Daily Dose - October 24, 2007

I ran 3.1 miles this morning.

I adjusted the Age and Weight settings on the treadmill and it turns out I'm burning 600 - 650 calories with my run today and on Monday. Despite my new increase in activity, I actually gained weight. Granted, I went to Toledo Lounge last night for a half-priced burger and a few of the on-tap Hefeweizen. Maybe the weight gain is from muscles building up in my legs. Maybe not.

My legs started out sore before my run and I was thinking I would bail after 2 miles, but I got to 2 miles and I decided I could do another mile. I jacked up the speed for a while just to get it done quicker.

I think I'm going to have some grilled salmon for lunch.

Daily Dose - October 22, 2007

I ran around 3.1 miles this morning.

That doesn't include the walking to and walking back from the gym. It also doesn't include the walk at the beginning and the walk at the end. When I'm done with my run, I like to walk until several things occur. They're different every time. For example, today I didn't stop walking until the calories were up to 500 AND the minutes reached :00 AND THEN, I walked until I reached another tenth of a mile. OCD? Maybe.

I wore my iPod Shuffle today. I've found that usually if I wear my Shuffle on my hip, I'll end up with abrasions on my hip and sometimes my arm will get caught in the wire and fling the thing across the gym. I think I've found a solution. I now wear it on the back of my T-shirt where the tag is and I stuff the wire down the front of my shirt. No problems today.

Songs that I found particularly motivating:

"I'm So Sick" by Flyleaf - the singer is clearly sick of something and she expresses it by screaming. The tempo is in-line with my sneaker hitting the ground and I imagine that she's sick of my lousy fitness. It's easy to keep it going with that song.

"Gimme More" by Britney Spears - I know, I know. It's pop music and she's a delinquent, but it's a catchy tune. The tempo is perfect for my pace and I feel like Britney is asking me to give her more. More effort, more distance, more... more... more. And I give it to her. Plus, I like when she says "It's Britney, bitch" at the beginning. What can I say?

From my Body For Life days, I remember the dude saying you should wait an hour after running before eating so you can optimize your fat burn. I got back at around 11am, so I'm going to get some chicken kabob from Astor Mediterranean on Columbia Road at noon. Grilled chicken on a greek salad. That's pretty healthy, I think. It tastes pretty good too.

I was listening to Stern the other day and they were saying how Robin Quivers' lunch smells really bad. It's supposedly really healthy and it comes from a place in NYC called "The Pump Energy Food". I looked at their menu. They claim they don't serve any egg yolk, butter, fried foods, bacon, mayo or white bread. I wish there was a place like this in DC. I would consider opening a place like that if I had the resources.

Check out the menu:
Easy to read Menu
Full Web Site

Cancellation

It's only 32 days until the 2007 NYC Marathon and I'm not ready. I only plan to run a marathon once in my life because I've heard numerous stories and factoids about how bad running a marathon is for you. Why would I punish myself more than once. Actually, I'm sorta wondering why I would do it even once.

That said, I DO plan to run the NYC Marathon.... but not this year. I have cancelled my entry for the 2007 NYC Marathon which will guarantee my entry into the 2008 NYC Marathon on November 2, 2008.

I'm embarrassed to announce this on my blog, but I deserve any ribbing you wish to give me. I'm just not doing my homework. I haven't built a base of running. I think it's tough to run 4 times a week when you're over a certain weight. I need to get serious and get to a normal weight and then work on building a base. In June of 2008 I can start working up to a comfort level with pre-marathon distances.

Running the marathon this year would just be foolish. I think it would probably take me 7 hours and it would probably result in real blood, real sweat, and real tears. Not this year.

If I can manage to pull myself together and run the marathon next year, it will be the result of a 4 year struggle that started with an inability to run a single mile without walking. My goal is just to finish, but I would really like to at least beat Oprah Winfrey's time.

My iPod shuffle says 2007 NYC Marathon on the back of it and that's kinda sad, but maybe it'll remind me of my failure to follow through this year and will motivate me to meet my goals.