FishaDad Episode 10 “Cosmo’s Night In Jail”

The newest episode of the FishaDad podcast is now avalable for download.  In this episode I talk about my trip to Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty with my son Sebastian, Cosmo's escape and arrest by the Dog Officer and need to be bailed out, finally my first barefoot run.



Powered by Podbean.com

Download the show at: http://fishadad.podbean.com/

2010 50lbs Weight Loss Challenge Update:
Start = 250.4 05/08/2010 Weight 230.2 (-3.8) Body Fat% 37.5 Total Loss 20.2

Contact The Show: (206) 337-9177 / Email: fishadad@gmail.com / Twitter: fishadad


See Ya at Boston

I got my confirmation and assignment yesterday for the Boston Marathon, not to run it but to work it. I have been assigned to the Finish “Sweep Team”   according to the website this consists of grabbing people in need of medical attention as they finish the race an getting them to medical attention in the treatment areas. 
“Sweep Team - Finish
Meeting Place: Auditorium, John Hancock Hall
Expected Duration: 8:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Captain: Michelle Kanavos, MS, APN, BC, LCCE, FACCE
A medical sweep team is responsible for coverage of a large area that includes Boylston Street and the surrounding side streets. This team of 110 medical personnel will bring in runners who encounter difficulties after completing the race. Patients are transported in wheelchairs or on medical golf carts through a dedicated medical lane.”

In order to work this area you must be medically trained and since I am currently a certified Emergency Medical Technician I qualified.
I have never actually been to the Boston Marathon and cannot tell you how excited I am to be able to not only be there but to be able to work at the finish line.  This should make for  a great blog post after the race.  

Remember, Everything Always Looks Better After a Run,



Going Slow to Go Fast

I recently hired Coach Jeff from PRSFit to coach me as I work towards running the Half Marathon this year.  One of the things he has me doing is training in my Zone 2 HR range (145 – 154 bpm) for a period of time.  The Zone 2 is 70-80% of max HR and he calls these runs endurance building runs.
The first time I attempted one of these runs my heart rate kept creeping up and I was going so slow that my calfs were painfully cramping.  I would have been better off walking.  My pace was around 13 – 14 min/mile which is really, really, slow.  It’s now been only two weeks and I can already see that my pace is slowly increasing while remaining in that heart rate zone.  What a concept, go slow to go fast.  
In a lot of the articles I have read lately biggest benefit is that in this zone you are able to burn calories and also retain the ability to process the lactic acid produced as well as building endurance.
On my run today I found it really difficult to stay in that Zone 2 because my HR kept spiking into Zone 3.  At first I thought this was because of some hills I went up.   However as the run progressed it continued and even happen while going downhill.  It was suggested that the GU w/caffeine I took before my run may have been the cause.  The next time I go out for a Zone 2 run no caffeine for me and will see if that was the issue.
The real benefit is that on my tempo runs my pace has really increased a lot in a relatively short time.  I really think 2010 is going to be the year of PR’s and believe that including Zone 2 HR runs into my training is a really big part of that. 


Remember, Everything Always Looks Better After a Run,


Taking it to a new level

So I did it today, I hired a fitness coach.  Thinking back to when I started this running thing about a year ago, I had no idea where it would take me.  Honestly I thought it would take me  down the road a few times until I was sick of it and back on the couch I would go.

 I can remember year after year making that resolution to start running only to completely chicken out because I was worried what people would think.   They would look at this fat awkward old man thinking who are you kidding, nice try.   So year after year went by letting my fears of how my running would be received by my friends and the stranger that drove by.

Finally I did it and took that first step using the couch to 5k program and it was hard., but I pushed through.  I finally got bored of music as my runs got longer so I looked for something else and discovered podcasts which brought me into the Runnet community.  I have never met a better group of people anywhere. The immediately accepted my as a member, a friend, and most surprisingly a runner. I then started this blog and my own podcast FishaDad Podcast and immediately I had subscribers and I am sure they are both nice people.  But why did they care what I have to say.  Finally came the ultimate complement, I have a few friends approach me and ask for help in starting running.  Wow, to have someone ask me, what an honor.

In the last few weeks I have really taken things to the next level, I purchased a Garmin to more accurately measure my runs, signed up for a Half Marathon and ran 13.1 miles just for fun, and most recently hired a fitness running coach (Coach Jeff) from PRSFit.com.  I really think in a lot of ways I have stepped up to a new level and find myself again looking out the window, scared and wondering am I good enough.  Time will tell but I will never know if I don't try.

Remember Everything Always Looks Better After A Run!!!


Winter Running

I headed into this winter with the goal of running through the winter.  In the past I had stopped running and took the months of January and February off.  This took any of my progress I had accomplished over the year and flushed it down the toilet and come spring I was starting at square one again. To me this was a waste, but I hated or at least thought I hated running in the winter.


So I headed into the winter staying with my running schedule regardless of the weather.  Some changes I did do was I would look at the weather and run at the  warmest time of the day.  Since I was progressing slowly into the cold temps as I ran my body became strangely acclimated to the cold and weather.  I started having guidelines that I figured out trial and error like wearing a jacket if the temperature was under 40 degrees and pants if the temperature is under 20 degrees. This may and probably would not be a fit for you but it worked great for me.

As I continued I was forced to run in rain and snow and honestly they became some of my favorite runs. The only issue was the clothing and equipment I had.  My jacket was a light wind breaker and let water come right through.  Don't get me wrong it served the purpose just fine and if you are just starting a running program don't spend a ton of money on the best jacket.  Get a cheap one at Walmart or some other store. Make sure it is light and bright so it is comfortable and easily visible.  I recently bought a new jacket that is wind and weather resist and and really really comfortable.  

Finally I had a lot of trouble when it was slippery out like when it was snowing or icy.  Some would say ok, don't run on those days but for me having run in a snow storm that was not an option. So today I bought a pair of  YakTrax and cannot wait to use them on a run in the snow.  They slip over your sneakers and are like running with snow tires on.  In the end somehow I have gone from a person who refused to run in the winter to a person who work his schedule so that I run when the snow is predicted to come down the hardest.

Why do I do that, because it is a blast and most people wont.




Remembering What’s Important

This week I had a good week of running.  I ran 3 miles as it lightly snowed on Tuesday and the only issue was that it was really slippery so I was unable to do the fartlek is that I had planned, but that’s ok.








Next was a good 5 mile run on Thursday on a beautiful 42 degree day.   Finally there was a 7 mile run again on a beautiful sunny 41 degree day.  For me to get in my three runs this week is a big deal with my past knee injury.  My KT Tape seems to be helping a lot with no knee swelling or pain so far.
  
During my runs this week I talked about the US Senate Race in Massachusetts and candidate Scott Brown who I was very excited won election and the typical funny conversation as I walked with Tara again this week.  



   The last segment was the most important to me.  I was watching tv with my son when there was a joke about fathers that say "maybe later" when their kid asks them to do something with them.  MY son Sebastian laughed and said "Thats just like you".  I was devastated, he might as well as shot me in the chest.  My mind scrambled is this true am I the type of dad that blows off his kid all the time. I found that this actually may be true and I had not realized that I had become that person.



The pinnacle is that he had given me a model car for Christmas and had been asking me to build it with me ever since and I had blown him off.  Well thats stops now and I am happy to say that as of today as I type Sebastian and I build a model today together. For me this was a big slap in the face and a eye opening experience.  It’s important to not take things for granted. 



Finally This Weeks Weigh In:
239.6 (First time below 240) lost 2 lbs total lost 10.8 lbs since January 1st

This week I listened to:
The Extra Mile Podcast TEM#59
Phedippidations Fdip#223



Finally Remember
           Everything Always Looks Better After a Run



My first weigh in and I'm at a loss

Well this was week number one of the 50lbs weight loss challenge and I have good news both Tara and I lost weight. Tara lost a awesome 4lbs and I lost 2.8lbs.  This is a great start for the first week especially where I was not able to exercise a lot with my knee issues.  I did get in to see the rheumatologist and had my knee drained and cortisone injected.  This I felt was a good thing and I was very optimistic that this would solve the issue.  



That day I went out for a walk with Tara and her dog Danny.  We had a lot of fun out ton the road talking and joking all of which was recorded on my podcast FishaDad#2 "A Walk with Tara & Danny". Danny is her new rottweiler who was found on the side of the road just wandering around and very sickly.  The New England RottRescue shelter took him in and nursed him back to health in one of thier foster homes.  Tara recently adopted him.  I can tell you that he is just a big teddy bear and an incredibly sweet dog.  He would honestly scare most people by his sheer size but is more likely to lick you to death.  


Soon Cosmo will be meeting Danny and they will hopefully be friends. I continue to work with Cosmo and his training this week working on walk with a loose leash.  The technique I decided to use was to simply stop if the dog pulls.  This causes the dog to realize that in order to get where he wants to be the lease must be loose.  If it is tight we go nowhere.  


Finally I had another person come to me wanting to be part of the 50lbs weight loss challenge, Demetrice.  Look to see his success in addition to Tara and I. 


I was not able to run this week due to my knee and hope that next week I will get some miles logged on the road. 


Finally Remember
          Everything Always Looks Better After a Run









Limping into 2010

As I sit here in my chair typing this post my knee is still acting up.  Friday morning my decision to run the Freezer 5 was made for me as my knee was swollen to capacity and I was unable to put any weight on it.  This was really disapointing since I was going to run with my friend Adam from (http://runningspark.blogspot.com) and his father in law who recently returned from tour over seas.

As many of you know Adam is faster than me but he had decided to hang back so we could run together.  To top that off it was about 40 degrees out and sunny, perfect running weather. Finally I had a good chance of a PR in this race.  Oh well thats enough poor me for now.  

Something I did do is use my time wisely as I sat with my knee elevated with a ice pack on top.   I finally took the advice of several podcaster's that I respect and listen to regularly.   They are Steve Runner from Phedippidations, Gordon from Running to Disney, Megan from Run Vegan Run, and finally Kevin from The Extra Mile.  Cosmo and I started a Podcast, http://fishadad.podbean.com/ and soon to be available on the iTunes store.




This decision works hand in hand with my decision to lose 50 lbs by the end of 2010 as well as give me a chance to give back to the runcast community and let all of you get to know me through my own voice.

As I write this my current weight is 250.4 and my BMI is 34.9 which places me in the moderately overweight category.  I will track my calories using CalorieCount.com and my workouts using Dailymile.com.

My plan is to update the blog weekly on weekends but now it will include a weigh in and post my current weight. The podcast will be posted at least monthly or maybe more regularly.

Podcast listened to this week were:
- TheExtraMile TEM 57

Finally Remember
          Everything Always Looks Better After a Run

Newer Entries »
« Older Entries