Bryan’s Ruminations
Where I think hard, try to be fair, and sometimes get carried away.I’ve been meaning to mention that I bought a Microsoft Zune last week—a black, 8 GB Zune. My previous Mp3 player experience was with a 40 GB Creative Zen Jukebox Plus, or something like that.
Continue reading Two Zune Family...
This week’s Take It And Run Thursday theme over at the Runners’ Lounge is… 13 words or less: “You are a runner…” Finish the thought in 13 words or less. Here goes:
When I started thinking about food as a fuel for my next run.
Continue reading I Am A Runner...
Ok, so I’m finally going to do the challenge—the One Hundred Push Ups challenge that it seems like everyone else is already doing. I’ll admit, in addition to running, I also do at least two strength training sessions per week, and have been doing strength training more or less consistently for 17 years. While I’m not as strong as I have been, especially since taking up running, I figured that I’d do ok in the initial test, which I just took. The result: 50 push ups.
Continue reading One Hundred Push Ups And My Hip...
This morning I did my own little impromptu triathlon—backwards. I was scheduled to do a 6 mile run yesterday, with 4 miles of tempo running, but due to my hip soreness, I postponed it until today (hip willing). Well, this morning, the hip felt pretty good, so I decided to take it a mile at a time, and just see how it did. I could feel it the tiniest little bit during my first mile warm up, and into my first mile at tempo pace, but in the second mile, it was much more noticeable, but not nearly as bad as Sunday, Tuesday, or Wednesday—yeah, I know I shouldn’t have run on at least two of those days… Needless to say, I called of the tempo run after 2 miles, and finished up with a 1 mile cool down.
Continue reading My Own Little Triathlon...
Since posting the pictures from our anniversary celebration, I've been thinking that this would be a good time for a little game of then and now. Okay, maybe not a game, but at least a couple of pictures from the wedding timeframe to compare with pictures from a year later.
Continue reading Then And Now...
I am working from home the rest of this week, and one of the apparent benefits is being able to go for a swim on my lunch break. That's right, I went for a 4-mile run this morning, and then I went for a swim on my lunch break. Crazy, huh?
Continue reading Lunch Time Swim...
Okay, snakes can't run, and there weren't snakes, just a single snake. But boy, did it have me moving quick to the other side of the trail!
Continue reading Snakes On The Run...
Julie and I ran the 2nd Annual Run For Dad 5K this morning in Fort Worth. For some reason, we were both very nervous about today's race. For Julie, I think it was due to some recent tough runs. For me, it was the memory of the Buffalo Boogie, where I blew up about half a mile from the finish and had to walk for a couple of short stretches. Either way, it had our stomachs knotted, and our heart rates elevated.
Continue reading 2nd Annual Run For Dad Results...
I've pretty much always been heavy. Not always fat, but always a little bigger than the other kids—big boned, perhaps. And I've always loved to eat and cook. In fact, maybe I learned to cook at such a young age so that I didn't have to rely on my mom or dad to fix me things...it was a measure of food freedom. Most of the people on my mom's side of the family were also heavy, and some were extremely heavy (I didn't know the word obese at that time). They loved to eat, too.
Continue reading The Early Years...
Wednesday ended up being an unscheduled complete rest day for me. The first such day in the previous 11 days, and only the second in the previous 24. Granted, I hadn't been running every day—I only run 4/5 times per week, mixing in strength training, yoga, swimming, or biking on the other days (mostly strength training)—but I was starting to feel a little sluggish.
Continue reading A Day Of Rest...
Okay, I've got to know—how long were you guys running before you started getting some decent speed? Or were you already fast? I realize we're all built differently, but come on, I've got to have more speed in me by now, right?
Continue reading Where's My Speed?...
Yesterday evening I was in need of some cross training, but I couldn't decide between a yoga class or a bike ride. A cool front had come through during the day, so instead of the typical mid-90s temperature, it was 70°F—perfect for a nice, leisurely bike ride. Of course, with this front came rain, or so the weathermen predicted. However, the radar told a different story, and it was decided—I was going for a bike ride.
Continue reading Another 11 Miles...On My Bike...
On Saturday afternoon I ventured out to our local Luke's Locker for some new gear. I'm really not sure what I went there for, but I ended up with a pair of shorts, socks, hydration belt, and a bra—for Julie. I also picked up some Hammer Gels, which I'd never tried before.
Continue reading New Running Gear...
My alarm went off at 5:15 AM this morning, and by 6:15, I was out on my 11 mile run. It was only 81.2°F, 64.3% humidity, with a 14.2 mph wind. The run was pretty good—it certainly felt better than my first attempt at 11 miles, and even better than last week's 11 mile run, which wasn't too bad.
Continue reading Yes, I Sweat That Much...
First, let me clarify—it sucks. Big time. Last night, while doing my interval workout, I had the pleasure of 26-28 MPH winds, gusting to 40 MPH. 40 MPH! And of course the only time the wind let up even a little was when it was at back, never when it was in my face. So I did what any runner would do and I HTFU, and did my intervals. There was one saving grace—the temperature was only 90°F, with 48% humidity.
Continue reading Running Intervals In The Wind...
Our oldest, Jacob, had the privilege of trying out for his baseball league's Summer All-Star Team back in early May. Now, Jacob enjoys playing baseball, but he'd be the first to tell you that it isn't his favorite sport. However, he's pretty good.
Continue reading All-Star Baseball...
I was looking through my training log, and realized that I hadn't discussed much of it, other than to say it sucked, or that I did x number of miles. So I thought I'd run through the week:
As you can see, my heart rate is not only dependent on effort, but also highly dependent on the weather, especially if I don't slow myself down in hot, humid, windy conditions.
You'll also notice that I attempted another 11 mile run. Unlike last week, I consider this one a success. I was able to run the entire distance, without any walking. I carried 20 oz. of water with me, and it lasted until the end (barely). I should mention that I was out the door and warming up by 6:40 AM Sunday morning. However, before I was even a few miles into the run, I was wishing that I had gotten started even earlier.
One last item to note: some of you may have noticed that I now have Twitter Updates listed on the front page of the web site, and that I've posted some of my running data there. I think that I am going to continue doing this with my runs, as it is a super easy and convenient way to quickly summarize my runs. I might even do a running only twitter feed.