Year in Review

Well, as the year draws to a close, its time to look back.  It has definitely been one hell of a year!  Lets look at the Annual Mileage:



According to Daily Mile - 352 miles is what I ran this year.  I don't think that is all that bad considering over 6 months of that was spent NOT running!  I do have to admit, my goal was a bit.. higher.  Since I am both starting and ending the year able to run, I'm not going to spend any time complaining about the mileage in the middle!

[caption id="attachment_1056" align="alignleft" width="176"] Running in the cold![/caption]

January - Probably the most remarkable aspect of the year's beginning - is I ran outside!  No treadmill, just the road, layers of clothes and me.  In the interest of Honesty, I do have to admit that my first run of the year in upstate NY was 50 degrees...  Mother nature made up for it, with my 12 degree run 3 days later...  I also got my fantastic Angry Birds hat.   I logged 46 miles.

Janathon... To do or not to do.. THAT Is the question.

[caption id="attachment_2016" align="alignright" width="200"] To Janathon, or not Janathon. THAT is the question.[/caption]

So I was going through the wordpress blogs under the "Running" category - and found Lengthorn's Blog about Janathon. It seems back in 2007 a a blogger came up with "Junathon,"  which expanded into Janathon in 2011.

So what is Janathon? Simple, you run every day and blog within 24 hours about it.  Now, I think anyone who has blogged in the running community for over a week has seen countless different "run every day in a month/week/year" blogging groups and thought they were idiots about joining one.  This one is not a  competition with prizes (Although it seems Junathon was when it began,) but simply a group of people agreeing to do it - and supporting  one another.

I have thought about these, but I only ever seem to find out about them after they are already started, and while the "rules" of this one say you can start even part way through - I think the whole time period would be much cooler than jumping in at the end.

Janathon is nice also, in that it doesn't require running every day - but just some form of exercise.   In addition, you also get to display the cool badge to the right (but without the question marks. I added those since I haven't decided whether or not to run it.) to display on your blog.

I'm on the fence, but thinking that I will do this.. I have plenty of time to decide after all - the beginning is only 2 days away..

Stupid jeans.

The dryer shrunk my jeans....  How many of you have said this at some point?

Well, over the last 5 years or so, I have... umm.. gained in awesomeness (around the waist primarily) which has led to several of my favorite pairs of jeans not fitting.  Now most guys would simply get bigger ones, rub their belly and move on.  But you see, I bought these at the Salvation Army in Corning NY for a song.  They are name brand ones from (kinda name brand) Aeropostale up to Abercrombie and Fitch.  (Yes, I own a pair of Abercrombie jeans.  I paid 6 dollars for them.)  They sit in the side of my closet, and I periodically tell them that some day - I'll be back for them.

I post things here like "I want to lose 25 pounds next year" - but what I'm really saying - is that I want to be skinny and able to wear my skinny-jeans again.

New Years Resolutions

[caption id="attachment_1986" align="alignright" width="193"] 2291 Calories right here - Xmas dinner. That doesn't count seconds. Or More wine. Or dessert.[/caption]

I have always found News Years resolutions to be a bit... Annoying.  In one way, it makes an immense amount of sense.  What better time to have a "new beginning"  - than an actual new beginning?  Personally, I see some major flaws in that idea.  We have just finished our most gluttonous time of the year.  We (on average) in America put on two pounds of weight - on Christmas day alone.  This doesn't even consider all the Christmas Cookies (Yum! Peanut Butter Blossoms!), The Candy, the office parties or left overs. Then 7 days later, we move into New Years Eve.  Another day dedicated to gluttony.  We eat more horrible-for-us food, and wash it down with an endless supply of alcohol.   Do you realize how many calories are in most alcoholic drinks?  Miller Lite is on the low side of the calorie count (And taste count) at 96 calories per can.  Sierra Nevada Pale Ale moves up to 175, and Pit of Guinness (mind you all the previous drinks have only been 12 oz) is 210 Calories!  Wine, isn't much better with a 6 oz glass of Merlot (147 calories), Riesling ( 144 Calories) or Champagne (159 for 6 oz) still leave you with high calorie counts in a several hour party.

I actually didn't mean for this post to turn into a calorie-intake posting!  Woops!

So Christmas has come and gone...

Christmas was here and visited with its mass amounts of children's toys - and has moved on!This has affected my running (And my weight), but I can't complain - only two pounds up.

We headed up to my folks (apparently its now "The Neidhardt Center" - and I had every single intent of running up there. Honestly.  I even posted on Facebook that I was going to - so that means it has to be true (Everything on the internet is true right?)  The family was definitely happy to see each other!

[caption id="attachment_1970" align="aligncenter" width="490"] Sigh. Gotta love Gramma.[/caption]

But (don't all the best excuses for why we didn't run - start with "But?") with all of the "Must See" people - it wasn't meant to be. Saturday and Sunday were reserved for the final Christmas Shopping, with my son's Maryland State Boychoir Concerts on Saturday and Sunday.

Treadmill Speed Work (I'm too dumb for the Kinect.)

Every now and then, something happens that opens my eyes.  Yesterday's recurring theme was speed-work.  Half-athoner mentioned it in a blog posting I read and responded too.  My friend Jeremy (he doesn't have a blog) and I talked about it on Facebook.

[caption id="attachment_1965" align="alignleft" width="298"] My feet at 9 mph.[/caption]

After a while (and in re-reading the Curvy RoadRunners Treadmill Workout From Hell), it occurred to me that I didn't have any speedwork going on.  Bad enough I am being lazy cautious and keeping my speed down, and only increasing it by .1 mph a week - but no speed work?  How is that going to make me any faster?  As I thought about it, I also realized that with this workout, I can't watch TV - so I don't have to worry about the fact that I haven't made a choice on a new show to watch while running.

So, off I went.  I figured I'd start slower to let my legs get warmed up.

Christmas Running Survey

I love Christmas.. This means that when Half-athoner posted her Christmas Running Survey, I couldn't resist bringing it here!

1.Favorite Christmas Album/CD/Song? Totally Cheating with my response.  But I am partial to my Youtube Channel of my son's last Boychoir - the Parlor City Boy's Chorus (Ignore this years band/orchestra entries.. those are a bit painful)- it has some great Christmas Music!  The most amazing one is Hope for Resolution that was done with the Binghamton Madrigal Choir.  It is, to this day, the most amazing musical experience of my life.  (My son is the third from the left in the first row)  The true amazingness starts at around 5:0o in - but to get the whole experience you need to see it all (or at least start at 2:30)

2.Run on Christmas morning or take the day off? Run. I hope. Though I don't think it will be in the morning.

3.What do you usually eat on Christmas morning? Too much.  My mother makes a breakfast ring that is really a cinnamon roll in a different form.  We have that, sausage balls and usually fruit.

Other great blogs

Today I'm going to post a little differently than normal. I thought it might be fun to stop and look at some other blogs I read.

While she is on a post-marathon, going into the holidays Hiatus right now, I truely enjoy reading "The Curvy Roadrunner."  She has been an inspiration to read, when I first started following her blog back in 2010, she was doing 5ks.  This year in October, she was on the starting line for the Marine Corps Marathon.   She is a great inspiration, especially if you are worried that you CANT be a runner!

To Jump over to one of those blogspot bloggers, Caution Red Head Running is a great read!  She is definitely a far better runner than I!  She unfortunately suffered a stress fracture, and continued to blog, discussing the aggravation and how she dealt with it.  Reading her story, and how she kept her eye on the goal at the end - someday being able to run again  - kept me checking back every day to see what the latest was.  She chronicles the ongoing items in her life - from her injuries, to her wedding and even discussing her husband (also a runner.)  Oh, and she got to run to the Eiffel tower in Paris while on her honeymoon. How cool is that?

The Running Sunflower is a blogger out in New Mexico, that has a very REAL way of writing.  When you read her blog, you can't help but get where she is coming from.

Many of the blogs I used to read have really ramped down unfortunately.  Will Run For Maragaritas used to post regularly, but lately has mostly been guest posts.  I suspect that since getting her dream-job for Brooks, she is simply to busy!  The guest posts are still good.  The Running Thriver has been quiet since she ran "the Ultra Beast" - but I suspect she will be back before too long.

Mom Runs Faster than Dad (like you don't want to read this one - just because of the name) has a great facebook page, although there haven't been many updates on the blog itself.

Blogs I have just started reading - the Half-athoner - Who has chronicled her journey from a walker, to her first half marathon (Disney last year) and her goals toward more Half Marathons!  Not only is she interesting, but funny as well!  Randy Sandberg is out there trying out the Hal Higdon Plans - while posting some great inspiration pictures.  I also just started reading kates Fantastic queen sized bed

On a total not-running type of blog, I am just started reading "So I went Undercover" -  It seems her husband's Ex-Wife found her previous blog and was threatening legal action, so she had to stop blogging.  Well, she couldn't give up the addiction so she has "gone undercover."

Peanut... Peanut butter! Blossoms!

[caption id="attachment_1940" align="alignright" width="280"] Picture from Hersey's Website[/caption]

Ok, Seriously.  I think the person that invented Peanut Blossoms was attempting to figure out how to give people the same warm feeling inside as THAT activity (if you know what I mean.)   I totally think they came as close as humanly possible.

Everyone loves a peanut butter cup - but somehow with these delectable cookies, you get the joy of peanut butter AND chocolate - combined into a wonderful treat that takes multiple bites to eat (multiple bites extends the enjoyment time!)  To top it off, they are ever so easy to make!

I may have mentioned a few times (and I'm sure I will mention it many more times as well,)  But my son is in the Maryland State Boychoir.  One of the things that my ever-so-lucky child gets out of this, is a 9 day cruise to the Bahamas where they are performing.  THis doesn't come cheaply of course.  Well, they offer various opportunities to help make a little bit of money toward the cost of the tour (anyone want to buy a raffle ticket?) - one of which was being able to bake cookies that could be sold at the concert. 

Racing in 2013

Looks like it is going to be a GREAT day!  I checked my email this morning, while laying in the warm comfort of my own bed, and found this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Once and Future Runner (obviously I changed this):

Congratulations! You have been chosen in the lottery and are officially registered for the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run on April 7, 2013. We are looking forward to a spectacular day in the Nation's Capital.

If you haven't already, you'll receive an additional email from Marathonguide.com, our registration provider, outlining your credit card charges. Please note that the charges will show as being from "Marathonguide.com" on your statement.

If you did not enroll in our free ten-week Online Virtual Training Program for the 10 mile or our On-site Training Program hosted by Potomac River Running, you will have an opportunity to sign up in January.

No Additional Purchases
During registration you did not opt to purchase the shirt upgrade, finisher medal or packet delivery. You may still add a shirt upgrade, medal or packet delivery to your registration by visiting the Purchase Additional Items Form.

There was obviously more to the Email, but it seemed silly to post the whole thing.  But, this has confirmed that I WILL be racing in 2013, come hell or high water!  It also means, I need to figure out what I my race schedule is going to look like this coming year. 

Disaster strikes (no, not that)

Last night, a true disaster occured.  Before I go further into it, let me reassure you - I am not injured so its not THAT sort of disaster.

I was running on my treadmill after deciding that five miles in my Sauconys would be nice, watching Battlestar Galactica on the tablet... And then.. It happened.  I suddenly realized, I didn't really care what happened.   It seems I have over-done it on the show, and I am sick of it.  I must have felt it coming on as I wasn't as excited as usual to get running.  Now, I am faced with the disaster of not knowing what to watch while I run.



You see my friend, if I don't have something engaging to watch - then it goes back to being the "Dread Mill."  My warmup, five-mile run and cool down will be come the longest hour of my day. IT might even be longer than that last hour, spent tossing and turning in bed just wishing I could sleep.

This is where you, my friends and readers come in.  Please, help suggest shows that I can watch on Netflix/Hulu to stave of the eternal boredom that a treadmill represents!

The pig has awoken and put on his Vibram Five Fingers again.

[caption id="attachment_1911" align="alignleft" width="300"] Too tired to run.. or move.. gimme some pizza.[/caption]

So, here we are past the hump day and on the down ward slide to the weekend.  (Yay Weekend!!!!!!!)  I am afraid that I have to admit something.   Despite the best of intentions,  I didn't get back to running until Weds.  While this may not seem like a big deal - it means that I took FOUR Days off in a row.

I feel like a slovenly pig.

While I know its impossible to add 10 pounds of fat in 4 days (and my scale says it didn't happen,) I certainly feel like it. I used to like just sitting around doing nothing - but last night while resting right after dinner (I have to wait about 30-60 minutes before I run after a meal), I felt horrible. I knew that I hadn't r

(And here it comes....) I've been exhausted - not sleeping at night, tossing and turning, etc.

[caption id="attachment_1913" align="alignright" width="225"] I think I have these standing poses down well.[/caption]

I don't use this as an excuse, it's just... well.. an excuse. Last night I admitted that to myself, grabbed my tablet (yay Battlestar Galactica!) and hopped on the treadmill.  I had previously  decided that my next run was going to be back in my Vibram Five Fingers.  In the interest of avoiding "too much too soon," this meant I was going to be taking a short run, which was probably a wise move after so many days off.Once my feet started moving... I wanted to go for miles and miles. My right calf was a little tight in the VFFs, but the knee pain was (unsurprisingly yet happily) missing.  I started talking myself into maybe doing 3 miles instead of 2.. After all, 3 isn't that far - right?  

Blogger in Binghamton... And some other stuff.

What an odd week. This morning's bizarreness started (not counting the odd dreams) with reading the morning blogs... Not unusual - except one of them actually mentioned my old home town - Binghamton, NY - and the Santa Run 5K that I would have run had I still been living there (it was totally worth missing it - to be living in a better place!) IT seems "fueledbylolz" had driven down there - Crazy!

[caption id="attachment_1895" align="alignright" width="300"] fueledbylolz is in the pink - Picture courtesy (stolen from) Vince Kelly - posted on TCRC Facebook page[/caption]

Did a total double take as I had been reading about the race on Facebook, and looking through the pictures of the race! One cool part - I was able to post a link to two pictures of her running from the Triple Cities Running Club face book page.

I expect to see my friends posting about the formerly "local" races - but not another blogger!  Awesome!  This picture was actually taken about 5 houses down from where I lived.  All she would have to do is take a quick right and she could go say "Hi" to the people who bought my house!   Small world!

Mr. Potato Head.

Getting out of work early means I can get some of that exercising in BEFORE it is 8 o'clock at night!  Now really, I don't mind (most days) working out at night.. its kind of nice to exercise and do yoga (followed by a MUCH needed shower of course) to end the day out.  It really does let me go to bed stress-free. (Well, except when my wife was hoping for a back rub, and the reason she didn't get one was the treadmill and yoga...)

[caption id="attachment_1888" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Random Picture - with a Random Fact![/caption]

I decided I wanted to see if the Yoga was making any immediate difference.  As you are no doubt aware, I have been using it to stretch out after my runs.  Last night, I didn't. I did my usual calf-stretch, but immediately jumped through the shower afterwards - no Yoga in sight. 

An influential person, running on a treadmill

[caption id="attachment_1794" align="alignleft" width="300"] If the treadmill is good enough for George Jetson and Astro...[/caption]

Last night I got four miles in on the treadmill.  I have been running at 6 mph, with a goal of limiting the pain to my feet.  This seems to be working pretty well, but as I train toward longer and better things I don't want to be doing it at a ten minute mile.  As such, I am increasing the treadmill speed, I have gone up .1 mph per week  for two weeks.  (For the math challenged that is up to 6.2 mph.)  I have also been running exclusively in my Sauconys, also with the goal of limiting foot pain.  This has led to some slight knee pain, though not much. 

Calories

I happen to work next to a Dunkin Donuts.. This has been very convenient (I love coffee), and not nearly as dangerous as I had feared - as long as I bring food with me.  On those days that I have forgotten to bring my greek yogurt, or that I have run out... Its dangerous.

Today is one of those days.  As such, I took a look at their nutrional information before heading over.   I find myself staring at a very definite first world issue, but an issue none the less.  The calorie count.



I think the hardest part of this issue - is that consistency doesn't exist.  What I mean by that - is it is impossible to guess calories on foods - unless you do use a tool like "Myfitnesspal" or "fatsecret" - in which case you aren't guessing anymore.  But back to the donut.

Half way there

Its a milestone we use for so many different endeavors.  When it comes to the work week, we have hump-day, our weekly celebration that we are closer to the coming weekend.  For longer runs, knowing we have passed that half way marker gives us our sense of accomplishing our goal.  If its a rough day, it might even be a sign that we might even finish it!

Happy hump day my friends!  You are halfway there and you can make it!

Sometimes, it only takes one person to believe

Other peoples' stories can be a great source of inspiration.

[caption id="attachment_1780" align="aligncenter" width="568"] Arthur Boorman's Amazing Transformation[/caption]

Some Articles:
Muscle and Fitness Magazine
Huffington Post
Fox News

Monday is Rest day.. Because Mondays aren't bad enough!

So monday is my standard rest day.  Once upon a time, this was simply so I wouldn't have to get up early on Mondays.  My thought was that they were bad enough due to the start of the work week - why make it worse with less sleep?

Since I do the majority of my working out now in the evening, this is obviously not a reason.   In fact, I have to admit that NOT working out, usually lowers the quality of the day on the Bad-------------------------------------Good scale.     The thing is - Mondays remain non-stop running.    In fact, the day runs so hard (which is why I don't) that I have to leave work early in order to get my son up to the Maryland State Boychoir practice in Baltimore!  The kids love it, as it becomes a "Junk Food" dinner - as we do takeout from some where.

Do you have a chosen rest day?  Is it due to scheduling reasons, or some other factor?

Productive Weekend!

Not a bad weekend, especially running-wise, although it was all treadmill based running.

Friday evening I hoped on the treadmill and turned my Battlestar Gallactica on.. Well, it seems it was a season premiere - so it was not the usual 35 minutes in length.  After watching the first half, I decided I wanted to see the whole episode, so my nice 2 mile run turned into a 5 miler!  I will be honest with you (after all, this is the internet and everything on the internet has to be true) - it was not just the show.  I also wanted to see if I still COULD run five miles.  Not only did I run it, but I wanted to go further.  discretion being the better part of valor - I did not.  (That and the fact I was fairly certain walking was going to be a problem on saturday, simply from being a moron and running 5 miles instead of the usual 2.)

I went up stairs and did the first 20 minutes of the Yoga program, just to stretch everything out.   I am VERY happy to report, that I had no out of the ordinary tightness the next day!  GO YOGA! I put out another 3 miles on saturday, followed by a brief stint of yoga afterwords (my wife walked by and accidentally kicked me... Combined with my being a bit self-conscious about doing yoga in front of her