raulgonemobile

Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:33:00 +0000

So, yesterday, I decided I should make a plan.

The plan was to answer this: What's my race schedule for the year? What the hell am I doing?

Starting backwards, my spring goal is a half marathon on 5/6. Registered, paid. Now I just need to train for it.

There's a 15K on 3/25. OK, that will be my gauge for pacing. 9 miles, should be doable. I just signed up and paid for that one. Bam.

So, after that, it was making a list of the weekends between now and 5/6, and making a stab at the long run length. My mid week runs have been pretty consistent: one hill run, of 4.5 miles, and one "whatever my body feels like" run, of 4-5 miles. I'll try slowly ramping up the long run on Sunday, with some cut back weeks, and we'll see if that gets me there.

To make it more official, I threw the races into a list on the blog, and that's that.

After the spring is done, I don't know what I'm doing yet. I have something small planned for the end of June, but nothing for the fall. I think the smart plan is to wait and see how I'm doing in May, and decide from there. There's plenty of time to recover and then ramp up for something if desired.

Part of my problem is that Mrs. Raul gets Saturdays.. That in of itself not a big deal, because I usually get a night out every week. However, almost all of the local races are run on Saturday mornings. Sigh. Maybe that's a good thing, so that I'm not running a 5K every week. This will force me to pick a certain goal, and then plan for it..

Ah well, the weekends are plotted through the beginning of May now. That's a respectable start.

Keep on rockin..

Long cold gu

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:10:00 +0000

Well, yesterday was winter here. Honest to goodness snow, cold, and general disgustingness.

Hooray for me, that it was my scheduled long run day! Sigh. I debated all morning, looking for a valid excuse to not go. Sadly, reason and common sense did not win out. There was a brief break in the snow, so I bundled up and trucked on out there.

Holy shizzballz, it was freaking cold. The wind just bit. My winter running hat transforms into a balaclava, and in 2.5 years of winter running, I've never once tried it in that format. Until yesterday. I must admit, that helped quite a bit (except my glasses fogged up, but whatevs)

I was pretty excited about the run to start, as it was the first time I was going to try a Gu. Yes, I'm a Gu virgin. I rolled to my local Dick's store last week and picked up a handful of various gels, just to try them out. (and I just used Dick's, gels, and virgin in close proximity. *snicker*)

I had planned on running 8 miles, with the Gu at 5 miles in. As I trudged along, I needed something to look forward to, so I moved that Gu up to mile 4. Not much to report at this point, except the wind sucked. Slow pace maintained, as desired. I took an out and back route, different than the 2 loop route I had originally intended. My thinking was that if I did 2 loops, I would probably call off the second loop. lol

Anyways.. Mile 4, Gu time. Let me tell you, I've certainly had worse than that strawberry-banana creation. It was thicker than I imagined, but palatable (as pure sugar often is). Flavors and other advice on this sort of thing are welcome here..

So, heading back. That break in the snow ended, and it started coming down. I was "that guy", outside, running in the snow. What a nut job.

My left knee has been holding up very well the last couple of weeks, but both of them were getting a bit creaky on me around 6.5 miles. I mixed in some walk breaks and managed to grind through. 8.01 miles done, a 10 minute-something second pace all the way through.

No issues last night from the run, and today, I have general muscle fatigue, but nothing alarming. I'll call it a success. I think the creakiness is just due to me not being used to those distances yet, plus the cold.

I found that I wasn't as lightheaded, fatigued, and just generally feeling weird when I got home, and I attribute it to that little packet of nutrition mid run. Looking forward to trying some more of them..

That's all for now.. Keep on rockin

Recovery week, food

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:11:00 +0000

Well, it was a recovery week this week in Casa Raul. I've been training pretty hard, so I took a lighter week in running. The long run was a 5 miler, and I knocked off the hill run. 2 runs, 2 rest days, and some chest/back/arm work. No aches or pains or anything like that, so I'm ready to go for this week.

Mrs. Raul had the real recovery week.. She went and had her gallbladder out, poor gal. Apparently the pain of the laproscopic air they pump into you was worse than labor. The pain scale was thusly redefined. I did what I could do though, and make myself generally available and supportive and all of that good stuff.

I got a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas and busted it out this week.. My first project was.. bread! Who doesn't like bread? The output was:

And, I must say, it was pretty tasty. I paired it with a homemade garden vegetable soup, and made a pretty decent meal:

The mixer.. holy cow. That thing is a dream.. My mind started going... white cake, yellow cake.. chocolate cake.... italian herb bread... irish soda bread.. hot cross buns.. I need to give this some thought and make a plan!

Tonight, I rocked out some pizelles (also using the mixer):

Last but not least, inspired by a post from a while back that I never tried from Sassy Molassy, I cooked up a no-noodle veggie lasagna, using eggplant as the noodles:

This week is back to the full workout schedule, and Mrs. Raul appears to be well on her way to ~~her usual antics~~ recovery. All is well. Keep on rockin..

The long run

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:07:00 +0000

OMG. I'm excited. I think it's coming back... The long run.

As I put in my last post, I just love the long run. The clarity that my mind gets after 6, 8, and more miles. It's a trippy experience getting there, mind you, but eventually, everything goes away. It's one shoe in front of the other, and I can just go. Seemingly forever.

So, last Sunday, I was scheduled for a long run. I went for it. My previous long run of the "modern" era (read: the last 8 months) was 6 miles. A painful 6 miles. Knee acting wonky, no cardio sustainability. Bleh.

I went for 7. A 5 mile out and back, followed by a 2 mile out and back. I said, if the knee acts up, I can pull it in to 5 miles and still have something decent to write down. 5 miles went strong, so I went up the hill (what asshat puts the hills at the end of the run? Note to self, fire route planner. Err.. Well, plan better at least)..

I got those 2 miles done. They weren't the prettiest, as I was feeling generally worked pretty hard. However, the knee stayed together, the cardio was working for me, and they got knocked down.

Fast forward to a week later...

Bam! Same route done, but stronger. Tacked on a little extra too. No pain that night, and just general muscle tightness in my legs the next day.

Granted, 7 isn't an ultra marathon or anything, but I am stoked. Stoked, stoked, stoked.

I'm cutting back the miles this week for a few reasons, but it coincides with a recovery week. I am doing my damnedest this time around to train smarter. Thus far, knock on wood, it seems to be working.

I knocked out P90X legs & back tonight. Minus the pullup bar, but it was a ~~good~~ insane set of leg exercises. The weather is unseasonably warm (50 degree weather at the end of January?!? That's 20 degrees warmer than normal), so I really hope to get out there tomorrow to do some sort of run.

Keep on rockin'...

Tagged by the number 11

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:22:00 +0000

I've been tagged.. Thanks joyRuN! Like you said, at least it's content for the blog...

Here's the rules:
1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

(Ack! #6!)

OK, getting started. 11 random things.

1. I love coffee. We (Mrs. Raul and myself) used to have "big mug day" on the weekends. (The mugs being 16-20 ounces). Since Mini-Raul was born, every day has become big mug day, out of necessity. I'll have a mug with breakfast, a 24 ounce "to go" mug to get to work, and a few cups at work. When I get home, probably another brew then.

2. The other morning, I had 80 ounces of coffee.

3. Mini-Raul drinks coffee. I honestly can't remember when he didn't. I think he probably started at around 6 months. 2 years later, and he's still doing it. I guess this isn't about myself. Ah, but I'm his parent, and condone the behavior, so now it's about me.

4. The last concert I saw was They Might Be Giants. I think that was 3 months ago.. time to go to another concert..

5. The next set of books I'm reading are the Bourne series.

6. In high school, I could bench press more than I weighed. I have no idea what I can bench press now.

7. I have currently given up on Facebook. I don't know if I'll reactivate my account. I do miss some social context about what's going on in my little circles, though.

8. I used to have shoulder length hair. I'm down to whatever the smallest guard is on my trimmer now. lol

9. I hit my 25% this morning.

10. I really like the P90X videos. I haven't done many of the weight ones, as I really don't have any dumbbells/bands or a pullup bar, but the cardio/core/yoga ones, I really like.

11. I'm glad I'm blogging again.

And, to the questions posed by nurse joyRuN:

What are your go-to excuses? I probably need a rest day.
What’s your favorite WOD or running workout (distance/tempo/speedwork)? I love a distance workout. I'm only just getting back into the long distances, but I love it when my mind goes in all sorts of weird places when I'm alone on my long run. What I like even more is when it stops, and my mind is just clear, and it's me and the road.
Do you track your dietary intake? Yes. A necessary evil as part of Weight Watchers. I'm trying the TrainingPeaks thing, but not sure if I can stick with it. But calculating the WW points is within my daily tolerances.
What’s your favorite healthy meal? Anything involving me grilling. Grilled chicken, grilled tofu, grilled veggies, etc.
What’s your favorite cheat meal? Bar food. Loaded cheese fries and a burger, or something to that effect. Plus some beer to wash it down, and some more beer just to have.
Any nagging injuries that worry you? My left knee. Something isn't quite right, but it's getting better.
What book would you recommend? I just finished 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'. I recommend the first book in the series, but you can take or leave the next two. They're good, but not as good as the first.
Have you ever been hospitalized? If so, how were your nurses? Thankfully, no. I think nurses are often overlooked and deserve more credit and praise than they get, though.
What look is more appealing to you? Designer well put together chic or a fit body dressed in workout clothes? The latter. I don't know chic, anyways.
What’s your resting heart rate? 61 this morning.
If you had no financial/physical limitations whatsoever, what would you do? Quit my job. Volunteer at the zoo to build things (railings, paths, etc). I'm not the guy to take over the animal care, but I can do some reasonable damage with a saw and a drill. I'd also like to be an usher at the baseball stadium.

So, 11 new questions:

1. Favorite obscure movie? (And why..)

2. Favorite kitchen appliance? (And why..)

3. Favorite Olympic sport?

4. What method(s) do you use to make time for yourself?

5. Favorite alcoholic beverage (if beer, be specific. :) )

6. Why do you blog?

7. What is one place you've always wanted to travel to, but haven't made it there yet?

8. What's your take on reality TV?
9. Favorite band?
10. Mac or PC?
11. Favorite season to work out in?

11 Tagees chosen at random from my reader:

1. AKA Alice
2. Lauren
3. MCM Mama
4. Lily On The Road
5. Carly
6. Sassy Molassy
7. Amanda
8. Aron
9. Mrs. Busy Girl
10. Sun Runner
11. Nancy

Phew.. That was a lot of work. Alright all, keep on rockin!

Week 3 report

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:07:00 +0000

A long week at work. Wow.

Workout wise, I did OK for the week:

Saturday - Run
Sunday - Yoga X.
Monday - 6 week 6 pack
Tuesday - Icy hill run
Wednesday - Cardio X, indoor walk
Thursday - Run, indoor walk
Friday - Rest

That Yoga X DVD from P90X. Holy shit. Never tried it before, thought I'd give it a whirl. It's an hour and a half.. The first half is all Vinyasa movements, Warrior I, II, Reverse Warrior, etc. The second half is various balance poses and stretches. The balance poses come as a welcome relief. It's a heck of a workout, and I was sore the next day.

Thursday I busted out the foam roller, and I think I went a little too crazy. I took Friday off. lol

No weight loss for the week (weigh-ins on Saturday mornings), but I think that's partly due to me nearing the bottom, as well as hitting the pizza and beer on Friday night with the guys.

I'm working on doing some leg strengthening exercises, hoping that fixes my knee issue. I think it's either a bad pair of shoes, or a muscle imbalance (or both). I'm fairly certain it's not ITBS. It may be patella-femoral pain, but I don't know. Side story about that:

6-7 years ago, I would be sitting at work, go to stand up, and as I straightened my leg, it would hurt bad. Serious bad. Close to throw up bad. Occasionally, I'd straighten my leg in my sleep, and the pain would shoot me awake. I went to the doctor, and he quickly pulled out a sheet of exercises, and said my quads were too weak. I scoffed in my mind, but went and followed his advice. Lo and behold, after strengthening my quads, that went away. I've learned not to knock the imbalance.

Fast forward to today, I don't do a lot of quad work. My knees always crack after bending them, so I'm hoping that's all this is. I don't have the shooting pain, though. Sigh. It's always something. :)

Keep on rockin'...

Calf issue? I think not.

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:15:00 +0000

So, earlier I thought I had some muscle imbalance. I thought some calf problem was leading to my knee acting up.

Wrongo-dongo! Good news, bad news. I found out the source of my calf problem, and of another problem spot. Bad news, knee isn't quite right yet.

Know what it was?

Check the pics:

Yep, my right knee was pushing into my left calf, and along the inside of my leg. A couple of weeks after this discovery, the calf is 100% better. And yes, that ugly foot does belong to me.. lol. Keep on rockin'..

Fifty

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:44:00 +0000

I debated writing about this. I really don't go around talking about this. If someone asks me directly, I'll cough up the info, but that's it. I do want a little feedback though, and I'll get to that at the end. Plus, this is a fitness blog, so it's not unrelated.

Well.. Here it is:

Max - 50 = Now

I've lost 50 pounds. Holy shit. I honestly had no idea I had put on 50 pounds of fat. Another 1.75 pounds, and it will be 25% of my weight lost. (Feel free to run the math there if you want, I'm putting it out there.)

I'm armed with a bathroom scale of the spinning dial variety. No body fat analysis, no digital, just an old-school scale. I weigh in every Saturday morning when I get up, and dutifully write it down.

The whole general "eat less, drink less" was working, but I switched it up to doing Weight Watchers and have been rockin' it since.

Now though, I'm starting to get shit. "Geez, you aren't going to lose more, are you?" Blah blah. This isn't a vanity thing. I'm not going shirtless at the beach here. I truthfully haven't felt this good in, well, ever? I haven't weighed this weight in.. 15 years?

I do realize that I'm fortunate.. In 8 months, I dropped 50 pounds. It was work, but nothing terrible. I've certainly worked harder on worse things. I know people struggle to lose just a little. Food is not really my demon. (I prefer to drink mine). My wife is doing WW, and she's doing great. But it's hard for her. I see the battle, though, and realize what I've done.

So, now... I'm kind of just winging it. I can run 3 days a week, and do some DVD workouts the other days and still bring an 'A' run/workout (as much as I can bring an 'A' in a workout). I'm not dragging, I'm not obsessing about food. It's this that makes me think my body is fine with the weight loss. I've still got visible fat I can lose.

That brings me to my desired feedback...
I don't know where I'm going. I have no idea what my ideal body weight is. (That's partly why I'm reading 'Racing Weight'). All I can do is listen to my body. When it says "enough", I'll try to level out. Thoughts? Opinions?

Keep on rockin...

2012, Week 2

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:37:00 +0000

Week 2 was a reasonable success. Ate well, worked out a bit:
- Saturday was a long run, about 6 miles.
- Sunday was Kenpo X and Ab Ripper X
- Monday was an easy run
- Tuesday was DVD time with Jillian
- Wednesday was a hill run
- Thursday was Yoga Meltdown with Jillian
- Friday was an indoor walk.

The long run went well. My knee felt good until the 4th mile, and then it started feeling like it had gristle in it. Nothing too serious, but I did some walk breaks and stretching periodically. It started feeling funny around mile 3 on Monday too. It's not the pain I had with ITBS, but it does feel a little odd. I have a theory, and I'm working on it. The hill run went great though.

The yoga was fun. I really see how it can help strength and flexibility. I suck at it, but I've only done it a few times, so that's expected. I do wonder if just learning via DVDs will lead me to bad habits, but poor yoga is still better than no yoga, I suppose.

Mrs. Raul did me a solid.. In her travels out and about, she picked up some more running clothes for me:

It's a little washed out, but 2 black jackets, a pair of black pants, and a blue shirt (dark blue, but you wouldn't know it from this shot). Target, C9 stuff. Awesome.

Meal wise, nothing too crazy this week. Had a pot roast that I rocked out in the crock pot. Oh, and a broccoli-cheddar quiche. It turned out good, even using fat free milk.. I was worried it would be runny, not having the heaviness of the cream, etc. Regardless, I think next time, I'm going to go with a crust-less one.

My UPS guy came tonight and brought me something from Amazon. Always a fun day! Tonight it was the book 'Racing Weight' by Matt Fitzgerald. My man Carolina John recommended it, so I'm going to give it a read. I'll let you know what I think. So far, my beef is this: What, no Kindle version??

We had the first snowfall of the year.. Only a couple of inches, but it's enough to make winter running a real pain in the ass, what with the ice and darkness and all. Going to brave it tomorrow, I think. One small upside to global warming is that it's mid January and it's only now becoming winter.

That's all for now. Keep on rockin'

2012, Week 1

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 22:01:00 +0000

Well, I'm going to try to be better about blogging. Not only in the frequency of blogging, but putting a little more visual interest (e.g. pictures) in the post.

This past week was pretty good fitness-wise:
- Saturday was my resolution run 5K
- Sunday was Cardio-X and Ab Ripper-X DVDs
- Monday was a run, about 4 miles.
- Tuesday it got balls cold outside. 30 day shred DVD. Indoor 3 mile walk
- Wednesday, still cold as hell. Ripped in 30 DVD. Indoor 3 mile walk.
- Thursday - Appointments and the like, so I booked it as a rest day
- Friday - Jillian's 6 pack abs DVD. A 45 minute walk outside, it finally warmed up.

I wanted another run in there, but it just wasn't happening. The single digits don't do much for me.

I also tried out my Christmas present from this year: Weight Watchers cook books.. The first guest up was this:

Vegetable spring rolls.. Those are some carrots, scallions, and green peppers wrapped up in rice paper wrappers. The dipping sauce is carrot juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and ginger. Overall, tasty, but probably should be used as a side dish or appetizer. My presentation needs a little work, too, looking at this picture.

It also gave me a chance to try a kitchen implement I haven't used yet.. The food processor. A few years back, I received a blender/food processor combo. I've used the blender (pretty much solely for margaritas and the like), but never did anything with the processor. It's not a full size, but it shredded those carrots like nothing else. Loud as hell, but it got the job done.

That's it for the week.. Keep on rockin.

2012

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:12:00 +0000

So, 2011 was a success. What is on tap for 2012?

1) Continue with weight loss. I'm not sure how far I'm going. All I know is that I'm going to listen to my body. Right now, the weight is still coming off, without a lot of sacrifice on my part. I know a lot of people wish they could say the same in their weight loss struggles. I am eating less, and I still feel fine- I can still function normally, and work out on top of it. Once it really slows down, I'll probably call that the bottom.

2) Break 25 minutes in a 5K. I think regular running will get me there. Adding a little more speedwork during the year, and more miles in general should do it.

3) End of March - a 15K.

4) Big news. Beginning of May....I'll spill it now.. a half marathon. I'm actually registered and all!

I debated running one at the end of 2011, but I figured playing it safe and not doing too much too fast was the way to go. My knee still gets a little off around 5-6 miles. I believe it's not a knee issue, but more of a muscle imbalance in the leg and calf. More leg exercises and cross training for me. That's the only thing that worries me.. Right now, I'm maxed at 5-6 miles. Hopefully that clears up soon so I can get up to the right mileage.

5) Early July. Hopefully something new. Not a marathon.. that's all you'll get for now. :)

6) More cross training. I tried out a couple of the P90X discs, and they're solid. I'm not doing the program, but they are good workouts on off running days. When the weather warms up, I'll do some biking. I think mixing it up and doing more than just running has helped my running and overall health.

After that, I don't know. In mid-June there's a 20K. July is the Boilermaker. In November another half marathon. I'm going to gauge me running those based on how I do with #s 3 and 4. The 15K is going to be my trial run for the half marathon. Figure I can try out my race pace and see how I do, do a recovery week, and then do a 10-12 mile run to ensure I'm up for the distance. If all goes well there, I'll do some other race of about that distance this year.

Those are my plans. What are yours?

Keep on rockin'!

Resolution Run, 2011 review

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 02:41:00 +0000

Yeah, so I haven't been blogging much. I'll see about changing that. That's a post for another day.

2011, December 31st. Last run of the year. Turns out, there's a local resolution fun run. Clock timed, which is new from the past (they really try to keep it a 'fun' run). This is the same track I did my last (and only) race this year, early on in my comeback (that time was 30:01).

The weather was a comfortable 44 degrees, and it must have encouraged a lot of people to come out, because the park was packed. I paid my cash, looked around to see who I knew, and I got ready.

I came into this race with the following goals:
1) Finish. Healthy.
If I did that, it was a success.

2) Next goal was to beat my previous time.

3) Next goal was to go sub-27 minutes.

4) Final stretch goal was to go sub-25.

I haven't done any timings or anything like that this year. I've solely been running based on how I feel. I did dig up the Garmin for this race though, just for the sole purpose of dialing it back in the initial push, making sure I didn't go faster than 8:00/mile. The course is generally flat, but has a slight slope down in the first 3/4 mile. (And, since it's an out-and-back, a corresponding slope up in the final stretch).

I lined up, the gun went off, and away I was. The course was absolutely packed.. The path was pretty narrow until a mile into it, and I couldn't get into a solid groove until then.. Just a lot of people around. After a mile, the path got a little wider, and everyone had slid into the appropriate slots relative to one another (and most importantly, relative to me! :) ).

At 1.2 miles, I saw the leaders coming back at me. Damn, I was never that fast.. Looked like a trio of high schoolers. lol

Most of my running has been run-walk, Galloway-style. Today I felt really good, and just kept with it. At 1.5 miles, my breathing was consistent and, more importantly, sustainable. I thought about taking a walk break at the turn around, but just kept pushing. My pace had locked in around 8:30, and I was keeping it up.

Not much to report until the 2 mile marker, where I passed a guy I used to work with.. Fun, and I got a chance to catch up with him after the race. Looking at my watch at this point, I thought my stretch goal of 25 minutes *may* be attainable. I worked on keeping the same pace I was going for the uphill segments, and tried to speed up on the flatter parts. So I ran, and ran, and...

25:29. An outstanding performance. Most importantly, I ran the race I wanted to. I kept my pacing consistent, listened to my body, and arrived at the finish line and the end of 2011 healthy.

So, 2011. Over the past couple of years, I hadn't done much running at all. I did plenty of eating and drinking, and suffered the consequences of such a lifestyle. I did it to myself, I own that. It was one of those things I knew, but wasn't quite ready to face.

Looking at pictures from Mother's day pushed me over the edge. I started eating better, and started running in mid-May. Late in the summer, my wife started Weight Watchers, and after a couple of months of her doing that, I decided to join in too.

I now run about 3 days a week. Sometimes 4, sometimes 2. I try to cross train (typically via a workout DVD) to round it out to 6 workouts a week. The DVDs aren't perfect, but it is something.

At the end of the year, I'm down 46 pounds. I feel terrific. Food actually tastes better. My clothes now don't fit, and that's a good thing for once. I'm looking forward to buying new jeans and shorts.

I knocked 4:32 off of my 5K time, and can say I am running again.

I hope all of you had excellent 2011's, and I wish you all even better 2012's.

The stated point of the resolution run was to get people thinking about fitness and making new year's resolutions. I have made some, but...t hat is for the next post. Until then, keep on rockin'..

Diet and exercise

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:41:00 +0000

So, I decided I'd go all in.. Rather than doing the half-assed "I'll cut back" approach to eating (which WAS working, thankyouverymuch), I decided I'd join my wife doing Weight Watchers. The idea of writing down what I was eating and calculating the points and all seemed so... intriguing.. that I had to do it. I'm most of the way through my second week. I have been doing better in my food choices.. A couple of nights ago, I got home, and rather than eating chips or something to that effect, I grabbed an apple. Go me. I've been skipping various free food offerings at work. Eating more salad. On and on. And, yes. I'm hungry. lol I definitely am seeing weight come off.. The shorts are looser, the belly is smaller. (Get in my belly!) I've also been doing the 30 day shred thing now.. Not daily.. About 4 times a week.. I banged on level 1 for a couple of weeks and said "oh, sure, let's roll up to #2". Level 2 has totally been whipping my ass. I think I've been shredding for about a month now. It definitely is doing some good. I've also managed to squeeze in running two days a week. Pretty non-eventful runs, no real goals in mind.. The mid-week one is generally hilly, and the weekend one is generally "long". Long being around 4-5 miles. It's a start. There's a half marathon in May in the area, and maybe I'll work toward that. Losing weight is certainly helping the running.. doing the 30 day shred is helping too, just to even out the muscles in my legs a bit. So, all in all, it's a good start to a comeback. Certainly a well rounded approach to running now. Keep on rockin'!

A new direction

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 18:47:00 +0000

Well, it was a hell of a week here. Our area had record flooding, and shizz is totally messed up. We made it through fine, and are quite quite grateful. The fam made it through as well.. Just some friends that are under water, and certainly a lot of other people are as well. Our biggest problems were:
1) Boil water advisory. Inconvenient, but I am more than happy to live with that.
2) Mini-Raul has cabin fever. Inconvenient is putting it mildly.

So, to get caught up with where I am.. I ran the 5K Thursday a week ago, and promptly followed up with a run on Saturday. Awesome. Getting back into it!

I tweaked my back somehow while running, and later while I was screwing around with mini-Raul, I did a number on it even worse. I decided at that point that I really need to do some whole body conditioning. Rather than being a 200 pound weakling, I need to at least get some tone going, and some reasonable and appropriate strength in my core.

So, I couldn't run.. All of my routes were flooded, and it really wasn't safe to go in another direction. Swimming in the river water didn't seem like an appropriate way to start triathlon training.. What to do? What to do..

30 day shred. I'm on day 2. I must admit, it's a pretty decent workout. If this works, and I can keep up working out every day, I'll see what I can graduate on to next..

Keep on rockin..

Baseline

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:34:00 +0000

Well, I did it. Last night, I went out and did a 5K. I'm not in race shape, and it was obvious during my performance, but I'm really glad I did it. It was fun being around a pool of another 150 or so runners.

The course was generally flat.. some very small hills. It was at a local park, so there was no traffic to speak of.

I've started running totally by feel. I don't use my Garmin, I don't carry a watch of any sort.. Just go out and do what I need to do. I was curious how I would do racing, as I never did do a lot of racing.

The crowd was quite a mix. This was a run/walk 5K, so there were all kinds of people. They lined up based on where there was space in line. Not really the best plan, of course. The first quarter mile had a lot of weaving going on in order to not crash into people.

First mile, 9:28. OK.. Well, not what I used to be able to do a mile in, but not terrible, either. At this point I figured I was doing well, but maybe had gone out slightly fast.

Water station.. A friend of mine was volunteering at the race. Always fun to hear your name (plus get water!).

Turn around.. OK.. generally flat, with some uphills. Can. Do. This. Stop to walk, stretch out the knee and ITB a little bit.. carry on running.

Second mile, 19:21. Well, a bit slower, but not terribly off, pace-wise.

For the last quarter mile or so, I turned up the gas and ran faster.. I didn't want to snake out beating someone right in the last 5 seconds. I think I turned the gas up a bit too early, as I was ready to pass out a tenth of a mile away. :)

I saw the clock ticking up to 30 minutes.. 29:52, 29:53... Sprint.. must. get. under. 30.

Nope. 30:01. Ah well.

So, my pace slowed, but I stayed in the same ball park. Today, I have no additional pains from my body apart from the normal ones. One hamstring is tight, but nothing serious.. Should work out over the next couple of days.

Plus, I have a good baseline and will know how much I improve over time.

Two notable sights from the race:
- 2 people ran while pushing strollers. (One guy, one girl). I'm impressed. (The guy totally beat me, too)

- One guy was at the park, probably to work out.. his friends convinced him to run in the race, 2 minutes before it started. Yeah, he came in second.

I'm glad I did it. Just for something a little different.

Have a good long weekend, and keep on rockin'!

Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 14:23:00 +0000

Well, tonight after work, there's a 5K race. Decisions, decisions.

The pros are:
- A chance to race
- Not a long distance
- Run with people again

The cons are:
- I'm not in race shape
- I haven't trained to run anything like this

I've done some long runs of 5-6 miles over the past couple of months, and most runs are 4 miles a pop, so I can certainly *do* the distance. I think the pros are outweighing the cons right now.. 80/20 split on pro vs con.. We'll see what happens tonight.

The long road back

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:07:00 +0000

Hey everyone! Long time no write. Over a year. Wow.

Not saying that I can keep up the pace I used to, but I'm going to give this a go again.

Let's see, where to start? Well, mini-raul is now an exuberant 2 year old. He does not care to sleep through the night, but he has an endless reserve of energy. Truly a perpetual motion machine. I give mad props to all parents out there. I had no idea how difficult parenting would be (nor how rewarding).

As far as training goes, well, after he was born, it was a quick and steady decline into a sedentary lifestyle. At first it was eating the same without running, and then it became eating a bit worse without running, etc etc.

So, a few months ago, I hopped on the scale for the first time in 2 years. I quickly hopped off, and flipped it over to recalibrate it. Stepping back on, it turns out that the scale was accurately representing what I wasn't quite ready to admit, that I reached an all-time high. Not necessarily a good thing, there.

I started then, getting back into running. I was doing twice a week, but I'm now consistently running once on the weekends, and going for 2 or 3 walks a week. It's not what I used to do, but it is certainly better than nothing.

My wife has started Weight Watchers too, so I've started eating better as a result (or perhaps its because there's nothing to eat in the house?).. That's helping too.

So, fast forward to today, I'm down 12 pounds from the all time high, and starting to get back in shape.

Short term, I'd love to do something like P90X or even a 30 day shred sort of thing, but I don't think I can commit to working out every.single.day.

But, that's where I stand. I'll try to post a bit more, and stop around to the blogs a bit more.

Of course, keep on rockin'..

Running.. Finally

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Mon, 03 May 2010 15:44:00 +0000

I saw a commercial the other day from Dick's, which said that May was "National Runner's Month". I said to myself, well, that's as good of a reason as any to get back into the swing of it.

So, late Saturday morning, I turned to Mrs. Raul and said "I'm going to go for a run.". She gave me a quizzical/surprised/amused look and said "Oh, OK". So, I got all ready, and out I went.

I got on my way and started trying to remember the last time I actually did run. I did pretty good after mini-Raul was born. Of course, I wasn't working at the time, and freeing up 50 hours a week really opens up the schedule. Once I got back to work, things started to go downhill. So, I was able to convincingly say that I haven't run in 6 months, if I was being honest with myself. I thought about adjusting that to say, 7 months, but, I didn't want to be TOO honest.

I guess part of why I didn't run was that I was just scared to. It had been so long. What would my fitness be like? What was going to hurt? Would I tire out after a half a block? Sure, there was the scheduling issue, just trying to get that run in. With the days being longer now, that's not as big of a problem. The weather issue is a lot better now, I can't complain about it being too cold. It got the point that it was just *me* holding myself back.

So, I did a little short of 2 miles. Threw in some walk breaks to go Galloway-style, but I got it done. All in all, I was really frickin' happy. I had a good amount of muscle fatigue, but that was my main problem. I truthfully did far better than I ever imagined I would.

The next goal... doing it again. And not 6 months from now.

Keep on rockin'.

Daddy's Back

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:00:00 +0000

I'm back. (Or so I hope.)

I was --> <-- this close to saying, well, the blog is suspended until further notice. Then I started perusing my Google Reader, and I saw this post by Cindy, and I said to myself "That's not a bad idea. Let's call it a hiatus, and move on."

I enjoyed blogging, and I enjoy the friendships I've made while blogging. There's no reason to throw that out.

So, I figure that my old posting habits aren't going to stand up to my schedule right now.. so, I'll post when I can, hopefully twice a week or so like that. I probably won't be around to all of your blogs every day, but I will be around. I've lurked a little bit on everyone's blogs, but I have been out of the loop for a lot of things.

As far as what I'm going to write about, it's almost a new slate. My running has gone down to, well, zero. Let's be honest here. Zero. I have rode my bike on a trainer, oh, maybe 4 times this winter. That's an honest 4, at least. Of course, by not altering my dietary intake, but changing the exercise output, I've put on a few pounds over the last few months. Cruel, but predictable.

I want to get back to running. I've got the schedule crunch going, so I'm hoping to get 2 runs a week in starting at some point in the near future. I need to do some strength/flexibility training, as my legs just hurt any more, and need to become more limber.

I have started walking at lunchtime, though. A good 5K walk with some solid hills and the like. Hey, it's a start.

Future posts may be about running, perhaps a few on child raising and the mis-adventures thereof. I've started doing some cooking, maybe some thoughts on that.

So, here's to the end of a hiatus, and a new beginning. Keep on rockin'.

Wow

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:58:00 +0000

It's been more than two months since I've posted? Holy crap.

Well, it seems like it's been two months since I've ran. OK, it's not quite that bad, but it's pretty bad.

Same story goes as before. Work is keeping me busy, and when I get home, the little guy is doing the same. Between the two, blogging has just fallen off the scope. I don't want to bag it yet.. I'd really like to continue. You guys are an awesome group, and I'd like to keep hangin' with ya. So, keep me in the reader, and we'll see if this ship can get turned around soon.

As far as fitness goes, well.. I'm not doing too well. If I get one day of exercise in a week, it's a good week. Two days is absolutely stellar.

I realized that I'm not going to be getting my butt to the gym this winter. I just don't see the time existing. As a result, I'm trying out a bike trainer. A friend of mine is letting me borrow his for a bit, and if I like it, I think I'll spend some money on getting one. (Recommendations, anyone?)

Ideally, I'll bike a couple of times a week, and maybe going running once during the weekend, when it's light out. Realistically, well, if I can bike once a week, that'd be huge. Running just hurts right now. One ITB or the other, one foot or the other, etc etc. I'm hoping that some cross training and just building up the general fitness level helps some. It certainly isn't going to hurt. Right now, I just feel the fitness slipping away. Alas. (If only it was as hard to lose as it is to gain..)

At work, it's a constant battle of fighting for the job, making sure other people don't steal your assignment, etc etc. Political garbage. Blah. It's a job, and I'm glad to be employed, but.. blah.

At home, the little guy is doing well. We're emerging from the dark cloud of colic. There's still a bad spot here and there, but at least it's not constant. He's rolling over and generally interacting more, so that's pretty cool. It's amazing seeing him learn and develop. Truly amazing.

How's it going with you all? I haven't been around too much, and I apologize.

For all of the U.S. folks here, happy Turkey Day. For the rest of ya, have a day full of thanks for all that is good in your life. As always, keep on rockin'.

Running and Rye

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:10:00 +0000

Man, it's been a week since I posted anything. I haven't even been around to all the blogs to even read them. Ugh.

So, I got back to work, and guess what? They want me to actually *work*. That is totally cutting into my blogging time.

In the same vein is that work is cutting into my running time. When I was off of work, I could go running in the morning (yeah, right), the early afternoon, the evening.. whatever I felt like. Now, when I get home, if there's time, I'm not beat, and the stars align, I might be able to get a run in.

On Sunday I got out for a run at least.. It was actually my first one in a whole week. Killer week. I had a stretch goal of doing 7 miles, but I hoped for 5. I wound up settling for 4.25, because shizz was just hurting. Left ITB was bothering me (note to self: foam roll more often. Of course 'more often' implies I'm actually doing it at all.. errrr). My right foot was bothering me. I just decided to shut it down a little early.

I think I need to get on the bike a bit more (all of you tri-people are inspiring), and do that to maintain some level of fitness for now, with a couple of runs a week. (Well, that's the goal, at least. Gotta have goals)

It is Tuesday, so I'm here with a new entry for Alky Tuesday...

This is Saranac's Rye Pilsener. (Yes, I know that's not a Pilsner glass.. I didn't feel like digging for one in the cabinet. Sadly, yes, I do have pretty much every glass type for different types of drinks)

I vaguely remember reading about a rye beer on someone's blog, but my 2 minute attempt to locate such a post came up empty. I had never had such a creation, and there was a pair of these in the Saranac summer sampler pack. (The same sampler pack that has the lemony Summer Ale that I previously covered. Oh, and yes, *that* was a beer that Mrs. Raul actually took to).

Speaking of Mrs. Raul, she was going to the grocery store yesterday.. before leaving, she asked me "Are there any beers you need?".

Brought a tear to my eye, let me tell you.

Oh, and speaking of the grocery store.. In the area I live in, there really isn't much. We just got a Sonic, and we're finally getting a Best Buy in October, just to show you what little is going on. There's one specialty beer store, but it's not terribly convenient to get to. However, the local Wegman's grocery store redid their insides, and they opened up a specialty beer section. They had always done pretty good by me before, carrying Brooklyn, Ithaca, and some other non-mass produced beers. Now though? I'm like a kid in a candy store there. But, that's where I get most of my beer.

Anyway, back from the two tangents.. I'm typically not much of a pilsner beer guy. They're just "ok" in my book. I honestly just chalk it up to the fact that I haven't had many good ones, and I really haven't spent the time to find some I like.

This one had a bit of a bread-like smell.. nice golden color, with lots of small carbonation bubbles. The taste was slightly spicy, and it really was quite tasty for a pilsner.

I think the description on the bottle sums it up quite well: "Rye malt adds dimension to what otherwise is a relatively simple brew." It's a basic beer with some additional flavor.

Certainly not my favorite beer, but quite pleasant out of a sampler pack. I'd have it again if offered it. It's a limited release, for those that are going to hunt it down.

I'm going to have to locate some more rye beers, just to try them out. Alas, we're coming into my favorite beer season, that of the Octoberfests and Pumpkin ales... the quest will probably be sidelined.

So, that's it for now. You know what to do.. keep on rockin'.

Gingerly

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:16:00 +0000

It's Tuesday! Alcohol Tuesday, everyone! Now that I'm back, I can get back on it. (I did feel bad not doing my Tuesday postings.. honest, I did)

Today's entry is Hitachino Nest Real Ginger Brew.

A certain someone said I should review wine while he's away, and I debated humoring him. I think instead, I'll wait until he gets back. Just for fun.

So this beer.. talk about a flavor bonanza! It's malty. It's slightly hoppy. It's got ginger. There's a lot going on with it.

The ginger flavor is certainly pronounced, and it's a slightly sweet beer. It's a really cloudy beer, and there's a decent amount of sediment (presumably ginger) in the bottom of the bottle.

It's a beer I could have one of once in a while, but I'm certainly not going to tie one on with this beer. I think it would accompany certain foods quite well, though. If I was having some sushi (vegetable-only sushi for me, though), it would be fine. Maybe some other Japanese-style food with ginger, as well. Just to drink, it's a beer that is slow going.

It's an interesting flavor, but certainly a specialized one. Definitely isn't an every day sort of brew. Sold by the single bottle, that's the way to go if you're going to try it.

Keep on rockin'!

Boo

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Guess who's back?

Paternity leave is over, the furlough is over, I'm back at work.

That also means I'm back at the blogs, too.. I'm waaaaaay behind. I didn't really read many blogs while I was away, either.

I did put some pics of the kid on Facebook, for those that are interested. I probably should get some more up, but I've just been kind of floating around, not really doing a lot.

Running has been going well.. I've basically kept up a schedule of running every other day, or with two days off, depending on my schedule. One time I had 3 days off, but that was the only time. Regular runs are 3.5-4 miles, and the long ones are about 6. Things are going pretty well. I did a 6.5 miler this past weekend, and it was, eh, ok. All kinds of things are creaky now, so I'm going to not go to that distance for a while again. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the ITB rehab.

I need to get back into biking.. do some cross training. We'll see if my wife lets me leave the house once I get back from work today. I can see her handing me the little guy and running away. hah.

But, yeah, I should be posting fairly regularly now. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Keep on rockin'!

Updates, pomegranate martinis

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Yes, it's been a while since I posted. :)

I'm quite fortunate that I have some time off from work right now. I get some paternity leave, but I'm coupling that with some furlough time from work.. One of those "cost saving" mechanisms at work. Whatever. It doesn't help the take home pay, but spending the time at home with the little one is so much more important.

Things have been going well here. The little guy finally busted through the remainder of the ounces in the 6 pound region and weighs a little over 7 pounds. He's been a really quiet boy, until the last few days. Turns out he's developing colic. Yay. Cranky little fella right now, poor kid. Of course, he's throwing his 7 pounds all around and kicking the shizzzz right out of me. How could someone so little kick so much ass? He's not even taking names.

Well, it is Tuesday... That means Alcohol Tuesday. And with a colicky infant, so totally appropriate. Today, I give you a pomegranate martini.

Guys, it sounds like a fruity and pansy drink, but it's not. I've recently came into some pomegranate juice (more on this in the next post), and this was one way I decided to sample it.

So. Ingredients:

3 oz pomegranate juice
1 oz lemon flavored vodka
1/2 oz Cointreau

Mix, serve in a martini glass. Garnish with a slice of orange. That's my take on a pomegranate martini. It's not too sweet, it's smooth, and it goes down easily. If you don't have Cointreau lying around, you could substitute some triple sec with no problem. Similarly, you could use plain vodka, and maybe add some lemon juice or garnish with a lemon slice.

There's a lot of ways to mix this up and achieve a similar result.

The final product:

I hope everyone is doing well. I'll try to be back more frequently. Keep on rockin'!

Have a cigar

noreply@blogger.com (raulgonemobile) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:07:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

As you may (or may not) have noticed, I've been absent lately. I haven't even been keeping Facebook up to date. I have a good excuse, at least..

Reason being is, mini-Raul has been born! A couple of weeks early, but that wasn't terribly unexpected.

He and Mrs. Raul are doing fine, and everyone is home from the hospital.

Things are going well so far. I'm really glad we did as much prep work around the homestead as we did, so that there was little to do once we got home.

That's that.. I'll try to stay more in touch once we get into a groove. Keep on rockin!