Training Day (And Free Pizza)

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -Will Rogers

It's time to get more serious about my running. Goals make you work hard, but obligations make you work even harder. I've decided it's time to turn around my "exercise" into something more serious: training. Rather than envisioning a fit version of myself as motivation, I'm going to slap a great big finish line in front of my eyes. My Couch To 5K training will be completed with the anticipation of participating in my very first 5K race! Finishing first isn't necessarily my goal; finishing at all is more realistic and still a great motivator.

I picked out the event I'm going to compete in, and it's going down on July 20th. I figure that gives me more than enough time to get up to par. The Downtown Westfield 5K and Pizza Extravaganza is a local event that benefits the community and involves delicious free pizza! Who doesn't love pizza? Well I suppose the pizza isn't free considering there's a $27 sign-up fee, but let's not worry about the logistics. It sounds like a great time and ends with a big party and live entertainment. What makes this even more exciting is how I've inspired a few friends to partake in the 5K! Hopefully they come through and sign up with me, but if they don't I'll be just as happy knowing they are cheering me on and supporting my efforts to better myself.

I've even opted to take this new-found drive and push myself to train even harder. I'm going to enter a half marathon in September. Now here's why I expect to be more than ready for a 5K in July --a half marathon is 13 miles (a 5K is about 3 miles). It's not going to be easy, but I didn't set out on this adventure with that expectation. Go big or go home is more like it. The event is the Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. How cool does that sound? And it really is cool. There are live bands playing every few miles on the course and a big free concert at the close of the race. This year Brett Michaels is headlining! The race comes with an $85 price tag, so if fitness isn't motivation enough, getting my money's worth certainly is.

So, February 28th marks the first day of my impulsive, capricious-yet-serious training. I am really super excited about participating in my first 5K and half marathon. It's not something everyone does in their lifetime, and from what I hear it's a huge rush to complete one. I have a seasoned partner for the half marathon, but if anyone else out there is willing to make the training commitment it would be great to go with a group! Same goes for the 5K. I hope to find some more recruits for that considering the training is not too demanding and a little less eccentric (and there's free pizza, hellooo!). Otherwise, wish me luck! ;-)

Trainspotting, Issue No. 2 "Herding Cattle"

On a good day I actually get done work at the time I'm supposed to, 8:00pm. The problem with getting done at 8:00pm is the way NJ Transit runs its train schedule during that hour. They have trains at 8:04, 8:11 and 8:41. My building is a good 12 blocks from the station, so it's safe to say the first two trains are totally out of the question (that is, until they finally get around to inventing teleportation). So, you can only imagine my dismay waiting around for the 8:41, which doesn't get me home until 9:30pm. Grr.

Occasionally a really good day comes along when I'm able to run out of the office 5-10 minutes early and actually catch the 8:11 train. Now this rare phenomenon comes about once a week, and when it does I'm like a kid getting out of school on a half day. I rush out of the office in a windstorm, bewildering my coworkers with a faint "good-bye" shouted from down the hall and half-way out the door. It's really rather sad that five minutes determine whether I get home at 8:45 or 9:30 —and ultimately my mood for the remainder of the evening.

Back In The Saddle

First, I'd like to apologize for the impromptu month-long hiatus. Life got a little crazy, and I had to kick a few things to the sidelines. Well, it actually hasn't gotten any less crazy, but I'm learning to manage it better now. A whole slew of my coworkers decided to quit at the same time —guess who's left picking up the pieces? Yea. However, I'm trying to put a positive spin on this and think of it as an opportunity for career advancement, rather than the reality that it equals 10-12 hour days and triple the workload. Anyhow, let's jump back into fantasy-land where I can pretend I actually have a life outside of work.

Coupled with that hiatus, I totally fell off the workout horse. I came down with a cold and managed to sprain my left shoulder at the same time. And how did I manage to sprain my shoulder? Well, I fell asleep at a kitchen table one night while resting my head on my arm. Please note I was not drunk. I just have this talent where I can fall asleep anywhere, in any position, regardless of the world around me —earthquake, fire, driving, Guns N Roses tribute concert, social gathering. Three of those are true stories. (Hint: We don't have earthquakes in New Jersey.)

Although I fell out of my exercise routine, I was able to successfully maintain my diet! Well, except for a few select days due to circumstances totally out of my control. My 25th birthday at the end of January was met with good cake and great food, and then my girlfriend's birthday followed a week later, which was met with more cake and goodies. Oh, and then Valentine's Day came a week after that, but my love was kind enough to give me only one giant hunk of chocolate (thank you! xo). So, I have to say, I think I did pretty damn good under the circumstances. I didn't put on any weight, and I even lost a few more pounds. I'm now 10lbs down from when I started!

Needless to say, I felt like total crap during these past weeks. Work started to wear on me, I was stressing out left and right, and my body was revolting against the poor nutrition and lack of movement. I had enough of this low point, and so Tuesday I opted to jump back into a rigorous 5-day workout routine. I was met with some opposition that day, but I managed to overcome the negativity and start busting my ass. I'm continuing the C25K running plan from where I left off (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and sprinkling in a killer ab workout in between with some arm toning. I downloaded a newer, better, and absolutely free food and exercise logging app. It's called MyFitnessPal and has a way bigger database of food and activities than the LoseIt! app. It's also available on Android, Blackberry, and the web, so my Verizon friends can download it and join in the fun! Within the app you can add your friends (like Facebook for getting fit) and watch each others progress. I think this is a great motivational app due to the ability to encourage your friends and family to stick with it. I texted everyone I know with a smartphone, but I'm still waiting on them to download it. Get to it, people! My username is x1daydreamer6x. Add me! ;-)