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.

The 10 Percent Rule

Starting from ground zero has taken patience, but it is paying off. (for a review of why I took the break see this blogpost). I took a leap of faith and began to increase my mileage as well as splitting my run to two per week. Here is a snapshot of the previous two weeks for running (only running shown).

I am doing my best to follow the 10 percent rule (Runners's World explains it here).  I don't want to add too many miles too quickly. I am also sticking to a slower pace. For those of you that are looking to start running, you can do it. Take it one step at a time.

Here is an overview of everything I've done over the past 6 weeks. I've continued to do my best to keep things balanced. As I increase in running distance, I want to also keep doing other activities.

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