May - Pittsburgh Marathon (started, but DNF about the half way point)
June - Riverview 5k - Bummed I missed signing up for this one. It's one of my favorites!
Sept - Gatorade/Steelers 5k. (Signed up!)
Sept - IKEA Montour Trail Half (prob not, but leaving it on here)
Sept - The Great Race 10k (My Running 101 goal race)
Nov - Dirt Monster 5mi (Gotta do it again no matter what!)
Long-Term Running Goals:
Finish recovering from my injuries and build mileage. That is all.
Personal:
My name is Wes, I'm married with two wonderful children. The nickname BaldNSpicy came from the fact that I have been balding for a (long) while now and spicy for my love of very spicy foods (Thai and extremely hot wings are my favorites). If eating doesn't bring me near tears and leave me sweating, it's not worth eating. :-)
Oh, and I'm also known for my doorags.
Favorite Quotes:
"Running without hills is like motorcycling without corners." - rAtTLeTrAp
"Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly." - Shaquille O'Neal
"A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else." - John Burroughs
Just working from home today to try and rest this (stupid) stress fracture. I'm way overwhelmed with work and have been for a while. It hit me that I have no muscle strength and am all flabby again. I've got to hit the core work and some biking starting tomorrow!
I see the Orthopedist tomorrow so I hope to get some good news. It's feeling better, but not quite there. My running shoes definitely need to be replaced, especially the right one (I've been wearing the boot on my left foot. Anyone need a semi-used left NB 758 shoe? :-)
Well, on Saturday it was raining and I had to "run" out to the shed (hence the 0.01mi "fast miles"). The foot felt pretty good, but I thought, "why am I winded." LOL
A week of walking to work (3 mi total) should get my feet back to the strength to where I could try a slow mile on the treadmill. I might just make the Riverview 5k in June!!
As I sit here eating cookies dipped in milk, I can't help but notice the spare tire around my waist. The long hours at work, the steadily declining quality of my diet since the New Year, and almost no cardio for months seem like the logical reason. But not everything is logical. I continue to look for answers.
Hey!! What's that writing at the bottom of the Oreo box? Could it be my answer?? Nope, just a coupon enticing me to buy more... Shucks
...10 cookies later...
On an unrelated note, I was looking for my "toilet" picture in our archives to go with Trap's picture. I didn't find it, but I *DID* find my first mug shot from 2001. Fairfax county jail had nice backdrops, nice polo shirts, and let us keep our rings, but they made us write our own placards.
After a long day, I had to get up from the desk and do something before finishing the last couple of hours of work. I vaguely remembered where I put my gym bag. I found it under a pile of dust, looked inside to find the clothes I put there months ago, and headed down to the gym. I only had about 45 mins before they closed so I hopped on the treadmill to just do some walking, but after .3mi, it was time to try some "running." Looks like I'm back to being "fast" again...
I cranked it up to 10:00 pace and struggled through a full mile! Woo hoo! Another .2mi walking to cool down, some stretching, a shower, and I was back at the desk.
I had to stop and watch them put the banner on the bridge.
Huge congrats to my buddy Greg who came in 16th in the Pittsburgh Marathon (2:36) and to Sketcher who had a great race. I have to say, it was nice to see someone from the good old USA win it. Nothing against the Nigerians.
Time pressures necessitated me jogging from my car to work both ways today. Round trip it's 3 mi but I walked part of each way, so I'll call it 1.5 total. Foot is hanging in there.
A beautiful day in the 'Burgh so I rode from my parking spot to work, ran 1.7mi outside during lunch, then rode back. I'm still weak, but getting there. Just an easy 10:00 pace or so. I wore the Garmin - I was surprised it has held it's charge all these months - but didn't really look at it much. Mostly just to check it to make sure I wasn't trying to go too fast. Felt great to get out.