4.8 miles in 1:02:11

My shoes are falling apart. I'll need to get a new pair soon. This may have been part of the reason I've sometimes felt foot pain on runs that go more than an hour.

Today, I ran my five-mile route, but I stopped a block from home because I didn't want to push myself too far over the 1-hour mark.

There was a loose dog on Whipporwill, but when I stopped to try to talk to it, it got spooked and ran away. I think I saw it back in its own yard when I came through on my return trip.

My weight this morning was 239.5.

Catching up

So, I was sick, and then I went to N.J. last week to help my mom after she went through some surgery. She had her eye removed, and it is actually a good thing. It had given her trouble for a long time, and now she is finally free of the pain and can see better with the one remaining eye than she could with the two eyes.

Anyway, I ended up taking almost a week off from exercise, but I brought my bike with me down to N.J., and it really came in handy.

Mom had her surgery on Tuesday, and she sent me home. She said it was easier for her if I was not hanging around the hospital. I stayed until she was settled in with the surgery nurses, and I left with "Here's mud in your eye."

So, Tuesday night, I had an hour bike ride along Ocean Avenue in Avon, Belmar and Spring Lake. I made it to the southern pavilion in Spring Lake before I turned around. I really needed that bike ride because my knees were really bothering me.

Wednesday morning was the beginning of the heat wave in N.J. I ran for only a half hour on the boardwalk because of the heat, because it was my first run in a week, and also because I didn't want to be too late getting back and miss any phone calls from the hospital.

Mom's surgery had  gone well, and she was doing much better when I picked her up from the hospital. She was dressed and waiting for me. As soon as I got there, she said "I'm ready to go" and we walked right out of the hospital. She moved so fast, she didn't even officially check out. I had to go back to sign her discharge papers later that day.

Wednesday evening I tried to ride the bike again, but it was so humid it was misting, and even more so along the beach. It didn't seem like ideal conditions, so I cut the ride short.

Thursday morning I got up and ran a full hour between 7 and 8 a.m. The heat and humidity were already so high that it felt like I was trying to run through a hot, wet blanket. I made it as far as Monroe Avenue in Spring Lake before turning around, and the total run was only about 4.4 miles. I was still a couple blocks short of my mom's house when I hit the 1 hour mark, and I stopped right there. Given the heat and humidity, I did not want to push myself beyond an hour.

I opted not to ride my bike on Thursday, and on Friday the heat was so bad I couldn't imagine running in it. So, I gave myself a good long ride on the bike Friday morning, going through Avon, Belmar and to the south end of Spring Lake and then followed a route along what I think is called Wreck Pond, if I am reading Google maps properly.

I drove home Friday afternoon after it seemed mom was well enough recovered from surgery. While driving I-287 in N.J., the thermometer in my car read 109 degrees.

Saturday morning I got up at 6:30 and ran about 3.8 miles in 48:59. I enjoyed the run much better because of the lack of stifling humidity at the shore. I didn't cover as much distance as in the past, but that's expected because of the time I took off. Every run that I finish is still a victory to me.

Today, I am taking as a day off, and I plan to start running again on Monday. My weight was at 240.5 as of Saturday morning.

The Big Announcement

OK, here it is. Drum roll please.

My weight this morning was 239.5.

I have not had a run since Wednesday, mostly because of what was probably a mild diverticulitis attack, but the good news about that is my appetite was down anyway. So, the milestone I had been trying to reach was to be under 240 pounds. I made that last week, and then I waited a week before announcing the actual weight. I wanted to make sure it was no discrepancy in the scale, and that I was not going to bounce higher all of a sudden. I didn't. This is for real.

This is where I am ashamed to say where I had actually been at my worst one year ago. I was probably in the upper 250s. So, I've lost at least 15 pounds since then.

I feel much better now that I have lost that weight, but I have a long way to go. My hope is that I will lose at least five pounds a month. That would mean dropping another 20 pounds by the time late fall rolls around when I'll probably stop running for the year. I just don't like running in the nasty winter weather.

In the meantime, I need to get back to running now, but I am heading to N.J. on Tuesday because my mom is having surgery. Perhaps I will be able to get some runs in on the boardwalk. I'll try to keep posting while I'm away.

No run today

No run today. I started to feel discomfort late Wednesday afternoon, and it sharpened  to a distinct pain in my lower left abdomen by the evening. It was still there this morning.

From the location, it may be diverticulitis. I'm just going to take it easy and see whether it will settle down on its own. If it's not better by tomorrow, I may be going to see my doctor.

Sorry for a less-than-inspirational posting.

5 miles in 1:04:05

It's become clear that Google maps and my car's odometer disagree about how far away things are. While I do have a potential tie-breaker -- a pedometer I just bought for $4 -- for now I've decided to go with what my car tells me rather than Google maps.

I'm siding with my car because its measurement of five miles is longer than what Google maps tells me, and I'd rather make sure I am actually running five miles. Also, there is a recently built road that does not exist on Google maps, and I'd like to use that road for a loop in my run.

But with the new measurements, I was getting to the checkpoints later and later. I kept pushing myself to catch up with my projected times, but when I hit the four-mile mark, I just felt all the energy drop out of me.

It felt like I had run out of fuel. I had not been eating spaghetti recently, and that may have been a factor. But I was very sluggish after I got home. I felt overheated, and I took a cool bath that perked me up a little.

I felt sleepy for most of the morning, and I did not fully recover until a nap early this afternoon. I had not been getting a full night's sleep recently, and this may be the reason. My stomach has been off all day. Let's hope that Thursday I'll feel better.

BMI is still 34.4.

3.8 miles in 48:04

OK, so the plan was to run 4 miles in about 48 minutes, and I fell a little short today. I think I was looking ahead to the walk/jog with Liam and Jack after my run. This is the first time we've done this on a day that they were also going to summer religious education, and I was concerned about getting them started, finished and ready to leave on time. We did it all in time, but it was more exciting than I thought it would be.

Just before I left on my run, I put Romeo outside on his dog run. He was fine as I stretched and warmed up, but just eight seconds after I started running, he barked. So, I stopped, turned around and brought him inside. Then I went back to my starting line.

I left the eight seconds on my watch, and maybe that had something to do with falling short of the two mile turnaround. Oh, well. Ultimately, the important thing is to get a good workout that boosts fitness. A loss of a tenth of a mile here and there will not make a big difference in the long run ... so to speak.

As I turned onto Redwing Drive, I felt slightly guilty because I remembered I had eaten two pieces of chocolate cheesecake last night. I wondered if that indulgence was slowing me down. But as I turned that corner, a lady who was probably in her 60s was walking towards me.

"You're amazing," she said. "You're very dedicated."

"Thank you,"  I said, suddenly wondering how many other residents on my route have noticed me. Hopefully, they will remember me as The Incredibly Shrinking Man, as I keep losing weight.

But it turned out to be an animal-centered morning. The minor distraction with Romeo was followed by sightings of three cats on my run. When I got back home, I found a new adventure waiting for me.

The boys were not quite ready to run the last mile with me. Jack found a mole in the bathroom. Ninja had lately been bringing these little creatures into our house to kill them, but this one was still alive. Jack was trying to capture it with a Tupperware container with no luck. Those things can move fast. I had him go get a shoe box, and after a few minutes I was able to get him into the shoebox, contained somewhat with the Tupperware.

Those suckers scream and squeak quite loudly when they are scared. I also know they bite. One bit Amy a couple of weeks ago. But this one we were able to get outside and released into the bushes in the front yard. Hopefully, it will be the last we see of him, but we've encountered pieces of dead birds and small animals in the morning before.

So, on my run with Liam -- with Jack running far ahead of us -- we spotted a baby snake in the grass, a cat, and a rabbit. It was all quite the adventure.

Jack finished his mile in 13:05. Liam finished his at 18:03. They both are improving.

I'm starting to think about a head-to-head race with just Jack, just to see how he does against me.

Oh, but the exciting news is I finally got down to a BMI of 34.4.

Take that, chocolate cheesecake!

On Wednesday, I will be trying out a slightly different five-mile route. Instead of straight out and back, I'm going to follow some loops, and according to my car's odometer, it all measures five miles.

Five miles in 1 hour

The five-mile run.

Today, I finally hit my goal of running five miles in an hour.

But to back up, just a bit, I do want to report that despite a canceled run on Friday morning because of thunderstorms, I did run four miles in 49:11 by myself on Saturday, followed by a mile walk/jog with Liam. Jack ran a mile, mostly on his own. At one point early on, Liam actually caught up and passed him. But then he was exhausted and had to rest. So, I spent some time working on pacing with him. Jack's time for the mile was 13:07, about a half a minute faster than before.

I also rode my bike for about an hour on Sunday. It really helps the knees.

So, anyway, back to this morning's run.

I woke up at 6 a.m. and as usual dozed for about five minutes before actually getting up. What usually motivates me is thinking about all the reasons why I hate being obese.

Such as:

• It's hard to bend over and pick something off the floor. 
• I inadvertently honk the horn on my car as I get out because my cell phone hits the steering wheel. 
• I don't like exceeding the weight limits on some kinds of ladders. 
• I get the sensation that the diving board is only inches from breaking.  
• I have trouble fitting into the Go-Karts at Harris Hill, etc. 

So, anyway, I get up and go for a run.

As I went through the kitchen, I saw that the screen door was slightly open. Somehow, our little black cat, Ninja, had opened it. I closed it and went to get a cup of water. Almost immediately, Ninja was at the door, meowing to be let in. So, I did, and went out my front door to the step.

That's when I saw another black cat sitting in our front yard, by our lilac bush, staring at me. At first, I thought it was Ninja, but then thought, "No, I definitely just brought him inside." Apparently, there is another black cat in the neighborhood and he spent several minutes staring at me as I drank my cup of water and stretched. It ran off when a car spooked it.

When I started the run, I just felt really good. Perhaps the weather had something to do with it. It was cool, and I didn't sense any oppressive humidity. I also hit the checkpoints right on time, some a little earlier than usual. Some just a little slower.

I made it to the turnaround point on Valley Lane off Old Ithaca Road at the 30 minute mark. It was just about at the 2.5 mile mark, as I measured it from Google maps. Hitting that goal gave me a boost of adrenalin and I was able to run a little faster on the way back. I reached all of my checkpoints ahead of time, and when I got home it was still only 59:14. So, I kept running and stopped at the corner of Stuart and Middle Roads when the clock hit 1 hour.

There is a discrepancy here. Google maps says my turnaround was at 2.5 miles. But I later checked it with the odometer on my car, which put the turnaround a bit farther down the road on Valley Lane. But even so, I ran half a block past the finish line, which I think makes up for the shortage on the other end. So, I'm calling this my first five mile run in at least eight years.

Tomorrow, I will be running four miles by myself and another mile with the boys. I think the varying intensities of these runs help boost my speed and endurance.

BMI is 34.6

Thunderstorm

My alarm clock jarred me awake at 6 a.m.

I snapped the off button and hear the distant thunder. I want to check the radar, so I put my hand on the edge of my bed and push to get up.

But the bed collapses. A support beam snapped.

I go back to bed and we try to sleep at an angle as we listen to the thunderstorm closing in.

No run today. We'll try again Saturday.

4 miles in 51:11

Now that I've been running at either close to or more than an hour, I am starting to feel some warning signs. At the very end of these runs, I feel very mild pain, usually in either one foot or the other.

My sense is that this is just my feet feeling the strain of the run, that I am at the furthest extent I can go in a single run. This is strain, not injury, but it is the warning not to push myself beyond an hour. I think that at least until I lose more weight, a run of more than an hour could get me injured.

This morning I planned on running a mile with the boys after my solitary run. So, instead of running a full hour and then a mile with them, I cut my run to four miles, planning to run my last mile with them.

We started off well, but after about a quarter mile, Liam complained of pain in his side. So, we rested, and I had him focus on his breathing until the pain went away. I was trying to teach him a technique called "belly breathing" in which you make your stomach go out as you breathe in. It is the opposite of what you usually do, and it often relieves the pain of stitches.

But it is tricky for a 7-year-old to figure out how to do that. I don't think he really caught on to how to do it.

The pain went away, but came back as soon as we started running again. So, I had him stop for the day. You need to listen to the warnings you get from pain, especially when you are 7.

But in the meantime, Jack ran the mile route in 13:37. He seemed to like it much better this time.

So, Friday I will run a full hour, and Saturday I will just try to do a mile run with the boys. Jack and I may go for a bike ride after that.

Oh, my weight has dropped a little. According to the scale, my BMI is down to 34.5. If I can lose one more half pound and keep it dropping for another week, I will start posting my weight in pounds.

2.2 miles in 30 minutes

I felt rather sluggish today. While I was stretching, part of me wanted to climb back into bed. I started running and knew I was off pace. So, I opted for just a 30-minute run.

Tuesday's run had been the most successful in a while, and I think that my body needed a break. No need to always push myself on every run. Sometimes you need to step back and give yourself a chance to recover.

At least I resisted the urge to climb back into bed and not run at all. Therein lies the victory.

Tomorrow is another day.

4.8 miles in 1:02:08

It was Amy's first day back at work after vacation, and I needed to get the run finished before she left in the morning. So, I got up at 6, and got on the run shortly after 6:30.

For me, this is the only way to run in July. The air is still cool. In fact, I think I could see my own breath as I stretched, but perhaps that was my imagination. But the lower temperature makes it easier to run. Not as many people are out at this time, but that works for me. Fewer lost dogs and more bunnies.

I made it all the way to the end of Empire Drive and just around the corner onto Old Ithaca Road. The pacing was a little faster, but I lost some speed on the way back. I also made note of where I was at the 12 minute mark and the 24 minute mark. If I am running 12 minute miles, those marks are significant.

It turns out my 12-minute mark was the corner of Meadowlark and Wygant, and it was about 1 mile from my house.  My 24 minute mark was at about 1.9 miles. The 2-mile mark is at about the intersection of Redwing Lane and Veteran Hill Road.

To run the full five miles, it looks like I have to run to the end of Empire Drive, turn left onto Old Ithaca Road, then make the next left on Valley Lane and turn around at the first house that faces the road on Valley Lane.

Can I reach this mark by the end of the week?

Tune in next time.

BMI is 34.8.

Back home again, 4.4 miles in 1:00:30

So, I'm officially up to running a full hour, but I'm not nearly covering enough distance.

Obviously my pacing is off, and I need to kick it up a notch. However, just exercising for a full hour is a good place for me to be. But I was running this way too slow. For one, a "real" runner went by me on Wygant today. It felt like when you're out on the freeway doing the speed limit and someone passes you going 90. I watched as he made the bend in the road where it meets Veteran Hill Road and said to myself, "Yeah, that's how you're supposed to do it."

Second, it seemed to take FAR too long to pass the walkers I encountered on my route.

Anyway, what I need to do is record where the miles end on this new route and set my goal of running 12-minute miles.

I didn't rescue any dogs today.

BMI is still 34.7.

Roundup of runs

We went to N.J. this week, and I didn't do any blog postings about those runs because I didn't have time to run and blog. But if I had to give up one, it should be the blogging, right? The actual running is more important.

But it was an exciting few days of running. I met my goal of running five days in a row for the week, plus I also kept up to date on taking my medicine and my Metamucil. I didn't even eat the bacon that came on the chicken sandwiches at Perkins.

So, here's my round up.

42:05, Dog Interrupted

Wednesday morning we were heading to N.J., but I got up as usual for my run. It was a simple plan: run out for 28 minutes through the new Birdland route, turn around and come home. I ended up on Empire Drive, and just as I reached the 28 minute mark, a dog that was sleeping on the front yard there pops up and comes into the street after me.

"Oh no," I said to himself. "His collar batteries have run out, and he's coming out to defend his property."

Rusty

But it was a nice dog, and we quickly made friends. So, obviously, that was not his property he was sleeping on. The owner of the house opened her front door and asked if I knew whose dog he was. I suggested she call the animal shelter, but she worried that they wouldn't be open yet.

"I'll bet if you started running again, he would follow you."

She was right, and when he started following me, I knew it would get dangerous for him. I didn't want him following me into traffic. I stopped and petted him, and realized I needed to walk him to the animal shelter himself. So, I took a shoelace off one of my shoes and tied it to his collar and walked him there.

It turns out it is not easy to walk with one shoe missing its shoelace. But he was a very good dog, and a very good walker.  It took me a half hour to get him there, and the owners called me on my cell phone the next day, extremely grateful that I had found their dog.

His name is Rusty and he was about a half-mile from his house when I found him.

I ran about 2.1 miles before I met Rusty, then walked 1.2 miles without a shoelace to the Horseheads Animal Shelter, then jogged another mile to get home.

The Flemington, N.J., run.

4.4 miles in 1:02:35

On Thursday morning, we were staying at my sister's house in Flemington, N.J. and I got up at 6 a.m. and got started on my run around 6:30, close to my usual routine. I'd asked about  which direction I should go, and headed out on County Route 523, but that was very busy and I took the first left I could on what looked to be a quiet road.

That was Sutton Farm Road, which lead to Mason Farm Road. These were developments with wealthy homes, properties that apparently had been divided up out of former farmland. It was very hilly, and as it turned out, I was running downhill most of the time. So, it made the return trip tough. I kept running though.

The only thing that stopped me was the traffic when I got back on 523. Another jogger was running the same way I was, but on the wrong side of the road. She was running WITH the traffic, and not against it.    So, traffic would try to swerve a little to avoid her, and other traffic was trying to swerve to avoid me.

When things got tight like that, I just jumped off the road and stood in the culvert to the side until the danger passed.

I had run out for 28 minutes, and should have returned at 56, but I'll blame the hills and the traffic for the slow return. It was not the ideal situation, but if I run in Flemington again, I'll have some better ideas for a route.

4.4 miles in 59:27 

On Friday, we were at my mom's house, two blocks from the beach in Avon. This is where I grew up. I slept in this morning, got up at 7 and started running by 7:30.

The Jersey Shore run.

But I really enjoyed the run. The boardwalk is flat, safe and the boards give as you run. Much less stress from the impact. They've also upgraded the boardwalk and improved the area that connects Belmar to Spring Lake. They also extended the boardwalk in Spring Lake. All around, good news.

On the way back, I encountered what looked like a high school cross-country team. A few of them had T-shirts that said "Wall High School," so I guessed that was what team they were. When I tried to ask, none of them responded. "Pay no attention to the fat man jogging in the other direction."

After my run, I walked my mom's dog and later jogged/walked a mile with Liam for 18:47. All together, that may have been about six miles of exercise.

So, I made a run all five days to meet my goal. I didn't do anything Saturday, that was when we were heading home. This morning, Sunday, I would have rode my bike, but there was rain and the threat of thunderstorms. So, I gave it a miss this time. I'll try to ride the stationary bike later on.