Heavy Lifting

I woke up this morning and headed down to the weight room. I figured it was time to start strengthening up my shoulder again. I had not lifted weights since the spring of 2010. That was before my surgery though, and now is the time for no excuses.

I decided to do only upper body and shoulder workouts because I am probably going to run tomorrow and swim on Wednesday. Those will both require some a lot of legs and I do not want to thrash my legs before then. I will start a leg program before to long though. I am about to get into the full swing of things soon. The workout was not bad at all. By that I mean there will be some days where I run, swim, and bike in the same day. On some days though I can substitute the weights for one of the other workouts.

I was stronger in some areas more than others. I was really weak with the overhead press. I felt a little discomfort, but I figure it is just because my shoulder was in shock from getting a workout. I only hope I can back to where I used to be in the weight room, and possibly be able to do a little more.

I did get to run on Friday, however do to a busy schedule I could not get to the computer to blog. It was a really bad day my right leg really started cramping up. I only got a mile in before I had to stop. I did not want to risk pulling a muscle in my leg because that would be a huge set back. I felt conquered and defeated. I was very disappointed in myself. However I have to get back on that horse tomorrow and get back to running.

Going the Distance

Wow today was an awesome day and when I say that I mean it. I woke up this morning no problem. I got ready, and headed out to run. As soon as I stepped out of the door I thought wow what a beautiful day. There was no wind the and the temperature was perfect. So I headed up to the closest Racetrac, and grabbed something to drink and a Power Bar.

I sat there for a while waiting on Dan. I eventually texted him, and told him I was going to go ahead and start. I really do not know how the thought process worked to come to the conclusion to run six miles, but it happened. I ran my first two miles, and felt really great, and I ran it twenty seconds faster than Monday. So I kept going crossing paths with Dan every so often. That really helped because he would run with me for a little bit getting me a little more motivated. Several people on the trail noticed that I had been running for a while, and could tell I was spent. A couple of people asked me how far I was running, and how far I had run previously. After I shared with them what I was shooting for they had nothing, but words of encouragement.

The end of my run found me right next to the observation tower that over looks the whole nature preserve. I could not believe it. That moment was so perfect I sat there, and relaxed for about fifteen minutes waiting on Dan to circle back around. For those fifteen minutes I felt at peace.

I really feel great, and I hope today was a good stepping stone in my training. Hopefully, I can stretch it out a little bit more in the next couple of weeks.

On the Trails Again

I know that it has been a while since I blogged last, but I am back. My little sister came down last weekend so I spent most of the weekend running around with her. For some odd reason she did not want to go running ha ha.

I did not want to get up this morning at all. After a few days of sleeping in I was already used to it. Thank goodness that Ashley was here to make sure I was going to get up. She is so good at holding me accountable.

It was so windy today. I started out with a really fast pace trying to shave some time off my my personal best, but found out sooner than later that it was a big mistake. I was worn out at the first mile marker. The wind did not help my cause today either. As I got to the top of the Tower Trail the tree line disappeared, and the wind hit me like a wall. I was suffering dragging my feet wanting to quit, however someones motto came into my head. The motto you may ask is "Always Believe." You may think that something that simple is not a big deal, but it works for me. That was enough to pick me up my spirits, and I am glad to say that I did beat my personal best. I ran two miles as at a pace of 11 minutes and 12 seconds.

I felt really good about the run, and the best part of it all was that I got to take a nap when I got home. I am really enjoying running for the first time in my life. I have never been happier.

Slowly Growing

Today I kind of took things easy. I ran just a mile, but with good reason. A buddy of mine that is a regular at the restaurant that I work at joined me. Ashley was also at it again today as well.

I was very proud of them both. Ashley was able to stretch out and add another tenth of a mile putting her up to seven tenths of mile. She was walking really fast when she was not running though, and finished ahead of Dan and myself. Dan did really good running a whole mile. There were a couple of times that he wanted to quit, but he never did.

All in all today was a good day. It was good to have someone new out there. I would like to think that it was because I inspired him. However he informed me it was the beginning in his attempt to try and dazzle the ladies. That being said Dan has been added to the WolfPack, and I hope to see him coming out again soon.

One Week Down

Well I am back at it. I took the weekend off from running. However, I did get some exercise in, so it was not a total waste. On Saturday, Ashley and I went swimming with our close friends the Hendersons. While swimming I realized that my shoulder that I had surgically repaired was much weaker than I thought it was. It is going to require more time and effort in the weight room and pool, but I will not let that get me down. Then last night I played softball. We lost but it was close, and Ashley got her first hit of the season so good for her.

Today made a week since I started running. Ashley went again with me today she did really good adding a tenth of mile onto her run. She is really putting in some good effort. I ran the two miles I have been running for the past few days. I made really good time today. I have knocked my time down a whole twenty minutes from the first time I ran two miles on Thursday. I looked down at my time at my first mile which was 11 minutes and 50 seconds. I felt like the second half of the run was slower, but somewhere along the path I picked up some time because I finished in 23 minutes and 7 seconds. That surprised me because most of the second half is up hill. There were not to many people out on the trails today, but everyone was smiling and really friendly.

Looking ahead I may lift weights tomorrow, and run again on Wednesday. Each day that passes I am getting more and more motivated, and before to much longer I am going to be running 10 miles a day.

Making Progress

Today was probably the easiest day to wake up. It was partly because my wife Ashley was joining me on my little running expedition today. After I hit the snooze button a couple of times she asked me if it was time to get up. So we got up got ready and headed out the door.

Ashley started out pretty strong for it being her first time out there running with me. She made it about a half a mile running, and walked the rest. She did awesome and hopefully by the end of the summer she will be able to run right along beside me the whole way. The run was very enjoyable there was a nice breeze today, and there was plenty of wide life along the trails. I had a rabbit hopping along beside me for probably two tenths of a mile. I also saw quite a few field mice, and a snake who was probably looking for mice to eat for breakfast ha ha.

I finished today about ten minutes faster than yesterday. I must say I am very happy with that kind of progress. I plan on running a few more days with a two mile length. Maybe after next week I will stretch it out to three miles and each week add a mile until I hit double digits. I am glad Ashley got out there and showed her support by running with me, even if we were only running together for about a half of a mile. For my weekend training I will be lifting weights because I am figuring the trails will be really packed.

I felt a little sluggish today, but I feel like that can probably be attributed to eating unhealthy yesterday. I had to take a little road trip up to Wichita Falls, and of course being in my old stomping grounds I had to hit up Casa Manana. I felt kinda bad while I was ordering it, but the food looked so good and I quickly talked myself into eating it. Looking back I probably could have ordered something a little more healthy. They did have some salads and chicken items on the menu, but no I went with the chili burritos. You could probably say that I learned my lesson the hard way. Oh well you live you learn.

Running Solo

I woke up this morning the birds were chirping right outside my window. I could tell today was going to be a nice day. I will not lie this morning was it was pretty hard to wake up and get out there, but that was just because I was running by myself. After I stirred and got my wits about me I grabbed my keys and headed out.

There were not to many people out on the trails today which gave me a lot of time to think about things. It was nice. I started out a little slower than I normally do just because I knew that I wanted to push myself later in the run. The large hills that are on the trail are getting easier and easier by the day. It helped that my ipod was cranking out some good tunes as I ran. It was very easy to find a rhythm. There were a couple of times in the second mile that I wanted to stop, but then a good beat would come on and I would challenge myself a little more. In the end I am proud to say that I did not stop not once.

Well I guess that is all for now. Oh I did make it 2 miles today I am done with the 1 mile stuff. So I will end on that note.

The Long Trail.

This morning was rough. I did not get home from work until about one o'clock in the morning. After I did get home I could not fall asleep at all. However, when the alarm went off at 7:30 I got up and got ready to go, but not before I scavenged enough change to get an energy drink to give me a boost. Thank you Venom ha ha.

Jacob and a friend from high school named Jessica came to run with me today. This is not the same Jessica that I talked about in my first post. That being said once we got there I took them both to look at the different trails. I really was not expecting to do the long trail today, but Jacob suggested it, and even though I was dreading it I agreed. I am so glad that we did because that extra mile had a lot of nice views from the top of the trail. It was also very nice to see the full course. Jessica was making the both of us look bad though ha ha. Jacob joked a couple of times saying that Jessica was our trainer, and that the other pedestrians were probably wondering how much she charges us.

Overall, I feel much better today. I ran the same distance as the first day if not a little further. When we stopped I was not nearly as tired as I was Monday. I am happy with this progress after only two workouts. I will stretch my self a little more tomorrow,and I am going to attempt the whole two and a half miles of the trail. I am off the rest of the day so I will be able to recoup all day, and I may swim or hit the weight room tomorrow also.

It is days like today you realize you have good friends. Not many friends would be willing to wake up early in the morning and go jogging with you. Thank you Jacob and Jessica. The support means a lot.

The Beginning (Day 1)

Hello all. For those who do not know my name is Landon. Not long ago I was approached by my best friend Jacob to do an Ironman. The ironic thing about Jacob is he is currently battling cancer. Throughout he has shown nothing but courage, and I guess you could say that it really inspired me to change my lifestyle and habits.

Anyone who is unfamiliar with an Ironman let me explain. It is a relatively easy enough concept. You begin with an 2.4 mile swim, then you move onto a 112 mile bike ride, and finish it up with a 26.2 mile run. Like I said an easy enough concept. However, the training can be brutal and it takes many months to prepare.

Over the next year and a half or so I will be teaming up with friends and family to help me train for the Redman Ironman in Oklahoma City in September of 2012. Through the support of my loving wife Ashley, best friend Jacob, my friend Jessica, and the help of many others I hope achieve the goal of completing the race. Oh one more little tidbit of information that I must inform my readers of is our team name. Jacob and I decided on the name the Wolfpack. This is because back in high school we watched a lot of wrestling, and we loved the NWO Wolfpac. So no, it is not a reference to Hangover although those movies are great.

Today I began my training, and while it wasn't all bad it felt like an epic fail. However, it was just day one and you can not look at the bad you must take the positives. I woke up bright and early at 7:30, and for those who know me that is a win for my in itself. I met Jessica at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve at around 8:30, and so it began. This was the first time I had ever been on the trails at Arbor Hills, and can I say ouch there were some pretty long hills on that course. It was much different than the trusty old treadmill that is for sure. I completed a mile and was spent. Walking away from the experience I realized that it was quite an accomplishment. I mean I am almost 30 not exactly a spring chicken anymore. I felt really good afterwards though and that is always a bonus.

I hope that by doing this I not only change my life, but help change and inspire peoples lives around me. I must also say thank you to Jacob for the inspiration and courage he has shown me. Without him I don't believe this dream would have ever become a reality. I hope that many people read this blog, and follow their dreams. Thanks for reading.