Psyching the Psychee

- Part One -

I took a rest yesterday. I had not planned on that because I am still a few miles off from hitting the pace goal of 77.something miles for Feb. I will not reach the Feb goal and leftover from January but I'm okay with that. Sometimes things happen like that. I still had to work yesterday but teaching is a pretty good gig though so I don't mind that one bit.

I have done one workout so far today with good results. I did a total of 2.6 miles for workout 1. The .6 miles were warm-up and cool-down periods. The 2 Miles in between, hear this...I ran the entire two miles at 4.5 m/p/h pace. I do believe I could have gone longer but I do not think I could have hit that 5k mark...not yet anyways. I really want to run that 5k in one run rather than breaking it up by walking. I do think that walking is okay --- do not get me wrong. I just want to make sure I push myself to my fullest and not give myself an out. Running outside is kind of intimidating to me. In order to run the 2 miles at one time...I had to cover up the distance and time on the treadmill so that I would not focus on it but rather my breathing and the run. It worked. I psyched out the psyche. :)

I am off to an auction right now that my school is putting on for a fundraiser. Tonight I will do my second workout (hopefully 3.5 miles).

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- Part Two -

Today has been a very busy day for me. I'm pretty exhausted and have to wake up earlier than normal tomorrow. I just completed my 2nd workout and I am really close to bedtime. I just thought that I would finish this so that I am current and up-to-date. My workout was 3.44 miles. That makes it a total of 6.04 miles for the day. Not too shabby. I do not know my calorie intake for today. The auction was an all day event and it was a special dinner. I had their serving of lasagne, roll, and green beans - I also had a piece of cheese cake. They were good and I feel good as of right now, but I know that I also worked out twice today.

Calories: Unsure

Workout: 6.04 miles

Me Vs. T : Battle of the treadmill

I am going to walk you through my workout on the treadmill tonight. Some people name their cars...well, I name other inanimate objects such as tv's, fans, and my treadmill.

It was a battle of discipline, speed, continuous motion, running, sweating, deep breaths, moans, groans, aches, pains, and exhaustion. The battle only raged on for 11 min and 22 sec but it was a battle that was in the making for ten years.

Me - Verse - T.

It was an epic adventure.

Okay, it might have not been quite like that but tonight I wanted to push my limits...again. This week is about finding where I am at athletically and I believe I am getting a more clear idea of what level that is. This week has not been easy and I still have three workouts left this month which I am shooting for four miles each day. March 1st can't come to soon.

I opened up the workout with a 1 mile walk. During that mile I found a podcast on my iPod that had some 'fitness' beats to run to. I found one that wasn't too terrible and had it ready for the next mile to start. This mile I was going to see how fast I could get it done and still be able to do the remaining two miles of my workout.

I went at a speed that I thought I could continue for the duration of the Mile and increased it a couple times throughout. I want to have a 10 min mile. That would be a good mile for me -- in my book...it's good for anybody. I ended my mile at 00:11:22 (11 min. 22 sec.) I do have to say that I am not dissapointed by that number because I really didn't know what to expect.


I know that there is no real point in timing your mile unless it is a pace setter for you race but it is a personal thing for me. At this point -- this is my best and worst time for the mile.

Calories: 1960 cal.

This calorie count is not as accurate as I would like. We ate at a Mexican restaurant for a birthday and I had to do my best with adding the calories with what I had. I had a cheese quesadilla with mushrooms, tomatoes, little lettuce, and guacamole. Water as usual.

Workout: 4.07 miles

He's better than me...for now.

I am a very competitive person. On Wedneday and Sunday nights I play basketball with a group of guys at a local church gym. It is a lot of fun. I know I've talked about that before but I have a different mindset than I use too.

When it is my team' s turn to play we choose who we will guard from the other team. Last year, I would choose the slowest guy, least athletic guy, or simply someone who doesn't play hard. Not this year. I want the guy that is faster, more athletic, and better than me. Yes, I know that I may set myself up for failure but to this point it has played off fairly well for me. Because of the results from 1010in2010, I am now faster and have more endurance. It's only been two months; who knows what six months could mean. Maybe it'll be that I am faster than him. :)

On a different note, I took the day off and me and Carol went thrift store shopping. It is something that we really love and after reading AlmostFit's post on Thrift Store shopping....I really wanted to go.

I got a nice frame for 6 bucks...It's heavy duty too!

Calories: 2115 cal.

Workout: 4.06 miles
- 2.75 basketball
- 1.31 treadmill

The Heart of a Leader

Tonight was the night of the school basketball team's last game for the season. For the eighth graders - it was their last as a Patriot. As I've talked about before, I teach at a small private christian school and there is a sense of unity that is very strong in the school. It is a K4-8th grade school which just celebrated it's tenth anniversary this year.

I mentioned the eighth graders as tonight was their last game as a Patriot. Yes, I know, they are only in the eighth grade and they still have a high school career ahead of them, but they showed more heart than I have ever seen in most adults.

The girl's basketball team record before tonight was 15-1 (or some crazy stat like that - they had only lost one game). Tonight they played a team that was very good. Our girls played so hard for so long. The other team would substitute 4-5 girls at a time while our 3 year program produces 8-10 girls for the team, some of which are in the 5th grade. The eighth graders have been at the school for the entire length that it has been open and wanted to win so badly to close out their Patriot career on a positive note. The girls ended up losing by 25-30 points...something that they were not accustomed too but how they reacted to this new thing was wonderful to watch. They pushed, fought, hustled, and pressed on until the very last second. They could have simply stopped fully knowing that they were going to lose but chose to hold their heads high and fight until the end. I applaud their efforts and admire the heart of those eighth graders who took on a leadership role even when things didn't appear to have a
"positive" outcome.

It's the same with what many of us are trying to do. As I strive for better health - sometimes it may just be easier to throw in the towel and stop eating healthy, working as hard, or do anything at all. I choose what I know is right. I choose to work hard even when it may seem impossible to win. Despite what the temporary outlook may look like - I know what the long term can look like.

As corny or weird as it sounds - I witnessed the heart of a leader tonight in the form of three eighth grade girls who failed to quit despite the certain outcome.

Calories: 2121 cal.

Workout: 4.32

Attempt a 5k Every Week

My workout just got finished and I'm drinking my post-workout smoothie. I am one tired person. The workout just seemed to drag on and on but let me tell you - it was working me out. I have decided to step up my workouts on the treadmill from here on out.

Yesterday, I only did 1.something on the treadmill and nothing the day before. My back has been hurting all week and I have been fighting it. That was partially the reason I did not get on the treadmill on Saturday. The February goal is 103.23 miles and it will not be hit. The average pace for the year based on 365 days for 1010 miles is 2.76-7 miles/day. That is no problem. The problem is that I took 12 days off in January and 7 so far this month. That leaves a lot of make up distance for me. I will hit the February 2.76 avg/day goal but will not hit the 103.23 miles (feb avg/day goal plus miles not done from Jan). I am hoping to make it up in March though. I am confident that I will hit the 1,010 mile goal. I'm going to be trying to finish before the year is up. I can do it.


My workout consisted of me first walking one mile. I have decided that I will make an attempt at running a 5k on the treadmill every week. Most likely on Monday or Tuesday. I want to be able to run the entire thing. Tonight after I walked the mile I began my first attempt at a 5k on the treadmill. I ran 1.5 miles at 4.5 m/h speed. Then I stopped running. That was as long as I could run but was happy with that run being that I don't run any kind of distances on purpose! I did end my session with 4.10 miles.

I do believe that the mindset and focus is definitely there and is becoming fixed or permanent. I like it.

Calories: 1865

Workout: 4.1 miles

**I am in the 800's for distance left**

Change is Happening

People at church continue to tell me that I am looking thinner. I am happy with the results thus far but will continue to push forward to that 1,010 miles. It is becoming easier to put the miles away and stay focused on what I am doing. Tonight I just used my iPod for entertainment while running. I put it on shuffle and listened to what came up -- it was nice.

As for the title, I can't tell everyone what that change is but only that change is happening. I know the suspense is killing you isn't it?!

Today was only a 1.26 mile workout but it was past 11:00pm and we live in a second level apartment. I can't be too mean and workout very late.

Calorie Intake: 1952 cal.

Workout: 1.26 miles


**Be sure to check the Miles Tracker on the Right Side Bar to see monthly figures and Miles accumulated to date!!!!!!!**

2/20 & a New Layout!!

I've decided to add a bit more to my blog and as you can see there is more to this blog now. I have added multiple pages - aligned on top - to give you all of the info. I have some before photos along with recipes, workout fun, fitness logs, and soon to be updated...My Story. It is still under construction but I'm digging the new things that have been added.

Another new thing that I will be doing is, instead of writing all of my food down, I will be giving you the number of calories that were taken in throughout the day. I still have to log my food so that I can get the correct amount but I will not be posting all that I ate. My meals don't have a lot of variety with them but if they do I will be sure to add that as well. Tomorrow I will get out of the 900's in terms of miles to go - NOT weight. It might be better for my brain to know that I will not have to see that number again this year.

Another idea that I had was to do a weekly recap. It would include things such as miles logged, miles per day, and I'm sure I'll think of something else. It would not include beginning and ending weight - I will only do that at the beginning or end of a month as that is not my main focus.

Be sure to check out all of the new pages and be sure to take part in them all. Remember that miles until goal achieved is now at the RIGHT side of the page attached to Monthly Miles Tracker.

My calories for today are a bit over what I was shooting for. My goal for each day is 2000 calories. I could go lower but I think that 2000 is enough to maintain awesome metabolism and low enough to see the body turn into one awesome cut of a man.

Calorie Intake: 2252 cal.

Workout: none

100 Mile GiVEaWay Winner is...

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THANKS everyone for entering!!!