Welcome to the official training blog of ulcerative colitis survivor Tom Meersman!

June's font got all tiny and I don't know why. 

Monday June 30, 2008

Weight:  Not sure.

I was going to run today, but I went to Culver's instead.

Sunday June 29, 2008

Weight:  179 pounds.  I am getting skinny again.  I have maintained a weight right around where I thought I would level off.  I originally thought that I would jump past it, but I have stopped lifting weights until after the run.  I think that may have something to do with the leveling off.  As soon as this run is over, I will stop running and lift weights.  Lifting weights is much more enjoyable than running.

Today I went running outside.  I have no idea of the distance because I didn't really have a game plan when I started out.  I just began running around the neighborhood, weaving in and out of side streets.  It was a productive run.  I'm still a much better walker than I am a runner.  I am money when it comes to walking.  Sometimes it feels like I have gotten worse at running as my training goes on.  I can't run for long periods of time without stopping to walk.  However, when I do stop to walk I am instantly reenergized to start running again for the same short amount of time.  I can just do that the whole way and finish the race in Napa. 

My run/walk today covered 1 hour 3 minutes and 33 seconds.

On a related note, it's good to see my White Sox back on top.

Tuesday June 24, 2008

Weight:  I don't know.

I went running outside today.  I'm not sure of the distance, but I would put it at 3.5 or so.  I wanted to run all the way down to the end of the street, but they were laying fresh oil on the road, so I had to turn around and head home early.  It took me 34 minutes 36 seconds.

I did see my mom driving home during my run.  That was excitement at its finest.  I need to learn how to run for longer than 3 minutes at a time.  That will help me finish in Napa.  I tend to run for like 3 minutes and then walk for two.  It's bogus of me, but my knees hurt and I get thirsty.  So what can you do?

Sunday June 22, 2008

Weight:  182 pounds.  That's right I weighed myself.  I'm a big boy.

Yesterday I planned to run to Aunt Sue's house and today that's exactly what I did.  I altered my route just a little bit and Google Maps called it 5.7 miles.  However, I took the Perryville bike path instead of the road and the bike path jotted back and forth, extending my trip.  Unfortunately I do not know the exact distance, but I know that it was more than 6 miles.  Probably closer to 6.5.  That's my guess.

I did it in 1 hour 7 minutes.  It was my goal to do it in an hour, but I'll take that time.  I did a lot of walking.  I will do a lot of walking in Napa.  I wish I could do more running, but I just get so tired.  I hate it, but that's the way it is.

That's all for today.

Saturday June 21, 2008 & Friday June 20, 2008

First off, I would like to say Happy Summer to everyone!  Today is a good day because Aunt Scooty and her family come home from vacation.  I think that is about all the excitement for today.  I can't think of anything else going on today that is of any significance. 

You are getting our 2-for-1 Summer blog special today.  That's right two blogs at once.  I never got around to writing one for yesterday, so I'll give you a double dose today.

Weight:  Just a number.  A number that I don't know.  Still hovering around the 180 lbs. mark I would assume.  I promise to weigh-in tomorrow.  Promise.  But if your life revolves around knowing what my weight is, I'm afraid you have some deeper issues that need addressing.

On Friday I got up early before I went to work and headed to Cardinal Fitness.  Got on that treadmill with the intentions of doing a 20 minute run.  I did a 20 minute run.  I went 2.02 miles for an average pace of 6.08 mph.  It was hard to run because my legs get pretty sore from standing a lot.  But I'm as tough as nails, at least plastic toy nails, and so I gutted it out. 

Today I again decided that I wanted to do a 20 minute run.  Apparently I have gotten better at running over the past 24 hours because I went 2.06 miles this time.  For an average pace of 6.17 mph.  I was thirsty today, my left knee felt really sore for some reason, but overall my legs felt better.  Probably due to not working today.

We are less than a month away now from Napa.  I hope I can finish this race.  How embarrassing would it be if I couldn't?  Man, I would be humiliated.   Humiliated like my White Sox have been against the Cubs the last two days.  Man that sucks.  I hope we can salvage this next one tomorrow night and then take them at U.S. Cellular Field next week.  We shall see.  I have faith in my team. 

Tomorrow my plan is to run outside again.  This time I hope to run from our house to Aunt Sue's house.  Google maps says it's 5.5 miles from between houses and that it should take me 12 minutes to get there.  I think that I can do it in twelve minutes.  My goal is to be there in an hour after I leave home.  We shall see if how I do it.  I am going to run there and be driven home.  Perhaps sometime in the next month I will try running there and back for a cool 11 miles.  Perhaps.  Perhaps not.  Probably not.  But it'd be cool if I did.

Oh I just remembered today is Katie Meersman's 18th birthday.  Happy Birthday Katie!  She's already addicted to cigarettes, her eyes are shot from all the porn she's been watching, she won 30 bucks in the lottery, she's dating a 36 year-old, played craps at the casino, voted in an election that she knows nothing about and she's driven with more than 1 friend in her car. 

On a related note, she has stopped committing felonies as she will now be forced to face some serious time as opposed to going to Juvie. 

Happy Birthday Katie! 

Wednesday June 18, 2008

Weight: Unknown.  We may never know my exact weight again because I keep forgetting to weigh myself on days that I blog.  Last time I checked I was 181 lbs., I would have to believe I would be somewhere in that neighborhood.  If you were looking for a range I'd guess you'd be pretty safe saying anywhere from 150-225 lbs.  I definitely believe I fall somewhere in between those two figures.

I have been feeling pretty exhausted as of late.  I think it's a combo of being on my feet all day causing my legs to be stiff, as well as I've been a little out of sorts since I found out it will cost $4700 to fix my car.  That news kind of took a toll on my psyche.  I haven't really felt like running since Sunday, and today was no exception.  The only difference between today and the other days was that I forced myself to do it. 

I got on the treadmill today and my legs just refused to get loose.  I stretched before I went, but yet they remained tight throughout.  Today was more of a walk than a run because I just couldn't get my body going.  I went for a half-hour totaling 2.64 miles.  It was by far my slowest pace to date at 5.27 mph.  My average mile pace was 11:22.

This was actually pretty decent considering I was walking the majority of it.  It proves to myself that I can power walk the half-marathon and still finish in plenty of time.  I got an e-mail saying that if we don't finish a 12k distance, it was 7.something miles, in 2 hours 15 minutes that we will be forced to stop.  That is a 16 minute mile pace.  I can do that no problem. 

I was also impressed by the distance that I was able to go today even though I felt completely out of it today.  I don't know if it's leftover tiredness from my long run outside on Sunday or if it's from being on my feet all day, but one way or another, I need to figure out how to loosen up my legs.  Otherwise my training is in trouble.

Sunday June 15, 2008

Weight: Unknown.  I didn't weigh myself at all today.  One night in the past week I stepped on the scale and registered a big 186.0 lbs.  But this was at night and that always means that you weigh more.  I only do my official weigh-in in the morning.  The next morning when I weighed myself I was back down to 181 pounds.  That seems to be more of a realistic number.

Today I decided that I was going to go for a big long run outside.  I was determined to get my endurance up running outdoors.  From my running today I learned two things about what will happen July 20th in Napa.
1.  I will finish the race.
2.  I will do awful in the race.

I went non-stop outside today which is good, but I spent a lot of time walking.  I wasn't pleased with myself, but it was so hot and I was so thirsty.  I once again took two water bottles with me on my run, and not only is that uncomfortable to do, the water doesn't stand a chance in my warm hands.  Within 5 minutes the water heats up to what seems to be near boiling.  It's annoying. 

I mapped out my run on both Yahoo! Maps and Google Maps.  For some reason they didn't have the same distance.  Yahoo! said that I went 6.26 miles, while Google said that I went 5.6 miles.  I don't now who to believe.  I would like to believe Yahoo!, but I think Google may be more accurate.  Either way I felt it was a good run.  I accomplished it in 1 hour 8 minutes 4 seconds.  It could have been a lot faster, as I said I walked a lot of it.  More than I should have.  Hopefully that will get better as I continue to run outside over the next month.  It was by far my longest run outside.  I'm happy with it to a point, but I still need to get better.

Wednesday June 11, 2008

Weight:  Forgot to weigh myself.  Again.

Yesterday my plan was to run outside today and when today came, I executed that plan.  As soon as I started running outside I realized that I like the treadmill much better.  I like knowing exactly how far I've gone.  Not to mention that it was hotter than hell, I was slower than molasses, and I was thirstier than a guy without a colon. 

I prepared myself by bringing along a water bottle and a bottle of Gatorade.  This soon turned out to be annoying as I was running and carry two bottles at the same time.  Then I finished the Gatorade after about two minutes and didn't know what to do with the bottle.  So then I'm lugging around my garbage as I run. 

As soon as I got down to the end of the block I was wanting to stop, but then I decided that I needed to carry on.  I wasn't going to be doing myself any favors if I stopped.  I debated just running up to Cardinal Fitness and finishing the run on the treadmill, but then I convinced myself that I needed this outdoor preparation.

I ending up running for 3.88 miles for 43:18.  At least that's how far Yahoo! Maps told me I ran for.  It is a little bit slower pace than I hope to do in Napa, but I haven't ran outside in a long, long time so I'll take it.  I need to work on running for longer stretches of time before I take a walk break.  I would like to do like 7 minutes running and then 2 walking and then keeping up that trend.  Walking really reenergizes me and allows me to run a lot better when I start up again.  I think a lot of times though I can run for longer stretches then I do, it's all in my mentality and I have to realize that I need to tough things out.  We will see if I get better.  I set goals for myself when I run outside.  For instance, I will say to myself, "Ok self, run until you pass that stop sign up there."  I usually satisfy these goals, but perhaps I just need to set loftier goals.  Who knows?

It was also difficult running because everyone has their dogs outside and everyone of those dogs have a problem with me running by their house.  I don't sit there and yell at dogs as people walk by my house with them, so why do these dogs insist at barking at me when I pass by them?  I never know when they're going to charge at me or what.  I really am putting my life on the line every time I run. 

That is about all for now.  I hope to run outside more often.  I just need to find a way to stay more hydrated.  Cause I be a thirsty little guy. 

Tuesday June 10, 2008

Weight:  None of your business.

Did just a little bit of running today.  That was by design though.  I went 1 mile.  I really felt great after it and probably could've done 30 more, but I wanted to save myself for tomorrow.  That is because I don't work tomorrow, it's supposed to be nice, so I think I'm going to try my luck at running outside.  I want to see if I can go really far outside for the first time.  My only fear is that I'll get thirsty.  Scared to death of that fact actually.  When I run on the treadmill at Cardinal I can stop, run to the drinking fountain, fill up my water bottle and start running again.  I can't do that when I'm out in the open, so we'll see how it goes.

I received some Walk With Rachel photos from cousin Sarah.  Here they are:

Sunday June 8, 2008

Weight:  181.5 pounds.  Decent.

Well it's been a tough few days for the blog and for my working out.  I haven't been running much.  I've been doing a lot of standing throughout the day and when it's time to run I just don't feel as if my legs can carry me.  So I haven't been running much.

I'm going to be standing a lot and I hope it doesn't have long-term affects on my training, because I need to "kick it into high gear" as I say.

Saturday was the 3rd annual Walk With Rachel.  It is a fundraiser every year in the memory of Rachel Laird.  Every year the funds are donated to a specific cause at  Children's Memorial Hospital in honor of Rachel.  This year the money raised went to researching a cure for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.  I went to the walk in Elk Grove Village, Illinois and was very pleased with it.  I hope to receive some pictures from cousin Sarah sometime soon so I can put them up on the website.  So there was no running on Saturday because of the walk, but there was a 2+ mile walk.  So that did some good.  It helped prepare me to walk a great portion of the half-marathon.  Which I will do.  Mark my words, I will do.

Today I was back to running.  I was determined to have a productive day since they have been few and far between.  I did not disappoint myself.  I ran 52.4 furlongs today.  That was over 4 times the amount that Big Brown couldn't do yesterday at the Belmont.  In case you are not very equestrian, because I know I'm not, 52.4 furlongs = 6.55 miles.  In case you aren't very marathonic, 6.55 miles = 1/4 marathon.  In case you are very good at arithmetic, 6.55 miles = 1/2 half-marathon.  So I went 1/2 of what I will be doing on July 20.  I felt pretty good doing it too.  I finished in 64:03 at an average pace of 6.13 miles per hour. 

It felt great.  I imagine I could've gone even longer, but my goal had been reached so I said skip it. 

On an unrelated note, after talking up my car just yesterday about the fact that it has been running great for two years, just broke down today on the way home from Cardinal Fitness.  I do not know what is wrong with it, but yesterday at The Walk, I was bragging that I hadn't had to put hardly any maintenance into it.  Shot myself in the foot with that one. 

That is all for today.  

Tuesday June 3, 2008

Weight:  I am pretty sure that I weighed myself this morning.  But I don't really remember, and if I did, I certainly don't remember what it said.  So the weight for today is:  Unknown.

Before I went to Cardinal Fitness yesterday I was debating whether or not I wanted to run next store first and get a hair cut at Great Clips.  I decided that I was going to do it, but then at the last second I back out because I wanted to wait until I found a coupon.  Great Clips usually has pretty decent coupons and I didn't want to pay full price for a haircut.  So I opted to wait, not knowing how long it would be until I found a coupon.  I was fully prepared to go another year without a haircut if I didn't find a coupon until then.

Today when I came home from work I noticed that we had gotten a coupon book in the mail.  I went through it, got near the end and then BOOM! a $6.99 haircut at Great Clips.  It was just what I was looking for.  My hair had gotten fairly long and really there weren't a whole lot of positive comments said about it.  Actually, there wasn't a single positive thing said about my hair.  Plenty of negatives, but nothing positive.  I guess that means that it was time for a cut.  So before I went to Cardinal Fitness I walked over to Great clips and got myself a trim.  Last time I went I just had a little bit taken off, but this time I had them get out the clippers and really lower my ears.

Yesterday I all but guaranteed running 4 miles.  I all but guaranteed it because I didn't really want to end up running four miles.  I wasn't looking forward to doing it, but if for some reason I could pull it off, it would be nice.

Maybe it was the lighter stride I had due to having less hair on my head, or the extra motivation I had because I didn't want to let my blog followers down, but I was able to do it.  I ran 4.05 miles in 42 minutes.  I felt good when I finished.  I thought I was going to stop after 1.50 miles, I wanted to stop then, but I kept on going.  I knew I had to get to 4 and I did. 

I think I was also aided by the fact that ESPN was showing a replay of the 1987 NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers.  Unfortunately Larry Joe Bird and the Celtics lost to the Lakers in that series, but hopefully we'll see a different result in the 2008 NBA Finals.  It is always easier to run when there is something entertaining to watch on the TV in front of me.  Especially if it is something sports related.  I can then say ok, I'm going to run until there's this much time left in the game.  Set my goal and follow it.  With time outs and stoppages in play it can turn out to be a long time running non-stop.  It helps. 

It felt good to have back-to-back long running days.  I need to keep doing that.  Hopefully a 5 mile run this week??  Maybe??  I don't know.  Again, no guarantees.  But it would be nice.

I'm not sure if I'm going to take tomorrow off working out or not.  Wednesdays are supposed to be a day off when you work out on Monday and Tuesday, but we will see.  I would like to run again tomorrow, but I tend to look for any day off that I can have.  But, that was also the old Tom, now I'm High-Gear Tom.  So, stay tuned!

Monday June 2, 2008

Weight:  181.5 pounds.  The most I have weighed yet.  It probably has to do with the fact that I ate about 25 sandwiches on Saturday at my sister's graduation party.

June is here and that means that training is officially in high gear.  I am tired of making excuses for myself as to why I need to not train as hard as I should.  From now on I'm stepping it up a notch.  That is my promise to everyone as well as my promise to myself. 

I skipped working out on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  It was pitiful, absolutely pitiful.  Friday I came home from work and didn't work out because my friend Soper was in town from Portland, Oregon.  I hadn't seen him in a long time and the last time I saw him I had an ileostomy bag and wasn't very fun to hang out with.  So this time we were able to go out and enjoy ourselves like old times.  So, no working out.

On Saturday was my sister's graduation party.  I helped set up for that all night, as well as recovered from a Friday night out.  So, no working out.

On Sunday I was completely exhausted from a long weekend.  I had every intention of working out, but then took about 6 naps and never got around to it.  So, no working out.

Today I decided that because there is only a month and a half left before the big race, I needed to stop messing around.  I have been foolish.  I need to get it done.

I ran for 36 minutes today going 3.53 miles.  I really felt good most of the run.  I probably could've and should've gone more.  The only problem I experienced was that my shins were hurting again.  I hate when that happens.  It's annoying.  It was a good run.  I hope to go even farther tomorrow being that I now am back in the groove after taking a long weekend off.  Dare I say 4 miles tomorrow?  I hope so.  I can't make a guarantee on it because I really don't know how my legs will react to running that far two days in a row.  But we will see.  That is my goal.  If I can run that far tomorrow, I should've have a good idea of my ability to stretch myself even further. 

We'll see.  July 20th is rapidly approaching.