tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38689447549648176902012-02-01T22:58:30.830-07:00Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.comBlogger701100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-78594550176484602412012-01-16T21:45:00.002-07:002012-01-16T21:51:12.023-07:00

I lived in Fort Collins for 18 years before I ever made it to the summit of Horsetooth Rock.  My daughters did it yesterday at ages 8 and 10.  Towers last July and now Horsetooth Rock, way to go girls. Sandis and Stella atop The Rock We hiked up with The Nick Clark and his family and Rob and his daughter in the first FFCTR (Future Fort Collins Trail Runners) family hike. We all had a good

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-51012875934958802962012-01-07T15:06:00.003-07:002012-01-07T22:04:11.973-07:00

The Official Run to Work day isn't until 24 February, but I couldn't wait.  Actually it is something I've thought about doing for awhile.  The timing of Shannon's announcement with a busy Saturday and icy not very runnable trails made me think "why not this week?".  Like all successful grand ideas, the idea struck and enough groundwork to not be able to back out was laid down before any reality

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-11580693272335073092012-01-02T22:35:00.001-07:002012-01-03T07:25:02.350-07:00

A quick look at the year that was, and the year to come. 2011 Successes Mileage goal: 1715 actual miles, my goal was1620 (50K/week) Improvement: That's 395 miles higher than the 1320 I ran in 2010 and my highest ever Goal Races: My only goal race was the Big Horn 50, my first 50 miler and my goal was simply to finish it.  I did that, and had the best day running ever. Other Races I set a 5K PB

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-47194835686776463902012-01-02T00:11:00.000-07:002012-01-02T08:33:02.541-07:00

Surely after that long last post there couldn't be much of December left, right?  Since then ... We decided to adopt another dog as a family holiday present.  The girls have been wanting another dog, and I admit I am jealous of all my friends who have dogs who can go out and run with them.  Our dog Sirius does love to run but a) he's terrible on a leash and b) he has a problem with one of his

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-76158930605560177612011-12-25T23:55:00.000-07:002011-12-26T11:58:02.841-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted it seems.  Day 42 was so 3 weeks ago!  Today, Christmas Day, I got out for a nice 7.5miles at Coyote Ridge, marking day 62 of the streak.  I ran easy today, soaking in the sunshine and enjoying the chance to run in shorts on snow covered trails, not paying too much attention to how much the snow can slow you down.  The first couple miles were well packed and

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-28590010989143645442011-12-05T19:45:00.001-07:002011-12-05T23:02:14.472-07:00

Today was day 42 of my streak.  Naturally I assumed when I went out for my run this afternoon I would return knowing the the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.  Well, not the answer, everybody knows that, what I hoped to learn was what was the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.  Things went well.  It was a lovely afternoon today, clear,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-37794171286516378742011-11-30T22:01:00.001-07:002011-11-30T22:58:01.997-07:00

  I just logged my miles for today's run and tallied up the month of November.  I ran 10 more miles in November than I did in October, and September, combined.  Long live the streak.  Really just long live the recommittment to running, as that was half the reason for the Streak.   The Streak really is the story for November.  I finished November at 37 days straight, 187.5 miles over those 37

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-964773561890221782011-11-19T07:51:00.001-07:002011-11-19T14:23:39.704-07:00

Sandis got up this morning, looked outside at the fresh snow, and immediately asked if she could go outside to play.  No surprise there, that's what kids do.  I remember how exciting it was to wake up to fresh snow as a kid, how I couldn't wait to go sledding down the hill beside our house.  And it was extra exciting when you weren't anticipating any snow, when it was a total surprise.  As a kid,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-25013936008813581012011-11-17T22:54:00.001-07:002011-11-17T23:18:44.356-07:00

Dear Towers,   While you technically still have the upper hand, I'm gaining ground on you. Tonight's time was not a Personal Best, not even close, but it was over 5 minutes faster than my last trip up. And it felt good. Yes, I enjoyed every uphill step. I'm getting my running Mojo back. If I were you, I'd be scared.   Love,   Brian   P.S. I'm already thinking about 24 HoT. The side of your

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-64591130893593486352011-11-15T08:49:00.001-07:002011-11-15T09:04:31.587-07:00

So it takes 21 days to create a habit? Yesterday was day 21 of streaking for me. Streaking would be a new habit I suppose, but running is not a new habit. I don't yet feel I've taken on anything new, more just re-dedicated myself to running the way I want to. I look forward to the remaining 47 days of the year (and beyond?) to see if my perspective on this might change.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-74605644315924800442011-11-13T12:00:00.000-07:002011-11-13T12:00:02.614-07:00

Buried in the comments of a post below is my Colorado Marathon goal of sub-4:00.  There's still a lot of time before that day, nearly six months, and that's probably a good thing.  I have a lot of ground to cover, so to speak.  I punched a 3:59:59 marathon into McMillan to see what my minimum goal times for shorter races should be if I want to achieve a sub-4:00 marathon.  Given the 28 min 5K

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-77420320249570210052011-11-11T21:20:00.000-07:002011-11-11T23:40:27.326-07:00

  I'm streaking.  A little earlier I went for a run for the 18th straight day. I have never thought of streaking before, I always thought it was not for me.  The spark of doing so just happened at the perfect moment, and here I am.  One could make a convincing argument that I am incapable of saying No to things suggested by my crazy running friends (it's true, but at least it's reciprocal), but

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-48322902160874704212011-11-09T22:57:00.001-07:002011-11-09T22:58:34.000-07:00

I went to the track and ran intervals last night.  Honestly I don't remember the last time I went to a track and did that.  I'm pretty certain this was a 2011 first, and I didn't go much last year.  Really I haven't done much fast stuff since I hurt my IT Band in October 2009.  Before that I ran intervals nearly weekly. The decline in interval work started as a way to not re-injure myself.  I

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-63703524688762059162011-11-01T22:04:00.000-06:002011-11-01T22:18:30.486-06:00

Or  Sometimes it's nice to find the lucky horseshoe up your own butt So this afternoon I was kicking myself for not getting my streak run in earlier in the day.  (Yeah I said streak run -- my long, rambling, and potentially profound post on this hasn't been published yet -- because it's not done)  Anyway, I didn't run before work even though I knew it was unlikely I'd find time during work

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-59403292173949354312011-08-06T13:00:00.007-06:002011-08-06T16:20:21.518-06:00

Wow!What started as a crazy, laughable idea became reality last Saturday.  24 Hours of running up and down our big hill, the hill that makes the Fort Collins Trail Runners stronger, Towers, the antenna farm, big sucky mountain, or whatever else you may call it.  I was simply blown away by the participation.  I expected a total of about 25 runners, maybe 20 to start the morning and a core group of

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-36946198262805322712011-07-28T12:38:00.067-06:002011-07-29T07:33:43.430-06:00

Alex and Ean - they made this trip happen   Monday and Tuesday this week Alex and Ean May organized what will hopefully become an annual Fort Collins Trail Runners event, an overnight camping trip with a day long run along the Colorado Trail.  My family and I had a great time.  Without getting too sappy, I ♥ Fort Collins Trail Runners.  What a fun time the trip was.  Brian 29, Mindy, Celeste

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-23030677792403538842011-07-23T17:00:00.030-06:002011-07-28T12:39:19.531-06:00

1 Weeks until 24 Hour of Towers!  Are you excited? Yes, it really is that friggin' beautiful A Tale of Warning   So one winter evening last March, bathed in the euphoria of having recently run a 24 hour relay race (and the euphoria of local microbrews) and quite possibly still oxygen deprived after the first Pineridge Downhill Mile, someone thought it might be fun to run up and down Towers Road

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-14274272054089496342011-07-23T16:39:00.003-06:002011-07-28T12:39:38.879-06:00

Finishing my first 50M race with my daughter Sandis Here is my very late and way to long Big Horn race report. 18 June 2011Big Horn Mountain Wild and Scenic Trail Run50 Mile RaceDayton, Wyoming     I had decided a year ago that Big Horn would be my first 50 miler after hearing recaps and seeing pictures of the 2010 race from my trail running friends.  I ran my first 50K race last summer, and

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-34059579786803967392011-07-18T21:57:00.008-06:002011-07-28T12:39:54.690-06:00

  The Barr Trail Mountain Race (BTMR) is essentially the lower half of the Pikes Peak Marathon.  The race is a bargain at $35 and has brought good reviews from my fellow Fort Collins Trail Runners.  It's also another thing I can cross off the list of "Shit Alex May Has Done".  It's a formidable list.  There's no rest for the weary trying to conquer that list, yesterday as myself, Scott, and

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-4277222227685411192011-06-29T08:36:00.002-06:002011-07-28T12:40:10.654-06:00

30 July 2011  7:00 AM Soderberg Trailhead in Horsetooth Mountain Park Fort Collins, CO You all hoped we forgot, didn't you.  You should know better than that by now.  24 Hours of Towers is still alive and kicking.  Can you think of a better way to spend a Saturday?  An entire Saturday. We have previously stated our goal was to have fun, and it still is.  Being a little competitive though, we did

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-28927446174703867672011-06-26T23:40:00.002-06:002011-07-28T12:40:37.529-06:00

  You may have noticed I haven't posted much lately.  The biggest reason is simply history, I am not a consistent blogger.  Another reason is that I was in a bit of a mental slump though. In March and April I was running well, both in terms of speed and pushing to new training distances.  I was feeling good about the Big Horn 50 Mile race I had signed up for.  Doubt started to creep in though in

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-49932039685397477362011-04-18T22:40:00.002-06:002011-06-29T08:49:46.598-06:00

  Yes the glorious rumors you have heard are true.  The FCTR summer running fun will be 24 hours of Towers.  The date will be Saturday July 30th.  Mark your calendars.  The details are yet to be determined, probably after some beverages at the Trailhead, but the broad strokes are in place. Who: As many of you as possible, and any borderline crazy friends you may be able to talk into this.  You

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-62382476229819035742011-04-18T13:06:00.003-06:002011-04-18T22:36:18.185-06:00

No Half PB for me in the Horsetooth Half Marathon.  No sub-2:00 hour finish.  Not even a course PB.  Oh-for-three on my goals, no fun.  Last weekend I ran at Pineridge Reservoir and the wind was all over the place.  At times it was 15-20 MPH, at times calm.  At times I ran into the wind at one end of the loop and with the wind, while going in the same direction, at the other end of the loop.  I

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-69802433136947388452011-04-04T23:06:00.000-06:002011-04-04T23:06:00.813-06:00

Yesterday at the Fort Collins Running Club's T&H finale I set a 5K PB by 22 seconds, finishing in 24:20 (7:43).  My old PB was set at the Colder Boulder in Dec 2008, so it's been awhile (not that I run a lot of 5Ks, last was in May I think).  I am pretty excited about this.  My speed has not been the same since injuring my ITB in September 2009, mostly because I never picked speed work back up

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-79666731835642004292011-03-31T14:44:00.002-06:002011-04-01T01:20:42.988-06:00

A few of the tents in our compound, and coffee brewing on the stove. My family and I spent Wednesday through Friday camping before pulling into the parking lot / base camp area at about 5:30 Friday.  After 3 days in the wind and chilly weather there were some calls for visiting the Big Horn Lodge instead of camping, but a compromise was struck in setting up the tent then going into the Brewery

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-22863437668691242272011-03-28T23:11:00.005-06:002011-04-01T01:23:37.789-06:00

Rob, Mindy, Joselyne, Cat, Brian, Celeste, Alex, Lindsey Fort Collins took two teams to the 24 Hours of Utah race.  I was on a team of 5 with Alex, Joselyne, Rob, and Mindy while Cat, Celeste, and Lindsey took on the challenge as a trio.  After some friendly competition for a few laps I made Celeste mad and they never looked back.  That's not really true, but they did pull out to about a one lap

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-43343210166555412582011-03-21T01:10:00.001-06:002011-03-21T01:15:32.457-06:00

  I had a great weekend, 2 days with some fun times running, good friends, fun family time and beautiful weather.  It seems there's always a weekend like this, around this time of year, where everything just seems perfect.  This is one of my favorite times of the year.  My FCTR buds for the March Madness run   Saturday was the March Madness collection of Horsetooth circumnavigational routes

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-91584656978443001292011-03-16T22:26:00.001-06:002011-03-17T00:06:29.440-06:00

Horestooth Rock is a monolithic geological formation that can be seen from nearly everywhere in Fort Collins.  To think I lived in Fort Collins for 17 years before I ever set foot on top of it seems crazy now.  I wasn't always a trail runner though (or even a road lover for that matter) but I was somewhat active and liked to hike when I first moved to Colorado in 1992.   Horsetooth rock on a

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-40175907890817782452011-03-10T13:47:00.005-07:002011-03-10T23:14:09.435-07:00

So I've been jazzed all day. Why? Because it's Tower's time trial day! What is Towers Rd? It's a 3.45 mile primitive road with 1700 feet of vertical gain. Once a fortnight Nick rounds up the masses and somehow convinces us it would be fun to run up this hill as hard as we can, hoping to earn that elusive and rewarding metallic taste in your mouth that comes with a worthy effort. With a staggered

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-2223958451157217142011-03-07T19:33:00.003-07:002011-03-07T21:39:14.055-07:00

So I'm seeing a trend in recent short race results. 8:25 is a popular pace. That's what I ran for the Tortoise & Hare 12K last weekend. It's what I ran for the Tortoise & Hare 8K on Superbowl Sunday. And I ran 8:23 paces the previous 2 races, a 4M and a 10K. The other handful of short races I ran in 2010 (all the way back to an 8:31 pace in the Resolution Run in Dec 2009) have all been in a

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-16848117094763157192011-03-06T22:42:00.003-07:002011-03-07T22:55:12.470-07:00

So two of my fellow Fort Collins Trail Runners have mentioned noticing my blog, both kindly left out noticing it hasn't been updated since last May. I think of things to write here often but often I either forget them by the time I get to the computer or take the simple quick hitter approach and get the gist of the thought out in a one line facebook post instead. For archival purposes,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-29794866587769374632010-05-09T18:19:00.007-06:002010-05-21T21:42:56.694-06:00

So my last meaningful post was just after the 2009 Colorado Marathon last May. The 2010 Colorado Marathon was today, so I guess it's been a year ... What's happened since then? The quick strokes are below, I hope to expand more on things in future posts, but given past performance ...I completed my first triathlon in June, the 2009 Loveland Lake to Lake Triathlon (1.5K swim, 30 mile bike, 10K

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-86381853357709483112010-02-20T16:25:00.003-07:002010-02-20T22:23:19.509-07:00

Can it still be called a 'blog if you only update it a couple times a year? I should get on that. More to come.----------------Now playing: Pink Floyd - Pink Floyd - Timevia FoxyTunes

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-63614966987701134622009-05-19T16:58:00.004-06:002009-05-19T17:09:00.799-06:00

January, that was my last post? What a lame blogger I am! I'll type up a report on the triathlon training soon, but here's my race report from my second marathon.Colorado MarathonFort Collins, CO3 May 2009The course is mostly rural and scenic, similar to the Steamboat Marathon course in that it runs down a river valley into town. It starts about 17 miles up the Cache la Poudre River canyon,

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-16099892522733568842009-01-18T20:07:00.005-07:002009-01-21T20:12:12.426-07:00

They say everyone has their fifteen minutes of fame. This may be mine. I think I mentioned being selected as a Finalist in the Weight Watchers Inspiring Stories of the Year contest last year. I wasn't a Grand Prize winner, so no trip to New York. But some fame has come my way nonetheless. In an effort to drum up first of the year business Weight Watcher's PR firm sends out briefings to media

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-66852353328111564092008-11-22T08:15:00.006-07:002009-01-17T16:57:59.363-07:00

I have received a lot of funny looks when showing my old driver's license to people as the picture did not look like me. Nobody declined me anything, butI decided I should get a new one before voting earlier this month just in case. It seems almost obligatory to post "before and after" driver's license photos, so mine are included below. The before is from 2002, I was probably around 300. The

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-52124436450896187972008-11-02T21:32:00.002-07:002008-11-22T08:15:13.084-07:00

I ran my first half marathon in 2:31:56, a pace of 11:35 seconds per mile, about 18 months ago. Not too long after that I decided I wanted to run a half marathon in less than 2 hours. At the time I had been running for 6 months and my speed had picked up tremendously, I had taken 2.5 minutes off my 5K pace in those 6 months so I figured it was just a matter of time and work, but a sub-2:00 half

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-55756382787706040342008-10-12T18:38:00.003-06:002008-10-12T19:20:46.578-06:00

The Worldwide Festival of Races is the brainchild of SteveRunner, author of the Phedippidations. It's a virtual race, think globally, run locally. The race is run around this past weekend, as part of another organized race or on a course of your own design. The idea is just to run together as one global community. There were 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon options. The people behind the race

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-62735433274047950202008-09-28T16:24:00.003-06:002008-09-28T17:25:44.258-06:00

I realized I haven't posted anything here since the marathon. Not that I expect anyone to hang on any words here, but thought I should post an update. I've had a great summer, the highlight spending 9 consecutive days in a tent on vacation with my extended family in the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks this summer.On the running front I definitely backed off my mileage after the

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-61487949033470716902008-06-04T22:13:00.007-06:002008-06-05T12:56:28.071-06:00

27th Steamboat Marathon1 June 2008Hahns Peak Village to Steamboat Springs, COActual finish: 4:58:26Anticipated finish: 4:35:00.Overall 242 of 315Men 155 of 184M35-39 27 of 29Hahn's Peak Village sits north of Steamboat Springs by just about 26 miles. It is at about 8200 feet in elevation, Steamboat Springs sits about about 6800 feet. Per my GPS the course had 2000 ft of descent and 600 feet of

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-80445580826448190862008-05-27T19:48:00.005-06:002008-05-27T20:43:40.390-06:00

This past Friday night I was kind of off-kilter, but wasn't sure why. About an hour later it hit me, I was starting to get nervous. It's only gotten more frequent since then. 26.2 miles, that's a long way to run. Rationally, logically I know I did enough training and know I should be as ready if not more ready than your average first timer. But emotionally I'm still nervous. There's nothing

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-23076453589653547742008-05-18T20:44:00.002-06:002008-05-23T21:01:05.242-06:00

This marks the end of my first week of the taper. I went out and ran "only" 12.8 miles today. I averaged my anticipated marathon pace of 10:30 per mile and that included stopping to walk as I drank my watered down Gatorade and ate my fig newtons. I also ran the last half faster than the first, the last quarter the fastest of all four. It was a good run, and will be my last double digit run

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-87591399174508612212008-05-13T22:17:00.002-06:002008-05-23T20:44:24.852-06:00

If you've only read the latest entries here you know I'm training for my first marathon, but may not know that this whole thing started with me walking into Weight Watchers to lose weight. 3 years and 2 months ago I started that. Today, 13 May 2008, I have achieved what Weight Watchers calls Lifetime Status. To do this I had to reach a goal weight, in my case set by my doctor, and then

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-773474489682792632008-05-11T19:54:00.001-06:002008-05-23T20:17:01.955-06:00

Tomorrow marks the start of marathon training taper. A typical marathon taper is 3 weeks of reduced workout load, cut by anywhere from 20-50% depending on how much you were doing to start with. The idea is to work enough to maintain fitness but rest enough to be at your strongest when the marathon comes. That's three weeks from today, 1 June 2008.The taper is probably coming at just about the

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-55731530770440743782008-05-04T21:15:00.002-06:002008-05-04T21:47:54.580-06:00

Another great week of running in the books. I ran a tempo run with a couple of people from work - both of them faster than I. In the sixth mile I started pushing the pace and while they kept up, they were both commenting on how they couldn't believe I had anything left in me. I banged out that mile at a barely sub-8:00 pace. While they were running behind me I garnered a "Your legs are ripped

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-13711088214988390612008-04-27T21:32:00.006-06:002008-05-04T21:16:52.594-06:00

I just finished the best week of training of my short running career! I am pysched. Bring on the 26.2 baby.I ran 10 miles at anticipated marathon pace one morning just at daybreak. The nearly full moon was hanging just above the mountains, the birds were singing, I ran well, it was beautiful. Another morning I went out with a couple guys from work and we ran 6x1600. We've never run that many

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-82811611397601130482008-04-20T17:32:00.002-06:002008-04-20T17:50:04.643-06:00

42 days until the big race. Time flies when you're running your butt off. Well, all things are relative. I'm not putting in the 60 mile weeks many do, much less the 100-120 the elites do. But I am running a lot. After a 20 miler followed by racing a half I planned a cutback week this week. Earlier this week I thought it might be beyond a cutback week. After not feeling too bad on Monday I

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-71991865100292421502008-04-14T16:48:00.006-06:002008-04-26T09:21:16.234-06:00

Half way as in Half Marathon. I ran the Horsetooth Half Marathon yesterday. My original plan was to run it at my planned marathon pace. But I ran pretty well Tue and Fri this week and knew there was no way I was going to be able to hold back. So I made a plan. I haven't run a recent 5K, but have had some race pace training runs. From these an equivalent half time would have been 2:06:42 (9:

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-61953223088742998092008-04-06T17:21:00.005-06:002008-04-20T17:32:35.885-06:00

Most beginning marathon training programs take you through a progression to a 20 mile run 3 weeks before the race. Looking at these plans I felt I was at a point to run more than the 6-8 mile long runs many of them start with. I took the FIRST plans for first timers and vets and kind of made a hybrid. I have the speedwork and tempo runs from the vet plan (though the two were similar) and made

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-14816114366205024202008-03-31T21:40:00.005-06:002008-04-06T17:41:08.391-06:00

I have been extremely lucky (or maybe just smart) when it comes to injury. I've never had a running injury sideline me in the 19 months I've been running. This winter as I have really ramped up my mileage I have been paranoid by every ache and pain. Is it ITB syndrome, is that knee pain normal, will my foot fall off? You get the idea. Anyway, I woke up early Sunday morning with an extremely

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-31380509507109864472008-03-23T17:04:00.002-06:002008-03-31T22:03:43.287-06:00

10, 5, 7:40, 18, 34, 191.4, these are the lucky numbers for the week.Today marks the end of week 11. The marathon is in 10 weeks. Sometimes 10 weeks can seem like an eternity, other times it seems like no time at all. Lately I'm leaning towards the latter. I'm also running in a half marathon in 3 weeks. The Horsetooth Half Marathon was my first half marathon ever and a day where I first

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-41866199094951310032008-03-16T19:35:00.001-06:002008-03-22T20:03:47.918-06:00

Week 12 ended in disappointment. I went out for my first 17 miler run today and ended up calling it quits at 7.8 miles. I got caught in wind and rain and was soaked to the bone. I felt bad while sitting in the coffee shop and waiting for my ride. The rain looks much easier to deal with when you're inside and dry. Given that I've never wimped out due to the weather before I think this was

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-79492237746080840992008-03-09T08:08:00.002-06:002008-03-09T08:41:33.884-06:00

Week 13 is in the books, the marathon is 12 weeks from today. I am feeling very confident about this. I almost wrote "nothing but confidence" there but decided not to because I don't want to sound too cocky. I know this will take a lot more work and will not be easy. But I am confident I am up to the task. I'll reserve the right to change this tune after my first ever 17 mile run next

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-33839558453142504172008-02-24T20:16:00.001-07:002008-02-26T20:29:59.690-07:00

So in only my second week of training I miss a workout! What a bum I am. Well, as I have often said with losing weight, sometimes life gets in the way. I did have a good 9:39 pace 10K tempo run and I went out on Sunday for a 15.1 mile long run. I held a good pace and it wasn't really hard work until the last 2 miles. And during the last 2 miles I was pushing the pace as well, to simulate the

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-45615833132764633282008-02-17T18:05:00.000-07:002008-02-18T10:39:10.296-07:00

This week I did a 6.2 mile tempo run, 3 x 1600 m repeats (including one at 8:21, a PR for me), and a 13 mile long run. Though my paced lagged a bit on the long run, I still felt pretty good about it. It was windy as heck and I still got out and ran. Overall I have felt pretty good about the marathon this week. While there's a healthy amount of respect I didn't feel at all intimidated this

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-79299665287865678322008-02-10T15:22:00.000-07:002008-02-09T16:28:40.498-07:00

So 16 weeks from today, Sunday 1 June 2008, I'll be running 26.2 miles in the Steamboat Marathon. 26.2 miles, over four and a half hours. Wow! If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be running a marathon this summer I'd have laughed in your face.How do I feel about all this? Some combination of excited, scared, awed, inspired, nuts, stupid, and wonderful. Typically 2 or 3 of

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-75542223341795966482007-11-04T15:59:00.000-07:002008-01-19T21:49:07.631-07:00

This past week I officially weighed in at less than 200 lbs - known as Onederland in the Weight Watchers community. The first digit of my weight is simply a statistic I know, but there is something more satisfying about passing "round" numbers, multiples of 10, multiples of 100. And passing a multiple of 100 is very satisfying. I have to admit that before I started WW and really for six months

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-97818869410789162007-09-24T15:27:00.000-06:002007-09-27T18:17:31.961-06:00

I runBecause I canBecause I couldn't Because I wouldn'tI runBecause they doBecause you don't Because you mightI runAnd it is workAnd it is funAnd it is spiritualI runAnd I finally understandAnd the world is a better place----------------Now playing: Led Zeppelin - Achilles Last Standvia FoxyTunes

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-15523898836131122912007-08-14T21:24:00.000-06:002007-08-14T21:54:16.920-06:00

In the past few weeks I've hit a couple major milestones in my weight loss. First my BMI has dropped below 30. This is significant because a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. While I have thought of myself as obese in awhile, I guess it is official now. Now I'm simply overweight. The second milestone I've hit is losing 40% of what I weighed when I walked into Weight Watchers in March

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-49842446246102105872007-06-24T20:29:00.000-06:002007-07-01T20:38:45.597-06:00

It was "Bike to work day" in Colorado on the June 27th. I figured the new svelte and athletic Brian should participate in such an activity. So in preparation I've been riding some, although not as much as I probably should have. But I did it. 25 miles to work and then 15 miles back up to the softball fields for our game that night. Biking is going to become part of my weekly routine now, I'm

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-8608903796700257922007-05-31T20:58:00.000-06:002007-05-31T21:12:47.108-06:00

This month saw me running the Colorado Mini-Marathon, a 15 mile race down the beautiful Poudre Canyon and finishing in Old Town Fort Collins. Yeah, I can't believe I can run 15 miles either. This was the race that I've been training for since the SuperBowl. I finished in 2:51:05. That's 11:25 miles, 11 seconds faster than my half marathon in April. And my half marathon split was nearly 5

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-66087513955493756062007-04-20T17:53:00.000-06:002007-05-31T21:12:13.906-06:00

The switch to the Weight Watchers Flex plan (and more good carbohydrates) continues to pay off. I switched on 6 Mar. I've lost 10.8 lbs in the 5 weeks since, and have crossed the 125 lbs gone mark. On 15 April I also ran my first half-marathon. The Horsetooth Half Marathon was 13.1 miles of hills, self-exploration, and fun. And I finished quite a bit faster than I predicted at 2:31:56 (11:36

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-89097622937478676872007-03-31T17:33:00.000-06:002007-05-31T21:13:22.518-06:00

After some slow going weight loss-wise, I have broken through and reached that 120 lbs gone that I've been chasing (since last October when I hit 115). I credit the breakthrough to switching to a higher carbohydrate diet (although whole grains as much as possible). Although this sounds weird, I think it worked because I am training a lot in preparation for 2 big races in April and May.

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-42279001267790107582006-12-15T14:04:00.000-07:002007-05-31T21:09:01.643-06:00

I hit 2 milestones in November. First, I have kept up my running. I am running 3-4 days a week, 12-15 miles total and ran my first 10K (6.2 mile) race this month. Below is one of my wife's scrapbook pages of me running. The second milestone was even more unthinkable. I went out to get a new dress shirt to wear when I took my wife out for her birthday (and to celebrate the 1 year anniversary

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-67541162812395721532006-09-10T13:41:00.000-06:002007-05-31T21:07:35.644-06:00

This picture is not well focused, I apologize for that. It is the first picture I have of myself running though, so I had to include it. Farther down the page I comment how I did not see myself ever running much. I re-affirmed that in July while coming down off Mt. Sherman while talking with one of my climbing buddies. But here is proof that I was wrong! This picture is of me with my

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-73313444713020543172006-08-10T13:22:00.000-06:002007-05-31T21:05:25.962-06:00

The first picture is me with my daughters Sandis and Stella (up top) after a family camping trip. The second picture is me on top of Mount Sherman at 14,036 ft. This is the first 14,000 foot mountain (14'er) I have ever summitted. 1.5 years prior this feat was unfathomable (and unreachable) to me. My weight loss has slowed, I'm at 110 lbs lost at the beginning of August after having hit 100

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-69598270036109726912006-04-30T12:57:00.000-06:002007-05-31T21:06:43.041-06:00

This was taken at the CSU spring football scrimmage, right after I hit 100 lbs lost. My Weight Watchers leader informed me I was the first of her meeting attendees to ever make it to 100 lbs lost. I believe she was as proud as I was! My forays into jogging last fall haven't been kept up through the winter, but I have picked up my walking, both in pace and distance. I'm walking up to 15 miles a

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-33583813455631475022005-12-15T12:40:00.000-07:002007-05-31T21:06:20.385-06:00

I include the Christmas tree picture 1 year later. I feel great and am about 7 lbs away from 250 lbs. That puts me down 85 lbs. When I started, 250 lbs was my pie in the sky goal. I am no where near ready to quit now that I am almost there though. For Christmas I have asked for clothes as mine are all too big. For the first time in about 13 years I can wear a size XL shirt. I am walking

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-29418819162916088702005-08-31T11:48:00.000-06:002007-05-31T21:06:02.032-06:00

Here I am with my oldest daughter Sandis in August of 2005. I am down 66 lbs at this point. People have finally started noticing my weight loss, or more likely are now sure enough about to bring it up to me. I already feel like a new man by this time. I am out walking 6-10 miles a week. I've bought some new clothes, but not many. I'm going through sizes fast enough new clothes wouldn't last

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3868944754964817690.post-83187804554002552912005-03-08T10:17:00.000-07:002007-05-31T21:05:44.160-06:00

That's the old me. Big Brian. In the neighborhood of 340 lbs! The top picture was taken at a Colorado Rockies game in September 2004. The first picture below was taken in December 2004 while we were cutting our Christmas tree. The third picture isn't really a before picture, can you believe I had already lost about 25 lbs at that point! Wow. At the end of 2004 I was wearing size 48 pants

Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650432602542941472noreply@blogger.com0