Running Plan

I've been trying to get back into the whole running thing. It has been painful! It’s too cold right now to push running outside for any extended period of time without risking sickness. So this leaves me the treadmill at the base gym.

My goal is a 32.5-inch waistline, which is what I need to get 100% on the AF fitness test. The only way that I have effectively been able to reduce my waistline is by running while steering my diet away from excessive sweets and fermented beverages (pretty much just like every one else).

The trouble is that I have not had a 32.5 inch waist line since my sophomore or junior year of High School. Being 73 inches tall and having a waistline of this caliber is bordering on anorexic (or so I have been telling my self). I've been fluctuating between 34 and 36 inches for about 9 years now. Last month I was tagged at 35 inches by my unit fitness monitor....but I think that he was being a little generous. This is about minus 9 points away from the perfect score I desire. I'm still able to get all of the points for running, sit-ups and pushups. But I cannot suck my gut in to 32.5 inches.

I say "waist line", but it is not really a waist measurement that the AF takes. It is more of a love handle measurement. They select the largest part of the midriff to measure (4 or 5 inches above the actual waist). So every can of beer, soda drink, slice of banana bread and piece of Christmas cake is counted.

So in December I was making good progress on my running plan. Here is my log.
Week one: 11 miles
Week two: 21 miles
Week three: 23 miles
Week four: 0 (ate a bunch of holiday badness)
And then pretty much nothing until last week when I eked out 13 miles. This week I only have one 5 mile run but I'm on track for 5 days of kendo so I don't feel too bad about the low mileage. My intermediate goal is to keep the mileage up to about 21M (35K) a week. So in the name of a 32.5-inch waistline, please do not seed any more chocolate or candy to Japan!...at least for a little while :)

Posted by paul at January 12, 2006 06:11 PM