The Three Month Status Report (Two Months late)

On January 8, 2008, I made a list of the goals I wanted to achieve for the new year. At the end of that edition of my blog, I made a commitment to go back once in awhile (ok, I said three months and it's now five. Details! Details!) and do a status update (boy, if that's not project management-speak, I don't know what is). Here is a look at that list again, five months later:

Eat healthier--I made steps toward this. In my January 8th blog, I mentioned that I discovered Quaker Oats Whole Grain Cereal and that I would try eating that a few times a week to start. I am happy to say that I have kept up with that and continue to eat this cereal about two or three times each week. I also discovered something about myself that I didn't know until someone pointed it out to me (and became a 'theme' for me in regards to the goals).

In March and April, I was under a lot of stress from work. I was walking back to my office one day, with candy in my hand, when someone who sits outside my office said,' you've been hitting a lot of the junk food lately.' I stopped dead in my tracks. First, I know this person well enough that I didn't take offensive to the statement, but, I was more surprised that someone noticed. I thought long and hard about it and came to the conclusion that I was a stress-eater and didn't know. And when the pressure was off, I did notice that my craving for chocolate, chips, etc. subsided.

Now my next big thing to tackle is to start making home-made smoothies. I've read that, as long as you don't add protein, this is a great subsitute for a snack. Looking for some good recipes if anyone has ideas.

Smarter exercise--Again, something that fell victim to my stressful March/April. I was on a weekly program up until March and then it fell by the wayside. And, I noticed it right away. Back in January/February, when I was doing more core training, running hills was a lot easier. Since then, I'm back to struggling up hills. I also, typically, stop playing racquetball for the summer. Having said that, when I was doing the core training, results were pretty fast. So, realistically, maybe I can do core training for specific events and not all year round?


Beat my 5k PR--. Do you realize that my 5k PR actually comes from last year's Broad Street Run? I ran the first 3.1 miles of the 2007 Broad Street Run in under 24:30. My official PR for a 5k race is 24:43. And, each 5k I have run this year I have set a course PR with a time around 25 minutes for each race. So, why don't I go back to the course where I set the PR? Because that race doesn't exist anymore.

Realistically, I'm running out of chances for this spring. I plan on doing the Doylestown 'Red, White and Blue' 5k this Saturday, which will be my last 5k this spring. But, I've never run this course. I need to find a flat, fast course in the fall to get this monkey off my back.

Concentrate on Falmouth--Broad Street is over. This is what I'll be thinking about all summer. Steve better be ready this year.

A better blog--I played a little with the poll. It's a fun thing to do from time to time. I can do a little more on the right side of the blog. I like to see what others do in their running blogs and try to get ideas to incorporate into mine. The best thing, that I think I did, was the purchase of my $20 mini-camera and incorporate some of the pictures in my reports, entries, etc. It is fun to take pictures during the races. And, the looks I get from people who are running next to me, trying to figure out what the heck I'm doing. That, in and of itself, is too funny. Anyone else have ideas, please let me know.

Continue to have fun with running--There is a great series of commercials (I think its New Balance) on the love/hate relationship with running. Truer words have not been spoken. During my stressful March/April, running was a PIA (pain in the a**). Not that I didn't want to do it, but, it was getting in the way. Now, I have to start developing my routine again. I'm hoping to be able to take my gear into work and stop and do some 3 mile runs on my way home from time to time. I have to get back into run-think.

Get new running shoes--This is the year I need to replace my series of Brooks GTS 5s as I can't find them on the internet anymore. So, I went to the Broad Street expo, thinking that I would replace them with the Brooks GTS 8s. Not so fast. The 8s would rub against the arch on my left foot. Errrrr. There was no way I can wear those.

Then, one day, I went into TZ Sports, in New Britain, PA (http://www.tzsports.com/index.htm) and explained my situation. They had a pair of Brooks GTS 7s that I bought, and, so far, seem to be the replacement I've been looking for. I'll run in them for the next few weeks. If they still feel comfortable, then I might have to look in stocking up for the next few years.

Follow through--I still need a lot of work on this. My journal entries in my running diary have been inconsistent. I don't put things a way at home that I should. I try to make sure I follow up with people after they've contacted me. I'm trying to get better at this. Just to need to keep reminding myself about this one.

Well, there you have it. The three month report as reported two months later. I'll check on this in September.

(Note: In mid-June, I am off to Hawaii to celebrate my 2oth wedding anniversary with my wonderful wife. It's in Hawaii that we spent our honeymoon and we've been planning for the past 10 years to go back there again. I was hoping that I would be able to do a race while I was there (that is why I call her 'my wonderful wife' as she understands) but on the wrong islands when the races are happening. I saw a blog on SteveRunner's website called 'Frayed Laces' (http://frayedlaces.blogspot.com/) which talks about a 'graduate student (from Hawaii)with a running problem as she endures the physical, mental and emotional ups and downs of training and racing'. I want to thank Laura, author of the blog, on the information she provided me on some of her favorite places she runs in the Honolulu area. Can't say I'll be running every day, but I don't think I'll miss the opportunity to get a run in once in awhile in this beautiful part of our country. Thanks Laura. I also want to thank the people who made suggestions on Steve's Forum-Board-Thingy on where to run in Hawaii. I appreciate all the help.)