Lucky

At work today.

Lousy 2 miles. Probably has something to do with last nights dehydrating beverages.

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating... Andrea is so good to me. It seems everything she does is solely to make me happy. I'm a lucky, lucky guy....

Run:
2.02 miles
24:00
11:54 pace

Sore, yet POWERFUL

As expected, my legs are sore. Last night Steve and I made plans for a slow-roll this morning. A few hours later he called and cancelled due to conflicting activities. I couldn't find the motivation for a solo road bike ride. However, I went for a short, hard trail bike ride.

Right now I'm pretty damn happy. I cycle & run, which makes me feel really good. The GF treats me better than I deserve and my kids are wonderful. Everything at work is within reasonable parameters (although it is WORK). Unfortunately, over the last couple weeks I've noticed my weight slipping higher and higher. I suppose I find joy in eating out too. I have to draw a line in the sand and that line is 240 lbs. Even with exercise, the weight has snuck back up on me faster than I like, so I need to make some amendments...

Trail Bike:
5.8 miles
25:36
13.57 mph

Angie's Crazy Half Marathon race report

I found my 'cardio fix' at Angie's Crazy Half Marathon. The Captain approved my vacation, which enabled me to take off the night half of my shift. I wasn't prepared for a 13 mile run, but I made due.

In bed by 11 pm and back up at 4 am. Out the door at 4:30 am and arrived at University of Houston Clear Lake at 5:45am for early registration.

Everything went smooth, but I'm glad I was there early as Angie suggested. During registration I noticed the woman wrote the letter, "A" on my bib. I asked why she wrote an "A" and she told me it was for the start line corral assignments. I didn't think too much about it until I walked to the start line. Immediately I saw the very well defined A thru D corrals. The next thing I noticed were all the elite-looking runners in the front corral. I was CLEARLY not an "A" corral runner. While registering I told them I was hoping for a 2:30 run. Maybe they thought I said 1:30. Who knows, but I moved my Clydesdale ass into the back of the "B" corral.

I'm always frustrated when races state they have a RIGID start time and end up starting late. I've never understood why this happens. It appeared this would happen again today. Before we had a chance to build any frustration, the announcer advised us we would be starting late and gave us an explanation as to why. Apparently there was a last minute wheelchair entry. The RD allowed the sole wheelchair participant to partcipate with a respectable 5-minute lead. This was the right decision for the race director and no one seemed to mind after we were advised of the situation.

I'm not a fan of the course scenery (it's the same as the USA 10-miler, which I've run twice). Scenery isn't an issue the RD has control over, but it DOES affect my running.

Mother Nature did her part this morning. The temps were absolutely perfect for running. For the most part the race seemed very well organized and I'd jump at the opportunity to run it again.

Decent swag. HUGE finishers medal, coffee mug, bag, t-shirt, and all the typical race propaganda. Lots of post race food and drinks that included BBQ, drinks, and all the fixing's.

I ran with my aerobic-1 PIMsters in mind. I followed our current schedule of run 5-minutes, walk 2-minutes, which I did a mere 22 times....

Ooops, Vic just reminded me I forgot to include me time.

Run:
13.1 miles
2:32:20
11:38 pace

Per my garmin (I'll take the chip time, close enough):
13.25 miles
2:31:55
11:27

Attached are 3 photos (click the picture to enlarge):

Picture 1 is the huge, albeit beautiful medal
Picture 2 is my "A" corral bib
Picture 3 is my 5/2 cycle as shown on a graph from garmin. Can you see my porta potty break?

Last Minute Plans

I'm at work.

We have full staffing today, which means I could possibly take off tonight or leave early in the morning in order to get my 'cardio fix'. Now my wheels are turning... what to do, what to do!?!?!?!

There are three options, but I can't decide.
1. Angie's Crazy Half marathon (13.1 miles)
2. Bluebonnet Express (68 mile bike ride)
3. Run for the Rose 5k (3.1 miles)

My first choice is the half marathon, but registration is closed and no one has returned my email/phone calls. I COULD pursue even more and see what happens.

The bike ride was my initial plans, but cycling in sub-50 degree temperature is PAINFUL. Forecast is 36 degrees at the start time.

The 5k is an easy choice, but I'm looking for more than 30 minutes of cardio...What do you think? Chime in with your thoughts, I really want to hear them!

EDIT: Vic made a phone call and got through the first time. Angie's Crazy Half has race day registration! Additonally, Angie herself returned my phone call several hours later. hmmmm, sealed deal?

Bike

Trail Bike:
11.15 miles
49:37
13.48 mph

Payback

The kids have been home most of the day due to early release. Between the kids and rain my opportunities to run were limited. Right now I'm at work, covering for Wyatt. He worked for me yesterday while I was at PIM. This evening I'm paying back the favor.

As soon as I got to the station I ran 3-miles. My legs felt heavy, but it was a nice easy run.

Run:
3.01 miles
32:36
10:49 pace

Memorial Loop

Back at work.

After a little begging and pleading, I finally talked Wyatt into working for me from 5pm-8pm, so I could go to Power in Motion. I arrived at 5:45 and Coach Vic was the first person I saw. As soon as I walked up he said, "You know PIM was cancelled tonight, right?". I totally forgot to check the weather line and my email, so this was news to me.

I decided to run a loop and go back to work early. My run was good, but uneventful.

Run:
2.92 miles
35:01
12:00 pace

When I arrived back to the PIM meeting spot (where my truck was parked), I found 80% of the participants waiting for tonight's class. The bad weather was still hours away from Houston so Coach Elisabeth and I lead our runners out to the promise land. Schedule was 4 x 5-minute run, 2-minute walk. We had an incredibly successful run!!

Walk:
1.97 miles
29:01
14:45 pace

Road Trip

Oh my goodness, see if you can follow my day:

Worked last night at Jersey Village FD
Up at 3:30am
Off duty at 4:30am
Arrived at Humble FD at 5am
Driving to Ferrara Fire Apparatus at 5:30 am
Arrived in Holden La at 11:00 am
Lunch 12:00-1:30
Completed new Fire Truck inspection from 1:30-4:30
Driving home at 4:30 pm
Back home at 11:15 pm

I'm so freaking tired. Whew, I'm ready for some long needed rest. Obviously I had no time to exercise.

Included is a picture of our new truck. We are very excited. It's a custom truck that we designed ourselves.

Better than Nothing

Taylor is back from winter park and unfortunately she is not feeling well. She's home with me for the day. Things are looking good so far.... her fever is going down and no more vomiting.

I still managed to squeeze in a small bike ride. Knowing I didn't have much time I pushed the effort. It was mega windy, so my pace wasn't has high as I expected.

Later tonight I work at my part time job.

Trail Bike:
5.79 miles
26:06
13.31 mph

Busy, Busy...

I haven't blogged since Wednesday, so let me catch up...

On Thursday I worked at the Fire Station. During the shift Wyatt and I decided to plan a last minute camping trip for the weekend. This was a challenge due to Spring Break. It seemed everything within 200 miles was booked solid. We ended up finding a small campground-marina in Riverside, Texas.

I was off-duty at 8am Friday morning and on the road by 9:30! I was a little disappointed in the camp site, but the kids had a lot of fun. We planned this trip solely for the kids, so mission accomplished.

SMALL bike ride Saturday morning. When I say small, I mean small.... I think it was less than 4 miles at a snails pace. Different cyclist than we usually ride with, so we accommodated everyone.

I'm back at work today. I almost wrote-off running, but I forced myself to log a few miles. I'm glad I ran. Not only is the weather nice, but I feel really good now.

As you can see it was an extremely rushed weekend. Now I'm eager to find someone to cycle with in the morning....

Run:
3.12 miles
35:01
11:13 pace

Crazy Day

Preston's ear surgery went well. Our day started at 5am, yet he was peacefully resting at Erin's house by 8:45 am.

Still working on refinancing my house (trying to get a lower interest rate). Met the appraiser at 1pm. She said the home won't have any problems meeting the needed value.

Now the big ticket item of the day. It seems someone has stolen my credit card number. HP Home Store called me to confirm the mailing address of my new computer. I told them I didn't order a new computer. She verified my name and address. I thought it was a scheme or sales call until she repeated my debt card number which was used for the $1,300 computer. I immediately checked my banking account and found three pending charges, none of which I knew about. I spent several hours on the phone and at the bank trying to get this figured out. It's a complete mess, but it looks like we caught it just in time...

Third PIM session. Andrea tagged along for her FIRST Memorial Park loop. The Aerobics 1 group is not only growing in size, but they are growing as runners. It's so inspiring to see these newbies making the choice to be there. The schedule for today was 3 minute warm-up, 6 x 3 minute run/1 minute walk, 3 minute cool-down.

Walk:
2.0 miles
27:52
13:56 pace

No weight training again tonight. Too tired... both physically and mentally.

Running on Full

On tonight's run I felt the same knee discomfort I experienced last Wednesday. The chances of it being significant are slim, because the issue disappears within the first half mile.

Post dinner run, which slowed me down. Not only did I eat too late, but I also ate too much. I felt heavy the entire time (pun not intended).

Run:
2.16 miles
26:02
12:03 pace

Preston has to be at the hospital at 6am for minor surgery. He's had frequent ear infections and they have noticed minor hearing loss, so they are putting tubes in his ears. Very common procedure with minimal risk.

Since it's late and I have to be up early I've decided to skip the gym workout.

Work Ability

Even though my doctor released me back to full duty, I still have to prove that my knee is functionally able to perform essential duties of a firefighter. To do this, the City of Humble FD send its employees to a local physical therapist. The PT administers a test that simulates the task of a typical firefighter.

I've done several work abilities during my 13 years at Humble, but they never get any easier. So, I got an expected workout first this morning.
...of course I passed.

I brought my road bike and trainer to work with me. This afternoon I rode for 45 minutes. The mileage and speed is never a "true reflection of effort" with a trainer, but my bike computer read:

Bike Trainer
14.68 miles
45:05
19.56 mph

Afterwards I completed an Upper-body workout in the station gym.

Its been a busy day and I'm waaay tired.

AMF

Last Cold 3-miler

Just walked in from running. This was probably the last "cool weathered run" of the season. Minus the rain, I love these temps, but they never last long in Houston. It's great to have low-mileage right now, so that I can acclimate to the blistering heat that is just around the corner. Ok, ok... I'll stop talking about there weather.

I enjoyed an easy 3-mile route around the neighborhood. I had a few more miles left in me, but I need to baby my knee for at least another month.

Run:
3.07 miles
35:33
11:35 pace

I'm going to try and muster up the energy to get in the gym after this post. The schedule calls for a Lower-body workout.

In the morning I report back to duty. There's a true brotherhood at the fire station. Even though its only been 3-weeks, I'm eager to see all my buddies!

I haven't posted many pictures lately, so here's two. The first picture is Preston running around the house with his Super-Man cape and the second picture is Alison playing catcher at her first Softball game...

A GOOD, cold, wet run

Braved the light rain for a run. It wasn't nearly as cold as I suspected and the run was refreshing. I ran my street to the end where it makes a big loop with a small 'Hill'. Near the lakes and across from the country club the greenbelts and roads have a few "East Texas Size" hills. Nothing major, but its nice to change elevation... even if it is a minor change.

I've had a Garmin Forerunner 405 for a year or so, yet I seldom use the interval feature. I programed a workout similar to those we are running at Power in Motion. I finally have it figured out. Todays programmed workout: 2 minute warm up, 12 x 2-run/1-walk, followed by 2 minute cool-down.

Run:
3.6 miles
39:30
10:58 pace

Heading to the gym for a Mid-body workout.

Strange Sighting

As I was driving to PIM last night I couldn't resist the temptation to stop and take a picture of a man and his scooter. I'll probably burn in hell for posting this, but I love a good laugh. Things worth noticing (click the picture to make it larger):

Man in sailors hat (also notice the huge frown)
1980's leather jacket
Scooter
Shopping cart "trailer"
Bicycle wheels 'engineered' to fit a shopping cart
The 24 pack case of BEER bungee corded down securely
5 gallon fuel can















At last, the staples are out of my knee. I can usually tolerate pain, but I'll admit, it hurt when they took them out. I've been released back to work starting Monday. YEAH ME!!

I'm a little sore, which is no surprise. I've been quite active since Monday. Although, the rain kept me indoors today. My options were limited to my bike trainer. Easy-peasy ride.

Bike Trainer:
9.95 miles
30:19
19.79 mph

Also hit the gym.
Weight training:
Upper-body

PIM 2nd session

Another great session at Power in Motion. I'm concerned that a few people were missing, but the coaches will send out some personal emails in the morning and make sure all is well. Below is a picture of our Aerobic 1 students at tonight's class.

There's a cool front on its way, which dropped the temperature 10 degrees. It's always nice to run in Houston with temps hovering around 60 degrees. I took advantage of the nearly perfect weather and ran 2 miles before PIM.

I experienced some pain in my right knee, just superior to my patella. I worked hard to maintain my form without changing my gait. After 0.75 miles the pain faded away. Not sure what the issue was. As soon as my knee stopped hurting I found myself wanting to run faster, but I resisted the urge and simply logged my miles. As a precautionary measure I wrapped my knee with an ice pack once I got home.

Run:
2.09 miles
22:22
10:42 pace

The participants ran 8 x 2-minute run/1-minute walk. The people I ran with seem to be excelling without any issues.

PIM run:
1.7 miles
24:00 minutes
14:07 pace

Finished the day with 5 miles biking and nearly 4 miles running. Not bad, considering I'm just getting back into the swing of things.

Transition

Found myself a little sore this morning as a result of yesterdays bike ride. To combat the blah feeling I jumped on my trail bike. Sure enough, after the ride all my muscles loosened up.

Trail Bike:
5.54 miles
25:55
12.83 mph

Lower body workout went exceptionally well. On the first three weight training sessions, I decreased the weight on each exercise. I did this for a smooth transition back to my usual routine. Starting tomorrow all my previous weights will be back to normal.

Second session of Power in Motion tonight. Looks like we might get wet, but that's ok... I'm ready to run!

I'm so excited, tomorrow morning at 7:55am I get these staples out of my knee. YEAH!!!

Staples

These darn staples are the only thing holding me back.

A couple weeks ago my friend Lynn told me about a group of local cyclist who were getting together for group rides and tours. I missed the initial mixer due to my surgery, but I was added to the email list. I think the group has 10 or more people.

Earlier this morning I rode with Becky, who started the group. She is still recovering from a weekend ride, so this was a fit perfect, since I wasn't sure how my leg would feel.

Road Bike:
19.38 miles
1:14:49
15.55 mph

Nothing to mention about my leg or knee except... I want these staples out. I've considered getting my pliers and trying to take them out myself!!

Time to get in the gym before it gets any hotter.

Weight Training:
Mid-Body

Usual Routine

Back to my usual routine. The staples are still in place, but the pain is all but gone. My range of motion is about 80%. There is minor sensations of tightness around my knee when I flex, which I assume is a result of the staples pulling at the skin.

Rode my trail bike today with meaningful effort.

Trail Bike:
6.8 miles
31:19 minutes
13.03 mph

I also did some weight training, which has been neglected for more than 2-weeks.

Weight training:
Upper Body

Tonight was Alison's second softball game. She scored their first run and started a fire that resulted in a 15 to 9 win.

Test Ride

First bike ride sense the surgery. Its been 8 days and my knee feels good. I went for a test spin on my street to see if the movement would be tolerated.

After the successful test spin, I loaded Preston in the bike seat and we cycled to a local Red Box to return a movie. Three miles there and three miles back. No issues whatsoever. Actually, I was a bit tired. Weird how fast you lose fitness when you sit on the couch all day with your leg elevated.

Trail Bike:
6.08 miles
31:56
11:42 mph

Several hours after the ride I had a weird aching in the posterior knee. Not sure what it was. One-hour with an ice pack and the issue went away.

Power In Motion

First day of Coaching PIM was a HUGE success. It seemed both the participants and the coaches were feeding off the energy of something new. Our sub-group is a mix of 16 runners and 4 coaches.

I decided to run with the participants. The schedule was 8 x run 1-minute, walk 2-minutes. I was in the back, but I was out there and running 5 days after knee surgery! My knee feels good. We covered about 1.50 miles.

Slow Progress

The knee is improving, albeit slowly. Walked one-mile to test the waters. The walk was slow and uneventful. Over the last two days my calf and posterior knee has been getting sore. Several times during the day I try to flex and extend my injured leg to increase the range of motion.

Andrea massaged my injured leg, which made it feel soooo much better. I think the massage did me a lot of good.

I've made tons of 'excuses' to let the dieting slip over the last couple weeks. I need to get back on track.