Friday, June 17, 2011

Friday Run

Went for a run today.

DC Bike Path: Walk/Jog, 4x: Dist. (4.67) mi. Pace-avg: (16:35)min./mi. Speed-avg.: (3.6)mph. Speed-max: (6.5)mph. Burned: (570) Calories.

This time I modified my usual "plan": Standing calf raises (10 per side), Walk (10) min., Warm-up Stretch (5) min. with squats (30)  and lunges (10 per side), Jog (5) min., Walk (10) min., repeat (3x) more; Cool-down walk home.

My Garmin almost flaked out on me before I even got started. I had to power-cycle it twice before it started to link with the satellites. I should have cleared some of the logs before I walked outside. Anyway, once I got going the run was OK. I remembered why I had stopped doing the warm-up stretches before running previously: It makes my muscles feel weaker and I don't feel like I get as much out of the run as I do when I don't stretch beforehand. On the up side my Max HR was only (178) BPM where it is usually at (184) or (185) BPM during my runs. I looked back over my logs and saw that this has happened on a couple of previous runs, so that is good. I believe it means my heart is getting stronger.

During the last legs of my run I used a packet of PowerBar EnergyBlasts, Raspberry flavor; they were awesome. I should probably get one of those fuel belts so I can carry water and energy snacks more easily, rather than relying on the few water fountains in the park, especially now that it is pretty hot out. My existing fanny pack is fine for carrying fuel snacks, my cell-phone, flashlight and pocket knife, but no space for water.

OK. Dinner eaten, stretching done. Better shower and hit the downtown for a bit.

G'nite!
-Lancer!!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Movie Madness

Finally got out to see Fast Five today. Good movie. Great action scenes. Looking forward to #6. B-)  And I saw Thor last night. Still need to watch Pirates 4, and the new X-Men movie. Plus Green Lantern is coming Friday.

...Time passes...

Went to the gym after sitting around too much today. Got in a good workout for a bit over an hour. And the Triathlon Training Blog Calorie Calculator calculates I burned (884) Calories today. I hope that's true, because I really need to burn off some Calories! I need to go for a run tomorrow, then get back into the habit of alternating gym workouts with running/cycling.

Tomorrow, I think I will go see the Pirates 4: On Stranger Tides. I like Johnny Depp, and I really like Penelope Cruz, among others.

Good night!
-Lancer!!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Runnin' Fool

So-o-o-o-o, I finally got my run on. Despite the heat.

DC Bike Path: Walk(10)/Jog(5)/Walk(5), repeat 4x. Dist: (5.36) miles. Pace-avg: (16:21)min./mi. Speed-avg: (3.7)mph. Speed-max: (6.5)mph. Burned: (659) Calories.

At least going back to a different training pattern is less disheartening: I can jog for four (4) minutes continuously, but for some reason, when I was trying the Walk (10) min, Jog (10) min. pattern, I could only jog about two to four minutes before crapping out and walking the rest of the interval. Clearly, I will just have to work up to it. Slowly.

Pre-run I ate a GU Rocktane Pineapple, two (2) glasses of water over the course of an hour before the run, and post-run I had a glass of water, and a pack of Honey Stinger Orange Blossom chews. Those were very good. I must buy more.

Current Weight: (205.2) lbs. But I have been at (203.8) lbs. for most of the last week, even without exercise.

Weekend: Saturday, my brother was down from the Bay Area and he BBQed burgers and hot dogs, while Mom made Potato Salad, and Pasta Salad. It was all too good, and I stuffed myself. After dinner we all went to see Super 8. We all enjoyed the movie, which is a good throwback to some classic Sci-Fi films over the last 30-40 years. It was funny to watch people get up and leave during the credits, only to stop in place and watch the extras that were in the credits. I'm sure J.J. Abrams would be proud to see that kind of audience reaction.

Sunday I mowed the backyard lawn for the first time in forever. Several years ago Mom turned in the old gas mower for a new electric, battery-powered mower as part of an exchange program. It mostly sat in the shed because for a while she was paying a yard service to take care of it for her. Since I've been unemployed, she cut back on that. Sunday I made a point to try out the lawn-mower before Mom did it herself. This mower is much quieter than the gas mower, though I could still use some ear-plugs when it's running, and it doesn't stink like the gas-powered mower did. I also figured out the mistake I made assembling the grass bag: Now the frame is inside the bag to support it, rather than dragging behind the mower. I'll have to look at getting the weed-eater attachment for the mower: The grass around the edges still needs trimming, and the weed-eater we used to have was stolen at some point when thieves broke into the shed a couple years ago.

The front yard does not need mowing: Mom had my brother and I rip out the grass, apply copious amounts of weed-killer, and then a couple months later she began planting foliage more suitable to a hot, dry climate. This makes sense for the Mediterranean climate we have here in the Central Valley, and also because MID is supposed to start metering all water usage in the area. Still waiting for that to go into effect in our neighborhood, but it will be a shockingly large bill when it comes, no doubt, just like when PG&E switched over to the digital metering system.

That's all for now.

-Lancer!!

Freakin' Awesome!

A friend posted this on FB recently. I just watched it, and it is freakin' awesome! Especially the music that plays with it. It's very familiar, but I cannot place it. The video is from Dakotalapse.com by way of Vimeo. If you are an astronomy buff, then you should appreciate this site. I will have to go back and check it out in more detail. Meanwhile, time for more job-hunting.

Also, at the suggestion of my good friend P., I will not pursue a full marathon this year, but will try a half-marathon by the end of the year, if not sooner. In fact, I think I will still try and sign up for the Las Vegas Rock'n'Roll event Strip at Night, because they have a 1/2 marathon option, too. Why back out of a full marathon? As I was reminded, at our age, trying to be too enthusiastic about a new activity like running can lead to many injuries if one is not careful and does not work up to it properly, which is to say, slow and steady. So I will learn from her experience and take it slow. [And yes, zero (0) miles in the last week is much too slow. I get it.]

More later

-Lancer!!