River Otters

I wasn’t in much of a mood to run, so I decided to go for a walk. My fitness seems to be slipping, a result of poor food choices. Shortly after getting on the trails I decided to try a few run/walk intervals and play it by ear. Quickly I settled into a rhythm and I was enjoying my morning cardio fix.

Where I normally cross the creek I ran up on two river otters playing in the water, only ten feet away. One of the otters had "whiskers" that looked like an old cowboy mustache. I stood there and watched them for several minutes before taking off again. I also saw two deer and a HUGE wolf spider, which made for a refreshing morning. I found myself wishing I had a camera with me or some runners to share this with.

I didn’t walk as long as I had planned, because I wanted to measure a popular route the TTN group has been running. Now I need to name the loop. Next time I have a few runners with me, I’ll see what we can come up with. For now it’s the Hamilon Road Loop and the distance is 3.5 miles.

Run:
2.0 miles
22:57
11:28 pace

Walk:
1.48 miles
25:32
17:15 pace

Welcome to the trails

Worked 11 hours at MSC

It was a hot and hard day at work. One of the perks I envisioned when I started the new part-time job was the ability to get off work on time. Well, that can’t be further from the truth! A third of the days I work result in me staying late, and I don’t like it one bit. And here’s the worst part, getting off work late is the direct result of several prehistoric inefficiencies. It’s weird to see such a successful business still stuck in the 1980’s.

I digress….

Earlier in the day Jess, a KWFIT runner contacted me on Facebook and asked if I was going to run the trails today. I’ve been slacking myself, so I jumped at the opportunity for some mileage & dirt.  I also asked Jess to post the run on KWFIT’s page, in an attempt to recruit additional runners. Moni immediately jumped on the training run, which was more than I expected on such a short notice.

We ran an easy out-and-back route along the bayou, through the horse trail, to the entrance of River Grove Park, down the power line easement, and we finally turned around at Hamblen Road. Just before meeting the runners I looked at the temperatures, which were still at 104 degrees. It’s not a great idea to run when it’s that hot, but honestly, we don’t have a lot of options in August.

The plan was to run intervals of 0.50 mile run/2:00 minute walk. We did okay for the first mile, but then the heat started kicking our ass. We all felt the toll it was taking on us. A majority of the run we simply ran when we wanted too. The remainder of the time we just enjoyed our walk in the woods.

Considering this was Jess’s first trail run, she did phenomenal! Seriously… the terrain is a lot more taxing than a road or treadmill (obviously), the temperatures were brutal, and she’s recently returning to running after a small hiatus. I was also proud of Moni. She is a speedy little runner, yet she was content to run/walk with us and keep the conversation active. Both of these ladies did a great job!

I’m always happiest when I’m on the trails and it’s even sweeter when I have company!

Run:

1.91 miles

22:21

11:42 pace

Walk:

2.12 miles

40:38

19:10 pace

I love running trails...

Worked 7-hours at MSC

I wasn’t scheduled to work today, but MSC is shorthanded this week and I offered to help out. It was another good day at the PT job. Everyone at Moore thinks highly of me. It's a good feeling to be liked so much, but boy do I have those guys fooled! I learned something very important today. Never underestimate the people around you. The main guy in our warehouse speaks broken English and he is one of the hardest workers at our store. Our job in the warehouse is 90% labor, and there is not a lot of book smarts needed. I was talking to him today and learned that he has a MASTERS degree in accounting. I knew he was smart, but wow… a master’s degree!?!?! That is impressive.

My Thursday night trail running group is coming together nicely. In fact, I had a total of five runners this evening. I’m a social creature and the additional runners has me STOKED!

The route was a little more “off the beaten path”. The first mile ran along the bayou trail, which is easy-peasy. We crossed the creek, but one of the runners slipped on a slimy rock and cut her shin open. I felt so bad for her. We had just hit the one-mile mark and a runner was already bleeding. We cut through the woods without a defined trail, before I realized I turned too late. The end result left us running through a large plot of palmetto palms. Not a big deal, but I don’t think the runners much enjoyed bushwhacking through the large abrasive palms. From there we ran along a power line easement and then across a frisbee golf coarse.

Once we reached River Grove Park we ran on the boardwalks, which now overlook tall grass where water once was. The layout of River Grove park is completely different due to the drought and subsequent low water levels on Lake Houston. From there we cut across a large athletic complex and ran through several soccer fields. The next ¾ mile was on a road, until we snuck back into the woods behind the FFA barn. There’s a loosely marked horse path, which we followed to the bayou trail where we started.

The mileage was shorter than I expected, but all was well. We ran intervals of; run 0.50 mile/walk 1:30 minutes. The group was able to stick together nicely at the 11:40 pace and established intervals.

I’m having wavering thoughts of rekindling the Texas Trail Nerd group. We tried several times, but it never took off like Karen and I envisioned. One issue was the “Ultra” mentality. Very few people will ever run an ultra and most of those people are solo-runners. I want to see what we can do to introduce the average runner to the beauty of running on trails…. I just don’t know if I have the time to devote to a project like this.

Run:

4.31 miles

50:16

11:40 pace

Walk:

0.74 mile

13:30

18:15 pace

Drizzling Rain

Working 24 hours at Humble FD

My back pain started as usual this morning. After a few stretches, I moved on with my day and it hasn’t bothered me much since then. Hopefully I can put the issue behind me and get back to a consistent exercise regimen.

The North Houston area was treated to a spectacular lightening storm and drizzling rain late in the shift, which lasted about two-hours. I took advantage of the opportunity and laced up my running shoes for a much needed run. The run was delightful and I have a new pep in my step having run five miles in the rain.

Run:

5.08 miles

54:10

10:40 pace

Walk:

1.23 miles

20:00

16:16 pace

Missed run

Worked 10 hours at MSC

Working at Moore seems to be good for my back. My discomfort has been escalating all weekend, yet everything feels a lot better after a hard day’s work at the warehouse. I also slept 9+ hours last night, which doesn’t happen often.

I made plans to run with a friend this evening and then attend the Kingwood Triathlon Club meeting. She cancelled due to illness, so I disengaged and didn’t do anything other than laundry. 

As a side note; I feel guilty for missing a run for such a lousy reason. 

Six mile run

I ran with the Kingwood FIT gang this morning. The route was horrific and I made this known by some of the other head coaches, because I don't know who officially selects the routes. Of all the beautiful places to run in Kingwood, we ran four miles alongside Northpark. The traffic, exhaust fumes, concrete, small sidewalks, and constant yielding to cars entering/leaving parking lots was stressful.

The route was 4.40 miles, but the coach ahead of me increased the pace after the turn around. I wasn't in position to keep pace, so I took a quarter mile walk break and finished at my usual pace. The kids joined me today; I pushed Preston in the stroller and Alison followed on her bike. The kids did great!

After the group run, I came home and ran on the bayou trails. I needed a couple extra miles, plus I felt the desire to distress from the “street running”. Funny occurrence happened while running on the trails.  I was looking at the creek when I noticed a snake near my foot while in mid-stride. I jumped in the air, resulting in a kicking action. The timing was so perfect that the snake had crossed on TOP of my foot when I jumped, which threw the snake in the air and ONTO my chest. It was a startling moment. Thankfully it was merely a ribbon snake and no one was there to see me running scared like a French solider.

I didn’t log the walking, but I easily covered one-mile.

Run:

6.10 miles

1:10:02

11:29 pace

The rest of the day was spent with the kids. We went out to eat, rode go-carts, and played around the house before taking them back to Erin’s.

Release me from this slump!

The continuous back pain this week has halted my exercise regimen. To make matters worse, I’m in a dieting slump as well. The inactivity and poor eating is showing on the scale. My mind is made up, the new gym workout has to stop. I’ve sent an email to Coach Alex, asking what options are available for me to meet my personal goals.

I could probably run with minor pain, but it seems easier to take the road of least resistance. I need to purge these feelings from my soul and HTFU...

No Work

As I stated in the prior post, I took the day off from work. The measurement of pain is between; suck it up and go to the doctor. I purchased fresh new bottles of Ibuprofen and Aleve. My back issues respond well to Celebrex, but I’m current out. Surprisingly, the pain isn’t as bad since I took a combination of the two over-the-counter medications. 

I was able to do a few things around the house, resting when my back became bothersome. If you've never had significant back pain, you have no idea how fortunate you are!

Hope to be back in the saddle in the morning, because I have a BUSY day…

Reoccurring back pain

My back is starting to bother me again. I stayed true to my word and helped Tom install a sprinkler system. Thankfully the job was easy and we were done by noon.

I cleaned house the remainder of the day with the back issue escalating. Not only did I skip my scheduled 2.5 mile run, but I also called HFD and told them I wanted to take the next day off. 

Kingwood FIT, week 6

I ran with the KWFIT gang this morning. Barb and I took the group out considerably slower, which made a HUGE difference. All the runners looked better than last week, even though we ran a mile longer. During the seminar I ran an extra mile along the bayou trail behind the church.

Run:

5.04 miles

59:10

11:44 pace

Explosiveness?

Worked 10-hours at MSC

My back is bothering me again, most likely the result of going to the gym three days in a row. I enjoy the workouts at the Team Swoll gym, but I’m starting to have second thoughts. Coach Alex spends a majority of the time working our lower body and developing “explosiveness”. Well, I'm not a 16 year old trying to make the varsity football team, nor am I a MMA fighter. As a 37 year old man, I don’t have much need for “explosiveness”. These type workouts are most likely the culprit behind my back pain, which in turn makes my real job a lot more difficult.

Factor number two; the gym workouts are negatively affecting my running and this is becoming a bigger problem than I expected. My legs are constantly sore, making the sport of running a lot less fun.  I know I need to be patient and build these muscles, but I’m not sure how much more this weathered body can take.

As I stated above, my back is bothering me. I elected to not take my Celebrex this morning and I paid dearly for that decision. My back bothered me all day.

The determination to go run was as hard as it has ever been. I convinced myself I could run 0.50 mile run/0.10 mile walk until I ran four miles. Running on sore legs in 97 degree heat was tough. There were several times I almost quit. Instead I kept repeating the mantra; HTFU. Somehow I finished. The negative and positive benefits of attending the Team Swoll Gym flooded my mind. Again, I enjoy attending the gym for strength training, but something has to change. It's time to sit down with the coach and talk about how WE can meet MY objectives.

Run:

4.0 miles

46:51

11:43 pace

Walk:

1.05 mile

17:34

16:44 pace

Day off work

Can you believe I actually had a day off?!?!

Erin came to Humble to pick-up her husband at the airport, so I had an opportunity to visit with the kids for a few hours. Its great to have such a happy and non-confrontational relationship with Erin. Four-hours with the kids passed by in a blink of an eye. I treasure every second I can spend with my wonderful kids.

I was listening to my iPhone when I heard the Pre-Game speech from the movie, "Any Given Sunday". I’ve always enjoyed this speech and keep it on my iPod for races. There’s a small segment in the middle that has a bit of relativeness (is this a word?) and it struck a sensitive nerve today. Here are a few lines from the speech:

“I look around and I see these young faces and I think, I mean, I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make. I’ve pissed away all my money… believe it or not. I chased off anyone who has ever loved me. And lately, I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know when you get old in life things get taken from you. That's a part of life. But, you only learn that when you start losing stuff. You find out that life is just a game of inches.”

I went to the gym to blow off some steam, which was uber productive. Contrary to my original belief, strength training has a large mental component. I felt good today, but my mind was somewhere else. My pre-occupied mind made the workout a lot tougher than it should have been. There was an element missing, mental toughness. Either way, I survived the session.

 Strength Training: Team Swoll Gym workout

Interrupted workout

Working 24 hours at Humble FD

Since the Team Swoll gym is located in district two, I made plans to workout at the Sanctuary. I was able to convince Josh to join me for the workout. Even though the workout was only thirty minutes long, we were distracted by two EMS calls. We still managed to squeeze in the majority of the session. It seemed easier than usual…

Strength Training: Team Swoll Gym workout

A couple hours later I ran three-miles, circling station two. I purposely slowed the pace. As a result of the easy pace, I had a enjoyable run.

Run:
3.03 miles
36:09
11:56 pace

Walk:
0.55 mile
9:05
16:31 pace

Hard day, considering I didn't run...

Worked 10 hours at MSC

It was a long, hot, busy day at work. A small part of me was second-guessing my plans to go to the gym. I’m glad I stayed the course and “made it happen”. Today was a total body workout day, which is a grab bag of exercises including; tire flips, push-ups, rope pull, prowler sled push, shoulder presses, kettle ball swings, kettle ball presses, and about 10-15 exercises that escape my memory. Coach Alex beat us up pretty bad, yet it was a great session.

 Strength Training: Team Swoll workout

All day nap

Another busy night at the fire department. Starting at 2am, we battled an attic fire while being below minimum staffing. Luckily, our shift runs like a well oiled machine and we did an outstanding job with only six men. Once I got home I slept till 3pm.

I didn’t do much after waking up, other than shopping for some new-baby gifts for co-workers. I started my run later than usual, which was a smart move. The temperature was cooler and I felt a slight summer breeze moving across the bayou.

I've been on a dieting hiatus for five days. I don't think I've gained a lot, but it's time to get back on track and drop some LB's!

Run:
2.30 miles
26:15
11:25 pace

Walk:
0.63 mile
10:47
17:07 pace

Kingwood FIT, week 5

Working at Humble FD

I started the day running with the Kingwood FIT Gang. The humidity took its toll on me, making for a tough three mile run. My schedule called for four-miles, so I ran on the bayou trail when I arrived home. The temperature during the second run was 10X more enjoyable. I forgot to subtract the warm-up walk at KWFIT, so my run was slightly short. I’ll pick up the small change during tomorrows run.

Run:
3.89 miles
44:39
11:29 pace

Walk:
0.29 mile
5:08

New Truck

The new truck customization was completed today and I’m very happy with the final results.

With only two-hours of sleep at work last night, I came home after picking up my truck and slept till 3pm. Went to the gym for my first chest workout at Team Swoll. Coach said I bench pressed 255lb, which I found surprising. The workout was cut short by ten minutes, because I was meeting a couple runners joining me for a three-mile trail run.

It was a pleasure to run with both of these ladies. One of the ladies was much faster than me, but we met in the middle with her slowing down and me speeding up. The temperature was in the mid-90’s, making for tough conditions. The new runners seemed to enjoy running the bayou trail. Fun was had by all.

Strength Training: Team Swoll workout

Run:
2.99 miles
32:56
11:01 pace

Busy night

Worked 24 hours at Humble FD

It was a busy night on the ambulance. I didn’t get to sleep until 4am.

No running or working out on the schedule.

Torturous Tuesday

Worked 7.5 hours at Humble FD

I had to be at the station for mandatory Incident Command Training. This might be me most boring training ever.

Sitting all day in a classroom left me with a small discomfort in my back, but I still went to the gym. I didn’t get much of a break because Coach Alex had us doing back and legs. I survived, but it wasn’t easy.

Came home and went for a small run. Running on sore legs equates to a slow pace. The run was hard. I’ve posted my runs on the KWFIT Facebook page, but it would appear that everyone is scared of trails. I don’t understand why, most of the dangers on are the road/greenbelts. Oh well, I’ll post a few more times before throwing my hands up.

Run:
2.01 mile
23:56
11:54 pace

Walk:
1.23 miles
21:32
17:31 pace

Strength training: Team Swoll workout

Monday Madness

Worked 9 hours at MSC

Today was the first objectionable day at my part-time job. There was an issue with a damaged product that was delivered and no one took responsibility. Instead there was lots of finger pointing, which mimicked childlike behavior. I was in the middle of the incident, so I know were the problems started and why everything happened. Had they listened to me this would have all been prevented. Oh well.

Today was my first day back at the Team Swoll Gym since my back pain. Great workout by Coach Alex. It kept calling it “Fun-day, Monday”. I think it would be better suited as “Monday Madness”.

The kettle bell swing was immediately bothering my back. Coach showed me what I was doing wrong. After the quick-fix to my form, the workout went as planned… although it was a brutal beat-down. I enjoy this gym; it makes me feel young again.

Strength Training: Team Swoll Gym