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LSUlakes

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Life happens, and sometimes our goals are put on hold for one reason or another. I took some time off from any serious running.
I figured George Eliot's quote was fitting for a title for this journal. I may be starting over again, but my goal has not changed. That goal is to BQ for Boston and run it. My BQ standard is 3:05:00 for the next 5 years. Now I have been told a goal without a target or objective is just a dream. Below is a list of some short term and long term goals:

1. Run 100 miles in a month.
2. Lose 10 lbs total.
3. Sub 2 Hour Half
4. Run 125 miles in a month.
5. Lose 15 lbs total.
6. Run 150 miles in a month.
7. Run 175 miles in a month.
8. Easy and Long Run pace average below 9:00 min/mi.
9. GA run average pace below 8:30 min/mi.
10. Run 200 miles in a month.
11. Lose 20 lbs total.
12. Lose 30 lbs total
13. A new 5k PR (21:18 Current)
14. A new 10k PR (45:15 Current)
15. A new Half Marathon PR (1:39:28 Current)
16. A new Marathon PR (3:43:37 Current)
17. BQ ~January 2022
18. Run the Boston Marathon

I hope to check these off in the coming months and years as well as add new ones along the way. I will also track weight here as well. All of that time off has added a few pounds. I will keep a tracker of sorts at the bottom of this post. I will post from time to time as needed about my training, my ups and downs, and who knows what else.

Start / Current / Goal
240.8 / 231.8 / 210 = 9lbs
1/19/19 - 2/8/19 - 9/1/19 = ~3 weeks

Edit to Add:
Some abbreviations I will use to describe runs.
R - Recovery Run
GA - General Aerobic Run
MLR - Medium Long Run
LR - Long Run
MPR - Marathon Pace Run
SW - Speed Work
Later SW will be replaced with two different type of run. VO2max and Lactate Threshold runs.
 
Last edited:
Yay! new training journal. Even though I'm way behind on reading all the other journals. But, happy to see you started on and are recommitting to running. I love all your goals and look forward to watching you achieve them.
 
Last week was my first week with 5 runs in it and also the first week of eating much healthier all week. I started to get things going when we returned from a weekend at WDW on July 16. So 2 weeks in total.
Run from last week:
7/23 - 4 Mi
7/24 - 2 Mi
7/25 - 3 Mi
7/26 - 2 Mi
7/27 - 7 Mi
Total = 18 Mi
More running than walking, but the pace is nice and slow.
 
Update on runs so far this week.

7/30 - 4 miles on the TM
7/31 - 3 Mi total. 1 mile warm up followed by 4 ea 400m, with 400m recovery (walk/jog). The 400m "sprints" ranged in pace from 7:00 - 7:30 min/mi pace. I thought this is about where they would end up, but hoped for a little quicker. However I did not kill myself doing them either and just wanted to get the feet moving a little faster on this one. Speed work was sorta like leg day at the gym for me in the past. I knew I should do it, but it often got skipped or replaced with a general aerobic type run instead. My plan is to get one of these in per week. Usually a low mileage day, but higher intensity.

Also on the scale this morning I checked in at 226.8. Thats a 1.7 drop in 24 hours. It's all fluid and I need to make a effort to stay hydrated to continue healthy runs.
 


8/2/18 Update:

Ran 5 treadmill miles last night but had only planned 4. It felt great and I wanted to go longer but I needed to get home.

Weight : 235/226.4/210 Another 0.4 drop. Eventually I will get caught up on the water levels and expect the weight to move up 2-3 lbs.

Today is my rest day and Friday is 2-3 miles, hopefully in the morning.

Im debating what to do Saturday. I have 9 miles planned but struggled with last weekend 7. Currently I am feeling good and getting into the double digits for a single run is tempting. I'll see how things go that morning and may add the extra mile in.
Also, my sons first birthday is today! Tomorrow I am off of work, but have a long list of to do's to get things ready for Saturdays little party. It's going to be a busy next few days and they may change my desire to get to 10 miles.
 
8/6/18 UPDATE:

Friday turned out to be a busy day that had some negative effects on Saturday. Saturday was DS 1st birthday party and DW worked Friday so it was my job to get the house ready. I started by doing lawn work, organizing the garage, picking up inside then sweeping mopping. So I started at 8 AM and finished the hard work by 5:00 ish. Then needed a haircut and grocery store run. Got 2 miles in late Friday and I was struggled to get those in. I knew Saturday was not going to go well since I was on my feet all day, did not really eat and went to bed at 11 PM. Woke up a little after 5 and started my run around 6:45 AM. I went for the 10 miles and none of them were easy. I did a fair amount of walking, but I finished the 10 miles so I was pleased with at least sticking to the plan. DS party went well and eating did not get out of hand.... that is until Sunday! I felt like all I did was nap and eat. Finished the week with 24 miles.
Probably hitting the TM this afternoon for 4-5 miles.
 
Happy Birthday to your little guy!!
I feel like I've officially been around the running thread for a long time- you've announced you were expecting, he was born and now he's 1 already!! There is nothing like kiddos to put how time flies into perspective!

I'm so happy for you- it seems like you're really getting back into your running groove. Hope you have a great week!
 


Happy Birthday to your little guy!!
I feel like I've officially been around the running thread for a long time- you've announced you were expecting, he was born and now he's 1 already!! There is nothing like kiddos to put how time flies into perspective!

I'm so happy for you- it seems like you're really getting back into your running groove. Hope you have a great week!

Time is flying by so fast it seems! Working hard on staying on track and starting to get some of it back. The long runs are brutal but I hope they become easier at that distance soon. Thanks for your post and hope you have a great week as well!
 
8/9/18 Check-In:

This week in running thus far I have done the following:
8/6 - 5 miles GA
8/7 - 3 miles E (TM)
8/8 - 6 miles SW (TM) Starting at 6.4 for mile 1 and increased speed 0.1 each mile with the final mile at 6.9.
8/9 - Rest Day

This morning my weight is at 225.3 which is almost 10 lbs down from July 15 start day. My lowest weight is usually Saturday morning. I weigh myself first thing in the morning before any run to try to be consistent and not inflate pounds lost. A little dehydrated today so my goal is to take it plenty of fluids today to get me ready for my last two runs of the week.

The birthday party for DS had put a little dent in the diet, but since then I am back on track. On the diet so far this week has been boneless pork chops topped with a Parmesan cheese crust and a side of oven roasted zucchini as well as spaghetti with spaghetti squash as noodles, side has been half a baked eggplant with mozzarella. Keeping calorie intake between 1700 - 1900 range. Goal is 1800 without adding anything for the runs.

Remaining runs for this week are a 2-3 miler Friday and 12 miles on Saturday. Going to be hard to get the 12 in Saturday with some obligations that day, but I will try to get as many in as I can that day.
 
8/13/18 Check-In:

8/10 - 2.1 miles pushing both kids in the stroller. That should count as something other than a easy run lol.
8/11 - 12 miles (MLR)
8/13 - 4 miles (E)

Weight currently at 228.0 which is up, but not to bad for a Monday.

Recap of the last few days:
Pushing two kids in the stroller makes two miles seem like a lot more. The double stroller acts like a sail but without the benefits going with the wind. My long run on Saturday went much better than my previous two, even with the added mileage. Pace is still slower than I would like it to be, but honestly that main point here has been just getting the miles in. I did much less walking on this past run as well, which to me is a sign of my endurance coming back some. Played golf Saturday as well, but only got in 14 holes before the weather put a end to that. I also worked out twice last week. I want to get 3 workouts in a week, but I am fine with 2-3 for the time being. I am enjoying my early morning runs as well. Saturday I woke up just before 4:00 AM, but did not start my run until 5:30 ish because of travel time and getting everything ready. Ran 4 miles this morning and it felt nice enough, but my legs are still sore apparently from the weekend. The early wake up and tired legs made it difficult to stay on a steady pace. Hoping they recover soon, if not the next two runs will be brutal.
 
I admire anyone who runs while pushing a stroller. A double stroller is even more commendable! Nice job this week.
 
8/14 Comments:

Went to bed at a decent hour, or at least decent for me 9:15 PM. Woke up around 4:15 AM and started out what was supposed to be 6 miles close to 9 min/mi. Run started at ~4:40 AM and for those early morning runs I do not pay much attention to mile one as I am waking up and warming up. But 1.5 miles in, I knew I was not going to hit my paces.
Mile 1 - 9:45
Mile 2 - 9:36
Mile 3 - 9:14
Mile 4 - 9:13
Mile 5 - 12:02
Mile 6 - 10:05

I tried as hard as I could to get my pace down and during mile 5 my legs felt so heavy I took a walk break in hopes I would recover and maybe finish out the final mile well. I ran the last mile but it was hard. I think my training is starting to catch up with me. Since this weekends long run, my two runs so far this week have been difficult and legs have felt like I'm carrying concrete. I have a 5 mile speed work session for tomorrow, only 3 miles of actual speed work after warm up and cool downs. I am going to do this run tomorrow afternoon to give myself an extra 12 hours or so of recovery time. I am also going to have to run my long run Friday since I am helping my cousin move Saturday morning. So Saturday I will just run a few easy miles for recovery. Next week is race week and reduced mileage so hopefully my legs will recover and I will feel fresh leading up to the race. Weight is also down this morning to 226.4, how much of this is water and how much of it is actual weight loss is getting hard to determine. I think water is the majority but the trend is looking positive so far.
 
:worship:

Stroller running.

8/14 Comments:

Went to bed at a decent hour, or at least decent for me 9:15 PM. Woke up around 4:15 AM and started out what was supposed to be 6 miles close to 9 min/mi. Run started at ~4:40 AM and for those early morning runs I do not pay much attention to mile one as I am waking up and warming up. But 1.5 miles in, I knew I was not going to hit my paces.
Mile 1 - 9:45
Mile 2 - 9:36
Mile 3 - 9:14
Mile 4 - 9:13
Mile 5 - 12:02
Mile 6 - 10:05

I tried as hard as I could to get my pace down and during mile 5 my legs felt so heavy I took a walk break in hopes I would recover and maybe finish out the final mile well. I ran the last mile but it was hard. I think my training is starting to catch up with me. Since this weekends long run, my two runs so far this week have been difficult and legs have felt like I'm carrying concrete. I have a 5 mile speed work session for tomorrow, only 3 miles of actual speed work after warm up and cool downs. I am going to do this run tomorrow afternoon to give myself an extra 12 hours or so of recovery time. I am also going to have to run my long run Friday since I am helping my cousin move Saturday morning. So Saturday I will just run a few easy miles for recovery. Next week is race week and reduced mileage so hopefully my legs will recover and I will feel fresh leading up to the race. Weight is also down this morning to 226.4, how much of this is water and how much of it is actual weight loss is getting hard to determine. I think water is the majority but the trend is looking positive so far.

Was the goal an easy day given the LR two days prior and speed tomorrow? Is it possible you might want to focus on "easy is only easy if it feels easy"? So just take it super easy and have a pace you don't want to go faster than but certainly can go slower than. It might help when the legs feel so tired. I do agree that the extra 12 hours should help as well. Well done on the weight loss!
 
:worship:

Stroller running.



Was the goal an easy day given the LR two days prior and speed tomorrow? Is it possible you might want to focus on "easy is only easy if it feels easy"? So just take it super easy and have a pace you don't want to go faster than but certainly can go slower than. It might help when the legs feel so tired. I do agree that the extra 12 hours should help as well. Well done on the weight loss!

The plan was a general aerobic run. So the pace should have been a little quicker than Mondays 4 miler but not exhausting. There's a few things I need to come to terms with about it. 1. I'm 20 lbs heavier than I was when a 8:15 mile was easy to run. 2. I'm only 4 weeks in and I'm wanting to get my pace down while increasing miles... and while successful in on area, Im not on the other. 3. I should probably have taken a recovery week this week but pushed it back a week leading up to the race. I am pleased with the distance I am able to go so far, it is more than I thought I would be doing in week 4, but it has a cost... which is the sore legs. 3. This is all my fault for taking a way to long break from running.
 
One Month Check-In

So I started to eat better and get things in motion to get healthier on July 16 when we returned from WDW. So lets take a look back to see how I am doing over the last month.

Minus that first week I have run 5 days a week. In August I have run 60 miles so far. The last time I reached this number was in January of this year. I am on pace to go over a 100 miles for the month, a task I havent completed since October of 2016. My pace is slower which is expected (I still dont like it though, but understand why) but I feel decent on my runs and pleased with the progress I have had so far. Another objective was to start working out. It took a while to get that into the rotation, but I am now in week two. Verdict is still out on it holding up but I'm off to a good start. Other goals which are minor are to have more runs outside than on the TM. It's probably 3 outdoor runs and 2 TM runs on average per week. Once it cools downs it should be maybe one TM run a week. The last part of our progress is weight. On July 16 I was at 235 lbs, which is 20-25 lbs heavier than I was when I was running often. Two morning in a row now I am below 225 lbs. So I am making it official and saying I am down 10 lbs!!! I did not think I would get there for another week or so, but I am beyond thrilled with that result and it will be the first official thing I can cross of my goals list in the first post. After a month everything is moving along nicely with no major issues. I will probably do another look back type review at 3 months to see how things are going then again.

Thanks for reading and hope you return when you have free time! Also, 27 days to our next WDW trip!!!
 
One Month Check-In

So I started to eat better and get things in motion to get healthier on July 16 when we returned from WDW. So lets take a look back to see how I am doing over the last month.

Minus that first week I have run 5 days a week. In August I have run 60 miles so far. The last time I reached this number was in January of this year. I am on pace to go over a 100 miles for the month, a task I havent completed since October of 2016. My pace is slower which is expected (I still dont like it though, but understand why) but I feel decent on my runs and pleased with the progress I have had so far. Another objective was to start working out. It took a while to get that into the rotation, but I am now in week two. Verdict is still out on it holding up but I'm off to a good start. Other goals which are minor are to have more runs outside than on the TM. It's probably 3 outdoor runs and 2 TM runs on average per week. Once it cools downs it should be maybe one TM run a week. The last part of our progress is weight. On July 16 I was at 235 lbs, which is 20-25 lbs heavier than I was when I was running often. Two morning in a row now I am below 225 lbs. So I am making it official and saying I am down 10 lbs!!! I did not think I would get there for another week or so, but I am beyond thrilled with that result and it will be the first official thing I can cross of my goals list in the first post. After a month everything is moving along nicely with no major issues. I will probably do another look back type review at 3 months to see how things are going then again.

Thanks for reading and hope you return when you have free time! Also, 27 days to our next WDW trip!!!

Great update and you are making great improvements so quickly. Congrats on the weight loss as well! 27 days to WDW? #jealous
 
Weekend Recap

Due to some plans on Saturday I ran my long run on Friday. I ran the old Baton Rouge Beach Marathon loop once. It was a two loop course, so finished the day with 13.1 miles. Run went well enough until mile 10. Legs were just done at that point. I was very muggy and warm, one of the warmest long runs yet. I managed to cut the lawn that morning as well so it seems I recovered well after. On Saturday I ran with the local running group which is something I had not done in a while. They had two options 4.5 or 7.5 miles. I ran the 4.5 loop which actually turned out to be 5 miles. I had planned to run 3, but figured why not! Started out a bit to fast and paid for it, but finished strong. It was one of the hillier routes for our area, so I was happy with my effort. Weight stayed below 225 for the weekend, but forgot to weigh in this morning.
 

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