Racing is on my Mind. It's worth it.

I've got the itch to go race!

I doubt my times would be much to brag about, or even mention, but it kicked in yesterday - it's racing season. I've only had one race so far this year and it was a virtual 5k. I enjoyed the virtual 5k, but it lacked in some areas. While there were other people doing it - there were...

...no runners in the distance to catch up to.
...no finish line with people standing around and cheering.
...no one to take either my number or official timing at the finish line.
...no old people that I thought shouldn't have beaten me that did :)
...no race swag
...no number to post on my wall
...no medal presentations
...no other exhausted people to talk about the race with
...no sometimes ugly race t-shirts (I think this is the only time we really accept ugly t-shirts and are happy about them)

I miss the atmosphere of racing. I miss the comradery that is associated with it.

It's kicked in though. I found a 5k this upcoming Saturday. My wife and I are to go pick up some friends from the airport in Springfield, MO on Saturday - so we will leave early in the morning to go do this race and leave in time from the race to go pick our friends up.

You may ask yourself?

Is it worth it to leave extra early and drive 30 minutes out of your way to go run in a race?

It is worth it.

Even if you can only walk - go participate in a race. It's addicting and exhilirating. Once you find that you can complete something - you're hooked.

The Snow is back and my 200th POST!

and the snow is back...

I knew there was a chance for the snow to return, but I am never ready for it. I am not a fan of cold weather, snow, and/or ice; pretty much a fan of anything except for winter. I woke up this morning only to have my wife come and tell me to look out the window. I knew it had snowed...and it was snowing even more.

this is what the last snow storm did for us.

Oh well. What can a guy that only enjoys running outside do when the weather gets in the way? I'll pray for it to stop and hide out inside with the treadmill or go to the YMCA.

Speaking of YMCA - I cancelled my membership [to take affect on April 14th] b/c I was not getting my money's worth. I am an outside worker-outer-type-of-guy.

Give me a road, some running shoes, and some music and let me be.

I will figure something out for my workout today. Can I just say that my last post was about great weather, which for me is conducive to great running. On the brighter side, it's suppose to be 50's or 60's tomorrow and 70's the next day. Gotta love Missouri weather.

Another bright note to Fit With a Purpose -- this is my 200th POST! I can't believe that I stuck around this long to have written 200 different posts. I am very thankful to all that have encouraged me to keep it up. Thanks for all the help!

great weather means great running

We have been having some great weather as of late here in Missouri. You never know what to expect with the weather around here. Not too long ago we had 20+ inches of snow and now we have 60 degree weather in the forcast for the next week; only to be followed up by more snow maybe. As the snow may come later, I am getting as much of this awesome weather while I can. I have started the training for the Half marathon that I am to do with my friend in mid-June.

I hadn't run in about 3 weeks due to business, life, cold weather -- whatever the reason -- and did so a few days ago and...can i just say - getting back at it isn't any fun. I love running. I love the outdoors. I love the fresh air.

That day. I was sucking the air pretty badly.

I'm getting back to the normal though. I've been trying to do more of a cross training type of workouts with my bike and running on opposite days. Tonight, I will be doing the Abs workout of p90x and some pushups. I need to strengthen my core!

Well, that is what's been going on lately. I know my posts aren't as often, but thanks for reading when they are here.

life.gets.crazy.

Wow.

My life is very busy.

So, in attempts to sum everything up, I'll be simple.

Work is going awesome, but has me running around like crazy.

Carol and I are learning to be more creative and simplify life. You can read about our endeavors so far http://simplycomfortable.blogspot.com/

I have challenged my friend Zach to completing a Half Marathon with me in June when he is back in the states for a couple weeks. Will be discussing our successes and trials HERhttp://runningnotskipping.blogspot.com/.

And, I'm trying to blog about it all.

life.gets.crazy.

A New PR and a New Goal

Yesterday, I ran in a virtual 5k and set a new PR for myself. I ran it in 25'59". That beats my previous PR by 10 seconds. I'm pretty happy with that time. I wasn't anywhere near 1st place, but it definitely sets a new standard for this year. I've tried pretty hard to get out of the 26 - 27 min range all last year (I'll take the 1 second under :])

So, My new goal in my running is to get to the 24 min range this year. A 24 minute 5k is just under an 8 min/mile. In order to get to the 24'59" -- I'm looking at about an 8.3 min/mile. I think by the end of the year that it's doable.

Short and Simple.

Virtual 5k. Upping the Mileage. 1000 lbs

Virtual 5k.

I'm hosting my first virtual 5k today and it's kind of exciting. People from all over the place racing against each other without ever seeing who is actually in front of them.

I've never been at the very front of the race running all alone with people behind me, but I think the virtual environment of the race gives that feeling to you. In a race, you can be pumped up by seeing the person in front of you and you have something to shoot for. In this race, it's You verse the perception you have of the other's ability. Will this make a person run faster? I guess I'll find out later.

Upping the Mileage.

If you look to the right of the page - I'm tracking my miles again publicly. It's been an eye-opener that while I've had every opportunity, I've neglected to run the miles that I need to if I am going to reach my goals this year. I'm shooting for 750 miles this year. It is less than I shot for last year, but a solid amount that I know I have time for. I didn't realize it until I kept myself accountable with my trusty spreadsheet again of how easy it is to fall back. So, that'll be there to keep me accountable.

1000 lbs.

That is the number of POUNDS LOST that my challenge and the ones that have branched from it are creeping up on. 1000 lbs lost. That is insane to me. 1000 lbs. I'm humbled to be a part of that b/c I know that people are making positive changes in their lives. 1000 lbs! It'll happen either this week or the following. If you want to see some of the before and afters of people that have taking part in the challenges, you can see them here at S.T.Weightloss!


1000 LBS

Running IN the Bible and Not the Running Bible

I'm sure you can find several books claiming to be the "Running Bible". Well, as much knowledge as those books may have - I thought to myself "what about running IN the Bible and how can it apply to my own running"

"Interesting thought", I thought to myself. Many would say that the Bible is no source for running, but humor me a little and keep reading :)

Genesis 39:12 -- Joseph runs away from Potiphar's wife escaping her passes on him.

1 Kings 18:46 -- Elijah outruns those that are trying to kill him. (long distance too)

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 -- the author talks about running with purpose [this may be metaphorically, but he mentions those that train and compete in organized games] -- talks about discipline.

Hebrews 12:1 -- speaks on running with perseverance the race marked out for us. Take it as you will, but who can argue with a focused determination?

Luke 15:20 -- the prodigal son's Father runs from a long distance off to embrace his returning son. He ran with heart.

So, can I learn anything from the Bible about running without stretching the message? I'll try.

1. Gen -- Run away and Stay clear of shady situations. Use your head and don't fall into temptations of doubt, negativity, and laziness.

2. 1 Kings -- If someone is trying to kill you - RUN as fast and far as you can. Fight or Flight baby.

3. 1 Cor -- Run with discipline. Guys in that time trained just as hard so that they could win the prize - they were clear headed, disciplined, and had one purpose in mind - succeed. It was the same with what the author was saying - Stay true to your committment and spread that which you believe in.

4. Heb -- run with perseverance. simply put.

5. Luke -- don't give up, dont' give in, and embrace that which you have been given.

There you have it. I think it was a success. Despite what you believe in - this is a good message :)

Let's do a trade! Motivational Mania

here's the deal.

Three of the four walls in my gym are pretty bare. I want stuff on them and I'm coming to you for help. I am looking for multiple people to decorate my gym walls with motivational quotes, phrases, and awesomeness. This would mean that you would take a posterboard or something like that and create a motivational masterpiece with your favorite quote (clean please), phrase, or some form of awesomeness so that I can continue to make my gym the best.

...I don't want you to be without though and so I would also send something back to you for helping me out. As to what that is -- still not sure, but I imagine that it'll be something beneficial to your workouts.

I had this idea last night and wanted to post about it yesterday, but figured I could wait until today.

So, do you want to do a trade?