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20K Challenge Day 22: I took Peter to soccer practice in Winterset this morning and did a 10k around the streets of Winterset. The town is a bit hilly so it was a good hills workout also. 6.5 miles total and the legs are starting to feel better. I have lost 6 pounds so far but hoping to lose another 15 before the race. Just 7 more weeks till race day.

20k challenge Day 29: ran 7.5 miles today then went to Skyzone with the kids and jumped and flipped for another 2 hours of cardio and sweat. Lost 12 pounds total so far thanks to illness this week which I had me in bed for three days. Will be glad when I can run without long johns on and three sweatshirts. It’s going to warm up someday right?

20K Challenge Day 36: Seems like just yesterday I signed up for the race. The time is flying by as I train and the miles are going by as well. 5 weeks down and 5 to go! Today I ran 8.5 miles and my legs felt like they had more left in them. I went on a nature trail through the woods and walked another 2 miles enjoying the spring like weather that has finally arrived. Each Saturday that I do my lon…g run for the week I seem to be getting stronger and faster. My splits today for each 2 miles section were within seconds of each other. I hope to work on getting my times down a bit before the race but I am happy with my progress so far since I am running alone. I have leveled out on the weight loss as I had to start eating more protein as I was starting to feel fatigued from the mostly vegan diet I have been trying to convert to. So for now I am going to stay with eating some meats and eggs as I am not sure how to get the needed protein without it.

Day 1 20K project: I rode the bike for 10.5 miles to get the legs working again. Once my toes thaw out (temps in 20’s here today) I will go for a short run to introduce my body to running again.

Day 1 20k Project: part 2. Just ran/walked 2 laps. Wow I am out of shape. Don’t ask me how I know this but eating a big plate of lasagna right before working out is not a good idea. However if you do, please make sure you chew your food thoroughly as to make it less painful when it ejects from your body. I accomplished my goal for day 1. I am alive to post a status on FB.

Day 2 20k challenge: i did 12 miles on the bike. Ran/walk 1 mile. Legs are sore.

Day 3 20k Challenge: I biked for 21 miles and ran a mile walked a half mile ran another half mile and walked a half mile. For a total of 2.5 miles run/walk. I ran the first mile just to get a baseline of my time for a mile. 10:15 for the mile. Legs are still really sore and I have no stride. Short choppy steps. finished off with 25 pushups and 25 sit-ups. No running or biking tomorrow snow on the way and I will work on cardio at Skyzone with Raegan.

Day 4-7 20K Challenge: After 3 days of rest, snow, and father daughter time. It was time to get back out there. I found a new pacer today as Raegan rode her bike along with me as I ran. I ran 2 miles in 19:30 and felt good like I could keep that pace longer however I am really trying to avoid any injuries as I build up to the 20k race so I am starting slow. After the run Raegan informed me that she did not even break a sweat as I sat there with sweat soaked cloths.

20K Challenge Update: I had a couple people ask me about my schedule to go from the couch to finishing the 20k without death or paralysis. I started with the last 11 days being a slow buildup till I could run for 30 minutes without stopping. This took me the last 11 days of biking and running but mostly biking to keep the legs from going into shock from the effort. During this time I also reviewed many different training schedules and the one pictured below is what I have come up with. This is a modified schedule from the book “The Non-Runners Marathon Trainer” Adapted down to the 20k distance in 9 weeks. Today was the first day of running for week 1. I ran on the trail at Lake Red Rock and it was a nice change to the city blocks of Smallville, Iowa.

I was approaching 46 years old and was 6’ 2” and weighing in over 220 pounds. Being self-employed I developed a bad habit of consuming a case of either Mt. Dew or Cherry Coke a day. This along with my diet of fast food, buffets, and lack of exercise had caught up to me. Living alone meant that I would work long hours in the shop and catch a quick bite wherever I could. When I had my kids on the weekends we would go out to dinner or order pizza in. I needed to change my lifestyle and I needed to do it soon.

On March 21st 2013 a friend on Facebook had posted that they had signed up for the Dam to Dam 20K race here in Iowa. If I signed up today I would have 10 weeks to get ready for the race. So in an effort to guilt myself into doing the training and to run I went ahead and signed up before I could change my mind. I talked my oldest son into doing it too. A friend Cindy joined in and now I had the pressure I needed to force me to follow through with this 20K race. I posted my new goal on my facebook page for all to see.  Then I sat down and watched as many friends sent encouragement my direction. I woke up the next morning with a new outlook on the new adventure I was about to embark on. I purchased a pair of running shoes and I went to the local track to run my first mile. This day was to become “Day 1 of the 20K Challenge”.