And now for something completly different

Today should have been a rest day. After spending a week with a cold and not training at all I figured who needs a rest day, I need to get warmed back up. So after a long day at work it was time to hit the gym. I figured I would just work on some abdominal exercises and stick with my normal run schedule. It wasn't long before that was out the windows. I started with 3 sets of 50 crunches, then thought I would run a mile to see how my legs felt after a week off. Was a happy to run that mile dialed in right at 10:00 min. I went back to the floor and knocked out another 3 sets of 50 crunches. Then back up for a light run, just put in a 1/2 mile to see if any pain would flair up if I upped my speed a bit. Then back to the floor for another 3 sets of 50 crunches.

It was safe to say that my abs were worn out when I was finished. I was ready to call it quits and was heading for the locker room when I over heard one of the trainers saying they didn't have enough people for their class. My wife is a trainer at this same gym and I always feel bad when she has to cancel a class cause she doesn't have enough people. So I asked what kind of class it was... turns out I was going to try yoga for the first time. I have always had a thought in the back of my mind that I wanted to try yoga sometime. With all my back problems I thought maybe it could help. An hour later I am sold that yoga is very helpful. I felt great when I walked out of there. After my work out the calm stretching was a nice finisher. So it looks like I may pick up this yoga class on Mondays as an active rest.

Also on the good news side of life I may have a side job coming up soon. Nothing much just a one day thing, but the money it brings in would be great to go toward a bike helmet and a bike trainer. After that I have to find a wet suit, goggles, and a tri suit. Everything is falling in place just have to be patient while I gather everything up.

Dear Body

A little letter I wrote at work today. 

Dear Body

I am writing this letter to you cause I am tired of you being sick. You are making it so I can not have fun torturing you with running and biking. As these are things I now enjoy I expect you to suck it up and get better soon.

Be aware that I am going to make you hurt once you are over this cold. I am probably going to push you a little harder than normal and I expect good results from you with very little back talk. Thank you for your time and your ability to still get up and move. 



Well it turns out I am still sick. This cold isn't horrid but its lingering and making me grumpy. Looks like I am just going to end up taking the rest of this week off from any training. By the time I make it home after work I feel exhausted. Eyes are now set to Tuesday when I will start my run up again.

The bigger they are... the harder they fall

Yesterday was a great day. I got up early and put 4 miles on the bike. It needs a bit of adjustment but I had a nice ride through the neighborhood. After getting cleaned up it was time to great ready to go to Icthus music festival in Ft.Wayne Indiana. With tons of great bands to see and christian speakers, it makes for a nice day.
http://www.ichthusfortwayne.org/
It was overcast and a bit cold all day. I got the nice chance to sit in front of a pizza hut food vendors booth for over an hour while the wife and I waited for them to open back up. That was by no means the best part of the day. At about 11:30 PM it was time to head for home. I didn't get to bed till after 2 in the morning. Waking up this morning was not fun. To make matters worse I think I have a cold, my head feels like it is going to explode and my throat is on fire. No 6 mile run for me today, that really makes me sad panda. I hope I recover from this fast. Would like to get some more time on the bike and get a week of good runs in.

A great week so far

Monday was a rest day and Tuesday was a good 3 mile run. Wedsnday was a great 4 mile run, I finished just a little over 46 min and for me that is really great. I had to wonder if my amazing run on Wesdnday was not caused by the fact that I finally got a road bike. Yes ladies and gentlemen the search is over. I was browsing craigs list as I often do for bikes. Low and behold someone had posted one in good shape for $20.00 bucks. I phone the guy and was told someone was already going to be picking it up tonight. I offered him $30.00 and that I could pick it up right away. He took the deal and I cruised out to get it. If for by some chance of fate the guy I bought the bike out from under is reading this blog post, then I am sorry but dang it I needed a bike badly. Its a 12 speed and had brand new tubes and tires. I don't think I could have found a better deal. Here are some pics of my new bike. She isn't much to look at but will get the job done for now.

  

I know what your going to ask... yes that is a wooden seat post. The guy I bought it off of said that he was too tall for the bike and needed a longer seat post. I'm going to leave it for now, gives the bike even more weird character. I took it for a spin yesterday after work. Just rode a couple quick miles around the block. It felt comfortable, was a nice easy ride. Its an older bike so its pretty heavy. Nothing nice, new and light like a good triathlon bike or newer road bike, but not a bad start. Over all I am happy with my cheap purchase.

Well that is about all for this week. I took Thursday off from running so I could see my wife before she went to bed. With Icthus music festival this weekend I won't get back to running till my 6 mile run on Sunday. Until next time.

Back at it

Tuesday is almost done, my three mile is in the log. I shed another 2 Min off my time, it was a nice run but still can't run at a constant pace.  It felt good to get back at it after the long weekend. The Renaissance Festival was a lot of fun, and hanging out with our friends Jeremy and Lexi really just made it a nice weekend. We left straight from my work on Friday, an hour and 45 min later we were pulling into the bed and breakfast.

I truly love this place. We have been going to the Wooded Garden for years and I couldn't imagine staying anywhere else. Here is a link to this place if anyone is ever interested in a nice weekend getaway.
http://www.woodedgardenbedandbreakfast.com/
Rich and Cherry are amazing hosts and the breakfast in the morning is second to none. Having a nice dinner Friday night after we got in we headed for bed so we could get up in the morning for the festival.

I really don't have any pictures from the festival itself, but I do have one of us just getting ready to leave.

 

It was pirate weekend and we were dressed in epic pirate garb. We had a great time sampling everything that the Ohio Renaissance Festival has to offer. That night we went back to the Wooded Garden and played some Cabo. In the morning after a nice breakfast it was time to hit the road. We stopped by a couple flea markets on our way back, and grabbed some dinner at Lone Star steak house. When we finally made it home we were exhausted. All and all I would say we had a great weekend. Gotta put some miles in the bank this weekend and get ready for the Icthus music festival this up coming weekend.

Inspiration

I know I promised pictures of my weekend but I am going to post this first. While at work this fine morning I ran across this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbXgQqbOoU&feature=player_embedded

It is safe to say I was inspired. I have never been a big person, actually I have always been the exact opposite. I only weigh in right now at a very light 130 lbs. At my heaviest I have weighed in at 135 lbs. Its not easy being this light, its very hard to gain any weight, but that is besides the point right now. Maybe I will post on my struggles to gain a bit more weight at a later time. Right now I want to talk about what this guy did.

You can find his blog at http://bendoeslife.tumblr.com

First weight and body image are very key in happiness. Before someone stumbles into my blog, reads that and decides to flame me in my comment section let me explain. I am by no means saying that everyone has to be a supper skinny super model body style, or even for us guys, we don't have to be all muscle bound movie stars, but we have to be happy in our own bodies. Would you be happy if you had trouble getting out of a chair, or grew winded just getting up to check the mail?

I wasn't happy when my back was having problems, or when I was younger and had knee problems. Limping around, or not being able to get off the couch is frustrating to me. I felt if I couldn't will my own body to do what I want than what good was I. A year ago I got up and did something about it. Just like this guy woke up one day so unhappy with his life he decided to make a change. This man has crossed the finish line to and Marathon and an Ironman, both things I wish to do someday down the road.

If someone is reading this and thinking that they would like to change, they would like to wake up feeling better and happier then I challenge you to make today the first day of a new life. Don't sit idle, don't let life pass you by. Wake up and take hold of it all, take the first step and dare to be great.

The return of Pain

I had a great run Tuesday after work. Just a simple 3 miles run to warm things up for the week. I am still not getting the 30 min time I would like to have on a 3 mile run, but I was happy with the 34:30 I did get. I really need to get that time down, If I could just run a steady pace the whole time I would shed those 4 min with ease. The bad part about that run is that the next morning my left knee was in a good deal of pain. Its not bad if I am just sitting but to walk hurts a lot. I tried to run it out Wednesday night but I didn't even make it past two miles. The pain just wouldn't go away and once it became to much I knew it was time to step away. So that's it for this week, I am taking tonight off to rest up. We are leaving for the Ohio Renaissance Festival this weekend. No running all weekend but will do a good deal of walking. Going to be a fun but painful weekend. Will post up some pictures when I get back.