Week One update!!

So now Kris and I have been on our 90 day get back in shape program for a week and things are going along really good, or that is the answer if you ask me. For her side of the story you might want to check out her blog. My Adventures In Training, Racing and Life

We have actually been really busy for the past week but we also managed to get in most of our workouts.

Wednesday 1/20 - ALARC Core Class - 90 minutes
Thursday 1/21 - LTF Kickboxing Class - 60 minutes
Saturday 1/23 - Securian Frozen 5K - 29:17
Monday 1/25 - ALARC Core Class - 90 minutes
Tuesday 1/26 - Spinning - 30 minutes

During the first phase of our plan we are on a set calorie limit and we are not allocating additional calories for anything that we burn during workouts. Later on we will compensate for the workouts but for now it is a little strict which does get tough at times but apparently it is working.

Other than being hungry most of the time I have felt really good the past week. I have had my low energy moments but I have also had plenty of high bouncing off the wall moments as well. I know these times bother Kris a bit especially during workouts, but I can not explain them. During workouts and when I am in really high energy mode I can tell that I am drawing this "energy" from my reserves which is a good thing.

On Wednesday morning I got on the scale and I was down 6.5 pounds for the week. I certainly do not expect that high of a number next week as my body will adjust to the new diet a bit, (If you have ever seen the results of week 2 on the Biggest Loser you will know what I am talking about) Additionally this week is going to be a little less in the work out category and we are traveling to Milwaukee this weekend for the 2010 Great Lakes Multisport, Cycling and Running Expo, and traveling is always poses difficulties for a diet.

During the weekend at the Expo Kris and I are going to be networking with as many race and event directors as possible to try to line up more accounts for ZapEvent where I have just taken on a new part time sales job, which I am really excited about. But the trip is not going to be all work, we are planning a bit of fun as well. We decided to add a 5K race to the schedule this weekend that is in conjunction with the expo, the InStep Winter Series 5K Championships, another fun 5K, but I will push for a bit faster than last week. ;) Additionally we will be doing some geocaching in the Milwaukee area and you can read about that over on our joint blog, A Life More Complete, but I will give a heads up to any Milwaukee geocachers that we plan on dropping 1 or 2 of our 2010 Coffee Love Pathtag. I am really looking forward to this weekend; it is shaping up to be a lot of fun.

So, 90 Day rewind:

Current Weight - 185.5 lbs.

Weight lost this week - 6.5 lbs.

Total weight lost - 6.5 lbs.

Next up: MultiSport Expo and 5k review.

Race Review – Securian Frozen 5K

This past weekend was the Securian Frozen 5K & Half Marathon, one of my favorites and a race that holds personal signifigance for me as it was my first half marathon two years ago

I knew that based on the weather conditions leading up to the race and the forecast for race morning, we were going to add a new chapter to my history with this race.

Two years ago when I ran the race for the first time, the half marathon distance, the weather was generally very nice, mid 20’s and cloudy. Last year it boarded on the extreme edge of running conditions, -15 degrees with wind chills in the -20’s. I originally signed up for just the 5K distance as I was not in race shape for a half marathon but because of the cold the half was shortened to about a 10K, which I could manage.

This year as we drove to downtown St. Paul with the hint of sleet in the air, temps were in the upper twenties and it was generally wet with a cold breeze from the east. I think for the most part we were lucky as later in the day it was straight up raining, in the middle of January.

At the back of the start line.

If you’re not familiar with this race it starts in downtown St. Paul at the Secuian Plaza on Jackson street and heads down to the river, it is basically then just an out and back along Sheppard road, with the 5K turning at the high bridge and the half marathon turning at Cleveland Ave. The only tough part of the course is at about 4 blocks from the finish line when you have to climb up the hill on Jackson St. from the river to get back to the finish line.

Kris high-fiving the catapiller runners.

Since we are concentrating on shorter distances and speed in 2010, we decided to run just the 5K and use it as an early season starter, not supposed to be fast but I was encouraging a little faster pace. As the race started we crossed the line at 35 seconds. We were actually the very back of the starting group. The first mile by far was the slowest; specify because of race traffic and by the time we passed the first mile we were able to pick up the pace a little. Mile 1 to 2 was our fastest mile, based solely on feel as somewhere or another I managed to lose my watch; it feels a little weird running without it. I could tell that we were slowing down a little during the last mile and I was doing a little pulling to keep up the pace, especially up the final hill. We crossed the finish line at 29:52 for a race time of 29:17 and a pace of 9:27; which surprised Kris a bit as she didn’t think we were going that fast.

That says 29:52 on the clock behind Kris

This is one of those fun races that I suggest everyone try at least once. First off it is a great off season race even if you not a big cold weather runner. Second, the Securian gives out great swag, every finisher gets a nice ceramic coffee cup, this year it was a big hot chocolate style mug. The shirts for the race are always an additional cost but the designs/logos/slogans are always very cool, and being available as a technical or cotton long sleeve make the extra cost worth it. This year they even had a cool looking stocking cap. The third reason to do this race is that it is very well run and has a very festive feel to as, partially because it is part of the Winter Carnival.

We ran into Dave Ryan after the race getting some Caribou Coffee.

And of course we had to get a picture with the mascot.

Next up: Yukon Days Winter Run on Feb 6th

2010 Goals and the next 90 Days!

Irony is setting a New Year’s resolution to stay current and blog more often in 2010 and then not publish a blog proclaiming that resolution and then waiting until the 20th of January to post my first blog of the year. Sigh… Hopefully I am back on track and will keep moving forward.

First a few housekeeping issues:

1) My New Year’s resolution for 2010 is to stay up to date and publish more often on my blog.

2) I am planning a 2009 in review Blog and I hope that I can post that within a week.

OK, on to today’s main topic.

2010 is shaping up to potentially be a banner year for me on several fronts; relationship, financially and with a little luck the job front and well. Some of those items will be covered in my other blog that Kris and I write together, “A Life More Complete”. I invite you to take a look and see what we are up too when we are not racing or training, which is the subject matter for this blog.

When it comes to the fitness, racing, running, triathlon, multisport front, we have now pretty much nailed down our schedule for the year race wise, and we are now putting together the specifics of our training schedule. From a 10,000 foot view 2010 is shaping like this:

Jan 20th – April 20th: will be our 90 day get back into shape for the season and I will explain the 90 day thing in a minute.

April – June: will be focused on running speed with our goal “A” race being William A Irvin 5K where we both hope to set new 5K PR and in particular, my goal will be a sub 20 minute 5K.

June – mid September: We switch to the multisport side of things and work on our speed during Sprint Triathlons & Duathlons, with the final race being a strange mix of speed and endurance at Burrito Union 10 Hour Triathlon as a two person relay team. (One of us completes a full sprint triathlon and then the second person starts the “next leg”, another full sprint triathlon on the same course, and then we alternate until the cut of time 10 hours later.

September- December: Will see us switching back to running but in an endurance mode with plans to run the New York Marathon (I already have a lottery entry and Kris is trying for this year) in November, Las Vegas Rock & Roll Marathon in December and then after the first of the year, Goofy’s Challenge – Half Marathon on Saturday and Full Marathon on Sunday at Disneyland.

It is going to be a full year! Not only with our race schedule but we are also adding new components, winter sports (XC Ski and Snowshoe), Trail Running, Orienteering and Adventure racing as well. I will be updating our race schedule on the right side of the screen in the next few days as well.

OK, so now you might be wondering what the 90 day thing is all about. You may or may not know that on April 20th I will be turning 40, and I have always hoped to be in the best shape of my life on my 40th birthday. A few years ago life was much different and I had packed on the pounds, I think my unofficial max weight was 240. July 5th 2007 ended up being a significant date as it was then that I realized how out of shape I had become, funny how you can look at a picture and suddenly see yourself in a completely different light. Starting Aug 2007, I managed to lose close to 60 pounds and discovered my love of running and being active.

So now I feel that I am in good shape, was probably at my peak last year around the time of Race the Lake and the Minneapolis Duathlon. But as with any off season, you slide back a bit and loose that edge. So to kick start our 2010 season and achieve my goal of being in the best shape of my life on my 40th birthday, we (Kris is joining me in the endeavor) are planning on the next 90 days to diet, exercise and getting ready to start the season in top shape.

Since I started getting back in shape, I firmly believed in accountability, and they best way to be held accountable is to publicly state your goals. I did this with my first half marathon and then again with my first marathon. And keeping in that light, I am going to post my current “state of the body” and my goal for April 20th. So here is my current information:

Current Weight: 192lbs

I don’t have any particular goals for the measurements, those are just interesting benchmarks; my major goal is my weight. The plan is to be down to 170lbs, lean and a low body fat percentage and I am hoping that for my birthday to conduct a V2O Max and a new Bod Pod testing for body composition for additional benchmarks going forward.

So how do I (we) get from here to there in 90 days? We have joined ALARC and are attending their Speed & Core class; the classes are on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday morning, which we plan on attending 2 sessions a week. We have also found a different Masters Swim group that is at 6-7am Wednesday and Friday. As much as we both love Scott’s Hopkins Masters group, the 5:30 is just too early for us and the 6:30 is just a little too late before work. We are also going to be on a diet and closely track what we eat with Livestrong.com’s Daily Plate.

We have already started getting back out and running this past weekend and our first race, just for fun, is this coming Saturday, the Securian Frozen 5K. A great swag race as they give out a nice coffee cup for finishing the race.

Wish me luck! I will continue to keep you informed of my progress and I hope that by reading this you will hold me accountable to my goals. 2010 is going to be a great year!!