Category Archives: Best Damn Race

Back at the gym week #1

It’s been a few weeks so I thought I’d give you a quick update on how it’s going. My struggle to get back in the gym has been going on awhile and my excuse has always been that I didn’t have a workout planned. Approximately 30 days ago I started to devise a plan which when the wife looked at it thought I was crazy. I was going from not working out to a 5 day routine which incorporated 3 days of running 3.11 miles each day which has proven to be interesting. I will say I have yet to make the 5 days in the gym as the early morning runs conflict and I’ve thought about cutting out 30 minutes of my workout to allow for the Tuesday/Thursday runs. The one problem I have is Tuesday morning is leg day so it wouldn’t be too smart on my part to do a full leg workout then go run 3.11 miles.

I won’t bore you with all the details of my workout as every person/body is different and what works for me may not work for you. My workouts focus on a different body part each day as this will allow me to spend more time focusing on isolating the muscle while performing proper technique. My time spent per session averages about 2 hours and seems to fly by as the only time I could seem to squeeze the time in is 4:00am. Many people tell me I’m crazy for getting up that early to go but it fits into my schedule and I’d rather go at 4:00am than not go at all. The best part of going that early is the gym is empty so I don’t have to fight for any of the equipment.

gym

 

The running regiment has me running about 5:30 in the morning with the wife and accomplishes a few things. First it allows her to get out and do her running which she loves to go early and get it done, but safety is always an issue as you never know what crazy people are out that early in the am. Secondly it’s my additional cardio I need to train for my first race challenge race I have coming up in 2015. I’ve done 5k’s, 8k’s and 10k’s but have never run any hack to back so I’ve signed up for my first challenge race in 2015, the Best Damn Race in Safety Harbor. The challenge race is a 10K race which when I complete I will hit the starting line to get ready to kick off the 2nd race which will be a 5k. Total mileage between the 2 races will be 9.33 miles and it’ll be interesting to see how my body handles this.

Route

 

splits

Overall I haven’t seen much change on the scale but I’ve seen changes in the way my clothes fit and just generally feel better all around. One thing I’m really interested is I’m within 5 lbs. of my weight I last hit as a plateau and spent several months trying to break that. I’m not ashamed to say that my plateau weight has been 215 and I’m ultimately trying to get do about 190 lbs. Everything I’ve read tells me my ideal weight is about 160 to 170 and I feel I’d look like anorexic and sick if I did hit that weight so I’m sticking with the 190lbs. These next few weeks will be interesting as I continue to tweak my workout/schedule so I can continue to make it work.

How hard was it for you to get back in the gym after being out for a while? How often do you modify your workouts?

These past few weeks

 

So as many have noticed I’ve been MIA over the past few weeks on the blog front as I’ve been trying to balance life and all the day-to-day drama that seems to come with it these days. I’ve recently looked in the mirror and have decided I don’t like what I see and I’m the only one that can change that. Since my last post I’ve started to get back into a workout regimen which includes running 3 days a week to help improve my overall health and physique. I’ll be updating my journey thru my blog so stay tuned and you can join me on my journey to a happier/healthier me. Many have asked where I’ve been hiding over the past month so I thought I’d address that. Works been super crazy and we have major projects in the works which is going to tie up most of my free time over the next few months, but I’m trying to create my habits now so when the time comes I’ll be used to it and won’t fall off track.

Fitness:

While I’ve been saying for a while now, I’m going back to the gym. I’ve finally been able to motivate myself and got back in there. I’ve been fighting it for a while and have no one to blame but myself and I’ve finally accepted responsibility and taken on the task at hand. Anyone who knows me will agree that I never do anything half-assed, I’m either 100% committed or I just don’t bother. This holds true with every aspect of my life from my blog, fitness or even pursuing my goal of playing a single season of tournament ball. My biggest problem with the gym was timing and I could never seem to find the time so I’ve decided to start my day a tad bit earlier and going at 4am. I‘ve had people tell me I’m nuts for going that early but you have to go when it fits into your schedule and that’s what seems to work for me. I will tell you day one was a bitch as I fought with every ounce of my being, but once I walked through those doors I realized I had missed the gym and it felt right being there. Another piece of the puzzle was my workout as I’ve always been very “structured” in the past when it came to working out. I can’t just walk into the gym and say “Oh I’m doing legs today” and go from there so I had to write out my daily workouts before I went as well. I broke my workouts into 5 days and could have very easily done 3 but I chose to spend more time devoted to working out and my overall performance in the gym.

Along with working out I’ve committed to running 3 days a week with the wife. Anybody who knows her will tell you she loves to run and that I really need to as part of my conditioning. The 3 days a week I’m running I’ve committed to running a 5k (3.11 miles) or better in preparation for my challenge race in 2015. I’ve done 5k’s, 8k’s and 10k’s but I’ve signed up for the Best Damn Race Challenge in 2015 which is a 10k race and once I complete that I’ll line back up and run a 5k. I know it sounds crazy, but I know I can do it. Sometimes I just let the lazy come out and it consumes me to the point where I give in and let it win.

 

gym

Paintball:

There hasn’t been much to really report on this front these days as I’ve been too busy to go play (as sad as that sounds). I finally did get a chance to go back out a few weeks ago to knock off some of the rust from not being out for a bit. Some of the guys from the old team were there and it made for a fun time with them and all the others who came out and enjoyed the nice weather. I’m not going to lie, I seemed to slide right back into my groove after a few games and it felt great being out there. Even though we’re going into the hotter months I’m planning on going out more (I just have to remember to properly hydrate and monitor myself on those days). My future plans are to travel to more local fields to find others who share my passion for paintball and grow my contacts. I’m also planning several trips to a few different fields for larger games which I’ve missed in the years past. I’m looking forward to going to LCP in Georgia and meeting up with some of the people I chat with but haven’t got to put a face with the name yet as well as Wayne’s World.

 

paintball

Food:

While the wife is doing Weight Watchers and that translates into healthy eating for me, I still have my sweet tooth and addiction to sweets to try and conquer. I’m trying to curb those urges but it’s hard as I tend to gravitate towards the sweets when I’m stressed which has been a lot lately but I’m getting better. My sweet tooth still exists but I’m learning to control it but sometimes it still wins. The next few weeks of working out and watching the foods I eat will tell the true story. My true tests will be the day to day temptations that come to me… whether it be someone bringing in free food at work or the thought of ice cold $1 beers at a baseball game I just need to remember I’m accountable for my own actions and I can only blame myself if I overindulge.

 

cookies

 

Beer

What have you been up to the past few weeks? What do you turn to when you’re stressed or having a bad day?

Starting off the New Year on the right foot

With 2014 well under way I’m starting off on the right foot. The wife and I made a stop this morning at the store after her 6 mile training run for a bit of shopping. I’m happy to report no “sweets” or “extra goodies” seemed to make their way into the cart as they would have in the past. Instead snacks high in fiber with low fat content made their way there and I’m perfectly happy with that. I chose to go this route to feed my sweet tooth but at the same time being more weight conscious.

snacks

The training run for the wife forced me to get out for bit as I rode along on the bike taking our normal route. While the wife is training for her next half marathon I’ve got a few smaller races coming up that I should be preparing for but being the “King” of procrastination I haven’t even begun. Over the next 2 months I’ll be running (1) 5k race, (1) 8k race and (1) 10K race plus the Warrior Dash. While I normally wouldn’t run this many races 2 are races I normally do yearly and the other 2 were last minute additions.

The 1st race on my list for 2014 is only a 5k but it’ll be a fun one. The wife and I decided to do the Color Run with some friends in Clearwater on January 26th and it looks like it’ll be a blast. While this race is an untimed run I’m sure I’ll still put forth an effort and try to run in a decent pace. One of the fun things about this event is every kilometer you get doused with a different color so by the end of the run you’ll be plastered with many different colors. For any of those looking to get a bit of exercise and have a lot of fun come on out and join us. Check out their site @ http://thecolorrun.com/ for more details.

My 2nd race of 2014 is February 1st and I’ll be joining up with some friends to take on the Warrior Dash in Lake Wales. While I’ve conquered this 5K in the past I’m most excited about taking on the challenge with my friend Bob and his wife. This will be his first event he’s running in and he picked a pretty fun (and muddy) one to kick it all off. While I don’t remember much about the one I previously ran, I know I’ll get really muddy and I froze my butt off because of the time of year.

 

WD Collage

The 3rd race of 2014 will be February 23rd and it’s the 8K Gasparilla run in Tampa. This is one of my yearly races as it was my first 8K race ever. I’ll admit I wasn’t thrilled about running an 8K but the wife wanted to do it so I decided to run with her. We also had a friend and her son come out and run with us. Once I started I actually enjoyed the run . I do remember being a tad bit cold up until the start of the race but shortly forgot about that after I started running. My time from last year was 1:05:59 so stay posted to see if I actually beat that from last year or I come up short.

 

Gasparilla

My last planned race actually falls on March 1st and is in Orlando. I’ll be heading up to Orlando with the wife to run the Best Damn Race and my first 10K ever. Last year in 2013, I ran the Best Damn Race in Safety Harbor and that was my first “Official” 5K I ran so that race will always be special to me. While I wasn’t sure how I’d do I managed to turn in a 38:25 for my first 5K. For anyone who’s ever thought of running a race and has never done so I’d highly recommend this one – it made me want to continue to run (not as much as the crazy wife, but in moderation). They do have Safety Harbor and Orlando this year so if anyone is interested in running either of those go to http://www.bestdamnrace.com/ and check them out. If you decide to register use the code NANCIC (all uppercase) for $5 off.

BDR

 

How has your 2014 started out so far? Which race was your first one or a special one you remember?

Couch to 5K Final Wrap Up

Wrapping up week 8 training on the Couch to 5K left me with one last item to complete the program…. run a 5k. This past Friday I was off and the wife played hooky so I tagged along on her training run which just happened to be a 5k. After completing the Couch to 5K program I’m still not running a full 5k but this past attempt had me run about 85% of the run which got me a time of 36:48. I’m adding a graphic below that’ll cover my splits for the last 5K training I did. This past year I ran the Best Dam Race in Safety Harbor which would have been my first 5k and that time was 38:25. While I’ve managed to trim off a 1 minute 30 seconds off my first 5k time I felt much better on this past Friday’s run. While I’ve completed the program I still feel I can benefit by continuing to run as well as going back to the program for some interval training. Now it’s time to move on to my next training mission which is the Warrior Dash on February 1st 2014.

 

5k splits

5K Final

What was your experience with the Couch to 5K program? Would you recommend it to a friend just looking to start running?

Couch to 5k Week 1 Day 1

Confusion has probably set in on those who just read the “Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 1” title as I’ve already ran several 5k races. With taking as much time off as I have and some knee problems starting to progressively get worse I’ve decided to start from square one. My first 5k I ran in February 2013 with minimal training. Even though I did well on my time, I didn’t totally run the 5k which is now my goal. I’d like to run a 5k from start to finish and have a respectable time. After speaking to several people who had never ran and trained they all suggested the Couch to 5k so I thought I’d give it a try. I went thru iTunes and found a C25K – 5K trainer from Zen Labs and that’s the app that I’ll be using throughout my 5k training.

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Looking thru the workouts it’ll be a 3 day a week program for a total of 8 weeks. Week 1 day 1 was 30 minute workout with walking/running intervals. The program started with a 5 minute warm up then into a 1 minute run. The 1 minute run was followed by a 90 second walk then repeat the process. Day 1 wasn’t too bad and I feel as if I’m off to a good start.

6

5

So I chose to start Week one Day 1 at my most favorite place in the world (sensing a bit of sarcasm) – the Memorial Causeway. I say that jokingly of course as I actually do love that bridge. We met several years back and it’s been a love/hate relationship. I love the bridge and the challenge it offers but my knees hate it. Going forward the first day of the week for the entire program will be done at the bridge but days 2 and 3 will be done in the neighborhood as time doesn’t always permit me to go to the bridge. One thing is for sure, by the time the Best Damn Race comes around in 2014 I’ll be able to say that was the first Damn race I totally ran.

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What type of training have you done to prepare for your running? What type of progression have you seen over the years as you continue to train?

0 to 5k in 38 minutes

For those who have read my New Year’s Resolution blog you’ll know that one of my goals was to run my first timed 5k. Well it’s been a month and I’ve done three so far, 2 of which were timed and 1 was for fun. The first one was the glow run and it was obviously a night run and time wasn’t really a factor. This was truly my first 5k and I had a blast.

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My first official timed event was supposed to be the Rock N Roll mini marathon, but I signed up for the Best Damn race a few days prior to the event. The day of it was freezing and I was thinking what the hell did I get myself into, but after the start I threw on the iPod and went into a zone. From there on out the only thing going thru my mind was concentrating on the task at hand, which was completing the run. Seeing how this was my first run I had planned on a 45:00 minute run. Pleasantly surprised I was when I crossed the finish line at 38:25.

BDR

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This past weekend we ran the Rock N Roll event in St Petersburg, Fl. The wife ran the half marathon but I chose to run the 5k. Not knowing what the parking situation would be like we found ourselves down there extra early to allow for parking and walking to the start line. With an hour or so to kill prior to the event we walked around and tried to keep as warm as possible while mentally preparing for the event. Some funny things worth mentioning were some of my songs and how they showed up while on shuffle. The first song worth mentioning was Tone Loc vs. Salt N Peppa Wild Thing vs. Push it. Random first song but maybe my iPod was onto something as Mile 1 seemed to be a fast one for me. Everything else was a blur up until the end when my song playing when I crossed the finish line was Midnight Star Freekazoid. While I found the funniest one of them all was when I was listening to my iPod still as Nanci crossed the finish line several hours later. Her song for finishing her half marathon according to my iPod was MC Hammer here comes the hammer. I just laughed as anyone who knows my wife would find that totally hilarious. When crossing the finish line for this event I turned in a 36:59 for the run. Not what I was shooting for but a respectable number from what everyone tells me (especially for my second timed event).

mike rnr official time

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While I’ll admit I don’t get the same rush others do from running the race and crossing that finish Line. I do understand where they are coming from as it’s the same rush I get from playing paintball and winning the game.

What sport or activity do you get a rush from doing? Have you been following thru on your New Year’s Resolutions?

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