Friday, December 28, 2007

Xmas 2007

Well Xmas is over! New Years is just a few days away. I have my friend Ty and his daughter Taylen coming over tonight. She's going to play with Morgan while we watch the Beavers play.

Xmas was really nice this year. We went up to the in-laws and we had a lot of fun up there. I have to say I ate pretty bad that day (and the day before) but I didn't overindulge...watched the portions. I had a martini (favorite drink) on Xmas eve and decided to pass on alcohol on Xmas day.

I got my Xmas present a little early this year and I absolutely love it. My wife got me the Garmin Forerunner (A GPS watch w/ a heart rate monitor) and it's the perfect gift for my fitness goals this upcoming year. I went on a 7.78 miler last Sunday in the cold rain. My buddy Scott got one too and we're going to totally "geek" out our training. We did a fitness test yesterday and I calculated my pace at 10:46/mile for a 145bpm heart rate. This will be my benchmark for my training in 2008. Scott is going to help me plot my training so I can gauge my overall health and fitness improvement. Good stuff!

My goal for weight was to be at 165lbs by the end of the year and I'm pretty close. I weighed myself this morning and I was at 168lbs. That's 23lbs lost since October 6th! I think my goal to be around 150-155lbs during Marathon time (October 2008) is very do-able. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm below that. I know weight isn't the most important factor for my overall health success but I really believe to be running at my best, I need to really shed a lot of this excess weight and fat. Plus its easier to gauge on my blog.

I have my annual physical in January and I'll get my cholesterol checked too. I'm curious to see those numbers.

Have a Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Gut Check! I'm a Pizza freak!

I'd say the past weekend was probably my worst "eating" weekend. It was bound to happen. Here's the breakdown starting with last Friday (12/7);
  • We had our work Xmas party at a very nice Mexican restaurant (Cha in NW Portland) and I had quite a lot to drink that night (all Tequilla). I did try tons of seafood that night because I'm really trying to expand my food variety. I don't think I overindulged that evening...except for the alcohol. In my defense, I rushed to the gym after work that day to get a quick 3 miles in on the treadmill (anticipating for the alcohol intake that evening).
  • Saturday - I was pretty bad. I swear I eat better during the week just because I have a routine in the office (10am - snack usually involving carrots/banana/broccoli/snow peas, workout and then have a healthy lunch, and then a snack around 3pm - apple).....so at home I saw there was pizza in the fridge. I got some the night before for the babysitter and daughter.
  • Saturday night - Ate out with the wife and got chicken tenderloins tossed in wing sauce with fries....OMG! Then did some shopping at the mall and got a plain pretzel and a latte.
  • Sunday wasn't any better. Had brother and nephews over to watch Steeler/Patriots game and had ..you guessed it Pizza again! Went to a birthday party that evening and had ANOTHER slice of Pizza. Avoided the cake though...phew!

So that was my weekend. I did get some good exercise in though (soccer - 2 goals...thank you and a 9 1/2 miler Sunday morning with the boyz).

Today (Wednesday) was the first time I worked out since the long run Sunday. So a rough couple of days eating wise but I think my body really needed the rest from working out. I finally got rid of this nasty cough I've had for a couple of weeks.

So I'm back to my normal self. Ate good today and plan to work out the remainder of the week and have another good run Sunday with the boyz. I ordered my Christmas present last Monday too. I got a Garmin Forerunner 305 so as my friend said....here comes the geek squad. He got one too and we should be getting it soon. We're going to really get into the science of our training so the posts should get pretty interesting....stay tuned!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007


Happy Holidays!

This Holiday season came so fast. I did the Portland Jingle Bell Run last Sunday and was able to get my buddy, Scott, to join me too. It was a nasty, rainy day but the route was pretty nice (flat). I felt pretty good that day. When we hit the turnaround point, I couldn't keep up with my buddy. I'm still feeling pretty good about my progress. My weight is sloooowly dropping. I think the fast loss in the beginning was a lot of water weight. I'm down to 172 lbs. now. I've had a couple of mishaps but I kind of expected it with the Holidays.

My buddies and I are planning to do another longer run this weekend. I'm getting a lot of good advice from friends. Slowly but surely...I'll get there.

We're having our Work party this Friday and I'll probably have a beverage that night. I think the nice thing with exercise, is the guilt disappears. It also motivates you to exercise harder when you know / plan to cheat a little with the diet. Nothing too bad though.