Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Some days...

Some days it's harder than others to motivate myself to keep going while on the track. Today was one of those days. But I pushed through and did the full 45 minutes. So 5.5 miles makes it 62 for the month of January (I'll probably just do the pool tomorrow). It's a little short on my mileage goal but not bad considering how much of this month I have been on the injured list. The rest of my week should settle down now which is good considering it feels like it should be Thursday by now.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Evening Run

I had to go to Boulder early this morning so I went to the gym this evening after the boy went to sleep. I went 4 miles for 56.5 for the year. I realized that that tomorrow is going to be busy as well so I would not be able to go in the morning. I might go for another run tomorrow after work if things work out. This weekend turned out to be pretty good when all was said and done. The snow was not too bad, although it made everything really slippery. Sunday was actually sunny and warm so I was able to finally clear the snow and ice off the back patio. It's the little victories that give me hope in times like these.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Pushing the pace

I decided to see if I could keep my pace up at the gym today and I ended up doing 6 miles in the 45 minutes I ran. That gives me 52.5 miles for the year. It was a really good workout and I am so glad to be off the treadmill. It's weird how 15 minutes on the treadmill seems like an eternity, but on the track it just flies by. If the snow holds off tomorrow I may go out to the Cherry Creek State Park to run, but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. Ideally the snow will have tapered off by Sunday so that we can go to the pool as a family.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Morning Workout

Yesterday was busy again so I didn't get a chance to post my workout. I went to the gym in the morning and did another 4 miles in 31:30 (46.5 total). I actually counted the laps this time to see how my splits were during the run. After that I hit the pool for a 20 minute swim. I really like my trips to the gym in the morning, but I find it gets me to work too late, so I will be looking forward to the day when I can do my afternoon run at work. I may try to venture out into the Cherry Creek Reservoir on Saturday if the weather's not too bad. We are supposed to get snow again this weekend, so if I want to run outside I guess I'm just going to have to get used to doing it on snow and ice.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Slammed!

Wow, these past couple of days have been crazy! I've barely had a chance to check my email and everyone knows what an email junky I am. I have been able to get to the gym though so that has been good. Yesterday I did 4 miles on the track plus a few laps in the pool, and today I did 5.5 miles on the track. That gives me 42.5 miles and things are starting to look up. My back feels good and although I'm not yet running outside I'm at least I'm off the "dreadmill." Even though I'm just going around and around the track still is more interesting than the treadmill. There are people to pass and people passing me (although fewer of the latter).


I did go skiing on Saturday which was nice. It was really busy and the lines were long, but at least the snow was good. It felt good to get out on the slopes, and it was good exercise. I'll have to find the time to get out again this season, preferably on a day that's less busy.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Improvement

I had a good half hour swim today, doing 1000 yards, 750 crawl, 250 breaststroke. It was really nice and I'm happy to see my endurance improving slowly. I really like doing the morning swim thing as a dip in the pool and a nice warm shower afterwards is really invigorating. The membership at the Trails is certainly paying for itself this month! I got all my cryogens filled and tests done this week so I'm a happy facility manager indeed. Time to enjoy the weekend and take advantage of the snow by going skiing. We are getting snow again this weekend, unfortunately. It's never going to melt at this rate!

Thursday, January 18, 2007

I shoulda skipped that coffee

Elijah came to visit me at work today so we went to the coffee shop to get a snack. I had a latte and we got a scone for us to share. Unfortunately the coffee went to work on my digestive system and I had to cut my run tonight short at 35 minutes. That was 4.5 miles for 33 total. I'd like to get a swim in before work tomorrow, and it looks like I'll be going skiing on Saturday, so the next time I run will likely be Sunday. I think that's a good start to bringing my mileage back up.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Finally a good run

Yesterday I hit the gym for a run on the track as I feel like I'm fully healed. I ran for 45 minutes and went about 5.5 miles. That's 28.5 total and I have some catching up to do. I'll start ramping up my miles gradually again, and hopefully will be able to run in the great outdoors soon. We got a double joggy stroller yesterday (Thanks Nana!) and it looks like it will be really sweet to run with. Elijah climbed right in and both of us were very sad when we told him we couldn't run with it yet. With some warm weather and no new snow we might be able to hit Cherry Creek Reservoir in a few weeks. I just have to keep praying for good weather.


I hit the pool this morning for a nice workout before work. It's a really great way to start the day. I wanted to get my swim in before the aquacise class started so I think I went a little faster than I should have. I did a good 20 minutes though and was out of the pool in plenty of time. Now I have a busy day ahead of cryogen fills. Yay!

Friday, January 12, 2007

In the depths of winter

Our 4th storm in 4 weeks hit today and compared to the last 3 so far it's not too bad. I shoveled an inch of poofy snow this morning, but the real issue is the cold. When we got up this morning it was -2 degrees (that's -19 C for you Canucks) and it is supposed to be colder this weekend. I don't mind the cold so much as we have good winter gear, but it will be a shock for Lexi, who is visiting from California this weekend. We'll probably just huddle inside and bake, as that is the best thing to do on a cold winter day. We are greeting at church on Sunday though so I'll have to wear long johns for that as I am the "outdoor greeter".


You can't let the cold get you down though so I did head to the gym this morning for a workout. I really wanted to get a swim in before the week was out, but as the aquacise class started at 8:45 I had to skip the run and go straight for the pool. I still wanted to get a good workout though so I really worked hard to motivate myself to keep going. I ended up swimming for half an hour and had a great time. Not a bad way to beat the cold!

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Birthday Girl


Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife, and mother to the fruit of my loins!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

On the mend

Melissa and I went to the gym today after she picked me up from work. We both hit the track for half an hour and I managed to run about 3 miles pain-free. 23 Total. The pool was full of rugrats so we decided to head home without a swim. It was good we did as we were both starving when we got home. Fortunately we had planned pizza for dinner so it was pretty quick to get that going. Tomorrow the snow begins, let's hope it's only a few inches.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Healing up

Well I feel like I'm healing up slowly. This weekend my back felt the best it has in two weeks and today at the gym I was able to run a mile on the track at a very slow pace after running 3 on the treadmill. So I'm at 20 now and hopefully when I get back to 100% I'll be able to get back to running more than 5 miles at a time. Maybe by then the snow will be melted too, although we are due for another round this week so probably not. This weather is really starting to get me down, but at least I've been able to get to the gym somewhat consistently. The plus side of being injured is that I've been swimming more. Yesterday I swam when we went to the pool with Elijah and I got another workout in today. Summer can't be too far away right?

Friday, January 05, 2007

Uncle! I said it!

We had another storm today, another 6-8 inches of snow. I give! No more! Please!


After a 20 minute shoveling warmup I managed to hit the gym this morning for 4 miles on the track and treadmill and then a quick swim. 16 miles so far but I may have to start doing more cross-training if my back doesn't start feeling better. The treadmill doesn't feel too bad, but running on the track is still fairly painful. It may be that an exercise bike would be better for me. I'd love to make swimming most of a workout but I can only do it for so long before I'm bushed. Oh well, that will come with time I suppose.

Uncle! I said it!

We had another storm today, another 6-8 inches of snow. I give! No more! Please!


After a 20 minute shoveling warmup I managed to hit the gym this morning for 4 miles on the track and treadmill and then a quick swim. 16 miles so far but I may have to start doing more cross-training if my back doesn't start feeling better. The treadmill doesn't feel too bad, but running on the track is still fairly painful. It may be that an exercise bike would be better for me. I'd love to make swimming most of a workout but I can only do it for so long before I'm bushed. Oh well, that will come with time I suppose.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Swim swim!

I managed to convince myself to do a full 4 miles on the treadmill for a total of 12 so far. I set it up for half an hour and I managed to convince myself that if I wanted to quit early I could do that. So after about 10 minutes I decided I would cut it short at two miles, but when that came I figured, hey another one couldn't be that bad. By the time 3 rolled around I was able to convince myself that I could pull off the full 4. I finished up on the treadmill and then I went up to walk around the track and check out the pool. The pool was full, but I figured I wanted to have a shower anyway so I would get changed and check to see if any lanes had opened up. One just opened up when I got there so I got to test out my new goggles. They worked out well, and the swim was great for my back. I can't wait to heal up so that I'll at least be able to run on the track instead of the treadmill, but at this rate it looks like the snow will be melted before my back is better.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Eugoogly

I did 4 miles on the treadmill this morning at a fast pace (they limit you to 30 minutes so I have to do 7:30 min/mile to get it done) and I caught some of Gerald Ford's eulogies. Some of them were really impressively written and I have to say that anyone should consider themselves fortunate to have such praises lauded upon them at a funeral service. Watching it made the minutes fly by. No swimming today, the aquacise class was using the lap pool. Too bad as I want to test out my new goggles.

Monday, January 01, 2007

Great Workout

Went to the gym today and had a good workout. I decided to take it easy on my back so I did 4 miles on the treadmill. It was boring, but it's still running. After that I hit the pool for a few laps. When we went out shopping this afternoon I bought some goggles because I'm tired of having nasty red pool eyes afterwards. We had a nice day as a family, and it was nice to get out of the house for a bit. It's great having the family back together again!

2007 Miles: 4!