He Shoots!!! He Scores!!! GOOOAAAALLLL!!!!

 I can't believe it's been 12 days since my last post. In that time I've had one of the most incredible accomplishments.  I finally reached my goal weight of 235 lbs. Can I get a collective WOOHOO? Now its time to hit the gym and put back some of the muscle I lost on my journey to good health.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My First 5K!!!

...or Scott 2, Fatboy 0

Today I ran the Bay Breeze 5K race at Quarry Lakes in Fremont. This was my first running race ever!! I now know the feeling Julie gets after a race, and it feels great!!! I was a little nervous standing on the grid right before the race. My legs get a little twitchy and restless from the adrenaline surge I get while anticipating the race ahead. Wheather it's on a bike, on my feet, or in my racecar that little nervous twitch before a race is always there. My race started 20 minutes after Julie started her 10K race. I gotta say, I'm so proud of her. She sets a goal and sees it through. She was thinking that we might finish the race pretty close to the same time since she started earlier, so I kept looking for her coming up behind me. I had to force myself to keep running just in case she did catch up to me, so she wouldn't give me crap for walking!!! (HaHa) The first 2.5 miles went without a hitch, in fact I ran the the whole way until that point. The last 3/4 mile was rough, I had to walk a little bit to catch my breath. I used Julie's 10 step and continue running method. It worked good until I got to the last quarter mile, which was a pretty good little uphill climb to the finish. I ended up walking a pretty good chunk of the way up that last hill. When I came around the last corner to the finish, I sucked it up, pinned the throttle, and sprinted to the finish, passing about seven or eight people coming to the stripe.

First 5K

Up until today the longest duration I had run was 20 minutes. I had a goal of finishing the race under 40 minutes. My official time was 34.42 with a 10.47 min/mi average. In that 34 minutes I think I only walked for about 3 or 4 minutes. I just kept telling myself, " Keep running!! don't let Julie catch you walking!!" I came in 235th out of 537 runners in the overall results. 12th in my age bracket out of 52.

 

 

Race Results 2/16/2013

I'm pretty stoked about my performance today, and I can't wait for the next race. Julie says that there is another race in March at Del Valle Resivior that we might look into.

 

After the Race!!!

 

 

 

 

Countdown To Raceday Part 2

7 Days to go!!!

 

Next Saturday I'll be running (instead of riding) in my first 5K race. On one hand I'm excited about the race in general. On the other, I'm nervous about being able to complete the run without collapsing. This mornings run was the most brutal so far. I know I say that after every run, but this time the first run cycle was ramped up quite a bit. Most of the intervals only increase by one or two minutes. Todays jumped up from 10 minutes to 15 minutes for the first run. I'm glad Julie was able to go with me. She always knows how to keep me motivated. About 2 minutes from the end of the first cycle, my heart and lungs were sreaming with pain, but she was able to give me the encouragement I needed to finish the run. Looking back at the choices I've made in my life, taking up smoking was definately the DUMBEST move I've ever made. I've been smoke free for a whole month now. I'm not gonna lie, it's been harder than losing the weight, but it's definately been worth it. Unfortunately, the damage has been done and I'm going to have to pay for it for a long time. Hopefully I'll be able to get enough of my lung function back for my upcoming bike race in Monterrey. Live and learn I guess.

Has Anyone Seen Fatboy???

Week 6 Days 1&2

I hope he's ok. I haven't heard from him in over a week. Who am I kidding? I hope I never see or hear from that guy again. As with last Wednesday, I drove in early so I could make my softball game and squeeze my run in before work. Wednesdays run was a little tough. The first segment went ok, but I forgot my gloves and my hands started going numb from the cold. I just can't run with my hands in my pockets. However, it still turned out to be a fairly decent run, setting 3 new PR's

 

Tonight, after dinner I decided I should try to get my run in because (1) I didn't ride my bike at all today and (2) tomorrow is Julie's birthday party at Crocodiles in Modesto. I'm not sure if we're doing dinner, but I know we'll be shakin' it out on the dance floor tomorrow night!! Tonights run was just a repeat of Wednesdays run, only with a 2 minute shorter walking interval. As with the last run the first 10 minutes went ok, but the second 10 really kicked my ass. I think what happened was, as I was running, my pace kept increasing. I was feeling overly tired. Then I realized, I had gotten so caught up in the music I was listening to and the tempo of the songs that were playing, that it made my pace faster. Once I took off my headphones, I could hear the cadence of my feet, and realized the pace was way faster than when I started the segment. Funmny though, no PR's were set as a result of the faster pace.  Hopefully, Julie won't be too hung over on Saturday and go with me on the next run. It's gonna be a killer as it starts off with a full 15 minute run interval.         Oh well, like they say, No Pain!! No Gain!!

Hill Climb Training Day #1

April 21st is fast approaching. You've got to get moving. You need to get on the bike and do some climbing.  These are the words that were ringing in my ear when I woke up today. As usual, when I signed up for this race, I didn't take into consideration what I was getting myself into. The race consists of some really long, really big, and really steep climbs. None of  which I'm prepared for. Below is a map of the trail I'm preparing for along with an elevation graph, just to get an idea of what's in store for me.

So after I finally got myself out of bed, and shook out the cobwebs of sleep, I got dressed and threw on my running shoes. Julie decided to join me. I grabbed my phone, started my C25K app and we headed out the door. The run was a pretty good one, of course, they're usually pretty good when Julie's there with me. I remembered to take a nice, easy, consistent pace and concentrate on my breathing.  I don't think I heard Fatboy utter a word during the entire run. I guess he's giving me the silent treatment after the ass whooping I gave him on Wednesday. I finished my run, I stopped at the house, while Julie went on and extended her run another mile or two.

 After she got back, I made us all breakfast. Once we had finished our eggs sausage and toast, I went outside and got the bikes ready to go for a ride. I had been planning a training ride all week at Dell Valle Regional Park.  A few of the guys I ride the train with told me about this place, and that there are some really cool trails to ride and a lot of steep hills to climb. I had heard about Del Valle, but have never been there. We loaded up the kids, the bikes and headed out. On the road leading into the park, there were some really steep hills to get there. I kinda joked and said "I should've started my training on this road." Once inside, and after getting ready, we started off on this one trail, and as I got to the top of this one really tall hill, I looked back and nobody was behind me. I waited at the top for a couple of minutes to make sure everyone was ok. Melissa made it most of the way up pedaling, but stalled and had to get off and walk the last 50 or so feet. Julie and Trevor didn't fare so well, having to walk the bikes the whole way up. When she got up there she told me just go ahead and do my thing and we'd meet up at the truck later. Not wanting to be out in an unfamiliar place by myself, I decided to just go back and try to do some smaller inclines with the family.

 After a while the kids got tired and wanted to hang out at the truck while Julie and I rode around a little longer. We went around to the other side of the lake and checked it out. The place is pretty cool with lots of picnic tables and BBQ pits. Julie and I are thinking of making a day trip out there again and bringing a picnic lunch and possibly the paddle boat. After checking out the other side we pedaled back up this long steep ass hill to get back to the kids and the truck. I wanted to keep riding, but I could tell the kids weren't that enthusiastic about the idea, so we packed up and came home. Still, I got a little bit of a workout, and now I know where I can do some of my future training.