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Ever feel like you just didn't want to post a blog update?

Yeah, me too.

Another Blogging Friend for YOU to Check Out!

A friend of mine from work has started blogging!

She's a runner just like many of you, so please stop by Kelli's blog and leave her a comment. If you're looking for a good charity, you might even think about donating to her Team in Training campaign for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. There's a link in her sidebar if you're interested.

Here's the link to her blog: http://kellicameron.blogspot.com/

THANK YOU!!!

(I'll update my training status in a day or two. Having a great week...)

I Started... Again

I did it. I started my training again. There's no turning back now, because I only have 17 weeks to train for the LaCrosse Marathon.

This week, I'm doing three fairly easy 2 mile runs (on the treadmill of course) just to get back into the swing of things. Thanks to Carol for pointing me to her blog post about how to use the iFit feature on my treadmill. I'll admit it - I didn't even know my treadmill HAD such a setting. I took her advice, downloaded some software, and created my own customized iFit workout. Then I just hooked the 'puter to the treadmill and all the changes in speed and incline were changed for me automatically. THANK YOU CAROL!!! No music for this run either. I'm still working on breaking my music habit by watching movies while I work out. Tonight, I finished watching 40 Year Old Virgin. Funny flick. See it. Now.

Today was also the first official workout in my 100 Push Up Challenge (http://hundredpushups.com). I did my first exhaustion test on Saturday, and I was only able to complete 35 good-form push ups before I physically couldn't do another one. It's better than 20, but leaves me with a lot of work to do in order to get to 100 in 6 weeks. I'm determined to do this, though. At some point, I'll also be starting the 200 Sit Ups Challenge (http://twohundredsitups.com), but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew right away for fear that I'll burn myself out.

Oh, I'm also tired of being overweight, so I'm changing my eating habits and plan to lose 18 pounds before the marathon on 5/3, and then another 8 pounds by mid-August. I'll bet that would make my running a lot easier, and I can afford to lose every pound of it. It won't be easy, though, because I like to eat crap... a lot of it! Today, I had oatmeal for breakfast, a banana for a snack, a salad for lunch, and my wonderful wife whipped up a healthy little brown rice dish for dinner. I didn't cheat at all, and believe me, there were plenty of opportunities with all the holiday snacks people brought to the office today.

Next stop... Wednesday. More running and pushups. Hell, maybe I'll try out the new bike trainer tomorrow for fun! Got the power meter all hooked up and of course I have no idea what kind of power output I should be shooting for on the bike.

Feel free to leave a comment and educate me.

No More Excuses! The Workout Room is READY!

Sure, I haven't run in 3 weeks, but I can't make any more excuses now because the "new" workout room is ready! Plus, it's a new year and time for a new me!

Here are two photos of the room merged together so you can see all the stuff... Obviously, this is in the unfinished part of our basement, so ignore the water heater, furnace, etc.



Click the photo to see a larger size.

From left to right - the Ab Lounge (Amy likes this thing), Collin's road bike on the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer, treadmill, recumbent stationary bike, stability ball. Everything is facing the TV that has a cheap DVD player hooked up to it. We've also got an old "boom box" all set up and ready to rock.