SPEED BUMPS!

The past two weeks have been rough training wise.  My runs have been limited due to the weather as well as work.  Two weeks ago I only got a single run in during the week as the Thermometer was reading single digits and we had another snow storm.  I was however able to get out that weekend and get in my longest run to date, a 15 miler.  The run was good with the exception of all the ice from the rainstorm the day before and sub freezing temperatures.  I took a spill at mile 6 however no one saw me so it wasn’t too embarrassing. 

I am thinking I should start getting used to these falls if I want to run Ultras!  This past week I got the luxury of traveling to Tulsa, OK for work.  I got one good treadmill workout in however that was all as I despise the treadmill.  Rather than getting back to Jersey on Friday ready to run, I was instead sick and decided to take the weekend off as I didn’t want to further complicate things.  Luckily though I was able to maintain my weight through the limited training.  I am however still running at much too heavy of a weight.  If I ever expect my legs to hold up for an ultra it is imperative that I shed some pounds.  I am planning on really fine tuning the eating next week (That is of course after Valentine’s Day Dinner with my lovely wife).  This past week while sitting sick in front of the computer, I found a race to add to my schedule, the Turkey Swamp 50K.  This should fit nicely into my race prep as the race occurs in August, about 2 months shy of the CanLake 50M.  It’s going to be a hot one, however that will also have some added benefits as I am still undecided on whether to attempt Umstead 100M in April or the Keys 100M in May.

12/28/2010 - 225.4 lbs
01/10/2011 - 224.0
01/16/2011 - 220.6
01/23/2011 - 219.2
01/31/2011 - 223.2
02/07/2011 - 220.0
02/14/2011 - 220.2

TEMPTATION!

It has been a rough couple of weeks.  I have gotten some descent miles in however I have had a bunch of counter-productive encounters with my old pal, junk food!  We go way back!  I caved last week and paid the price by putting a few pounds back on.  It’s funny how hard it is to lose them and how easy it is to slap them right back on.  First off, my job doesn’t do me any favors.  I work at a public accounting firm and it doesn’t get any more sedentary than that!  Right off the bat, I am sitting for at least 8 hours of my day.  The physical demands that my job require is a walk to the third floor to check my mailbox.  That’s about it.  At least I use the stairs and not the elevator!  To make matters worse, there is always a fully stocked snack drawer, leftover cookies etc from meetings and the occasional free lunches!  I am constantly surrounded by temptation.  I have gotten into a decent habit of bringing in my lunch however I caved in when they ordered pizza for the people who actually showed up in the snowstorm last week.  That led to a downward spiral that reached its climax this weekend! (A Pepperidge Farm Cake & Fruit Snack binge!!!) 

The snow hasn’t helped either! This past week, either the temperature has been reading single digits or we were in the midst of yet another storm dropping 18”s of snow!  My New Years Day 5K was rescheduled for the second time.  This winter has been out of control and we still have 2 months to go!  I do not belong to a gym and I do not own a treadmill. (Only place to fit it would be in the basement and the ceiling is too low, I would constantly hit my head)  I had to improvise, so this past weekend I took my first newbie shot at back to back “long-runs”.  I put in 12 miles on Saturday and another 8 miles on Sunday.  As expected, I was running on tired legs on Sunday but it was some much needed experience if I am going to follow through on my 50 & 100 mile race goals.  This week it’s time to get back on track which will be difficult yet again as we are dealing with an Ice Storm which will again limit my weekday running!  Any questions, comments, suggestions are always welcome and greatly appreciated!  Give me a shout at both twitter and dailymile at the following:

http://twitter.com/MWest815

http://www.dailymile.com/people/MartyW4

12/28/2010 – 225.4 lbs

01/10/2011 – 224.0 lbs

01/16/2011 – 220.6 lbs

01/23/2011 – 219.2 lbs

01/31/2011 – 223.2 lbs (OUCH!!!)