Otterpop.Org

Tuesday night, I began feeling a little run down, so I decided to lay down in the living room for a few. I was feeling better later in the evening, so we continued our weekly tradition of going over to Scott & Amy’s house to watch The Biggest Loser. I woke up Wednesday morning and felt a little slow, but I went with Scott to the gym anyway. That was the big mistake. After about 3 minutes of running, I was defeated. I’ve been in bed for 2 days now, and am hoping to return to work tomorrow. Stress has been okay, so I’m not sure I’d blame it on that per se.

The real downside is that I still have a fever and can’t run tomorrow’s physical testing. Further than that, I have to drop out of the recruitment and join the next one. Que sera.

So we got the snow, not too long after the last post. Christmas was somewhat stressful but we made it through it alive. I’ve got 4 hirings that I’m in for in January (so far). I’ve been training a lot harder than last time, getting up at 5:30 am to run. I’m in the best cardiovascular shape of my adult life, and headed to my lowest weight.

A small victory is making it through the fridge season not only without putting on weight, but also dropping over 5 pounds. That puts me 16 pounds lighter than I was last test. Even if I miss the first one, I have another shot at the end of January, giving me 3 more weeks to train in between.

So I ran the popat today, and almost made it. I kicked the foam hurdle off the stand and when I went to put it back up, it bounced back onto the floor. That was pretty much the difference between making it and not. All in all, it was easier than last time. A lot easier. I’m going to take a few weeks off from streneous leg work, and then hit the gym at a more reasonable rate. I figure by the time hiring comes around again, I will be 10-20 pounds lighter and will have zero problem. Icing it for the next few weeks though. time to relax.

I have developed posterior shin splints due to the fact that I supinate when I run. That’s bad. It hurts worse than nearly any other leg pain. On the positive side, I got a new pair of running shoes to help me through my training and qualification process. Nike Air Zoom Vomero II+. Let me tell you. Shoes engineered for fat guys. They are the most comfortable shoes in history. I have to take a few days off of running or else I won’t be able to walk.

I “get to” return to running on Monday.

(Ba da DA DAAAA. Ba dat dat da DAAAA)
I got my official offer to test for the PD.
It’s been a hectic but good week. My mile time is hovering around 8 minutes, but I am hoping to cut it down in the next month. I have almost an entire month to do it in, so that shouldn’t be too hard, I don’t think. Here’s hoping.

My previous time had been about 12 minutes for a mile. I haven’t run on a treadmill for a long time, but I got up there today and put down a 7 minute mile. I’m going to recalibrate my Nike+ unit and try it again tomorrow after work. It felt good though.

So it didn’t go so well. I aced the written test, but the Sgt. said they weren’t allowed to give us our scores. Said I did well though. It was all really easy for me. Mostly simple memorization and like 30 questions about constitutional law.

So I’m not taking it hard, or personally, and just continuing to hit the gym. There’s another hiring later this year, and there are about 10 other agencies in the nearby area that I wouldn’t mind working for either, though I am rather attached to my department.

At least I know I’ll be free for my cousin Tim’s wedding August 2nd.

So the countdown continues. I have 6 days until my testing for the department. Top 50 written scores go on to the physical test (I am not expecting to be below the top 50 written, so there’s no stress there.) and then if you pass the physical, you get an interview.
So after running like a madman this weekend, the schedule is:
Monday: stairs till I want to die
Tuesday: run/walk minimum 2 miles. Minimum .25 miles @ 8 minute pace
Wednesday: stairs until I want to die
Thursday: run/walk 2 miles. Minimum .35 miles @ 8 minute pace
Friday: eat dinner and go to bed early. RELAX.
Saturday morning is the test. Let’s hope I’m not at work by noon.

Today I ran with the Nike Plus kit again. Listened to one of my all time favorite bands, The Crystal Method. They did a special mix for the Nike + iTunes called Drive, which is a progressively faster mix ideal for running and cooldown. I did the whole 46 minutes today, which is by far a record for me. The Lance Armstrong message programmed into the iPod kit is pretty cool too. I was like, “Thanks, Lance!”

Thursday will consist of upping my pace to 8 minute mile, and going for distance. From there, I just have to increase the distance. I think I have a pretty good shot at it.

I applied for current hiring at the PD. Since I’ve been out of the gym for a while I picked up one of the Nike + iPod kits. Borrowing my brother’s iPod Nano, I took it for a spin. It’s pretty neat, and tracks your running Progress. I’m trying to get myself below an 8 minute mile.
So far, on a broken treadmill, I managed about 16 minutes. Mostly in that i wasn’t allowed to really run on it. Every time I tried to make it go to 5 mph or greater, it backs itself down to 2.3 mph. Going to try a different one today. Progress report soon.