Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Hotel Room Reserved...

Run: 3 Miles
Time: 29:42
Pace: 9:54

Tonight we reserved our hotel room in Richmond for the big 26.2! For those that don't know, the reason I picked the Richmond marathon is because I grew up on the southside of the city. I still consider Richmond to be a home away from home and the perfect location to complete my goal of running a marathon.

Well, I have a few nagging injuries to report. Way back in 2004 while lifting weights I strained my shoulder and while I wish I could say I did it trying to bench 500 pounds I actually was just resting on the decline Hammer Strength Machine and reached up and tried to pull up my body weight from one of the bars above....stupid! Not smart and I strained it pretty good. Yesterday in the gym while doing my dumbbell shoulder press I felt a twinge and realized I tweaked it again. Not quite as bad as last time but I'm not taking any chances. I'm not going to stop strength training but I will lower the weight on several exercises that work that muscle group. I also tweaked my back its not to bad and I don't have any pain when running but I will be keeping an eye on it. In fact I skipped my strength training for today and will just move it to Friday. I'm going to continue the 4 day a week strength routine while my mileage is still low but as soon as my mileage starts to increase I will drop my strength back to a three day a week full body routine and then eventually in the final weeks it will be a two day a week full body.

Started my run at 9pm tonight and enjoyed all three easy miles. One thing I've noticed going in to my second week is that I'm really finding a good rhythm when I'm running. Not very fast but a good comfortable pace. Also, I don't map out my runs I just strap on my Garmin and run. My routes are always different and when I hit my distance no matter where I am I just stop the time and do a slow jog/walk back to the house, good way to cool down. For me though I enjoy changing the routes as I get bored very easily and this keeps me on the straight and narrow.

I've seem to hit a little plateau on the weight loss stuck right at the 198/199. I'm going to increase my calories over the next few days and then drop them back down to see if that will help stimulate additional fat loss. Not only has the scale weight stalled but the inches have stalled as well so zig zagging my calories may help out. I will just add an additional meal each day in the 200/300 range for three days and then just pull those additional meals away the next three days. I will also keep my water intake above the gallon a day mark. Today I hit about 192 ounces.

Tomorrow will bring strength training at lunch and then another 3 mile easy run in the evening. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday morning, mine will be very busy. - Jason

9 comments:

Scott McMurtrey said...

Hey, the hotel reservation is a big deal. It's one of those steps that make it seem like it's really going to happen. I should probably do the same here...

Keep an eye on that back. And I can't believe how much water you drink! Wow.

Unknown said...

Nice job on the training. I once dropped 275 pounds on my chest as I was benching. I wound up with some sore ribs, but fortunately did not permanently injure myself.
Hotel reservations show your further commitment.

Wes said...

I plateued three times on the way to where I am. It will come back. That's what I like about my Garmin too. No route required! Run and have fun!!!

Ms Eva said...

I really need to pay more attention to my H2O consumption - I should definately drink more than I do.

My weight has plateu'd as well - but I try not to worry too much about it.

Hotel Reservations + Race Registration = Future Marathoner !! :)

Mom tried decaf once said...

Sweet! Getting the room booked makes it so official! Hope your injuries feel better soon...take it easy like you said.

Unknown said...

minus the injuries, it sounds like your training is going really good and that you have everything planned out really well. you have such dedication!! keep up the great work!

David H. said...

The Garmin is great with just going out and running. I very rarely have a route in my head when I head out. The hotel reservation is definitely key - I stayed in Richmond for the 8K last year and it seemed very hard to get a hotel close to the start or finish.

Unknown said...

I think your plan with the strength training is a good one.

The GPS sure makes it nice to vary your routes. I'm doing the same thing to explore my new neighborhood.

Don't worry about the weight loss plateau, it is pretty normal and if you keep doing what you have been doing, eventually it will continue downward.

Great job!

Darrell said...

Woohoo, I less detail to worry about as you work your way to 26.2!