Been out of town and sick some. Did manage to walk an hour and a half Friday 21 March at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, TX with family while visiting there. A very nice zoo. Will add photos later. Burned some calories helping family clean house, and get ready for a birthday party, but hard to count those, except that I am down a couple of pounds in spite of eating less carefully than usual.
Back to the gym tonight. Walked 20 minutes, ran 5 miles in 45 minutes, and walked another 20 minutes. a total of over 7 miles. Not spectacular, but a nice return after being off for a week or two.
Dan did the crosstrainer at level 11 for 35 minutes, then lifted for an hour. Did some crunches after that. He populates a Google calendar with details of his workouts rather than here.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
15 March - 22 Mile Bike Ride
Been under the weather for a few days. Makes it hard to work out. Nice outside today, so managed a 22 mile (35.41 kilometer) bike ride. Didn't feel particularly strong, but a good ride anyway. W&OD trail was a little crowded in spots, but not bad.
Some people were fishing in the creek. Looks like they pulled out a couple of nice trout. Maybe parks and wildlife stocks it periodically.
Some people were fishing in the creek. Looks like they pulled out a couple of nice trout. Maybe parks and wildlife stocks it periodically.
Monday, March 10, 2008
First Bike Ride of 2008 - 10 March
Took the bike out for a moderate ride today. A little cold, but wanted to map out the distance I jogged yesterday. According to the odometer, it was 18.1 kilometers jogging, and 2.5 kilometers walking. I rode the entire 20.6 km today. I'm all in metric tonight since the odometer was stuck that way. The conversion is about 11.25 miles jogging and 1.55 miles walking. Today's ride was about 12.6 miles.
It felt OK, though I am pretty sore from yesterday, especially the right hip. I am a little disappointed. I had hoped to find out that I had run farther. It was not as far as I had hoped it would be, but still a pretty good feat for me at this time.
I'll add a mapmyrun map tomorrow.
It felt OK, though I am pretty sore from yesterday, especially the right hip. I am a little disappointed. I had hoped to find out that I had run farther. It was not as far as I had hoped it would be, but still a pretty good feat for me at this time.
I'll add a mapmyrun map tomorrow.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
In Like a Lion - Sunday 9 March 2008
There is an old saying about the blustery weather in March - late winter, early Spring - that gives way to milder weather (hopefully) as April arrives: "March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb." Like March, my workout today "came in like a lion." I think I ran between 11 and 12 miles, and walked 2 to 2.5 to cool down. I will know for sure once I ride it on the bike and measure. In any case, it is the best and longest run I have done since the Marine Corps Marathon in October 2005. I am sure I am in much better shape now than I was then. If I can stay on the exercise and moderate eating wagon, and avoid injury, I will have a very favorable time for the MCM this October.
The wind and rain have been pretty strong here lately. Power was knocked out for a while yesterday. Someone got stuck on the elevator and the fire department had to come get them out. I went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History with friends, and also to Pentagon City Mall. We got rained on a little, but not too much. The temperature was nice, anyway. Was pretty pooped out from walking, and didn't get in a workout Saturday.
It was sunny today, but really cold and windy this morning. We took Dan's parents to Normandie Farm restaurant in Potomac, MD to celebrate Dan's mom's birthday. www.popovers.com is the restaurant website. It was very nice. Potomac is out in the country, with really huge mansions and rolling hills. The restaurant had a Sunday brunch buffet with a wide assortment of hot meats, cold meats, omelet bar, cold pasta, vegetables, smoked salmon, breads, desserts, and much more. Dan's sister, brother in law and nephews joined us there, as well. The food was very good, but the service was absolutely impeccable. The lead waiter for our area took excellent care of us, sang to the "birthday girl", bragged on how handsome and smart the kids were, and just did a fantastic job with everything. Dan made sure the management knew how wonderful the service was. We are not shy when it comes to complaining about substandard food and service, but we are also very dedicated to rewarding great service with praise and recognition to management, and generous tips.
We ended up going to Guapo's Mexican Restaurant in Shirlington, Arlington, VA for an early dinner with friends. The same folks who visited from South Carolina I went to the Smithsonian with on Saturday wanted to meet Dan. He had been in class all day Saturday. We have had very good meals many times at Guapo's over the last couple of years, and this time was good, too. Dan and I shared a beef quesadilla and ate very light, still being full from brunch and wanting to not do any more damage than we already had. The service and food were good, and it was a fun time.
I really wanted to avoid restaurants, but with birthdays and out of town friends, it is sometimes unavoidable. I had didn't expect to run outside in this cold, and felt very sluggish after all the food today. Still, for some reason, when Dan went to tennis, I got bundled up, stretched a little, and started jogging. I will ride the route on my bike tomorrow to see exactly how far it was. Www.mapmyrun.com won't really work for this one, since a lot of it was along the W&OD Trail. I went from Columbia Pike, down 16th Street to Walter Reed, down the steep hill to Four Mile Run, took a right onto the Four Mile Run Trail, and was doing OK. My right hip started to ache at about 20 minutes into the run, and I eventually walked for a couple of minutes. I was disappointed, and thought it was going to just be a walk from then on. It felt better in a couple of minutes, so I thought I'd jog again.
Well, it went really great from there. I had to wait on a light or two, but crossed George Mason, crossed Columbia Pike, and got onto the W&OD Trail. Although it got dark on me, and the moon is very meager tonight, I kept going. The music on my Ipod was perfect, the wind had died down, and I ran like all get out. I have no idea where that energy came from. Maybe all that rich French food this morning. I had to take off my jacket and carry it, which was not fun while running, but not a big deal. I ran all the way to 66, which I think was the 5 mile mark or close to it on the W&OD, then turned around to go back. I ran all the way back to Walter Reed, getting there just under 2 hours from my start at 16th and Columbia Pike. I walked up the steep Walter Reed hill, turned on 16th, and made my way back to the condo. My hip hurts, and I will probably feel rough tomorrow, but what a workout.
March and I have both come in like a lion. So has Dan. I hope only March goes out like a lamb, and we stay lions, as far as fierce workouts go.
The wind and rain have been pretty strong here lately. Power was knocked out for a while yesterday. Someone got stuck on the elevator and the fire department had to come get them out. I went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History with friends, and also to Pentagon City Mall. We got rained on a little, but not too much. The temperature was nice, anyway. Was pretty pooped out from walking, and didn't get in a workout Saturday.
It was sunny today, but really cold and windy this morning. We took Dan's parents to Normandie Farm restaurant in Potomac, MD to celebrate Dan's mom's birthday. www.popovers.com is the restaurant website. It was very nice. Potomac is out in the country, with really huge mansions and rolling hills. The restaurant had a Sunday brunch buffet with a wide assortment of hot meats, cold meats, omelet bar, cold pasta, vegetables, smoked salmon, breads, desserts, and much more. Dan's sister, brother in law and nephews joined us there, as well. The food was very good, but the service was absolutely impeccable. The lead waiter for our area took excellent care of us, sang to the "birthday girl", bragged on how handsome and smart the kids were, and just did a fantastic job with everything. Dan made sure the management knew how wonderful the service was. We are not shy when it comes to complaining about substandard food and service, but we are also very dedicated to rewarding great service with praise and recognition to management, and generous tips.
We ended up going to Guapo's Mexican Restaurant in Shirlington, Arlington, VA for an early dinner with friends. The same folks who visited from South Carolina I went to the Smithsonian with on Saturday wanted to meet Dan. He had been in class all day Saturday. We have had very good meals many times at Guapo's over the last couple of years, and this time was good, too. Dan and I shared a beef quesadilla and ate very light, still being full from brunch and wanting to not do any more damage than we already had. The service and food were good, and it was a fun time.
I really wanted to avoid restaurants, but with birthdays and out of town friends, it is sometimes unavoidable. I had didn't expect to run outside in this cold, and felt very sluggish after all the food today. Still, for some reason, when Dan went to tennis, I got bundled up, stretched a little, and started jogging. I will ride the route on my bike tomorrow to see exactly how far it was. Www.mapmyrun.com won't really work for this one, since a lot of it was along the W&OD Trail. I went from Columbia Pike, down 16th Street to Walter Reed, down the steep hill to Four Mile Run, took a right onto the Four Mile Run Trail, and was doing OK. My right hip started to ache at about 20 minutes into the run, and I eventually walked for a couple of minutes. I was disappointed, and thought it was going to just be a walk from then on. It felt better in a couple of minutes, so I thought I'd jog again.
Well, it went really great from there. I had to wait on a light or two, but crossed George Mason, crossed Columbia Pike, and got onto the W&OD Trail. Although it got dark on me, and the moon is very meager tonight, I kept going. The music on my Ipod was perfect, the wind had died down, and I ran like all get out. I have no idea where that energy came from. Maybe all that rich French food this morning. I had to take off my jacket and carry it, which was not fun while running, but not a big deal. I ran all the way to 66, which I think was the 5 mile mark or close to it on the W&OD, then turned around to go back. I ran all the way back to Walter Reed, getting there just under 2 hours from my start at 16th and Columbia Pike. I walked up the steep Walter Reed hill, turned on 16th, and made my way back to the condo. My hip hurts, and I will probably feel rough tomorrow, but what a workout.
March and I have both come in like a lion. So has Dan. I hope only March goes out like a lamb, and we stay lions, as far as fierce workouts go.
Friday, March 7, 2008
7 March - Fried Friday
I'm fried, not my food. Work and school make it a little tougher to go to the gym, but we did. Walked 2 miles, 3.8 mph, 31:30 minutes. Ran 30 minutes at 6.7 mph, 3.35 miles. A nice pace - 8:57 minutes/mile, but couldn't sustain it for as long as I wanted today. Walked another 1.65 miles to make it an even 7 mile workout today.
Dan was beat, too, but did the crosstrainer at level 12 for 30 minutes. He has been steadily increasing the level each week or so. He also lifted and did crunches for another hour or so. His chest is firming up and his arms are getting bigger fast. I'll add details here when I get them from him. He populates Google calendar attached to our joint Gmail account. I think that calendar is second only to www.wikimapia.org in websites he likes to use.
Dan was beat, too, but did the crosstrainer at level 12 for 30 minutes. He has been steadily increasing the level each week or so. He also lifted and did crunches for another hour or so. His chest is firming up and his arms are getting bigger fast. I'll add details here when I get them from him. He populates Google calendar attached to our joint Gmail account. I think that calendar is second only to www.wikimapia.org in websites he likes to use.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
2 March - Sunday Cross Trainer
Gave the legs a small reprieve today - did the cross trainer instead of running. I did the cross train reverse, level 14 for an hour, then did cross train reverse level 15 for 1/2 hour. I've never done level 15 before in my life, so that was a nice surprise to accomplish that.
Dan did the cross trainer, as well, then went and lifted, working biceps today. He also did a number of crunches.
Had dinner at Minh's Vietnamese Restaurant last night. Lots of nice choices on the menu, and had a "cup" (the size of a bowl)of pho-- Vietnamese beef and noodle soup, some salad, and a small summer roll. The rest of the groups had more extensive meals, but I felt full and satisfied with mine. Also had hot green tea.
Dan did the cross trainer, as well, then went and lifted, working biceps today. He also did a number of crunches.
Had dinner at Minh's Vietnamese Restaurant last night. Lots of nice choices on the menu, and had a "cup" (the size of a bowl)of pho-- Vietnamese beef and noodle soup, some salad, and a small summer roll. The rest of the groups had more extensive meals, but I felt full and satisfied with mine. Also had hot green tea.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Saturday 1 March - 10 Miles
Well, I didn't run 10 miles, but I did 10 miles. 2 mile walk, 16 minute/mile, 3.8 mph pace, then ran 5 miles at an 8:59 minute/mile pace, and walked 3 more miles to cool down at the same walking pace as the first set. I'm not sure when I last ran a sub-9 minute mile for 5 miles. This part of working out is going pretty well. So, walked 5 miles and ran 5 miles-- not bad for a still-fat guy.
All this was on the gym treadmill. It has been too cold to go running outside much. It looks like the weather may be nice enough to try to bike on Monday. That would be nice, to mix up the routine a little.
Dan went to the gym, as well. He did the cross trainer for some time, then lifted for a while. He already had big arms, but you can see a definite improvement in only the few weeks he has been lifting again.
All this was on the gym treadmill. It has been too cold to go running outside much. It looks like the weather may be nice enough to try to bike on Monday. That would be nice, to mix up the routine a little.
Dan went to the gym, as well. He did the cross trainer for some time, then lifted for a while. He already had big arms, but you can see a definite improvement in only the few weeks he has been lifting again.
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