Oh Man! Back to Work???

The weekend in Vegas was great and we even did some good workouts. We ran both ways up and down the strip and did my push ups everyday. Even lifted weights one day at the Venetian. But the funnest was the rock wall! Really fun and a better work out than it looks. At least that is what my arms were telling me the next day. They tell you not to use your arms but seems mine were so sore the next day, I clearly didn't follow the instructions very well. These are pictures of me and Paula going over the "out cropping" on the hardest part of the wall course. As you would expect, she looks better than me. But hey, who cares about looks? Okay, okay! Good point. I will stop posting and go run some more.

2/5

Well, I'm slinking back onto the blog. It's a New Year! Happy New Year everybody. Worked out on January 2 for 30 min on the elliptical in Beaumont while my sister Katy was being interviewed by Fox News Live on New Year's resolutions on the treadmill. The next 2 days got away from me with family gatherings and a little work at the family place post "Ike". But, back at the club in Plano this a.m. for 30 min on the elliptical and a little flexibility time after that!

Tubby...

OK I weighed in this morning at a svelte 192 lbs. NICE!... I noticed that my Jawbone line is quickly disappearing. On a better note, I have run each and very day this year as follows:
13,14,15,16,14 minutes. It's a start and feels great. Capitol 10,000 here I come. Now I need to cut down on consumption. I've done it before and I will do it again. Maureen, I like your interval training idea. That's a good way to work on speed training and shake up the workout. I've always been uneasy with the name fartlek training though. Yes , it's a real word, look it up!

Nike+

Motivation! In the form of celebrity!


On Friday I downloaded the Serena Williams and Lance Armstrong Nike+iPod running workouts. I took Serena with me on the road this morning.

The workouts are 30 (for Serena) or 40 (for Lance) minute runs, with play lists "selected" by them. They are interval workouts, so besides giving encouragement during the songs, they call out different times to push it faster for 1 minute or 3 minutes, and then to go slower during recovery times.

I haven't interval trained before, but if I'm serious about the American Odyssey, then I need to increase my endurance and my speed.

And, I need to be serious about the Odyssey. You, too, Keith! Melissa has the team and is going to register us. I think she's going to send out an e-mail asking for ages and paces and such. And, for the record, I already claimed the easiest run segments!

So, back to Serena. It wasn't bad. I'm anxious to do it a few more times and see if I get a farther distance because I can go faster during the speed intervals. Also interested to try Lance's - 40 minutes is a big jump from 30!

Viva la Oreo!

I'm not too sure about the Oreos and how they fit into the overall workout strategy, but Hey!, I am into tolerance. So bring on the Oreos. We landed in Vegas and we figure out pretty fast that no one told Vegas that the economy was in the toilet. This place is packed. That only means higher table limits and losing all of my money much faster. But that can only mean more time to work on my heart attack running on the strip, or stripping on the runway, I can't remember which. Its Vegas! As long as its a workout, right?

I left Debbie and Paula in the shops and headed out to run. I ran from the Venetian to the Stratosphere. I touched the base of the stratosphere and then ran back past the Venetian to Caesars. That was 40 minutes on my watch. According to Google pedometer, it was 4.7 miles. Close enough for Vegas work. I was afraid I was gonna miss today since it was a travel day, but I stole one. So there ya go. I wish you guys were here with us.

Oreo cookie, yum!

The oreos - and all other forms of cookies - have been my downfall this holiday! But I had a good run this morning - about 4.3 miles - so I'm ready for the drive to Philly and the wonderfully unhealthy eating that will ensure there. When, oh when, will these holidays be over?

My pace was a bit slower this morning, due to trying a new route and encountering ice in several spots on the trail. But, still went 38 minutes, so there you go!

Welcome back, Scott!

Oreo Cookie Bites yum yum...oh wait wrong blog

I just realized that this was the fitness blog, not the food blog. Oh well, after my run this morning got to the office and was offered a homemade Oreo ball from Trina. Of course, I accepted. And it was worth every bite. Ingredients include an Oreo cookie, cream cheese and a sugar icing layer. So, I will need to run again before the day is out.

Moving on, I hope everyone had a happy new year and is ready to start the year right. I am excited about starting fresh after my recent disappearance. Won't be able to talk smack until I'm back down to 185. As Keith has noted(many times) I currently have a 9 in the middle when I weigh...Thanks for always being there for me Keith.

Anyway, to the numbers. ran 10 minutes this morning and did the normal stretch/ 50 push up routine. Working to slowly build up my running numbers to get ready for the Cap 10k. PRESSURE OVER TIME PRESSURE OVER TIME

Got er done...

A good start to the new year. Keith and I... well Keith had a good 5k run through his neighborhood. I did run for 13 minutes, which is the beginning of the buildup for the Capitol 10K. You guys have helped my motivation to start off the year right. Hats off to you Maureen for pushing through the deep freeze! I feel that 2009 will be a breakthrough for us all in terms of fitness. We just need to focus on winning each day. As Keith said 1 down 364 to go!

Have a great weekend!

Starting off right! (kind of)

Great post, Keith! Great motivation! Way to go on the run this morning!

I started off with some exercise this morning, too, although not enough to hit my "5" goal! Had a great run yesterday evening (in really high winds, it was brutal!) of about 4 miles, so I took it lighter this morning with just 2. But, it was 20 degrees as opposed to your 60, so I really think I should get extra credit for that!

I've gotta set some goals for January. So here we go:

I'm happy with my overall 5 points per day goal, and the tracking of it. But I want to set the goal of 50 miles running, and 1,550 push ups. I'd like my pace goal to be 8 minute 50 second mile. I also want to do at least one 10k, and I am afraid I might need to do it alone! I've been looking for a race in DC and can't find one!

Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Year!

Okay, here we go. A new year and a new beginning. We are all back on track and none of us has missed a day exercising or posting yet this year. Awesome! Good year so far. Scott and I got up early and ran for the first time of the new year. One down and 364 to go! Ouch! Maybe I should have left that last part out. Great job Scott! Not sure I would have already completed a run this year if you hadn't been ready to go.

Also just finished some juggling of the rock. I am not sure what that counts for, but my arms feel like I lifted weights, so that must mean something. Now I am just sitting on the back porch with some very annoying sun on my shoulders, about 60 degrees, workout already done. Tough to beat. Next step is to reset the worksheets so that we can start the year off on the right foot, or left foot in Scott's case. Ratio issues, ya know!