New Goal: Half Marathon

So...I've decided that I want to train for a halfie! That's 13.1 miles. Am I nuts, you ask? Perhaps. But that's not the point.

The point is I'M DOING IT. Come hell or high water (or more likely injuries and bruised egos) I will do this. There is one race in particular I have my eye on.

The Battleship Half Marathon in Wilmington on November 3rd.

That gives me 7 months to train. Plenty of time!

This will be done.

A little Saturday Quad Action

All this running (and a month of Insanity) has done some good for my quads and hamstrings. I'm digging it. That is all.

Don't look at how messy my room is!

10k Day!

We did it! HealthyLittleMe and I ran our first 10k!

Finish Line photo op.

It was rainy, cold, and my hip flexor has been sore for weeks, but we did it! My pace was slower (around 11.10 minutes per mile) than usual - I was trying not to exhaust myself right out of the gate - and I finished at 1 hour 11 minutes. I'm not proud of that time (it's not a PR) but I am proud that I finished the race with my head held high, ran the entire race, and went through with it after it poured and with my hip flexor issues.

Tomorrow should be fun. A 5k that a lot of our friends are running is tomorrow morning. I hope I can walk by then!

PS: I post regularly on Herecomeshealthylittleme.blogspot.com if you miss me too much ;)

Peep Show

I love my mom.
She is a strong, intelligent, caring woman. But right now, I'd like to kill her.
She sent me marshmallow Peeps for Easter.
2 GIANT packages.
I've almost destroyed one already.

My name is Sam, and I'm addicted to sugar.

I purposefully do not buy sweets because if they enter this house it's ALL I think about until it's gone.
You know those people who buy a candy bar and eat half of it and stick in the fridge? Yeah, I loath you. I've attempted it and it's like something out of a Poe short story.

I hear the thing in the fridge saying "EAT ME... EAT ME NOW" and I often listen to sugary treats with a menacing voice.

I think I'll donate the last package to... some grad students or maybe that dude near the Waffle House that walks around with a sleeping bag.

The 5 Miler

I did something I've never done today.
I ran 5 miles.
That's right. 5 miles.
I'm not a fast runner, or a graceful runner, but I did it. And so can YOU.

I can't even put it into words, I'm just proud of my accomplishment.

Get moving!

ATTN: Blog Re-Route!

I'm terrible at blogging.

But you all knew that, right?

In spite of my crappy attendance at my own blog, my wonderful friend and I have decided to "co-blog" on her blog site, HereComesHealthyLittleMe. I have a feature every Saturday there called "see Sam run Saturdays". I will be living there permanently because, lets face it, I suck at updating my own blog regularly.

But to bring everyone up to speed, this is what has happened since we last chatted...

• I ordered and began the Insanity workout. It is, indeed, INSANE. I'm about 3 weeks in and have decided to add running back into my routine a few days a week in addition to the work outs. Yes, I said running. (PS- I have baby biceps and I'm stoked about it!)

• I have been running again. *GASP* last week I logged something like 12 miles. I ran 4.2 miles yesterday and my legs/feet feel great. I think Insanity has a little something to do with that.

• I signed up for a 5k in April with HealthyLittleMe mentioned above and I'm considering a 10k that takes place the following day. She's doing it. I want to. But it sounds completely nuts. 

• I'm finished with data collection for my thesis and should be writing as we speak, but I'm procrastinating and that's how I ended up here in the first place, updating my pathetic excuse for a blog.

So that's that and please follow HereComesHealthyLittleMe, she's far more entertaining than I and she updates like every week, sometimes everyday. I know, over achiever.

Oh, uh, hey 2013 *whistles and looks away*

Oh hey... totally didn't forget about you for almost two months. I also totally didn't purposefully neglect you because I haven't begun to think about running since what I now call "the foot incident." So much, forgive me, complete SHIT has happened since we last chatted. Our house got broken into. Bad, right? Nah, we have renter's insurance. Sure, sure, the feeling of violation and the mess was enough to make me want to punch a baby, but most everything can be replaced. They stole my MacBook. No biggie, renter's insurance covers that, right? Yeah, for the most part. Except my thesis was on that Mac and of course I didn't have it all backed up someplace else. That's right. I will have to....

START OVER.

I'm not too proud to admit that I let this chaos consume me and drag me down, and let's be honest, gave me the perfect excuse to say "screw this, I'm just too busy!" Ugh. Oh and I am no longer lecturing at the University since all this happened. Which pisses me off, too.
Now that the semester is back in full swing and I have a bit of a routine I've been adding in gym time. Right now I'm concentrating on cardio. I'm hoping that it will prepare me for running again when weather permits. And, I'll be honest again (what is with me today?!) I'm a bit gun shy on the ol' running game. My shin splint, my tendon strain... is somebody trying to tell me something? I bought new running shoes. Which, apparently, if you under pronate you need these little plasticy (?) web things in the arch of your shoe for stability. The shoes with supportive, plasticy, web things also happen to be the fugliest shoes man has ever made. Oh well, nobody is judging me on the aesthetics of my footwear, and if they are, screw them. I bought some hideous plain white Saucony stability running shoes. And guess what, I haven't run in them yet. BUT I have gone to the gym in them and they seem pretty... stable. What am I suppose to say? They're shoes, most shoes (unless they're made of metal, wood, or some other material that make for awful shoes) they feel fine for now.

My routine as of late consists of 30 mins on the elliptical (on a weight loss interval) and 30 mins rowing on the row machine (with a resistance at the highest level). Right now I'm burning around 600-620 calories per hour, which I suppose is good. Beats the hell out of sitting on the couch, am I right? But I have sorta fallen in love with rowing. I think I would be good at actual rowing or crew. I have strong legs, I like the constant rhythm, and it's an outdoor activity. Who knows if I actually would be decent at real rowing, but I like to pretend I'm an untapped Olympic potential.

Well now that we've gotten reacquainted, blog and blog people, let's restart the journey together, shall we?