I finally got my treadmill put back together tonight, and decided to run on it so that I could finish quickly and get a few things done around here before work.
I ended up rebuilding the motor on the treadmill since the bearings were going out on it. It only cost me $50.00 to have bearings put in it, and I pretty much did the overhaul myself.

This is the first time I have ever done some "distance" on this type of treadmill.
I used one when I was going through PT, but at no real mileage.
The Woodway treadmills are very unique in that the belt is like a track of an Army Tank. This feature is what Woodway treadmills are known for, and the running surface is like no other.

I did have a little trouble adjusting to it as the surface is like soft asphalt. There is no bounce in the treadmill really which is what I am looking for.

I hope to use this treadmill as an A.M. workout before I go to bed.

Total:........3:00 miles........28:34

Snow Run

I went out for a quick run through the 'hood tonight. The snow was coming down and the wind starting out wasn't bad at all.
I felt great the entire time and never seemed to get tired at all. I snapped a few pictures of the roads I was running on around town. My favorite time to run is when the roads or trails are clear but, snowing hard.
On the way back towards my house, I hit a strong head wind that slowed me a little bit but, I kept up the effort.

I was coming out of downtown Pickerington, and I hear some one blowing their horn at me.
I turn my head and it's this really hot chick with flowing brown hair, driving by yelling: "Get off the road you dumbass" -It was my wife. Just kidding, she was nice and waved at me. That gave me a little boost to run home faster.
Truly if she wanted me home faster she would have taped a 6 pack of Sam Adams Cream Stout to the trunk of her car and drove just fast enough that I couldn't catch her.

Totals: 5.01 miles.......48:05

Olentangy Bike Path

I was planning on getting up early this morning and go for a Sunday run. It didn't work out as planned. I could not get to sleep last night, and by the time I did get to sleep, it was nearly time to get up.
Once I did wake up, it was 11:30, and I was completely bummed.
So, instead of beating myself up and moping around, I decided to grab my gear and go out anyways.
As always, I am glad I did.
I have not ran on my old running turf for quite some time, so I decided a run on "The Bike Path" was in order.
I started at the Olentangy Park in Worthington, and headed north on the BP toward Worthington Hills. This part of the path was great as there was no one there.
Here is a picture of just one of the many Giant Geodes found along the BP.

It was when I was headed back towards Antrim Park, I ran into more and more runner's. The best part of this was all the dogs I came across. So many labs, and many other designer dogs, and mutts.
The best one was a man and woman walking their 6 month old Golden Retriever.
The pup looked like a giant lion cub. If I had a $1000.00 cash on me I would have offered it to them.
Anyway, I got to see a lot of things evolving that I have missed over the past year or so.
This bridge is going to be a cool addition to the BP scenery.

Totals: 10.00 miles........1:46:00.........snow covered trails, and walked a few times.

Friday night at the Pickerington Ice Rink

As many of you in Ohio know, it is icy out there. If you have been brave or crazy enough to drive in it, you'll know it is slick out.
I decided instead of driving to the gym and endangering myself and others, I would strap on my Yak Trax, and head out for a run.
Before I started out, I went out to check the conditions. Well, it was cold, wet and slippery just as I suspected.
I found my Yak Trax and stretched them over my Montrail Hardrocks and headed out the door.

As I have found many times before, my Yak Trax have paid for themselves the very first time I used them two years ago.

The roads were clear in terms of traffic, and I felt great the whole time. The tough parts came when I had to run on the sidewalks which had deep snow on them.
I went through a park which slowed me considerably. The snow at times was over my ankles and had a nice icy crunch when I stepped down.
I took my time tonight and just enjoyed being out there. The ice was coming down hard at times, and the temp dropped a couple of degrees.
I ended up walk a little bit up a some hills because of the deep snow added to the incline mad it tough to run. I was in no hurry anyway.


Totals: 7.42 miles......1:21:35......11:00/mi (I almost could have walked faster than that)

Spirit of the Marathon -26.2 miles

I skipped my run tonight and went to a movie instead.

My wife and I went to see the movie encore of Spirit of the Marathon.

The movie centralizes around 6 different runners of varying abilities to follow their progress to the finish line.

The 2005 Chicago Marathon was the event featured with many appearances from nearly all the famous runners of our day. I don't think there was one person (celebrity runner) that I didn't know.

The year they shot the footage of the Chicago Marathon was the year that I had ran it. The movie brought out so many memories, and excitement that I experienced. I would have to say this marathon was my most memorable marathon experience.

I had never been to a "Big City" like that. If you have never ran Chicago, you have to do it!

Anyway, it was really cool to see Elite runners speak of the Marathon and what it takes for them to power their way through a 26.2 mile event. On the flip side, it was cool to see ordinary people like myself, and you-(the reader) and the collective experience of running for 4-6 hours.

If you have no way of seeing it, buy it when it comes out. I know if you are a runner, you will like it. My wife really enjoyed it and she is not a runner. So, who knows, if you couldn't fathom running at all, this may inspire you to run.

I was looking for some inspiration from this movie myself, and I can tell you, I wanted to run home after seeing it. It is about like going to a Rocky Balboa movie, and coming out of the theater wanting to kick someone's ass.

I saw Liz come into the theater. By the way, Liz, I have no idea what happened to your blog link. I lost several about a month or so ago. I have readded you.

Has anyone seen this?

The Spirit of the Marathon?
I was looking at movies tonight and ran across this movie that will only be shown one night at certain Marcus Cinemas across the country. I will try and go see it today (2/21) and see if I can give it a review here.

I really wanted to go and work out tomorrow evening since the past two weeks my job has gotten in the way of having a "normal" schedule. I may have to sacrifice a little sleep tomorrow just to fit everything in.

Quick run

I went to the gym tonight and ran 5 miles. I felt really good the entire run. I wanted to go a little further, but the gym was closing.


Totals: 5 miles........49:27

Sunday stroll

I actually went outside to run today. It was a little wet this morning as I headed out. I thought since we have gotten so much rain lately that it would not be a good idea to seek out a trail to run on. I do like mud, but since I have not been outside for a while, I decided to hit the streets and see why I like the trail so much.
I went off and forgot my camera. Although there wasn't much to snap a photo of, I was able to see the sun rise a little bit.

When I got home I hit the abs a little. I started doing some upside down ab-work.
I basically use the Teeter Hangups Inversion Rack and Boots hanging in my office doorway and stretch my back out while doing some inverted crunches. They are really hard to do, and push you to your limits.
I will see about posting some video of this next time.
I was only able to get out 3 sets of 8-10

Totals: 10 miles......1:38:42

Quick run and some chocolates

I went out for a quick run tonight since it was Valentines Day. I didn't want to be gone for too long, and have an angry wife wondering where I was. After the run, I ended up eating some of my wifes chocolate that I got her. Who can resist Dove Dark Chocolate?
Anyway, the run felt really good, and the chocolate tasted better.

I have been having some knee pain on my right leg. I think this is mainly from running on a treadmill. Actually, I believe it all started when I was over doing it with the Yoga.
Typically I get a little knee pain when I wear my neutral shoes and not my supportive shoes on a treadmill.
A treadmill is much softer than many other running surfaces which makes me over pronate slightly. This only happens on a treadmill though.
I am a neutral runner and wear Asics Nimbus. On the trail, I wear Montrail Hardrocks which are very supportive.
I just need to get back out on the trail soon just to make this knee pain go away.
Hope everyone else's training is going well.

Totals: 4 miles.......38:59

My Woodway...To Certify or not to Certify

If you don't know much bout Woodway treadmills, you should look into them. Most people cannot afford them since they cost anywhere from 3,500 - 6,000 used to 10,000 brand new.
Guaranteed though it will be the only treamill you'll ever need.

They have one that is call the Alter-G, It's pricetag is $75,000. Check it out and read it's amazing feats. If I win the lottery, I will give one to a friend.

I took the motor out of my Woodway, cleaned it out, reinstalled it, and will put the new bearing in it when it comes in.
I cannot wait to go for a run on it on Friday. The technician that come to look at it lives a mile away from my house. He'll be back on Friday to re-align the track and tighten everything.

I've learned so much just tearing this one down.
I am seriously thinking about becoming certifed to work on Woodway Treadmills and some others. I think it would be a great job.

Forgetting to blog

I have just been crazy busy lately. I've been running/working out, but just too busy to blog about it.

Yesterday, I went for a 6 mile treadmill run and worked out with free weights. I'm glad no one was around in the gym. I was a little embarrased.



Today, I went to the gym and ran 9 miles in a circuit type workout. No one was in there so, I took the advantage of working out with High Intensity and jumping onto the treadmill for a few miles at a time. I was tired when I was done.
I forgot what the exact times were, but here you go:

Tuesday: 5 Miles......45:00
Wednesday: 9 Miles.......1hr:10min

I gotta Woodway tonight!!!!

No you perverts. That isn't code for something else.

I bought a Woodway Treadmill tonight from a guy in Marysville Ohio. This thing is a Tank!
It is the Tank of all treadmills. The one I got is an older model, but still has a lot of life left in it.

I'm not really a treadmill kinda guy, but with the way my schedule is, I can never take time to go to the gym whenever I want. I am tired of not being able to run when the weather hits.

Its kinda a cross between thses two:

There was one thing wrong with it that I will have to look at. It has this squeek in one of the bearings. It's on one side, but should be easily fixable. Sounds to me that it just needs a little grease and it's good to go. Other than that it runs great. The guy had it in the back of his pickup truck, and I had it turned on and was running on it. Seemed to run great.

The other downside to this treadmill is its weight. If I had to guess, I would say it is well over 400 lbs. Not sure how I will get it into my house.

Here are some actual pictures of it:

6 Miles, and Kickboxing

6 Miles tonight followed by 1 hour of Kickboxing.

I went to the gym again tonight. I planned on doing only 4 miles and work out.

I started off a lot slower than I normally do. My pace was a half minute slower than my normal slow pace. Anyway, this paid off in the end. I have always known this, but I am too stubborn to ever listen to myself. It could be one of the reasons why my heart rate jumps up so high towards the middle and end of my runs. My heart rate never went passed 177 bpm, and my average HR was 162 bpm.
I walked a little just to take in some water since my water bottle was an open ended one today.
I decided I needed to get home so I could get some sleep for work tonight.

The Kickboxing session was a good workout tonight.
I decided to work on some endurance work. Believe me, it was tough.
You are constantly moving, punching, and kicking. The following is what I ended up with:

10 minutes of Yoga/stretching as a warm up.

2 minutes jump rope
2 minutes of combo punches. R-L Jab, Cross, Hook, Uppercut.
2 minutes of combo kicks, on and off the bag. Front, Side, Back, Double kick from the same position. Kind of like a knee then head kick.

2 minutes of jump rope.
2 minutes of varying abs.
2 minutes of jump rope.

3 minute round of sparring. (This was tough to keep going and stay consistent.)
2 minutes of jump rope
3 minute round of sparring.

1 minute of speed punching stationary bag. One arm at a time as fast as I could.
2 minutes of abs
2 minutes of jump rope

3 minute round of sparring.
3 minute round of sparring.

10 minutes of Yoga/Stretching

Just 5 miles tonight

I was awake fairly late into the morning (10:00AM)with issues from last nights Tornado's in the South.I work from home for a large bank, and deal with Regional Processing Centers, and check images, statement archiving. Anyway, our Louisville RPC took a hit becasue of a Tornado, and all hell broke loose.
How does this have to with me only running 5 miles? -I tired. I didn't get much sleep today.

On top of that, they requested me to come into work tomorrow from 8-5, plus, I have to work a little tonight, and tomorrow night.It's gonna be a little rough.

No kickboxing tonight as I had originally planned.

The run felt really good. I had to walk a little as I started out too fast, and felt tired mentally and physically. I am hoping this will give me a little boost mentally for the week to come.

Totals: 5.02 miles......50:13..........Treadmill

Total Failure

Okay, not exactly what you might think, but.....Read on.
Tonight's workout was killer.
I started off with the Cardio X program. It was tougher than I thought.
The moves were either Kenpo, Plyometrics, Core, or Yoga flavored.
My heart rate was definitely up there during the entire hour long program.

It amazes me that I get stronger every time I revisit the moves in the videos.
The Yoga moves are what I notice this the most in. I can sustain the poses longer than the previous time. Actually, I am fine with doing all the Yoga.
I've noticed though, my right knee is hurting because I over stretched it during the earlier part of January. I cannot do some of the cardio sections that require you to move with your knees overstretched.

Lessons learned: USE YOGA BLOCKS!!!!!

Now for the Total Failure part:
During the video, I went through all the moves until I just couldn't anymore.

After I was done with the video, I just couldn't stop there.

Abs:
3 sets of clamshell crunches to......Failure!
3 sets of Oblique V-Ups to......Failure!
3 sets of BOSU ball Planks to......Failure!
3 sets of BOSU ball side planks to......Failure!
3 sets of BOSU ball Mason Twists with 12 lb Medi-Ball......20 reps each.

Now, while doing these, I felt "The Burn"....I then went beyond that and made "The Burn" feel a little pain for itself. I was shaking while doing the last few reps.
I just cannot wait until tomorrow or the next day to feel the results of my "Failure".

I am planning a long awaited run tomorrow (actually, today since it is past midnight), and some Kickboxing.