Couch to 5k W9D3 NO WAY!

IT IS FINISHED! SO COOL!

I just ran W9D3 yesterday and I am so stoked! Since I started the program, I've lost a ton of weight. Not a metric ton. An exaggerated ton. If we recall, I lost 18 pounds in 5 months while biking. I've lost 27 pounds in 5 months while running. That's 45 pounds in 10 months. That's crazy. Considering all the cake I ate. Advantage: running. Prerequisite: eating well. Sleeping well was also a good idea.

My run yesterday went very well. I was able to go through the hills of my neighborhood and up to South Pasadena (a much nicer, safer place to run). I ran uphill half the time. Do the math. I ran 2.9 miles in 30 minutes. That's about a 10 minute mile pace. The uphill was tough so during my next two runs I will focus on getting my speed up. I want to get a 5k time under 30 minutes and I think I can push that envelope (aerospace metaphor!).

It has been a great experience. But I'm so not done! 30 minutes is an ideal workout time for me, so I figure I will just improve my 5k times every other day. I might get the nerve to work up to a 10k, but I want to focus on speed and form now that I can run 5k. Crazy.

I can run the 5k and I'm thinning but I still need to lose more weight. I'm 205 right now and my goal is 185. So 20 more pounds. That'll get me to "normal weight", and not obese or overweight (and I've been both. Thanks BMI calculator for your depressing simplicity). I'm looking forward to it. I keep losing weight every time I run. Go figure. Then I need to maintain. It's so exciting!

It's been real, C25K. I'll report on the 5k soon, and subsequent runs, and my life in general. I guess.

Couch to 5k W8D3 W9D1 W9D2 WTF

So we need to recap before I finish this thing haha.

I ran on Sunday through the forest behind my house and it was wonderful, to say the least. It was the best run I've ever had. I usually check my time to see when I'm getting tired (I guess that's a bit circular) and I checked it at 21 minutes out of the 28 minute run. This gave me a lot of confidence and a second wind. I ran on some paved trails, a wood chip trail (too cool!), grass, and took a paved trail home. My pace was decent to slow because of the interesting terrain. But the quick changes in elevation and softer surfaces were better for my legs and caused me to work harder for each step. It was exciting.

That was W8D3.

Today I ran W9D1. It was my best run in terms of pace. Those 30 minutes went by very quickly. The time doesn't even bother me anymore. It totally used to bother me! I used to be so worn out by 7 minutes into a run. Now I have to challenge myself to be tired by 10 minutes. That's what's cool about running at this stage-I have to force myself to go faster because I've grown out of a slower pace and my body can handle the challenge. Before, if I pushed with that level of intensity, I'd hurt myself. Now it's just really awesome.

EXCEPT THAT EVERYTHING ABOVE HAS BEEN AN EXCERPT.

Today today is right here. Right now.

Today today I ran W9D2. It was such a fun run! I'm starting to sweat a lot! Whoa!

I did the run in between two midterms. Hectic! But my head was in the right place, at least. Exercise is phenomenal.

The runs are getting annoying in only 1 little area. I'm focusing too much on my pronation. For the unfamiliar. It's more about how my legs are swinging during the run too. I normally have good footwork at the end of my stride, but I'm trying to perfect it.

But other than that the run was awesome. I even pushed extra hard for the last 3 minutes. I remember when I couldn't even run for 3 minutes haha. It's ridiculous when I think of how far I've come. But IS IT RIDICULOUS? Or is it science? Biology I guess.

So 1 more run and I'm done. MIRACULOUS. I'm really excited. And oddly enough I get to do the run in Los Angeles. Well, somewhere in Los Angeles. And then on Tuesday I'll run my first 5k (somehow, self-timed) and figure out what I need to improve before the main event during the first week of April. I'm feeling great though, and I can keep a nasty pace. I'm running faster now than...well, I'm actually running now. Before it was a soft jog. Now it's a powerful stride. I get chills!

The enemy is everywhere! The enemy is everywhere! I listened to Titus Andronicus for today's run. I'm slowly moving away from BTMI!, though I still listen to them frequently. But I realized I can run to pretty much anything, as long as it keeps up the intensity. And there's some music I run to better than others. The last song on 'The Monitor' really pushed me for those last 3 minutes of hard running. It was a lot of fun.

Well, I can't wait to do the next run and report.

Couch to 5k W8D2 Yeah right like I'd get this far

So I just finished C25K W8D2. I did it on 5 hours of poorly timed sleep (10 pm - 3 am) and I hadn't eaten food for 8 hours. I felt pretty miserable, but I was incredibly stoked to run. I knew if I ate, I wouldn't be able to get the exercise time in until (as late as) next Tuesday (probably because I'm lazy/busy). So I went to the gym and ran on the track for 28 minutes. It was a very strong run for being so out of it. I didn't check my watch for the first 14 minutes, so half-way through I felt my first signs of fatigue. I got my second wind with 7 minutes remaining. Overall it was a very positive run. My side hurt a little but that's what I get for not eating. I walked to cool down after the run and my quad felt like a handful of wet spaghetti at the bottom of a plastic bag. That didn't feel very good. I stretched, so I think it'll be fine. But that was the weirdest muscle feeling I've had so far.

I signed up for the 5k in a few weeks and I'm really excited for it. I plan on running 1 or 2 5k's that I time myself so that I can train exclusively for the event. I have 4 more days of running (<2 weeks) before I can work myself to the practice 5k's. I've entertained the notion of running my own 5k's that are non-profit, non-gain, non-cool, non-controversial, non-point, etc. I need to give them fancy names. According to my running schedule, I'll crank out a 28 minute run tomorrow and be done with W8. W9 will start next Tuesday and end next Sunday, when I'm on vacation. Should be interesting. So let's say Tuesday the 22nd I'll have the SLIGHTLY DARKER BLACK 5k on 3/22/2011 in South Pasadena, CA
and the
DUH AND OR HELLO 5k on 3/25/2011 in Bowie, MD

The races are named after two funny moments from one of my new, favorite TV series Archer. He oddly reminds me of the way I talk, act, and conduct top secret spy missions.

Anyway, back to hours of endless homework.

NEW Post!

I ran C25K W8D1! This is actually a step forward from wherever I was before. I remember that previously I had run 30 minutes and got tired/sore as hell and then wanted to quit and never return. That's what happens when you do more than you should. Sticking to the plan has worked for me very well. I've lost like 14 more pounds since I got to Maryland. Having a routine is great. Eating well is working. Go figure, you lose weight when you take care of your habits. No way! I wanted to lose 30 lbs this year and I'm already half way there in less than 3 months. Sweet deal!

Today I'm going to bust out my second 28 minute run. I might run again on Saturday to ramp up the pace. The weather is getting better and it would be tolerable to run outside. Then I've got the 30 minute runs coming. Then I need to sign up for a 5k.

So mid-post I just signed up for a 5k. I could have been suave (que suave!) about it and just rewrote everything like I had totally signed up for the 5k before, but I'm not a liar. I'm going to tell you what I just did, which was signed up mid-post.

I'll do the Running for Overcoming 5k/10k at Ft. Dupont Park on April 2nd, 2011. It's like SW DC. It's a good cause. Something about sexual abuse. Not good times. But I'm doing it for purely selfish reasons. I donated 25 dollars in the registration fee because it was their mandate. I would not have donated otherwise. I would have asked them for money to be in attendance so that they could get more publicity, as if I was making an appearance. As if.

THIS REGISTRATION FEE HAS JUST GIVEN ME AN IDEA.

I'm going to create my own 5k's and give them cool and different names that no one ever thought of, ENSURING ORIGINALITY. And I will have them once a month (at least!). And it will be free. And it will be awesome.

So running is actually not bad. I'm picking up my pace. I'm not getting double-lapped by natural athletes. I'm feeling confident with my strides. The music is the biggest help. It pumps me up so much. I traditionally listen to BTMI! but this last run I plugged away to Streetlight Manifesto. There's something about "Everything Goes Numb" that just makes me want to bounce off walls. I heard it in 2006 and it blew my mind. And then a couple years ago, after seeing them a couple times, and after a few hard drive transfers where music files were totally lost, and after a few complete hard drive wipes where I forgot to backup my data, I had all of their music removed from my iPod and/or iTouch. So I got their music back and now I'm happy. It's good to relive this music. This inspired me to seek out a couple other bands that had dropped off my radar, including Thrice, Minus the Bear, Sufjan Stevens, and The Vandals.

Minus the Bear has a killer album called Planet of Ice. Get it. Also the breakdown at the 3:40 mark in 'That'll be the Day' on "Everything Goes Numb is tooooooo good.

I've got a gun in my hand but the gun wont cock and my fingersonthetriggerbutthetriggerseemslocked and I can't stop staring at the tick-tock clock and evenificould I would never give up with a vest on my chest a bulletinmylungsIcantbelieveI'mdyingwithmysongunsung and ifandwhenIdiewontyouburymealonecuzI'llnevergettoheavenwhileI'msingingthissong...(exhale)

Entrepreneurship

It's worth mentioning that in C25K I was set back about a month but I just caught up today with a 25 minute run. So I'm back on schedule. It took a while but I'm feeling excellent and I haven't missed a week for about a little over a month. I had fallen off for a month. I didn't put on weight, but I just didn't run. Just need a dependable couple hours during the day. Time between classes really worked out for me.

I am going crazy over entrepreneurship the last few hours. I can't get it out of my head. I want to start a company and I'm ashamed I haven't already. I mean, I've put business plans together in the past, but it's time to get out there and vie for some capital.

Really don't want to put my ideas online but it's a great place to gather them. I started a journal so that may be a better more "secretive" location. UMD has a really neat program that offers 75k in money to entrepreneurs so I might jump on that opportunity. It's too bad I'm a full time graduate student eh? Oh the hilarity.

Merry Christmas! The top 10 of 2010

This is a top 10 list for this year. A bunch of great things happened.

1. Getting to see the Descendents on November 7th, 2010.

Holy crap this day was so meaningful. Day 1 was my discovery of the Descendents in a dorm room while at summer camp in Frederick, Maryland. A lanky kid from San Francisco stuck 2 outdated computer speakers in my face and in 12 seconds I had an introduction to punk rock. I stuck with it for the next 10 years and my passion for punk rock is still strong.

2. Couch to 5k

A meaningful way to get my physical life back into gear. I was missing out on exercise. It's such a great activity and it has severely improved my mood. I'm also gaining a lot of confidence in my body that had been absent for so long. Out of all the considerations, however, the most important is ensuring my long term health. Therefore this needs to be a life-long pursuit.

3. Working at Honeywell again

I had a great experience at Honeywell. My group was fantastic and I was supported by excellent engineers. The creative environment allowed me to feel independent in my approach to solving problems. I was also able to gain invaluable experience toward my understanding of computational fluid dynamics.

4. Supercomputing 2010

SC10 was very exciting and the nine days I spent in New Orleans were a necessary step forward in my career. I met some outstanding people. The Student Cluster Competition is evolving into a very cool event. The food was excellent and the parties were superb. The accommodations were really comfortable and the staff volunteers were extraordinary people. What a great time!

5. AIAA Phoenix YP Officer

This experience was especially rewarding because our AIAA section has great representatives. These are folks who really care about what they do. They are also some of the best engineers I've met. They understand why we do what we do. This was a great experience and I look forward to additional involvement with AIAA sections.

6. The Aerospace Engineer

This blog was a preparation for my NEW blog. It's called The Aerospace Engineer. I've come a long way in my writing (there hasn't been much effort, but there has been much practice) and it has prepared me for the mental aspect of writing.

7. Getting accepted to UMD

Well, it's an understatement to say I'm excited about moving to Maryland and starting my graduate work. Getting accepted to UMD was a huge step forward in my career.

8. Mad Men

The greatest show I've ever seen! This show helped to reshape my perspective on the world. I am now a chauvinistic bastard.

9. Senior Design

I worked with some amazing people at ASU. My senior design project was a result of the collective work by amazing people. I treasure my memories with those folks and I wish them all great careers. Our project won 2nd place at the AIAA Space Transportation Design Competition. It was pretty cool.

10. Meeting Greg Graffin

And snapping a photo. And asking the man a question. And recording part of the interview. And shaking his hand. And in that short amount of time, having one of the best experiences of my life.

Couch to 5k W7-W8 Intermission - Mile Time

I ran to find my mile time tonight. It's 8:47.

I didn't know what to expect, so I'm not impressed or disappointed. I knew it would be lower than my average mile time for longer distances, but I didn't know how much lower.

The weather started getting CRAZY once I walked outside. It's been a little rainy lately but wind picked up once I started my warm-up walk and by the last 3 minutes of my run it was a wild mixture of rain and wind. It was not nice. I couldn't see once the acid rain got in my eyes. I was a very angry blind man until the end. I had some pretty labored breathing during the last three minutes and it was clear that my legs are well ahead of my cardio stamina. I could have run faster but my breathing limited me a lot.

The interval training I have done is medium intensity from a cardio perspective. I am certainly building up endurance steadily, but I hardly have high intensity workouts. The mile run was a high intensity workout because I was trying to run my hardest. I'd say after about just two months of running, an 8:47 mile is pretty good. I want to do this mile run at least once a week because it's much different than what I'm used to and it will certainly improve my breathing and high-intensity stamina.

I was able to get a great pace during the first minute. Then I was brought back down to Earth steadily. I never felt like I went slower than my normal pace, but I definitely had a few moments where I had to slow to my normal pace. It was a tough run but it was exciting.

I should have done this earlier, but I would have probably been disappointed. It was such a different exercise. I felt like I was working hard the whole time and pushing my limits. It's great to put on a number on the feeling. I'm looking forward to the next run. 28 minutes!