Half of the year review!!!

In true procrastinators fashion, I'm giving my huge reading audience a review of the first half of 2010 about one month late. Let's get right to the digits!!!

Training days: 117, Miles ran to date: 793.05, Training time: 140 hours, Calories burned: 109,163, Average speed: 5.7 mph, Average heart rate 126 bpm. Marathon's run 2, Half's 2, 5Ks 2.

I'm fairly satisfied with my training so far this year. The first three months I was racing like a mad man, in an attempt to run a sub-4hr. marathon. To no avail, I might add. At the end of March, burnt out from marathon training, I decided to re-evaluate my training. My running pace seemed to be fine, but something was holding me back from becoming a better runner. I discussed this with my running coach and together we came up with a new plan. It's a 3 tier plan.

First, I weighed myself. I expected that my weight would be some where around the two and a quarter mark, as it had been for most of 2009. If anything it would probably be a little less, having just ran 3 marathons and 2 half marathons in the past 4 months. Imagine my surprise when I first stepped on that scale to see 236 pounds!!! Holy Shit Bat Man!!! Obviously you can't eat anything you want just because you run. I must get to 200 pounds, or lower before my next marathon in November. So far so good, presently I'm at 213.5 pounds. That's 23 pounds!!! Suck It Jenny Craig!!!

The second thing I needed to do was build a better running base. I am doing this by using a heart rate monitor for the first time. I will tell you, at first this drove me crazy because it felt like I started running all over again. The paces I ran for the first couple of months were very slow, in fact some of my training runs were actually training walks. Recently, I adjusted my heart rate zones and I'm now just about back to my normal pace. I do feel that this slow progression has made me a better runner. It's probably too early to tell, but I can tell you I no longer sound like a Sleestack when I do intervals, or tempo runs.

Lastly, but not least. I must start attending boot camps twice a week. This will give me some much needed core and upper body work that I was definitely lacking. I was also told that it would be in my best interest to find an instructor that is very pregnant and seems to have a personnel vendetta on all things possessing a penis. Strangely, this was not as hard to find as one would think. I kid, honestly this has helped a great deal. I know under my remaining 12" of blubber there are some abs of steel ready to be unearthed any year now.

Well, I guess that's all for now... to all my fellow runners R.I.P!!!