Well Hello there.....Nice to see you again!!!

Hi!  My name is Jay, and I have a problem.  I have become fat and lazy and have not ran since June of 2011.  Since then, I have been through a divorce and just plain ole gave up running.  Well, that is about to change.  My daughter is 9 years old now and my son is about to turn 13 (Sept.).  He wants to play High School baseball and then play for Kentucky.  We had a long talk about committing to that goal and doing what it takes to get there.  The next day, he was in the gym lifting weights and he started running to help drop some weight.  He ran 6 miles (1 to 1.5 miles at a time) the 1st week.  I told him I would start running with him.....so yesterday we did.  I did my 1st mile in over a year yesterday evening.  The 1st 1/2 mile was not that bad.  My daughter also ran with me.  Noah ran about 0.25 miles and then started making excuses why he could not run cause his friends came out to play ball with him.  I finished my mile, but the last 1/2 was not very fun.  I am planning on doing 4 or 5 more 1 mile runs this week and then doing 2 miles next week.  I went from running 6 miles in the mornings at 5am, to sweating my butt off and about dying to complete 1 mile!!!!  I WILL GET BACK IN SHAPE THOUGH!!!  Gotta keep motivated and keep my kids going too.  My daughter needs to run to help strenghten her leg that she broke 2 years ago.  She still limps when she runs and this has slowed her down a ton running the bases.  It is also affecting her ability to get to the harder hit ground balls in the gaps.   We are all going to stay at this and get better.   I'm hoping to blog about it to help stay motivated.  There are still a ton of 5ks and 10ks around to run too once I get to that point.   So sit back, relax, and cheer us on as we try to get the running fire stoked up again.

Welcome 2010

I finally got off my lazy butt and decided to update my blog. I have not blogged since September, so I figured if I was going to run, then I would blog about it. Maybe this will help me stay dedicated!!!! I have not ran since late November. It got cold here in Portland, and when it was not cold, it was raining. So, I wussed out and didn't run any. Then the Christmas craziness began, and I lost track of running all together. One thing I didn't forget was how to eat. I continued to eat like I was running 4 times a week. So, I have not ran for about 6 weeks until today. I stepped on my mom's scales at her house the day after Christmas and they read 202. WHAT? I stepped off them and stepped back on....202. CRAP!!! I had gained 17 lbs in 5 weeks. I was not a happy camper! I knew I had gained some weight back, maybe 10 lbs, but 17????? So I decided I had to get back on track with the running. I did weight in my shoes, clothes, and a full stomach (we had just had Christmas dinner). I usually weight in just my underwear and come in at 183-185. So I figure I probably have gained 10-12 lbs actually, but the 17 lbs is what I am making myself believe. I started 2009 at 199 and had gotten down to 177. Now I was ending the year 3 pounds heavier than I started it. This pissed me off. SO, I will promise to make a better effort to get my lazy but out in the cold, wet weather (hopefully good weather) and run more. I plan on running the Tom King 1/2 marathon again this year and then the Country Music 1/2 marathon. Then some 5k through the summer and hopefully hit a fall or early winter marathon.

Oh yeah, I finally did run today. 3 miles at 28:51 (i think). It was like a 9:35-9:40 pace. That is about a minute and 10 seconds slower than my easy 3-4 mile run pace 6 weeks ago. I hope to do a few more 3 or 4 miles and then try my first 6 miler. If all goes well with that, I will start adding a mile or 2 a week to get to 13.1 for the Tom King. My plan is to shot for 175-180 lbs and a sub 2 hr 1/2 marathon for the Country Music 1/2 Marathon.

WE WILL SEE!!!! Anyone reading this please help keep me motivated!!!!

Feels good to get 10...

Well since my last post, I feel off the running bike for a minute. I didn't get my long run in on Saturday or Sunday, so I finished last week with only 12 miles. I had very good intensions, but I never got out the door to do it. I planned on doing it Saturday, but my wife got off at 6am instead of 3am. I was going to run 8-10 miles early Saturday morning, then shower and head to my son's baseball game. Her staying over to help out put those plans on hold. Sunday morning I was just lazy and didn't want to get up and run. Monday morning, same thing. Monday at work I felt really bad since I had not run in 3 days. I was mad at myself for not getting up and doing it since I was on a good roll. So after work, my daughter has soccer and my son and I got some baseball work in at the field. Then I got dressed and set out to do 4 to 6 miles. My wife don't like me running at night without my phone or a partner, so I had to take my phone. I started out and the weather was perfect to run. It was cool and the light breeze felt awesome. I got about 3 miles in and decided to go for 8 miles again. Once I got to 4 miles, instead of turning around and heading back towards the house, I kept going. I called my wife at 6 miles and told her I was feeling good and was going for 10 miles!!!!! She thanked me for calling and not letting her worry (even though I scared her when I called and was talking while running). I ended up finishing my 10 mile run 30 seconds shy of 1 hr and 30 minutes. I WAS STOKED!!!! It was kinda silly to out with no water or Shot Bloks, but it was totally not a planned 10 mile run. It was a great run and made up for the 3 days I didnt run. I guess that was a small rest break for my 1st 10 miles in awhile. I didn't get up this morning like I was supposed to and get 5 miles in. I planned on doing it after work around the neighborhood and let the kids ride their bikes. But 30 minutes before I left work, it started raining. I would run in it, but my wife is working and I can't leave them alone at home. So, I hope to get in 4 miles in the morning and then maybe 4 or 5 on Friday. I think I will try for 8 on Saturday. I doubt I will get to go to Franklin, TN for the Franklin Classic 10k on Monday. Oh well....maybe next year....


Happy running!!!

No Slowing Down....

Well, I have been meaning to blog a little more, but crap, when do I have time. Sunday I was able to get in my 2.5 recovery run for a total of 20 miles for last week. I think the short run after the 8 mile run helped my legs alot. I woke up Monday and was not sore at all. I did the 2.5 miles slow and didn't worry about my time. Once thing is for sure though, I wil NEVER drank an AMP'd and go straight out and run again. I about seen it for the 2nd time right after mile 1. I had to stop and walk for a minute or two to keep from throwing it back up. After that, I was good to go. Monday I took a rest day. I had planned on running, but woke up Monday morning with my stomach acting up, so I put off my run. Tuesday, I got in 3 miles with Rich and then ran 2 more miles after he peeled off to get ready for the day. His in-law's were in town, so he squeezed in a run with me Tuesday morning. I finished that 5 miles feeling good and felt I could have went a few more miles. The weather was great too, so I am sure that played a part in it. Wednesday I got up earlier than normal and headed to Hendersonville for EMS Bike Team training. I had planned on running 4 miles and then riding with the team, but I was running late and only got in a 3 mile run. I did progressively get faster over the run and finished my last mile in 8:13. I felt good after that run too. My legs seem to be doing well with the increase in mileage. I just pray it stays that way. The team and I ended up riding a little over 6 miles. This helped loosen my legs up to and I felt GREAT after riding. This morning I got up and didn't feel well again. I had a late night at work, so I got in bed at like 11:30pm and was up at 5:10am to run. I did consider texting Rich and bailing on him, but I finally grew and set, got dressed, and headed out the door. I wanted to do 6 miles this morning, but after thinking about having to be at work early to go to a meeting in Nashville, I decided I better only do the 4 miles with Rich. We knocked it out at a 9:14 pace. Legs felt great again and my shins have all but stopped hurting. The only time they are a little tender is the next morning after a rest day. It is like they feel better then more I run and they don't want to take a break. I am on track to log my 3rd straight 20 mile week. I have plans to run 8 miles on Saturday morning early before an 8:30am baseball game. Then I want to do another 2-3 mile recovery run on Sunday. This should put me at 20-22 miles for the week. It should cap of a 70+ miles month of August for me!!!! I am stoked about that.....

Well, thanks for reading my blog and feel free to comment (good or bad)....Happy Running!

WOW, What A Week!!!

Well, my daughter's soccer practices started this week to go along with my son's baseball practices. Needless to say, We are very busy now. I usually run in the mornings, so I can't really use all this as excuses, but by the time we get home, get cleaned up, and kids get to bed, it usually is 9pm. Then I do what I have to do, and it is 10:30-11pm by the time I climb in bed. This is hard on me since I like to sleep and 5:15am comes early. Anyway, let's talk about running.

Rich and I got in 5 miles on Monday. I took the day off due to it being my wife's birthday, so we ran after taking the kids to school. The humidity was up, and man was I feeling it the last mile. Rich had to almost drag me the final mile. Tuesday came and we took a rest day due to Rich's knee being sore. I could have ran, but I was just lazy and didn't want to run alone. Wednesday, we did 3 miles. Thursday, Rich was resting and I was going to do 4 miles, but like always, I was lazy. Friday come around and Rich did some miles. I didn't run with him due to having SWAT training and the Commander usually tries to kill us physically. Training ended up being a GREAT day of repelling and not alot of physical stuff. The one thing that sucks though is the Commander knows I am a runner, so when there was a need for a runner to run the course with the guys trying out, then he calls on me. I ended up running about 1.5 total yesterday in full SWAT gear with the guys trying out for the team. Nothing fast, but at least it was alitle mileage added to the weekly total. This mileage was in combat boots and about 30 extra pounds too!!! Today rolled around and the alarm went off at 6:30am. I shut it off and went right back to sleep. My daughter had us up at 3am throwing up with a stomach bug, so there was no way I was getting up early and running. When I finally got out of bed at 10am, I seen it was a beautiful and cool day outside. I laid around for awhile and felt guilty for not running my scheduled 8 miles. So I finally got up and got to it. My son rode his bike the whole way with me. I ended my 8 miles with a 9:23/mile pace. Not too bad!!! I didn't want to run too fast and risk my shins hurting more. I think my son was hurting more than I was by the end of the 8 miles. Surprisingly, I felt great after my 8 miles and I don't have any aches or pains (not yet at least). I am 2.5 short from my planned 20 miles this week, so I will probably get them in tomorrow afternoon. I hope to get 22 miles next week with a 10 mile run to end the week on Saturday.

Happy running to all and hopefully see some of you soon at a race!!!