The long awaited update

Hello to all three of you that read this blog. I've neglected it the past few weeks, so let's get caught up.

First off, I did make it a month without eating fast food. Nice to accomplish that goal. However, I didn't lose as much weight as I would have liked because I wasn't overly active this month.

Not that I wasn't active. I ran five miles yesterday. That's the furthest I've gone so far in my prep for the half marathon. The good news is I'm not overly sore this morning. A little bit, but nothing bad. Hopefully I can keep that going and get into a good groove.

I've also started riding my bike. I've had a flat tire for a while and only recently got it fixed. I've taken the bike out a couple times and hope to use it on days I don't run. Despite some sore leg muscles (and waking up at 4:30 for work) I plan on riding this afternoon.

Since I've left you alone for awhile, here's some Muse to make up for it. My bad.



More postings to come later...promise!

I-pod it: Afterlife

I am really bad about delivering blog posts when I promise.



I don't quite understand the spider in the video, but the song is fairly awesome. Plus, there are some fairly sweet looking guitars in there.

Running the backroads

In my first ever i-pod it I talked about how I don't actually listen to music when I run. I enjoy the sounds and sense of the run. I got to experience that today, thanks to a newly designed 4-mile run, fresh off the press from Map My Run.


(click to enlarge)

If you remember my previous run routes they're fairly compact and in the city. This deviates from that, and goes outside of town proper. Its a straight forward route, but it takes you away from the sounds of traffic, lawn mowers, and little kids.

When I got to S. Marion (the one near the golf course) it was bliss. Just crickets and birds. Even the cars that did pass were quiet. Something about the area. Since my training is now going to be 4 miles and up, I look forward to using this route more and more.

Many people who look at runners probably don't think to themselves that its a peaceful experience. For me, it can be. Its nice to get away from everything, focus on the road, and tune everything out. My facial expression probably isn't peaceful, but today's run, and especially the middle two miles, were the most at ease I've been in a few weeks. Its like mediation, only in motion.

A new I-pod it to come tomorrow or Monday,

Alan

Dear running

Dear running,

Hey there. I had fun tonight. Maybe its because the radio station I work at plays the above song seemingly twice and hour, but I thought of it when I was running for the first time in three weeks. It made me smile, because wow. That was fun.

I've slimmed down a bit, down to 204. So, I've kept good care of myself since we last saw each other. But still, I felt real good out there. I felt light, especially at the end when I kicked it home.

I thought that maybe going right back to 3 miles would be pushing it a bit to much at first, but it just felt right. So, yeah.

I hope we can do this again soon. I'll bring Gatorade.

Now, excuse me, I smell kind of bad. I'm going to clean myself a bit, but thanks again for an awesome time.

See you out there,

Alan

I-pod it: Run To the Hills

I'm beginning to enjoy metal.



Fun fact: Running up hills is a really good cardio workout.

This is getting hard

I've done good on my no fast food kick. However, I have to admit, its starting to get hard.

A few guys at work just went over to Hardee's and I can taste those burgers. I'm a big fan of cheeseburgers, they're great. Fast food, while unhealthy, is delicious. I'm a fan, so to speak. So, while I've done good so far, the temptation is starting to grow.

I'll see if I can hold off though. It'll be tough, but I think I can get through the month. Tempation is setting in though.

In other news, I really need to start running again. I've been lazy. Heat index is supposed to get insane next week, so I may try to run in the mornings and avoid it that way. We'll see how it goes.

Belated Wednesday weigh-in: Actually conducted on Wednesday, but not reported. 206 pounds. Even while lazy, the no fast food has paid off.