thanks for my awesome profile note!!! oh and i saw the fruits and veggies comment in your profile! lol! you are an inspiration as well and i know that you are working hard. keep it up ! im glad you are recovered from the marathon!

Here's a update:

I'm fully recovered from the marathon. I don't have a new race in mind, but I'm working on it.

Right now I **really** want to get the weight down to my goal of 175. I plan to do this by eating more fruits and vegetables (just for you Jen). And, I will be increasing the intensity of my runs for a while. Ideally I would like to do yoga twice a week, but my schedule hasn't be conducive to that lately.

The race went very well. Here's a link to my blog posting about it:

http://yoherb.typepad.com/yoherb.

Enjoy.

So how was the race?

FINAL UPDATE BEFORE MARATHON:

Well, the time has arrived. The race is Sat. It's a very hilly course which should make it rather tough. My knee has soreness, but I think it will hold out the whole time based on my last few runs. My speed is the best it's ever been, but my endurance is a bit of a question (especially with the hills). I plan to be smart about my pacing and hopefully not get crushed by the last few hills.

My weight never fell into place. I definitely dropped some weight, but I was hoping for about 5 lbs more. Oh well.

I think the yoga helped a lot. I would recommend it for any runner. Especially those pigeon poses!

The knee thing really threw things off for me, but I'm proud that I was able to be smart about letting it heal, getting in some good cross training, and not loosing hope. 16 weeks is a really long time to train for a race. I often say the marathon isn't the marathon, it's the training that's the marathon.

Thanks to all (especially Jennifer!) for the encouragement and tips. Wish me luck on Sat., and as I struggle up one of those hills I'll think of all of you pushing on my back.

haha, thank you Herb. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things!

good luck with your knee and everything! dont' worry about the weekend. i had a bad one too haha

Update:

I had a bad weekend: eating, drinking, not exercising. Lots of excuses I could mention, but the bottom line is that I'm not at my highest level of motivation right now despite the fact that the marathon is 3 weeks out.

That said, on the positive side of things, I'm definitely ready, and very much looking forward to running with my friend, my wife (doing the 1/2), and my cousin.

It's possible that my speed is close to where I wanted it - but I can't really tell. I think if I loose a few pounds the next 3 weeks I'll have a good race. With the injury to my knee in Dec. I should be pretty happy with "good."

While I haven't been able to run as much as I want, I have been biking/spinning, and I think that will help me if I decide to do a tri later this year.

So, that's it for now. Same old: need to eat better, knee is OK but not great, but overall I'm holding steady.

Herb, I've been exercising :D! You can see my progress on my profile :D

Thanks Herb. Are you really 1 pound from your goal? If so, that's awesome! And your training graph is inspirational. Hope the knee continues to get better so you can kick butt in the marathon!

Jocelyn,

I banged my knee on the ground in early Dec. so I have something like a bruise under the first layer of the knee. Can't remember the technical term for it, but the dr. said it would take 6-8 weeks to heal if I stayed off it. So, of course I asked how long it would take if I didn't. He said maybe 12 weeks. So, I got a cortisone shot, and that helped a little.

Basically I'm good for a while, and then after so many bends of the knee, the "bruise" gets very sensitive. As it flames up, it feels like how your knee feels when you bang it on something. Very painful. Then, it slowly starts to fade (20-30 mins). By the end of the run I can't feel the pain anymore. Then, my knee is really sore for a few days. I can walk, but it's pretty sore. Steps are not my friend (especially going down). Eventually, I can run on it again, and I get to go through the whole pleasure all over.

So, not tendonitis or anything serious long term. But, I'm definitely dealing with pain and soreness, but I don't want that to stop me from doing the marathon in Sedona.

what exactly hurts? i have been having huge issues with my left knee, and the doc. said either i have tendonitis or i tore something, but it's okay when i don't exercise, and when i run or do something, i can't even walk for the next day and a half
....
anything like u have?

Gee, I'm not doing so well with keeping my logging up to date. I'll try to do better....

Here's a quick update:

My knee is still an issue. I had a great 20m run a week ago, but then I needed to stay off of it all week. I will try 15 today. I'm concerned that I'm not getting enough speed work in. I'm somewhat confident that I can hold up through the marathon, but I'm definitely not where I wanted to be at this point. It's 4 weeks out. I need to get 1-2 weeks of good work in, then taper.

As for eating: not so good. Getting a bit frustrated with this honestly. I'm going to try again this week to put a good week together. Basically it's now or never if I want to have a decent weight for the marathon (and my 40th).

I could really use some encouragement from my motivators and friends. Keep it coming, it really helps. Thanks.

Update:

Knee is OK one day, not ok the next. This weekend I'll go for 20 miles and that will be the real test. I got a nice speed workout in today and it felt fine. That was a good sign.

Eating is still spotty. Some good days, too many not so good days. I really want to hit my goal weight of 175 by 2/1. I think I can do that, but I have to stay consistent.

Update:

Cortisone shot has helped a bunch. Also, nearly 3 weeks of running probably helped as well. I've run twice this week without pain. I've also biked and that was fine also. So, now I just need to get back into my routine. There are only 7 weeks until the marathon and I want to push myself hard these last few weeks before the taper.

My diet has been so-so. Last week, before traveling for the holidays, I did very well. I getting back into the routine now. With all the parties coming up I'm a bit worried about the alcohol and carbs. Just need to keep it to a low roar.

I'll do 15 miles on Sat. at slightly slower than race pace. This will be telling a workout in terms of current conditioning and my knee.

Cortisone shot starting to work. Hope to get a run in today. It's been 2 weeks!!! 8 weeks until Sedona. I'll push hard on all fronts for 5 weeks and then start tappering. Keep motivating me!

You'll be okay Herb. I know what you mean and I don't want to step on the scale anytime soon, but it's a necessary evil to keep ourselves accountable. Once you get back into the swing of things, I'm sure things will be gravy (good).

Keep the faith!

-Cardio King (formerly known as Curtis)

damn, that sucked putting that weight in... One bad week for sure. Hopefully it will all come off fairly easily as I ramp back up.

you'll be fine. just try not to overdoooo the eating. and keep up a little strength training. abs and stuff can't hurt, plus a stronger core leads to better running form and longer distance :)

Update:

If you didn't know it, dancing with a wild and crazy 8 year old can be hazardous to your health. Last Friday I went to an my brother's office party with my son, and "somehow" I ended up deciding it was a good idea to do some insane moves with resulted in me hitting my knee hard against the dance floor. OK, no more questions.

The problem is, that on Monday I went for my weekly long run (13 this week) and by mile 4 the pain was too bad to continue. I'm hoping it's just a bruise, and that by this weekend it will be better. So, I'm doing no exercise this week. Maybe that's good? Maybe I need a break right about now anyway (7 weeks into 16 for the marathon)?

Of course, then I should be eating better this week since I'm not exercising, right? Nope. Not so good on that front either.

OK, just one of those weeks. Check back next week and hopefully I'll be back on track.

Weekly Update:

I'm in week 6 of 16 for my marathon, and things are going well. I've already completed 2 20 milers, and 2 18 milers. My speed is good too. I have some slight pain in my right big toe that I'm keeping an eye on.

Yoga is going well also. I'm definitely getting more flexible - but such a long ways to go.

I've been concerned about my diet, but overall I'm making progress. I wanted to reach my goal weight by Feb. and I'm track for that.

The one area I need to improve is cross training. I should do 2 days a week and I'm not quite there. But, I'm not going to be too hard on myself about that.

So, basically I need to stay consistent at this point and not get hurt.

Weekly update:

Running is going very well. I completed 20 miles on Sunday under my target pace. My speed is definitely coming together sooner than normal. Not sure if it's because I had a decent base when I started training this time, or if the yoga is helping.

Yoga is going pretty well. Doing it about 2x week. I touched my toes last week for the first time since high school!

So, that's the good news. The bad news is that I'm not logging my diet like I was before, I'm eating too much, and my drinking is picking up again (not a lot, but still not where I want it to be).

I definitely think about my motivators and others watching my progress when I'm on my long runs. I know it's providing inspiration for others, and that's helpful when the last 45 mins are uncomfortable.

This is a hard time of year to be disciplined with the diet. I will redouble my efforts with all your support.

So, to wrap up, I have 2 goals right now:

- run a sub 3:55 marathon in Feb. On track...
- get weight to 175. Not on track...

You're probably right! I bought a new scale and have been doing it daily and pogoing back and forth a pound, which is making me a bit crazy. Thanks!

Here's an update on my progress:

My training is going well. I was a bit worried that I had made my target pace too aggressive, but the last few workouts have shown me that I'm OK at this pace. I have to admit, I'm already a little sick of the long runs. I have 20 m planned for this weekend and I'm going to try to break it up by running with a friend or two for some portions of the run. Then, the next long run I'm going to do on the treadmill and watch a movie. Other than the long runs being tedious, I feel like I'm picking up some decent speed which I'm happy about.

My weight isn't coming off as fast as I would like. I'm eating pretty well almost every day. I've also cut way back on the alcohol. If I weigh myself at just the right time, I see progress :-) But, in general I'm making slow steady progress. I know I just need to be OK with that. Also, I feel a bit slimmer which is nice, even if the scale doesn't say a lot has happened (I'm sure this is due to some muscle mass from both running and yoga).

Please keep motivating me to be consistent with my diet, and to make sure I get at least 2 intense cross training sessions in each week. Yoga is a nice option, but I probably need to supplement that with some cycling, swimming, or other strength training.

Thanks everyone.

Hi Herb,
How's it going?

Thanks! I'm a computer junkie, so I imagine I'll be on here quite a bit! 40 lbs. is a long-shot and kind of my pie in the sky number (to get me back to my h.s. weight...) If I'm getting more toned and happier looking in the mirror, I'll be thrilled with that. Thanks for being a motivator!

Cutting back on the beer is going pretty well. Need to keep that up.

Yoga continues to be fun and challenging.

I think I might have set my goal pace a little too high for my Sedona training, but I'm going to stick with it for a while and see if I can settle into it. The next 1-2 weeks will tell me a lot.

Weight seems to be coming off slowing. Not showing much progress on the scale, but I can see/feel the difference. Maybe some more muscle mass.

Anyway, this is my report for the week. Things are going pretty well for now. Just need to keep hanging in there through the tough speed workouts, and keeping the cals below 1800/day (with little to no alcohol). Keep the motivation coming everyone!

Ahhh, I just saw your comment there about the beer. I gave up my evening (large) glass of wine last Jan. It was not just the calories of the wine, but how I uncontrollably nibbled while drinking it and then my lowered inhibitions led to overly generous dinner portions! I would just suggest you pre-plan how much and when. For me, an occasional social weekend works. What's your main diet difficulty?

Hi Herb, I just left Joc a comment and saw yours about walk breaks while running. Glad to see that it is ok, I wasn't sure if I should try to keep pushing sometimes. I feel like I run stronger after a little break. I do keep it to a minute, or it would be easy to just keep on walking sometimes!

Hope all is going great for you! Amy

so i finally got the guts to step on the scale this morning and i wasn't too upset about it :-). it's not what i wanted, but it's better than where i thought i was. so i am going to keep this up so i can track my progress a little better. :-)
i hope you are feeling better, i've been under the weather as well.
and diet wise, i haven't been too bad, too much granola i think, but my parents sent me a bag of reece's minitures and a harry and david moose track bar (never had one b4 but it's 290 calories!) haha. so we'll see how well i can control myself.. haha. mm i love halloween!
don't worry about this week so much, sickness sucks. it's not an excuse, but we'll be a little lenient with you ;-)

OK, I need to start eating better and cutting back on the beer, etc. My diet sucks, so please stay on me about this.

Of course, I also got sick this week (chest cold). Frustrating week. But, it goes with the territory. Next week will be better.

It's really not very motivating when the scale shows a higher weight than when you set the goal! I've had some great runs/workouts, and been eating pretty well. I just hope it's water and/or muscle.

hi herb,
thanks for checking out my charts and complimenting me. i hope you continue to progress the way you want to. you are doing great too!

haha yeah, i just go by what it says on thedailyplate.com. i usually run at about 6 mph, or a 10 minute mile, and then enter in the amount of minutes. i don't really go by the amount of calories burned but rather the amount of time i run, or do any cardio for that fact. i run mostly up hill too with the main route i go on.
i don't know what happened but when i went running today my legs felt like lead and my eyes burned and i could barely go for 30 minutes. i had to stop a few times and walk.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone!

I completed my "speed" workout for the week today. Damn I hate those, but they make all the difference.

Here are my goals:

Run a 3:55 marathon in Sedona on 2/9/08.
Loose 12 lbs along the way.
Three runs/week per my training schedule (one speed, one tempo, one long).
2 days of moderately hard cross training.

Of course, all of this while not loosing my mind, having fun (includes a few beers), spending time with my family, and figuring out what my next grand work adventure will be. Sounds fun huh?

Wow Herb, you had a really good workout! I used to be able to do that until I took the past week off. But I'll get there again, and hopefully the weight will start melting away. Very motivational!

Hey Herb,

Finally checking out your progress- look at you go brother! Knocking off 1K calories in a workout is simply awesome and I see the weight coming off. You're an inspiration! Keep up the good work and thanks for being the bird on my shoulder.

well my root cause for slipping on the weekend was i went to my boyfriends house and they don't have food in his house so we always go out to eat... and of course.. that leads to that amazing never ending list of things i want. it wasn't too too bad, i just had some stuff i normally don't eat, and didn't get to exercise as much as i wanted. i don't usually make bad decisions when i go out to eat, i've had to learn that the hard way. im at college, and my parents love to come up and go to dinner, which hey, it beats the cafeteria food! haha. but i just had ice cream, and apple pie, and french fries. I think it's because i go there in the mind set of thinking it's like a mini vacation and somewhere different, so it's okay. however, i am working on it haha. i usually go for the peanut butter when im there but i didn't touch it once this weekend :-)

90 minute run!!? my god. i'm proud if i hit 50 haha

Go Jonny Go! All you need is that little bird on your shoulder occassionally. Glad to help. School or work will *always* set the tone. Recognizing that our health rides a wave equal to the stress for school/work is a big key to deepening our understanding of what it takes to be consistent. I used to be surprised to find I hadn't worked out for a week or two. now, I see it happening, and have the ability to decide if I care or not. When going to a specific goal, I always care. When just trying to maintain, I allow myself to slip for a while.

Hey Jocelyn,

Thanks for checking in. My weekend was pretty good. I could have been a touch better on the food side, but I didn't do anything too stupid :-)

Got in a 90min run with a good friend, and a 45 min bike and core strength workout.

Why did you slip on the diet? What are the root causes on the weekend? I think we all need to learn how to approach weekends better. There's less routine on the weekends so it takes a new approach.

how has your week been? i slipped a bit on my diet this weekend, but im going to make up for it this week.

Hey, thanks for sending me that message. It jump started my interest in getting into shape again. School distracted me from body goals and I haven't been consistently following a routine due to cardio injury problems. But, I'm all healed up and ready to trial and error again to figure out what's best for me.