Great Running Song

I have really begun to like Jose Gonzalez's work and will probably add this song to a playlist in the near future.

Jose Gonzalez - "Heartbeats"



Also any suggestions for good running songs or additions I need to make to my ipod?

Finished January goal

Today's run put me over the top for the my January goal of 51 kilometers (which was set on January 8th). I am really excited that I reached my goal and now we will move onto the February goal (I will add it to the site on Sunday). Check out my mini down on the right hand side of the site. It has a new shirt with the Nike swoosh and 01/09. Goal accomplished!



I did this one in style. I really wanted to go all the way with it and today I warmed up for a few minutes walking and then started the goal of three kilometers. I ran the entire thing between 6.2 mph and 6.7 mph. The last quarter of a kilometer was me walking to cool down.



It really felt great to just let loose on the treadmill and finish the goal with a strong run. I will probably feel this tomorrow but it will also help with the progress that I quickly need to make for that half-marathon.

Also, I weigh in tomorrow and hope to be down another pound or two. We will see.

Great Running Song

Lately, I have been finding this song to be a great way to fly through a full kilometer without even thinking about it. Maybe it is the simplicity of the guitar riff that I can strum along to in my head.

Snow Patrol - "Open Your Eyes"

Here again

Today was walking five minutes and then running for six minutes ending with some cool down walking. I used the time running to work on increasing endurance and hopefully speed. I ran at 7 miles per hour for the entire six minutes. Not too shabby. I will try to do this for a prolonged amount of time at least once a week.



It was ranging around a five minute kilometer pace. I would ideally like to run the half-marathon in under two hours meaning I have to run faster than 6.5 mph the whole way. I certainly have my work cut out for me.

Next week I will pick up on distance and the length of time running. Should be fun. Now back to the grind. Oh and tomorrow I pass my January goal... I am excited.

Big Announcement!!!!

So what is up with the new training program - why is there one you may be asking? Was the old one not working? Well, no it wasn't because I am going to be running in the first annual Wisconsin Half-Marathon on May 2nd. Yup, a half- marathon in about three months time and thus the need for a new training regimen. I am going to be running in the half-marathon for Salute Inc., a non-profit organization that benefits our veterans. I did their 5k last Memorial Day and it is a wonderful organization. I would like to raise money to help them out. Can you chip in?



So here we go, just over three months and I will return to Kenosha and run over 13 miles around my old campus. Sounds like fun if you ask me.

Back to it

I had some long unexpected days pop up for work and had to postpone the beginning of my new training program. But here is the first day.



I walked five minutes, ran five, walked five and ran about 6 minutes at the end. A nice 3.5 kilometer day. I missed it the last four or five days and it felt good to be back in the running shoes. So there we go... just a quick post to let you know that I am back.

Great Running Song

The last song on the top PowerSong's list is another from Rocky. The theme song that starts many of the major sporting events.

Bill Conti - "Gonna Fly Now"

Great Running Song

I listen to a lot of Linkin Park while running so it is great to see Fort Minor make the list at number eight.

Fort Minor - "Remember the Name"

Feeling the Friday push

I am getting quite happy with how I am progressing with the training and my overall health. I am losing weight with a quick weigh in tomorrow. I could be down another pound and want to be able to reflect the change (if necessary) in my calorie count. I am eating a lot healthier with more fruits and vegetables and less junk type foods. I am feeling better as well with more energy and I think that I am sleeping better.

Today was the end of the week in regards to the training and I pushed myself during it at a faster speed, longer intervals and just more of an overall push. I can kind of feel it this afternoon.



I walked four minutes, ran six minutes, walked another four and then ran for about seven minutes ending with a couple of minutes of a walking cool down. I totaled 3.25 kilometers and moved closer to my monthly goal of 51 kilometers (which was started on the 8th).

Another week down and a good amount of progress is being made. Oh that big announcement will come on Sunday. Stay tuned!

Great Running Song

Time for some Kanye with with PowerSong number seven. A great song during the middle of a long run.

Kanye West - "Stronger"

Great Running Song

Another fast paced song that is not on my ipod but I could listen to it once in a while.

Justin Timberlake - "Sexyback"

A comeback for Gaitlin?

The 2004 Gold Medalist Justin Gaitlin is supposedly considering making a comeback when his four year suspension for testing positive for an illegal performance enhancer ends in 2010.

Gatlin, once on the verge of becoming one of the best U.S. sprinters in history, is now planning to salvage his career and hopes to return to global dominating glory at the age of 28.

His agent, former high hurdles world record holder Renaldo Nehemiah, admits Gatlin faces some formidable barriers in his rare return.

“It’s not impossible, but you have to look at it that he’s still banned from competing in any IAAF meets that will keep him competitively fit,” he said during a phone interview. “We’ve been discussing his options. This is unprecedented.”

It certainly would be unprecedented and nearly impossible for him to comeback at the top. It appears that he would have train with college meets because he is banned at the USA Track and Field sanctioned events.

I know one thing for sure Gaitlin is incredibly fast - performance enhancers or not. I would like to see him some back when his suspension ends but maybe with some more frequent drug testing with the risk of being banned for life if testing positive again. Now we just have to wait until July of 2010.

Midweek

This morning we all woke up to a new President and I know personally I woke up with some new optimism. I hope to translate that into other aspects of my life as well just for my own well-being.

This morning I accumulated three kilometers with a 6 minute walk, 4 minute run (repeated 1 time) and then followed with about three more minutes of walking. I can tell you that I am feeling stronger and happy with my progress.



This was once again on a treadmill in the local gym so I was able to watch television while on the run. It really is a great time.

Great Running Song

Two days in a row with Eminem.

Eminem - "Till I Collapse"

The Inaugural Run

What an amazing day... we have our 44th President of the United States in Barack Obama. I am so excited about this turn of events. So I consider my run this morning to be an inaugural run.



It was 10 minutes of walking, 5 minutes of running, a couple more walking and one running. I am trying to just increase my endurance to be able to run for a prolonged time. And I am doing this slowly so that I do it right. I don't want to go too far too fast and risk injury. But there it is. A great day and a great workout.

Great Running Song

Number four on the PowerSong list we find another movie theme song.

Eminem - "Lose Yourself"

Walk champ tests positive

This is something that I might try to follow a little bit since drug use, or performance enhancers, have been dragging down track and field.

Athanasia Tsoumeleka, the 20-kilometer walk champion at the 2004 Athens Games, tested positive for a banned blood-booster in a retesting of a sample she provided two days before the Beijing Olympics.

Ouch! At this point it doesn't seem that her Athens performance was aided with any illegal substances but the second test reveals that her Beijing performance was indeed. But her positive test was just one of over a dozen for Greek athletes. Somethings seems rotten but what do we really know if we are unable to compare the ratio of positive tests to athletes with each country.

Tsoumeleka's positive test result was the latest affecting Greek athletes.

Fani Halkia, the 2004 Olympic 400-meter hurdles champion, was dropped from the team in Beijing and expelled from the athletes' village after testing positive for an anabolic steroid. Fourteen other Greeks, including 11 weightlifters, tested positive for the same substance before the Olympics.

Wow. Tsoumeleka also announced that she is retiring from competition. I would certainly hate to go out that way.

Six four and repeat

Another cold day in Chicago meant another run on the treadmill at the local gym. Thank goodness for trial memberships! This morning I had to walk six minutes, run four minutes and then repeat, ending with another four minutes of walking. I accumulated three kilometers during this time which is nice.



Once again I listened to Snow Patrol's new album A Hundred Million Suns. You should really give it a listen.

Great Running Song

Number three on the PowerSong list is a good song and an even better video.

OK Go - "Here It Goes Again"

Another week

This morning I continued with my training way to anxious to actually do more than what it says to do. I was supposed to walk 15, run 1, walk 3. I walked 10, ran 5, walk about 3 minutes. I have a strong urge to run for a longer period of time and rack up those miles. I have a special announcement coming soon and this wanting me to a lot more than what is being asked. So tomorrow I am going to do what is and use the lighter days to run five minutes.

So thus we continue the training after a very successful weigh in yesterday. If I feel good with the increase in running then I am going to end the current training and create a new one with the increase.

Great Running Song

The number two PowerSong is nice upbeat song from a group that was always either hit or miss in my mind.

Black Eyed Peas - "Pump It"

A little honesty

It wasn't my New Year's resolution to lose weight but it certainly has been a goal of mine so far in the first couple weeks of the year. So I have gone about setting up this training program you can see on the site, eating healthier and keeping track of my calories. I have also eliminated regular soft drinks and replaced it with Diet Dr. Pepper. The results have been tremendous and with my first weigh in this morning I am happy to report that I have lost four pounds already.

I guess it helps paying attention to what you eat and not drinking tons of calories in Pepsi and Coke. My next weigh in is going to be January 31st two weeks from today. Can I lose another two pounds? Can I keep this going and keep the weight off?

You bet!!

Great Running Song

The classic workout song. The number one PowerSong for Nike+ users.

Survivor - "Eye of the Tiger"

The Friday Push

Alright, I know that my Friday push isn't the greatest thing but here it is anyway!



Today called for five minutes of walking and three minutes of running (and repeat) ending with another five minutes of walking. I wanted to push myself in regards to speed so I decided to run at 7.5mph on the treadmill during both three minute time spans. It felt good but near the end of the second go around I could feel that the pace was beginning to get to me. Also at the end during the final five minutes of walking I got bored and decided to jog at 6mph for the last 400 meters.

At this point I kind of just want to go out there and jog at 6mph and see how far I can go. I guess I am getting anxious and want to do more.

Oh as for music, I was listening to Snow Patrol new album A Hundred Million Suns. It is a really good album and you should go get it!

DO IT!

Great Running Song

This is one of the most popular power songs according to Nike+. Another good motivator.

The All-American Rejects - "Move Along"

Yippee! It is freezing in Chicago!

The weather right now is brutally cold with wind chills hitting -30 degrees. Luckily, I still have that free pass for the gym and I was able to make my way over there. I had a two and half kilometer workout with two 3-minute bursts of running in the 18 minute workout.



During both three minute bursts I ran in a sub five minute kilometer pace. Tomorrow I will do the same workout but hopefully run the bursts in about a 4:45 or 4:40 pace. That is a good way to push myself and help me get faster down the road.

Since I was on the treadmill today I just watched SportsCenter while I worked out. Evidently, Matt Sanchez from USC is declaring for the NFL Draft.

Great Running Song

This is my powersong. I love just being able to relax and refocus on the run with this one playing.

Snow Patrol - "Chasing Cars"

Great Running Song

Here is my favorite song to begin a run with.

U2 - "Beautiful Day"



Oh, I was at that concert! Awesome.

Did you know?

That there is actually a marathon run on the Antarctic! It is crazy and limited to just 20 people. I have been complaining about the weather this week and will continue to do so with nearly five more inches of snow coming followed by sub-zero wind chills. But this article gets me right in the gut!

Cross country and mountain runners certainly have to race in some appalling weather conditions, and the average club runner or journeyman jogger might understandably curse about having to occasionally train in the cold and wet of winter but ladies and gentlemen you have nothing to complain about compared to the intrepid competitors who take part in the Antarctic Ice Marathon & 100k each year.

100k is astounding as well in which three people competed. 13-18 hours in a run in the Antarctic. Wow.

MEN'S 100 KM

1. Marc de Keyser (BEL) - 12:49:51
2. Jukka Viljanen (FIN) - 14:01:20

WOMEN'S 100 KM

1. Pushpa Chandra (CAN) - 18:33:08

100 Kilometers and going!

This morning on the treadmill I passed the 100 kilometer mark on Nike+. Nice to see a triple digit total on the top of the screen. The milestone came during my 15 minute walk, one minute run and two minute ending walk for two kilometers.



Nothing really special here. For the one minute run I upped my speed to 7.5 mph instead of around my normal 6.5 or 6.6 mph. It is a good way to push up my normal speed and endurance. I hope to one day make my normal speed 7.5-8 mph. That would be nice.

My playlist this morning included:

The All-American Rejects - "Move Along"
Gavin Rossdale - "Love Remains the Same"
Audioslave - "Be Yourself"
Yellowcard - "Lights and Sounds"
Snow Patrol - "Chasing Cars"

Great Running Song

There are plenty of songs out there to run to and I think it is about time to share them. And to make it fun let's go with some YouTube videos. One a day sound good?

Queen's "We Will Rock You" followed by "We Are The Champions"

Did you know?

That Paula Radcliffe is the current world record holder for women in the marathon. At the 2003 London Marathon Paula ran the race in 2 hour 15 minutes and 25 seconds. It was deemed one of the greatest performances by IAAF standards.

Paula is one of the voices that comes over the iPod and Nike+ system when you achieve a new milestone. A marathon record holder as your inspiration... pretty cool.

The Second Monday

It was another treadmill run this morning with many of our neighborhood's sidewalks not cleared off. The real bad news is that two to five more inches of snow are coming this afternoon and tonight. Ugh! Today's training was five minutes of walking, three minutes of running, five minutes of walking, three minutes of running and ending with another five minutes of walking. At the two kilometer marker I was running at a pace of 4:59 a kilometer By the time this twelve week program is over I am scheduled to run 30 minutes and I hope to run the entire thing at that pace equally a 6 kilometer run. I can live with that!



Not a bad morning run. I am still getting anxious to run for a longer period of time and for a longer distance. But this is for the best... its for my long term abilities when it comes to running. Slow and steady wins the race right?

Beginning week two

Today's training session marks the beginning of my second week of my walk to run program. With the half a foot of snow sitting on the ground I decided to talk advantage of my coupon to Crunch Fitness Gym in order to keep going with my program. The coupon is good for five consecutive days I and plan on using it until some of this snow disappears from the sidewalk and the cold temperatures subside at the end of this week. So the following happened on a treadmill in a nice cozy room!



The plan was to walk 15 minutes, run one minute and then walk 2 minutes. I know it is early but I am anxious to do some real running - like three kilometers straight - to test myself. But I am going to keep going with the plan because it seems the best way to prepare myself properly for my longer term goals. Since I was in a gym this morning I didn't listen to music and instead listened to the television as This Week was on. The political junkie in my even gets to me on a Sunday morning.

"Once a Runner" a review

While opening Christmas gifts I was pleasantly surprised to find the book "Once a Runner" among my gifts. It is the fictional story of Quenton Cassidy, a college runner specializing in the mile in the early 70's. The novel focuses upon the training of the young man to break the four-minute mile mark. The protagonist continually tells the people around him that running is all about time... your personal best determines who you are and a with a 4:01.3 mile he isn't near being the best.

Cassidy trains with with Olympic gold medalist Bruce Denton (remember fictional) in a college town that is reminiscent of Florida State. Denton runs every morning and welcomes others to join him. Eager to find out his secret to success they join him and quickly find out that there is no secret... its just constant training. These eager runners drop out except Cassidy and a friend of his. Over time Denton tutors him and then the story get good! The description of the rigors of training for a simple one mile race at the end is staggering. Dozens of miles in a single day! Nearly 200 miles in a week.

The book gives pause to the reality of hardship and strain of real distance runners. It also leaves a reader with a push to get themselves out there and run a little themselves. So here I am a week later entering week two of my training.

If you want some motivation to keep going pick up this book. It is well worth the read. You won't regret it.

You can put this in the "So True" column

Over at Runner's World Mark Remy asks Are We Runners, or Ninja's. He notes that he is seeing a lot of people running dressed completely in black, particularly at night:

You know what I'm talking about: the dressed-head-to-toe-in-black thing. Black tights. Black shirt or jacket. Black gloves. Black hat.

It seems that more and more runners are darting around dressed like this—even at night, or when visibility is very low. I think I've noticed half a dozen ninja runners just in the past couple of weeks.

And those are only the ones I can see.

So True.

Here in Chicago I have noticed this trend quite a bit as well. I am guilty of it as well. This last week I have been training in my new Adidas black hoodie and jogging pants I received for Christmas. I also use Under Armour Men's Coldgear Action Legging and the longsleeve crew. All in black! But my shoes are red and blue... at least I have that going for me.

What I can't understand is the people running at night in all black. It just doesn't make sense. If you are going to run at night, make sure you are visible to drivers!

Making goals

When you want to achieve something it is vital for success to set small goals towards the final product. As we have seen this week my goal is a twelve week training program designed to slowly put me into good shape beginning with a large amount of walking to longer distances of running. During this time I will place upon myself these types of small goals to motivate myself.

This past Monday I set a goal of working out 15 times in the next four weeks. Nike+ is going to keep track of it just like they do with everything else! Its a great system. So as you can see I am at five workouts (it didn't catch Sunday's) and I am ahead of the required pace. Therefore I can take a day off - but I won't. That would get me off my training schedule - the purpose of this goal is to get the reward of knowing I can do it. Also, Nike+ will give me a medal in my online collection - its fun.



Just another of the great things about Nike+ and helping me stay motivated!

The Friday Push

From what I know about training and running (from what I have read) you usually have a larger day comprising roughly 20% of your weekly total. This is then followed up with a day of rest (no training whatsoever!) It appears that will be my Fridays for these twelve weeks.



Today I was scheduled to walk five minutes, run five minutes and repeat and then cool down for a short walk. That is what you see above resulting in 3.25 kilometers, a little above 20% of my weekly total. It felt great to run for five minutes at a time although I can kind of feel my muscles saying "wow, haven't done that in a while".

The only problem with today's workout was that it took place on a treadmill instead of outside. I enjoy training outside with the fresh air but this morning I awoke to several inches of snow on the ground making it impossible. But it is training regardless and I burned nearly 300 calories.

But now I sit here with a day off tomorrow, 14.32km run in the first 6 days and 23 days remaining in January. Lots more ahead of us.

Did you know?

That Usain Bolt rules! Just this last summer he set the world record in the 100 meter dash at 9.69 seconds. Amazing! Check out the video below to relive the moment.

Usain Bolt 9'69 news record du monde
Video
Envoyé par silexx sur wat.tv

Another walk?

Today was just another two kilometer walk - nothing really to see except that I walked 2.5 with E and burned over 220 calories. I guess today is a nice small step in preparation for tomorrow's 5 minute walk, 5 minute run (and repeat) and ending with another 5 minutes of walking. Its not going to be difficult - eh, it could be since it is going to be cold and snowing once again. Always fun!!!



Today's music:

"Beautiful Day" by U2
"Post Script" by Finch
"Sick & Tired" by Default
"Vitamin R" by Chevelle
"Rockstar" by Nickelback
"Spiders" by System of a Down

Day 4

After spending yesterday recovering from my humiliating fall on the ice I was determined to be able to do today's training without falling in the slippery snow. I was successful! Today's regimen was walk five minutes, run 1 minute and then repeat, ending with another 5 minute walk.



As you can see I went over the required 17 minutes and the 2 kilometers which felt great. Taking it slow and easy is paying off thus far. We will see what happens two weeks from now.
- Will I stay on schedule?
- Will I want to keep going?
- Will I feel the training in a negative way?
- Will that pesky pain come back just above my ankle?

At this point I am confident that these questions will be answered in a positive manner. Oh, before I forget... the playlist!

"Lazy Eye" by SilverSun Pickups
"The Red" by Chevelle
"How Far We've Come" by Matchbox Twenty
"Heavy" by Collective Soul
"Anthem of our Dying Day" by Story of the Year

Getting my ass in gear means falling on my ass

Yes, you read that title correctly. This morning on my third training day I was supposed to go for a two kilometer walk. It started as nice brisk wind in my face followed with some light snow flurries. Nearing the end of the walk my black hoodie was cover white as snow began its heavy accumulation. It was at this point that I was walking by someone on their way to work and completely slipped on a large piece of ice resulting in me hitting the sidewalk and the young man laughing while trying to ask if I was okay. I was and yes it is still kinda funny.

Regardless, I ended up walking 2.35 kilometers and burning over 200 calories. Here's the run:


Tomorrow I am scheduled to throw in some light running interspersed with longer walking portions. The problem is that in the morning it is supposed to be 21 degrees and feel like 7 with the wind chill. Yikes. This should be interesting.

Day 2 of Getting in Gear

Success so far - two consecutive days of this walk/run training. Today's called for 5 minutes of walking then a minute of running (rinse and repeat) and ended by walking the last five minutes or so. It looked something like this:



So we are burning calories and enjoying it. This is good. The only problem is that its January in Chicago and that means today's workout was done in 20 degree temperatures. I was a little frigid by the time I was done but I had some good music to keep me company.

"Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park
"Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol
"Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day
"Mad World" by Michael Andrews
"Demons" by Guster

Tomorrow I am staring to work again and will have to incorporate this training into that schedule. Shouldn't be too hard but I will have to make the effort. See you then.

A first in a while

This morning I woke up and decided to get in gear once again. When we left off in the middle of September I was running at a nice pace but experiencing some pain near the Achilles Heal... not fun. Well with the New Year is not a new me but a new training plan with Nike+. As I type I started this morning with a nice 2k walk that took about 20 minutes.



I have decided to start this new training nice and slowly. I am going to go through the 12 week walk to run training program that Nike+ has to offer in hopes that it will build up endurance in all aspects needed to properly run a few 5ks and a 10k in August. I know that this is a lot of time but it will allow me to this correctly - lose weight, feel better about myself, reach my goals and to most importantly - have fun.

And just as important. I want you guys to keep me accountable. Ask me how I am doing, throw some encouragement my way, and have something positive to say. In the meantime, here is my January goal of 51km. I hope to have that bar full at the end of the month.