Week in Review

I felt really good about this week. I was able to get in two runs and two bike rides.  

The other positive thing for my running this week is that I ran over 3 miles on one run. I kept my other run to under 2 miles so as to keep my overall distance in check. I also continued to focus on a slower pace as I add mileage. 

Biking was at a steady pace and nothing too strenuous.

Also, I didn't record it because I wasn't sure of my distance (and the size of the pool). I did a few laps in a backyard pool. It was a scouting activity and I took 20 minutes to swim back and forth.

My “Babe, I’m gonna…” Goals

The following blogpost was written by Devin Hatch.

5 years ago I was way overweight. I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without feeling like I’d just hiked through the Amazon jungle or inflated a blimp with a kazoo. I didn’t like it, and one day decided to do something about it. I conjured up some of the most amazing goals to get back into shape and look and feel just like I did in high school. I was riding high on the road to success.

Except I never did anything. All I did was make up some goals, maybe wrote them down, and waited for the results to start rolling in. If only it were that easy.

Here's from my graduation, not too long before I started running.

Then one day I did something that ended up being a game changer for me. While talking with my wife one evening I said three words that ended up being my magic words. Kind of like the old “bippety boppety boo” in Disney’s Cinderella. Looking back over the past few years I realized that every time I’ve set out to do something crazy, challenging, or insane I’ve started my path toward those goals with the same three words. What are those words?

“Babe, I’m gonna…”

I recently dubbed my past achieved goals my “Babe, I’m Gonna…” goals because every time I have said those words and followed them with some goal I’ve found a way to achieve those goals. Way back when, when peeling an orange was my equivalent of an Olympic gymnast doing a routine, I told my wife, “Babe, I’m gonna run a 5k”. Fortunately I have a wonderful wife that didn’t give me a look of, “Oh yeah? Let’s review your life insurance policy,” and instead encouraged me on. I can’t go on any further without giving her credit for helping me achieve all my “Babe, I’m gonna…” goals. She’s been fantastic and I can’t say enough to thank her.

Running my first 5k

As I said, those three words have carried me through a lot. They’ve pushed me to my limits and at times I’ve wanted to quit, but something about giving up just didn’t jive with me because I knew I’d have to face my wife and explain to her why I was quitting…and that would probably be more difficult than whatever I was training for. I’ve endured with each of my “Babe, I’m gonna…” goals and reached heights I never thought possible. And I am happy.

After finishing my first marathon

You can find Devin on twitter: @DevinHatch

Fitness Flashback

MapMyRun gave me a Fitness Flashback from 2 years ago.

I ran this during Ragnar - Wasatch Back in 2013. It was a great middle of the night run. A good distance. These are the types of runs that I continue to look forward to. I've set my sights on Top of Zion relay for 2016. Here's to setting goals and getting back into running!

Running Update

Yesterday I increased my mileage to 2.5 miles. I am going to continue to increase a little each week. This week I will incorporate a second running day, but will keep it a short distance and slowly build up that mileage as well.

The other aspect of running that I tried was to increase speed, but not a whole lot as you can tell. My second mile was under 11 minutes and that was good enough for me!

Massage out the Ache

When it comes to running (or other forms of exercise), sore muscles are often a result. At the suggestion of a close running friend, I purchased a "stick" that is used to roll out muscles.

The reason that I grown to love this more than the foam roller (I still use foam roller, but will discuss that in a later blog), is that it is small and can massage out just about every muscle group.

You can pick up one of these sticks (or similar product) at your local running store or purchase it online (like amazon). I picked mine up at Runners Corner in Orem. (I am in no way getting paid to mention them or this product)

Whether you are just starting out running, adding more miles, training for uphill or downhill, this type of stick will help you to recover quicker by rolling out your muscles. Pressure and tolerance is determined by you.

I was able to take this with me during the Ragnar Relay - Wasatch Back. It was more than helpful to have on hand in between my legs of the relay to keep my muscles from being to tight. I feel that this is one of the reasons that my recovery time was shortened immensely due to this.