Blog: Social Oil

These are for Thursday and Sunday runs, with two off days from running in between: Thursday Distance: 2.77 Time: 30:18 Average: 10:55/mile Sunday Distance: 3.62 Time: 40:35 Average: 11:13/mile

This morning's run had its good and band parts. Good: I pushed myself, and my pace was pretty good. Bad: I was supposed to go 2 miles today, but instead only went 1.66 miles because I had to use the bathroom. C'est la vie, I suppose. Tomorrow it's back up to 2.5 miles before 3.5 on Sunday. Distance: 1.66 Time: 16:55 Pace: 10:14

It was cool this morning, so I threw on my long-sleeved shirt, and hit the streets. I was only supposed to go 2.5 miles, but I went a little bit further to get back home. Nothing drastic, just a quarter of a mile. And the pace is still improving, which is nice to see. Distance: 2.77 miles Time: 30:42 Average: 11:04/mile

Saturday called for 40 minutes of cross-training, which I ended up not doing. This is not a great thing for me to do if I want to be successful at this, but I'm still 2 weeks off from getting into the actual training program. I shouldn't justify, but still... Sunday was a 3 mile run, and the weather was not cooperative for me to run outside, so I went to the gym and did it. Not too bad - just picked a pace in between what I'd been doing outside, and did it. Didn't [...]

The thing about running outside is that it's very seldom a clean 2 miles, or 2.5 miles or whatever distance I'm looking to run. So today, I ended up going 2.14 miles. I don't think a bit more distance will kill me. My average time is still a lot better than it was even a week ago. I think it's a product of both getting used to running outside, as well as just getting better at the whole running thing. Distance: 2.14 miles Time: 24:03 Average: 11:13

This past Sunday, which was supposed to be my long run for the week, ended up being a disappointment. I measured my route on walkjogrun.com, and screwed something up, so I really only ended up running just over half of what I was supposed to. That's no one's fault but mine. I didn't measure the time that day either, so the only thing I know is that my distance was 1.64 miles. Monday was strength and stretching, so I went to the gym and did some work on the circuit machines. Tuesday and [...]

Today called for 40 minutes of cross training, but since today is gorgeous here, my girlfriend and I decided to go to for a run outside. Nothing intense, just a quick mile and a half around our neighborhood, and then another mile walk. I probably did about 35 minutes total, and it was nice to run outside. I don't pace myself well when I run outside, so it's good practice. Tomorrow is my long run for the week - 3 miles - and I think I'm going to go back to the gym for it. [...]

Fridays during the program call for rest, so I am going to enjoy it. With the long weekend, and the weather nice (and the girlfriend going to see Sex and The City 2 with her mother and sister), I'm going to meet up with my pals and have a couple of beers. Sounds excellent. Tomorrow calls for 40 minutes of cross, which is whatever I want it to be. I'm thinking elliptical. I hope everyone has an excellent long weekend.

Distance: 2 miles Time: 25:35 No weight again tonight since I ran after work. I also walked a half a mile, for another 8:14 added to the time.

I ran after work today, so I'm not weighing myself. Distance: 1.5 miles Time: 19:13 I also walked an extra half mile, which added another 8 minutes to the total.

Despite my dislike for running, it leaves its effects where they're easily seen - in the form of my losing 15 pounds since I started in January. If I had stuck with it after the Running of the Green, I might have lost more to this point, but that's neither here nor there. My pal who just finished the Cleveland Half Marathon was debating between doing the Rochester Half or the Akron Half in September, and so, in an effort to get his ass up here, I agreed to do it with him. This is probably the best/worst [...]

Mondays during this training call for strength and stretching, so I did my stretching, but skimped on the strength training. This might be a bad idea in the long run. I don't know. I don't think I'm to the point where I can or should make judgement calls; I should just stick to what the training calls for. This morning, however, was the worst day I've had with this program. Maybe it will help to say exactly what I do when I go to the gym before I get into why I think it was so horrible: [...]

The weekend training wasn't horrific. Our gym got new equipment – some new ellipticals, a few new treadmills – so we made use of those. On Saturday I did the new elliptical for 15 and the new treadmill for 15, and both we're pretty nice. Then yesterday was the long run. My girlfriend always says that I think too much when I run, which might be true, but I planned my attack of the 2.5-mile run beforehand. I warmed up at 3.5 for a quarter-mile, then ran a lap each at 4.3, 4.5 and 4.8, and then ran [...]

Wednesday was a cross training day, and I opted not to jog, since it always seems like it just ends up being another 2 mile run for me. I can't work to slow myself down. So, I went with the elliptical, which is my mechanical enemy. I've just never been able to get into it. But, I went for 30 minutes and actually didn't mind it too much. I thought I was going to make it 15, but I stuck it out and did OK. Thursdays are always a 2 mile run in this training, and I went [...]

Sunday's run was the best I'd felt while running since starting last week. I went 32 minutes (which seems to be my personal time) and went about 2.13 miles. I stayed consistent in my speed, and that enabled me to run about 25 minutes total. Monday called for strength training and stretching, and we ended up skipping it since we both had horrible days at work. Not the best excuse, but we did make up for it by getting up at 5AM today and going to the gym. In my daze of being up so early, I forgot [...]

Despite my lack of posting of the past couple of days, I can assure everyone that I actually did the training I was supposed to. Thursday called for another 2 miles, Friday was a rest day, and this morning was another cross-training day. Thursday I alternated speeds - starting higher and then working backward - and ended up with 2.1 miles in 32 minutes. This morning I stayed constant - right in the middle - and was able to run the same amount that I did on Thursday, and run for a sustained amount of time. I think it's important [...]

Last night's session wasn't bad. The order was for 30 minutes of cross-training - whether that be swimming, elliptical, cycling or jogging. The girlfriend went with the elliptical machine, but I went with a split of cycling and jogging, despite my determination not to jog. It actually worked out well, and I went about 1.5 miles in 25 minutes on the treadmill. I didn't push very hard, so I actually (surprisingly) enjoyed it. What I am learning is that I need a new running mix. I've had the same one for about 2 months now, and it's getting [...]

Last night I got myself back on the treadmill at the gym (which is still filled with people who resolved to get in shape, by the way) and ran for a while. I don't have the greatest stamina, but the program said to go for 2 miles. There wasn't a specific mandate to run the entire way, so I ran for what I could, walked when I couldn't, and made it about 2.1 miles in 32 minutes. That's no great shakes. In fact, it's pretty terrible. But it was Day 1. It will be interesting to see how that time [...]

I've been toying with the idea of starting Social Oil again for a while now, but to talk about anything else that comes out of my head that doesn't have to do with music – politics, pop culture, baseball, etc. I write about music over at my other site Tympanogram , and I write about it a lot. But there's more to me than that. Today I am starting training for a 5-mile race on Saturday, March 13 - Johnny's Runnin' 'o' the Green. (I actually don't know if it's "of" or "o.") I've never been a big [...]

Over the past month and a half or so, I've had a hell of a time watching this blog grow. Around the same time that I started taking this a bit more seriously, my pal Dave started a blog of his own. Our shared passion for music has birthed an entirely new site, titled Tympanogram . There will be more frequent updates, different takes on music we both enjoy, and an overall more complete spectrum of the music scene, since our tastes differ somewhat. So, update your feeds, resubscribe, whatever over at the new site. I'll be [...]