First 5K Race Planned

When one thinks of Kentucky, many images are brought to mind:

The "Run for the Roses": the beloved Kentucky Derby

The Colonel

and . . .well . . . . .

But all of that is about to change - because on June 12th - - 5K racing is going to reap the whirlwind when the newest two man C25K racers form an alliance to attack the Possum Ridge 5K.

A union born out of a common struggle - conquer an official 5K. 

My counterpart in Operation Possum Ridge is my newest friend, Dave.

Some of you may know Dave by his nom de plume "Man_Boobs_in_Va"  on some of the C25K forums or through his outstanding blog Sufficiently Melodramatic

Dave provides an entertaining, intelligent & thorough approach to "Couch to 5K" ; combining sound advice, personal experience, and an endearing wit.  Do yourself a favor, whether you be a follower, a lurker, or a Looky-Lou - - check out Dave's blog , Sufficiently Melodramatic, for a fresh and insightful perspective to the challenges and successes  that are C25K.

For me, a mere infant in the C25K, Dave has become much more.

This is why I am thrilled to announce that Dave will be flying from Virginia to Kentucky and joining me here in Lexington on June 12 for the Possum Ridge 5K, which will be the first 5K for both of us.

While Dave & I will probably be busy pre-race:   practicing drafting techniques and exchanging helpful hints for powdering up and chaffing; we would love to invite any other C25K'ers to join us in our inaugural run.

I am envisioning this as being a "Thelma & Louise" meets "Sideways" type of weekend

and we would love having some fellow C25K'ers there with us.  If interested, or looking for some more info, drop me an email at ky_adjuster@yahoo.com or leave a comment.

Speaking of "Sideways" and Paul Giamatti . . .Is it just me?

                                         

W3D2 - Done, Done & Done . . .

There she is - - - the Devil's Playground, No-Man's Land, the DZ . . .. Addison Park.  This is where I run - - this is the place of my transformation - - - -this is my Philadelphia Museum of Art

In Addison Park - - I am  Rocky Balboa

W3D2 is complete.  This morning dawned  brilliant & beautiful.  Physically everything checked out . . . .did my pre-run workout ritual of fish oil capsules, garlic pills, vitamins and Ginko Biloba.  Wash it all down with 16 ounces of water.  The topper is a nice big banana.  In thirty minutes I will be ready to rock - - Decided to put in an extra 5 minute warm up lap around the neighborhood before entering the park.   Like a UFC fighter prepping to enter the cage - - I took these last few minutes to "nut-up". 

 My headphones slid into place.  Ullrey's well known intro music began pulsating in my ears . . . .My God, Ullrey was in rare form this morning - -deep and rich tones . . . Orson Wells could only dream to possess the oratory presence of Bob Ullrey - -Ullrey is my C25K Phlegyas, three times a week, escorting me across my river Styx of Fatness, into the land of Intervals; and as Zeus swore oaths upon the Styx, so do I swear an oath upon Addison Park . .

"I shall finish this run!!!"

In those few warm-up minutes, the mental battle begins, and like Gandalf facing down the Balrog - so do I face down, and PUNK OUT, my hesitation . . . IT IS ON BEEYATCH!!!!!!

The workout went great.  The intervals flew by - - up until this last week, when Ullrey gets me prepped for that first run of the workout, and he calls out "Ready" that first "running" step has always been met with a tinge of tighness, a tweek maybe, in my left knee when my heel strikes on that outstretch; and I then wobble my way on an unsteady first few steps - -then getting into rhythm.  By the end of the first running interval all of the tightness, popping and resituating of joints has taken place and I get in the groove.  Not this past week - - something has changed - -when Ullrey gives me my Charge!!!!!  I am lubed and ready to go (uughhhh, please no visual images).  I fire off and I am gone . . .true, it is a blistering 5 to 6 mph, but kinetics law will tell you that getting a Bull Elephant from zero to 5 mph takes raw manly strength, baby.

While running I noticed this cloud and for the next 25 minutes circled below it  - - choreographed in my dance with the Devil.  So I took a picture of it - - no gag,  just a pretty sky and a cool cloud

My foes were defeated again - - Laziness, Apathy, Empty Calories . . .lay strewn on the battlefield Addison when I was through.  To add insult to injury, I continued through my last 3 minute interval, and despite Ullrey's coaxing, carried forth and ran through the entire 5 minute "cool-down"  An 8 minute interval during Week 3.

I am the freakin man!

My Props to Goodwill & another Motivating Factor for Me

There it was - -right between my toes - - the neon number  "260" on the bathroom scales . . .260 lbs - -I had gotten rid of another 3 lbs in just the past few days; bringing my total to 46 pounds lost since Jan.01, 2010.  There is a sense of pride when you acomplish a goal; but I am realizing that appreciating the challenge to get there, and acknowledging those small milestones are a joy in themselves.  The forecast for today was a sunny 80 degrees - -here in central Kentucky - - in April.  Summer decided to take 3 of our kids and Molly, our boxer - about 45 miles south to her homeplace, Mt.Vernon, Kentucky and spend the day with her sister Amber and Amber's two children, Jake and Owen.

This left Justin, our 14 year old and myself here at the house.  Sam (8) and Elliot (11) both were attending their last day of school before Easter/Spring Break started for them.  The power of suggestion can be a persuasive internal voice - -and I just knew when I was dressing after weighing myself that my clothes were absolutely hanging off my body.  "Self" I said . . ."Self, this shirt is completely swallowing me - -this is definitely a 300 lb guys shirt - - - a svelte 260 pound, up-and-coming runner wouldn't be caught dead in this tent."

I continued hunting through the closet - scoffing at nearly every shirt I came across - - "Hrrmmph . . .XXL - no way" . . . . . ."Big & Tall - - forget it . . I need a new wardrobe and a new wardrobe I shall have."  When it comes to "clothes shopping" it ranks somewhere between expressing the dog's anal glands and the new addition my doctor added at my physical when I turned 40.

As a brief aside, having a wife that "handles" that type of thing is another tiny secret to a happy marriage - shopping, I mean, not the proctology metaphor.  Over the years, Summer has kept me appropriately dressed - despite my unintentional efforts of keeping up an appearance somewhere between a semi-successful indigent and a 1984 Gym teacher.

There have been times that items have slipped through the cracks - - I recall with great pride several pairs of underwear that appeared to have received a close-range shotgun blast to the crotches; but overall - new clothes show up and old ones just "disappear".  All of this with me never stepping foot inside of anything remotely resembling a clothing retail store.

Today was going to be different.  I was going shopping and I knew exactly the place that would match my tastes, my fashion acumen, and my wallet . . .

Goodwill is the "bomb".  I love a place that I can walk into and if, if I choose can point at any item, and with price tag unseen, say "I'll take it . . .as a matter of fact I'll take the whole blooming rack" and be able to pay for it with the change I have in my truck console.  Let me be perfectly clear - - I am in no way disparaging Goodwill - - it is a solid charity and they are . .OOOH, Loooky . . . an Ocean Pacific T-shirt circa 1986 for 50 cents . .

Long and the short of it - -went on my own to Goodwill and in what would be a fair appraisal bought $400 worth of designer golf shirts and shorts for $35. . . and they are in good shape.  I am a stickler for looking for pit stains and them little fabric dingle balls that form in the crotch area (look at that - -worked crotch in fairly effectively twice in one blog post)

Now my closet is stacked with Pierre Cardin and J. Crew; Van Heusen and Polo . . .there are several Goodwill outlets in Lexington and I have a secret little gold mine of one, shown to me by my wife, that sits right on the edge of one of those snooty gated communities - - -BINGO . . . now I will be dressed to impress

 

Tomorrow is W3D2 of C25K.  Am going to get up early and knock it out - -if I hadn't made the commitment to stick exactly to the program I would have run it today since yesterday's run felt so good. 

On many of the running forums I frequent, there is always a topic, or topics, about what motivates one to run.  For me, first and foremost, it is my family.  However, there are other  motivators as well - -one of them being this:

Yep, verifiable proof that two men (Drew & Michael) can reproduce.  I am the Carey-Moore baby.

Ode to Spring . . .

Ahhhh . . . . .it is that time of year again.  Kentucky has to be one of the most beautiful states during Spring; rivaled only by my home state of West Virginia.  I am proud to be both a Mountaineer and a Wildcat at the same time. 

You know Spring has sprung here at the Jones household - - outside in Summer's freshly mulched flower beds daffodils, crocus, lilies and such are creating a grand kaleidoscope of colors - shaking off the cold rigidity of another winter and really putting on a show

Go into any Southern States or Tractor Supply and those fuzzy yellow chicks are freshly hatched and just peep, peep, peeping  (I love the marshmallow flavored by the way - -the live ones have too fine a bone for my taste)

On the outskirts of town, insulated from their winter vigils in the field - the sheep are thick for shearing

And so am I

All of the children love this time of year - it is like a Hillbilly Hannukah - -they wait in wide-eyed anticipation for the shearing to begin - - for they know that after Daddy gets sheared it is but a matter of days that Dale Earnhardt Jr will  ride in on his denominationaly ambiguous holiday camel; sneak into their rooms on Easter morning and leave them brand new cans of Skoal and pastel colored spit-cups

The children can barely contain themselves

So another beloved Spring time ritual begins

There is nothing like the feel of a sun-kissed hairless back during the Spring to bring a tear to your eye

Aahhhhhhhhh . . . . . .Spring is here . . . . .

W3D1 - - In the books, baby

I literally bounded out of bed this morning, ready to whup W3D1 (Week 3, Day 1) of my Couch to 5K program.'s behind.  My equipment was prepped and ready for my ascent to the summit.  While it isn't Under Armour, they are my battle fatigues

A clothes horse I am not, but you have to represent when you are out pounding the pavement

In my enthusiasm to get started, the realization dawned on me that I was a bit "too chipper" and was up and going significantly ahead of my wife's first cup of coffee - so I am lucky that I have any documentation of this momentous occassion

Summer wasn't much on my proposal of her following me to the park and videotaping my quest; as a matter-of-fact she wasn't interested in even photographing the finish - -but after some careful bargaining I did get her to agree to "Simulated Documentation"

Here I am at the Starting Line (Simulated)

Today's run went excellent.  While on some of the C25K forums I have gotten an idea, generally, of some of the upcoming weeks, but as a rule - -I have no clue what the intervals are going to be.  Ullrey's Couch to 5K podcast is my guide and I hear it for the first time as I am running.  For anyone that may be viewing and interested - -all of Ullrey's podcasts are free and easy to download.  With a combination of music and his voice prompting you - he does the timing of the intervals and leaves you to your current pursuit of attempting not to have a stroke.

Today's program was the initial 5 minute warm up - 90 second run, 90 second brisk walk, 3 minute run, 3 minute brisk walk, 90 second run, 90 second brisk walk, 3 minute run, 5 minute cool down ( I believe I have that correct - don't want to check a printed copy - spoil the surprise of Week 4).

Week 3 Day 1 has been the most enjoyable thus far.  It is obvious to me that my fitness level is growing, and I sincerely was disappointed and nearly unfazed when the work-out ended.  In a previous post I provided a link to Breathing Techniques and this may have just been the cherry on top of my running.

Although in solitude, I crossed the Finish Line STRONG!!!!

(Image Simulated)

My reception at home was a bit warmer than when I left.  Summer was on her third cup of coffee and the kids had given her an appropriate wake-up call

Good ole Molly was as enthusiastic and impressed as she could possibly be

This awesome morning culminated in me meeting my smallest fan, Kyra,  after my shower (Note:  Added benefit - I am down another shirt size, I'm an XL now, and am well on my way through my size 40 shorts.  I was wearing size 46 on Jan. 01)

Although Kyra did not seem as thrilled about my run - -she was still a good prop for a ham-handed attempt at a t-shirt sight gag

3 Breathing Techniques for More Effective Running

Figured I would address it sooner than later - -article on breathing while running

3 Breathing Techniques For More Effective Running  by Terja Brooks at Ezine Articles