Run, Run, Rudolph! Shelbyville Rudolph Run Race Recap

That's exactly what I did on Christmas Eve.  I got to participate in the Rudolph Run in Shelbyville with my family.  Both of my brothers and my sister in-law all ran with me.  Well, I should say they all ran ahead of me.  What a great way to start the holidays with family!  If you get the chance to do a Christmas Eve run with members of your family, I highly suggest taking part.

I spent the rest of Christmas Eve with my family at my mom's house.  We were all forced to talk to each other because her cable had been knocked out overnight by a falling tree limb.  That's right folks 6 people in a house in the 21st century without television or internet and we didn't kill each other.  We had a great dinner of steak and salmon and enjoyed each others company all day.  This finished with exchanging gifts in the evening when a lot of thoughtful gifts were given.  A huge shout out to my brother for creating a personalized Medal/Race Bib holder.  It even has the motto of this blog on it.  Check out the picture.  I am working on hanging it in my home office, but I wanted to find the exact right spot and method so I won't have to change it in the future.  I'll show you an updated picture when I hang it and put some memorabilia on it.  They also pooled together to purchase me a Garmin Forerunner 235 that I can't wait to get to use.  I even told Mrs. Re-Dan-imation that she will no longer have to guess when I will be finishing as she should be able to view my location with live tracking once I figure out how it works.

Christmas day included a trip to my in-laws to celebrate the holiday.  Again, we had great food including ham, and home made mac and cheese.  Honestly, I did try to eat at least relatively well these two days.  Again, we exchanged gifts and played a new game given to us by my mom the night before.  We had a ton of laughs and had a great time watching Mrs. Re-Dan-imation open the same card an attempted 4 times during gift unwrapping.

In the days following I have been doing a lot of research.  Mrs. Re-Dan-imation suggested that we forgo buying each other gifts this year and instead invest in a treadmill for our home.  Given the fact that it was her suggestion, I took the bait.  I like to make as informed a decision as possible at the best possible price so I finally decided to go with a NordicTrack treadmill and finally ordered it today.  I'll be pretty pumped to pick it up when they notify me it has arrived at the store.  Unfortunately I couldn't get them to throw in free delivery.  Oh well, I guess I will get in a workout moving it into a vehicle and then into the house!

As you may have seen from my recollection of the week, again there wasn't a lot of running included.  Spending two solid days with family tends to throw a wrench in those plans and, to be completely honest, we love to sleep in at our house when we are on break. With that in mind, I stepped on the scale today completely unsure about what my results would be.  I looked down to see a 262.0 lbs.  I am going to be honest that I was completely satisfied with that number as cookies tend to be the death of me and Christmas brings these in droves.  I am fine with the fact that I didn't go completely overboard on food and sweets.  So, I know over the past few weeks I have been a little down on myself, but I will again take this week as a small victory having gained just a tiny bit.  Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!

A Mile Away!!

What a week!  This has been the week right before break...and for a teacher, let's just say it's a crazy week.  I also worked an extra 3 days this week after school and helped with our Christmas concert last Monday.  It has been nuts!  By the time I got to the weekend, I just wanted to relax.

That is exactly what I did.  I literally did not take a step on a treadmill or the street this week.  I have a feeling you see what is coming in the weigh in department.  However, Mrs. Re-Dan-imation and I managed to get all of our presents wrapped for everyone.  I can't wait to see their faces when they open them.  Giving is definitely the best part of this season.  I only wish I could do it more.  If you haven't done something for someone else this year...find some way to give to others in need.  Shop for someone from an angel tree, drop some money in the Salvation Army bucket, or buy lunch for the person behind you in the drive through.  You have no idea how good it can make you feel and how much joy it brings to the person who receives the gift.  

I also managed to finally watch some of my favorite Christmas movies.  Who doesn't love watching a little Elf and Christmas Vacation.  They always make you laugh and no matter how bad/lazy of a week you have had you will enjoy having a good laugh.  

I know, I know.  You just ran another race, how are you going to let up on the gas.  It's easy to do when you are out of gas from a long week.  I am sure everyone has heard the phrase "Excuses are like ********, everyone has one and they all stink!"  I won't give excuses, I will simply accept the fact that I failed myself this week.  

After the week I had I could see my results coming from a mile away.  When I stepped on the scale this morning, I knew what was coming.  I saw 260.9.  That's an increase for the week of 0.5 lbs.  Honestly, that was less than what I expected.  Now that I am on winter break, I will be forcing myself to get back at it.  Also, I will be running on Christmas Eve morning in the Rudolph Run with my brothers.  I can't wait to do that.  I still have things to look forward to even though I had yet another bad week.  Check back next week and see if I hold together my weight around Christmas.  

Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!

Everybody........Hustle!!!! Santa Hustle Indy Race Recap

Another week, another race.  This week was my 3rd race of the year.  I'll go over it in just a moment. But first, let's talk about the rest of the week.

After a disappointing week last week, I gave my best effort to get my runs back in....but it just didn't go as planned.  I got in one run on the treadmill, but it just didn't feel like enough.  I planned on getting another run in on Friday as a way to keep my legs under me but it didn't happen.  I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed with myself.

When Sunday rolled around, I was thinking I might not have my best run ahead of me.  However, my brother Cory was competing in the half marathon and I decided to be positive and boost him up a little bit.  We talked about training programs and goals on the way down.  We both had a goal of a great race and both also had goal times stored in the back of our heads.

We arrived, got our packets, and put on our bibs.  I could tell Cory was a bit nervous.  He was pacing a little bit, and looking around for a good place to warm up.  We took a picture in the "selfie" area with our heads in the face holes for some elves.  Cory decided to head over to the empty area of the parking lot to warm up and then head to the long lines for the port-a-pots.  My mom and I continued to walk around a bit.  I checked our gear at the appropriate tent and then waited for the beginning of the half.

After Cory got his start, I focused a little more on myself.  I also headed to the port-a-pot and did some static stretches.  The walk down to the stadium from our parking location got my muscles relatively warm, but I had been standing around for a while.  I lined up in my corral tried to keep my muscles loose.  I got my music started and took a quick selfie to use specifically for my blog.  I know...cheesy right?  I finally got to cross the start line about 34 minutes after Cory took off on his half.  And away we go.

They say, the most mistakes happen in the first 2 minutes of a race.  I was prepared to run around some walkers based on my time corral, but as soon as I crossed the line I immediately had to jump to the right to get around some people.  I decided that the sidewalk was a little less crowded than the street for the first few hundred meters, so that was where I stayed until the next intersection.  And, it worked.  However, when I glanced down at my Garmin the first time, the words in my head were "Crap, I think I went out a little too quick!"  I reeled my pace back in and tried to keep it steady while still dodging people.

To be honest, the course was not the most interesting I have ever seen.  Basically we started at Lucas Oil Stadium and headed up Capital for a mile followed by a left for about .35 miles with a sharp turn around and basically running back the way we came.  The only difference on the way back is that you ran around the other side of the stadium to come back into the finish.  Running through the tunnel on Capital really messed with the Garmin and I wasn't sure it was totally accurate, but the updated pace at least worked when I was back in satellite view.  I think the worst part of the race was the tiny hill coming back in to the finish line.  It seemed a lot steeper than it was.  And, after I saw the hill that Cory had to run up behind the Major Taylor Velodrome, I no longer had a complaint about it at all.

After pushing through and fighting to keep pace, I finished in a time of 37:15 for a pace of exactly 12:00 min/mile according to my chip time.  That would be a PERSONAL RECORD and 1 minute and 6 seconds quicker than my previous 5K.  I was a little pumped when I crossed the line, but the pictures show a little more struggle than pump.  HAHA.

I went grabbed a banana and some powerade and went to retrieve our backpack from the gear check.  I changed out of my sweaty t-shirt, considering the temp was 60 degrees, and waited patiently for my brother to finish.  I knew his previous finish time was somewhere around 1:44 but I wasn't sure how quick he was going to run this time.  I started getting closer and closer to the finish line at about the 1:35 clock time.  I made sure I could get him coming across the line.

I spotted him 30 yards out at 1:39:?? and hit burst on my phone to pick up 27 pictures of him coming across the line.  His official finish time...1:40:09...besting his previous half time by over 4 MINUTES!!!!  So proud of him.  And, that is on limited training and without a real training plan.  I can't wait to see what he does in the Mini in May after actually following a training regimen including his planned cross training of biking and swimming.  He was super disappointed that he didn't come in under 1:40:00 but I managed to talk him up about it and got a smile on his face.  That is, until the pain set in to his legs.  He had a hot spot on his foot and some arch pain but you could tell the real PAIN was in his quads and hamstrings.  I forced him to lie down so I could help him stretch. (Check out the picture)  His legs were trembling but we got him stretched out and he was able to hobble to where my mom parked.

We headed to Shapiro's Deli, where none of us had eaten before, to get some calories back in the system.  That was when we found out his time was actually 1:40:09 and not 1:40:21 like the clock said in my picture or what his watch had said that was also different.  After lunch we headed home and you could tell he was still hurting.  I made him promise not to run for the next 3 days until he had healed a little.  We'll see if he listens.

This morning I got on the scale to find 260.2 lbs.  Another gain of 0.2 pounds.  Son of A....!!!  Gotta lot of work to do.  I HAVE to get my eating lined back up and my training back on point.  I will be running another 5K on Christmas Eve in Shelbyville called the Rudolph Run.  Join me if you live close.  This will be the first time myself and BOTH of my brothers will be in the same race.  I can't wait.  I also can't wait to drop even more time off my 5K PR and hopefully set yet another one.  Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!!

Weak Weekends

I have a weakness!  It is titled Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Let me explain a little more about my week and then discuss how weekends are my weakness.

The past week I had a meeting or event literally every night during the week.  I managed to get a run in on Tuesday night on the treadmill.  I picked up the pace a little bit and and completed two miles with a quicker pace on the second mile than the first.  The second mile was a decent bit under 12:00/mile.

The rest of the week went by quickly and then on Friday night we had a banquet for the Frankfort Jaycees.  We went out for dinner where I had a little more food than I think I should have.  We had a great time, passed out some awards to some very deserving men and enjoyed each others company.  It you haven't checked out our organization, look us up on Facebook.  We are looking forward to shopping for families in need next week through or Holiday Helpers program.

Mrs. Re-Dan-imation made
a new friend while shopping.

Saturday, Mrs. Re-Dan-imation and myself, decided to finish our Christmas shopping for the season.  We headed to the mall and a couple other locations and managed to almost completely finish our shopping.  It is GREAT to be done this early and without truly breaking the budget like we normally would.  We also met up with my mom and had a great dinner at Logan's Steakhouse.  The food was good and it was nice to be able to catch up with my mom about her trip to visit family in St. Louis (thank you to those family members that purchased the decorations she made!!) and other things going on in her life.  After we finished eating, we headed in separate directions to finish our Christmas shopping and then headed home to finally get some rest.  I think this is the first time in a long while that I have gotten over 13,000 steps in a day without going for a run.  We parked in the very last spot in the parking lot and were all over that mall.  Glad the Mrs. decided to wear some running shoes instead of her boots that day ;).

Sunday, we put out some much needed Christmas lights around our bushes and garage.  The light display at the Re-Dan-imation household is a little less this year, but the spirit is just the same.  I also managed to get a QUICK run in.  I did just 1.87 miles this day, but I ran it at an average pace of 11:23 per mile.  With the Santa Hustle coming up this weekend, I plan to do my best to maintain something close to this pace and really drop my 5K time.  Temps are looking good for Sunday, but there is also an 80% chance of rain.  My brother also signed up for the half and I will be excited to see how he does.  He surprised himself the last time he ran one...maybe he will do it again.

Today, I got on the scale and was again bummed to see 260.0 lbs.  That's a gain of 0.6 lbs.  Obviously not my best effort.  Things get in the way during the week, but as I discussed at the beginning of the post, the weekends are truly my weak point.  I need to remember that it isn't just about the steps, but also about the food.  Increasing the steps couldn't hurt either.  Oh well.  It is what it is.  I have to do better and I will.  Looking forward to my first Christmas race next weekend and a much lower number next Monday.  Until then...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat.

A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR!! Drumstick Dash Indy Race Recap

WHAT A WEEK!  I have had a ton going on during the past week, but I am truly thankful for all of it.  Today, you will get a recap of my workouts, the Drumstick Dash, Thanksgiving festivities, and another trip to the Colts game.

Posing pre-race!

Let's start off with my workouts.  For the first time in 3 weeks, I was actually able to get in some valuable training. I started with a quick run last Sunday just to get my legs back under me and then I had the Drumstick Dash on Thursday.  This Sunday I was able to get in another 2 mile run with some speed work to loosen my legs back up after resting from the Dash.  I am back in it for the training and ready to pick up my speed.

The most exciting part of the week regarding fitness was definitely the Drumstick Dash.  I was so pumped to be considered a VIP, park close, and have a nice warm place to hang out before and after.  We arrived early and parked to walk to the VIP tent.  When we walked in they checked our names and gave us some free gloves from Franklin College.  There was a nice spread from Einstein Bagels, but we took them and saved them for later.  I didn't want to have a full stomach to run on.  I had a bite of a bagel Mrs. Re-Dan-imation decided to have and sipped on a bottle of water to stay hydrated.  I also made sure to hit the porta potty before I left the tent.  

We did a little hanging around the tent, saw a couple of the celebrity runners come in a hang out, and milled around a little bit.  I was aware that I was supposed to hang around the front of the run to be announced as a Fund-Racer, but it was a little confusing and I wanted to make sure I was in the right corral for my time rather than getting recognition for raising money.  I started the long walk back to my corral and started getting myself pumped up for my run.  I snapped a quick selfie as I was waiting in the mass of people and got my music going in my ears.  To be honest, I didn't really hear much that was going on after that, I just tuned in to my thoughts.

At 9:00 the celebrities got a 3 minute head start.  They have their own competition and get out in front of the elite runners before they begin so they can get over to the right and out of the way.  The crowd took a few steps forward and then we were in a waiting game again.  This is obviously my biggest race, so the delay was expected but was also new to me.  I just tried to stay loose as I waited for the crowd to begin moving.  We began our slow crawl to the start line after just a couple minutes. According to my finishing clock time in relation to my actual moving time it took me 12 minutes to get to the start line.  It's ok though, I was enjoying myself.

If you look really close, you can see the starting line.

I finally crossed the line, started my Garmin and focused on avoiding others and working towards getting to my race pace.  For those of you that are not runners, there is 1 rule I beg for you to follow...IF YOU ARE WALKING, PLEASE KEEP TO THE BACK!!  I may not be the fastest person in the world, but I am running the entire race and do NOT plan on walking at all.  Let's just say, I spent the first 2.5 miles of the race dodging people roughly every 20 steps.  I shouldn't complain and just get used to it.  The Mini in May will be much more congested and I will probably be dodging people the entire race.  The people around me were fun to look at.  There were people on the sides of the road cheering for people.  The Turkey mascot was heading back toward the starting line giving people high fives and there were photographers in the middle of the road on step stools.  I actually saw the first photographer stick out his hand to stop a couple of girls that were LITERALLY getting ready to run him over.  They barely missed clipping the feet of his stool.  The atmosphere was happy and you could tell the families were all thankful to be there together.

I hit a pretty decent stride about a quarter mile in and decided anything over a 13:00 minute mile was unacceptable today.  I kept a watchful eye on my Garmin and did pretty great with this until about mile 3 that consisted of a gradual climb for probably 200 meters.  That sounds like nothing, but I could feel a little burn in my legs.  I pushed through and the other side of the incline was a nice reward.  I accelerated on the down and coasted through the next little bit.  Mile 3.5 to about mile 4 was a mental struggle as I had only run that distance once before.  At about 3.5 miles in I passed one of the firefighters that was walking the course in full gear (70 pounds of pack and oxygen).  I patted him on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up.  I knew I was good to go from there.  I puffed up my chest a little and maintained my goal pace.

Photo finish...Ignore the clock time, it's from official start, not my start time.

When I hit mile 4, I really picked up my pace.  I knew I had a half mile left and that I had enough left in the tank to push a little harder.  I rooted the people on next to me and told them to finish strong.  I turned the corner onto the final stretch with my watch at about 4.35 miles.  I could already tell the course was longer than 4.5.  It didn't matter, I kept pushing (while looking for Mrs. Re-Dan-imation). Another camera man was in front of me and I gave him a few poses as I ran by (still waiting on their pictures to be posted to see if I made any of them).  I pushed even harder towards the finish line and raised my hands in the air as I saw my wife with her phone up to take my picture.  I finished in a time of 58:44 with an average pace of 12:37 per mile.  I definitely beat my goal of 13:00 per mile.  I was pumped.  As I walked past the finish line, I rejected the solar blanket and headed to get a banana, some water, and some chocolate milk.  I met the Mrs. in the street and we headed back to the tent where I was able to grab another snack and some coffee.  I think I had a smile on my face the whole time.

We made the trip home and after I showered and changed we headed to my in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner as my mom and brothers were in St. Louis celebrating with my extended family.  I had a nice plate of food and some desserts, but I didn't over indulge.  We got to watch a bunch of football and did some exciting Black Friday shopping in the overly crowded location of the living room (online shopping is much less stressful).  We finally headed home to stay around 8 and relaxed for the rest of the night.  I was THANKFUL for this entire day.

We decorated the house for Christmas on Friday and watched basketball at 2 different locations on Saturday.  Sunday we had big plans again to head down to Indy to watch the Colts game.  Myself, the Mrs., my brother in-law, and mother in-law headed down to watch the game.  We had a great time, had great seats, and our picture even made it up on the JumboTron.  Oh and by the way, we got to see a win this time with Hasselback at the helm.  It was a fun day and I am definitely thankful to the people we were able to buy our tickets from as well as for my in-laws for inviting us to join in.  Go Colts!

And now on to the weigh in.  This week, I tipped the scales at 259.4 lbs.  That's a gain from last week of 0.4 lbs.  But, let's look at the rest of the numbers.  Last week my body fat percentage was 36.7% and this week was 36.4%.  That means I lost a half pound of fat.  So Here's how I am taking it.  I lost a half pound of fat and went up 0.4 pounds overall so I gained 9 tenths of a pound of muscle this week.  I refuse to lie to myself about this weight loss progress.  I am looking at the bright side of this as the numbers did really work out in my favor.  I plan on getting in all 3 workouts this week and look forward to seeing the number on the scale next week.  Until then...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!

VIP Status

This has been yet another interesting week.  I held on to my cough and sore throat much longer than anticipated...as a matter of fact I have been coughing more today than the past few days.  We had a couple fun days at school, attended a fundraiser, and with the help of some generous people in my family and community I was able to raise a considerable amount of money for the homeless people of Indy.

Let's start with the fun days at school.  Last Tuesday, we held FitnessGram day.  This day is intended as a way to benchmark the fitness of the children in our schools.  At my school we tested all 4th and 5th grade students while also giving the 3rd grade students a test of at least one of the tests.  We spent the day measuring running, push up, and curl up tests.  The kids were great and definitely gave it their all.  I can honestly say, thinking back to elementary school, I would have definitely had some trouble with these tests.  On Thursday, we had Snakehead Ed visit our building with 6 snakes and a great presentation to share with the students.  For the end of the program, I was asked to help hold a 100 lb. Albino Burmese Python while every student had the chance to touch it.  It was pretty fun, but I definitely had an odor lingering with me from the snake the rest of the day.

Over the past couple weeks, I have been raising money for Wheeler Ministries by participating in the Fund-Racing program as a part of the Drumstick Dash.  Although I will only be participating in my second organized race, when I saw the fund-racing portion of their efforts I knew I had to participate. During these two weeks I was able to raise an amazing $600.  I had a goal of $500 and I was definitely able to beat that.  I was actually the 7th highest individual fund-racer as of 9:00 am today.  That stat earned me a VIP status for the Drumstick Dash on Thursday.  How great is that!!  My second race and I am already a VIP.  That means that Mrs. Re-Dan-imation and myself will be able to park close and take advantage of the heated tent close to the start line.  This is NOT the reason that I raised these funds but is a nice thank you from the race.  The $600 will feed 266 people!

Speaking of fundraisers...Mrs. Re-Dan-imation and I attended one for a friend of mine that is going through her third bout of Cervical Cancer (check out her blog here).  The fundraiser was a painting event basically like a wine and canvas evening.  We were to paint a picture that looked as if it is painted on wooden boards.  One of the letters was replaced with a picture of Indiana.  My wife chose the word "Hope" and I chose the word Give."  I don't think they turned out too bad.

Sunday, I was finally able to get in my first run in almost two weeks.  I hit the treadmill and got in 3 miles with a warm up and a cool down.  I felt pretty good considering the issues I have had breathing the past couple weeks.  Hopefully, the cough that I picked back up today will make it easy back out of town again as coughing during a 4.5 mile event on Thursday doesn't sound too appealing.

Finally, I stepped on the scale this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see 259 lbs. even.  That's a difference of 3.3lbs from last week.  I honestly think this may have more to do with the amount of sleep I got over the past week trying to heal myself from this cold.  I think I was in bed before 10:00 every night.  I am looking forward to Thursday and a new experience at a MUCH bigger race than my last one.  Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat.

Ups and Downs

We all have our ups and downs.  About a month ago, I posted about being sick and not being able to run.  Little did I know that I should have run that week as it was nothing.  For about the past 5 days, I have not been able to breathe regularly without coughing.  It has gotten to the point where I even went out to sleep on the couch the past couple nights to allow Mrs. Re-Dan-imation to get some well deserved sleep.  I am working on getting over it but it has been a struggle.  So with that being said, let's talk about my journey over the past week.

After my trip downtown to watch the bands last weekend I was a bit tired to begin the week.  However, on Tuesday I did manage to get in a run before my cold got too bad.  I hit up the treadmill for a quick 2 mile run. I decided to try to get in some speed work during this workout and it was definitely work.  I did a couple 2 minutes stints at 6 miles per hour with a 1 minute rest in between and I was truly winded at the end of each 2 minute session.  However, I finished, and again achieved the goal I had set for the day.  I also started Fund-Racing for the Drumstick Dash and currently I have raised $500 for Wheeler Mission.  If you are interested click here and check out how the fund-racing process works.  You can make a donation right there if you would like.

Look at Rob's form!

The rest of the week, I was stuck not being in what I deemed good enough health to run.  I recently ran across a post on Runner's World about whether or not to run when you have a cold.  They mentioned a simple test...If the sickness is above your neck go ahead and run, if it is below your neck you should hold off.  Basically, if you have a sore throat or chest congestion, it is better to wait and let your body heal than to wear it out even more and take away the healing power from your immune system and transfer it to your muscles.  I heeded the advice.  However, I am still healing.  I have a feeling I would have already been over it, except I caught up with some college friends this weekend.

On Friday, I headed down to Louisville to catch up with my old college buddies.  We first headed to an indoor golf simulator where we got to "play" a round at Pebble Beach.  It was an interesting experience and something I think we will probably repeat at some point.  Then we headed to Horseshoe Casino to do a little gambling and stay for the night.  Well, gambling didn't happen as I ended up losing the remainder of my money at the bar.  However we had a pretty good time and headed to bed feeling pretty good.  I woke up in the morning feeling a little worse for the wear.  We headed out to Cracker Barrel for breakfast and then headed back home.  I spent the rest of the weekend still not working out and trying to recover from the cold.  Unfortunately I am still hacking all day long.

When I stepped on the scale this morning it wasn't what I was hoping for.  After a great week last week and only one workout this week I tipped the scale at 262.3 pounds.  That a 2.6 lbs. increase.  I didn't gain back all the wait I lost last week, but it still wasn't great.  I will be back out there. I will continue my mantra.  Until Next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat.

RUNNER in training!

I have had quite a busy week.  However, I have started to become more dedicated to training in the past few weeks than I have been before.  I officially consider myself a runner at this point.  And, I have the data to prove it.

Over the past week, I have spent a considerable amount of time sitting and watching events, but it hasn't stopped me.  Tuesday is one of my normal run days and I decided since it was in the 70s during the day that I should be running outside.  When you get home at 6 and the sun has already dropped you have no choice but to run in the dark.  I decided to eat dinner and let it digest a little before I headed out.  I thought about running on the streets with the street lights but decided against it and instead headed over to the school parking lot and did a few laps around the building to get in a "quick" 2 mile run.  Those 70 degree temps definitely didn't last into the evening by the way.

Wednesday, I headed out to Clinton Prairie to watch the staff take on the Harlem Wizards.  This was a pretty good time and a great fundraiser for their athletic department.  My brother in-law took part in the event although he claimed to be in bad shape due to a lingering cold.  It was fun to watch these athletes perform and the tricks were pretty good including the dunks.  Two of the wizards ended up getting hurt during the event with one playing on a bum knee the remainder of the night and the other realizing he may have broken his wrist during an exhibition dunk.  When I asked him if he planned on taking time off he simply said, "looks like I'll be going left tomorrow."  Those guys definitely put on a good show and they are dedicated to their jobs.

Thursday, I needed to get in another run so I hit up the treadmill.  I slowed the pace a smidge from Tuesday and ran 2.5 miles.  The treadmill is not the most enjoyable place to be, but putting in the work is worth it.  I managed to see an episode of Pawn Stars while I was there and it at least took my attention from the mileage meter in front of me slowly ticking toward my goal distance for the day.

Saturday, I had BIG plans.  My Brother, his wife, and my alma mater were all three set to compete in the Indiana Marching Band State Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium.  I didn't get to sleep in nearly as long as I normally do on a regular Saturday, but this was probably good for me anyway.  I woke up and remembered that the Monumental Marathon was taking place the same day, so I got in a little bit of a hurry to head out earlier than I expected.  I had decided that I was going to park at the Indianapolis Zoo as the parking would be cheaper and the walk was just under a mile and a half between the two places.  I thought of it as a way to get in some steps for a day when I expected to sit for a LONG time.  I even got to roll down my windows and clap for/congratulate some Monumental finishers on my way to park and also when walking to the stadium.  Kudos to them!!!  After eleven and a half hours of sitting in the seats of the stadium, I was finally ready to head back on my walk to the zoo.  I arrived home exactly at midnight after leaving at ten in the morning.  However, it was worth it!!!  F. J. Reitz, the school where my brother is the Band Director, earned a 7th place finish at their first finals appearance in 17 years.  His wife, the percussion instructor at Castle High School, came home with a 4th place finish, as did my high school.  Congrats to all three!!

Sunday, I had plans for a LOT of physical activity.  I had scheduled my long run for Sunday as I didn't want to head out quite as early as needed for it on Saturday.  I headed out for my first 4 mile run and completed it in 53 minutes.  I stayed the exact pace I wanted to and kept my heart rate a bit lower to maintain the level where I could have held a conversation had someone been running with me.  This put my pace a little over 13 minutes a mile.  When I had finished, I again had a feeling of accomplishment.  Every time I finish a new long run and extend my physicality I am so proud of myself.  I honestly felt as though I could have just kept running the same loop for another time, but my muscles are definitely not ready for that...YET.  Sunday afternoon, I was able to borrow a friends truck to move three truckloads of gravel.  Thanks to my brother in-law and father-in law for helping.  For the entire day I put in just over 17,000 steps and I managed to do some lifting as well.  I did wake up a little sore today, but not nearly what I expected.  This just goes to show how much better shape I am in now than when I began this journey.

Today, I stepped on the scale and I was pleasantly surprised to see 259.7.  That's right folks...under 260!  With a weight loss for the week of 3.4lbs.  Say What!!! Yep, 3.4.  I made sure to contain my excitement for writing this tonight, but I was pretty pumped.  That puts my total weight loss at 34.6 pounds.  Heading in the right direction.  I have also decided my next 2 runs.  I will be participating in the Drumstick Dash for Wheeler Mission on Thanksgiving morning.  The proceeds go to a great cause and I was looking for a bigger run to be a part of.  I found it...now the 2nd largest run in Indiana.  Last year there were 17,000 participants.  Oh and by the way, the Drumstick Dash is 4.5 miles!!  Excited to see if I can push the tempo a little at that distance.  The second race I will be a part of is the Santa Hustle 5K in Indy.  This one is a fun race where every participant gets a santa hat and beard along with their shirt.  How fun is that?  And the water stops feature candy canes and cookies.  I won't be picking up the candy along the way, but it should be a good time.  The Santa Hustle takes place on December 13th.  If you feel like signing up for either of these races click on their names and it will take you to their website.  I would love to see you out there with me.

Until next week.....Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!

My First 5K!! Brew Haha Halloween Race Recap

A lot has taken place this week!  And, I know a lot of you have been wondering how my first 5K experience went this weekend.  Keep reading to hear about everything.

First of all, this week was what I would consider a taper week.  I knew I wanted to go a little faster this weekend.  I knew I didn't want my legs to be tired so I ran 1.5 miles on Tuesday and 1.2 miles on Thursday.  I pushed the tempo on these runs a little and actually kinda impressed myself on Thursday when I pushed the mile in under 11:30.  I was READY for the weekend.

Friday we headed down to pick up our race packets at the Endurance House in Fishers.  They were nice and organized and we walked out with our bib and shirt.  We walked around the store a little bit and checked out their specialty items.  They had some cool stuff there included running clothes, shoes, and triathlon specific bikes.  Check them out sometime when you get a chance.  We then went to pick up my in-laws from the airport after a quick stop at my mom's house and finally headed for home.


6:30 Saturday morning came pretty early, but I was actually excited.  I purchased some cold weather tights during the week since the forecast for Saturday was pretty chilly.  I had to decide between tights or no tights so I tried a quick trial run in front of the house in both and decided the tights were the way to go.  I am glad that was the decision I made.  I made sure to eat a good but not too large breakfast of an english muffin with some Nutella.  I threw some Gatorade chews on top of that when we got to the race.

After we arrived in Carmel, we sat in the car for a while so we weren't standing out in the cold.  We attached our bibs and headed out around 20 minutes before the race.  It's a good thing we left the car when we did as the line for the porta potty was about 5-10 minutes long.  I got out of the bathroom with 3 minutes left before the start time.  I had to hurry to get my wristband for my free beer at the end of the race and get my phone into my SpiBelt right before the race started.  I made sure to high five Mrs. Re-Dan-imation and then the gun went off.

With my brother-in-law by my side I decided to push the pace.  My Goal pace was 12:00min/mile the entire race.  That's much faster than I have run on a normal day.  After the first mile I was feeling pretty good and my Garmin told me we finished it in 12:06.  The second mile came a little slower at 12:27 as this mile had the only recent hill on the course.  Most seasoned runners wouldn't even call it a hill.  We pushed the 3rd mile and I still felt great.  I mean we were passing people the entire race...which I also didn't expect.  We finished the 3rd mile in a quicker 12:10 and then we really started to push the pace.  We finished the last .15 miles at an average 11:02.  WE FINISHED OUR FIRST 5K IN A TIME OF 38:21!!

We headed out for breakfast and I made the mistake of replacing about twice as many calories as I had burned during the race.  It was good though.  Then, we headed home to relax for a while before heading to Broad Ripple for a Halloween party with some friends.  We had a great night, but I know I slept like a rock when I got home.  I got to sleep in and then I spent the majority of Sunday looking online for ways to display race bibs and medals.  I know, I know.  Already?  Anyway, I want to thank everyone that has cheered me on to this point and I hope you continue to do so.  I especially want to thank Kreg Stockberger for participating with me in what was also his first 5K and my mom, brother and wife for coming out to watch us on such a blustery day.  I am planning to increase my mileage over the next few weeks.  Be on the lookout as I decide what runs to tackle next.  You may want to join in on the fun or get involved in some other way.  Details will be out in the next week or so.

Weight loss wasn't the main goal for me this week, but I still weighed in this morning.  I tipped the scale at 263.1 lbs for a loss of 0.2 lbs.  It's not a gain!  I still maintain that this will continue to get better as I continue to train for longer distances and get better about my calorie intake including eating more of the right calories instead of just calories overall.  Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!

All About Pacing

With the BrewHaHa coming up this week, I figured why not talk about pacing.  Over the past week, I have had a great time with my workouts and a not so stellar time with my eating.  Let's talk about what has gone down.

To begin the week, I woke up with the stiffest neck I have had in quite some time Monday morning.  I took Monday as a rest day and tried to use Advil and a heating pad to help relieve it.  However, it lasted nearly the entire week, only in smaller and smaller levels throughout each day.  I can still feel a twinge of it right now if I turn my neck quick enough.  I decided on Tuesday that I definitely needed to get my runs in this week as I was quickly running out of time before my first 5K.  So, I hit the treadmill on Tuesday and Thursday.  I ran through the stiff neck and honestly it didn't matter that much since looking away from the TV isn't something you do that much when you are on a treadmill.  I had some good runs and sprinted it out at 6.0 mph for the last 2 tenths of a mile on Thursday.  I was feeling good going into my long run planned for Saturday.

We also had parent teacher conferences this past Wednesday at school after a full school day.  Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised to hit my step goal on Wednesday after having spent 12 and a half hours in the building that day.  Thursday, I was able to to take a bit of a break before my run as we had canceled Lego League for the day due to conferences.  On Saturday, I woke up excited to plan out a new route for my run for the day.  Then, I looked outside and saw the wind.  Let's just say it was a little blustery outside on Saturday morning.  So, I decided to look at the radar and see the rain situation. It also didn't look completely promising.  As I sat and pondered how I could set a course as close as possible to 4 miles, the skies let loose.  I am quite thankful I waited the extra hour before I headed out, because it was a pretty good deluge for about 20 minutes.  When I finally did head out, I managed to get in 3.71 miles.  That is another personal record for me.  The farthest distance I have run without stopping in my life.  And, I also had my fastest 5K time according to my Garmin during this as well with a time of 41:11.  Now, that is actually a little slower than I plan on running this weekend as I knew I was going a longer distance than a 5K so I paced myself out a bit slower accordingly.  I think my goal for this weekend will be to finish in under 40 minutes.  I will set a pace and stick to it with the hopes that I can still really push it at the end.  However, simply finishing and saying that I did it at an official race is the real goal.

Sometimes, the best laid plans for an evening turn out not to be the best option. Use Friday for an example.  Friday, was pay day and I always like for us to go out to dinner in Lafayette or Indianapolis on these days.  However, Mrs. Re-Dan-imation decided we should just stay in town this week.  So we went out somewhere local and then I remembered that our high school was putting on the play "A Few Good Men."  We decided to make a date night out of it and headed out to see a fantastic play put on by a high school with a fantastic theater, light/sound crew, actors, and stage crew.  I was throughly impressed.  I can't wait to see their next play.

For Sunday, we were lucky enough to receive some Colts tickets. Thank You!  I guess you could say we were lucky, even though the game was pretty terrible.  I got to spend some quality time with Mrs. Re-Dan-imation in Lucas Oil Stadium and the weather was perfect for football.  They even had the roof of the stadium open.  Needless to say, it would have been a little better if the Colts had come away with a win, but such is life.

This morning I hopped on the scale unsure of what I was going to see.  I knew I went over my calories a couple days this week, but I also put in three GREAT workouts.  I was a little disappointed when I looked down and saw 263.3lbs.  Another gain this week, of 0.7 pounds.  I have read quite a few articles that say you can't lose every week and that sometimes you have to put a little back on to fool your body and allow you to lose more weight.  Either way, I will be achieving a huge goal of mine this week and that is all that matters.  Next week you will get to see some pictures from the BrewHaHa.  I can't wait to finish that race and share it with all of you.  Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!

Down with the Sickness!

If you are a child of my generation, you may be familiar with the title and although Disturbed was quite loud and raucous when they performed the song, that is not how I felt this week.  I have spent a majority of the week trying out different cough medicines and trying to find a way to keep my voice working all day while at school.

There were some fun times mixed in though.  Don't get too sad for me.  On Monday, I got to play 9 holes of golf after school  and although it wasn't the best round of my life, I still had a good time.  I got to hang out with a couple friends and a couple former students of mine were also included in our group.  I managed to lose a sleeve of balls in the leaves already on the ground...ok so maybe they ended up in water or trees...but came home with a bit of dignity.

This weekend, my brother in law hosted an October Fest party.  I have been looking forward to this for a while, but this stupid cold has brought me down all week.  Well, I didn't let it keep me from having a good time.  I decided to use a little of Grandpa's Cough Syrup as it was the only cough medicine I hadn't tried this week.  We had some good food (probably a little too much on my part) and plenty of libations.  Mrs. Re-Dan-imation and myself even won the Drink-O competition and brought home some nice mugs as a prize.

These may have been the death of me 

With all the time I have been spending "getting down" with the sickness, I haven't spent much time up and running.  To be blunt, I haven't had a single run this week.  After last Sunday, when I ran through being sick, I wanted to let my body heal more before I got back out there and got discouraged with myself which resulted in me being discouraged with myself anyway.  I guess I am more discouraged with the fact that I didn't get better quicker.  However, today I had a major victory.  I purchased a North Face fleece on clearance today at Dick's Sporting Goods and it was an XL.  I haven't purchased an item of clothing that size in God knows how long.  It is a bit snug, but I bought it regardless, because I am going to need it the rest of the fall and through the winter.  Needless to say, I was a little pumped when I put it on and it zipped up without incident.

The scales this morning were about what I expected after a week without working out and having a little too much food at a party.  I weighed in at 262.6 lbs. for a gain of 1.3 lbs.  After the week, I am not surprised, but I am also not angry.  I just have to get back into the routine this week.  Until next week...Food. Feet, Water, Repeat!

2 Weeks Out

It's been an interesting week. I have been doing a lot with school as we had some higher up visitors coming to see the school. I have been focused on completing what I needed to get done for that meeting as well as being involved with Lego League. With that being said, I only managed to get in a single run, but it was my long run.

I managed to stay away from this case

Wednesday morning the news showed a new store opening up in Carmel called Market District Supermarket. The store looked enticing and we decided to head down on Saturday. The parking lot was packed enough that there were two police officers at the exits. We spent at least two hours inside. There were a lot of exotic foods and many things that were available that you can't get other places. For example, my picture shows the rabbit, boar, and python that they have available. 

My brother in law decided that he wanted to head out to his school to work out on Sunday. I decided to take him up on the offer. We started by running on the indoor track. Although the track was nice, I was having trouble keeping track of laps considering it took 12+ to complete a mile. When the weight room became available I decided to head in to run on the treadmill. I got in my total 3 miles and then even shot around on the basketball court a little...ok very little.

Maria...hope you don't mind I stole this from your Facebook.

Stole yours too Amanda :)

Also on Sunday, I spent a great deal of time sitting at my computer.  I wasn't sitting there spending my time aimlessly.  I was huddled around www.ironman.com  Turns out I had two people I knew competing in Ironman Louisville.  One competitor used to be a teacher and swim coach at Frankfort High School.  She is also a beast in the CrossFit Box.  The second is a friend I know from Muncie that isn't my former Band Director.  I was watching their splits update and watching to catch a glimpse of them on the live feeds online.  After quite a bit of watching, I witnessed Maria, the former Frankfort employee head out for the marathon stint after having already swam 2.4 miles and biked 112.  An ironman is no joke.  I didn't get to see her finish, but I was able to check out her results and her Facebook page.  No big deal...she just finished in 10:00:31 and happened to run through the tape as the first woman finisher even though the results list her as second, the pictures show her breaking the tape.  Amanda, from Muncie, finished in 14:56:30 with just over an hour remaining to officially be listed as a finisher.  This was her first time and she did remarkable.  Maria Gramelspacher and Amanda McKinley..."YOU ARE IRONMAN" and YOU ARE INSPIRATION!

My weigh in went as well as could be expected all things considered. I managed a 0.2 lb. weight loss after weighing in at 261.3. I am not displeased with that with the little that I did this week. I am two weeks out from my 5K and I am feeling pretty good. We'll see what happens on the 31st. Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!

School Picture Day!

Today was picture day at school.  This is a day I didn't usually look forward to when I was a kid.  Some of my pictures turned out pretty good, some pretty funny, and some gave a false impression of my attitude toward school.  Today as I entered the building, I thought about what my picture might look like when I get it back compared to years before.  Obviously, the beard makes a little difference in comparison to the pictures in this post...but I am curious how my face will look.  Will I look younger and more rejuvenated or will I look the same as the past few years and not be able to tell a difference?  The answer to this question will be seen soon enough, but for now I will just be curious while I garner a few laughs from those of you that have never seen my school pictures through my school years. I wasn't always heavy, but I was never really thin.

Over the week, I made sure to get in my workouts.  The first consisted of a quick "short" run on the treadmill.  I decided that a short run was in order to pick up the pace and really see what I could hold on to for a full mile.  I warmed up for a few minutes, set the pace at 12:00 minutes and set off.  I managed to keep the pace for the entire mile and immediately followed with a walk.  I thought I would try to add in some slower running after a 2 minute walk, but increasing the speed on the treadmill left my legs really feeling like Jell-O so I decided to just complete a cool down for a total of 1.5 miles.

My second workout for the week was another Long Slow Distance.  However, I wanted to slightly pick up the pace for this long run to increase my ability to maintain a pace at distance and increase my "race pace."  I decided to run at 4.6 miles per hour rather than my usual 4.5.  That may not sound like a huge difference, but it took 18 seconds per mile off my time and over a minute off my total run.    I managed to get in a complete 3 miles at that pace.  I was quite proud of myself.  I completed my cool down yet again, stretched and hit the showers.  I still can't believe I am running 3 miles without stopping.  My goal for this week is to run somewhere between 3.5 and 4 miles on my next long, slow, distance run.  We'll see what happens.

The weekend, brought about time to catch up with family and friends on Saturday.  Although the weather left something to be desired I managed to get my oil changed in the morning, head to Indy to visit my mom and then head out to Avon to visit some friends.  All that time spent in the car and I still managed to get in about 9,000 steps that day through stopping to buy some things at Target and Walmart.  I know I was surprised myself.

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for.  This morning I weighed in at 261.5 lbs.  That's a great weight loss for this week of 2.4 lbs.!  I was a little surprised.  Usually I monitor each day or every other day so I kind of know where I am going to be on Monday morning, but this weekend I didn't weigh myself so the amount I lost was a bit of a bonus.  I now have a total weight loss of 32.8 lbs.  I will be back again next week with more...or maybe I should say less...Until then.  Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!

Reaching New Heights!

I have to admit, this was not my best week eating in the last 60 days straight that I have religiously monitored my calories.  But, I got to eat some food that I truly enjoy like some authentic Mexican food and a nice buffalo chicken wrap with some fries another night.  I am by no means perfect when it comes to eating, but I do my best not to go over my calories.

I managed to get in a round of golf Sunday morning.  I played at Cool Lake between Frankfort and Lebanon which is the course I set my best score on.  This time I was able to tell a little bit about my fitness improving.  I feel I have improved my short game simply because I am able to keep my upper body straighter since I have a little less gut in the way.  I also became keenly aware that although I chose to wear long pants on a day when the temperature reached around 75 before I was done playing that I was much lighter on sweat than normal. I also decided to post my best score of the year at 100.  Hey, I never said I was a professional.

This week, I was a little light on my workouts during the week.  But boy, oh boy, did I make up for it on Sunday.  Sunday was my second Long Slow Distance (LSD) and this week I spent almost an hour on the treadmill completing 3.5 miles at a constant 13:20 pace and completed a total of 4 miles including my warm up and cool down.  That is quite literally the farthest distance I have ever run in my life!  Holy Cow I am making progress!  I have also been working on my breathing while I run and I think I am getting better in that department, but I definitely have some work to do.

After the food that I ate this week, I wasn't anticipating a great number on the scale this morning.  I was actually surprised to see it show 263.9 lbs.  That's a loss of 0.5 lbs. from last week.  Everything is progress and I am finally officially over 30 lbs. lost.  Even though I got credit from FitBit last week ;).    I will do more work on my eating this week and hope to get in a couple more of my "short" runs during the week.  Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!

Just Missed!

It's been a pretty good week overall. As I sit here watching middle school volleyball I am thinking over my week and would consider it a success. In the past week, I have started Lego league after school programming, stayed for a late school meeting, just finished a Sunday/Monday professional development session and still managed to help my wife with her online class and get in a couple of workouts.

The professional development sessions I attended the past two days revolved around reading and writing and they are aimed at improving and exciting the attendees with their teaching. However, I occasionally caught myself thinking about applying some of the things I am learning as I am writing this blog. I don't think this is due to my lack of focus but instead a sure sign that I am not only a teacher, but I am still a student. 

The ability to persevere is a key item I have been reading about as a requirement for a true runner. That's something I definitely worked on this week. My first run this week I felt a little less than strong. I was struggling to keep my pace. I considered cutting my run a couple tenths of a mile short. But, I pushed through. I slowed my pace a little but maintained a constant speed. I didn't cut the distance short and instead overcame during the mental aspect. I finished! 

Last night, I didn't have to persevere. Last night was my first "long, slow distance."  I reached another milestone when I managed to maintain a 13:20 pace on the treadmill for 3.1 miles. I was even able to pump up the last two tenths between a 11:00 and 12:00 pace.  That's right folks...I know now that I can physically finish the distance in October. Needless to say, I felt a little good about myself. Now it is about working on improving my speed and overall fitness. 

I stepped on the scale this morning to find another 0.9 lbs lost. That puts my weight at 264.4. If you have been reading along through this you will know that I started this journey at 294.3. I have now lost 29.9 lbs. I JUST MISSED 30!  I was a little aggravated until I received an email from FitBit. Apparently their theory is "ehh...close enough" because they sent me an email to congratulate me on my 30 pound loss complete with a badge. You know what?  I'll take it 😀. Until next week...Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!

P.S.  Here's the badge!

Making the Commitment!!

Last week was a great week!  I know you were all as happy to see that 3.1 lbs. drop as I was.  This week I am focusing on truly making the commitment to my fitness.  Let's talk about how my week went and then we will get to that.  Time to hash out the details.

I was on a high from last week's loss.  I am enjoying running and after running once with my brother-in-law realized I could push myself to go a little faster.  Although he gassed himself by pushing too hard at the beginning of the run when he was with me, I am glad that I forced myself to his starting pace and never went below my original pace towards the end.  I learn new things about myself everyday.  I went on to decide that if I was able to push through that workout when the temperature outside was in excess of 90 degrees that I could push myself harder every workout after.  In my following workouts for the week I vowed not to let my pace rise above 13:00 minutes per mile (if you look at my workouts below it includes a walk warm up and cool down so the pace is not just for running times).  Amazingly I was able to do so.  I think that's pretty good for a guy that still weighs well over 250 lbs. On Sunday, I was even able to complete the workout after having mowed the yard in the morning!

If you remember back to June when I purchased my new pair of Brooks Launch 2 shoes I have been running in them and they are treating me quite well.  Remember, I fell off the running wagon for a while there so they still have plenty of miles left in them.  However, I was surprised to recently see that a pair of another Brooks shoes I own, the Glycerin 12s, was starting to crack around the sole.  I contacted Brooks on their website through a Defective product report and they replied within 48 hours that they would replace them for me with the same model shoe.  If I wasn't already happy enough with Brooks shoes for their comfort, I am now a lifelong customer because of their customer service. If you haven't tried their shoes, I suggest you at least give them a shot.

Over the past few weeks, I have been hinting at making a commitment to adding more Feet from my motto in to my routine.  I have been doing that through my workouts.  Well, after quite a bit of looking around on the internet, I have found a way to make that commitment even stronger.  I am going to participate in a couple firsts between now and my birthday.  I have decided I am going to participate in my first 5K race on Halloween morning.  This race is called the Brew HaHa in Carmel, IN and I found it interesting because it is far enough out from now to allow me to really work on my fitness for completing a 5K, but also because of the "swag".  When you complete this race the finisher medal is a bottle opener and you receive a micro brew from a local brewery.  Not a bad way to end a race.  If you are interested in joining me at this event simply click here to go to their website.

The next one is the biggest commitment I have ever made to fitness.  I have signed up for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon in May.  That's right folks... 13.1 miles!!!  I am nowhere near prepared for this race currently, but I know that this amount of time is definitely ample for training with that magic word commitment.  Not only did I sign up for the mini itself, but I also signed up for the miler series (virtually) as a way of testing myself to make sure I can finish like I want to.  The miler series is a group of three dates with three increasingly longer distances (3, 6, and 10 miles).  Although I can't actually attend these sessions in Indy because one of the dates I will be hosting the Jaycees Spaghetti Run, I can complete the runs on my own on the same dates and submit my times through either e-mail or social media.  If I complete all three miler distances on the correct dates and complete the Mini I will receive an additional medal and shirt for being a "Mini Maniac".  I am nervous now about completing all of these, but I have paid my entrance fees and I am COMMITTED!!  Chris Day, my former band director and the reason behind my Truly Inspired post from early on in this blogging experience, is an ambassador for the Mini Marathon this year and I took it as a sign that this was my year to participate.  When you sign up you can add him as your ambassador if you don't have another person that inspired you to run the Mini.  See you all at the finish line!  You know you want to join me!!

What's the weight loss this week, right?  Well I weighed in this morning at 265.3 lbs. for a weight loss of 0.9 lbs. this week.  It's a loss and I am happy with it.  I think through my upcoming training that I am going to annihilate that number, but even if I don't I am not going to get discouraged.  Here's to commitment!  Find something you are passionate about and commit yourself to it.  Until next week... Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!

Pounding the Pavement

Welcome back.  As I sit here writing this on Labor Day I am thinking back about the hard work I have put in to Re-Dan-imation this week.

After last week, I knew that I was going to be putting in some miles during the week. I managed to get out on the road a total of four times this week.  I am getting a little more stamina and I have gained just the slightest bit of speed ( if you wanna call it that).

After all the running I have done this week I took a well deserved break Sunday evening and went to a Labor Day party. We had fun watching the kids play in a tiny pool, sat by the fire, let loose a couple Chinese lanterns and had some great conversation. Not to mention a little food. Sorry to say I went over my calories for the day, but it was worth it.

Having drank more water this week, having increased my mileage, and only going over my calories on one day I was interested to see what the scale said this morning. Survey says...266.2 lbs. for a loss this week of 3.1 lbs. that's give me a grand total of 28.1 pounds lost so far overall. I also dropped my body fat percentage by 0.2%. That is the number I would like to see continue to drop. I have a feeling that will continue as long as I keep my workouts continuing. I would like to thank those of you that commented on my post last week to encourage me. It definitely helped. Until next week... Food. Feet. Water. Repeat!!!