Welcome

May 31, 2006

Yes! The resources page is finally up! The link to it (and the archives) can be found on the left hand side of every page. Getting to the archives was a pain so I put the link of the left where everyone can easily find it.

What happened to the Social Blog? You may have noticed that it is no longer on the left side and footer. I am going to be taking that one down. That has been the blog I have updated the least. (Even this blog is updated more than that one is!). So, eventually, it will fade out. The menu bar at the top will be updated as well. However, I lost the original PNG file for the navigation bar and I want to make sure my fonts match. I don't remember which font I used.

So, again, the resources page is open and ready for you to use. Feel free to suggest links to place there. Feel free to send me your links and I'll do my best to put them up!

Next big update: online contact form. :-)

RP

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It's All About Determination

Let me be honest, you have seen my first few weeks of running. They are not great! Why is this? I just do not have the desire to start running right now. Correction: I did have the desire to start running, I just do not have the enthusiasm to keep it up.

To keep yourself running here are a few suggestions:

• Run with a partner. You are more likely to show up if they are counting on you to be there.
• Set aside time to run each day. If you make it a habit, it will become "natural" to go running at 5am or 5pm each and everyday.
• Don't FREAK OUT if you miss a running day. It happens! If you can find some time to make it up, take advantage of it. 20 minutes of running is better than none.
• Track your running. You will see how much you progress and it will be amazing! (Just don't over do it like I do. If you start slowing down, you may end up de-motivating yourself.)
• Running is not constant. Memorize that statement. You will not always be running a mile in 7 minutes. Some days you may run it in 10 minutes, other days you may run it in 6 minutes. Your times will vary. However, you result will be the same: you're staying healthy.

These are just some very, very basic ways to keep yourself running. You may have your own reasons to keep running: running for a charity event, a promise made to yourself, etc.

If you have some more suggestions to add to the list, post them to the comment list below!

Enjoy running and never give it up!

RP

Tags [?]: Running Tips, Fitness, Motivation, Running

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May 29, 2006

For those of you who inch across every nook of this site have seen at least one big update: the FAQ is online! The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page is online and can be accessed by clicking on the FAQ link in the upper right hand section of any page.

The Resources page is still under construction and not mentioned anywhere else on the site but here. I have been asked by a few readers to make a page that has links to other running sites, running tools (like Favorite Run), book recommendations, top gear, etc. I can confirm that this page will be up within a few weeks (giving myself a large window). However, it may not remain a page and may become a blog at some point. Yet, I do like the idea of having a centralized list of links, book recommendations, etc.

So, keep coming back and see the updates. These are generally a result of your e-mails so don't be afraid to send them my way!

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May 28, 2006

For those of you who pay strict attention to my log and are "tisking" me right now, I am sorry to say that I really do not have any good explanation. The fact of the matter is: running is hard, work is fun (the world goes: huh?), and my social life has taken over.

I need to find the motivation to stay running and keep myself getting back in shape. Once my summer job goes full force, I will definately begin running on a daily basis. Seeing as I will be lifeguarding at a daycamp lake, there is no doubt that a majority of my day will be in the water swimming and just having fun with the kids.

So, right now, I am on the Wonka Syndrome. I have disappeared for no reason but will be coming back. (Hint: I will be giving out prizes soon enough for those dedicated readers of this site, so keep coming back!)

- RP

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May 17, 2006

Miles Tracking

Day	Miles Run	Miles Walked	Time
Monday	0	0	0 min
Tuesday	0	0	0 min
Wednesday	1.5	0.5	28 min
Thursday	0.9	0.55	20 min
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Totals	2.4	1.05	48 min

Weight Tracking

Starting Weight	210
Ending Weight	TBD
Difference	TBD

For weekly totals, visit the total by week post.

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What an awful week!

I was hoping to run at least 10 miles in my first week and that did not happen. Between being sick, finishing college, my birthday, and graduation I found little interest in running. I must strive to do better during week two. Hopefully this will not be a problem! My cold is starting to go away and my biggest worry is studying for my CDL exam.

So far I haven't run on Monday or Tuesday. So, first thing after this post I am going to take a run on the treadmill to get me back on the charts again.

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May 12, 2006

Lately I have not had the time to run. I know: excuses, excuses. My cold has not gotten any better and when I get home I am just exhausted. Last night I wasn't able to run because I was out for my birthday. Today I was planning to run but there were two problems. First, I couldn't run because I didn't have my shoes. Second, I couldn't run because my head was throbbing and my face was numb from pain of be congested all night long. Ugh.

Tomorrow is graduation and I hope that after this weekend I will get back to running. I want to keep losing weight not gaining it. I have a big weekend in store for me and I need to be careful!

Run "Away" Pete

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May 8, 2006

Good news!

I went to the doctor's office today for a follow up to my blood pressure. They checked it and now I am only at 130/80 which is much better than what they first reported! As you can guess I am pretty excited about this. First, this means that I can take my CDL Bus written exam and get my license. Second, it means I'm healthier than thought. Third, I can drink myself stupid after graduation (okay, maybe not that much, but I can still enjoy a few drinks with my friends).

Just so you know, I am still going to eat salads at lunch. They're delicious and only $1.45. Yum, yum! To celebrate, I'm off to run.

- Running "Low on Pressure" Pete

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May 7, 2006

Miles Tracking

Day	Miles Run	Miles Walked	Time
Monday	1.5	.8	36 min
Tuesday	0	0	0 min
Wednesday	0	0	0 min
Thursday	Happy	B-day!	:-)
Friday	0	0	0 min
Saturday	Rest	Rest	0 min
Sunday
Totals	1.5	.8	36 min

Weight Tracking

Starting Weight	210
Ending Weight	TBD
Difference	TBD

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Over the last two weeks my running has been greatly halted. I am not feeling so well.

Many advice columns I have read say to take it easy when you are sick. I started off with a sore throat and a running nose. Now, I am down to just a running nose and lots of NyQuil and DayQuil (oh fun!). How much should I decrease my running by?

I went to find out the other day when I went for a 2.5 trek through the forest preserve. I decided to divide it up equally between running and walking. I ran 1.3 and walked 1.2. I would run for a little bit and then take some time to walk. I measured most of this by trail markers in the forest preserve. I had to breath through my mouth which was reasonable since I already to that.

After my run I felt a more relaxed than I usually do. I ended up taking a lot more of my walking at the end of the trek than I did at the beginning. Perhaps that is why I experienced such a relaxed state. However, my nose seemed cleared and I felt alright.

I will still be taking it easy while I am sick. I will not be pushing myself too hard or attempting to increase my longest running distance. Currently, I am at half a mile for the longest I can run before I start to feel some discomfort in my body. I also learned yesterday that even if it is 50 degrees outside, I still need to bundle up. I still find it hard to believe that even I forgot to bundle up while being sick!

Going for a run today. I think I might do a relxed 2 miles or so today. Miles are posted on the log!

~ Runny Nose Pete

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May 6, 2006

Miles Tracking

Day	Miles Run	Miles Walked	Time
Saturday	1.3	1.2	38 min
Sunday	1.3	1.2	33 min
Totals	2.6	2.4	71 min

Weight Tracking

Starting Weight	210
Ending Weight	210
Difference	None

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I have given a vareity of reasons why I need to run again.

• I'm overweight
• I'm out of shape and
• I'm going to lifeguard this summer

After going to the doctor today for my physical I found another reason to add to the list. I have high blood pressure. People around my age have an average blood pressure of 120/80. Want to guess what mine is? It is about 150/100. Not only does that mean that I have another unhealthy aspect in my life, it also means that I am not able to become a certified bus driver. To be a bus driver in Illinois, the maximum your blood pressure can be is 160/90. As you can see, I am close to the cut off point.

I have asked myself what I have done to get this high blood pressure. It should not be that hard to figure out. In college I ate unhealthy food, I rarely exercised, this past year my stress level has sky rocketed, etc. But to dwell on those is not going to help. What can I do to get my blood pressure down?

First of all, I need to start running daily. This will not be hard. After all, it is already my plan. Second, I need to watch what I eat. For lunch I made myself a nice salad with broccoli, green peppers, and red onions. It was delicious! Third, I need to take it easy. Yes, college is over and that should be a major help. Becoming stressed is not going to help at all.

The doctor said that I need to be rechecked the next time I come in. So, while I know nothing will make my blood pressure drop to 150/90 in the next two days, I know that I need to start changing my lifestyles now. The doctor told me that it is possible I was nervous, that my cold may have affected it, and that I just was not being relaxed in the examination room. Regardless, it is time to get running and start eating healthy 24/7.

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May 3, 2006

Good evening everyone!

The site updates continue like a well-oiled machine. Here are some of the latest updates.

• Site Search: You can now search all four blogs. There are more search options available than just searching by keyword. For now, however, I would like to keep it as just keyword searching. I will add the other features at a later time. Just so you know, you can only search the blogs and nothing else. That is okay. Besides software and images, there are only a few non-blog files on this site.
• Comments: The comments are up and running. All the templates have been applied to all of the comment responses (I hope). Also, please be aware that your comment will not be immediately posted. I will receive an e-mail any time someone posts a comment. I then have to approve your comment before it will appear. If you are posting comments, please allow at least 12+ hours before it shows up on the site.
• FavIcon: For those of you who do not know what this is, look at the address bar in your browser. Hoepfully you will see a little running person. That is the "FavIcon." I put one up because my error log was filled with requests for one. I like to keep my error logs clean.
• Error Pages: Yes, I finally have error pages. Hopefully you will never see these. Most of these were put in place so that people would not go snooping around directories to see what fun files are in there. So, if you get a 403 error, back out! :-)

That pretty much wraps up what I have been doing the past few days. Stay around because things are just getting started!

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May 1, 2006

Good evening everyone!

I have been busy this night working on the site. Here are some of the updates that I have done to the site over the past few days.

• Images: If you pay close attention you will see that the banner image changes on most pages. The program is supposed to randomly select an image. Hopefully you'll be able to see all of them. I think one day I will have a contest to see if you can tell me how many images there actually are.
• Links: I have updated most of the links so that they actually work. Hopefully they all go to where they are supposed to go. I got into a habbit when first coding the site not to include the full path to the address. So I have had to go back and check for any of those links. I think I found them all.
• Site Map: Yes, I made a site map. Use it when you get lost. Link is at the bottom of every page.
• Standards: I am doing my best to make sure all code is up to standard. I think there are some errors here and there. But, for the most part, it is looking good!
• Google Adsense: Just trying it out. They are small and only appear on the blogs. If they get too annoying, I'll pull them off. Until then, they are helping me keep this site alive and running.
• Title Images: Almost every page has a matching title image now. These are the images in the upper left underneath the navigation bar. For example, the one of this page should say "The Blogs." They will change depending where you are on the site.
• Archives!: I have made an archives page. I am working on it still so do not expect it to be fully funcitonal just yet. The link can be found on the site map page. I also have to look at the coding for it. For example, the blogs are set to only display the last X number of posts. Yet, the archive is set to load the blogs so that it shows all posts. A slight conflict there. All this means is that if you look at the archive for a blog, it won't show you everything.

I'm exhausted from all of this work! I'll keep posting on the updates as they come along. Keep me informed if you find anything broken (excpet for the comments page, I know about it).

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Totals by Week

Week	Miles Run	Miles Walked	Time
Pre	2.6	2.4	71 min
One	1.5	0.8	36 min
Two	TBD	TBD	TBD
Totals	4.1	3.2	107 min

Totals Miles Run and Walked: 7.3

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Weight Tracker

Starting Weight	230 lbs
Current Weight	198 lbs
Total Lost	32 lbs

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