Running Update for November... Updated in December

We are flying high over the United States on our way to Florida where we will spend one and half days before departing on our cruise. The plan for the cruise is to work out everyday. Treadmill, track, or running on the beach... Keep the running alive even while being on vacation.

My running the past month has been probably once or twice a week on average. With the days getting darker earlier and the cold starting to set in has led me back to running on our treadmill. I joined the gym at work, but have only been there once... That was only to check it out and see if I would like it. I need to get a new lock and figure out a routine for using the work gym. In the meantime, I have been running regularly on the old treadmill in the basement.

I really do not mind running on the treadmill. However, since I got my Garmin watch and like tracking miles and where I run, I miss not being outside to run. A few times when it has been nice, I have run outside. It is so easy to get cold running outside even when the temperatures have not been bad at all. Not having the right running clothes for winter has a lot to do about that problem.

The above three paragraphs were written while on our way to our cruise...  I never got back into finish up this draft blog posting and just came across it today.  So much for keeping the blogging going as I mentioned in my last post.  Instead of clearing this post, I decided I would go ahead and post it.

I did keep the exercise going during our vacation back in November.  I ran a couple times during our time in Florida and then while on the cruise ship.  Even though I ran, I gained a lot of weight.  With the vacation and holidays which includes a lot of eating, the battle of getting to my target weight is not working too well.

The running continued into December, but so did the eating.  I am basically back up to where I was a year ago when I started all of my exercise.  It still amazes me that when I take off a week or two from running that the next time I run I feel horrible.  It should be a lesson to myself not to take off because it is just like starting out new when I start running after a week or two off.

Until next time... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Already into October and My Update

It is hard to believe that we are already into the month of October.  In fact, we are fast approaching the end of the month.  The end of football season and the beginning of basketball season.  Where did the Fall go?

I have been running on a regular basis.  This past week, I decided to join on our gym at work.  I figured it would help motivate me to lift weights because I am definitely not doing so with my home weight set.  I also joined the gym so that as it gets colder out, I have a place to run inside.  They have a track that is indoors, but it is only 1/8 of mile around.  Yeah, so that is a lot of laps to make one mile.  Still, better than running outside and I have treadmills if I need them.

My races are over for this year.  I thought about possibly doing another 5K in November, but at this point I do not think I will be doing so.  Some friends are going to be running in the Thanksgiving races, but I will be headed to Florida at that time or on a boat enjoying cold drinks.  So, I do not think I will be running in any more races this year.

Next year I am looking forward to my first ever attempt at running a 10K.  Right now, that first time appears that it will take place in Denver, Colorado.  I am looking to sustain my 5K running through the winter months running at the gym or possibly outside if there are nice days.  Then, starting in February or March, I plan to start training for the 10K.  I have only run the mileage for what is a 10K once or twice while out running in my neighborhood.... never in a race.  I am excited!

Happy running!  Until next time!

Time Flies Once Again...

Well, here we are early into September and I have not posted anything since July. I am going to try and pick up my posts again and fill in some of the blanks from the past few months. I trust everyone had a fun and safe summer. I know my summer was crazy! July was so busy with traveling and I turned 40 that it kept me away from writing anything at all. Yes, I thought about posting updates, but I just simply did not take the time to do so.

I intend to start regular updates once again. I know, this is a common theme in my updates over the course of the past few years, but I do intend to get regular updates posted at least once a month. I should have a few more updates before the end of the month to catch up on some of the things that have taken place since July.

 

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....

Second 5K of Year and Third Race of the Year Coming Up in a Week

I am looking at about one week until my second 5K and third race of the year. The second 5K will be in hot and humid conditions for the Fiest 5K. This will be the 79 years for the Fiesta Festival in Topeka, KS. It will be my second time running in the 5K race. I am looking forward to it. Truthfully, even though it will be hot and humid, it will not be too bad because we run early in the morning.

If you follow my updates (Month Six Update on Life Change) you know the the past few weeks I have been alcohol free. Yes, no beer, wine, or anything else that even resembles those items. I did not give it up as long as I did a year ago when I went for a few months without anything. This was primarily to see if it would help to drop any pounds. Just three or four weeks is not enough to notice anything when giving up drinks. Still, it was tough when grilling not to have a beer. Not to mention when going to my parents for pizza and not having a glass of wine. That was tough! Other than those instances, it was not bad at all.

Now, I am ready to go back to drinking beer. It is not as though I am going to go crazy, but I do look forward to enjoying a beer now and then. Before long we will be into football season and tailgating and I am not sure I could go through that without any beers.

I mentioned last time that I have my account on MyFitnessPal set to lose 1 & 1/2 pounds a week. I do plan on trying to keep that plan and not going over my calorie count. This might prove a little difficult to do if I am including beers into my diet. The weekends are always tough for food in general and that has been the case the past few weeks without alcohol too. Now, introduce alcohol and it will make it extremly difficult.

Following the Fiest 5K race, I will post picture updates. I do not see any changes when I look at myself, but I have had others say they can tell I have lost weight. No pictures have been posted for a few months, so I am interested to compare them side by side.

My friend Javier has been taking the magazine Runners World for a while now. He gives me issues to read and I have enjoyed the articles. This past week I received a email from Zinio electronic magazines with a $10 off code for any magazine. I decided to go ahead and buy it. I purchased it on Tuesday and I am almost done with the magazine. I have been reading it on our iPad and it is great! Getting tips and techniques from other runners and inspiration on doing more. I am excited to get the next episode too.

Until next time, happy runnings and stay cool!

Washburn in Wild Cat Territory

As I was driving back from a Washburn Alumni event in Manhattan, KS, I decided I would try something new this year. After all, I am the new incoming president as of July 1, so I thought I would try to post a brief update following each Washburn event I attend as a board member. One thing this does is add additional content to my blog and helps me to post on a regular basis.

With a little background and what I hope to accomplish over the course of the next two years, here is a summary of what happened at the June 14, 2012 event in Manhattan, KS. I plan to do something similar for meetings, sporting events, After Hours, etc.

The first alumni event ever held in Manhattan, KS was at the Colbert Hills Golf Course. For the first event, we had a nice group show up from the Manhattan area. There were about twenty signed up to attend and although I did not count, I would say just about everyone showed up.

The room we were in for the event was perfect (The Founders Room). It was the perfect size for our get together. We actually pushed the two tables in the room together to make one large table so everyone could sit together. We had wonderful appetizers to eat as we visited with Washburn alumni from the area. President and Mrs. Farley were in attendance too.

After visiting and snacking, President Farley spoke to the group about various happenings at Washburn. He said how happy he was to have a alumni gathering in Manhattan, KS and that he hopes it continues into the future. He shared various news with the group and answered questions they had too. Following the get together I spoke to Susie who told me that they expect to do one alumni gathering in Manhattan each year. We hope the word continues to spread through the community and we keep getting more and more people.


 

Month Six Update on Life Change

This is month six on my life change style. Since returning from Colorado (see Trip to Colorado Good Times), I have decided to give up any type of alcohol. Primarily this is because of the calories that alcohol has in it. Secondly, because when I drink beers, I want to eat afterwards or at least at some point after having a few beers. No, this is not a permnant life change as I LOVE beer. I am basically only giving up beers until the end of June. It is a experiment for myself to see if I can drop any more weight. I have been right around the same weight for the past 60 days. Goes up and down, but right around the same weight.

You might have noticed that I have not taken pictures (front or side) as I was doing initially. The main reason for no pictures is that I have been lazy about posting this on, or around, the 5 of each month. The other reason is that I have not noticed any changes in my physical appearance the past few times I did post pictures. So, part of the experiment is to see if giving up alcohol for a few weeks does anything drastic in terms of weight loss.

I have also been sticking to a strict diet. Staying under 1,860 calories a day. The weekends are typically the hardest time to try and stick to that calorie count. If I remember correctly, I have that calorie count set to try and lose two pounds per week. Well, after two months of sticking right around the same weight, I need something to change to kick it into the next gear with weight loss.

Until next time on my life change update, have a good June! Next month I will run in the Fiesta 5K which I am looking forward to. I hope to be able to post some pictures from that race.