Picking Up The Pace

Monday's' run didn't happen so I tried to do 3 yesterday at a faster pace than normal. Apparantly I went too fast and gassed after a mile or so. I then slowed to a near crawl but was soon overtaken by a cramp in my side. I need to figure out how to prevent those from happening. I also weighed myself yesterday :221.2

Sore Ankle

Yesterday I woke up with a sore ankle. I'm not exactly sure why it's sore, as I didn't run the day before and it felt fine. It might be the shoes I've been wearing a lot lately, which offer very little support. If I can, I'm planning on running 3 today, 2 tomorrow, rest Wednesday (my running buddy, Dave, is out of town), 3 Thursday, 3 Saturday, 3 Sunday.

I'm Back!

It feels like it's been forever since I've last posted, but I'm still here and running. As you may have heard, southern Ohio got pounded by remnant winds of hurricane Ike. While my house was luckily left unscathed, I was without power from Sunday evening to this afternoon.

Today, I went for a little 2 miler since my running buddy Dave was feeling under the weather and couldn't make it. Yesterday I did 3 miles.

I weighed myself last night and came in at 220 even.

New Plan!

Ok so after looking at some different plans online I think I've settled on my next one. Since coolrunning.com's Couch-to-5k plan has been good to me and since I actually still don't have that much running experience, I've decided to start Cool Running's Beginner 5k Program.

I thought about going for the 10k, but I haven't even run my first 5k race yet and I still feel like a beginning runner.

If you take a look at the plan, it is very similar to the Couch-to-5k, except that it adds two more days of running, one of which is very light. It also adds a runs that are decide to improve speed, like hill runs and fartleks. I'm really not sure how my body is going to react to the added days, but I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Time For A New Plan

This week marks the end of the Couch To 5k running program I've been on for the last 8 to 9 weeks. Yesterday I went out and did a flat 3 miles in just over 30 minutes. I even managed to do a couple of "fartlek" runs, which are basically random periods of time where you run fast. It was by no means easy, but I can tell I'm improving, which is awesome.

So what should I do next, try to increase my distance or improve my time for 5k?

Hmm...

Strange Times Indeed

Yesterday Dave and I met up for our weekly run. It was super hot out so we avoided big hills. I was doing fine until I hit mile 2 and got a major cramp in my side. After that, we run-walked the last half-mile or so. Pretty disappointing but at least I did something. I also couldn't find my fancy running watch, as it is still packed in a box somewhere in my house, so I ran without one. Strange as it may seem, a watch can be a big motivator so I need to find it before Friday.

I tested my scale again right before I went to bed last night and then right after I woke up this morning. Last night I weighed 219 and this morning I weighed 220. So, not only did I miraculously lose 11 pounds in a couple of days, I gained a pound overnight without eating or drinking anything. Crazy.

I've Been Bad

Very bad. I haven't run since last wednesday. Moving to a new house pretty much took over my whole weekend. I tried to schedule a run, but when the time came I was too sore from carrying boxes and furniture up and down stairs. My plan for tonight is to run two miles and then go for three tomorrow with Dave. The upside to the break is that it gave my Achilles some rest.

As you can see by mt Skinnyr.com chart, my weight also went up considerably over the weekend, which is crazy because I really didn't eat that much. I'm guessing most of it is water weight, that or my scale is really messed up.