Getting Really Close!

I'm getting "this close" to hitting my March goal of 4.5 miles in an hour. I say "in an hour" because to me, it sounds considerably better an 4.5 miles per hour. That doesn't impress anyone. Well yesterday went way better than I expected. I figured I would come close to the 4.33 that I hit two days ago. For lunch I did end up with a Whopper Junior, 4 nuggets, and small onion rings. I spent $3 and felt fine afterwards. It was a nice sized meal that didn't make me feel crappy afterwards. It doesn't sound healthy, and it really wasn't , but I've eat much worse lunches. I swear, if I had 30 seconds more on the treadmill I would have hit that goal plus eclipsed 600 calories too. Oh well, that's why we set goals, right? I look forward to meeting these goals as early as this weekend.

After a Day Off

Took yesterday off from running as Wednesday and Friday are the two days I don't run. It's a good thing too. Somehow when I was running on Tuesday, my sock was not up high enough on my heel and created a small blister. Just small enough to notice. The problem with blisters though, is that no matter how small, they still suck to get. I can feel it today and hope that it doesn't affect my running tonight after work. I am really looking forward to trying to beat 4.33 miles. I have no idea if I will, but right now I feel up to it. Legs feel pretty good today with the day of rest. I'll push myself hard tonight and try to get to 4.5 miles. We'll see what happens when I actually get on the treadmill though. Gonna have a light lunch today since I forgot to pack anything. Looks like my snacks that I have packed will end up being the lunch too! Oh well. At least I won't be full or have lunch hanging around in my stomach when I leave work.

Like Milkshakes? Try this!

Spring is here and it's time to continue a close watch on our weight and health. I know when the temperature starts to rise, I like to enjoy a cool shake! Don't deny your cravings, just do it right.

A couple tips. Use frozen fruit and skim milk for a great strawberry, blackberry, banana, or your favorite fruit shake. The frozen fruit gives the consistency of the hard ice cream. The skim milk keeps it fat free! You can also use a little vanilla extract for added flavor.

Here's a recipe for one of my healthy faves:
Choco-Peanut Butter-Banana Shake
1 cup skim milk
2 tbs chocolate Ovaltine
2 tbs Jif creamy peanut butter
2 ripe bananas-if not ripe, they won't give the desired flavor
1 tsp vanilla extract
5-6 ice cubes

Two More Records

This is the 4th straight day for me to set a personal high on the treadmill. New high for mileage and calories. I am at 4.33 miles in an hour now. This is 1.10 miles better than when I started only three weeks ago. I should definitely be able to get to 4.5 by the end of this month! I don't know what it is, but each day when I get done, I feel like I could have done just a tad more. Somewhere around 45 minutes in, I start to get in a groove and any cramping I have seems to die down.

How have I been eating? In a word, decent. Lately, I have been eating slightly less during the day. I have snacked on lighter things, like Jello and apples. For dinner, I've had salad three nights in a row with dinner. I had pasta last night. My wife makes a mean sauce. It's impossible to resist. I eat smaller portions for dinner than I was a few months back. Small steps. I keep telling myself that I am going in the right direction. As long as I'm running or getting exercise in some form, eat less, I feel like I am doing the right thing. Once I am getting five miles a day in on the treadmill, then I will focus on my core with crunches and sit-ups.

Last night's salad was a new concoction. If you're curious, this is what was in it:

• Romaine lettuce
• White onion
• Chopped Granny Smith apple
• A few dashes of red wine vinegar
• A small sprinkling of Cajun crunchy stuff (peanuts, corn nuts, sesame stick, etc)
• Ranch dressing

Tangy, zesty, crunchy, and nice robust flavor. Easy to make. You can substitute things in place of the Cajun stuff with things like onion straws, croutons, etc. If you want a nice additive to salad, try broken pieces of Doritos. Any flavor.

Starting the Day off Right

Well, at least as right as I could. Had a 12 oz orange juice and banana for breakfast. I try not to drink many calories if at possible. It's tough. I do have an orange juice a day with whatever I end up eating. I know, it's 140 calories right off the bat, but I love the flavor and it helps to get the vitamin C. I'll have some water in the next hour. I've got a green water bottle that holds 16 ounces for me. I try to get in about 4-5 of those a day on top of my meals. Some days I do better. The one thing I've been doing consistently is getting in 16 ounces before I even have my shoes on in the morning. It seems to help me curb any breakfast cravings. Obviously, the weekends are harder with days off work. Too easy to skip that part.

Treadmill Day

Spent an hour on the treadmill today. Been doing it for about 3 weeks now. I try to get to the gym at least 4 times a week if possible. So far, so good. When I first started running on the treadmill, I was getting around 3.25 - 3.5 miles in over the sixty minutes. Today was a new high for me. In fact, it replaced the high that I set just yesterday. I am now up to 4.21 miles in an hour. Now there are probably a ton of people out there that think that is an insanely easy number to hit. Well, it's not easy for me. In fact, I really have pushed myself the last two days. My personal goal is to be at 4.5 miles in an hour by the end of March. I definitely think that is possible, considering the progress I've made so far. I also keep track of the calories I burn just to see how I do. I burned 560 calories today. That seems like a crap load to me until I get home and remind myself how easy it is to add calories back on. For instance, my wife bought me some chocolate from the store that has lemon in it. She knows that I love to try new stuff out, especially drinks and snacks. I love LIMITED EDITION stuff. Well anyways, one square piece of chocolate is 90 calories. How aggravating is that!?

With tomorrow being Monday, I will stop at the gym on the way home. I'm not sure if I have three straight days of setting new highs, but we'll see how it goes. Last week I went a few days in a row and I started noticing that I was cramping in my calves more than I expected. I started eating more bananas to increase my potassium. Hopefully thi spays off. Today was nice. My legs feel a little heavy tonight as I type this. Be back tomorrow with an update.