First Half Marathon

I literally JUST signed up for my first half marathon!!! Its the first inaugural Gettysburg Blue/Grey Marathon October 30th!

 I started my 12-week training program this week.  Its from Hal Higdon's website.......see below...

It seems like a very do-able training program.  This is the intermediate version of the Half Marathon training provided by Hal on his site.  He also has provided beginner and expert and training for every other kind of race from beginner to expert on his site, check it out its all free! www.halhigdon.com.

I am pretty excited to run this race, it is in preparation to running a marathon sometime in 2012!  Gotta keep goals right?

Anyway, I will blog about my training some, but you can check my daily progress at www.gymga.com/ahol22. Gymga is an awesome place to share with other people trying to be/become healthy!  It is very motivational and played a BIG part in my recent weight loss and re-introduction into diet and exercise (basically becoming The Running Caveman!). 

Night Time Runs

Lately I have doing a lot of training after dark.  Mostly because it has been hotter than the blazes of hell here during the day, but also because I usually try to spend as much time as possible with my Daughter before putting her to bed and then I go when she is asleep.

Anyway, I am actually really enjoying running at night.  Its very different from running during the day.  You are much more in tune with your surroundings.  You tend to listen to every sound, your eyes peering into the darkness for anything that might get in your way.  It's also suspenseful, every time you hear the faintest noise, you try to see what caused it.

I highly recommend trying it under a couple of conditions.
1.  Only run at night in familiar areas.  I know this seems like a total DUH, but its REALLY easy to get lost when its dark out.  also, you will know if a familiar area is safe or not, I don't want anyone getting mugged because they decided to practice their 5-K pace at night in Southeast DC or something!
2.  make sure you are capable of running in the dark.  if you have balance or vision problems its probably not a good idea!
3. finally, DON'T listen to your iPod!!!  to be honest I think I am going to do a post about running sans MP3, I think today's runners are missing out on one of the best parts of running because they constantly have white buds and cords dangling from their skulls!

about me......

Okay, I want to start this off with just a rundown of this blog.  Basically, the reason it is called "therunningcaveman" is because that is what I have essentially become, and I am proud of it!  I am going to try and make these posts as simple as possible, so it will be easy to read and follow.  Let me start with a short back story on how this came to be.

I have pretty much battled my weight since puberty........

as a kid I was skinny and could eat all day, then puberty struck and all of a sudden I started gaining weight.  My father, like me, has this great ability to gain weight and tried to warn me of the signs.  I, of course, disregarded it and kept eating. 

This is probably a good time to make things perfectly clear.  Even at my heaviest (260 lbs) I wouldn't say I am obese by any means, and I usually stay pretty active.  Although, 6'1", 260lbs is by no means healthy or attractive.

So to make a long story short I have been on a weight roller coaster since the age of about 11.  Going up then down then up then down and I know that's unhealthy.  The most recent increase came after my wedding in 2007. I was in probably the best shape of my life prior to my wedding.  I weighed about 210lbs, and had a body fat % of about 10.  I was counting EVERY calorie I ate, and one day.....I just totally snapped.  I couldn't take calorie counting anymore, I was stuck at 210 and gave up.  That very day I went to Taco Bell on my way home from work and gluttoned myself with junk.  Well from then until this past winter (2010) I put on about 50lbs and decided I needed a change AGAIN.

So I got turned on to a social website called www.gymga.com, and things turned around.  I was told about this diet called "Paleo Diet."  I couldn't believe there was a diet I had not heard of, so I looked it up.  Some people call it the "Caveman Diet" for lack of a better term.  (I will follow up this post with some good paleo methods and tips, but for now just visit www.paleolifestyle.com.  It is free and VERY informative.)

I then did the 60 day challenge known as "insanity."  You have probably seen the infommercial.....it WORKS and it is HARD. 

I have been a "runner" since college and I currently done with Insanity and mostly running for my exercise.  I plan on entering a Half-Marathon in October and will be starting a training program for that in the coming weeks (which I will post).  There is something very primitive and serene for me when it comes to running.  Even though I am working hard, it is a very good time to just think and be quiet for me.  I actually usually prefer to run without music because of this.....

So basically that is how I came up with "The Running Caveman."  Since the beginning of 2011 I have lost 40lbs.  Since April (when I started Insanity) I have lost 32 lbs (see above).  I am getting back into good shape and I really have the paleo diet to thank more than anything.  So look it up.  In up-coming posts I will post paleo stuff (e.g. recipes, tips, etc) and posts about runs and training.  I look forward to sharing my thoughts on here, and hopefully you will follow me. 

The best thing that could come of this, is that it helps someone out.  In anyway possible......