Braving the cold...of the garage.

So it's been cold.

Really really cold.

So cold my layer of winter fat needs a layer of winter fat.

So cold the icicles got freezer burn.

So cold the dogs are chasing penguins around the yard when let out to pee.

So cold Superman is looking to make a second home round here.

So cold Satan knocked on the neighbor's door to borrow some matches.

So cold we have a new ethnic part of town called "Little-Damn-Its-Cold-Out-Here!!"

So cold we don't have to worry about Zack reanimating til spring!  (for my zombie peeps)

So cold...well, you get the picture.

Thank goodness for the treadmill in my garage!  Still have to bundle up a bit as it gets down to about 40-45 after doors have been closed for a couple of hours.  Nike's Pro-Combat gear is good at keeping you warm, but it aint THATgood!

3.0 miles, 34:11.

Later

Epic fail...

Its no secret that New Year's resolutions are rarely kept. People see the new year as a time to start over or to start a new routine. Whether that is exercising, eating healthier, being nicer, or watching less TV, we look for something that we want to do differently. Problem is we are creatures of habit, and those habits are hard to break.

I'm pretty cynical when it comes to stuff like that. Probably not the best attitude to have but its hard to ignore facts. I mean look at me, it's taken me multiple starts to be a somewhat consistent runner (present month excluded). I know its hard to start, and even harder to keep it up. I've been lucky to have amazing support from My Woman (a.k.a. The Enabler), and my Aunt Sonya. Not everyone has that.

So it comes as no surprise that my most recent running attempt (not a resolution) was an epic fail.

(I like to try and keep myself relevant to the youth of today. Mainly by using their terms like "epic fail". I find that much of the language is very dramatic, and everything is taken to the next level. So a failed attempt is not just a regular failure, it becomes epic.
Then again, the fact that I just explained my reasoning disproves the level of any coolness I may have ever attained.)

Where were we? :..oh yeah, my epic fail.

So as I've written in my most recent posts, my running has been anything but consistent since before Christmas so I know I needed to get consistent again. So before getting back into the groove, I'd determined that I wanted to try and spend more time with my family in the evenings since My Woman has started her new career and is working full time. But by the time My Pal and My Baby Girl go to bed, My Woman is tired and ready to call it a night. This usually my running time.

So, here's where my brilliant idea comes in. I figured since I've been pretty consistent this year I could probably start running in the morning!

...its really too bad that my morning self disagreed with that logic.

For about two weeks straight I set my alarm for almost an hour earlier than my normal time. This was so I could get a good run in before the rest of the family woke up. Turns out all I did was irritate My Woman because we both were awakened at an ungodly hour for no reason. Its amazing how quickly one can debate with oneself when another 45 minutes of sleep is on the line.

I've always known that I am a night owl, so its no surprise that my late night self thought I could do it. Even when I was driving a truck for a living, I never got used to the early mornings. Granted I was getting paid to start work at anywhere from midnight to 4am! So self motivation was just not cutting it this time.

Now despite my two week span of prematurely interrupted sleep, I did manage to get out and run one frigid morn.

I know! Surprised the heck out of me!

Last Thursday's run at 5:45am.

2.04 miles, 21:54

Well since my epic fail, I've realized that I'm just a night runner, sometimes a middle of the day runner, but not an early morning runner. Although I do realize though that the flaw in my logic could've been that its the middle of winter and putting the body in that type of shock first thing might have been just plain stupid.

So Monday's run didn't start until about 9:20...PM!

3.0 miles, 35:40

Later

Running during halftime

Big game on Monday. Late start. Ran during halftime.

1.25 miles  13:40.

Later.

235 Miles

March 18th.

Day one of Wheezing Gorilla 3.0.

Almost 10 months after I started this attempt at getting in better shape, I can look back and feel pretty good about what I accomplished this year.

I was able to finally run consistently and not quit after it got cold. (or just getting lazy)

I ran my first 5k.

I ran 5.57 miles at one point.

The thing I'm most impressed with is the 235 total miles for 2013.  I know its only an average of 26+ miles per month but its the best I've ever done.

With that being said, now I have to come up with some bigger goals. I didn't end last year or start this year on fire, but that doesn't mean I cant reach them. Who knows, might even throw some weight training in there! (like most dudes, I've got the P90X DVDs)

First run of 2014 was nothing to be impressed with. Unless you're impressed with running in 20 degree weather!

1.27 miles, 13:27.

Later

Did someone say Christmas Break??

11 days...

Not since my Vegas trip have I taken so many days off between runs.  (and consumed this many calories!) 

What has been a week and a half has felt like a month.  Days that held the opportunity to run seemed to turn into time spent holding down a piece of furniture.

I'm not signed up to run a 5K anytime soon (unless I can do that one in the Bahamas) so I'm not necessarily "in training".  But failing to lace up the Brooks for 11 days was disappointing.

But with 3 days to go before the end of the year, I thought I could add to my yearly total.  This year was going to be my best year yet!  (of course the bar was set pretty low)

Thank goodness for my treadmill otherwise tonight's run might have been a bit shorter.

3.08 miles, 34:30.

Later

Challenge!!

If you grew up in the 80's, you most likely were on a first name basis with the Huxtables.  Cliff, Claire, Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa, and Rudy.

They were less dysfunctional than your family, and they ended every episode on a good note, like a good TV family should.  Complete with incredible sweaters, amazing grandparents, and a sassy youngest child, how could you not like the Cosby Show?

There was one episode that I think of whenever I hear the word challenge!

Cosby Show Challenge Episode

In this episode, Cliff takes on a seasoned tap dancer in a "dance off"!  And the only word that the tap dancer, Sandman Simms, says is...CHALLANGE after he finishes his dance moves!  Yes I spelled that wrong, but if you watched the episode, you know I'm right.

If you read my last post, you know I had a little wager with my Aunt Sonya over the Packers v Cowboys game.  Well, the sun shined down on the Packers and their backup QB so I came out on top of that bet.  The bet was that the loser would run 20 miles this week.

I had then, and still have no doubts that my Aunt Sonya would knock that out by the weekend.  

...myself, however, would've probably failed miserably.

Anyway, not to be outdone, I thought I would at least try to keep pace and CHALLANGE myself to see if I could have done the 20 miles myself had I lost.  Get it?  How I CHALLANGED myself there...OK, yeah, so that wasn't that funny, never mind.

In order to do 20 miles in a week, one must do large chunks of it when one has the chance.

Wednesday was the only day this week that there wasn't a game or practice.

First 3 miles was a sub 10 minute pace.

4.99 miles (we'll call it 5), 51:54.  Still not at 20 miles...

Later

Dodged a 20 mile bullet...

Go Pack Go!

Those who know me, know that I am a die hard fan of the Green and Gold!  Since I was a freshman or sophomore in high school, I've followed the Green Bay Packers.  Prior to Favre, in the days of Don "Magic Man" Majkowski, I made my choice in what professional football team I would follow.

I have to admit, my choice of team wasn't because of some connection with the team itself.  It wasn't because it was my dad's team, and it wasn't because it was the local team.  Far from it.

Believe it or not, the team I followed prior to the Pack was the Cowboys.  I was raised on Roger Staubach, Tom Landry, and Tony Dorsett.  My mother's family originated from Texas, and we still have relatives there.  So the Cowboys were the team you were expected to follow.

Well...

I'm not sure what it was.  Maybe it was a bit of rebelliousness, or just the desire to be different.  But I decided that I didn't want to root for the 'Boys anymore.  I knew I wanted to root for an NFC team and I loved the history and tradition that the Packers represented.

Little did I know that the Packers and Cowboys would do battle throughout the 90's and early 2000's.  This made for great smack talk between myself and other family members.  Particularly with my Uncle Ray.

Uncle Ray was like my older brother...scratch that...he was my older brother for a big part of my life.  Being the youngest of my mother's siblings, he is close to my age.  I have to imagine that he was somewhat disappointed in my straying.

...at least we had Buffett.  :)

Well fast forward to today and the Packers vs Cowboys 2013.  This time the smack talk is with my Aunt Sonya (my inspiration).  So I get a text this morning about a little wager on today's game.  The loser has to run a certain distance throughout the week.

I cant say that it was the best thought out wager I've ever had, but I thought Flynn had a good game last week, and there's always the chance that Rodgers is cleared before game time.

Stupid backup quarterbacks...

They suck you in so that you like them and want to root for them, then they show you why they're backups!

So I accepted the bet and we decided that the loser would have to do 20 miles this week.  I was the one who came up with that distance.  My Aunt Sonya has probably done 20 miles more than once.  I however, haven't cleared 15 in a single week!

After the first quarter, I thought that things were still close.  The Pack was behind but still within striking distance.

By halftime I was looking for my shoes and trying to figure out just how many miles I would have to do tonight in order to make it to 20 by weeks end!  Wow, talk about an anemic offense.  Flynn and company couldn't score, and Romo and the 'Boys couldn't be stopped.  By the third quarter, Aunt Sonya was telling me to get the shoes warmed up!

Sometimes when your team is losing, stepping away and not watching actually helps.  Somehow there is magic in the not watching that makes the momentum change.  Since we were out of eggs and cold cuts for the kids' lunches, I figured it was a perfect time to head to the store.  Just like the Bud Light commercial says, it only weird if it doesn't work.  The moment I got to the grocery store parking lot, the momentum had shifted!  By the time I finished going through my list, the Pack had intercepted Romo and were on the march!  As I rolled into the driveway, walked into the house, and sat down on the couch, the Green and Gold was knocking on the end zone door.  Seconds later Lacy flies into the end zone to give Green Bay the lead!!

With about a minute and a half left, the Cowboys were going to get the ball back, and just like a good TV production team would do, they put a graphic that showed the 21 4th quarter comebacks that Romo has lead in his career.  Knowing that the defense has had its struggles, and Dallas' kicker has a big foot, I was a little worried about the 1 point lead.

Well leave it to good 'ole Romo.  I knew I could count on him!  He threw a game ending interception to give Green Bay the victory!  (Of course it took the replay booth to get it right because the horrible officiating couldn't.  Seriously!  Zebra was looking right at the Green Bay defensive back and still got the call wrong!)

So I dodged the 20 mile bullet!  Sorry Aunt Sonya.

Although I will try to keep pace this week.  Are there 10 days in a week yet??

2 miles, 21:49.

Later