Looking Forward to a great 2011

Just logged a weekly total (January 1st being last week of the 2010 running week/year) of 10.05 miles. A paltry small number compared to what I used to do, but that was then...

This number, though, for me represents a commitment to take small steps to consciously better myself physically, mentally, and spiritually this New Year.

Plans for Big Sur Half Marathon, Nov. 15

I've been running now for several months, building enough running base to aim for some running goal before the year's end. So I've decided on running in this November 15th's Big Sur Half Marathon that's held in Monterey Bay. If training goes well enough, I'll continue to up my milage and we'll see what transpires.

As usual, I'll keep track of my running on the linked Google Calendar on this blog.

Pushing the Limits

Been pushing (for me) a fairly aggressive running schedule, pressing into the + 5 miles distances. Felt visibly weaker today after running 5.47 miles--after having already run Tuesday (5.01 mi.) and Wednesday (3.75 mi.). Time and temperature are working out great in the mornings. Will try to back off on the manly desire to increase more, more, more--and stick to the pre-marathon training plan: Tue (3 mi.), Wed (4 mi.), Thur (4 mi.), Sat (4 mi.) and Sun (6 mi.), carried forth for about four to five weeks. Next week I think I'll be prepared to make that happen--and reach that six mile mark next Sunday!

Best run in a long time

The incremental training is paying off. Was able to add another 10 minutes to my existing top time and I cranked out 1:00:33 (one hour 33 seconds), running 4.9 miles. I'll back off on tomorrow's run, bike Monday, then pick back up running three days.

Ran today, very tired

As the summer months begin to warm up, I'm trying to get in some running experience in the later mornings. Today I started off in 80 degree weather at 11:30 AM, and when I finished (about 50 minutes later) the temp had climbed to 84. Of course I drank a lot of water at the end, even downing a few cups of cytomax drink (which works better for me than gatoraid) to help with recovery.

Still tired, but there's a deep sense of accomplishment. Cardio conditioning is improving, but acclimating to the warmth is going to take some time . . . and a lot of water.

A really great kick-butt Bike ride

Recently I've been combining my running with cross-training days for biking. Each sport compliments the other as long as one does not over do it. Anyway, today's morning bike ride was really fun, was able to keep a good pace and still not feel real winded.

An unexpected surprise was stopping at a road-side cherry stand on the way back. One of my friends bought a container of the juicy red cherries, and the owner handed out a handful to us all to have a few. Delicious. As my conditioning improves (and I'm already seeing and feeling the results), these bike rides will get better and better!

Ongoing Exercise tracked on Google Calendar

Rather than taking up a lot of room on this blog, I've created an Athletic Schedule on Google Calendar, also located on the right side bar of this blog, to track my exercise progress. I'm switching in to a pretty serious training mode--one to build back up endurance, and--two--to also shed some weight I gained over the Winter season.