Restart, once again

started back running today, maybe i can get a marathon done this fall, i may have to sacrifice a little hunting, but i think it will be worth it.

i ran 3 miles today. during the run every part of body hurt, from my shoulder, upper and lower back, right knee, both calves and both feet. i guess the extra weight i am carrying on my belly isn't helping any. i did the 3 miles in 29.33 minutes, not my fastest time but bot my slowest either. at one point towards the end of the run i was going downhill and i thought, "that feels good" then i thought "well, maybe not good, but that feels better."

don't have much time to write tonight, it is already kinda late so i will just leave you with a thought that i have used before but kept going through my mind during the run, one foot in front of the other and RELENTLESS FORWARD PROGRESS.

see you in a day or two.

Turkey Season Halt

since turkey season began my running has stopped. i have been doing a fair amount of walking, but it isn't the same. really i can't wait to get back on track running, i really have been looking forward to it. i subscribed to a running magazine and have been reading that this week and it really has me pumped about running. my weight has been staying about the same, however, this past week has not been good, lots of fast food and soft drinks. luckily, i have only put on a pound or two.

thought of the day: who is the turkey? the hunted or the one who sits and waits all day for the bird to come by?

Hunting Season is Back

well, hunting season is back in and, like always, the running has really slowed down. I am going to try and do a little more this week. the good news is, i got a turkey today! i have been working a lot (on call all weekend) and with other things i have not been able to hunt very much. it does feel good to have number one for the season in the freezer.

thought of the day: don't settle for less than your desired goal.

A Few Days Late

I did get a run in last friday, i wanted to do 6 miles but emily wanted to meet for lunch and i was running out of time so i only ran 3. my fastest 3 miles so far, since i started back. i did not get to run saturday since i was hunting with my nephew on the youth hunt. we did get a good bit of walking in on saturday and sunday both. i was having another allergy/sinus/chest congestion attack today so i did not run, i think it was the smart choice. i got my gun somewhat sighted in for the upcoming turkey season which opens on saturday (not even 5 days and i'll be chasing turkeys!!)althogh i need to get some new shells and shoot it a few more times. i plan on doing some running this week, i do feel much better right now than i did this morning, getting my rest in probably helped me a lot (along with the neti pot after my nose cooled down). having said that, i better go get ready for bed now.

thought of the day: when you plan on being with a child for the weekend, and trying to teach them something pretty new, you better get ready to have your patience in full swing (and i thought turkey hunting itself took patience!) and make it fun for them. if they don't enjoy it, it will not keep their interest very long.

Another 3

I ran again today over lunch. I was gonna run 4 miles but one of my fellow workers was rushing me to go eat lunch with him. then it took me about 5-10 minutes to get my gps and watch to sync and i had to have the gps because i was going to take a different route today. then i decided it might be better to only run 3 since yesterday was supposed to be an off day and i ran the 3 miles i missed on monday. i think i will skip tomorrow and try to run 4 on friday since i don't think i will get my 6 miler in on saturday since i am taking my nephew on the youth hunt. i may try to go for an easy bike ride tomorrow if i get home in time. my time today was 28.47 minutes which gives me a 9.36min/mile pace, still not too bad for me. and once again my legs felt great all day after the run (yes i realize it is only 3 miles).

it is too late and i am too tired for a thought of the day, sorry.

A Run out for Lunch

I was not able to do my 3 miler yesterday because Emily and i got stuck in Nashville to late. i think it was around 8 or 8:30 when we got home. i did get a few things that i think will help me work-out more. one was a reflective ankle strap to wear when i run/bike around dark. i also got some reflective tape to put on my bike and bike helmet. i got a bike rack for my truck and some gu gels too. the i went to bass pro and got some new hunting boots since mine are not waterproof anymore.

i was planning on running this morning, but i got in bed around 10 and could not go to sleep. i knew i had to get plenty of rest, so i can keep running for one but more importantly because i am on call tonight. it is 10:20pm and i am waiting on some help to work on a cat right now. i have not left the clinic yet tonight.

however, i did get a 3 miler in at lunch. it is pretty flat except for a .2 mile hill. the bad thing is i basically run back and forth in a .5 mile stretch so i had to run up the hill 3 times. i felt like i could not go any further when i finished. however, for the rest of the day my legs have felt great, never better. i have another 3 or 4 miler tomorrow, so i will try to do that after work if i can.

thought of the day, when your help arrives, work on the cat.

Wish I had Never Stopped

I got my 5 miles in this afternoon. I had to keep telling myself to keep my pace slower than my body wanted to go. i was afraid if i went too fast, just getting back into running, i would kill myself by the end. so i tried to keep it kinda slow. i finished the 5 miles in 48.21 minutes. i think that is a pace of around 9.40min/mile. that is not too bad, a good bit under what i started at last year. i think if i had not ridden my bike yesterday i could have done it faster, i could feel my thighs burning a bit, especially on the hills. my watch did better i think. today it showed that the markers i had previously marked were just over what i marked them for. each 1/2 mile was actually about 60 yards shorter than where i had marked them. if that is true, my times last year were a little faster than i had thought, but not by very much. i really didn't even look at my watch the entire time (it beeps every 1/2 mile so i knew when to turn around). once i got towards the end i did sneak a peak at the total time (i have to wear 2 watches to do this) and i could tell i was going faster than i thought.

my first 1/2 mile was 4.37min/mile, the second was 4.38, the third was 4.49, the fourth was 4.52 (slowing down a bit), the fifth was 4.49, the sixth was 4.42 ( a little faster), seventh back to 4.52, eighth back to 4.45, ninth was very slow at 4.59, tenth (and last) was 5.14 (but i did have to stop and let 3 cars go by that were not very close together, so it would've been a little faster). the one thing my watch did let me check was my heart rate, since i've had my watch, my heart rate has been between 174 and 177 while running, i noticed one time, just after mile 3.5 my heart rate got up to 182. that is pretty close to my maximum heart range, i hope that gets better, it should.

i think my next goal in hunting will be to harvest 1 (or more) of each of the 6 subspecies of turkeys in the world (they really all live on this continent). That is called the world slam in turkey hunting. the grand slam is harvesting 1 of each of the 4 subspecies in the united states. the grand slam requires harvesting 1 each of those 4 and 1 of the one subspecies in mexico. the world slam requires harvesting the 4 in the U.S., the Goulds subspecies in mexico and the ocellated in southern mexico/central america. the only subspecies i have killed is the one in tn which is the eastern subspecies. we will see, maybe emily will let me! maybe she'll do it with me!

thought of the day today:"Could we change our attitude, we should not only see life differently, but life itself would come to be different."
– Katherine Mansfield

i try to tell my employees that you have a choice of what mood you are in, and i get in a bad mood sometimes as well. i just have to take a minute and remember what blessings i have and what really matters in life.