My legs haven’t been sore in a very long time.

I came home today from my first softball practice and my legs were sore.  The practice wasn’t very physical or difficult, it was just a lot of standing flat footed for nearly 2 and a half hours.

I was invited to join the team by an old high school buddy who also moved up to Columbia from Summerville (about 100 miles).  Otherwise, I don’t know anybody else on the team (most are college kids), but they’ll be fun to play with.  It’s a good mix of new and experienced players.

I haven’t played on an “organized” team since I played soccer when I was 16.  Almost 10 years have passed since then and over 100 pounds have been gained and it’s refreshing getting back onto the field again.  I’m an extremely competitive person by nature and being in shape for the first time in my life makes it really easy to actually compete.

Practice is from 2-4 every Sunday with games starting sometime in Mid-March.  I don’t know what the team name will be nor do I know the team colors yet, but I do know we might be looking for one or two more females to balance out our co-ed team.

Interested?

Once a man known not to get out of his car to check the mail (walking back down the driveway was hard to 344 pounds!), a little while ago I set out to run a mile in under 10 minutes.  I missed my original goal to do so before December 18th, but that was no reason to stop trying.  And I didn’t.

I finally ran a 10-minute mile this past weekend.

Twice, actually, on two separate visits to the gym.  I just wanted to make sure that it wasn’t a fluke and I could really run a mile in 10 minutes.

The best part of these two runs is that I wasn’t gassed at the end.  I wasn’t running “uncontrollably” (arms swaying, dehydrated, panting, etc) when I finished, I was calm, cool, and collected.  When the run was over, I had a quick cool down walk, took a sip of water, and walked off the machine.

I felt like a rock star, no doubt.

It took a lot longer to progress to a 10-minute mile than I thought it would.  Even using a lot of the helpful tips I collected when I posted my original goal I was still unable to get past my total inability to keep steady, paced breathing.  If I could offer one tip and one tip only on running a faster mile, it would be to focus on your breathing.  Your legs really have less to do with running than you think.  Running is more form, focus, and control.

It’s only upward and onward from this accomplishment.  I’m going to concentrate on increasing my elevation up to 3.0 and once I’m able to do a mile like that in under 10 minutes, I’ll gradually increase my speed and aim for an 8-minute mile.  Then, we’ll be working on distance and endurance.

One mile, two miles, three miles, four.  And so it’ll go.

Have any new suggestions for others trying to run a 10-minute mile?  What about for me as I progress on my eventual journey to run 20-miles, uphill, both ways, on my way to school in the snow?

I haven’t stepped foot on my beloved elliptical machine in over a month.

I’ve been addicted to running and keep pushing myself more and more to see what I can handle.  Currently, I’m following the 2:30/2:30 ratio.  Simply put, that means I walk briskly (3.6 mph) for two and a half minutes, then run (5.0 mph) for two and a half minutes, repeat 6 times (30 minutes) on a 2.5 incline.

That’s an improvement from the 4/1 ratio I was doing in June.

With this current ratio I can run over 2 miles in 30 minutes.  To put that into perspective, to pass the physical fitness test and become a South Carolina State Trooper you must be able to run 1.5 miles in 14 minutes.

I plan to start running outdoors more and more to train for the Cooper River Bridge Run.  By the run on March 27th I hope to have long-since abandoned the 5-minute ratio system and be able to run a solid two miles continuously without slowing down or running out of breath.

Not bad, considering walking two miles in January was a stretch.

With that being said, spending 30 minutes on the treadmill isn’t my only daily cardio at the gym.  I also spend 10 minutes on the StairMaster after every running session and burn around 100 calories climbing 30 flights of stairs.

I wouldn’t exactly call it a cooldown, though.

Would I recommend this cardio workout routine to someone just starting their weight loss journey?  Absolutely not, I know that I wouldn’t have been able to do it 9 months ago, let alone 3 months ago.  But, as you become faster, more agile, and more physically fit, you will realize, just as I did, that you have to stay ahead of your body’s resistance level to keep burning calories.

Unfortunately, the days when I could just hop onto the elliptical for 20 minutes and lose 5 pounds a week are long gone.  I have to earn every pound these days.

Hopefully, pound number 121 comes tomorrow.

Saturday, March 27, 2010.

That’s the date of my local Cooper River Bridge Run, my first 10K race.

6 months ago I was 350 pounds and couldn’t run down my drive way without becoming exhausted, forget about participating in a 10k race.  And while I’m not certain I’ll be able to run the entire 6.2 miles, I know I can at least finish.

I have 8 months to prepare.  I’ll be ready.

Anybody else going to be participating in the Cooper River Bridge Run?  Do you runners have any tips for someone running their first marathon?

Today marks the 28th consecutive day of going to the gym.

I never used to go to the gym every day of the week until about a month ago.  It wasn’t a conscious decision to keep going over the weekend — it just gradually happened.  Instead of taking Saturday and Sunday off like I did for the first 5 months, the gym naturally merged itself  into my every day routine.

Like waking up and breathing.

I almost feel “empty” until I step into the gym at night and go to work.  I’m absolutely in love with going to the gym and being pushed to my physical limits.  It’s an addiction.  I know that the more I workout, the more calories I burn, and the more I have to show for it on the scale next Wednesday.

The accountability drives me.  This blog drives me.

While the updates on my treadmill and elliptical workouts may be interesting to read on your coffee break and the workout pledges maybe a fun gimmick, every single one of you that has followed, commented, or sent me an e-mail through this blog over the past 6 months has had a little part in saving my life.

I’ll live another 20 years because of you.  You saved my life.

And you drive me.