Month Seven Update and Third Race of the Year Results

Front View Month 7 Update

July brought me to month seven of my life style change. Eating differently and working out at least three times a week. All of this since January 2, 2012. I mentioned in my last update that I would post picture updates of my weight loss status. After seven months, I really cannot see a difference from month two, three, or seven. Even though when I look down I think I can see a flatter stomach, but still when I stand in front of a mirror or look at my pictures, I can still see my gut. Ah, the love of beer and not eating right for so long makes it fun to try and lose the belly. I have mentioned it a number of times, but last year when I did this same thing the weight seemed to drop off much easier and I could see major differences when looking in the mirror or viewing pictures. Maybe it is because I am nearing in on the big 40, but this time I do not see the difference.

Month Seven Side View

I feel better and can run farther. I do not ache when I run and I cannot wait until I run again. When I do not run, I try to figure out when I will be able to get another run in as soon as possible. Still, I do not see any differences in how I look. While only a little frustrating, it is by no means going to deter me from continuing to eat well and run.

So, there you have it... A front and side view of my seventh month in my new life style change. I do not see much difference, but I continue to work at it.

Now, on to my big news for the month of July. I ran in my third race of the year and my second 5K of the year. I had my personal record (PR) in this race. I did not start out intending to run as fast as I did, but I felt great and just started running. I started off with a good pace. Even though my Blackberry Endomondo app said it was still searching for a signal when the race started, it seemed to catch up and register correctly. It clocked my first mile at 9:28 and it only got better from there.

The official results of the race were posted this evening and I was thrilled with my time:

145 JOHN HAVERTY Topeka KS 20 40 M 12 40-44 29:06 9:23/M

The results are from Sunflower Striders web site who record the official results of most races in the area. This was the Fiesta 5K race which helped to kick off the week long Fiesta Festival in Topeka. My official time was 29 minutes and six seconds. I blew my previous 5K PR finish out of the water with this race. My previous PR was a little over 31 minutes. I shaved off about two minutes of time and had a average pace of 9:23 a mile.

Oh, I forgot to mention that yes the "40 M" that you see in the race results above was a mistake on my part. When I filled out the form for the Fiesta 5K back in early June, I made the mistake of putting down that I would be 40 on the date of the race. Well, I do not turn 40 for another 18 days from the race date. Opps! Well, I do not think that it caused any major problems other than my friends teasing me about not know how old I was for the race.

Other news involves a new purchase I made for my running and biking. I just purchased a Garmin FR210 with heart monitor. It should be here in about a week and I cannot wait. I am hoping with this new Garmin watch that it will be easier to track my miles and of course it will be much more accurate than that of my Blackberry. I am sure it will also help to motivate me to run and bike.

My next race is scheduled for the end of August in another 5K race in Kansas City. It will have a lot of hills (I ran it last year) and I doubt my time will come anywhere close to the 29:06 of the Fiesta.

Happy running....