I went for a great run today it was sunny and brisk.
- Distance: 4.62 miles
- Pace: 7:34
- Total Time: 35:03
- Calories: 695
I went for a great run today it was sunny and brisk.
Fitness motivation & Goals. This past weekend I hit some new milestones in my fitness and weight-loss journey and I wanted to share them really quick.
I started this journey on January 24th, 2013 and today I officially lost 100lbs. To put some perspective in January I was a size 44-46 pant, XXL with a size 18 1/2 in neck. Today, I’m a 32-24 waist with a Medium or Large shirt and a 16in neck size.
I’m going to focus on loosing another 20-25 pounds and continue focus on dropping my body fat from 21% to 12-15%.
If you need some motivation, grab a Fitbit!
I ran the Lifting Hopes 5k today, it was a pump and run and I got put in the pump category and just went with it. From my calculations I would have finished 3rd in the 5k. However, I did manage to run my personal best time of 7:12/average mile finishing in 22:19.
I decided to take my new Brooks Pure Cadence 2 shoes for a test run before the 5k I’m running on Sunday. In the past I haven’t had good luck with Brook’s shoes because the toe box is generally to large and my feet slide around and I wicked blisters on my toes. However, I was pleasantly surprised in these shoes. They have a nice snug fit, much like my Saucony Mirage 3’s and appear to be more durable.
My run was good considering I have a nasty sinus infection so my breathing was off and my hear rate was elevated. However, I did manage to pull in a 7:21 average mile pace finishing with a time 22:07.
The shoes were snug and very comfortable and I really enjoyed running in them. After a few more runs I’ll be able to make a more decisive decision but right now I’m going to keep them as my main running shoe. They were sturdy and provided good support, I tend to pronate more on my left foot and these shoes seem to help correct that a little. My initial impressions:
Also, I’ve been running with custom inserts I had made back in June at Road Runner Sports here in Columbus, Ohio and I think I might running without them on Sunday. I have a feeling that my feet have changed considering I’m wearing a size 11.5 now and back in the spring I was wearing a size 12 or 12.5 and I have a feeling that the inserts might be bothering my left knee.
Today my personal best 5k pace was achieved. I took Thursday, Friday and Saturday off from running to let my left knee relax and heal. The knee has been feeling a little sore and achy over the past week.
I went out this afternoon for a 5k (3 mile) run before the thunderstorms arrived and even with my sinus infection I managed to have a great run. I wasn’t sure how things were going to go, but as I clicked the start button on my Suunto watch I had a feeling it was going to be a personal best 5k pace. My route starts by going up a slight grade and then goes flat for about .50 miles, more slight grades and then I turn at 1.5miles to complete the 3 mile loop.
Today’s shoes were my Saucony Mirage 3’s and I really enjoy running in these shoes, I suggest checking them out next time you are in need of shoes.
I recently went on vacation with my family to Mackinac Island, MI and If you haven’t been there its a very nostalgic place with no vehicles (except for the fire trucks). The island’s transportation includes walking, bikes or horse carriages.
The island is about 8 miles in diameter and the main road travels next to the coast line. During the morning of the run, the winds were brisk and the temperatures were in the mid 50’s.
About a month ago I started to make the transition to a minimal running shoe and I decided to wear my new Merrell Bare Access 2 shoes on this run, which were very comfortable. However, I should have ran a few more 2-3 mile runs to let my legs adjust to the minimalist running style as my calf and lower leg muscles were quite sore for the next few days.
I managed to complete the run in just over a hour, 1:05:52 and managed an average pace of 8:13 per mile, burning 1118 calories.
If you find yourself in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan take the ferry ride over to the Island and run, you won’t regret it.
I went running today and was my first run of the month with my new Saucony Mirage 3’s, I burned out my previous pair by logging about 350 miles. The run was a struggle due to my sinus infection and the fact I decided to change my route and ran into the wind almost the whole time. I ran an average of 8:06/miles which is about 20 seconds slower than my current pace on a good day.
I burned 793 Calories, maintained a 7.4mph pace which resulted in a 38 minute run.
During the course of 2013 I documented my life style change and I lost over 110 pounds in just 12 months with hard work and motivation. I often get asked how did you do it?, What was the trick?. Let me be the first to say there is NO easy button, but if you take this journey and make a life style change the changes will come.
Stick with it, set goals and follow the tips below and you will succeed don’t let the journey become frustrating. Remember its a LONG term goal and life style change that will last the rest of your life. My weight loss tips are below.
I’m suggesting these tools as a gateway to begin.
But first you MUST make that mental shift, be willing and ready to say no and have strength to eat the correct things, again these are just tools to aid you.
I personally used the Fitbit to set goals for myself on a daily basis, for example 10,000 steps. This gave me the motivation to get up and walk around, I found myself parking at the end of parking lots and taking the stairs instead of elevators, these simple changes add up.
Eventually, you will find yourself wanting to beat your previous days metrics, it’s addicting. In 2013 I logged over 1,619 miles on my Fitbit and over 4 million steps, I want to double that for 2014.
It’s been a month since I last posted and during that time my wife I took a trip to Vermont to accomplish a few goals, run a marathon and visit her family.
We set off to run the marathon on a Saturday morning, it was cold, around 30-35 degree’s and sunny. Around 8:30am the race started and we paced ourselves for a 12 minute mile, about 2 hours and 30 minutes into the race we reached the half way point (13.1 miles).
We were feeling pretty good at that point since we had ran that distance many times during the summer, however, around mile 19 or 20 I hit the “wall” so to speak its and odd feeling when you body just stops running and you unconsciously start to walk. I am about 2-3 miles ahead of my wife at this point, we made a pact that we would go ahead of each other if we felt like we could, I did.
Around mile 21 I met up with an awesome lady named Dorthy, her spirit and positive energy got me through the last 5.2 miles of that marathon and I’ll never forget the time we ran together. She’ll probably never see this blog, but I just want to say thanks Dorothy. Dorthy and I finished 1 second apart, I was dehydrated, delusional and I was trying to comprehend how my wife was already at the finish line. Come to find out she made it 19 miles before she had to stop, I was proud of her for making it that far.
I finished the marathon, 26.2 miles in just under 5 hours and 30 minutes, all those months of hard training actually paid off.
The marathon was around Lake Champlain here is a picture of the sunset there.