Round four of challenge updates, and almost through with the first month of 2010.  How am I doing so far?  You be the judge…

NEW YEAR CHALLENGES

New Year 100 Mile Running Challenge
-Only three days left, and 18.86 miles to go.  I can still rock this b*tch, but it does kind of suck that I’ve let it get down to the wire like this.  I honestly though I’d be closer to being done, if not already done, by now.

New Year 500 Mile Biking Challenge
-I’ve already accepted the fact that I am not going to get to 500 miles w/ this challenge, but I want to at least get 100 miles under my belt. I am currently at 92.9 miles, so I have 7.1 miles left. 

This is going to be a cardio loaded weekend, it looks like

PERFECT 10 CHALLENGE

And here is my Perfect 10 update for the week:

Steve is also asking we post something that noone knows about us, so here goes:  I hate bananas.  I think the texture, the taste, and the smell are amongst the most disgusting things in existence.  Anything banana flavored as well is a no go.  I can usually fair a bit better w/ flavored things (I don’t like strawberrys for example, but I like strawberry flavored stuff), but anything and everything banana is just gross.

HABIT.A.WEEK CHALLENGE

Lyn from Escape from Obesity is hosting a Habit.A.Week Challenge. The goal is easy enough, to make a small change each work in order to live a healthier lifestyle.  The “habit” however, was two fold, it was the increase your fiber intake, BUT, if you already eat enough fiber, to eat it from real food (as in fruits, veggies, beans, etc…not fiber one bars, yogurt, etc..)

Umm…yeah.  I always try to get the full daily value of fiber in, sure, but most of my fiber comes from Fiber One cereal.  One cup of that and you are good to go.  I have certainly upped the veggie intake and all, but not enough to ensure enough fiber, so I rely on the cereal. This one needs some work.

That’s all I have for now.  I am looking forward to finalizing the January New Year Challenges this weekend, and then moving forward into February.  What’s next, you ask? Stay tuned…

TGIF and have a great weekend!

I bought running shoes last night!

WooT!

As I mentioned the other day, all of my running, working, and a large portion of my casual day to day stuff had been in a pair of Nike Reax.  I didn’t buy them with the intention of working out at the time, I bought them because they looked cool, but they worked for me.  I was used to running in them, and I didn’t have in pain in them or anything, but the tread on the soles was almost completely worn away, so I knew their days were numbered.

So I went shoe shopping.  Instead of just going to Kohls and picking up whatever looked nice, I went to Fleet Feet Baltimore in the quest to find the right shoe for me.

 I walked into the store holding my Reax (their website recommends bringing in your old shoes), told the nice lady at the counter that I wanted to be fit for running shoes, then she looked down at what I was holding and said “You’ve been running in THOSE?!”

Crap.

Anywho, she had me sit down and take off my shoes and socks, and could pretty much tell from the getgo that I overpronate (like crazy, apparently).  This was because she saw the huge callouses on the side of my big toes (which she even had her co-worker come over to look at, ugh).  She then had me run back and forth a bit in the main aisle of the store, then I ran on a treadmill for 30 seconds while she videotaped my foot movement.  After reading Sue’s post on the subject the other day, I kind of had a hint of what to expect, but it still blew my mind that there was so much involved.

After all of that, I given 2 pairs of New Balances (don’t know what kind though), and a pair of Brooks Beasts.  The first pair of New Balances and the Brooks Beast fit beautifully (the second NB’s were very tight, even the wider ones), but in the end I with the Brooks, in a size “12 2E”.

The shoes, and a pair of Balega Hidden Comfort Socks, set me back $148.  It was a little more than I was hoping to spend, admittedly, and I probably could have gotten them cheaper online, but I was excited, and I wanted them NOW! so I bought them anyway.

I also found out the Fleet Feet hosts free outdoor runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4pm and 6:30pm.  I might be looking into that as a way to increase my outdoor running experience.  They also have marathon and half-marathon training classes starting soon that peaked my interest.

My “running supply purchasing” high then took me to Target, where I bought a couple of Champion C9 T-shirts and Champion C9 Boxer Briefs (which I couldn’t find a link for, probably because there were on clearance).

AND THEN…

I got home to find two more bits of awesome: Terminator Salvation had come in from Netflix, AND, my Baltimore Marathon Training Shirt had finally come in!

The picture quality sucks, so I apologize, but its basically an Under Armour shirt that says “Baltimore Running Festival” and “IN TRAINING.”

Speaking of the Baltimore Marathon, when I told the lady at that store that I had signed up for it, she said I signed up for one of the tougher marathons (very hilly, apparently) and that I probably should have signed up for the Marine Corps. Marathon.

Crap #2.  Still though, I’m up for the challenge.

So I didn’t do any running in the new shoes last night, but before work this morning I armed myself w/ my shoes, a C9 shirt and my fancy new boxer briefs, and I ran two miles on the treadmill.  The shoes felt very nice, but it was definitely different. I was also feeling the run a bit in my calves, earlier than I usually do anyway, but I’m supposing it due to not being used to the shoes or the support they provide.  It was also nice to not have my shirt feeling all soggy and gross post workout. 

And the fact that my boxer briefs weren’t riding up all over the place and causing chafing? BEAUTIFUL!

Sorry if that last part was TMI

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Progress Report: Week 16
Weight:  237.4 lbs
BMI: 34.6
Weight loss so far:  .4 lbs lost since last week,  27.6 lbs lost total

I was kind of afraid of this, as my scale was hovering between 237 and 239 for most of the week. So, this doesn’t compare to the super awesome loss from last week, but hey, a loss is a loss. Any distance I can put between myself and the 240’s is okay by me, b/c I’m sick of seeing those numbers. Still though…

Now for the accountability. Diet wise, I ate out a bit more this past week that I would have liked, and my choices weren’t always the best. Alot of that was a false sense of confidence, especially by “cheating” early on thinking I could make up for in the days that followed, and part of it was laziness.  I’ve been exhausted every evening and haven’t felt like cooking. Blah…

Workout wise, my only issue has been the lack of strength training, which I am going to try to reintroduce into my routine this week (already have one day down this week, so WooT!).  Cardio wise, I’ve been busting my ass on the ARC Trainer still, and am still trying to get some mileage under my belt w/ my walks/runs.  I might throw a bit more eliptical and exercise bike into the mix as well, and maybe even :::gasp::: some stairclimber, in order to get some variety.

Other than that, more of the same, really, work, school, blah, blah, blah.  I do want to set some goals for myself for the upcoming week, though:

• Finish the 100 Mile Running Challenge. I have 22.86 miles left and I have until the end of the month. Aieeeee.
• Get to AT LEAST 100 miles in the 500 Mile Biking Challenge. My chances of completing this full challenge suck, but I at least want to get to 100 miles, which means I have about 11 miles left to go.
• Eight hours of overtime.
• Six hours of study time.
• Buy new running shoes. I will hopefully accomplish this goal later today, WooT!
• Get to World 7 in Super Mario Bros. Wii. Yeah, we’ll see how that goes, but I’ll try.

That’s all I got.  Best of luck to everyone with your goals for this week.