Wednesday, April 14, 2010

4-14-2010

I went today and picked up our race packets for Saturday's race. I am excited. Nervous about the race route. The route from my best guess take us through some pretty hilly residential neghiborhoods. I am nervous about how well my shins will hold up on hills.

I have switched the shoes I play basketball in. I am now playing in my running shoes. Not really happy about that, but at least my shins are holding up well.

I did not make it to the track today. But I did go running. I hit the treadmill at home. Last time I was on the treadmill I struggled. I was in terrible pain. Not tonight Ladies and Gentlemen! My legs and knees and shins were good. I ran non stop for 2.5 miles in 25 minutes. Not too shabby. I was pretty much smiling the whole run. I was pretty excited that I was able to actually put together a decent run WITH OUT stopping and NO PAIN. I hope this feeling sticks. I am a big fan of not having pain when I run. I am looking forward to Saturday's race ( You may have read about this somewhere before today). I hope to get below 36 minutes. Primary goal is to finish and my secondary goals have not changed. Do not throw up and beat Brandi. Even though I do like running behind her for unspoken reasons.

I am hoping they have the mile run prize categories set up by age appropriate categories. The last mile run my kids ran in the category was 1-12, so there was no hope for my little guys to win anything. I looked back at the times and if they would have had a prize category for 1-5 My son would have finished first in that age category. I want him to continue to run and him to want to do well. He is only 4. If they have the age groups set up in different categories I think he will place. He is going to run well regardless of a prize though. I am very, very, very proud of my children. They really do enjoy being active once they get out there and start doing it. Trying to convince them they are going to enjoy it is a different story all together.

I am down to 7 school days. It is so bittersweet. I am so excited about graduation, but I am going to miss my students so much. They are such a fun group of kids to be around. I hope and pray I will be able to get a job there next year, but with the budget the way it is no one knows anything at all. I am very nervous.

Heading in the right direction.

HOLD UP, before I close, I put on some slacks this AM from back when I was selling life insurance, and they are just a little too big for me. The waist size is 42. After school I went to the local Belk and tried on some different slacks. Yep, I am down to a size 36. I did not buy any because I did not like the way the pockets looked, but I did buy a MUCH needed new belt for $3.89 (a savings of $23).

SHEP

8 comments:

  1. Hey, you are rocking it sir! Keep up the great work, its awesome and quite inspiring! Can I ask you a few particulars about your shin pain and how the hell you got along to running 25 minutes without pain?

    To give you an idea of where I'm at; I'm 6'2", 300lbs and running at about 5.6 to 6.1mph on the treadmill but can't sustain it for more than 2.5 minutes. On the C25k program I'm on week 2 though I did week 1 twice. I'm trying to pay attention to my posture while running and avoiding to much heel strike. Proper running shoes have helped me quite a bit. I'm sleeping a good 8 hours a night, and rebound fairly quickly.. my off days are spent on the elliptical for about 30 minutes burning 400+cal. Since February, I'm down 20lbs and a pant size, which feels awesome, but I'm also looking forward and trying to imagine running for 25 minutes in a shot..

    Maybe I just need to be more patient?

    As you reflect back on your success over the past 4 months, are there particular points in time things started to get progressively easier.. or is it still generally as hard as it has been?

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  2. It has been getting easier, the motivation part is the slippery part.

    As far as the running with no pain, I gave up trying to run long distance in Feb and focused on be able to sprint while I played church league basketball. I would ride the stationary bike.

    I did not do the Cto5K training program. I did my own thing, HAPPENS all the time with me. I would run as far as I could and stop. I was not happy when I would have to stop because of the pain but I struggled through. It has been a long process. Keep lacing up your shoes and you will eventually get there. I am still not there, slowly but surely.

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  3. Revgum, I am Shep's wife and I have an opinion. I am no expert, but here goes: stick with c25k. I did it and it worked! As of one year ago, if I would have been told that I had to run one mile without stopping in order to save one of my children's lives, I really don't think I could have physically done it. I have never been a runner. Ever. Shep has always been one of those people that could outrun whoever he was racing and if he was told to run a long distance, he could do it just because it was a challenge. That's not to say that he hasn't done training in the past via preparing for enlisting in the Army and once he got it in, but if you ask me, he is a runner. He always has been. He's had a difficult time this go around because he was so big, he couldn't "just run" without setbacks. Shep gets frustrated when I express my opinion on the matter because he is very impatient (and will be the first to tell you this) but I truly think if he would have taken his time (specifically 9 weeks) and gradually worked at 3.1 miles, he could have done so without as much pain and frustration. I did c25k religiously and it worked-pain/ache/injury-free. I do have a smaller frame, but I have more than enough extra weight to compensate. I am not saying you won't face setbacks, but I honestly believe you can do this. If I can run a 5k, anyone can! You can do this! Just keep on keepin' on!

    One more thing and I'll let Shep have his blog back:
    Shep, I am very proud of you and I know I don't say that enough. You have worked so hard and shown so much commitment. I am so thankful that our children now have healthy role models in their lives. You look great and your have an awesome attitude. You are smiling more, you are the Shep I fell in love with. The one who sees the glass half-full and is ready to fill it to the rim. You inspire me and I'm proud to have you as a partner to race with and a partner to share life with. shmily forever

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  4. Hijacking my comments AND making me get teary eyed......Thanks babe. I love you.

    Rev, I am beyond impatient. When I want something, I want it yesterday. I probably could have gotten where I am a little longer and with less pain, but that would have taken too long. One day (not any day soon) I may learn to become less impatient. Until then, I am going to be busting through life head first. Brandi is correct though, keep busting through life and you will eventually get there. Keep up the hard work and it will pay off. I saw a poster that said, "Running will never take more from you than you are willing to give." It speaks volumes to me.

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  5. Dang Brandi, you need to notch back the heart string tugging here.. you don't want every one getting too teary eyed! ;)

    Thank you both for the encouragement and sharing your experience! This week has been a little bit of a challenge because of my impatience.. I'm going to stick with the plan and try to stop analyzing this so often.

    Keep up the good work both of you!

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  6. I saw your pictures on facebook on the C25K page and I thought I would check out your blog...great inspiration! I am going to be starting week 3 of C25K and it's great to see other "normal" people like me running! My first 5K is June 4th so I hope that I will be ready by then! Keep up your awesome work and again, thanks for the inspiration! Check out my blog if you are bored! :) Lauren

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  7. Lauren, I think you are probably the first person to ever refer to me as normal. LOL. Good luck on your 5K. I hope you do well. I will be checking out your blog (already have). Thanks for the kind words. Never crossed my mind I might inspire other people when I started this blog. I wanted to put myself out there so I would have the motivation to do something about being the fat guy. Its working.

    SHEP

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  8. Checking back in Shep! I ran my first 5k last Saturday and finished strong @ 35:44 running all the way through. Been working out and jogging, and down another 15lbs. Feels really good to get out there and get moving! Keep on keepin' on man!

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