Bad ideas...

A large Taco Bell meal, followed by this:

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

All after sitting around for a few hours stressing over life and getting stiff after a long work day.

*sigh* Ah, well. It's done now. I survived, and I still haven't missed a workout.

It's not always a party.

Twelve hour work day yesterday, two extra hours of really hard work today, bike ride to work and back, followed by my workout. It wasn't so much a run as sort of a death march today, but I finished without injury or other permanent damage. My thighs are very tired and I've probably managed to sweat off about five pounds today, but I still finished and I feel good about that.

Two weeks down!

Today felt good.

Yes, it did. It felt great, actually. My form has improved, my breathing has smoothed out, and I'm running faster and stronger even than the first run this week.

It would appear that I'm right on target. I'll weigh myself before I shower here in just a minute, and that should give some insight not only to my weight loss strategy, but to my hydration strategy as well. When the humidity is around 80%, you sweat a lot apparently.

Shuffling things around

Okay. So my schedule tells me I should be running today. Unfortunately, I worked twelve hours in the factory and I'm having some... Well, I'm having some issues with chafing. So, I decided to move my entire schedule back a day, which actually works out better for me in the long run.

Of course, it is probably also important to note that this is where my past attempts at training/getting into shape/losing weight have failed. I miss one day, then for whatever reason just give up entirely. I'm not going to let that happen this time, though. I'm committed to this race training, especially since I actually laid down some cash to be able to run it.

My long-term goals at this point are to run as much as possible through the fall and winter, with my eyes on a spring half-marathon. After that, I'll re-examine my situation, but right now there's this dream of a fall marathon bouncing around my head. But only one. Marathon training takes a huge commitment, and not just from the person running it. It also takes time away from the rest of the people around you, and I'm not sure if I'm prepared to put myself or my family through it more than once. But, man... It would be really awesome to have that one, just to prove it to myself.

Getting stronger...

Today was the start of my second week training. Ninety seconds of running followed by two minutes of walking repeated for twenty minutes. I thought it would be harder than it was, but I actually felt faster and stronger today even though I was running for a longer time. Also, the thigh that was bothering me Friday (and most of the weekend) was fine today as well.

I don't know if I've managed to lose a single pound yet, but I feel healthier right now anyway. I'm sure the weight loss will start soon enough.

Man, I screwed up today.

I totally screwed up today. I've run this workout three times now, and I had to wait until the last one to pull this? I was supposed to walk five minutes, then alternate sixty seconds of running and ninety seconds of walking for twenty minutes. That adds up to twenty-five, right? Well, then why did I stop my watch and come inside after only twenty?

Now I'm trying to convince myself that it's all for the best. When I did my first minute of running, I felt a pretty sharp pain in my left quad. It got better as the workout went on, but never really went away. I'm hoping it was a cramp and not a pulled muscle, but I'm going to be keeping an eye on it over the weekend just in case.

Hot weather makes training hard

In other news, grass is green (or, in our case, crunchy and brown) and the sky is blue. I really hope this heat and humidity break soon. On the other hand, the advertised sweat-wicking properties of my new "technical t shirt" seems to work well.

Zen and the art of the rest day

My training program started yesterday. The way this particular plan is laid out, I run three days a week - Monday, Wednesday and Friday. That makes today a rest day. Of course, my first race is on a Saturday, so there is going to be some sort of adjustment a little later on. And, of course, there's the fact that my second race is only six weeks after the first, so I'm going to have to figure out what kind of training to do in between there.

Anyway, back to my rest day. Early on, I was thinking that I would go ahead and do at least a thirty-minute walk, but as the work day wore on, I realized that was likely a bad idea. A little thigh soreness and general tiredness made the decision for me, really.

It's been so long since I exercised with any regularity that I had forgotten how awesome a day off really can be. It's kind of nice to sit back, relax and look forward to another workout tomorrow.

Now, if I could kick this nasty "snacking like a swarm of locusts" thing, I'd be all set.

Beginnings.

I decided on my first race. It's on September 8, and it's a 5K trail run. So, today began the "Couch to 5K" training program. It wasn't too bad - 60 seconds of running followed by 90 seconds of walking, repeated over 20 minutes. The heat, however, was oppressive. 84° right now, with no breeze, no clouds and PLENTY of humidity. It would probably be smarter to run in the mornings, but I'd have to get up around 3:45 am for that, and that's just silly. So, I cope.

I do feel bad for the dog, though...

Anyway, that's how it starts, so we'll see how I'm doing eight weeks or so from now for the big race day. And now, I shower.

I went for a walk this morning.

So, this is how it begins. Around 32 minutes of brisk walking with the dog in tow. Did I forget to mention that my dumb-dumb boxer Murphy is along for the ride in this little journey? Because he is.

Well, it turns out that a half-hour of brisk walking just isn't enough to make me feel like I've really done anything, so apparently it's time to go ahead and start putting some running in to the mix already. I was kind of planning on waiting to start that so I could start a 5K training program in time for the Phedippidations Worldwide Half Marathon (and Kick the Couch 5K). That's in the second weekend of October, and the program for that doesn't really begin for a couple more weeks, but if I'm going to be working out over that time - and I am - I'm gonna have to jump the gun a bit.

I guess all-in-all that's not a bad thing, though. I feel like I took my first baby steps today. Here's hoping it will continue over the days/weeks/months/years to come.

RV

Welcome to RV Runs!

Hello and welcome to RV Runs. I have other blogs and journals, but this one is going to be special. It's going to be all about my running, swimming and cycling as I work to lose at least twenty pounds and get myself into shape for some athletic competitions.

Here's the deal. I'm 31 years old. I'm a father and a husband, and I'm probably at least thirty pounds overweight. I'm a former cross-country, track and swim team athlete who, frankly, has let himself completely go in the last few years. It's time for a change, and this little blog is one of the steps I'm taking to make it.

As for the name "RV Runs?" Once upon a time I was an online gamer. In those days, I went by the name "RandomV," short for Random Violence. Why? Because it was funny to me to see "you were just killed by Random Violence" scroll across the screen. For whatever reason, that online handle has been with me for more than five years now, and most people I speak with on this big series of tubes called the internet shorten it to "RV" because it's easier to type. So, there it is. "RV Runs" seems catchy and short enough that it works out fairly well for me.

Anyway, I need to go spend some time with my son and dog, but watch this space for updates as things progress, be they about training programs I'm trying, nutrition tips I've found, equipment reviews, or whatever happens to be on my mind at the time.