It's been another month

Hello Friends,

It's been another month since I updated this but I assure you that I have still been trying to stay active. I ran a 10k on November 12th and finished it in a little under an hour. I had injured myself the previous week so I may not have been at a hundred percent. However, the biggest issue for me was that the energy of the race just wasn't there compared to the half marathon. When I ran the half I had people cheering me and the rest of the runners on through out the race. At this one it was just dead along the sides. My mom came to watch me, which I greatly appreciated. Since the 10k I've cut back on the running, but am going to start going hard again this week to work off that Thanksgiving meal that I had. (I think I over did it this year.)

While watching the Biggest Loser Where Are They Now Special, I saw that Tara Costa completed an ironman triathlon. This consists of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles. This sounds like something I am capable of and plan on training for. I may not complete it by the end of 2012, but by the end of 2013 I will become an ironman.

So my goals for the next few years are:

A.) Lose the final 10 - 15 pounds (meet with a Doctor to find out what a healthy weight is for me to be at)

B.) Exercise everyday, and run at least 3 times a week

C.) Complete student teaching by the end of the 2012 semester

D.) Start my teaching career

E.) Complete a full marathon by Dec. 31st 2012

F.) Complete an iron man triathlon by Dec. 31st 2013

Half Marathon completed!

I managed to complete my half marathon a week ago. I was fortunate enough to stay in Ankeny with my friends Luke and Brooke the night before so I didn't have to pay big bucks for a hotel room or get up before dawn to drive to Des Moines. I arrived at their apartment around 5:30ish and we went to pick up my registration packet and grab a bite to eat. We met up with our friends Kyle McCormick and Jaclyn Stamm and ate at a place a couple miles away from Jordan Creek Mall. I was really hoping for pasta or lasagna so I could carbo-load but they didn't have any of that stuff on the menu so I just had a cheeseburger and fries (nutritious, I know.) While we were there we had what may have been the world's worst waitress take our order. She couldn't remember our names, or even if we ordered food. I kind of felt bad for her because she had the whole outdoor area, but still the service was unimpressive. Eventually Jaclyn's husband Cody joined us and we watched the Hawkeye game, cheering for Northwestern of course. After we finished and started to get cold, we went to cabaret where Luke distributed a bunch of coupons to all of us from a coupon book he had bought from one of his students. I took one for TGI Friday's thinking that I'd take mom there after the race. We left around 10ish and got back to Ankeny soon after. I went to there guest bed to get some shut eye.

The next morning I woke up before my alarm even went off. I jumped out of bed and got dressed. I didn't eat any breakfast due to the fact that no matter how few calories I consume the food just sits in my stomach like a rock if I run shortly after eating it. I had to go to Wal-Mart to pick up some safety pins because my race packet didn't have any in it. I got into Des Moines around 7:15 in the morning and found a parking spot a little before 7:30. I jumped out of my car and started to walk down towards the race. I saw a fellow runner listening to her I-pod as she jogged back to her car. Seeing that reminded me that I had left my I-pod in the car and I head back to grab it. About 7:40 I made it to the port-a-pots that were located a block or two away from the starting line. I decided that I better hit the can before I started running because the clock doesn't stop for bathroom breaks. I will spare you the details of how my visit to the port-a-pot went and skip to the part where I got to the starting area. I had never seen so many people packed into such a small area at once. Lordy lue, I thought I'd never find my mom. However I decided to look anyways. Eventually I gave up the search when I heard Jimmy Hendrix's version of the Star Spangled Banner go over the speakers. I headed towards the starting line and tried to get close to the guy who had the 2:10 sign (meaning he would be jogging at a pace of 1 mile every 10 minutes) I wasn't able to get to him when the race started and soon people started moving.....very very slowly. I don't know what caused all the walkers to get to the front but at that point I didn't care. I had just spotted my mom in the crowd and was going to say hello to her so that she knew how much I appreciated her coming to watch me. She quickly wished me good luck before I continued on towards the starting line. I saw mom's friend Joy Monahan who also wished me good luck. I eventually got sick of walking and started jogging before I got to the starting line. My thoughts were that I just wanted to get it over with. The first two miles the half marathon runners and whole marathon runners jogged together. Then the volunteers held signs that told us which way to go. My favorite sign was the one that had the word crazy with an arrow pointing one way and insane with an arrow pointing the other way, implying that the half marathon runners were crazy and the full marathon runners were insane. I was really glad they did a good job letting us know which way to go because I wasn't quite ready to run a full marathon. When I got to mile 3.5 I saw a man driving on a motorcycle with a siren telling us to clear the path. About 30 seconds later I saw a man who looked like he was from Africa jogging our way. He was booking. I told the man I was running next to that I made the mistake of not being born in Kenya. I would later find out that he was indeed from Kenya and finished the race in just over 63 minutes. Holy cow that's fast. Although I wasn't that fast, the race itself went by rather quickly and one of the things that made it go by so fast was the creativity shown by the spectators. There were countless signs along the way and everyone was really positive. My favorite spectator created sign said "Chuck Norris Never Ran A Marathon." but there were other creative ones. A lot of people came just to cheer and it was really cool, little kids offered runners high fives which I always tried to not shoot them down. I also saw my friend Megan Rodenberg on the course cheering on the runners and it was good to see her. Her husband Brad was running the half as well so she was being really supportive (she even took a few pictures of me and put them on facebook.) At mile 9 I saw the best sight I could have imagined, my mom was waiting by the sign to cheer me on. That meant a lot to me because she could have easily brought a book and waited by the finish line, but instead she walked part of the course. I made sure I smile and waved at her, and the gal jogging next to me said it was really nice of her to come. I replied that mom was my #1 fan. I was feeling pretty good at that point and at mile 11 I saw a timer that showed how long we had been running. It said 1:28:?? (I don't remember how many seconds) I couldn't believe it. I had never finished under 10 minute miles during my training so I couldn't believe that there was a chance that I could finish in under 2 hours. That came into question later on as I felt myself fading but I kept on trucking. Around mile 12 I saw Mom again. She was atop the biggest hill that the half marathoners had to run (not really big but at that time it felt like a mountain) she told me to keep on going and to finish strong. I smiled as I thanked her for coming out to cheer me on. The last mile and a tenth seemed to drag the longest (probably because I had already ran 12 miles lol) I saw people passing me that I had passed earlier in the race. The guy I had kept pace with for the first 11 plus miles was well ahead of me. The volunteers were telling us that we were almost there. One of the guys who had already finished came back on the track to encourage us. As we made the final turn I saw a sign that said mile 13. I knew I was close to the finish line. I looked at the clock and saw that it said 1:57:?? (once again I don't remember the seconds) I'm gonna finish in under 2 hours I told myself. I tried to get a good sprint going but only managed to get up to speed a few steps away from the finish line so I didn't have the greatest sprint ever but I had achieved my goal of finishing a half marathon and had ran faster than the pace that I had set for myself. I would get my electronic timer cut of and receive my finisher metal. I then started walking towards the line where free food and drinks were being distributed. Right around this time the rest of my body started realizing that I had finished the half and immediately got sore. I felt like I was going to cramp up, however even cramps don't stand in between me and free food and I grabbed what looked good. As I finished going through the line I saw my friends Krista and Katy and their mom Diane. I went over and congratulated them on finishing and we visited a little while until Mom showed up. I made my way through the food line again before signing up for a free massage to get my legs muscles loosened up (they felt incredibly tight) While waiting in line I saw the wife of one of my fraternity brothers. She looked like she had lost a lot of weight as well. I visited with her for a little bit before she took off and I got my massage. After that mom and I decided to meet at my Aunt Marlene's house where I'd get cleaned up before we'd eat at TGI Friday's. I eventually found out my time, and that it didn't start until I crossed the starting line (not when the race started) so I was a couple minutes quicker than I thought. My finishing time was 1:55:25 which equaled out to 8 minute 49 second miles. It was good enough to finish in 1013th place out of 3992 (although several people walked it) I felt incredibly sore the next day, and the pain went down a little each day after. I finally felt good enough jog a couple miles today (after a week of eating lots and gaining nearly 5 lbs this past week.) I am incredibly proud of how I did and am looking forward to continuing to exercise through out the future. People often compliment me on how slim I look and each compliment continues to make my day. I have worn my finisher medal and participant shirt and I feel an incredible sense of accomplishment each time I put them on. If you read this and hope to get back in shape but feel like it's hopeless I urge you to never give up, no matter what opsticles stand in your way. There were so many people at the half marathon who were overweight who just walked the course. I was proud to say those people were citizens of the country that I live in because unlike some people who sit and complain about their weight, these people got up and decided to do something about it. I am going to conclude this post with a quote from Ghandi. "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Don't have to wait a month for this one

Last week was a little different. Due to bad weather and my refusal to run on a tredmill, I got my two 4 mile runs in on Wednesday and Thursday. Considering it was the first time that I had ran on back to back days my body took it really well. On Saturday I ran 7.5 miles in a little over an hour. Not to bad, also I noticed that the city of Cedar Falls had decided to do more road construction along my route (right after they had finished working on the other road that I run on) so I get to jog around that for a while. I ran another 4 miles today in just over 45 minutes so I was not pleased to say the least. The entire time I was running, I felt like I had a brick in my stomach so hopefully that doesn't happen when I run my half marathon.

I get an F for this last month

Hey everyone,

I hadn't realized that a month had gone by since I had last updated this blog. Talk about failure on my part. At least I haven't failed to continue to exercise. I have ran 4 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and have tried to go anywhere from 5 -7 miles on Weekends, although it's difficult to do when you have weddings and other weekend activities to attend to. I ran 7 miles yesterday, which was my personal best. My feet hurt like something fierce, so I will be going to the runner's flat tomorrow to get some advice on what to do for sore feet. Other than that, I felt fine physically after I was done with my run. The only problem I had was that I felt really tired due to having a bad couple weeks worth of sleep. I went to bed around 9:30 last night and didn't get up until a little after 8 this morning. Talk about catching up on some z's. Hopefully, I'll update this more frequently than I did this past month.
-Brian

The past week

Good news! I have finally finished my summer class, which means I'll have more time to worry about preparing for my half marathon. The date that it starts will be Sunday, October 16 and I plan to rock it like a hurricane. Anyways, I managed to get a few nice walks in this week as well as a 4 mile jog on Tuesday and a 6.2 mile (10k) jog on Saturday (Today) I felt pretty good although my foot was starting to blister and it was a little warmer than I would have liked it to be, which means that I'm going to have to get up even earlier to run. The best part about these jogs is that I usually feel extremely good when I finish them and have a spring in my step for the rest of the day. Also, I am always looking forward to great workout music to listen to and would appreciate any suggestions, let me know my e-mail address is bwsexton@gmail.com. Thanks a bunch. Keep on Running!

The past two weeks

The past two weeks have came and gone. On Tuesday the 17th and Thursday the 19th I managed to jog 4 miles. I wanted to run on Saturday and even brought my running shoes back to Rockwell City with me so I could jog, but I decided that going to my cousin's graduation party, golfing, and sitting out at a bonfire were a better use of my time than running on a gravel road where I would get dust blown in my face everytime a car drove by. This past Tuesday and Thursday I ran 4 miles each day and today I just finished jogging 5 and a quarter miles. I am hoping to be able to jog 6 next week. I really feel recovered from the sickness that I blogged about earlier, however you can't push yourself to hard because when you do that you wind up injuring yourself. Speaking of not pushing yourself to hard, the city of Cedar Falls has been repairing a road that is right along my jogging route. They weren't out working on a nice day like today which kind of upset me since they look to be nearly done, and it's an inconvience for me to run around this and jog in the middle of main street while several cars fly past me. Then again the people who are repairing this work for the city so I'm not surprised they're taking as long as possible.

Recovery time

Hello loyal followers,

I apologize for not updating this, but I had finals and the start of summer classes and along with getting sick my exercise has really been lacking. I was able to get small jogs in without dying (3 miles two weeks ago Tuesday, 3.5 two weeks ago Thursday) however I could never muster up the energy to go more than that due to getting sick (not that I'm using that as a convient excuse) A week ago Tuesday I got up at 6:30 and started my run a 7 thinking that I'd be able to beat the heat, boy was I wrong. I managed to go 4 miles but nearly felt like I was going to collapse. It felt like it was 95 degrees out. Gotta love Iowa weather, it goes from snowing 3 weeks ago to record highs. I got sick again on Thursday, I even had to go to the student health center, so I didn't get a chance to jog Thursday. I recovered enough that I could run 2 miles on Sunday, however I'm looking forward to a 4 mile jog next Tuesday and making up for lost time this week.

I made it half of a half-marathon.

Last week was just horrible weather so I ran on Tuesday and Thursday at the UNI Rec center where I jogged the usual 4 miles each day. There were not very many good looking women working out during this time so it's safe to say that I wasn't very distracted during these runs. On Saturday I went 3 and 1/4 times around the section. It was frustrating because the city had torn up part of my route so I had to tippy toe like jog in between the construction and main street which is usually pretty busy. However I made it and feel fairly good about myself. Next week I'll try for 7 miles.

Another week gone by

I managed to get outside to jog 5 miles last Sunday. It felt really good to get that jog in after having a bad jog on Saturday. On Tuesday it was cold and rainy so I went to the rec center and jogged 4 miles around the track. It was different running without worrying about going up and down hills but not necessarily easier. I had read that jogging long distances on flat surfaces can be difficult because it requires the same muscle movements through out, rather than jogging on various surfaces which uses different muscles and gives some muscles a break. On Thursday my mom came up to visit me during lunch which is usually when I jog and I had a paper to write, so I had to make a decision to make later that night and I decided that watching The Office was more important than getting my jog in. However, on Friday I did jog another four miles outside which was a nice way to end the school week. Today I jogged 6 miles (3 times around the section.) I'm glad I could go that far and hope to go 6.5 next Saturday. Until next time, Happy jogging.

This past week!

I managed to get 4 runs in this past week. On Sunday I ran 2 miles, I meant to go 4, but my legs were really sore after running the day before. On Tuesday I ran 4 miles and felt really good. I also bought a new ipod and this was the first time I got to use it. I worked really well, much easier to run with than the old mp3 player. On Thursday I also ran 4 miles and felt really good as well. On Saturday I meant to run 4 - 5 miles, but the cold weather got to me, and I decided to only run 2 miles. Hopefully when I run today, I'll be able to get my 5 miles in. Gotta keep working towards 26.2!

This past week.

It's been 1 week since I ran the 5k and I'm still alive and have continued to exercise frequently. I ran 3 days this week. First on Tuesday when I ran 2.7 miles, and felt pretty good. I ran 3.1 (a 5k) on Thursday in about 27 or 28 minutes, which I felt pretty good about, I had to deal with a hill and some wind neither of which I encountered in the 5k. I also didn't get that pain in my sides that I felt during the competitive 5k last week so I was happy with that. Today, I ran about 4 miles, which included tackling a hill towards the end of the run. I didn't time myself for that, but felt pretty good considering I walked back to my apartment and got my stretching done in an hour. I hope to be ready for a 10k by the middle of June, and to run a half marathon in Des Moines in November.

5k run is done

I completed the first of my minor goals this morning when I crossed the finish line. My two main goals were a.) finish in under 30 minutes and b.) not stop to walk during any part of the race. I felt good at the start, but about a half mile in my shoelace became untied. I must have looked like an idiot getting paced by all the people who I had paced literally seconds earlier. However, I was able to regroup quickly and continued on. At mile one I felt alright, but anxious for the race to get over. At mile a mile and a quarter or a third (there weren't any markers) we had to run around a loop and head in the opposite direction. This is great I thought, we're about half way done, obviously I was wrong as when we got to a turn in the road we had to run the same path we had came from. As I ran down that path I started feeling a little pain in my right side, however I managed to put on a brave face when I saw my instructor Emily making the turn to head back in the direction we came from. I made that turn and felt my pace slow down. The pain in my right side was getting more intense. I was passed by my friend Anne Rohde who asked me how I was doing. I joking asked her why it was a fun run. Although our talk was brief, it was good to chat a little. However, she soon left me to eat her dust and I was back at it. Shortly after that I felt an added pain in my left side. I had never had that, I felt like I was ready to throw in the towel and either start walking or collapse and have the ambulance come out with the paddles. I then told myself that I had come to far to give up and that quit was a word that I never used. When I hit approximately the 2.8 mile mark I saw a photographer take my picture. I can't imagine I looked any better than grim death. I really felt like I was struggling. However, before I knew it I ran passed the 3 mile marker and told myself that I was really going to make it. As I continued to jog on at my slow pace, I saw a sign that said turn and sprint. When I made the turn I saw the finish line and kicked it into an all out sprint which must have been the slowest sprint ever recorded (I don't run to fast on a good day none the less after I had already ran 3 miles) however I crossed the finish line and didn't collapse. The pain in my sides went away shortly afterwords and I handed in my stub from my number that I wore on my chest before grabbing a bottle of water and then heading off to meet my parents who were nice enough to come for the race. I achieved my goals, I finished the race in 185th place (out of 738 people) and my time was 26 minutes and 27.2 seconds. I averaged 8 minute and 32 second miles which is better than I had averaged in my workouts so the improvement was definately there. This is not the end of my blog. I plan to keep this going until I achieve my goal of running a full marathon. However, I'm a long ways away from that journey, next up is a 10k. Wish me luck and thanks for reading. -Brian

Long overdue

Sorry for being so late with this, I have been extremely busy preparing for tests and lesson plans so I've gotten pretty far behind. Here's a brief recap of the last two weeks. Tuesday 3/22 I ran 3 miles on the track at the rec center. It was kind of boring running in circles, but at least the view changed which was different than when I run/walk at the basement of the Catholic Church. My mile times were as follows: mile 1: 8 min. 20 sec. mile 2 8 min. 55 sec mile 3 26 min. 30 seconds. Hopefully the 5k will be finished in under 30 minutes if I keep this pace. Thursday 3/24 I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and don't remember the time. I forgot my jogging shoes and compression shorts so I was in significant pain through out the workout. It was a painful reminder that I need to be prepared for race day. Saturday 3/26 I ran outside for about 2 miles, I got up early in the morning so I could get used to the cold, boy was it cold Tuesday 3/29 I ran a mile on the treadmill before getting sick of it and running 2 miles outside. Should be ready for Saturday. Thursday 3/31 prepared for any hills I may encounter by running up and down flights of stairs. I pushed myself as hard as I could but wasn't satisfied with my times. After that we ran a small triangle outside the rec before returning indoors to do an ab workout. Tomorrow is race day. Get excited Brian!!!!

Breaking Treadmills and running in R.C.

Well on Sunday I ran for 25 minutes on the treadmill. When I hit the button to see how many calories I had burned the treadmill went on the spritz, so I just unplugged it and then repluged it. The building manager was real understanding when I told them. I believe I had ran about 2.67 miles until it went out on me.

Wednesday I ran around the town of Rockwell City. It was nice being back in the town I had called home for so many years. I managed to run outside for 2.6 miles, although I didn't time myself. I was sad to see so many businesses closed down and so many empty buildings. However, it reemphasizes why hardly anyone comes back to Rockwell City other than to get involved in the farming operation. All these empty buildings aren't providing very many opportunities for young people. Right now I feel ready physically and mentally to run a 5k. I do not anticipate many problems other than getting up on time (it's on a Saturday morning and I tend to use Saturday mornings to catch up on sleep.) I have been eating healthy and training hard so I am anxious to see how it all works out. I am planning another run today, so hopefully I can get on here later tonight and let all my followers know how it went.

P.S. Baseball season is almost here!!!

Broke the treadmill

Hey everyone,

On Thursday Emily and I worked out at the WRC. I did two ten minute jogs with a short break in between. I managed to run a little over 10 1/2 laps during this time which made it so I ran at a pace of a little over 9 minutes per mile. Eventually I'll want to knock this time down, but my main goal is to finish the 5k in under a half hour and I feel like I'll be able to do that at the pace I had. A huge accomplishment was that I kept both my runs at about the same pace, which was showing that I know about what pace I should stay at. Hopefully, I can keep that going for a full 3.1 miles with no breaks to walk.

Saturday I got about halfway through my workout when the treadmill had an error. After unplugging the treadmill it seemed to work right but I just wasn't into it afterwords. I think I was to cautious. Anyways I hope it's nice out tomorrow because I'm looking forward to jogging outside.

-Brian

Saturday Workout

Happy Saturday Everyone! I just finished my workout that Emily suggested for today. I started out on the tredmill walking for 5 minutes. I then started my jog at a 6.2 speed and increased .1 every two minutes until I hit 6.9 then I increased my speed by .2 to 7.1 and then after another two minutes I increased my speed to 7.2. All in all this added up to 20 minutes of straight jogging. I felt like I could have continued but since so many injuries are caused by overtraining I decided to stick to Emily's advice and slowed down to a walk of 4.3 which I was only supposed to do for 5 minutes but when I saw I had gone 2.9 miles I decided to walk the extra 2 and a half minutes and hit 3.1 so I could do the 5k. I did a cooldown walk around my apartment complex and then stretched. Right now I feel great. April 2nd is the big day so it's coming up. Tomorrow I'll pry only ride the exercise bike for a half hour and that's not really worth blogging or reading about. Talk to ya Tuesday.
-BWS

I went a full 5k today!

Hey Followers!

I started the work out for 5 minutes of walking on the tredmill at an incline of 1.0 before moving up to a jog of 6.2. I then gradually increased my speed until it was a 7.0 seven minutes into it. I jogged at that speed for two minutes before slowing down to my walking pace of 4.2. I walked that for 5 minutes before starting my jog at 6.5. I slowly increased until I hit 7.0 where I jogged for my seventh minute. I thought I was coming to an end before Emily told me I would be jogging at 7.1 for 3 minutes. I successfully did that before gradually slowing down to a walking pace. When I finished my combined walking and jogging distance was a 5k which was really cool! We walked once around the track before stretching out. Quick.Simple.Productive.

I owe my followers an explanation

Hey all,

I apologize for not recording my workout last Thursday. I had 3 tests this past week and a take home exam due Monday so I have been spending my time either studying for the tests or recovering from lack of sleep. I'm going to kill two birds with one stone and explain my Thursday workout as well as today's.

(2/24) Thursday.....Emily (my trainer) and I were joined by Michelle. Michelle is really working hard to loose weight and the progress is really showing in both her weight loss and her stamina when we jog. We walked for about three minutes before we had a three minute jog. The pace I jogged at during that time averaged for to the pace of 1 mile every 8 minutes. We then walked for 90 seconds. Then we jogged for 5 minutes and I averaged a pace of 1 mile every 8 minutes and 20 seconds. We then did a cool down walk for 3 minutes. We did that routine once more where I averaged an 8 minute mile for the 2nd 3 minute time period and then a mile every 8 minutes and 45 seconds for my final time. I felt fairly good when we were doing our cool down walk and our stretching.

(3/1) This past weekend I got caught up on a lot of sleep and had hip pains so I didn't get a work out in, but we made up for that today. I had my first treadmill workout with Emily at the UNI Wellness & Recreation Center (no Michelle today) I started out walking for 5 minutes and the jogged at a .5 incline for 8 minutes with Emily increasing the speed every minute or two. I felt pretty good. We then did a cool down walk for 5 minutes and then one more 8 minute jog that we started at a higher speed. We then slowly did a cool down jog/walk and finished by walking a lap on the track....so I thought. She then had me do ab exercises that kicked my butt. We were working with medicine balls and doing slow bicycler crunches and all sorts of stuff. My legs felt like jelly after we finished and were doing our stretches. However, my abs felt fine although I could tell that I had worked them. I hope we do those often because I'd really like to have six pack abs and I don't do a good job of developing them. Have a great night everyone.
-Brian

Today's Workout (2-22-2011)

Hey Everyone,

Today we had a short workout. We worked on increasing stamina which is need for running distances. I jogged a 3 minute time period followed by a 3 minute cool down, then I jogged a 5 minute time period followed by a 3 minute cool down, then I had a little slower pace for my 3 minute jog before a light cool down mix of walking and slow jogging. I felt I could have kept going at my pace for my last 3 minute run but I really want to find my race pace. Either way my times amounted to 8 - 9 & 1/2 minute miles so as Emily told me, that's a great pace. I am blessed to be in a situation where I get to have so much one on one time with my trainer. She is very knowledgable and is understanding of my goals and where I want to be. We did our stretching exercises at the end which is very important when factoring the distance that we covered. I am already looking forward to Thursday's workout.
-Brian

2/19 Workout

Today was a crisp cool day and I was able to get another workout done outdoors. It was a little bit of a pain hoping over ice patchs or jumping water puddles but I did manage to survive. Emily sent an e-mail to all of us yesterday with some weekend workout instructions which were the same as what we did on Thursday. She advised to do a warm up walk for 5 minutes before doing a 90 second jog. After that we were told to walk for 90 seconds and then jog for 3 minutes before walking for 3 minutes. We were then supposed to repeat the process. I decided to try and eliminate part of my cool down period by only having 90 seconds breaks in between my jogs rather than 3 minutes after the 3 minute jog. I did this because I am planning on walking during the 5k and I want to start preparing to jog with out relying on breaks. It was nice jogging while I listened to my mp3 player (yes, I know I don't own an Ipod.) I felt very good with how I did and feel like I am well on my way to finishing a 5k.

2/17 Workout

Todays workout can be compared to a circus.....it was INTENSE. We started with a 5 minute walk. We then jogged for 90 seconds and then walked for about a min then jogged 3 minutes. We did that twice before doing a cool down walk and some stretching. Michelle came today and was nursing an injury so Emily spent the jogging time with her. I think Michelle is showing tremendous heart and determination by coming to train even though she's hurt. It proves how committed to her goals she truely is. I felt that the jogging went fairly well but I was disappointed in myself for not being able to run as quickly during the second half of the work out as I did in the first. I hope I am able to stay consistant with my pace when I run the 5k, still I think I did real well and am making progress so I can be proud of that. I'm looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I can get two or three workouts in before Tuesday.

Day after Valentine's Day Workout

Yesterday I had a workout that I felt really good about. I had a good walking warm up and then did 4 walks and 4 jogs. The walks were 2 min. 40 seconds and the jogs were 1 min. 20 seconds. I felt like I kept a steady pace going through out all those and then I did a lap on my own. My time for the lap was 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Emily and I then walked for about half a lap and then I did another lap in 2 minutes and 35 seconds. Emily said my time was really consistant which was what we were going for. I felt amazing before, during, and after the workout. Emily said that after this week we'll be kicking it into a new gear so it'll be interesting to see how that goes. Until then Happy Exercising!

Sunday Funday

Today the weather was nice enough that I was able to run outside. I didn't enjoy having to just around puddles or breathing in cold air, but it was nice to be outside. I did the same workout I did with Emily on Thursday where I walked two minutes and forty five seconds and then jogged a minute and fifteen seconds. I did that six times before walking back to my apartment. I didn't feel like it was my best performance. I don't know if it was because I ran in my street shoes rather than my running shoes or just breathing in cold air. I hope to improve upon my times and better myself. Six weeks until I run my 5k. I'm getting excited to do this and hope that I can improve myself between now and then. My body feels pretty good although I think I'm gonna need to do some more stretching. I can't wait for what this upcoming week is going to bring. To quote the Zach Brown Band "Life is Good Today."

Time to step it up!

Wow, I can't believe I completed my second week with Emily as my trainer. Only six more to go. Today, I was the only person that came to the Thursday workout so that meant I got to work one on one with her again. I like that, it gives her time to evaluate me, as well as being able to have somebody to talk to. Before we started, we talked about nutrition and the importance of eating right. That is important for everyone to do whether you are training for a race or not. We walked/jogged around the outer concourse of the unidome today. We did a warmup walk and then we did 1 walk of 2 min. 45 seconds followed by 1 jog of 75 seconds. We did that 5 times (slowly building up endurance.) Once we finished our 5th jog she told me to go around the outer concourse by myself once while she timed me. I finished in under 4 minutes, which was better than any of her joggers did yesterday. That made me feel pretty good, although I expect more out of myself so I still have a lot of improvement left to make. We completed our workout by stretching and that ended that. She told me to do that exercise once by myself this weekend and to workout for a half hour or so on an exercise bike, stairmaster, or other piece of exercise equipment once this weekend. Another fun workout.

Tuesday's Workout

Hey all,

I apologize for not putting this up sooner, my class schedule has been really crazy. On Tuesday I worked out with my trainer Emily as well as a girl named Michelle. Michelle is a senior majoring in pre-nursing. She seemed pretty cool. Our workout was pretty simple, we walked around the outer edge of the unidome track. They had the pit open for the long jump, so I had to avoid walking in sand which was a minor inconveince. We then walked 2 minutes 50 seconds and then jogged for 70 seconds. We did this 6 times total. Towards the last 2 or 3 I started getting far ahead of Michelle and Emily. When I slowed down and waited for them, Emily told me just to go on ahead and stop when they did. I felt bad because I wasn't trying to show Michelle up on her first day, but at the same time I have to look out for me and run my race. Michelle did very well for her first time. She seems determined to finish the 5k and I feel that she will get alot out of this course. After we finished our last 70 second jog, we walked around the track once more and then did some stretching before we ended it for the day. It sounds like in todays session Michelle won't make it so I'll be working one on one with Emily. Hopefully, I can improve my form and help me out.

Well I tried

Well, today was the first day I tried jogging since I had gotten sick on Wednesday. It went alright but not as well as I would have hoped. My body showed signs that it wasn't quite at 100% yet. I was able to walk one lap and jog one lap around the UNIdome arena 3 times. I was hoping for 4 but my body just wouldn't let me. Hopefully tomorrow or Monday my body will be 100% healed and I can impress my trainer Emily on Tuesday. Here's hoping! On an unrelated note, I watched the first 10 minutes of Saturday Night Live Tonight and it was good to see Jon Lovitz, Mike Myers, and Dana Carvey all back on the set. It would have been nice to have seen Chris Farley and Phil Hartman as well but they were unable to appear for obvious reasons.

Sick as a dog

Couldn't go to training yesterday due to being sick. I had to go to student health (student death) and meet with a doctor. It wasn't to serious, he said I had a virus and it would have been much worse if I hadn't gotten my flu shot a week or two ago. Last night my body felt like it was burning up, but today I feel better. I'll pry just walk today as a precautionary, but hopefully I can get the workout that I had planned to do on Thursday done on Saturday or Sunday. I talked to Emily via e-mail and it sounds like I need to walk 2 min. 50 seconds and the jog 1 min. 10 seconds. I need to do that 4 times followed by a cooldown walk and the some stretching.

About me (long version)

Well, I figured I tell the universe a little bit about myself, my background, and my beliefs when it comes to exercising and how I got to where I am today. I was raised on a corn and soybean farm in a small town called Rockwell City. My parents are hard working people who are still on the farm today. I was involved in athletics up through high school although I didn't have very much athletic ability. Once I entered college, I focused on getting involved in various clubs and organizations and quit making time to work out. The day I graduated from Iowa State University I weighed 225 lbs. I could not believe how much weight I had gained since high school where I weighed 160 lbs the day I graduated. Due to the rough economy, I wasn't able to find a job and so I spent 4 months living with my parents (yes I was 225lbs, unemployed, and living with my parents...I was a real winner) however during that time I started walking every day and got my weight down to under 200 lbs. However, in May I took a job that was not a good fit for me. I was stuck at a desk all day plugging data into a computer. Some people may consider that a career, but it wasn't for me. Before to long the company decided to eliminate my position, and I was back searching for a job. Between the stress of having a job I didn't enjoy and eventually losing that job I gained back about 15 of the pounds I had lost. However, during that time I made the decision to go back to school to get my teaching certificate (youth of America is in my hands.) That new years eve I decided to make a New Year's Resolution to lose weight. I started exercising, but the turning point came after school started when I turned on the T.V. and came across the T.V. show The Biggest Loser on NBC. I saw people who had let their weight get out of control for several years, and had been told by doctors that if they didn't get their weight under control they would be dead in a matter of years. Because of this, they were in the gym working out each and every day under the guidance of trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels. Those people inspired me in two ways. First, they showed me that no matter how big you are, it's never to late to start working out. Secondly, it showed me what could happen to me if I didn't get control over my weight. I started walking a couple miles every day and watching what I ate. I don't count calories, but I cut back on the pop, beer, pizza, fried chicken, and fast food (except subway). I started eating more fruits, lean meats, and drinking more water and fruit juice. I am proud to say that I still practice these good habits and have gotten my weight down to under 185 lbs. Now, I have decided to push myself to a new level and starting training for various running events beginning with the Fool's Run 5k which will be held April 2nd here in Cedar Falls, IA. As I stated in yesterday's blog, I hope to turn this into being able to run longer distances (such as a half and eventually full marathon)

Day one of 5k training

Hey all,

Today I did my first day of the training for my first ever 5k. I started the day out by buying saucony running shoes. They felt really light weight so they should hold up all right. The man who assisted me at Scheels had ran a few marathons so I felt like he knew what he was talking about. Shortly after getting my new kicks I went to the WRC (wellness recreation center) to start my first day of training.

The class I enrolled in is going to be 8 weeks long, and by the end of it I should be able to run a 5k without to much trouble. I met the gal who will be teaching the class. Her name is Emily and she seems pretty nice. She is a senior majoring in exercise science and is teaching two sections of the class. One meets M/W at 5:15 and the other meets T/Th at noon. I was the only person in our class today and I hope it stays like that because I enjoy the one on one attention.

Class started out by meeting to discuss my goals for the class. Ultimately I hope to be able to finish this 5k without any difficulties (basically I don't want anyone to have to give me CPR during or immediately after this race.) I also hope to finish in the top 40% of all those who run it. My long term goals are to be able to turn this into being able to run longer distances. I hope to complete a 1/2 marathon in September and in a year or two I hope to complete a full marathon. After talking goals, she taught me about proper running technique. One thing I had been doing wrong was I was looking at my feet alot. When you run you are supposed to look straight ahead. (Although if you're running outside you can look side to side a little bit) Also, Emily gave me some readings to do in order to learn more about proper running technique.

Once she was done teaching me about technique we went to the unidome to do a light jog. We started out by walking at a "normal" pace. I always thought I walked quickly, but this gal walked a little quicker than I did, but it wasn't a struggle to keep up. After a warm-up lap, we walked for 3 minutes and then jogged for a minute. We did this twice on the unidome track before we went upstairs and ran on the outer concourse. We did the 3 minute walk 1 minute jog twice more. All four times that I jogged I felt really good. We ended by walking around the track once more as a cool down period before we did some slight stretching to end our workout.

All in all it was a great workout. I know it doesn't seem like much but even the longest journeys begin with a single step.