You Must be Oughta Your Mind, Ump!

First Steps

2008-02-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

while still giddy about the GIANTS!!!! WOOOOO!!!!!!

Alexandra Park 5k

That was a ton of fun. I ran the 5k in 32:02. Sure that was about 10 minutes slower than my best ever time, but that was also 10 years ago and at the end of the season. I finished well... ummm... last amongst men, but I wasn't last overall. There were about 25 runners behind me. People were very friendly and apparently this is a somewhat close knit community who run this thing every month. They also hold a raffle afterwards for gift certificates to a running store in town.
The course was three approximately one mile loops around the park. Unfortunately I did get lapped, but so did a lot of people.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: 17 stone, 0lb. (238lb, 108.0kg)
Current Weight: 17 stone, 0lb. (238lb, 108.0kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 4lb. (+4lb, +1.8kg) Why do I keep gaining weight?

Mile goal this week: 11 (oops, I forgot that my weeks start on Sunday)
Miles today: 3
Miles this week: 3
Miles last week: 6
Total Mileage: 24

Weather:6˚C (43˚F), Clear, 25mph SSE (gusts to 40mph), 70% R.H., Wind chill n/a
There was a long straightaway running south. I felt like I was running uphill.

First 5k: 32:03 on Feb 3, 2008
Last 5k: 32:03 on Feb 3, 2008
Best Time: 32:03 on Feb 3, 2008
Next 5k: March 4, 2008.
Δ Time:0:00

Aches and Pains: That calf is starting to hurt again. I put some ibuprofen cream on it and iced it. That helped a lot. I also got some advice from John. Rather than not running while it hurts, just cut down the mileage. I'll also experiment a little bit with non-impact workouts at the gym. To be honest though, it feels ok today (Monday).

Not So Random Thoughts: Man was that an amzing game last night. Absolutely amazing. I still can't believe the Giants won. I"m giddy. That David Tyree catch... hell that whole play with Manning running out of tackles, too, is going to go down in history. Another thing I'm really happy about
is that the Giants WON the game. It's not that the Pats lost, but the Giants won it. The better team, at least on Feb 3rd, won the game.

-rusty

Sti-i-i-ill.... C-c-c-cold....

2008-02-02T12:52:00.000-08:00

while watching Futurama...

*Still Shivering*

Man, I felt like crap today. I gotta make sure I'm hydrated and well fed for tomorrow. I'm very nervous about tomorrow though. It's 3 laps around the park. What if I get lapped? Why am I still so self-consious?

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: 16 stone, 12lb. (236lb, 107.0kg) *
Current Weight: 17 stone, 0lb. (238lb, 108.0kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 4lb. (+4lb, +1.8kg) Why do I keep gaining weight?

* - a note on weights. I'm considering Sunday weigh in's the official weigh in. I did in fact weigh myself last Sunday, despite not running.

Mile goal this week: 9
Miles today: 1
Miles this week: 6
Miles last week: 0
Total Mileage: 21

Weather:5˚C (41˚F), Clear, 21mph SW, 70% R.H., Wind chill n/a
It was actually snowing when I woke up, but it wasn't sticking.

Aches and Pains: I still feel fine.

Random Thoughts: nothing on my mind right now.

-rusty

C-c-c-cold

2008-02-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

while getting ready to do my Saturday run...

*Shiver*

In the interest of full disclosure it is now Saturday morning. I was really tired Thursday, incredibly busy on Friday and saw Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street last night. I did however, run 5k on Thursday just to prove to myself that I can and it's not that much of a problem. I"m just nervous that I'm gonna be the last runner to finish on Sunday and I'll be really slow, and everyone will laugh, and I'll trip over my shoelaces and...

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: 16 stone, 12lb. (236lb, 107.0kg) *
Current Weight: 17 stone, 1lb. (238lb, 108.0kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 5lb. (+5lb, +2.3kg) Why do I keep gaining weight?

* - a note on weights. I'm considering Sunday weigh in's the official weigh in. I did in fact weigh myself last Sunday, despite not running.

Mile goal this week: 9
Miles today: 3
Miles this week: 5
Miles last week: 0
Total Mileage: 20

Weather:2˚C (36˚F), Light Snow/Partly Cloudy Flurries I guess., 25mph (gusts to 40) WSW, 87% R.H., Wind chill -4.5˚C (24˚F)
I was only wearing a knit cap, gloves, short sleave PT shirt and track pants. I was FREEZING to begin with, but by the end, I was glad I had only worn what I did.

Aches and Pains: I feel fine.

Random Thoughts: Why does it always seem as if I never get a tail wind, but I'm always running into a head wind?

-rusty

Back at it...

2008-01-29T11:46:00.001-08:00

while thinking about the coming baseball season...

Another Rainy Tuesday

So yeah. I didn't post that last Thursday, but I did run 2 miles. My calf hurt A LOT! I felt something kinda pop in it, so instead of the 3 miles I had planned to do, I shut it down at 2. Then the next day I was walking with a pronounced limp. I decided to rest it until it felt better. Running on it was a poor decision. Resting it was a wise decision.

Anyhow, I ran two miles today to get back into the swing of things. I felt very good, and probably could have done the extra mile, but first run back from an injury I didn't want to push it. I'll do 3 on Thursday, then 1 or 1½ miles on Saturday to prep for Sunday's 5k!

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: 16 stone, 12lb. (236lb, 107.0kg) *
Current Weight: 17 stone, 0lb. (238lb, 108.0kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 4lb. (+4lb, +1.8kg)

* - a note on weights. I'm considering Sunday weigh in's the official weigh in. I did in fact weigh myself last Sunday, despite not running.

Mile goal this week: 9
Miles today: 2
Miles this week: 2
Miles last week: 0
Total Mileage: 17

Weather:6˚C (43˚F), Partly Cloudy, 8mph WSW, 87% R.H., Wind chill n/a. Walking home from work was miserable. 17 mph wind from the W and raining. I guess a small front moved through because it was downright pleasant this evening.

Aches and Pains: Bueno.

Random Thoughts: I wonder if the canals are subject to the tides.

-rusty

Tuesday 5k

2008-01-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

while waiting to see who those Michiganders voted for...

Rainy Tuesday

Three miles today. I was a little worried about how my left calf, more on that later. I felt really good! My legs feel a ton stronger, my lungs feel like they have a better capacity, and whether I was faster or not, I felt faster. I haven't been losing weight, but my legs are getting strong very fast.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: n/a *
Current Weight: 16 stone, 13lb. (237lb, 107.5kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 3lb. (+3lb, +1.4kg)

* - a note on weights. I'm considering Sunday weigh in's the official weigh in. Since I didn't weigh myself last Sunday, it's still n/a. Also, I'm not worried that I"m actually gaining weight at this point. First of all, it's only week 1, and 2nd, I can see some of the weight coming off my face. I must be building some muscle, hence the minor weight gain.

Mile goal this week: 10
Miles today: 3
Miles this week: 5
Miles last week: 8
Total Mileage: 13

Weather:6˚C (43˚F), Light Rain (or drizzle, it was tough to tell), 4mph SSE, 93% R.H., Wind chill n/a

Aches and Pains:I was a little worried about how my left calf would feel, but it was fine, until I cooled down that is. It's pretty tight right now. I'm wondering if substituting my Thursday run for 30 minutes on an exercise bike is ok. I'm guessing now that I'll be better off resting it an extra day, but I was able to run without an issue. Also, I loosened the laces on my right shoe and that eliminated that problem!

Random Thoughts: There were Greater Manchester Police and a bunch of Metrolink workers out tonight checking tickets and assessing fines to those without valid tickets. Way to go!
-rusty

Baconated Grapefruit? I Love the Future!

2008-01-13T12:54:00.001-08:00

while digesting baconated chicken...

One Healthy Thing, One "Healthy" Thing

Did 2 miles in the morning whilst it was VERY windy. I felt like I was barely moving into the wind, but out of control with the tail wind. That was healthy.

Danny's mom makes what I like to call baconated chicken. We fried up 2 pounds of bacon, then using the grease we fried 16 thighs and drumsticks. We ate all but one... just because Alison wanted it for lunch tomorrow. Oh, and this includes our hors d'vours. Bacon wrapped pineapple. We still have a ton of bacon leftover, even though we ate about a pound between the three of us.

Forgot to mention, for a post dinner snack before the christmas pudding is ready, we dipped some leftover bread into the bacon grease to scoop up the tasty morsels of chicken crunchies.

Screw 10 miles this week, I'll consider it a success if I walk to work tomorrow without keeling over with a cardiac arrest.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: n/a *
Current Weight: 16 stone, 13lb. (237lb, 107.5kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 3lb. (+3lb, +1.4kg)

* - a note on weights. I'm considering Sunday weigh in's the official weigh in. Since I didn't weigh myself last Sunday, it's still n/a. Also, I'm not worried that I"m actually gaining weight at this point. First of all, it's only week 1, and 2nd, I can see some of the weight coming off my face. I must be building some muscle, hence the minor weight gain.

Mile goal this week: 10
Miles today: 2
Miles this week: 2
Miles last week: 8
Total Mileage: 12

Weather:10˚C (50˚F), 21mph S, 87%R.H., Wind chill n/a

Aches and Pains: Left calf hurts a bit. Not sure what to make of it. It feels like there is a knot in the muscle. Tomorrow is a rest day, so we'll see how that goes. As for my right foot, I tied my shoe very loosely and it felt good. It came untied though at one point, so I tightened it down and it hurt a bit again. I'll play with that a bit.

Random Thoughts: My christmas tree is really sad. All the needles fell off and it's not getting collected until Tuesday.

-rusty

Early... Ok Midmorning... okok...Almost Noon Run

2008-01-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

while eating a very tasty egg and cheese on a REAL bagel...

The crack of 10:30am

Three more miles today. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but I did see another runner today! I think he was training for boxing because he was wearing sweatshirt, jacket with hood and periodically stopped to spar. Whenever we passed we smiled and gave a little wave.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: n/a
Current Weight: 16 stone, 11lb. (235lb, 106.6kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 1lb. (+1lb, +0.5kg)

Mile goal this week: 8
Miles today: 3
Miles this week: 8 (goal achieved!)
Miles last week: n/a
Total Mileage: 10

Weather:4˚C (39˚F), 8mph SSW, 87%R.H., Wind chill 1˚C (33˚F)

Aches and Pains: Felt pretty good, but since I did run first thing in the morning without any breakfast, I did feel like I was running out of energy towards the end. My right foot hurts a bit, too. I think I just tied that shoe too tight. It is the bigger of my two feet.

Random Thoughts: Random!

-rusty

This Ain't So Bad When...

2008-01-10T12:09:00.001-08:00

while preparing for the arrival of Cash...

Three More Miles

As per my plan of doing 10 miles/week on only 4 days of running, I bumped things up to three miles today and it felt pretty good. I'm running at night, in the cold, where no one can see me going really slowly, and I don't feel like any eyes are on me at all.

There is something to be said for having someone pushing you. When I was in ROTC, Captains Stelzig* and Muhlenberg as well as Major Schrek** would help me with my running. When we were training individually (I remember one particular 4 mile run with CPT Muhlenberg and an 8 miler with MAJ Schrek), they'd purposely run a step or two faster than I was able. That kept me pushing hard. If I couldn't keep the pace and I slowed down, they'd slow also, but they'd still be a step or two faster so I'd be going as fast as I nominally could.

But right now I'm building a base and I'm building motivation. It's nice to be going at a speed and a pace I can handle. There are no eyes on me at all at the Tram station. I can just concentrating on making sure I finish my mileage goal. This way I don't think, "man that sucked," and I can look forward to running next time.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106kg)
Weight Last week: n/a
Current Weight: 16 stone, 12lb. (236lb, 107kg)
Δ Weight: +0 stone, 2lb. (+2lb, +1kg)

Mile goal this week: 8
Miles today: 3
Miles this week: 5
Miles last week: n/a
Total Mileage: 7

Weather:6˚C (41˚F), 6mph S, 93%R.H., Windchill 5˚C (39˚F)

Aches and Pains: Nothing! I feel pretty good. No cramp today, and I think that's because I was much more conscientious about how much water I was drinking today. I do need a sweatband of some sort to keep sweat out of my eyes though.

Random Thoughts: I wonder if the people on the tram can see me when I'm not under a street lamp.

-rusty

*- last I heard, CPT Stelzig was MAJ Stelzig.
**- last I heart, MAJ Schrek was LTC Schrek.

Don't Start a Fitness Regime on Dec. 16th!

2008-01-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

While still giddy after having watched the Rangers win game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals...

So What Happened?

Right, so I began running on a Sunday, and I planned to update after everyday that I ran. And I kept to my promise; I haven't run since that day! Monday the 17th was a rest day, then, well, Christmas happened. Lots of food, lots of drinking, long nights, a very ill wife (not from the drinking and long nights) and it all led to me deciding to restart after the holidays. So here we are!

Today's Run

Back to square one, eh? Two miles. Last time kinda sucked, but I felt pretty good today, actually. I also tried a different route that I think will work well for short runs.

Walking to and fro work, I go a bit out of my way to walk through an elevated tram station. It's a nice view around and there are rarely more than 20 people about. And it has the added benefit over the canal path, of having no broken glass and not smelling like urine! Anyhow, on the way home today, I thought to myself, "hey I could probably use this area like a track, I wonder how big the circumference of this area is?" So I whipped out google maps and violá, between the staircases is almost exactly 1/4 of a mile. Obviously that makes a roundtrip 1/2 mile. Like I said, good for shorter runs, like I'll be doing for the time being. I also measured out a few other paths so I can vary things up and it's not just the same laps over and over again.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106kg)
Weight Last week: n/a
Current Weight: 16 stone, 12lb. (236lb, 107kg)
Differential: +0 stone, 2lb. (2lb, 1kg)

Mile goal this week: 8 (I started on Tuesday, which is essentially day 2)
Miles today: 2
Miles this week: 2
Miles last week: n/a
Total Mileage: 4

Aches and Pains: Nothing! I feel pretty good. A lot better than I did last time I ran at least. It helps not having blisters. I did have a bit of a cramp in my left calf walking back home. I have to remember to drink more water during the course of the day.

Random Thoughts: I was running by the Beetham Tower and the lights on the eastern side of the building were lit up in such a way it looked like one of those ads for Channel 4.

-rusty

Grand Reopening

2007-12-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

While listening to Car Talk...

Grand Reopening!!

Here we are again, but this time we're not going to talk about baseball and moving and getting married. I've been married a year, I've moved and living in England, I'm playing and umpiring far less baseball.

I've been eating a lot, and not moving much and as a result, the obvious has happened. I went home last month for Thanksgiving and since then, it's been non-stop eating. You see, in Manchester they have these fantastic Christmas markets. Delicious continental food including sausages, goulash, macaroons, aeplemagroni, cheeses, chocolates, fresh doughnuts...

The Plan

Anyhow, I'm going to go back to running. I have an ultimate goal in mind, but for now this goal will do. The 2008 Great Manchester Run will be on Sunday the 20th of May, 2008.

Today was day one of training. I ran 2 miles; one out the canal tow path and one back. Sure, 2 miles is 3.21 km, or about 1/3rd of the race in May, but I ahve to start somewhere. I'll do my best to update this blog after every run.

As for the stats below. I will weigh myself after every Sunday run. My mileage goals are pretty simple to explain. Since I"m starting from more or less scratch. I'm going to do the following:

4 weeks of 10 miles/week
5 weeks of increasing by 1 mile/week to reach 15 miles/week
4 weeks of 15 miles/week
6 weeks of increasing by 10% to reach 25 miles/week

That's 19 weeks, which puts me into the middle of April.

The Stats

Starting Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)
Weight Last week: n/a
Current Weight: 16 stone, 10lb. (234lb, 106.1kg)

Mile goal this week: 10
Miles today: 2
Miles this week: 2
Miles last week: n/a
Total Mileage: 2

Aches and Pains: Right... day one. 2 blisters! Fortunately they're not from running. I did a lot of walking yesterday to and from Christmas parties while in shoes that give me blisters. Still, it's not exactly pleasant. Not bad, and tomorrow is a rest day, so I should be ok by Tuesday.

-rusty