Shabbat Morning Run - Back In The Groove

Total Net Calorie Intake:  ???

Before I get into running details, I gotta come clean on the calorie counting.  There was none over the past two days.  And I'm OK with that - it was Thanksgiving, right?  I actually don't think I fared too bad on Thursday.  I started out by burning 700 calories during the 10K (and probably 100 more doing 99 push-ups) and then didn't eat too much until the evening feast (where I surely made up for lost time).  Yesterday was the usual festive Shabbat dinner, Thanksgiving style :-)  I'm sure that the past two days threw me off a bit, but I'll go back to the calorie counting and everything will be fine.

This morning I went out for an easy Shabbat morning run.  The run was the longest I have done in a few weeks - 7.3 miles - but definitely not a "long run" by standards set earlier in the year.  I had contemplated going longer, but that would have meant leaving the house earlier (and thus getting out of bed earlier) and carrying water with me - two things I did not want to do today.  So I settled on the 7 miler instead of the 9 or 10.

I checked the weather this morning before leaving the house.  26 degrees.  BRRRRRR.  At least I didn't have to wait around for 45 minutes before running, like I did at Thursday morning's race.  There was virtually no wind, which made it bearable.  As usual, the first two miles were tough and cold, however, I was comfortable the rest of the way.  Also as usual, the cold weather made me run a bit faster than I wanted - I guess this is how my body responds as it wants to warm up faster.  My average HR was 156 over the 1:18:35.

The 7.3 miles brought my weekly total to 21.9 miles.  My yearly total is now 899 miles!  This is way more than I have ever run in a year - which is good news.  On the flip side, I have fallen behind the 1,000 mile "pace bunny" due to the week and a half I didn't run with bronchitis and the "ick-ies".  I'm about 13 miles behind pace to finish off with 1,000 miles, which means I'll have to average around 24 miles per week to get to the 1,000 mile goal by December 31.  It is definitely within my reach - I just need to really want it.

To get there, I will really need to make my weekend long runs longer - which means waking up earlier, wearing my water belt and running in the dark for a portion of my run.  I may also have to have some more flexibility due to the weather getting crappier by the day.  And some of these runs may have to be on the dreadmill.

As much as I would really like to reach this goal, if I don't make it I won't be depressed.  I believe that I'll be close to this mileage again in future years - especially in those where I'll run another marathon.  Plus, the main goal for me this year was to finish a 26.2 mile race - and that has been achieved!

So, I won't be pushing myself through sickness and fatigue to reach 1,000.  However, if I'm at 990 miles by December 30, you can bet I'll go out for a 10 miler on December 31!

2008 Turkey Chase Race Report

This will be the third year in a row that I have run the Turkey Chase 10K in Bethesda, MD on Thanksgiving Day.

I like this race because (a) it is in the neighborhood where I lived in 1999-2000 and (b) it's a great way to start out Thanksgiving Day - on a day where I'm going to overload on food, at least I'm starting the day off by burning 700 calories!

I hate this race because my times have consistently been slower than I know I am capable.  There are a lot of hills in the first three miles and this normally tires me out.  In 2006, seven months after posting my 10K PR of 56:14, I ran a 1:01:20 (I later realized that I had donated blood less than a week before that race...oh well!).  Last year, I ran a 1:02:16 (the weather was a lot warmer than expected - in the 60s!).  I was hoping to finish under an hour this year, but I my mileage had decreased over the past few weeks due to bronchitis, feeling icky, and bad schedule karma.

I threw away my goal last week and just decided to run a smart race.  Start out slow.  Pick up the pace later.  Enjoy the run.  Unlike many times that I went into the race with a similar philosophy, this time I actually followed it!  And by doing so, I nearly met my original goal.

The weather this morning was bright and sunny with not much wind, but it was still cold.  I believe the temperature was around 30 degrees.   I don't mind running in this weather, but I sure hate waiting around for a race to start in it.

I got to the race location around 7:45am for the 8:30am start.  I caught up with my friend Jamie who used to work at Nortel with me.  We stretched out, took a jog around the adjacent neighborhood and tried to keep warm.  I was looking out for fellow blogger Not Born To Run, however, I did not see her in the mass of 8,000 or so people there.  Go figure.

I wandered over to the starting line and nestled in with the 10:00 to 12:00/mile pace group.  This group was supposed to start 4 minutes after the gun time, however, it was more like 9 or 10 minutes by the time we all got to the starting mats.

The first quarter mile or so is slightly uphill.  The big consolation is that race ends here in the opposite direction - nothing like a fast finish going downhill!  I thought my Heart Rate Monitor may be giving me false readings here as I felt like I was going rather slow, but the watch was showing I was already in the 150s.  I got it back into the 140s while going downhill and continued going at this pace.  The first mile marker came up and my split was 10:37.  A bit faster than I was anticipating...perhaps my HRM was giving me correct readings after all!

The second mile included some pretty big neighborhood hills - both up and down.  It finishes coming down one of the largest hills on the course - Pooks Hill Road...luckily, we were running DOWN this hill and not UP!  My mile 2 split was 10:39.  Right on track.

Mile three was on Rockville Pike passing in front of NIH and the Bethesda Naval Hospital.  Again, there are a few hills here - I rarely noticed them while driving, but when you are on foot they are very noticeable.  As I was running up one of these hills, I felt really strong - especially my upper body.  I think the push up challenge that I am doing is starting to pay some benefits in my running (I wasn't planning for it to help in running, but I'll definitely take it!)  As I was pumping my arms to get up that hill I almost felt like it was somehow pulling myself to the top.  The mile three marker was before the last big hill crested - 11:04 split.

As soon as I crested the hill, I knew it was my time.  We were heading into downtown Bethesda, so the hills would not be as prevalent.  I had conserved my energy and I felt strong and ready to pick up the pace.  This was now my race.

The first water stop was right around here and I just blew by it.  And I started to pass a lot of people.  The thought came into my mind that the past two years I ran this that I was the one being passed - not the one doing the passing.  It's a nice feeling to be doing the passing, I must say.

However, passing people is not always the easiest thing to do.  The race officials had coned off one lane of the street, so there was a pretty narrow lane to fit all of the runners.  I ended up doing a lot of weaving; I tried to stay to the left and pass on the left most of the time, but many of the runners were plugged into their iPods and oblivious to their surroundings.  Heck, I'm 170 pounds and my running shoes squeak a little with the Superfeet insoles in them - you should be able to hear my footfalls if I'm coming up behind you...

Mile 4 split = 9:05.  Mile 5 split = 9:14.  I still had a lot of energy left.  It was time to run like crazy to the end.  The song "Lose Yourself" by Eminem started going through my mind - it's got a great beat to run to.  For the next mile I was burning it up and passing tons of other runners.  I felt like I was running a 5K - and this was mile 6 of a 10K!  I got to the mile 6 marker and checked my split - 8:14.  Holy cow!!!

I did the last 0.2 mile in 1:39 (an 8:15/mile pace) and crossed the finish line.  Watch time of 1:00:33.  Still not near my 10K PR, and not sub-one hour, but a course PR nonetheless.

The after-race events were a bit chaotic.  I don't think the race organizers knew how to handle so many people (this was their largest crowd to date).  I had checked a long sleeve t-shirt and sweatshirt at the bag check, and I went to go get that, however, the line was really long.  By the time I got through the bag check line, there were no more bagels - and that was the only food they had for their "spread".  Bagels and water.  And not enough bagels for all of the runners.  Grrr...  Plus, Sherry and the kids had come to see me at the race and we did not meet up.  We missed each other at the finish line and then could not find each other at the post-race festivities.  I did get a really big reception from all three of them when I got home which was very sweet.

Post-race issues aside, I had a great race.  What a wonderful way to start the holiday!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Cold Morning Run

Yesterday's Total Net Calories:  1,717

Since tomorrow is the Turkey Chase, and the temperature at starting time will be somewhere between 35 and 40 degrees, I decided that it was time to do a run in the outdoors.

It has been a while and I have been whimping out being in the elements.  Last night I checked the weather report and it was getting down to 29 degrees overnight, so I figured this would be a sub-freezing temperature run.  I dressed in my running tights, long sleeve t, running jacket, gloves and a beanie (and my reflector vest as it was still dark when I got out the door at 6:15am).

It ends up that it was only 38 degrees - I've run in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt in that weather before - however, there was a swirling wind, so I was glad to be bundled and layered up.

Being that it was my first "winter run" I put the Nutcracker Suite in my iPod.  It's such great music for the season!

My goal this morning was to keep the pace easy.  I wanted to see what my outdoor pace is at the sub-150 bpm heart rate.  For the first 2 miles I did fine.  Then I realized that I was speeding up as the music was crescendo-ing (I think it was the music when the Nutcracker battles the Army of the Mouse King...).  I got myself to slow down, but I really don't know how long I was running faster.  I finished the 3.4 mile run at an 11:10/mile pace with an average HR of 151.

I think I have a race plan for tomorrow.  I'm going to run the first 2 miles at sub-150 heart rate.  I'll then bump it up to between 150 and 160 for the third mile.  After that, I'm going to try to run the final 5K at a brisk pace and not work about heart rate.  I'm not expecting the last 5K to be anywhere near the 25:17 I ran in early September :-)  However, I can probably run 9 minute miles over the last half if I conserve my energy up front.  I'll see if I can keep to this.

Good luck to everyone running Turket Trots tomorrow!!!

Scheduled Rest Day

Total Calorie Intake: 2,252
(Exercise Calories: 690)
Total Net Calories: 1,562

No run today. I will try to go for a short 3 mile easy run tomorrow morning - mainly to get used to running outside again. It's a light day at the office tomorrow, so I should be able to get the run in even if I wake up later than I should! I will also pick up my race packet tomorrow.

I did my push-ups this morning. I'm doing Week 4, second column. I could not muster out 22 on the second set (and still have strength left to do the others), and I couldn't do more than 25 in the last set - I managed 19. All in all, I did 87 push-ups: 18, 18, 16, 16 and 19. Although I couldn't do the totals that the plan calls for, I'm still happy as this is the most I have ever done!

Easy + Tempo Run At The Gym

Total Calorie Intake:  2,130

(Exercise Calories:  728)

Total Net Calories:  1,402

How many times have you heard this one - "I was planning to run this morning, but woke up a bit too late at 6:15am...".  Well...it happened again this morning.

Add that to a busy day at work - so no getting out for a noon-time run - and I thought that there was no hope for a run today.

However, my younger son took a late nap (didn't wake up until 4pm) and I knew my wife was going to want me to do something with him while she was putting my older son (who was extremely tired and falling on his face after school) to bed.  Of course, the first thought in my mind was, "how late does childcare go at the gym"???  (the answer...8:30pm!!!??? - umm - whose child-care-aged kids are still not in bed by 8:30pm?  isn't that a recipe for a meltdown?)

Anyhow, the plan did not get vetoed.  After the kids ate dinner I took my younger one to the gym and put him in the childcare room - there were 4 other children there at 6:15pm.  I hit the treadmill for what was going to start as an easy run.  I was going to try to do another 4 miler or maybe 5 - depending on how I felt.

I felt GREAT!  I started out at 5.0 mph (12:00/mile) for the first 0.25 and then increased the speed every 1/4 mile until my HR was in the 140s.  By the end of the first mile I was up at 5.6 mph (10:45/mile pace) and still in the 140s.  Nice.  Especially after yesterday's "first run back" after being sick.

I stayed the course at the 10:45/mile pace until 3.5 miles into the run.  My HR was starting to creep up, but I still felt good.  Also, I hadn't pushed the pace in what seems to be months (I took a look at my log now and see that it was less than two weeks ago - November 12), so I decided to kick it up a few notches for the last 1.5 miles.  For the first mile I ran at 6.7 mph - a 8:57/mile pace.  With half a mile left, I bumped the incline up to 1%.  With a quarter mile left I  bumped the incline up again - to 2.0% - and bumped the speed up to 7.0 mph - a 8:30/mile pace.  At this point my iPod was pounding out Pedalsped's "Stretch" - the chorus starts "Race for the sun / Don't let anything stand in your way..."  Very appropriate!

The full 5 miles took 51:15.  I may try to fit one more run in before the Turkey Chase - maybe Wednesday morning.  I want to run outside to acclimate myself to the colder weather before Thursday.

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One more thing...  This morning was weigh-in day.  I weighed 169.0, so I lost 1 pound vs last week.  Not too bad given that I pigged out for 24 hours from Friday night to Saturday night.  Thankfully I got back on the program on Sunday - just in time for the weigh-in.

Running Again...Finally!

I had planned to run on Friday.  It was going to be an easy 3 miles to get back into the swing of things after not running for close to a week after being sick.

However, I went to bed too late and did not have enough time in the morning to get a run in.  I had then planned to run during my lunch break, but I had a 12:30 conference call pop up on my schedule last minute.  We were having guests for Shabbat dinner in the evening, so I needed to be in the house around 4:45pm - so there was no way for me to run in the early evening.

So...there was no run on Friday.  Saturday also came and went with no run.

Finally I got to the gym this morning.  I wasn't going to do the long run I had planned since I had not run for eight days...this was going to have to be an easy run.  I ended up doing 4 miles on the treadmill at 5.2 mph - and 11:30 mile pace.  My HR averaged at 145 - nice and controlled so I don't overdo it.

I must say that I'm a bit frustrated about how I'll do at this year's Turkey Chase.  Two years ago I ran it in a frustratingly slow at the time 1:02:16 - a 10:02/mile pace.  When I looked back at my calendar I noticed that I had just given blood on the Saturday before that race, so I was not back up to my normal aerobic conditioning.  Last year I fared better - 1:01:20, a 9:53 pace - but not as well as I would have liked....and no where near my 10K PR of 56:14.  I was hoping that this year would be under an hour, but with my recent hiatus from running due to being sick, I doubt that will happen.

I'll still run on Tuesday.  Perhaps even another short run tomorrow and then a longer run on Tuesday.  But I'm not sure what that will equate to in terms of my time on Thursday morning.

At least I'll have burned off a bunch of calories before I attack a turkey on Thanksgiving Day!

Hopefully My Last Consecutive Rest Day

My cold isn't fully behind me, however, I no longer have the chest congestion.  Woo Hoo!  My nose is a bit stuffy, but I can handle that - right?

So tomorrow, I'll definitely get a run in.  Being that the temps have been in the 20s overnight here, I may run at the gym instead of outside.  I'm still not used to the colder weather yet.

If tomorrow's run goes well, I'm hoping to go on a long run on Sunday.  Probably not the 12 miler I was originally hoping for - but perhaps a 7 or 8 miler.  It will have to depend on how I'm feeling and how tomorrow goes.

I did get my second set of push ups in this morning.  Sets of 14, 19, 14, 14 and 20.  81 in all.  OMG!  I'm getting close to 100 (OK, not 100 consecutive, but I don't think I have ever done 100 push ups in a DAY before...so this is big for me).

Feeling Better

Tuesday Total Net Calories:  1,650

Wednesday Total Net Calories:  1,660

I'm still a bit congested today, but a lot better than I have the past few days.  My chest does not feel as tight and heavy and I'm not coughing as much.  It's amazing what a little rest will do!

I didn't run today and I'm not going to run tomorrow, however, if the trend continues and I continue to feel better I'll try to run on Friday morning.  Then perhaps a longer run on Sunday morning.

On the calorie front, I'm keeping things in control.  I had to eat out two of my meals today and for one of them I had a Greek Salad (OK...I went a little nutso and had them put the dressing on the salad instead of putting it on the side and using less - you gotta live a little bit, right?).  Anyhow, I'm hoping to stay with it and see my weight come down a bit before the Thanksgiving food fest...

Chest Congestion...Again :-(

Total Net Calories: 2,070

So...when I went out for my un-inspired run on Saturday afternoon, little did I know that this would be my last run for a while. By yesterday, the nasal congestion started to settle in my chest. Not good for running. I'm going to hit this with Mucinex, VapoRub and more sleep and hope to get this out of my system before it becomes bronchitis like a few weeks ago.

This will mean that my last week of training before the Turkey Chase may not happen. I was hoping to run this 10K in under 60 min (my best on this course is 1:01:20 - it's got some big hills in the first 2 miles which drain me for the rest of the race), however, now it's looking like I'll just run for fun. And to start Thanksgiving Day off by burning 700 calories. Talking about calories...

Yesterday was Day 1 of counting calories again. I didn't plan out my day very well, and ended up eating an 800 calorie lunch (who knew that a tuna sandwich at Panera was 720 calories? darn mayo! luckily I subbed the chips for an apple!). The eye-opening news (it always is, folks) is seeing how much I would have normally eaten during the day. An extra serving here, an additional snack there, a cookie (cookies?) or dessert after lunch and/or dinner - I surely would be eating more than 3,000 calories on a given day. No wonder my weight continued to creep up while my post-marathon mileage decreased.

So, although I'm not happy about going back to the calorie counting, I'm glad that it helps me regulate what I eat and get back to eating a reasonable amonut. I know that if I want to pitch the calorie counting, that I'll probably need to be running 30-35 miles a week...and not 15-20 miles like it has been over the past few months.

Push Up Test

After Week 4 of the Push Up Challenge, you need to do another "exhaustion test".  I was able to do 24 consecutive push ups.  Not too bad - a month ago I could only do 11 - however, based on this, I can not go to Week 5 - I need to go back to Week 3 to do column number two.

Still, I'm quite impressed.  I don't think I was EVER able to do more than 20 consecutive push ups.  Now I'm able to do more.

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In other news, I have officially "tipped the scales" again.  When I weighed myself this morning, the scale was up to 170 lbs.  In the six months since running a marathon I have gained six pounds (OK...most of the weight was put on over the past 3 months with birthdays, holidays, etc.).  I am just on the cusp of the BMI definition of being overweight.  UGH!!!

So...it's back to some transparency in order to force accountability.  I will be counting my calories again - like I was doing at the beginning of the year - and posting them on the blog.  At least for the next few weeks until I get things under control.

Just Not Feeling It

A bug has been passed around in our household.  First the kids had it, then Sherry.  By Friday afternoon, I was starting to feel a bit icky.  I decided to sleep in on Saturday, instead of going out for a run.  By the time I got out of the house to go to synagogue, I found that the weather was unseasonably warm and I felt bad about missing my opportunity to get out and run.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to try and get my run in.  I did not feel 100%, but it was a head cold - not in my chest - so it's usually safe to run.  I started my neighborhood loop that could be a 4.4 mile, 5.5 mile, 6.2 mile or 7.5 miler - depending on where I re-enter my community.  Of course I was hoping for the 7 miler, however, after 3 miles I still wasn't feeling that great running feeling.  I decided it was going to be the 4.4 mile loop, and I even stopped running and started to walk as soon as I re-entered the community (at around the 4 mile mark).  I think the only time I have stopped a run short to walk this year has been when I start to feel injured...I never have lost motivation to run - it was quite a deflating experience.

I finally got my last set of Week 4 push-ups in this morning.  Sets of 16, 18, 13, 13 and 19.  That's 79 push-ups total!!!  And the fact that I was able to do 5 sets of 13 or more push-ups - when four weeks ago I could only muster 11 - is incredible!!!

HRM Watch Is Back!!!

Good news - my Polar S120 came back in the mail today.  Hooray!  It's all fixed up and it was ready to go for my run this evening.  I can now do time splits, see my max HR in addition to my average HR, and I finally can see HR, elapsed time and time of day all at once.

Bad news - The televisions at Fitness First do not have the NFL Network.  So no game for me on my run this evening.

However, I did run.  I decided to make it a hill run, so I hopped on the treadmill and chose the Hill program.  It asked for what level 1-20, so I chose 15.  Holy crap!  The thing started out at a 5.5 incline and maxed out at 11.3.  I kept my speed slow and fought through it.  I thought about bailing on the hill program after a mile - then again after 1.5 miles, 2 miles and at the 2.5 mile mark - but I just kept on going.  I may be a bit sore tomorrow...but I'm hoping it helps out during the initial (hilly) miles of the Turkey Chase...

No Morning Run - Football Run Instead?

I got to bed late last night and was woken up twice in the middle of the night by the kids - so I was in no mood to head outside in a cold, pissing rain when 6am rolled around. Even if it was just for three miles. No. Way.

However, tonight there is a football game on. And since it is only a three mile run, I may hit the treadmill at the gym during gametime. Now that sounds like a plan!

I did however do my push-ups (OK...I was supposed to do them yesterday). Sets of 14, 16, 12, 12 and 16 - 70 in all! WOW!!!

Pyramid Intervals

I scheduled to do 5 miles today, and I want to do some speedwork on my longer weekday runs. Last week I did a tempo run, so this week I was going to try some interval work.

I normally do either 400s or 800s for my intervals, but this morning I shook things up. I did a "pyramid" - 400, 800, 1200, 1600 - each with a 400 recovery (started with a mile warm up and ended with a 0.75 mile cool down to get to 5 miles).

I wasn't blazing fast today - I was on the treadmill and did my recovery at 5.5mph and my intervals at 7.0mph. But it was nice to get some speedwork in.

Good think I ran 5 miles this morning. I went to Chili's for lunch with a work colleague and chowed down on greasy tortilla chips with salsa, and a mushroom and swiss burger (black bean patty burger) with fries. YUM!

Let The Cold Weather Begin!

This morning was my first sub-freezing temperature run of the season.

I found it quite comical - I dressed in my running tights, long sleeved tech shirt as a base layer with my running jacket as a second layer (and a reflective vest - as it was still dark at 5:30am when I ventured out the door), a beanie hat that I received as my finishers premium at the Parks Half Marathon I ran in September (it was quite ironic that at a race where it was over 70 degrees that they were handing out winter beanies!), and a pair of running gloves.

It was 31 degrees outside. I know that in two months, when it is 31 degrees outside I probably won't be wearing the jacket, and the beanie will be replaced by a baseball cap. It's all relative, right? Right now 31 degrees is 10-20 degree colder than I'm used to running in...in January it may be 10-20 degree warmer than I'm used to running in!

As I started my run, I remembered what my big issue was in cold-weather running - I start out too fast! I believe it is an attempt to warm my body up, so instead of easing into my pace, I jump right in - normally going fast than I intend to. This was supposed to be an easy run - with my HR under 150 bpm. About 1/4 mile into the run, I took a look at my HRM and saw 160....time to slow down!

I ended up keeping things under control. My average HR was 148 and my pace was 11:03/mile. Nice and easy.

And if I had gone much further than 3.4 miles, I surely would have overheated! :-)

Scheduled Rest Day and Random Observations

No run today.  Good thing, as my legs were a bit sore.

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This week is a "stepback" week from the Marathon plan (week 6).  Basically, it's the same weekly runs as last week, but with a 7 mile long run instead of a 10 miler.  I'll probably do easy runs on the 3 milers and a tempo or interval run for the 5 miler.

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At the end of my long run yesterday morning, a leaf dropped down from a tree right into my hand.  I normally would not have thought anything of it, except I had just read a blog post from Peter the day before.  I decided to keep the leaf!  :-)

Another Awesome Shabbat Long Run

You would think that I would be grumpy this morning.  The weather is gray with a little chill in the air.  My little guy came into our room at 3am and I didn't sleep well the rest of the night.

However, I feel great!  A 10 mile slow, easy run will do that for you :-)

I checked my running log to see what 10 mile routes I had done in my marathon training.  They were all on the Rockville Millennium Trail - which I need to drive to.  I did not want to deal with driving the car this morning, so I plotted out a new 10-mile route (OK..it was 10.5 miles when all was said and done) which took me over to the Fallsgrove neighborhood - and onto the Millennium Trail for a mile - and then back.

My plan was to keep my heart rate under 150 as much as possible.  The past few runs I have let my heart rate get too high...I wanted to ensure that I ran this one with a bit more discipline.  I succeeded as my average HR over the full 10.5 miles was 150 bpm.  My pace was slow and steady at 11:24/mile.

I definitely felt "the burn" in my legs as the miles passed.  I also felt it in my arms and chest as I finished another week of the push ups plan yesterday with sets of 11, 13, 9, 9 and 15 push ups (57 in all!).  But I don't feel too sore right now - just refreshed and ready to take on the world today!

A Bonus Run

It's a beautiful day in the Washington, DC area.  By lunchtime it was sunny and warm - the temperatures were near 70 degrees.  Is it really November???  It feels like September!

Anyhow, today was supposed to be a rest day - I ran on Wednesday and Thursday and I have a 10 mile long run scheduled for tomorrow.  However, as my 11am conference call came to an early close around 11:30am, I could not control the urge for a short run.  I hopped into my running clothes and took it nice and easy around my lake loop.

So, after tomorrow's run it will be four days in a row.  At the beginning of the year, I was worried about running four days a week instead of my normal three!

Back To Blogging!!!

I'm baaaack!

It's been a crazy few days - starting with having family in town for my little guy's 3rd birthday and then continuing to some very busy days at work and in the evenings after work.  It's given me very little time to blog.

However, I HAVE put aside the time to RUN!  Once again, I must say - I'm baaaack!

On Saturday morning, I got a 9 miler in before making it to synagogue.  On Monday morning I got an easy 3 miler, on Wednesday morning a 5 mile tempo run and then this morning another 3 miles.  I'm back to my 20 miles a week schedule - and that will increase to about 25 miles a week just before Thanksgiving.  Just in time for the Turkey Chase 10K (and more eating...)

Oh...I did mention eating.  Through all the festivities - starting with my Birthday in early August, Anniversary two weeks later, all of the Jewish Holidays in September and October and finally with my son's birthday and Halloween - I have put on some pounds.  And there is still tons of candy in my house.  It's ironic - the kids had pretty much forgotten about the candy, yet I was still reaching for it throughout the day.  Tuesday night - while watching election coverage - I declared that I had eaten my last piece of Halloween candy.  So far, so good (OK, I've lasted a full day and a half!).  I hope that this - and getting back to running - will help me melt those pounds off without having to go back to counting calories.

I have also kept to the Push Ups.  I'm in Week 3 now, however, my exhaustion test after Week 2 did not go so well - I was only able to do 16 consecutive push ups.  So I'm doing column 1 for Weeks 3 and 4.  Today I did set #2 - 10, 12, 8, 8 and 14 push ups.  52 push ups all together.

So you see, although I had not been blogging, I still have been running and doing my push ups.