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!