A Trail Run, A Birthday, Accountability, Abs and Day 1 of Training...

Sunday I started off the year with a 3K trail race. It is part of the Memphis Runner Track Club winter cross country series. Every year I have improved on this run, for a 17:08 to a 16 flat last year. This year I was not sure how it would go. Trail runs to me are a lot like intervals. You run hard until the first turn when it bottlenecks up, rest and catch your breath and then run hard again as long as you can. Your placement at the beginning of the race is also very important, cause if you start to far back, you are screwed once you get into the woods. This year they flipped the course on us. Instead of us running and getting right into the woods and then having open space on the backside of the course, we had open space on the front end which helped unclog a lot of the course, which made it different all together, tougher I thought actually. Anyways, I was able to finish the race with a new PR for a 3K trail run! 14:59. A New PR and great way to start the year.

14:59 NEW PR 20/50 AG 125/529 OA

My youngest son celebrated his birthday on Saturday! Jesse turned 4! Hard to believe he is 4 years old already! What a blessed addition he has been to our family. Here is a picture of us making goofy faces in the mirror when we were suppose to be brushing his teeth!

Today, I started my Memphis In May Olympic (MIM) training. It was very, unusually cold cold here in Memphis and I did not want to get out of bed. 27 degrees cold!!  But thanks to this blog and trying to be accountable to what I write, I did not want to miss my 1st workout! The only decision I knew I would be making was either to run outside or run on the dreadmill. It was a tough call, but I decided to go wake up my inner Beast and hit the road. I actually wore the right amount of clothing, so it wasn't very bad. I usually have a 35 degree rule, which means under 35, I do not run outside, but rules are meant to be broken (**if my kids are reading this, this does not apply to you guys**) By the time I got back to the house, I had frost forming on my gloves! Tonight, I will be riding on the trainer during the National Championship game.

I recently acquire a new Cyclops Magento trainer from a friend of mine that couldn't t use it anymore. It was a great deal and I was wanting to get a newer one. I was able to sell mine to a friend that needed a trainer for his new bike, and I was able to give him a great deal as well! So it all worked out for the best. I have gotten to where I like the trainer and I was able to get some good workouts on it last year. I can't always get away to ride, and I do not like to ride alone, so this is my best option.

I have also been hitting the abba dabbas a lot. Core work and ab work are going to be a staple for me in January. My wife has been going to a trainer for awhile and is leaner and fitter than I am! So I am stealing some of her workouts. We have a circuit of exercises we have been doing every other night, and I am determined to stick with it through January to see if I can see a difference. I know I have said I am doing abs until I get my 6 pack before, but this time I think it will be easier to do with my smoking hot wife helping me. Along with the ab/core workouts and me watching my diet, I hope to see a lot of improvements! I love the feeling of my core feeling sore and tight after a workout, and feeling it the next morning is awesome!  I really expect to be at my goal weight long before May. I am finding that writing down what I eat keeps me from eating the crap I shouldn't eat! Funny how accountability works huh?