First rant of many.....

Good News... I got in a nice 4 miler with a time of 35:18 which is an 8:50 pace. Another personal best!

Bad News... The beautiful trail lined with trees for miles that I have used in the past has been completely destroyed. Nothing is left. Not even the stream that used to run through the ravines down to the Mississippi is still there. Well it is but underground in pipes anyways. Very natural. What a disappointment. What is left is brown dirt. Nothing else. It is really frustrating. It was not uncommon to see deer along the path watching as you ran by. Seeing them was a rare occurrence in the area but it did happen there. I even was almost attacked by a gopher while running along this path which looking back on it now I feel a little nostalgic. Another natural, quiet, beautiful area has been destroyed for urban development and good views of the river for the upper middle class with their "luxury condos". So much for a peaceful run today.

Training Update

Well its 1:41 on a Saturday afternoon and I am trying to recover after getting 3.5 hours of sleep because I had to work an overnight at the group home. Prior to work last night I did some speedwork on the treadmill (still using the softer surfaces to ease the tail end of my shin splints). I managed to go 6.5 miles in 59:33 which by far is a PR for me. It seems like my training sessions have been moving along at a lot faster speed overall. There is no complaints there at all though! I have been happy though...24 hours later and hardly any pain so that is a plus.

Time to do some shopping for the barbecue tonight at the new place. Going to buy some healthy food though so I can stay with weight loss goals.

I updated my stats since March 7 and here they are: Eliptical 12 miles, Cycling 30 miles, and Running 130 miles with a total weight loss of 18lbs! Definately numbers I like to see!

Season recap so far...

Well as noted in the first post I have been training since March 7. I ran my first race in September 2006 which was a 1o mile run in White Bear called Bear Water Run...I finished with a time around 1:32:00 which was pretty good for the first one ever. The next two were short fun 5k runs called The Race Against Racism and Reindeer Run which were in September and December of 2006 respectively. I have had the chance to run one race so far this year. The race was The Race for Justice and was on April 15, 2007. The race started at Nicollet Island in Mpls and made its way around the island, down Hennepin Ave bridge and then back over the Stone Arch Bridge. Several days before I developed shin splints from using my old shoes so needless to say this was a very slow and fairly painful event. I ran with my friend Katrina who was also injured but we held up ok though and finished with a time of 32:25. Wasn't the fastest I have ran but I still finished in the middle of the pack. The weather was great and my fiance was there for moral support and to enjoy the weather!

That sums the currently race season up so far. Right now I am registered for the Melopremene 5k on May 5th in St. Paul and the Heart of the City Half Marathon on June 2nd in Burnsville.

I had my weigh in today and only lost .6 lbs which brought me under 230 for the first time in awhile. Total weight loss so far is 18lbs. Only 34 more to go!

Summary of my Journey so far....

So here is the deal...Many of you know that I am planning on running the Twin Cities Marathon this fall. I have started training and have done fairly well with only a minor injury so far. Earlier this year I weighed myself at an all time high (247.7) and on March 7th started a diet in support of my marathon training. I post online with a bunch of people I don't know but figured it would be good to be accountable with actual people I know if I am starting to slack off at all.

So far the training and weight loss has done well with each other. In the first six weeks I have lost 17.4 lbs (currently at 230.3) and have run a total of 119 miles. I have also put on 11 miles on the eliptical and 23 miles biking. If anyone is not seeing this distances going up and the pounds going down please shoot me a message and tell me to get my ass in gear!

Why I thought of tracking this journey online through myspace? I don't know it sounded like a good idea around mile 8 of 10 this morning. I figured hopefully someone will read this and care just a little bit! It was a very quiet and cool morning to be out running and I even passed a wild turkey in Mendota. The trip took me through Eagan, Lilydale, Mendota and into St. Paul. I have been enjoying the five day weekend though and the shin splints have kept to a minimum lately! Time for some relaxin!

"Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts." - Steve Prefontaine