New year, same old same old

Last year, I finished with 785 miles run. I finished the year weighing 235 pounds. Then I went up to 237 by March, with the goal to actually lose weight. Today, I weighed 223. While that's 5 pounds more than the beginning of December, but only 2 pounds more than when I was at the doctor on Dec. 19. This was after last night's binge of crappy food. It was delicious. Time to get serious. Last year, at the start of the year, I was 12 pounds lighter than the year before.  This year, I'm 12 pounds lighter than I was the year before. Something is working. I'd like to be 200 this time next year.  That's my goal.  No resolution. Just a goal. Game on!

December 2010 Mileage: 43
December 2011 Mileage: 48
December 2012 Mileage: 79

2009 Total Miles: 440*
2010 Total Miles: 600
2011 Total Miles: 785
2012 Total Miles: 887* <---what happened="" p="" there="">
So that's really it. I have been looking back on my past resolutions. I don't think I'm going to make any. Today, when I went out for my run, I got about halfway done, and my back tightened. This is the second time it's happened in a week. It loosened up the first time. This time, not so much. So, I won't make any promises I can't keep at the moment.  However, 223...I'll be lower. I will be lower. I will be lower.

*In those years, I ran a full marathon. This year, I ran twice as far as I did 3 years before. That's crazy.

Looking back...Looking forward

It's Dec. 31, 2010, and I'm looking back on the year.  First of all, I thought I ran so much more.  However, in 2009, I logged a whopping 440 or so miles, which included a marathon.  I did not do much running, except in June, July, August, and September.  Add October, and those are the only months over 30 miles all of 2009.  Somehow, I swore I trained harder, and ran farther last year.  Yet, at the end of this year, I have logged over 600 miles, including workouts on the elliptical last winter.  The grand total was 600.23 miles, according to dailymile.com.  I would imagine that the only person over 25 that I know that logged that many miles would be my MinL.

Since February, every month was over 35 miles.  I remember last January being crazy, as usual, and using the elliptical because my hips hurt again.  Compared to last year, my peak months were, again, July and August.  In 2009, I ran 113 and 107 miles respectively in those two months, but just 82 and 83 in 2010.

Looking back on this year, I thought I had accomplished so much.  I still think I improved as a runner.  For instance, my MRR is a testament to that.  Also, I found myself racing a lot, but still running shorter distances.  I've been thinking a lot about resolutions.  Last year, I made a few resolutions and held to one.  Thankfully, I logged all my miles this year.  The crunches and push-up resolutions failed.

Over the past few weeks, my mind has been going back and forth about can I resolve to run 1000 miles this coming year.  That's an average of a little more than 19 miles a week.  This would seem doable, if I didn't live in New England, or have the upcoming outdoor track season to coach.  I can get mileage in, but averaging that over the course of 52 weeks is daunting.  I struggle to make that little bit of mileage during the average work week.  Adding in coaching could make it more difficult.  However, seeing the strides I made towards improving this year, I think a moderate resolution is in order.  I feel that it is well within my grasp to hit 750 miles over the course of 2011.

If there is anybody out there actually reading, I'm counting on some support.  No longer should you be anonymous.  Please, let me know.  I don't update regularly, and for that, I hope to have at least bi-weekly postings.  That's my second resolution: we're talking baby steps.

The weight didn't work out for me over the past year.  I've gained and lost and gained and lost and gained for 52 weeks.  We'll try again.  I'll try to do more crunches, as well.  I'm not setting myself up for anything, though.

With more cold weather gear and gear for running in darker conditions, I think this will be my best year yet.  My latest doctor's appointment was moderately successful.  Since June, I had lost weight, but not much (3.5 pounds).  However, I had dropped my cholesterol levels by many points.  I proceeded to pig out since Christmas.  So, that's the other resolution.  Get some self control.  I have it with running, so I'm going to apply it to the rest of my life.

Finally, with that, I hope your resolutions go well.  Best of luck to you this New Year.

No time, all the time

Finding time for the run is tough. I've found enough time for about 14-15 miles a week. This will be my third week in a row with that, but there could also be snow...which there has been each of the last two weeks. One thing is for certain-I'm fat. No doubt. Huge. I weigh what I weighed at the end of last school year. I hate that.

It is obvious I need more cross training. Muscle confusion...probably not an option. I still need to get my mileage in, but need something else.

Thank goodness for Lent. No pizza, no soda, no bad for me snacks, avoiding sweets (more of a guideline, than a hard and fast rule, because of birthdays), and maybe I'll rededicate myself to at least one day of weights.

The crunches are not done every day, but I've done more in the past 6 weeks than I've done in a long time.

Winter doesn't motivate...I must motivate. February break is a great help...Since I don't have one next year, I need to get my weight DOWN...seriously.

The treadmill is a bitch. The treadmill, at least for winter, is my best friend.

Rought getting back

January marks a period of time when the gym is crowded with people with resolutions. Each day, the place is packed. Finding an available machine is like finding water in the Sahara. As the year progresses, the herd thins. For me, my peak usage is from December through March, only because track begins, and I tend to run on the road for the rest of the year.

I hate running indoors. Funny, but when 2 miles was an accomplishment, I didn't hate it. In fact, I preferred it, because my joints felt great. Now, going to the gym and running is like taking a death march. The random setting helps simulate hills. Days on the elliptical help me work at an easy pace to build endurance (this is the preferred method @ Runners World). This month in RW, there's a whole article about going slower, shorter, etc. and improving. But, ack, the GYM! So, I hate the gym, yet I dutifully complete my workouts.

At the moment, I have no training plan. This makes things difficult, as I can't check workouts off like I could while training for the marathon. Actually, I've toyed with the idea of doing the first month of the marathon training for each of the next three months. It will have hard weeks and easy weeks, and my body will have an opportunity to bounce back. Plus, right when it gets hard, the mileage will reduce, and I can start again, but at a slightly faster pace. For all I know, I may implement this tomorrow.

How are the resolutions going?

Crunches completed since Jan 1.-400 out of a possible 500. Not bad, but already not perfect. Actually, doing 50 is easy, it's just a matter of remembering to do them.

New Year and some resolutions...

The post-marathon part my running year was less than spectacular. I had a rough going in the weeks following the marathon. My hips and quads just weren't responding well after the race, and getting "back in the swing" was difficult. A week later, a ran a mile, and then iced. A few days later, I tried a mile and a half. A few more days, and it was two miles. But a good 2 weeks later, and I still felt pretty crappy running.

I worked my way back up to 4 miles over the coming weeks, but every run felt bad. Worse, I had put back on ALL the weight I had lost in the previous 5 months in a matter of 5 weeks. So, feeling achy and fat, and with a week before the Manchester RR, I stopped running. I didn't even think about it. Instead, I got back to coaching football for a while (it's weird to be there so rarely, after being consumed with it for 6 years each fall). On Thanksgiving morning, I felt okay, and I ran the race. It was a good run, but crowded. Sure enough, with about a mile left, my legs went dead. I just didn't have anything left in the tank. Amazing, as it had only been 6 weeks since the marathon, and I hadn't really stopped running. So, I cruised into the finish, found the mominlaw (she beat me by 4 minutes...speed demon), bought a beer and a donut, and decided to relax.

Since then, I've been rebuilding my base. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, I tried to get 8-10 quality miles in a week. Some of those have been on the elliptical or PreCore just to save my joints. Last week, I was able to get in 12, and felt good. This week, I've done 9+ to close out 2009. I wish I kept my mileage all year, because I think that I'd be very impressed (resolution #1 for 2010, keep track of all my mileage run, walked, or on a machine).

Today, it snowed about 4 inches. I'd like to run a 5k tomorrow, New Year's morning, but I'm not even sure if it's being held. I think this is the right way to start my year. Last year, it was all about the quantity of mileage, trying to get through with marathon training. This year, I've got two more resolutions: regain the speed I lost in building my endurance AND get slimmer. Both should have some simple fixes-RUN, do crunches*, and cross train.

Should be no sweat, if I stick to it, and let everyone know I'm going to do it. OKAY, it should be a lot of sweat, but I'll do it if I know people are checking up on me. So, there I am. Resolutions are out there...Hopefully I run that race tomorrow, but if not, I'll bust my ass around the neighborhood for a 5k, instead. You know, just to let 2010 know that I mean business.

Crunches plan: 50/day for January, 60/day for February, 70/day for March, 80/day for April, 90/day for May, 100/day for June-forever. In July, we start the same progression with push-ups. You know, I thought I'd ease into things.