6/29/15 Run

On Monday, I ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I varied the speed, so my body wouldn't adapt to the workout. A trainer once  told me it's good to keep my muscles "guessing" or my workout would be less effective. I'm not sure if it really applies to a 30 minute run on the treadmill, but I figure it couldn't hurt anything. So, I adjusted the speed from 7.0 to 8.0 for 10 minutes and then kicked it up to 9.0 for 5 minutes. If anything, it kept the workout interesting. 

I also did some planks for 45 seconds after my run to strengthen my core. A strong core helps you maintain your form during the run. Runner's World recommends doing the core workout afterwards because you're tired and this will make it more challenging. I can attest that it is more challenging to do the core workouts after running.

About Me

In 2010, I tipped the scales at 270 pounds. I now weigh 170 pounds and I owe a lot of that weight loss to running. Running has not only helped me to lose weight, it has also helped me to keep it off.

I started running on the treadmills at the gym. I slowly worked my way up to running for an hour on the treadmill. At this point in my life, running was just another workout routine to help me lose weight. This mindset would change shortly after I reconnected with an old friend who got into running marathons. After talking with him about distance running, I decided it was something that I wanted to try. I decided on running the California International Marathon as my first race. I found a training plan online and followed it for 6 months. It was tough going, but I finished the race. I achieved my race goals of finishing and running the entire time. However, I failed miserably on my time goal. This was because I started off to fast and "hit the wall" later in the race. I learned some lessons from that race and I look forward to running it in the upcoming years.

I look at running differently now. It's a major part of my life that brings me great joy. My worse day of running is still better than my best day at work. This blog is intended to provide tips on running, workouts, and healthy recipes, so you'll enjoy running as well. Enjoy and if you have any questions or comments, post it.

6/28/15 Training Run

I ran 14 miles for my run today in 2 hours. I did it in the morning to beat the heat and because I also  wanted to go to the blues festival they had downtown. This was a training run for the SF half marathon I’m doing at the end of July. I’m trying to go for a new PR of 1:40. 

For this run, I took it easy and just enjoyed the run. It was my long, slow, distance (lsd) run for the week. Running coach Jack Daniels recommends doing lsd runs to build up the blood vessels in your legs and develop the slow twitch muscles. By doing these slow types of runs, I'll actually become faster. I read it in his book entitled, Daniels’ Running Formula, 3rd Edition (Kindle edition, so I can’t cite the page number).