Mountain Biking and The Long Run

Yesterday was a rest day in my training plan. However, I received an email from a friend inviting me to go mountain biking. Can't turn that down! Today was supposed to be a cross-training day, so I just switched the days around--I went mountain biking yesterday for my cross-training and will rest today.

We started at the MADD shelter and road our bikes south-east for about 30 minutes. We stopped occasionally along the trail for quick breaks and to chat a little bit. Here's a pic of my friend, John, at an overlook along the Northshore Trail. You can see Lake Grapevine in the background over his right shoulder. Beautiful spot here.

John on the Northshore Trail

Feeling Good

A couple of days ago I wrote about how tired I was on my last run. I was low on energy and enthusiasm. I also noted that I thought it was partially due to lack of sleep and eating too few calories. So I increased my food intake and was able to get a couple of good night's sleep. What a difference!

Today my trailing plan called for a 3 mile run and then some strength training. I am not at the point yet where I am adding in the strength training, but will get to that in the near future. For now, I am just focusing on the running. I left from the MADD shelter (see pic below) on the Northshore Trail and headed north to the 1.5 mile turnaround. However, when I arrived I felt so good that I decided to keep going. I added another half mile and then turned around, making the total run about four miles.

My 15K Training Plan

Note: I have completed this training program and it worked perfectly to prepare me for my first milestone race, the Rockledge Rumble 15K.

I've broken down my ultramarathon goal into six training milestones, the first of which is a 15K on my home trail this upcoming November. That means I have about 3.5 months to train for my first race. Since I quit smoking almost a year ago I have been working on building my base, and I feel pretty comfortable now jogging three miles of trails, four or five times per week. So I think it is time to start slowly and carefully building my mileage.

Hal Higdon

I have a few books with half-marathon training plans. But I wanted a more interactive experience, like having a virtual trainer coach me each day. After some digging I came across Hal Higdon's training programs. He provides free training plans for different distances and different experience levels. In addition, he provides a link to an online interactive virtual training system called Training Peaks. With the Training Peaks system I can load my desired training plan and the system will send me an email message each morning with a detailed description of the workout for that day (see before for example from this morning).

Limbs, Lungs, and Laughs

I had a good trail jog today. As I was jogging I was thinking about how I was feeling. I want some way to be able to document my physical and mental condition during my jogs. So I came up with the three L's:

Limbs, Lungs, and Laughs.

The first two should be pretty obvious. Limbs describes how my arms and legs (and feet, etc.) feel before, during, and after my jog. Lungs describes my cardio condition. Can you guess what Laughs is? That is the only L-word I could come up with to describe my mental state! It's my ability to keep a sense of humor through all of this; it's my ability to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. . I know, kinda corny, but it will have to do until I can come up with something better. So here's my first Limbs, Lungs, and Laughs report.

Breaking Down My Ultramarathon Goal

I've posted an updated version of my milestones.

In my introduction I identified three goals that I plan to achieve over the next three years. The third goal is to complete an ultramarathon. Obviously, I can't just step out my door and run one. I must train for it and get my body (and mind) into the proper shape. Fortunately, I am a project manager by trade. So I am used to breaking down large objectives into smaller, more achievable steps. There isn't any reason why I shouldn't also treat this like a project.

Therefore, I've decided to set some milestones on my way to running my first ultramarathon. I am going to pick two races per year, each with a progressively longer distance, and then break down each race into the training needed for that specific race. I've also decided that I should run my races close to home so I do not complicate the process by adding travel and additional expense. With that in mind, I plan to use two yearly races to achieve my milestones: The Rockledge Rumble and the Cross Timbers Trail Run.

Week 1: Making Progress On Weight Loss Goal

As I wrote previously, one of my goals is to lose 50 lbs. As part of that effort I decided to join Weight Watchers about a week ago. I have been following the program exactly. Today was my first weight in (online report, not going to meetings). I am happy to report that I lost 4 lbs. in my first week. That puts me at 8% of my goal. I am very happy with my first week's progress.

So far I love the Weight Watchers program. The online version shows me how much I should eat each day and allows me to quickly and easily track my food intake. I can even update from my Blackberry! By using the program I am learning proper portion size and able to make better informed decisions about the foods I choose to eat. There isn't really any restrictions on the type of food I can eat, but instead, restrictions on the total amount of food. So if I choose to eat crap, I can just eat less of it than if I choose to eat good healthy food. For now, I am making healthy decisions.

Northshore Trail

I usually run the Northshore Trail near Flower Mound, TX. It is arguably the best running and mountain biking trail in North Texas. I typically take a few pics as I jog so I can show others what the trail is like. Here's a few pics from my jog this morning, followed by a few maps of the trail. For updated GPS data, see my Northshore Trail GPS Data on Garmin.

To help you find the trail heads, I created a Google Map with markers for (from top-left to bottom-right), Twin Coves (also known as "Far Gate"), Shoreline Drive, MADD Shelter (most popular), Murrell Park, Boy Scouts, and Rockledge Park (fee to enter):



View Northshore Trail--Trail Heads in a larger map

If you have any questions about the trail, just post a comment. Enjoy!

Finishing The Race

I wrote this back in 2003. I post it here as a reminder to myself to maintain balance as I train for my first ultramarathon. Post a comment and let me know what you think!

Finishing the Race

I lifted the blankets and slowly crawled from the warmth of my bed; the pleasant aroma of coffee filled my nostrils. I slowly made my way down the stairs. Just as I reached for the pot I heard, "Good morning, Dear!" I knew the voice was my wife's, but the tone was unusually chipper for that time of the morning. I turned and noticed a curious look on her face--like a small child trying to keep a secret bigger than life itself.

My Three In Three Challenge

Thomas Kennedy
The Trail Jogger

In July, 2009, I was sitting on the couch snacking on a bag of potato chips when I started to get some pains in my chest. It didn't really surprise me. I wasn't taking proper care of myself. I smoked about a pack of cigarettes per day, ate crap, and rarely exercised. The couch had a permanent imprint of my butt. I had gained about 50 pounds from when I was in half-decent shape five or six years earlier. Basically, I had become fat and out of shape.

I scheduled a physical with my doctor. He told me that my blood pressure and cholesterol were high, that I was borderline obese, and that if I didn't change my habits, I was a good candidate for heart disease, diabetes, and a long list of other less than appealing health problems. He recommended that I quit smoking, lose some weight, and start exercising. That sounded like a lot of work to me, much harder than sitting on the couch snacking on potato chips. However, given the alternatives, I decided it was time to take action.

So I set three goals that I will seek to achieve within three years (by the end of 2012).

My Three In Three Challenge

1. Quit Smoking. This one is a no brainer. If I want to get healthy I need to start here and get rid of the cigarettes. 
2. Lose 50 lbs. OK, this one is going to be a little harder, especially if I am trying to quit smoking. I like to eat. And I LOVE to eat junk! But in order to prepare my body for the third goal, I need to learn how to eat healthy and to properly fuel my body.
3. Complete an Ultramarathon. Yes, this one is gong to be a stretch. An ultramarathon is a running event that is longer than the traditional marathon distance. Most ultramarathons are held on trails and the shortest distance is typically 50K (about 31 miles). So a 50K trail race is my ultramarathon goal.

Well, I am happy to report that I completed the first goal around Thanksgiving of 2009. I have been smoke free for about nine months and I'm diggin' it. I am now shifting my attention to the weight loss and I am starting to jog the trails to get back in shape and start to build up my endurance for the Ultra. If you noticed, I said "jog" not "run." I don't consider what I do on the trail as running!!! I am too slow, I just jog along at a nice easy pace. Maybe that will change, but for now, I am happy being known as...

The Trail Jogger!

So, I plan to use this blog to journal my transition from fat to fit as I train for my first ultramarathon! If you are reading this, I hope you will find something of value in these pages. If you do, please leave me a comment and cheer me on!

Thanks for visiting. Before you leave, please take a moment to check out my latest posts. Enjoy!