout was just what I needed.

10 Day of X-mas & the nOg Run Two-a-Day: 2/21

Hiroko had the day off on Sunday, and we decided to laze around.  I didn't feel as tired as I had the week before, but I still thought that a day off would be a good idea because I was planning a two-a-day for Monday.  I wanted to get up and go to Dan's 4:45am Sports Conditioning Class, but I was already struggling to get up in time when Basil decided to drink the glass water that I had left beside the bed.  So, after cleaning water off the floor and the cat, there was noway that I was going to make class on time.  Therefore, I decided to just workout on my own.  I figured that I hadn't done a 12 days of Christmas workout in a long time, and it was long overdue.  However, I ended up having to cut it a little short in order to make it to work on time (hey, they pay me and considering the economic times . . .); I ended up doing a 10 days of Christmas.

1. Stairs and a lap around the track
2. 1 and lap around the track
3. 1,2, and leg lifts (each leg)
4. 1, 2, 3, Fire Hydrants w/ leg extension (each leg)
5. 1-4, push ups
6. 1-5, Bicycles
7. 1-6, Burpees
8. 1-7 Prisoner Squats and leg raises
9. 1-8 Arm Extensions
10. 1-9 Cross over crunches (each side)

After the tenth round I was pretty beat, and knew that rounds 11 and 12 would take almost as long as the first 6 rounds had taken, so I just called it quits right there.

After work Hiroko and I went to the nOg run, which was MANDATORY considering it was 76 frickin' degrees outside in FEBRUARY (Monday @ Noon 74 / Tuesday @  Noon 39 WTMFH!?!) !!!!  Seriously, Mother Nature, why do you got to be screwing with my mind like this.  You and your freakin' mind games!  Honestly, I loved the perfect day, but it is shit like this that pisses me off about Raleigh because I just want some effin consistency -- my sinuses are going to go DECON 1 on me!

Also, The Tir Na nOg Running Club was doing a food drive, which I was really happy about because I organize food drives at my work at least twice year, and I know just how important events like this are to our local food banks.  I really liked that the food drive also coincided with my 10th nOg run, which qualifies me for my free nOg Run Tech shirt.  It seemed like a nice confluence of two thing which I care about: running and service.

I was really glad that Hiroko attended the run with me, even though she said that the only reason she did was for the $1 pasta buffet after the run.  Despite the claim that she was only there for the food, she hung in and ran really strong.  I had my best time yet for any of the nOg runs, but I am not really sure that I would call it my best run.  I have run stronger before I bought Old Bob, but I can only guess what about the time.  Today's run was also left me a more winded than other runs have.  Granted, this was a two-a-day, but fact are fact, I was sucking wind after this run.

I ran 2.80 in 24:17.81 which is a 8.39 pace.

Mile 1 8:29.08

Mile 2 8:59.91

The last .80 6:48.82 which is an 8:27 pace.

Just Puttin in the Work: 2/19

Most weeks, I can't wait for my Saturday run.  However, this week . . . not so much.  I worked out fairly hard this week, plus I had been on some medication for my sinuses, which was turning my digestive track into a freakin horror show.  By the end of the week, I was feeling fairly well worked over and really wanted no part of any kind of run(s).  Nonetheless, I knew that I needed to do at least four miles in order to complete my workout plan for the week.  And, I also knew that my last run had just sucked so bad that I needed to put it in the past asap.  Still, I sat around playing with my cat, Basil, and watching hockey, until it became apparent that I either had to go run or risk spending the rest of the day trying to traverses a netherworld of self-recrimination.  And, personally I try to avoid all netherworlds, alternate dimensions, and the State of Texas at all costs.  So, I decided that I this run was going to get RAN.  I decided that I needed to go somewhere that I hadn't been in a while, but that I was familiar enough with so that I wouldn't be getting in over my head.  Also, if it was a place where I could get to my car quickly or a somewhat clean restroom rather quickly -- all the better!  The only place that I could think of outdoors was Shelley Lake and considering the weather was frickin' rockin' . . . Shelley Lake it was. 

In fact, Shelley Lake was just about perfect.  It is about a 15 min drive from where I live,  has a two mile paved trail that loops around the lake, which is nothing more than a big pond really, the parking lot is close at hand, and there is a public restroom which would do in and case of extreme emergency.  The trail is mostly flat with only a few minor inclines; however, it is very busy with walkers, bikers, dogs, and kids on the weekends.  I used to take my old dog Jon Doe their for walks the first time I lived in Raleigh in the early 90's, but I have only been back once or twice in the last five years, so I knew that I wouldn't be either bored or surprised by the course. 

I decided to do two laps around the lake and call it a day!  Honestly, dare I say that I felt like . . . Crap.  However, as tired and worn out as I felt, I was determined to gut out these four mile and not stop unless I had no other recourse.  The first mile was a little rough, and I felt stiff.  However, it went by really quickly because I had never run more than a few feet anytime that I had been to Shelley Lake in the past.  Jon Doe would have loved to go for a run, but running was not my thing at that point in my life (sitting on my ass and eating Doritos was more my thing).  So what had seemed in the past like a fairly long trail just Zooooooomed right on by in my mind.  I ran it in 8:56.84

The second mile had one minor incline and decline, also you run atop a retraining wall for the lake, so it is a bit breezy. But all in all the second mile is just a easy as the first and had I been in a better frame of mind to start with, I am sure that I would have just loved this run.  During the second mile, I gave thought to maybe doing a 5th mile, but those thoughts were fleeting.  I did the second mile in 8:50.93

Mile 3 was a repeat of mile 1, and I really wanted to improve on mile ones time, but I was looking forward to finishing more than running, struggling more that I should have been, and thinking about how quickly Thursday's run had gone south, therefore I decided not to push too hard and just try to maintain my pace.  I did mile 3 in 8:58.98

Mile 4 just came and went I pushed myself through it by just thinking about getting in my car and going home.  And what do you know, it was my fastest mile.  I finished it in 8:41.01.  Used the walk back to my car as a cool down stretched right on the edge of the parking lot and headed home!

I did 4miles in 35:29.02 for a 8:51 pace.

Welcome to Craptastica! 2/17/11

Recently, I have become aware of the Paradox that exists as little old me.  Outwardly, I'm jaded, sarcastic, and have a sense of humour that makes the Mojave Desert look like a effin' wetland.   But, on the inside there lives this annoying optimistic version of myself that is constantly looking at the bright side of things (and loves Musicals.)  Who Knew?  I sure as hell didn't until Hiroko pointed it out to me.  Well, one thing that I have realized, since I have started running, is that my glass is half full nature has really aided me in dealing with the ups and downs of running.  And Yesterday, was one of those days where it was a really good thing that I am the way I am . . . Because, yesterday's run . . . SUUUuuuuUUUCKED!

Hiroko and I attended the Fleet Feet Social Run, and we did the same 4 mile course that I ran last week.  However, this time, I was hurting from the two-a-day that I had done on Wednesday.  I thought that I would get loose once I got warmed up, but in a work, NAAAAAA!  The first two miles were all right.  I was doing 9 minute miles, which is just a touch slower than my normal pace, but the third mile was real . .  real bad.  I was able to keep my pace up, but I was hurting and knew that I was going to have to walk part of the fourth mile.  Hiro and the other lady, who ran with us blew right by me as I dropped off at the three mile mark.  Mile four: just blew chunks, I ran walk all the way in.  At one point, Hiro even stopped and started coming back to see it I was alright before I waved her on.  My legs were just tight, sore, and felt like tree trunks.  I kept telling myself that if I walked just a few seconds more then I would be able to run again.  Each time I started running, I knew that I just didn't have the heart for it.  No matter how much I tried to gut it out.  I would end up dropping back down to a walk.

Honestly, it was a touch humiliating after I took off and left the group the week before because I wanted to be an asshat run faster.  I would say that it was runner's karma, but I know that it was just that I tried to run one mile more than my legs had in them.  After the run, when I finally caught up to the Hiro and the other lady, who were waiting for me a the top of the last hill.  All I could think about was running on Saturday.  I told Hiro how I don't really mind crappy runs every now and then because you lean more from them than you do from the good one, which is when she pointed out my half-full mentality for the 13,392 time.  Even now, reflecting back on the run, I am kind of glad that it happened.  I have had a string of good runs recently, but I haven't been pushing my workouts the way that I have over the last two weeks.  I know that if I am serious about meeting my goals, I am going to be spending more time in Craptastica, so I had better get used to it!

The days run total was 4.00 miles in 38:23.52 for a 9:35 pace.
Mile 1: 9:07.34
Mile 2: 8:51.25
Mile 3: 9:11.20
Mile 4: 11:12.98 ----WTF!?!

The day's Biking totals were 4.33 miles in 29:46 burning 479

Putting a Ring on My Crazy: 2/16

Alright Folks, it's time for me to commit to my crazy. 

I've been flirting with my crazy for some time now, but my crazy looks fine to me, and it's time I put a ring on it cause there is no other crazy out there that I want to be with.  I have spent most of my adult life dedicated to a purely sedimentary lifestyle, and I came to push 330lbs., I had a killer DVD and book collection, and I hated myself .  Well, over the last year, I have changed, become active, lost weight, and run some races.  But, I've been holding back, and asking myself questions like, "Greg, what's really going to change if you lose another 40lbs or can run 7 min. miles?  What difference in your life is it going to make?"  While I struggled to find an answer, I let myself get into a funk because I wasn't losing as much weight as I wanted, wasn't meeting my running goals, my exercise classes started to suck, and my feet hurt like a mother.  Waaa Waaa Waaa!

In December, I found myself at a crossroad because the weight was coming back, I slipped from 270 to 280, and I was lying to myself that my races were getting harder because of the courses and not the size of my ass, consoled myself by saying things like, "I may not win my age group, but I sure as hell win my weight class."  Fine, most guy's  the go 6'1" 280 can't run 8 and 9 min. miles.  But, here is the thing, I am not happy being one of the few that can!  If I were, that would be one thing, but I am not.  In fact it pisses me off more that I can because I keep thinking, what would it be like if I wasn't the same weight as an Adult Male Ostrich.  And as for the question that I keep asking myself, here is the answer, "Damn if I know, but there is only one way to find out!"

Over the last month and a half I've been making some efforts to get back to where I was in June and July, but the thing is that I want to go beyond that.  I want to go, truly, stark raving mad on this shit because  . . . I liiiiike it! I want to run my guts out every time that I run.  I want every workout to end with the strong possibility of a stroke some mild vomiting.  I love when a workout or a run leaves me drenched in sweat, dizzy, eye's blood shot, and looking like I might fall over gasping for air.  I don't want to count towards our nations obesity statistics, and I don't want to have to by my clothes at Old Navy because they got my size.

So here is the deal folks, 40 more lbs would bring me down to 240, a weight that I haven't seen since Clinton's first term.  I'll be there before the end of this year, injuries and illness be damned.  So, yesterday, I decided to just let my crazy run wild!

Yesterday's workout was a two-a-day.  I got up around 4am and decided to run to the gym.  I did the 1.63 mile run in 14:31.32 for an 8:54 pace.  The streets were clear, the sky was dark, and the air was cool, and a great time was had by all (and by all I mean . . . me).  I did mile 1 in  9:22.41and the last
.63 in 5:08.93 for an 8:10 pace.

After my run, I went to the 30/30 Spin & Strength class.  I had to cut out 15 minutes of the Strength portion in order to get to work (hey, they pay me, so I feel the obligation).  This was my first Spin Class, and it wasn't bad at all.  I worked up a good sweat.  And, it was good to change up from running all the time.  I would prefer to be out riding my bike, but you know, it is nice not having to worry about some NASCAR fan, out to prove that he's a better driver the Danica Patrick, on his way to work, flying down Western Blvd., and turning Franken-bike and I into a mix matched jigsaw puzzle.  The Strength portion of the class that I stayed for was Push Ups, One Legged Squats, planks, some jump rope hops, etc.  After the class, I jogged to Hiroko's work as a cool down, and picked up the car.

I felt good after my morning workout, but not dead . . . my goal for the day was to feel zombified, so I decided to attend Lisa's evening boot camp after work.  I have never atteneded her boot camp, but it was an awesome workout.  Class started at 6:15, but I got there about 10 minutes early and she had early arrivals start out on the track as they arrived.  We had the choice of walking, Jogging, or Running.  I ran.  We stayed on the track until about six 6:20.  I am no fan of the track at the Y because it is a super small, tight (15 laps = a mile), indoor track and only has room for 2.5 people to go around at a time.  So if there two people walking slowly side by side and chatting, it will cause problems.  However last night, I wanted to run.  And just figured that people will have to learn that the track is not where you go to walks slow and chat . . . hell you can't even hear for all the noise comming of the basketball courts.

Anyway, I was going around the track at a good pace, peope were running in fear for thier lives, when some tall skinny dude just blew past me with no effort, followed by another slightly bigger guy right on his heels, so I thought for a second. . . Do I really want to look like an total asshat and try to keep up with these guys until class starts in about 5mins or do I want to go about my merry way.  Now, I must say that just before going to this class I had been reading This Race Report by the Angry Runner, which may have effected my decision making process, along with the fact that I HATE tall skinny fast guys! So, I  . . . uh . . .chose to go the asshat route and fell in right on their heels.  I was able to stay with them  until it was time to go to class because of the other traffic on the track, otherwise the would have toasted me!  I was winded and sweating buckets by the time class started.

Class was basically the same as her the other classes I have done with Lisa, but with  sprints at the end of class . . . Nice!  So it was do an exercise for 30 seconds, switch to another for 30, run to the end of the gym and back, and repeat the process, then start over with two different exercises and continue.  Yesterday we did push ups, various planks, an assortment of jumps, lunges, squats, bicycles, and flutter kicks to name a few.  The sprints we the best part of the class and even though we did them for only around 5mins.  I was dead by the end: red eyed, sweaty as hell, and taking huge gulps of air in.  When I got home I just fell down on the bedroom floor and laid there with my legs elevated for about 10mins.  My crazy and I just having a happy moment together!  I felt like crap and loved it.

Tuesday Toning Class: 2/15/11

I needed to attend Tuesday's Toning class because, if I missed it, I would have gone a whole seven days without attending a workout class,granted I ran on nearly all of those days), but I'm trying to avoid such long breaks between my workout classes and had planned to workout on my own at the gym over the weekend.  However, it was just too difficult to do so considering the wonderful weather.  I had also planned to go to class Monday morning, but I overslept because of some sinus medication I took the night before.  I have chronic sinus problems from a broken nose that are aggravated whenever we have drastic shifts in the weather, so the last week had been a bit rough.  Tuesday the high was back in the 50's for the day, which made it easy to go to the gym but continued to wreak havoc on my nose. 

I really hate side planks and we do them every week, which is why I take classes. 
Otherwise, I would never force myself to do a single plank.

Bryan's class is a good measuring stick by which to gauge my improvement because there are so many exercises that we repeat each week.  I could tell the my core is getting stronger, but I am still not back to the level of overall fitness that I had reached in the summer and fall.  But progress is being made, and if I can avoid the injury bug, I hope to go beyond my prior fitness levels.  I am using the 18lb pound body bar and the 8lb dumbbells for this class right now (b/c I'm lazy), and I didn't have any problems with the weight.  I think that I will be moving back up to 10lb dumbbells soon, but the 18lb body bar is the max at the Y.  Hiroko didn't attend class because she was still at work when it began, but she should be back next week. 

I also commuted to work and the gym on Frankenbike and road at total of 5.83 over 38:13 burning 569 calories. 

Frankenbike & Tir Na nOg: 2/14

Recently, I have started taking Franken-bike (my single speed Cruiser) to work instead of driving.  I really enjoy my commute to work by bike, and I consider it a welcome addition to my workouts.  However, I have never really kept up with it on my blog because I didn't have a good way to track the distances, nor did I really consider these rides to be all that important to my daily workout regiment.  But, I have recently notice that when I talk to Hiroko about my workout, I'll say something like . . . "and I rode my bike to work!"  Like these rides are a huge addition to what I am doing, and she should be impressed.  (Yes, I am trying to impress my wife!  Most of the things that I do are attempts to either impress her or make her laugh, and I am more than OK with that!)  So, I decided that since I have Old Bob, that I may as well use him to track these rides.  Mainly, because I don't want to get an overinflated idea of the of these rides worth.  I realize that they are better than driving, but it's not like I took an hour long spin class either.  Also, I hope that by including these rides in this blog that I will be more apt to ride to work rather than drive when I don't have a good reason to drive.

Today, I rode to work.  I also had to run an errand from my campus to the main campus in the middle of the day and rode then, afterward I rode home.  All in all, I rode 7.03 mile spent 44:03.42 riding (and in traffic) and burned  687 cal according to Old Bob.  On a normal day, if I didn't go to the gym by bike, the total would be half this.  So as I suspected, these rides are not that big of a deal. 

After work today, I went to the nOg for the Run Club.  Since it was Valentines day, they were doing an event where single people were suppose to wear green and people in a relationship were suppose to red: Green for Go and Red for No!  Hiroko couldn't attend the run because her work has been CrAZy all week, and she would need to work from 5am to 5pm on Tuesday, so the nOg run was out for her.  She was joking with me saying that I would wearing a green shirt under my red one, but Audrey, Victor, and Ernie can call attest to the fact that I rock my Red Krispy Kreme Challenge tech shirt the whole time!



Blurry picture of me Rockin' the Red as I run.

I have wanted to take pictures at the nOr Run ever since I started attending, so that people could get a better idea of just how vibrant a running community there is there.  The last run on the 7th had 200 runners according to the club website, and since we all scan in for our runs, that is not guesstimating. 
Today, the weather was awesome -- right around 70 degrees, but windy -- and I would be shocked if we didn't hit 200 again despite it being Valentine's day!

People hatting in the nOg before the run



A group of runners preparing to start their run


















My run was really awesome.  I ran the 2.80 course in  24:48.87 at a 9:05 pace, which is my fastest run at the nOg thus far.  I did the first mile in  8:19.68, mile 2 in 9:10.98 and the last .80 in 7:18.21.  I attempted to take pictures as I ran, but the lack of light made it difficult as you can see from the pictures below.  However, I think I run faster when I try to take pictures!



Oakwood Ave. at the end of mile one.



Heading toward the Capitol at the end of mile two.