December 30th.

Got in 11 miles yesterday. 19 to go for my 1000 mile year. Just Run.

December 29th.

I got in 10.45 miles yesterday. Only 30 more miles to get my 1000 for the year. Remember, Just Run

December 28th.

I have 40 miles left to get my 1000! I got 4 in this morning and I will try and get in 6 more this afternoon. 10 miles a day, we will see. Just Run

December 16th

I feel good about the way things are going in my life. With all the negativity and drama going on in the world right now I have to stop and realize just how good I have it. I was in a steaming hot shower the other day when all of a sudden I thought how great that shower was. It was 10 degrees below zero outside and I was so comfortable in that shower I didn't want it to end. I realized that for a short moment I was living in the moment and not thinking about the future. When I shower I start planning my day and I don't live in the moment. That was the best shower I have ever had. I am starting to heal up from the Vegas Marathon. Last week I walked a couple days on the treadmill for a total of 4 miles. This week I have only walked, I might try running some today. I have been sleeping more than normal which I need for my recovery. I want to get in 1000 miles of running for the year. I have 935 in, so I should be able to meet my goal. Starting the 4th of January I am cutting out refined sugar and all chips from my diet for 30 days. This includes candy, pastries, sweetened cereals, anything with to much added sugar and all chips. I am using this as an experiment for the class I teach at work to see what each individual goes through during the 30 days. Remember to train smart so you can run consistently. Just Run

27,600 runners!

That's right. There was 27,600 runners at the Inaugral Las Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon. I have to say this before I start my complaining. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! I have no desire, at this time, to ever run a marathon as big a this again. I had no idea it would be this big. Just the logistics of getting to the hotel, checked in, to our room, to the packet pick-up, back to the room, to the start the next morning, waiting for it to start(45 minutes from the gun start for me to cross the start line), getting thur the walkers, dodging other runners at aide stations, was mind boggling. The first half I ran in 2:39 which was ok. At mile 14 I blew-up. Considering my last long run was over two months ago and I suffered from a cold and a injury that I got at Goblin Valley things went ok. The last half was mostly walking with a little shuffling that I can't call running in any way. Check me out at the Marathon web site. It shows each runner crossing the finish line. My number was 20045 and I'm the fat old guy in black the other three runner passed. I will analize what went wrong in future posts, but not now. My time was 6:07:23. I have finished my 29th marathon and number 4 for the year. I have a new New Years Resolution coming up shortly. We have 12" of snow on the ground in Manti. Vegas start it was 34 and never warmed up much. All I can say is run smart so you can be consistent

Week #15 completed.

I started this post to help me deal with turning 60 years old. I haven't wrote about that much. Being 60 is not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I named this blog, Staying Consistent, to help me exercise more consistently, thinking that was the problem. Illness and injury has waylayed this venture of consistency, as I have overtrained. Maybe I should change the name to, Training Smart, so I can be more consistent. I know 30 miles a week works well for me. I know a long run every two to three weeks works for me. I know that riding the road bicycle helps me recharge physically and mental. I did 3 good workout this week. This is the last posting before Las Vegas. Wish me luck

Week # 14 completed.

Last week went well. I got back into picking up my mileage. I did eat more veggies. My mental health is somewhat better. I am sure that comes with eating better and the exercise. I ran for 20.82 miles in 4 hours and 42 minutes and burned 3515 calories. I am not a speed demon but at least I am out there trying. Two weeks from today I will be on my way home from Las Vegas. Time sure does fly by. I have ran 887.65 miles so far this year. I want to reach 1000 miles by Dec. 31st. That a little less than 20 miles a week. Very doable. Just Run. Stay Consistent

Judgemental Larry

I wrote a post on Sept. 13th, week # 4 of my training for Las Vegas. I was trying to figure out when people have an injury or illness they change there whole approach to life. Looking back over my recent posts about being sick and having a couple injuries, am I any different than the ones I was trying to figure out. Not at all., I changed my whole attitude. With the cold, I laid around the house and ate, as I was not able to exercise. Had a very good run at Goblin Valley but hurt my knee and IT Band. I laid around the house some more and ate quite a bit more. Is it my nature when I can't do the exercises I give up on everything. I was feeling good about myself. I had a vision of myself as finally being on the right track to being the healthy man I want to be. Mentally I was healthy. Physically in was more muscular and lean. I had lost with Brandon, 21 pounds. The cold I might not have got if I had not over trained. The injuries just happen to anyone, not much you can do about them. The laying on the couch and doing the non stop eating was something I should have had full control over. I need to get things right in my life before being so judgemental towards someone else. Tuesday I ran 3.11 miles in 45 minutes and burned 482 calories. I just need to make smart decisions so I can be consistent in my running

Biting the bullet.

My left leg and knee hurt bad all day long. I was using every excuse in the book to talk myself out of running. I kept telling myself that I have the training to gut through Las Vegas. Sure, to do that again and cross the finish line looking like death warmed over. "Oh", I will most likely look like that anyway. I decided to bite the bullet yesterday and get back on the master plan. I am glad that I did. Around mile 4 the IT Band finally let up and stopped hurting as bad. Knee still hurt but not much more than normal. I did quite a bit of walking, "walking is ok; if I have to walk to get through the workout, so be it, workouts will get better even with the walking, just walk if that get you through the workout, walking is ok, walking is ok, ok ok to walk...." After all the years of training you would think I would know my body better than I do. Why do I keep going day after day when I know that I need an easy week so I don't break down. Run consistently without breaking down or maybe. Run smart so I can be consistent in my running

Week # 13 completed

Thirty miles a week just might be my magic number with a really long run every two to three weeks. Looking back over my training logs and posts tells me that when I ran 30 miles a week I was able to complete 19 weeks of training without blowing up. When my long run reached 13, I started doing them outside. I had a 37, 40 and a 44 mile weeks with long runs of 19, 22 and 25 before I caught a cold. With Hal Higdon's training schedule I was doing a long run every week for the first 6 weeks. I never did the step back week that he has scheduled to give your body a rest. Now here we have to go back to being 60 years old again and you all know how I hate doing this. I know that I was over training because I wasn't sleeping that well and my resting heart rate went up to the 70's. My body didn't get a chance to recover between workouts. I will write more next time about what I have planned. Stay consistent. Just run

Week # 12 completed.

Well I didn't get in many miles this week but it was a good week anyway. I ran three runs this week for a little over 10 miles. Again I am ok with this. I am still having a little trouble with my knee that I haven't been able to figure out. The runs this week have not made it any worse but not much better. One month to Vegas. We had a really good date night at the Ballet this week. I always enjoy this time with Carolyn. I can't believe she has put up with me for all these years. She is a wonderful women. I finally found an outlet that sells the type of siding that we have on the house and got that ordered. Enough for now

Week #11 completed.

I finally have week 11 completed. I only ran 3.14 miles in 41 minutes and burned 533 calories. I don't have a problem with it though. I probably shouldn't say this but here goes. It is the first of November and a new beginning. I am over my cold. My muscles are healed and the tendins are close to being there. I have the chores that were making me crazy pretty much done with. I can now start enjoying the winter. Hard freeze is good for my allergies and I like the cold weather. I will try and get in more outdoor running. Sunday's run was at about 27 degrees and I was really sweating by the time I was done. I only have one more 20 miler to do before Las Vegas. When this marathon is done I think I will try riding the bike during the day and see how that goes. Do more biking like I plan every year but don't. Attitude is better. I need to Just Run and be consistent. Consistence is the secret to success. Now I am turning into a germ-a-phobe. Trying not to get any of the flu out there. Wish me luck

Can't get back on track! Why?????

I have been trying to figure out why I can't get back on track. I had 18 weeks of steadily raising my mileage with not to many problems. Things started changing when I started increasing my long runs above 20 miles once a week. When I was running 30 miles a week I was ok. With long runs over 20 and increasing my mileage to close to 50 weekly I blew up. Allergies started acting out, I got a cold which would not go away, lack of sleep became a problem, my blood pressure and pulse went higher. Being sick became a mental problem as well. I couldn't run so I became depressed and started laying on the couch, watching TV and eating everything in sight. I even stopped taking my blood pressure, pulse and weighing myself every morning. I finally felt good enough to run the 25k at Goblin Valley and did well. I had major muscle soreness after the run, which lasted a few days. When the muscle soreness started going away I noticed that my IT Band was hurting bad. Along with that my knee hurts. Now I am in a little better shape I need only run a long run every two to three weeks. To give my body a chance to heal up. You can't be consistent when you are sick. Running weekly back to back long runs and increasing your mileage by too much weakins you so you are more prone to catching everything that come along. Need to run smart to stay healthy. November's a new month and a new beginning. Just Run.

Week # 10 completed.

I finished my Goblin Valley run last Saturday. I ended up changing from the 50k to the 25k because of my cold. I am glad that I did because the run was tough just doing the 25k. I did take about 15 minutes off last years time. My breathing didn't settle in until I was about 1 hour 44 minute into the run. I have had this cold for just over a month. For not being able to get in much training the run went really well. We couldn't have ordered a better day for the run. High 40's at the start and low 60's at the finish. This week I got in 16 mile in 3h15m and burned 2720 calories. I feel that I have a good start towards the Las Vegas Marathon on December 6th. I need at least one more 20 miler before the race. I need to get back on track and start losing weight again. It's a bad time of the year to start gaining again and I don't need it. Staying consistent is my mantra and that's what I need is consistence. Life is good

Week #9 not completed!

I am attaching what I wrote to Brandon today. I need to keep this so I can go back and read it when I get upset with how my training is going. The main thing is that I am out there running when I am not sick. When I am sick I need to get over the bug, then start my training back up. I should not let the little things ruin the bigger master plan. The master plan is to run for the love of running, run the rest of my life, not to stress over the completion of the event. If I finish the event that is the gravy on the mashed potatoes. If I can walk after the event that is the desert. If I want to sign up for another run then that is my bag of Doritos. Crazy, just crazy! Here's what I wrote Brandon. "Hang in there son. You should be able to get in enough training to complete your marathon. I will have to walk parts of Goblin Valley. I just want to finish the 32 miles this time. I know that it is discourging not getting in your training the way you want. I know how that works. I didn't run any last week. That make three weeks with very little running. I do feel a little better but not completely over my cold. We got the roof on that section of the house and that makes me really happy. I always forget what I told myself when I started training hard again. I want this time around to be fun and not stressful. I have to live by that and make Goblin Valley a really fun death march. I have 9 hours to complete the 32 miles and I will most likely get my moneys worth, by being out there for 9 hours. I can't wait for it to begin. love ya dad"

Week # 8 completed.

This is a little late with the posting on the blog. On the 5th and 6th I only got in 2.5 miles each day. Everytime I started running I would have a coughing fit. My week total was 5 miles. I worked on the roof Fri, Sat and Sunday. With the cold that I have it really wore me out. I am glad that I don't have to do that for a living anymore. Today (Monday) we are going to order the metal roofing. I should be done by Thursday, so I can finish the roofing part up on Friday. I will pick-up the siding on the 30th and finish it up the following weekend. I am not worried about the Goblin Valley run as long as I get over this cold. Mom (Carolyn) is coming down with another cold. I don't know why this is happening. I still have a cough today, not as bad. I am so sore that I don't really know how I feel. No run today with getting the roofing ordered. I will try tomorrow and see how it goes. I need some running to loosen me up. I will write more later

Training week #7 completed.

I still have a cold. I went through the sore throat, then the fever and now the cough. I still have congestion and a cough after 2 weeks. I must have really wore myself out because this thing doesn't want to let go. Last week I did run 7 miles and that was it. Not what I planed on. The bright side of this is I have got in my long runs which will get me through Goblin Valley in most likely 9 hours or better. I am working on the roof this weekend so I hope I get feeling a little better by Friday. We will see

Training week # 6 completed.

This week didn't go as planned. I only got in 10 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes and burned 1700 calories. I will have to settle for 25 miles being my long run. Training was going so good. I have been sick since the 21st with sinus problems and sore throat. I now have a cough to go along with it. It seems that my left knee and my right hip hurt more when I am not running. I know that I was over doing it on this build up. I felt like I had no choice in running all those miles. Getting in the 25 will help me with the Goblin Valley 50k. I need to consentrate on getting better. I did a 7 miles run yesterday to try and run the bug out of me. It didn't work! I just need to get better.

Training week # 5 completed.

This week I ran for 44.18 miles in 9 hours and 22 minutes and burned 7508 calories. My long run was 25.01 miles. The first 15 miles of my running was a gentle climb. The terrain was rocking and uneven which I am not use to. I finished up my run on fairly flat dirt roads. Somewhere around 20+ miles my energy was low. By 23 miles I could have walked faster than I was running. This is part of the training program to spend time on your feet. You have to spend this time so you can run better next time,(and it does work). It is still discouraging looking down at my GPS and seeing I am only running 4+ miles per hour. The climbing, along with the rocky uneven terrain, took more energy from me than I am use to. I am still using Hammer Perpetuem and Endurolyte caps with some Hammer Gels as needed. I should not be so cheap and start taking the full 2 scoops of Perpetuem to see if I have more energy towards the end of the run. The only unusual things that happened on this run were. My feet have a rash on the instep and the ankles. I have never had this before. Maybe with the gaiters I trapped more heat than usual. The right hip was very painful. Last year I had an outbreak of Shingles. They say that once you have them the area where the breakout occurred can hurt and hurt it did. It never goes away so this is something I will have to deal with forever. My plans to complete a 30 mile run 3 weeks before Goblin Valley have to change. Because of a trip that has been planned for quite some time I don't have the extra week. This weekend will be my last extremely long run. I will try and get over 28. We will see

Training week # 4 completed.

I have been thinking why your state of mind changes in some people when they age. One minute you are handling the aches and pains you have from a lifetime of living. You are still able to do most of the things you have been doing all your life. You really don't complain about much of anything. Then you have an illness, an injury which is not life threatening and over night you are acting old. You complain a lot, you are afraid to do the things you have did all your life, the energy you had a month ago is all gone. I am 60, I know I haven't walked in their shoes. But to change your whole life in a period of 1 month, I am having a hard time understanding. People I know think it is amazing that I am able to do the things I do. I think all the running, bike riding, hiking is normal. I look in the mirror and see an aging man and I wonder who he is. In my mind I don't look like that! I don't know that person that is looking back at me. My mind is stuck in a different time zone and it's not the one I'm in now. I hope I never have to deal with the situation where I become as old on the inside as I look on the outside. I ran 40.51 miles in 8 hours and 07 minutes and burned 7104 calories. I had to take 2 rest days this week, so I did not get in a bike ride. My long run was 22 miles this week. I am still at 215 pounds which makes me happy. Sleep has been the problem this week. I need at least 7.5 to 8 hours on work nights and 9 to 10 hours on weekends. I have over training syndrome which makes it hard to sleep. Even with that I had a great week and I haven't blown up yet.

Training week # 3 completed

I had another great week of workouts. I ran 37.14 miles, biked 10.70 miles and burned 6767 calories in 9 hours 04 minutes. I did eat more from 12 to 2 pm and that helped quite a bit. I also slept more getting in 2 days of 10 hrs. sleep each night. My weight has been jumping between 215 and 217 all week. I am just glad to be out of the 220's. Sunday, before the bicycle ride, I feel great. I ride the bike nice and slow around Manti for an hour and when I get off I can hardly walk. I stay that way the rest of the day. Any ideas out there. I'm thinking that the ride gets the blood flowing into the wasted muscle. But, but!!! I will have to read and see if there is anything out there why I am wasted after the bike ride. Till next week

Long run days

I'm writing down what I have been doing during and after my long runs so I can check back later and see if I changed anything up. Anyone that knows me knows that I take alot of vitimins. I not only take a multi but I take quite a few of them individually. My hero Jack LaLanne has take mega amount of vits. all his life and is healthy and in his 90s. I have trained exclusively with Hammer Nutrition Products this go around. I read a magizine they sent me on there products cover to cover. Also 2 of my cycling buddies use only these products. I did 19 miles yesterday using Perpetuem. This is there over 3 hour product and has a little protein in it. I am still trying to lose weight (also I am cheep) so I only use one scoop in a 20 oz. sports bottle. Every mile I take 3 drinks and the bottle last me an hour or approx. 5 miles. Every hour I take 2 of there Endurolytes, this is an electrolyte product, which replaces what I sweat out. A couple of times I felt like I was't getting enough water because it was so hot, I had 3 drink of water. I keep 2 Hammer Gels with me in case I bonk. When I get home I fix me a Whey protein mixed with some frozen fruit. I sit in the empty bath tub and start slowly filling it with just the cold water. I sit there and read for about 45 minutes or until the water starts draining out of the over flow. This is close to an ice bath which is susposed to help the swelling. I then shower with luke warm water. I have a left bad knee so I wear a double Cho-Pat Band on it. I also have taken Glucosamine 1500 mg/ Chondroitin 1200 mg for the last 15 years. I use CM Complex Skin Cream from Nikken twice a day on my knee. I also take a drink Seven + Pro from Exfuse. It is susposed to boost the immune system. The last 2 are network marketed but I like the products and I think they help. At the present time I have 4 pair of fairly new shoes. I think they are one of the major things keeping me healthy. I still try and get 500 miles out of a pair but I check them for wear and tear and will retire them if I think they are shot. I will post this weeks training later today after my bike ride.

Training week #2 completed.

I had a pretty good week. I ran 36.30 miles, biked 10.40 miles in 8h20m and burned 6596 calories. My mileage is getting and will stay higher than I planned but, it is a necessary part of the big plan. I need my mileage high so I can complete the 50k in Goblin Valley. As long as I do a 3 week taper, (cutting mileage 3 week before the run in half, then 2 weeks out cutting it in half again, then doing light running the week of the race), I should be ok. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon I had a very bad case of the blahs. This week I will try having a larger lunch and a snack around 2 pm and see if that helps. It got to 95 during my long run. I ended up doing more walking than I planned on. I also ran on dirt road in my new trail shoes and my new gaiters. The gaiters kept the rocks out of my shoes, which was wonderful. I had the toe box of the shoes laced to tight and ended up with a blister on the top of my right little toe. I felt this happening early on but didn't take the time to fix the shoe. The bike ride was around Manti again with the wind blowing like crazy. Training is going really good and I hope I can say the same next week. All this training is really paying off. I have been 216 now for a couple of days. My clothes that were tight are now lose on me. I just might make it to 200 lbs for the race in Goblin Valley on Oct. the 24th. We'll see.

Training week #1 completed

I have completed my first week of Hal Higdon's intermediate 1 marathon training program. Actually I have started at week #3 because I only have 16 weeks until Dec the 6th. I had a hard time on Thursday. My allergies were really acting out and I felt really tired. In the plan Thursday is a rest day and I took it.. I stopped by Doc. Armstrongs office and he was good enough to fit me in for a Kenalog shot. I slept for 10 hours Thurs. night and woke up feeling like a new man. Friday I got in my 5 miles at race pace (6 mph or 10 min. miles) with no problems. Sat. I did my 13 mile long slow run, really long and slow. I felt great! Today (Sunday) I rode my bike (X-Training as scheduled) which I took very easy. Road around Manti and looked at the houses. My allergies are somewhat better and my left knee is doing ok. My totals for the week are: Ran 32.39 miles, Time 7h15m, Calories 6107, Biked 10.1 miles. For 2 days now I have been at 217 lbs. Yea! I had a surprise the other day. Bill and Em are going to run the 10k at Goblin Valley and I think that is GREAT. I know Em has did a 5k but I don't think Billy has ever ran a race. If they get the running bug who knows what will happen. More next week.

December the 6th

Brandon, in Okinawa, will be running the Naha Marathon and I will be running Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon on Sunday, December the 6th. This will be Brandon's first marathon. He has been training hard while TDY in Afghanistan, getting in close to 700 miles. I tried to keep up but got in around 500 miles during the same amount of time. It has been fun and quite motivating. He would run his miles 12 hours before me and post them on his blog. I would check it out and try and run the same. I soon found out that there are a few draw backs to being 60 years old. I don't recuperate like a 34 year old body does. I did not have the energy in my legs to keep up the mileage that Brandon was putting in. Surprisingly I am not upset by this short fall. Over the years I have learned I have limitations and this is not a bad thing unless I let them be. I now look at the positive side. I ran 500 miles. When I did not want to run, Brandon's run motivated me to run. I have lost another 15 pounds. My blood pressure has come down and staying down. My cholesterol is way down and the good stuff is up. I feel very proud of myself for sticking with it and I hope I motivated Brandon when he didn't want to run. Both of us training for a marathon will keep us on track and should be all the motivation we need to complete our goals. I would like to run Vegas in at least 5hrs.30mins. and be 200 pounds. I know that I am setting goals for myself again, but having a goal is not that bad as long as you don't set yourself up to fail. I can have fun at Vegas and still run a 5:30, (maybe better?). I have ran the old Vegas course 5 times and my slowest has been 4:45 so with the training I have been doing I should be ok. Until next time.

Where did July go!!!!!!!!

I can't believe that it has been over a month since I have posted anything here. Life is pretty good. I finished the Utah Valley Marathon in better shape than Ogden and in better time. No race in July which most likely was good for my body. Went on vacation to Yellowstone for a week, just me and Carolyn. Got thru another Tour de France, which makes July fly by for me. Love Tour de France in high def! Go Lance! I have ran my 30 mile weeks consistently since last post. I feel better and the fat is coming off. Still 221 lbs., but looking forward to getting out of the 220's. Once I got over the initial issues of turning 60 it really isn't any worse than any other birthday. I am slimmer, healthier and have a better attitude towards myself now! I can't believe that summer is almost over. I have done most of my running on treadmills. I think once it cools down I will start running outside again. I alway enjoyed being outside and my runs went by so much faster. I always enjoyed running outside in the winter when the air was so refreshing. Where did July go!!!!

Being 60 might not be that bad

I have had about 3 weeks to digest the fact that I am 60 years old. It might not be that bad! I am more active that I have been in a long time. I have almost 6 weeks where I have consistently ran 30 miles a week. During the last 17 years I have alway ran. Most of my running was training for a event. I guess over the years I ran so many 5k's, 10k's, halves, marathons, 50k's and 50 milers that my running got stale. I ran a lot, but I don't think I ran for fitness. I started running at 175 pounds. In 1992 I started a new career which was very stressful. During this time I ran for stress relief. Before starting this job I never had to watch what I ate. The next time I got on the scale I weighed 190 lbs. I remember running with my friends and complaning about how hard running had become. Marty said: I can't imagine running with a 30 lb. pack on my back. That how much extra weight I was packing. This was the start on my yo-yo dieting. I will most likely write more on this later since I did get up to 251 pounds. My point here is now I am running for health and not to get into shape for a race. The last couple of months have been fun, even though I have did a race in March, April, May and June. Running more relaxed and working on my health instead of burning myself out trying to get into race ready shape is more fun. A benefit for this is the weight is slowly coming off....60 might not be that bad!

Reflections of the past

My youngest son is in the Air Force, TDY, in Afganistan. Away for 3 to 4 months from his family which are in Okinawa. Once I spent almost a year away from my family and it was hard. This was another Me, not the one I am now. I am a recovering alcholic so the more I missed my family back then the more I would drink. It always was the answer to any hardship that would fall on me. My son is handling it different that I did. He runs to make the time go by faster. This also makes him healthier when he returns home to his family. My outlet was to drink myself into a stupper each day and his is to run so much that he just falls asleep until his next shift. I was thinging of how proud I am of him, the way he has chose to pass the idle time during his TDY. He could have easily taken up the bad habits of his father but instead chose another way. With the example that I was for my children they could have turned out so much different than they have. My children turned out to be my heros. Each one could have went down a different pathway, especially with the example that I was for them. They have all turned out rather well.

Weekends

While I am at work Monday thru Thursday I follow a structured eating plan. On those day when I get home I eat fairly good. Then comes the weekend and everything I have lost on those 4 days goes away in 3. I had the will power to run 32.22 miles which took 6 hr. 07 min. and burned 5731 calories. That is 5 very good workouts and a couple days of rest. Thursday I was down to 226 lbs. and Monday I was back to 229. Another thing I am starting to realize is my allergies are not as bad during the week as on the weekends. Might be that during the week I do all the right things to keep me healthy, not so during the weekend. I do mow the lawn and grass pollen is high now but mowing the lawn on Saturday shouldn't still be bothering me Monday morning. Just writing what I am thinking, isn't that what this is for---

"Sleep"

I try and stay conscious in all things concerning my health. Every morning when in wake up I take my blood pressure and pulse, then weigh myself. My blood pressure has been border line high the last while, (130's/90's). When I lose weight and eat right my blood pressure goes down, imagine that. Since the Ogden Marathon on May 16th it has been a little high with an elevated pulse,(70s instead of the low 60s). I usually get between 6.5 to 7.5 hours sleep on a work night. Last night I got 8.5 hours sleep in and I felt wonderful this morning. My blood pressure was down to 117/79 and my pulse was 64, close to normal. I am going to do an experment and see how these reading go up or down with the amount of sleep that I get. My workout for Thursday: ran 6.18 miles in 70 minutes and burned 1099 calories. Now here is my problem. I ate good at work all day long. We went to an early movie this evening and I eat a medium popcorn, a large good n plenty, and part of a box of hot tomales. That is my dinner for the evening. Pretty much empty calories, nothing to rebuild my body. No vits., no minerals, no protein, just junk. I don't like soda so I only drank water. Need to try harder. till next time

When I workout and eat right I sure feel better about myself. I know this to be true from past experience. I know how I feel when I let myself down and eat the wrong foods. When I miss several workouts in a row. When I stay on track even turning 60 in 6 days don't seem so bad. I ran 6.15 miles which took me 70 minutes and burned 1110 calories. These runs are still hard because I am so over weight. I know if I keep it up the weight will come off and the running will become easier. Along with that I will feel better about myself. I ate good yesterday and the scale proved it. This morning I weighed 226 lbs. I have the Utah Valley Marathon on June 13th and would like to down to 220 lbs. 60 might not be to bad if I keep having days like yesterday.

Staying consistent

I have started this blog to help me cope with turning 60 years old. I have never had a problem with aging until now. Why 60? That was what I always considered being old. You are close to retirement and it seems that really big changes happen in the 60's. Some I am looking forward to, some not. I will use this space to write how I am dealing with life in the 60's. I will also use this space to write my daily exercises. I will write whether I have keep my eating under control or not. Today is June 1st, 2009 and I ran for 70 minutes covering 6.12 miles and burned 1100 calories. My weight today was 227 lbs. I am 5' 10" tall. So you can see that I need to lose a few pounds. I have ran 27 marathons since 1994, with many 5k's, 10k's, half marathons, several 50k's and two 50 mile mountain runs. As you can see I am an active man with an eating problem. I will use this site to try and put some sence to the bad habits I have fallen into over a lifetime. This is a start, until next time