Rather blustery day

I’ll start out with the bad news, at least for me.  I’ve been really bad lately with my eating habits and over the last couple months, let myself slip to a point I should not have gotten back to.  Stepped on the scale this morning and was shocked, SHOCKED, to see a number that I have not seen since Jan 2007, that I thought I would never see again.  I guess not necessarily shocked, since the numbers have been creeping up, and I ate very poorly yesterday.  So, I guess no suprise really, but hopefully the kick in the arse to clean up my act.  I was so proud of myself in late July.  At that time, for the NYC Tri, my weight was as low as it has been in 15 years.  I guess I stopped caring in the lead up to the NYC Marathon, and then the time off afterwards really did a number on me.  So, add another goal to my pile, but need to get my weight back down a bit to a more comfortable level.

Now, onto the run today.  I’d really like to get to 800 miles for the year, which will require ~93 miles in Dec.  That would be a high mileage month for me.  When not training for anything, I’ll typically get 40-60 miles in a month.  When training for something, I’ll get up to 80-100.  I have no races this month, and am still recovering from injury, but feeling better and so will give this a go.  Will have to add 1 or 2 long training runs to make it, and WILL try.

With that in mind, decided to run the relatively longer 6 mile run out and back over the Williamsburg Bridge.  My running windows in the morning are pretty small, and today I needed to be home by 7:10 so my wife could leave for work.  So, was out of bed by 5:30 and out of the house by 6:00.  Was warm, at 65 degrees, amazing for Dec, but very windy.  Wanted to go with a singlet on top, but have already put them away for winter, so pulled out a short sleeve tech tee instead.

Was really deserted out on the bridge.  Eerily deserted.  Reminded me of this run I did in the middle of winter, when it was 11 degrees and I saw very few people on the bridge.  Today, I was all the way over to the ‘landing’ on the Brooklyn side before I saw anyone else.  First was a couple running, then a guy trying to walk off his drunken state, and then another lone lady.  I guess the rain from last night combined with the wind kept people away.  Or, maybe it was just too early for most other people!  Did see several more people, and bike riders, on the return trip, including the same 3 runners seen the first time over.

Otherwise, this was hard.  The wind was really whipping around, especially up on the bridge.  Kept the pace slow and even and finished at about 10 min per mile.  I’m definitely out of practice with this run, as last time I did it was way back in August!

Made it home by 7:05, then quickly posted it up in my Excel log and on DailyMile, showered, and got my 8 year old up for school, and transitioned into that whole ‘get to school and work routine!’  All said, though, running really is a great way to start the day!

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One way to stop a bad habit

I’ll get back to blogging shortly.  Been just lazy about it, trying to finish my Austin Marathon race report, etc.

I have a bad habit.  Namely, after lunch, I’ll stop at the convenience store / lotto stand downstairs and pick up a candy bar or some other sweet.  Today, I was going to be especially bad and pick up 2 of them.  One for now (Reese Whipps), and one for later (M&M Peanut Butter).  But, shock of all shocks, the guy now wants $1.25 for each of them.  I DON’T THINK SO!  This is not the first time I’ve been outraged this year by consumer goods pricing.

Guess that habit is cracked…

Happy Birthday… to me!

Turned the big 38 today. 

Since I have no willpower at all, I started my day with one of those sinful cinnamon rolls you get from the corner coffee/pastry street vendors.  But it’s OK, I had a good run last night!  Yum, yum!

What is the weather in Austin in Feb?

I have a few minutes to kill, so I’m sitting outside at Madison Square Park (awesome free wifi by the way), freezing, but catching up on email, blogs, etc.  Hopefully I’ll get a run in later tonight, but with the cold weather, I’m just kind of curious what the weather is like in Austin in February, as I prepare for the Austin Marathon on Feb 15.  I know Texas is hot, but when I was there previously in November, the weather was awesome.  I figure the weather in Feb is pretty awesome as well.

So, went to Yahoo Weather (don’t worry, powered by The Weather Channel), to find the historical averages for Austin.  Average high 65, average low 44.  So far, so good!  50’s is perfect, 40’s and 60’s are manageable.  But, what if we have a record hot or cold day, what is in the realm of possibility?  Record high is 99 and the record low is -1.  Oh no.  So, it could be beautifully perfect, or it could be New York dead of winter, or New York dead of summer.  Regardless, it will be fun, and sub 4:30!

Was able to get to the gym this morning after getting 7 year old off to school, and before work.  I’ll try to get a late run in as well.  On Sunday, I may try for a 10.3 mile loop over the Williamsburg and 59th St bridges.

Anyway, I’m freezing now, they are cleaning up the tables and chairs, and I just had to stamp a rat out of the way, so I’m outta here!

I’ll write more about my diet another time (so far, ehhh), but I’m proud to say that on this visit to Madison Square Park, I resisted the Shake Shack!

No, not the D word

This year, I’ve proved that stepping up the training will lower your marathon time.  I dropped 20 minutes off my time from last year, and I think it was a direct result of running 605 miles from Jan-Oct, rather than the 447 miles I ran last year.

However, there is still room for improvement, and I think the best place to get it from is by dropping some pounds.  I don’t like to dddd, dddd, dddd, dddddiet.  (Jeez, can’t even say the word).  I eat like a pig – very unhealthy.  Snack all the time, eat big lunches all the time, just don’t at all watch what I eat.  I like to say that running gives me the freedom to eat what I want.  In a sense that is true, when I’m running, I don’t gain weight, but I’m also not losing weight.

In the beginning of 2007, I came off a strech where I did very little exercise, and my weight was 235, with body fat of 25%.  After I picked up the running, and started going to the gym, by April, I quickly brought my average weight down to 227 and body fat down to 23.5%.  And I’ve pretty much been there ever since.  Last month was the first time I actually had my average monthly weight below 225 (224.9!!) with body fat down to 22.4%. 

I think it is time to try the diet thing and see what happens.  If I can bring my weight down 10 pounds for the austin marathon, I think it will make a big difference.

To try and help me stay on the wagon, I will not make it a strict diet.  But if I can simply eat healthy breakfasts, reasonable lunches on most days, and snack on fruit instead of junk, I should be able to lose 10 pounds…