Good week

Here are the latest numbers:

Last Saturday, February 23, I established a new record for running outside. I completed two laps around Prospect Park in just about 73 minutes. Following the challenge from Dr. Saleh in the fall to complete these same laps in less than 90 minutes, it is quite clear that I can target the 2008 Marathon with some reasonable expectation for success. The distance is roughly 6.5 miles.

Further, on Monday night, 2/25, I ran on the treadmill at the gym and completed 6 miles in just 00:57:23. This is a significant drop in time from my previous time for the same distance.

On Wednesday, I did a quick 1-mile warm-up on the treadmill in 10 minutes.

All this simply means is that, indeed, I can run with some level of comfort. However, the challenge remains to complete large distances without a complete physical breakdown.

I did a measure of my BMI and it indicated that I am carrying about 14lbs. of weight on my body that I do not need. I am, statistically, overweight. Loosing this weight will make a significant difference when I ride my bike and enable me to climb hills much easier. I am not sure what it will do for my running except to reduce the weight landing on each of my feet when they land on the ground. So, in addition to my fitness goals, I will attempt to loose 14lbs. bringing my weight down to roughly 170 lbs.

New Record

After weeks of feeling tired, ill and feverish, on February 11, I completed 6 miles in 00:58:26, a new personal best on the treadmill.

The trick at this point is not to increase my speed but, instead, extend my ability to continue running over a long period of time. I'm not quite sure how to do that.