Happy Easter!

Happy Easter friends...

I hiked home from work this morning. The backpack weighed less than 15-lbs. The foot pain I experienced yesterday is gone. The backpack felt a lot more comfortable. I have a couple “hot-spots” on my feet and minor chaffing.

Once I got home I dropped off my pack and was on my trail bike to my weigh-in at Kingwood Nutrition. It was a beautiful day out there.

Hike (with backpack):
5.3 miles
1:35:26
18:00 pace

Trail Bike:
5.43 miles
29:00
11.23 mph

Hike to work

I hiked to work, wearing my backpack loaded to 40% weight. I woke up with some serious right toe/foot pain. I have never had this problem before. After a few miles walking my foot felt better, but my toes still feel like I kicked a brick wall.

Walk (with packback):
5.48 miles
1:43:19
18:51 pace

Bike ride home

The ride back home kicked my butt. My legs are sore and feel like I have run a marathon. I made it home in one piece and I was able to finish 1-mph faster than yesterday’s trip. Go figure...

Shortly after arriving home I was back on the bike to run some errands (bank, post office, visit my lady friend) in the Kingwood area.

Trail Bike (first 6.4 miles with bike trailer):
16.09 miles
1:29:28
10.79 mph

Two mile hike around the bayou with my backpack loaded 50%. Also wore my Merrell hiking boots. Hopefully this practice will pay high dividends on the trail next month. The Merrell hiking boots are snug, which worries me about their role on a long hike.

Hike with backpack:
2.20 miles
39:31
17:57 pace

The Cardio Begins…

Biked to work this morning. The bike trailer was in tow because of all the stuff I brought along with me. I enjoyed the ride, but the hills were a challenge. I arrived at the station early and went for a 30-minute walk.

This afternoon I walked on the treadmill for 52-minutes, followed by a few push-ups.

The aggressively lower calories and early morning ride have left me hungry and sleepy.

Trail bike with trailer:
6.38 miles
38:24
9.97 mph

Walk:
4.65 miles
1:22:33
17:45 pace

Push-ups: 22

Picture of my route to work and a picture I saw on Facebook that I fell in love with...

Kingwood Weight Loss Challenge

The Kingwood Weight Loss Challenge kicked off was tonight after a one-week delay. The web site stated the challenge is 12-weeks in duration. Tonight they announced the WLC has been reduced to a six week challenge. I’m a bit bothered by the change, but I’m going to use the negative energy to kick some ass. The WLC is a lot less formal that I expected, we'll see how it goes in the weeks to come.

My lady friend, er I mean… Andrea and I went for a run/walk on Lake Village. The warm night temperature left me dripping of sweat. I need to spend more time outside and acclimate to the HELL we call 'summer in Houston'.

Run:
0.75 mile
8:15
11:00 pace

Walk:
1.47 mile
26:24
17:58 pace

Bike ride

I towed the bike trailer behind my trail bike as Alison, Preston, and I completed the five mile loop. Alison rode her bike and Preston was in the bike trailer. Uneventful ride.

Glad the kids are home.

Trail Bike (with trailer)
5.61 miles
34:29
9.76 mph

Duessen/Eisenhower Park bike ride

It was hard to wake up this morning after the late night hike. Wyatt and I scheduled an easy-peasy road bike ride through Duessen and Eisenhower parks. The nearly perfect weather revived my sleepy body.

Within minutes of departing from West Lake Houston Parkway it was obvious I had lost most of my bike fitness. Wyatt and I kept the pace easy with the exception of one section when we were being pursued by a block-headed Labrador. I was cycling 23+ mph, yet the dog continued to close the gap between us. Thankfully he lost interest before making contact.

Wyatt and I took pictures of the ride. I found the pictures of my obese body on the bike upsetting.

Road Bike:
15.22 miles
1:05:37
13.92 mph

Moby - Slipping Away

Late Night Run

Today I received an email debuting the new Garmin Forerunner 610. I read a detailed blog review about the FR-610 and I’m completely in love with the changes Garmin has made. Garmin's newest device is well outside my budget, so I’ll have to admire the FR610 at a distance.

I spent the latter part of the day trying to understand the people around me. Their actions and words do not match.

All week I’ve been excited about the start of the Kingwood Weight Challenge. The instructor forgot to call and tell me the class was postponed to next week due to an emergency. I understand emergencies occur, but I was mentally and physically prepared as well as energetic about starting this journey. Now that same “energy” seems significantly smaller.

A late night run was a pleasant end of an otherwise challenging day. Took off on my five mile loop at 11pm. Utilized my FELIX headlamp, which is amazingly bright. The night time woods were alive as I listened and watched; a screeching owl overhead, coyotes howling across the lake, an acrobatic muskrat in the lake, and a large pod of young whitetail deer foraging near the trail.

Run:
1.31 mile
13:20
10:11 pace

Walk:
4.01 miles
1:12:13
18:01 pace

Warm Spring Breeze

I enjoyed a pleasant run/walk along the five-mile loop with Andrea. A warm spring breeze and abundance of wildlife brought peace over me. No rush to finish, as evident in the run and walk pace.

Run:
1.76 miles
20:21
11:34 pace

Walk:
3.55 miles
1:03:05
17:46 pace

45 minute bike ride

I biked along my five mile loop with the addition of a trip to River Grover Park. I enjoyed the ride and maintained an undemanding pace. Nice warm day. It’s only April and the heat has already put us in its grip.

Trail Bike:
8.69 miles
46:40
11.17 mph

Push-ups: 21

Annual block party/crawfish boil. I had a great time, although I ate entirely too my mud bugs. My neighbors rock.

Bike ride

I went for an early five-mile trail bike ride on the greenbelts. Lots of stuff falling from the trees and now my eyes are itchy from the debris. I was listening to the newest podcast from Active Vegetarian which was very enjoyable. To my surprise, Joe gave me a personal shout-out. Last week I “called-out” AV on Facebook, asking for more podcast shows. Thanks AV for mentioning me… it was cool to be riding my trail bike and hear my name on a podcast.

Trail Bike:
5.44 miles
27:09
12.03 mph

Second swim lesson

My second swim lesson at FINS was a lot better than the first. We did fewer drills and received lots of feedback about our form. I learned from my feedback as well as the feedback given to the other two swimmers. I still have a few issues with the swim academy.
1. The pool is entirely too short for adult swim lessons (MAYBE 15 yards in length)
2. The instructor lacks adult method of teaching skills
3. Not enough practice before moving on to the next drill

I gained a bunch of weight on the river trip, but not as bad as expected.

Vague personal comment;
Changed my plans and went out of my way yesterday to make someone happy, all for the sake of nothing. They seemed happy at the time, but today they are back to their usual self.

Day 2 at Guadalupe River

Day two of Wyatt's Bachelor camping trip. Woke up and immediately drove to nearby Canyon Lake Dam Park. Tom took off on his daily run, while Wyatt and I took a more leisurely approach. Surprisingly I was able to convince Wyatt to run for one-minute, six times. The last interval we ran for seven minutes. I didn’t have my Garmin, but I assume we ran roughly one mile. We covered a little more than 2.38 miles hiking in the park and also stopped a couple times to search for geo caches. The morning sunrise over Canyon Lake was beautiful.

Later that day we floated down the frigid Guadalupe River, cooked fajitas over the camp stove, played cards, and had an overall good time.

Run:
1.0 mile
12:30
12:30 pace

Walk:
2.38 miles
49:35
20:50 pace