Bloomsday Training Sucks!

My preparation for Bloomsday is not going well. I do not seem to have any endurance and can barely run a mile. I simply have no breathe and my legs scream for oxygen. Until I stop running. Then, I seem to recover in no time and I'm fine. That has got me thinking there may be a cardiac element involved with my training disfunction. I have an appointment to see my Cardiologist on Friday.



I experience no chest pain or any of the other related symptoms concerning heart problems. I just have no stamina.

So, I have been walking and including some hills and I have been riding my bike. Other than being out of shape for those activities too, I'm not suffering the stamina problem. I seem to be able to walk for as long as I want.

Still Fat, but Working On It

I have kept my promise to stay away from fast food. It's been a week and a half now. I have also kept my promise to exercise. I have been riding my bike to work. I have been running. The runs have been only a mile, and a huge struggle. They continue to be a work in progress. Suffice it to say that Bloomsday will be ugly this year and I will be lucky to make my 1:45:00 goal.

I have not kept my promise to go to the Club. I had other issues that have prevented my attendance. Nonetheless, I am happy with my efforts even though they have not produced any results. Again, I will just keep trying.

And now I need to hope that the coming rain will hold off long enough for me to ride my bike back home.

Finally Had Enough

It seems that I have finally reached the point where I am disgusted enough with myself that I willing to make some changes and work to get my fat ass in shape. I opted out of running most of last week and did yard work instead. Well, that is not a valid trade off. I got a lot of work done in the yard but I still have a lot of junk in my trunk. Or more precisely, ma bellie. (You have to say those two words with an Irish accent like Fat Bastard)

One of the things that finally sent me over to the health side is my continued payment of membership dues to a club that I do not attend. It is embarrassing how much I pay for the honor of never going there. If I was smart, I could have figured out many hundreds of dollars ago that I could not go there for a lot less!

So tonight, I went to the club. I got on the cross country trainer for 20 minutes and I got on a treadmill for thirty minutes. I did a little lifting and then I retired to the steam bath. That made it all worth it.

Another item I have added to my health regimen this week is to stay away from fast food. I eat crap almost every day and that has to stop. Not only will I have more money for beer, but I will get better nutrition if I make my own sandwiches.

So far, I have made it one day. That is close to a record for me as far as goal setting.

Endurance Deprived

I didn't ride the bike today because I slept too long. It's a pretty lame excuse as I could have caught the next bus and still arrived at work before starting time. I just didn't have my heart into it and there are a couple of errands I can run at lunchtime.

I made the mile around the park last night in 12:16, but not before I stopped and walked. Then I would get my breath back and I ran at a much faster pace than I normally do. I did that, starting and stopping the last half mile, until I finished. I have to get that endurance up.

I can tell from riding the bike that I am waaaaaaaaay outta shape for that activity too. we'll see how I feel in a couple of weeks.

Bikin' Again but God is Pissed

Today was my triumphant return to riding my bike to work. Well, triumphant isn't the right word. Um...maybe glorious...no, not that word either. How about "colderthanshit". That's a more appropriate word.

But it was triumphant in that I did actually do it and I arrived at work in a safe and timely manner. I have some work to do to get my bicycling legs back. I really felt the burn on more than a couple of hills or even slight inclines. Or even downhill grades with the wind at my back.

I really have to keep an eye on this situation. I seem to have no endurance at all. It has frustrated me on my runs and it felt a bit frustrating today on my ride. There is no chest pain involved so I don't think it is heart related. It is probably FAT related.

The official weigh-in is coming up on Saturday to see how I did on losing my ten pounds over Lent. I can tell you now that as of last Saturday, I had gained six pounds from my starting point. I haven't been very devoted to God during this process.

As cold as it was this morning, you would think I would have gotten the hint that my pants were unzipped. But Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! It took me until I was at work for half an hour before I noticed a breeze.

Mr Helpful Can't Run

It was trying to rain when I started out on my run. It never really kicked in and neither did the run. I was struggling to make it to the half mile mark before I quit. I made it and urged myself on to the end of the next block but gave up. My legs were really hurting and starting to cramp. I could feel the very beginnings of shin splints coming on too.

So I was walking along feeling disgusted with my efforts when I came upon these two ladies hauling a could into a house. They were at the door and having problems fitting it through. I offered to help and they gladly accepted. It was a Mom and daughter and the Mom was well into her sixties.

We got through the door with relatively little trouble and then I continued on my way, feeling like I had accomplished something on my run. I tried a couple more times to resume the pace but my legs would have none of it.

I made the mile in fifteen minutes and was glad to be done with it.

Snow Run

Tonight was a better run. I made the mile, the whole mile and I did it in 11:53. Plus, I did it while it was snowing. Not that the snow stuck. The pavement was wet but not white. That would have made it even harder to complete and I probably wouldn't have done it and then I wouldn't be writing this...now would I!