Tabata is trying to kill me

I had visions of doing my Tabata routine and running a fast mile or two this morning.  Instead I did my Tabata routine and then lay on the couch feeling awful for 10 minutes or so.  I decided to go with 5 minutes of ab work and I’ll go for a run tomorrow.

Tabata went okay I guess I was able to do at least 1 pullup for all 8 sets.  As before the prisoner squats were no problem and I did *most* of the pushups. (first 4 sets complete – last 4 sets increasingly bad).

I think I’m on track to lose at least 5 pounds since last week at my WW weigh in tomorrow night!

Running Again

I went out for a ~3.7 mile run this morning.  It went pretty well although I seem to have a bit of a cold.  I actually made quite good time for my first run back, about 30 minutes.  I’m going to start back on strength training tomorrow and I’m considering doing a 1 or 2 mile fast run as well.  I’ll be putting together some sort of training schedule in the next week or so to keep me motivated and to post on the page. 

On the weight side of things I’m doing pretty well following the WW program this week – I believe I’m on track to be down by around 3 pounds.  I hope to be down to my goal weight (although I’m not sure what that is) before Christmas.

Getting back on that horse

I went for my first post half marathon run today.  Only 20 minutes, but it was nice to run again.  I learned that I’m far from completely recovered.  Just because I don’t hurt walking doesn’t mean I’ve regained the oomph to go out and run an hour.  I think I’m going to wait until Monday for my next run – take the whole weekend to heal a bit more.

Piddling Around

I think I’ve about recovered (finally) I’m going to try an easy run tomorrow morning and see how it goes.  I’ve also changed my weight loss page to just track Wednesdays and go in reverse chronological order.  I’m tracking my morning weight and my weigh in at Weight Watchers.

I was shocked to see I had a new record for viewers yesterday… 18!

Thanks for reading whoever you are.  Feel free to leave comments.

Still Recovering

Ouch.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so sore from running a race.  Level walking and going up stairs is okay, but going down is nearly impossible.  I toughed it out yesterday, but today I think I’m going to take the elevator down.

I was hoping to run tomorrow, but it might be Thursday or Friday before I get back on that horse (just a short 10 – 20 minute run).

Wow, I ran a half-marathon!

Yesterday was the day – I can now say that I have successfully completed a half marathon.  Highlights first and then details.  I came in 34th out of 75 runners with a time of 1:55:13 (8:48 pace) which was of course almost 5 minutes faster than my goal of 2 hours!

I started my day at 5:45 because the race was about an hour away and began at 7:30.  For breakfast I had a couple pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a cup of coffee.  Conditions were a little chilly, but I’d rather it be cold than hot.  I arrived about 10 minutes before the start and had to run to the start line about a mile away so it was more like a 14 mile race in that regard. 

The course was beautiful, the leaves are about at the peak of changing color and it was a run through a largely rural area.  I was surprised at the number and length of the hills though.  I believe that miles 4 through 6 were all up a steep hill. 

I really didn’t have any trouble until about mile 12 when I started feeling I just couldn’t run any farther.  I kept it up although my speed did drop a bit.  My last mile was probably at about 9:30 pace or so.  I wolfed down some cookies and coffee at the finish and had a celebratory Chipotle lunch at 11:00!

All in all it was a good race allthough today I am *very* sore.  I’m hoping to run a bit on Wednesday or Thursday but don’t think I’ll be up to it before then. 

My next goal is improving my 5K time.  I really want to break 20 minutes.

Thanks for reading!

Recording Weight Loss

I think I’m going to toss all my weight loss records except Wednesday’s and record only two weigh ins per week Wednesday morning and Wednesday WW meeting. 

I did yoga this morning… I kind of hate tapering because I’m generally active and I can’t really stand not doing anything.

In just about two days I’ll have finished my half marathon!

Finally – 5K results

I didn’t win, but I didn’t come in last.  I was 27th out of 154 runners and finished with a time of 23:44 which is not a bad time for a really hilly all-terrain course in terrible (cold and rainy) conditions.  My long term goal is to break 20 minutes in a 5K and I think that this is definitely a step in the right direction.  My time on this race last year was 26:21 so I improved a bit under (slightly – last year was bad too) worse conditions.  Oh and a first time occurrence… I finished before all the women (means little, but I’ll take what victories I can).

I did Tabata and yoga this morning.  I was only able to do 2 sets of pull ups and six sets of pushups.  I sure hope I improve quickly… I feel like a slacker!

Weighed in at WW last night and have lost over 5 pounds now!  I’m going to have to determine my goal weight in the near future.

My next run will be 13.1 miles

My last training run was today, so the next time I tie on my running shoes will be when I’m leaving for the half marathon.  I’m hoping to beat 2 hours, but I’ll be happy just to finish.  I’m a bit sore from doing Tabata yesterday… maybe it will improve my aerobic and anaerobic fitness.

Today is Wednesday, weigh in day and I think I’m going to be down about a pound and a half since last week.  I should get a bookmark!

Still no results from the race on the 7th. 

First day with Tabata

Yesterday was a 4 mile run which went okay – other than getting run off the road by a car.  I twisted my ankle but luckily it doesn’t seem to be injured so I’m still looking strong for the half marathon on Sunday.

I didn’t run long on Saturday because I had a bit of a cold and thought it better to recuperate than get in a last pre-race long run.

The biggest news is that I started on Tabata Protocol today.  I thought I was in pretty good shape, but I couldn’t really manage the pull-ups or pushups.  I was able to finish 2 of 8 (20 second) sets of pullups and 6 of 8 (20 second) sets of pushups.   Hopefully my pullups will improve drastically on this program – something I’ve been working toward anyway.  I knocked out my 8 sets of Prisoner squats with no trouble.  Just a 30 minute tempo tomorrow and then the taper is on for real.