Running Towards Fitness

Personal Awareness
The ancient Greeks used to believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body not only went together, but were both critical for happiness and a successful life. They were also intertwined, meaning that a weakness in either area would affect the other. When I started this transformation I was overweight and full of excuses. And by overweight I don't mean just a few pounds - I weighed over 70 pounds more than I do now. I finally took my life into my own hands and started exercising. At the time, I had no idea where it would lead - to a stronger body, a happier, more nimble mind, and a chest full of race medals. Healthy mind, healthy body, indeed! It hasn't been easy, or without issues, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Back to the Gym

Its been months, but I’ve kept my Gold’s membership current (not for any good reason, I’m just too lazy to suspend it even hen I’m not allowed to work out). Today, finally, I got back into the gym thanks to a little prodding from my lovely wife, who was heading there after work herself. It wasn’t all that bad, although I’ve definitely lost a ton of strength. Let me see if I can remember what happened:

Incline press - 15×50, 15×50, 15×50
Leg curls (single leg) hamstring - 15×30lbs, 15×30, 15×30
Flies - 15×50, 10×50, 5×50 (ouch)
Calf raises (single leg) - 15×45, 15×45, 10×45
Bicep curls (both arms) - 15×50, 10×50, 10×50
Leg extension (single leg) quad - 15×40lbs, 15×40, 15×40
Crunches - 3 sets of 15
Tricep pushdowns - 15×60, 15×60, 15×60
Captain’s chair situps - 1 set of 15 (I was toast)
Back extensions - 3 sets of 15

For everything I did either a 4- or 5- count, with one contraction and three or four retractions. Those are harder than the regular kind, but they do a lot of good. That’s fine by me. Now if I can do this again on Wednesday, that would be a good thing. What are the odds, I wonder?

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About

I'm Richard Stanford, a fit, happy runner. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Dip into the archives to follow my progress from couch potato to sub-four hour marathoner.

I also like to cook, write, code, and play with power tools...

Personal Records

DistanceRaceTimePace
Marathon2006 Freescale3:54:078:56
20 Miles2006 RunTex3:00:089:00
30K2005 RunTex2:42:448:45
Half M2006 3M1:42:577:51
20K2005 Decker1:40:428:06
10 Miles2005 Pervasive1:20:138:01
10K2005 Dublin Dr Pepper48:437:51
5 Miles2005 Turkey Trot37:017:24
5K2005 Margarita Run22:327:15
4K2006 Fila Relays17:247:15
1 Mile2006 Congress Ave6:236:23

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Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Will Ferrell3:56:129:01
George W. Bush3:44:528:35
John Edwards3:30:188:01
Carrie Sapp3:29:067:59
Boston Qualifier3:10:597:17
Lance Armstrong2:59:366:51
Gilbert Tuhabonye2:23:075:28
Paula Radcliffe2:15:255:10
Paul Tegat2:04:554:46

People I Train With

Alex - Addicted to Exercise
Carrie - Tri to be Funny
Erine - Thousand Miles
Frank - Running Blog
Gilbert - Gilbert's Gazelles
Jay - Leotian Blog
Mike - BROTH