So, today was a good day. I didn’t have a lot of time, and I could have easily written off my workout and ‘not had time’ to get it in. But instead, I went and did what I could. I ran for 25 minutes and almost 3 miles. This is the kind of workout I need to have with more consistency – something is better than nothing.
Picture of the Day
This is Alex at his Bobcat ceremony for Cub Scouts last week. My whole den attained their Bobcat, so it was big celebration for everyone!
Thanks!
Aaron
…today!
What a great way to start the weekend. Today I actually made it to the gym, although not in the morning, I had to wait until this afternoon. But, my morning was still productive – I was able to rake the leaves in the yard, I still have the front yard to do tomorrow, but at least I got the back yard done. At any rate, I ran 5 miles in a little over 45 minutes – about 900 calories down the drain…
Also, on a more philosophical note, I think today I finally realized the impact that fitness and running has on my life. For the last two or three weeks I have felt overwhelmed with work, fire department, family commitments, and school. Nothing has really seemed to be easy, everything has been complicated, I’ve been frustrated, easily angered, and probably difficult to be around. Additionally, because I’ve felt so busy at work and in life, my workouts have been the first thing to go. Lately, I seem to always find some reason NOT to workout, rather than finding some way TO workout. That needs to change because today, while I was running, I realized that my workouts are the one thing that really help me keep my focus and drive. Without them, it seems everything else kind of falls apart – or at least becomes more difficult.
So, with that, I’m going to bring consistency back to my running. I’m going to find time and make it a priority. I think I’ll find out that lots of other stuff in my life falls in place a little easier too…
Finally, you may have noticed that my blog has changed a little bit. The old format looked really nice in FireFox, but really cruddy in Internet Explorer and I didn’t really have time to fix it, so I retreated to this very simple template for now. I’d like to put my own template together, I think it would be a fun project. Maybe someday, but for now you’re stuck with this…
Later…
Aaron
…tomorrow!
Seriously.
I mean it. Tomorrow. No later.
Aaron
This is from 2004 and it’s amazing to me how much Alex has grown up! This is shortly after we moved into our house – we hadn’t yet put in the new swing-set and sandbox…
Later…
Aaron
Its been quite a while since I’ve posted here and for that I’m sorry. I know my Dad checks in regularly and is always interested in what is going on – so, HI DAD!
With that, here is a brief update…
On October 7th I attempted to run the Twin Cities Marathon – I made it through mile 12 and then dropped out. As most of you know, the weather that day was miserable, 75 degrees at the start with high humidity to boot. I started with the 3:50 pace group and ran the first mile well (in about 8:20 or so) and I was feeling pretty good. It all went downhill from there. I fell off that pace pretty quickly(even though just three weeks earlier I had run a 20 mile run at about that pace with limited issues) and just started feeling really fatigued and tired. Too tired and too fatigued, too early in a 26.2 mile run. Around mile 7 or 8 I started cramping up – both stomach and legs – and I was having difficulty keeping fluids down. By mile 12 I was pretty sick, defeated, and dehydrated, so I made the tough call to drop out.
Not fun. In the end I think I made the right decision. I may have been able to finish, but at what cost? There’s always next year… I guess I’ll start training NOW!
A little over a week ago (October 28th) I ran a 5K in Lake Elmo. It was so much fun! The course was entirely on grass and dirt trails, so I guess this qualifies as my first “Cross Country” event. It was very challenging, but also very enjoyable. I didn’t PR, but with the up and down nature of the course, I wasn’t really planning on it.
Here are my results from the run:
| Finish Time: | 25:17 |
| Pace: | 8:08 |
| Overall finish: | 28 (out of 196) |
| Age Group finish (M30): | 3 (out of 23) |
Overall, I think it was a good run and I did my best. It felt good to get back on out there after the disappointing results of the Twin Cities Marathon.
Now, I need to get back in the gym, on the road, or out the door again. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve really worked out and while I’ve spent some time in the pool, I’ve put on a few pounds. I miss the feeling of a hard workout and the accomplishment of a good run. It has felt good to have a little time off, but I’m ready to get back to it.
Until later…
Aaron
Three hundred and some odd days until the Twin Cities Marathon… 
