NCHM Challenge - Run # 53

Since I didn't do a Tempo run this week, I thought I would try one today. I set the Virtual Partner on my watch to do 8k at 6:30 pace.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Tempo	steady	OK
Distance	8 Km	8 Km	total: 298.26 km
Pace	6:36	6:13	great
Average HR	148-159	159	OK
Max HR	180	171	OK
Calories Burned		983	total: 36897

As you can see, I finished way ahead of my VP and I'm very happy with that. In fact, I think my split time was even, and maybe a little faster coming back, and I'm very very happy about that. Especially since the last 1.5k it was getting tough. I also think that this was a Personal Best for this distance.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 52

Made it out today and yes, I did hills.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Hills	steady	OK
Distance	7 hills	5.7 Km	total: 290.26 km
Pace	6:36	6:36	great
Average HR	148-159	146	see below
Max HR	180	168	OK
Calories Burned		703	total: 35914

Considering it has been almost a month since the last time I did hills, I'm very happy with what I did. I only did 1 km of warm up/cool down and 4.7k of actually going up and down the hill 7 times. I decided to go with a steady pace and surprisingly it was were it should have been. My average HR was a little low and that is because of going slower during my warm up, cool down and the down part of the hill, so overall that isn't that bad.

Master Cleanse - Post Report - Wife's Version

She made it through the 10 days and only cheated a little yesterday.

Overall she lost 11 pounds and 7 inches between her chest, waist, hips and thighs. Today she plans on drinking a fruit juice and then making a butternut squash soup for her lunch/supper. That means, tomorrow she should be back onto solids.

Congrats on making it.

NCHM Challenge - No Run # 9

Oops! I didn't plan today's run according to the weather we are having (cold/snowy and no touque or gloves), so I'm going to push today's run to tomorrow. I may even do hills instead of a Tempo run, will decide tomorrow.

Master Cleanse - Day 10 - Wife's Version

Congrats to my Wife as she has made it to the last day of her Cleanse. I know the past few days have been tough on her as she has wanted to break it and eat something, anything.

All she has to do now is make it through today, then tomorrow she gets to enjoy some fruit juices and then pureed soup the next day before getting back into solids.

Well done. I knew you could do it (once you got past day 3).

NCHM Challenge - No Run # 8

I forgot to post that I did miss 1 run this weekend to add to my total number of runs missed so far during this training. I am happy to say that my next run will mean that I've now ran more than when I trained for the Hypodermic half (which I didn't run).

NCHM Challenge - Run # 51

Went out today and did tomorrow's LSD run because tomorrow I'm going Wild Garlic picking and that is a full day affair and there may be some alcohol consumed. So instead of skipping tomorrow's long run and doing a short run today, I changed today's run to tomorrow's distance. Makes sense? I also took my oldest daughter with me on her bike, which is the longest she's gone for a bike ride.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	LSD	10:1	OK
Distance	12 Km	12.06 Km	total: 284.56 km
Pace	7:19	7:18	great
Average HR	137-148	148	good
Max HR	180	161	good
Calories Burned		1445	total: 35211

I set my watch to do 8 10:1s and these are the results I ended up with. During those intervals I did 1 hr and 20 minutes of running, where I ran 11.3k, and I walked 8 mins for 762 m. Overall, it was a good run.

Master Cleanse - Day 6 - Wife's Version

From what she's been telling me, all has been moslty fine. She's had some cold chill issues and also been a bit tired, which are both expected as you put your body through something like this. She's been drinking 6 glasses a day and says she hasn't really been hungry. Yesterday was her first irritable day and was showing signs that she might not make it through, but today is a new day and we'll see how she feels after her morning flush.

Over halfway there, so hopefully she keeps it going.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 50

Made it out today for a nice Steady run.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Steady	Steady	OK
Distance	7 Km	7 Km	total: 272.5 km
Pace	7:19	6:52	great
Average HR	137-148	147	good
Max HR	180	211	high
Calories Burned		868	total: 33766

Again, my Max HR is high, but my average is right where it needs to be, especially since my pace was much faster than the run asked for. Good run and the hip felt fine throughout, now we will see how it feels the rest of the day.

NCHM Challenge - No Run # 7

When I left my house this morning I had full intentions of running today, but after sitting at my desk for several hours, my hip has become sore, so I'm going to give it a break.

Shouldn't be a problem tomorrow.

Master Cleanse - Day 3 - Wife's Version

She has made it through another day with minimal problems. She did say that she had several BM's in the afternoon (while at work) that she wasn't totally impressed with, but didn't feel hungry throughout the day yesterday.

This morning she mentioned that when she woke up, she had some hunger issues, but the Lax tea settled that quickly.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 49

Made it out for a run today and this time I took my son in our running stroller.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Tempo	did Steady	OK
Distance	5 Km	5 Km	total: 265.5 km
Pace	6:36	7:06	slow
Average HR	148-159	142	low
Max HR	180	156	low
Calories Burned		615	total: 32898

I'm not exactly sure why, could be due to being tired today, but this run felt much harder than my numbers suggest. Pushing the stroller wasn't easy as it kept wanting to go left and my son kept talking to me, making it a little more difficult to breath. Other than that, it was fine.

I also walked back from the end of the run (a park that I stopped to let my son play for a bit) for a distance of 1.32k where I burned 108 calories.

Master Cleanse - Day 2 - Wife's Version

The wife says that yesterday was fine. She managed to only drink 4 glasses of the Lemon mix, where 2 of them only have half the required cayenne pepper. I've corrected her on the cayenne issue and have mentioned that she should be drinking at minimum 6 glasses per day. She also drank the laxative tea last night, where she added a TBSP of syrup to help her with the taste. That caused her to be woken up in the middle of the night, to flush herself out, which she wasn't too happy about. Other than that, she's looking forward to today.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 48

With missing my LSD run last week, I decide to go a little farther this week.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	LSD	10:1	OK
Distance	16 Km	17.87 Km	total: 260.5 km
Pace	7:19	7:23	great
Average HR	137-148	140	great
Max HR	180	225	high
Calories Burned		2128	total: 32283

I set my watch to do 12 10:1s and these are the results I ended up with. During those intervals I did 2 hrs of running, where I ran 16.68k, and I walked 12mins for 1.19k. Overall, it was a good run and now my legs are tired, stiff and a little sore.

Master Cleanse - Wife's version

My wife is planning on starting a 10 day Master Cleanse, today! I wish her luck, and maybe she'll let me post some of her thoughts/feelings/reactions here over the next 10 days.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 47

Made it out this morning for an easy steady run.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Steady	steady	OK
Distance	6 Km	6 Km	total: 242.63 km
Pace	7:19	6:46	great
Average HR	137-148	156	little high
Max HR	180	165	good
Calories Burned		745	total: 30155

I didn't feel like I was pushing, but my average HR says I was. Going to have to slow down a bit for the next Steady run.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 46

Made it out today and other than a little pain in my left ankle for the first few minutes, everything went great. I also ran with new orthopedics today and that may have helped me. I will know more in about an hour when I get up from my desk if my hip hurts.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Steady	steady	OK
Distance	7 Km	7 Km	total: 236.63 km
Pace	7:19	6:51	great
Average HR	137-148	148	OK
Max HR	180	210	high
Calories Burned		846	total: 29410

Other than my HR being high, everything went great.

NCHM Challenge - No Run # 6

Well my hip is a bit sore today, so not to push it, I'm taking today off from running. Unfortunately, unless I take several weeks off from running, this issue will not go away. This means that I'm going to have to deal with the pain after my runs if I'm going to get through this challenge. Because of this, I'm going to limit my running to 4 days a week (was 5) and see if that helps. That means, no more Wednesday runs, which are either Hills or Speed for the next couple of weeks. That is OK, as I don't expect to set any speed records, and the course I'm running doesn't have any big hills to conquer. It just sucks because everything was going great up until this injury started.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 45

I made it out running today! The goal was to just go out easy and see how everything felt. I did go slow and everything felt fine, the key will be in about 1 hour after sitting at my desk (working) how will my hip feel when I go to get up and walk somewhere.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Tempo	did Steady	OK
Distance	5 Km	5 Km	total: 229.63 km
Pace	6:36	6:45	OK
Average HR	137-148	148	OK
Max HR	180	185	high
Calories Burned		621	total: 28564

My HR was high, both average and max, but that is kinda expected after not running for 1 full week. I'm glad I was able to do the whole run without walking.

Happy Birthday Little Lady

My oldest daughter turned 8 years old today and I would like to wish her a very Happy Birthday. Mommy and Daddy love you very much.

NCHM Challenge - No Run # 5

Well I also missed yesterday's 16k run. I had a very late night Saturday and a very early morning yesterday that put me in a daze most of the day. Then in the afternoon, my oldest daughter had a birthday party to go to that threw off my afternoon. By the time I was done supper, I was also very tired, so I didn't have the energy to go for a run. That now makes 4 missed runs in a row, but that is where it ends. My hip feels 98%, so tomorrow it's back on track. Hopefully these missed days don't throw off my times/endurance too much.

Book came in

The "Spice up your life" Flexitarian cookbook that I won from livelighter.org came in yesterday. Today, I tried a few of the recipes for supper.

On the menu was the Chicken with Spicy Cashew and Almond sauce that I served over the Garlic Rice recipe. I loved it and my wife really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, my 2 girls didn't care for it, but we made them eat it anyway. My son is out (at my parents) for the night, so he didn't get to try it.

I'm definitely going to try other recipes in the near future and many sound interesting. My only negative issue with the cookbook is that there are no pictures to see what the meal should look like. It's not a big deal, just that most people eat with their eyes first and that would add to the recipes. Other than that, the recipes definitely sound good enough to eat.

NCHM Challenge - No Run # 4

So I decided to not run today and give my hip 1 more day of rest. At the moment, it feels about 80% fine, but I have to get back into running before I lose all the progress I've made to this point. Tomorrow is a 16k run, and my plan is to do it. We will see tomorrow.

Happy Birthday ...

... to my beautiful wife. She turns ... ah ah ah, you never tells a woman's age ... let's go with, a year older today.

Love you very much and hope you enjoy your special day.

NCHM Challenge - No Run # 3

My right hip feels much better today, but since tomorrow is already a scheduled day off, I figured I'd take today off as well and give it some extra rest. At the moment I'm thinking I will run Saturday, but that may change the closer it gets to run time. Right now my opinion is that rest is best.

NCHM Challenge - No Run # 2

Well it was bound to happen. I've missed my 2nd run of this training. Today I'm feeling a little sick, but mostly my right hip is very sore. It's so sore that I'm thinking that I will be taking tomorrow's run off, and probably Saturday's to give it a few days rest.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 44

Despite being tired and a little sore in the right hip, I made it out today.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Tempo	steady	OK
Distance	4 Km	4 Km	total: 224.63 km
Pace	6:36	6:08	great
Average HR	148-159	159	great
Max HR	180	222	high
Calories Burned		481	total: 27943

Being that I was feeling tired, I decided to do a faster warm-up but not as fast during my Tempo section. Overall, my pace was better than most other Tempo runs, with my Tempo section being 6:04/km for 2.8k. My hip was bugging me (and has been for a week now) for the first half and I may need to take some time off to give it a break. We'll see how it feels tomorrow.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 43

First off, HAPPY EASTER!

Second, I made it out for my LSD run.

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	LSD	10:1	OK
Distance	14 Km	14 Km	total: 220.63 km
Pace	7:19	7:10	great
Average HR	137-148	139	great
Max HR	180	148	great
Calories Burned		1692	total: 27462

Everything was great today. I kept my HR down, while keeping my pace faster than what was needed.

NCHM Challenge - Run # 42

Made it out this morning for my Steady run

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Steady	non-stop	OK
Distance	4 Km	4 Km	total: 206.63 km
Pace	7:19	6:47	great
Average HR	137-148	145	great
Max HR	180	194	???
Calories Burned		493	total: 25770

For some odd reason, my HR seems to jump up quickly during the first few minutes of my run before settling down and staying within a good range for the rest of my run. Not sure why, other than my body is surprised to be doing something other than sitting on the couch :O !

NCHM Challenge - Run # 41

Made it out on this beautiful day (+12C).

Here are my numbers

		My results	Comments
Type of Run	Steady	non-stop	OK
Distance	6 Km	6 Km	total: 202.63 km
Pace	7:19	6:59	great
Average HR	137-148	144	great
Max HR	180	170	OK
Calories Burned		733	total: 25277

With today's run, I wasn't focusing on my pace, but more my HR. I was doing my best to keep it under 150, so that meant there were times when my pace was fast, and other times it was slow. Overall, my pace was 20s/km faster than planned and Average HR was within the proper range.

2010 Life Goals - 1st Quarter review

Before I begin to talk about how I've done to this point of the year, here's what my 2010 goals are.

Goal #1 - Lose 24 lbs.
Since the beginning of this year I've managed to lose 20 pounds. Most of that came when I was doing the Master Cleanse at the beginning of February. Once it was over, I did put back on some of the weight, but in the last couple of weeks, I've seen that number drop. My goal from this point on is to keep losing the weight slowly and keep it off for a long time afterward.

Goal #2 - Run 3 Half Marathons
Well due to being ill 2 days before the scheduled date of the 1st half marathon, I'm still looking to run my 1st HM of the year. This means, that I probably won't get to run 3 HMs this year, as there are none after October. I'm already registered for a half marathon at the end of May, and my next one will either be in September or October of this year (date and location TBD). So if I can still run 2, and have Personal Best times for both, I will be happy with that.

Goal #3 - Spend less money on irrelevant things.
Since 2010 began, I have only gone out for lunch 2 times, once with my work group to celebrate the arrival of 2 new employees, and once because I didn't have any juice made for that day. As for breakfast, the only time I have gone out was a few days before starting the Master Cleanse and I did it more for a treat than anything. So essentially, I haven't been spending money on irrelevant things to this point in the year.

Goal #4 - Focus more at work.
Up until this week, I've been very committed to my work. I managed to complete a big project that I've been working on for several months now, and I'm quite happy with that. Now, I'm currently between big projects and my interests has diminished a bit, but I know I will be right back at it once the next project comes along.