I will be running the New Bedford Half Marathon on March 21, 2010 (details here – http://newbedfordhalfmarathon.com/). My goal is to finish in under 2 hours (9:16 per mile or less). Below, I’ll keep a log of my exercise in order to help keep me on-track. This works well with my New Year’s resolution of exercising every day, with a minimum that I break a sweat.
Note: I haven’t been as good about keeping up with this of late. Waaaay too busy. (2/25)
March 11
Did 10 miles on the treadmill in 85:43 (8:34/mile). I picked up a pair of New Balance 883s at Day’s Health and Sports in Fairhaven, MA, and they seemed to make a real difference over my cheapie Champion running shoes I picked up in October for the 5k. Paul at Days was very friendly and helpful and diagnosed my stance and running style and picked out a pair that were good for me.
I also broke 100 mile since January 1 and will begin my light-running week in preparation for the half-marathon next Sunday.
March 12
Got in a quick upper-body workout – biceps, triceps, and shoulders.
March 11
Ran 4 miles on the treadmill at 1° in 34:20 for the usual 7MPH/8:34 per mile rate. Wasn’t really feeling it at all and seriously considered giving up the run at 3 or 3.5 miles, but stuck it out and felt good about the decision afterward.
March 10
Ab workout.
March 9
Ran 4 miles on the treadmill at 1° (with .5 miles at a 3° incline) in 34:20 for the usual 7MPH/8:34 per mile rate.
March 8
Day off.
March 7
Ran outside – 9.04 miles in 1:25:07, for a pace of 9:25. I feel good about being able to finish the run now, but feel less confident about hitting my goal time of 2 hours (9:16/mile). We’ll see.
March 6
Lifting in the basement with Eli. Did shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
March 5
No workout
March 4
Ran 3.5 miles on the treadmill at 1° in 34:20 for the usual 7MPH/8:34 per mile rate.
March 2
Pushups.
March 2
Ran 4 miles on the treadmill at 1° in 34:20 for the usual 7MPH/8:34 per mile rate.
March 1
No exercise. Was barely home.
February 28
3.25 miles, with 1/2 mile at 6° and 6 MPH (instead of the usual 7 MPH/1°) in 29 minutes. Felt queasy after a while and had to stop. That’s what I get for eating so much at the Blue and Gold banquet.
February 26
Did the 10-Minute Trainer Core Cardio workout. Was going to do Upper Body too, but I injured my shoulder at the end of Core Cardio and decided to not push it.
February 25
Ran on the treadmill – 4 miles in 34:42, for a pace or 8:40/mile, with the last mile being at a 4° incline to try to mimic the race a bit. Felt good, but didn’t want to push too hard with a long run coming on the weekend.
February 24
No workout. Too danged busy.
February 23
Did 60 pushups, 10 each during LOST commercial breaks.
February 22
Ran around the neighborhood for the first time since 1/16, and felt strong. 3.69 miles in 32:44 for a pace of 8:52. Not quite as quick as I would have liked, but not bad.
February 14-21
Was in Florida on vacation. Had two quick, fairly unsatisfying runs of about 2.3 miles each (around the perimeter of the resort 4x each time). Also did some ab work and some upper body work a couple of days.
February 11
Ran on the treadmill, but my left knee was sore, so I slowed to a walk (4MPH), then a slow jog (6MPH). Did 2.2 miles in 24:37 (11:11 per mile)
February 10
Did 100 push-ups in sets of 10 – one set per commercial break during Biggest Loser.
February 9
Did the usual 3.5 miles at 7 MPH (8:34/mile), but did 1/3 at 3°, 1/3 at 2°, and 1/3 at 1°.
February 8
Recovery day.
February 7
7 miles in 61:23 (slowed down from 7 MPH to 6.7 MPH for the last couple of miles). Felt great… I definitely could have run further. Go Saints!
February 4-6
No exercise for a variety of reasons.
February 3
10-Minute Trainer Upper Body and Power90 AbRipper 200.
February 2
Did the usual 3.5 miles in 30 minutes at a 1° incline for the usual 8:34 pace. Felt REALLY good. Didn’t pause once to wipe sweat or take a drink of water, and really felt like I had a lot more in the tank. New Bedford Half Marathon in under 2 hours, here I come!
February 1
Took another break (I know, too many recently), as my legs were still exhausted.
January 31
Indoor soccer. My legs were like lead after 45 minutes or so, and I played even more like crap than usual.
January 30
Ran 6 miles in 53:30 at a 1° incline (8:44 pace). Took a 30-second break at 4-minutes, and then slowed down my pace from 7 MPH to 6.3 MPH for the last hour, but finished! I’m psyched to have done a 1-mile jump from the previous week’s run.
Oh, and today’s my first coffee-free day.
January 29
Spaced on exercise. It’s Friday… date night. 
January 28
Ran 3.504 miles in 30:02 at a 1° incline for the usual 8:34 pace. Felt good. This should be my first 10 mile week!
January 27
Rest day. Was feeling tired and decided to take the day off. I’ve also cut my coffee intake to 1/3 of what it was, so that might be having an impact too.
January 26
3.006 miles in 25:46 for the usual 8:34 pace. Ran most of it at a 2° incline, and some at 3°. I wasn’t feeling it, maybe because I started at 3°. Gotta warm up first, methinks.
January 25
44 minutes on an exercise bike at ~19MPH while watching LOST.
January 24
10-Minute Trainer Upper Body, Power90 AbRipper 200, 2 hours of indoor soccer
January 23
5.006 miles on the treadmill at 42:55 with a pace of 8:34 per mile (1° incline). Really great run.
January 22
10-Minute Trainer – cardio and yoga
January 21
No workout today. Didn’t get home until 9:30 PM.
January 20
Weights: biceps, triceps, and shoulders. Definitely hurting for time. 
Will try to run on Thursday, but won’t be home until after 5.
January 19
Rode an exercise bike backwards for 30 minutes. Am finding it hard to find the time sometimes. Need to make sure I carve out a section of my day to make sure I get in the exercise.
January 18
3.509 miles on the treadmill at 30:05 with a pace of 8:34 per mile (mixed speed, 2° incline)
January 17
Power90 AbRipper 200, then 2 hours of indoor soccer.
January 16
3.2 mile run outside. Had some breathing trouble in the cold air, and my hip started bothering me, so I cut it short and walked some. Mediocre run. Took 30:13, for a pace of 9:26 mins/mile.
January 15
10-minute trainer upper body workout, plus the AbRipper 200.
January 14
3.509 miles on the treadmill at 30:05 with a pace of 8:34 per mile (mixed speed, 2° incline)
Could have gone further, but it was a good stopping point. I hit the 40-mile mark for running!
January 13
Power90 AbRipper 200 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjrVUOD4SfI
My inner thighs were killing me from the Core Cardio workout, so I didn’t want to run or bike.
January 12
10-minute Trainer’s Core Cardio (abs and cardio) and Upper Body workouts.
Actually worked up quite a sweat, and really worked my quads.
January 11
3.006 miles on the treadmill at 26:06 with a pace of 8:41 per mile (mixed speed, 1-3° incline)
Running at an incline was tough. Just wasn’t into it, but still got the 3 miles I was shooting for as a minimum.
January 10
No exercise, as I worked all day at the fantastic Pats loss.
January 9
4.504 miles on the treadmill in 38:04 with a pace of 8:27 per mile (7.1 MPH, 1° incline)
Finally set up the TV in the basement. Makes it easier to run when you’re watching SportsCenter instead of staring at a concrete wall.
January 8
Did the 10-minute trainer upper-body workout in the AM. Hope to have time to do an ab workout in the afternoon. Will do my long run tomorrow.
January 7
Exercise bike again. Half-hour at 20 MPH… drenched in sweat. Woo.
January 6
Brought the exercise bike up from the basement and rode for a half hour at an average of 19MPH. Broke quite the sweat, as I was wearing a sweatshirt.
January 5
Massive time constraints as everyone’s back to work/school. I only had time to do some bicep and tricep work, unfortunately.
January 4, 2010
4.006 miles on the treadmill in 34:06 with a pace of 8:31 per mile (7.1 MPH, 1° incline)
Felt really good… ran later (6:00 p.m.ish) and wanted to stop through the last mile or so, but pushed through to the 4 mile mark.
January 3, 2010
Indoor soccer for 2 hours. I played poorly, even for me. I so need to slow the game down and play with my head.
January 2, 2010
10-Minute Trainer cardio and yoga
January 1, 2010
10-Minute Trainer upper body workout and then ab routine
December 31, 2009
3.52 miles on the treadmill in 30:31 with a pace of 8:40 per mile (7.0 MPH, 1° incline)
December 27, 2009
3.17 miles on the treadmill in 28:02, with a pace of 8:51 per mile (6.8 MPH, 1° incline)
December 19, 2009
2.57 miles in the neighborhood in 26:50, with a pace of 10:26 per mile
It was a very cold day and I cramped up twice and had to walk the last mile or so.
December 15, 2009
2.43 miles around the neighborhood in 22:41, with a pace of 9:20 per mile.
Morning run cut short by time constraints
December 1, 2009
3.01 miles around the neighborhood in 28:00 with a pace of 9:18 per mile
November 5, 2009
2.4 miles around the neighborhood in 21:15, with a pace of 8:51 per mile
Gloves, hat, and headphones make a difference.
October 23, 2009
2.4 miles around the neighborhood in 23:15, with a pace of 9:41 per mile
It was cold. Had to stop twice for music issues. Need gloves, a hat, and better earphones.
October 21, 2009
2.4 miles around the neighborhood in the AM. No official time.
October 18, 2009
3.1 miles in South Dartmouth in 27:36, with a pace of 8:53 per mile
My first 5k! Finished 22 out of 46 runners, and actually had a better pace over the second half than I did on the first half.