Bob Harper's Inside Out Method : Bob's Workout Review

I have also reviewed the other dvds in the series - "Pure Burn, Super Strength", "Body Rev, Cardio Conditioning" and "Yoga for the Warrior".

This is the fourth and final dvd in Bob Harper's "Inside Out" series.  I may be wrong, but I believe you can only get this one directly from his website (and if you buy all 4 as a set, it's a terrific deal).

It consists of two 30 minute workouts in which Bob is one-on-one with a selected minion.  He doesn't do any of the exercises himself (that's what minions are for after all), but he does provide non-stop commentary and instruction.

It is different to the others in the series in that the production is more low-budget and basic, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  I miss the countdown timer on-screen, but I don't miss some of the "artistic" camera effects.  This is more your "sawdust on the floor" old-school workout.

The claim is that these are the type of workouts Bob does when he goes to the gym.  If that is true, all I can say is it's no wonder that he's in such great shape, because these are anything but easy.  Every time I've done them (and I've done both a lot) I've finished up super heated, dripping sweat and feeling tired but exhilarated.

Workout 1 claims to concentrate on "extreme core based upper body training", and workout 2 on "advanced core based lower body training".  That's just a pile of marketing BS - they are really whole body interval workouts (though if I had to voice an opinion, I would say workout 1 favors lower body and workout 2  favors upper).


Workout 1
Stephanie, the mouth-breathing facial contortionist from the strength dvd is the minion in this workout.  She shows a quirky sense of humor which I liked, and she's obviously pushing herself.  But at many points during the workout I could swear I was ahead of her in the count only to find that she'd reached the end before me.  And this happened workout after workout.  It really irked me.  So I replayed the workout and counted her.  Guess what?  She's can't count.  She skips reps on multiple exercises, so you're left with a choice - either skip a few reps on each set or keep pressing the pause button.

Or maybe I'm doing her an injustice and they just edited it badly.  Either way, I wonder why the production crew didn't spot it.  I kept finding myself yelling "there's no freaking way" at the tv screen (much to Nancy's annoyance).

Despite that minor gripe, this is one of my favorite workouts.  It's less than 30 minutes but is super intense.  It's also home to some of my nemesis exercises - in particular, rollups and the sadistic Turkish getups.

At one point, Stephanie tells Bob that her body is so heated she feels like she's been laid over a charcoal grill and is sizzling away.

I know just what she means.

As far as equipment goes, they use a pair of dumbbells and kettlebells (I don't have kettlebells, but the dumbbells work just fine).  There are some elevated rows (and elevated one legged plank), which I used the coffee table for. Everything else is powered by you.


Workout 2
This one features Zack from the Cardio Conditioning dvd.  I found this the harder of the two workouts, whereas Nancy found the other one tougher.  Maybe it's because I used heavy weights for this.

Bob is relentless here - he pushes Zack to exhaustion and beyond.  The guy got so red that I seriously thought he was going to puke or pass out, and eventually he is unable to complete the exercises and has to take a break.

I liked the fact that I was able to outlast him, but it did leave me wondering what I should be doing while he's taking a break, so I just carried on doing deadlifts.  At one point, Zack is doubled over sucking wind for over a minute while Bob prowls around trying to fill time (with an evil grin on his face).

The equipment used here are dumbbells, kettlebells, elevated step (for plyo pushups and step-ups - again I used the coffee table) and a skipping rope (used in the warmup).  Of these, I only had the dumbbells, and didn't feel I was missing out on anything - I still got a great workout.

At just under 30 minutes apiece, these workouts are excellent if you need to get in an intense interval workout but don't have time for the full hour sufferfests offered up by the other dvds in the series.


So there you are.  This 4-dvd set is probably the best workout collection I own.  Each one of the workouts is tough and demanding, and they all feature regularly in my rotation.

If you are just beginning an exercise program, you may want to start with something a little easier.  But if you have a measure of fitness, and are prepared to put it all out there, these will certainly get you results.

Sixes and Sevens

I woke this morning to temperatures of 25F. It was frosty and still - beautiful running weather.  This is when my running really comes to life.  My schedule called for 12 miles, and since my old group at Round Rock Fit were also scheduled to run 12, I decided to head up there and say hello to everyone.

It was great to see all my old friends again, and I was looking forward to chatting away the miles, but I found I'd opened up a huge gap within the first half mile, and ended up running alone.  I wondered why everyone was running so slowly until I realized they weren't - it was just that I was running 6:50s.

Last year when I was one of the coaches I often ran sweeper for the group, so I never got the chance to do the whole run at my natural pace.  But after running for myself the past few months, and building up my speed over 10 and 20 miles, I really saw the difference today.

I have done several runs before where I've managed a sub-7 minute mile, but I've never been able to string a series of sub-7s together.  But when I hit the first 3 miles all around 6:50 pace, I started to wonder if I could do the whole run at a sub-7.

So taper and easy run went out the window and a sub-7 finish became my new goal for the day.

And I did it - by 2 seconds.  I finished the 12 miles in 1:23:58 (6:59 pace), and sneaked home courtesy of a 6:42 last mile.  I really had to dig deep, but I was super proud of myself.  That was a barrier I've wanted to break down for quite a long time, and I had no idea that today would be the day I got it.

Yeah, maybe not the easy taper run I should have done, but a great mental boost before White Rock.  I can only hope we have the same weather conditions for the race.

The White Rock Diaries (week 5 of 5)

Well we're into the last week of the White Rock countdown. Last week was a bit of a pullback week for me, and this week should be another taper down to my goal race next Sunday.

Things have gone really well, and I'm hoping for a good race in Dallas.

Date	Saturday November 27th
Plan	am - 12 miles pm - Plyometrics (1 hour)
Outcome	6:30am - 25F, cold and still.  Magnificent running weather.  Really should have taken it easy, but when conditions are like this I just have to go for it.  Ran 12 miles in 1:23:58 (6:59 pace) - the first time I've ever finished a run averaging under 7 minute mile (albeit by 2 seconds). pm - didn't make this one. Family time took precedence.

Date	Sunday November 28th
Plan	am - 8 miles pm - Yoga
Outcome	6:00am - 42F.  Did a nice easy-paced 14 miles this morning with Steve, Meghan and Clea.  Still ran 8:30s, and enjoyed the beautiful morning. pm - ah, an hour of yoga with the mop top guru known as Bryan Kest. Very relaxing - I almost fell asleep during corpse pose.

Date	Monday November 29th
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Bob workout 2 (30 minutes)
Outcome	pm - that yoga session last night was really good as my legs were quite sore today.  Tonight I managed the first 5-7 minutes of the workout before Dylan decided to wake up and scream the house down (a new development).  As this is taper week, I didn't really mind and went to soothe him while Nancy completed the workout.

Date	Tuesday November 30th
Plan	am - 8 miles pm - Yoga
Outcome	4:30am - 52F and really windy.  At several points during this run, it was all I could do to keep moving forward against the wind.  Decided to hold back and not push it too much - finished in 1:03:23 (7:55 pace). pm - another hour of Bryan Kest.  This time I really did fall asleep during corpse pose!!!

Date	Wednesday December 1st
Plan	am - 8 miles pm - Bicycle trainer (30 minutes)
Outcome	am - woke up for my run this morning and my calf completely cramped up.  After massaging it for a while, I figured I hadn't drunk enough after my yoga practice last night so I decided to skip the run and enjoy the rest instead.  So that's it - my next run will be on race morning pm - spun 'em around for 30 minutes.  Done with working out until the race.

Date	Thursday December 2nd
Plan	am - nothing pm - nothing
Outcome	Rest

Date	Friday December 3rd
Plan	am - nothing pm - nothing
Outcome	4:30am - 49F and clear, beautiful morning.  Ok, so I got antzy and met Clea for an easy-paced 7 miles.  Good to stretch my legs.  All set for Dallas.

The Things you See

So I was out doing my run early this morning, and as I made the turn onto Woodrow I spotted an older gentleman with a huge belly striding purposefully along wearing nothing but baseball cap, hiking boots and a European-style skintight buttock-clenching speedo.

The image is still burned into my retinas.

Now I'm European, but even I have been banned from wearing speedos.  It was one of the first rules Nancy put in place when we first met, and I have been grateful to her ever since.

But enough talk of paunchy posing pouches.

Many congratulations to my little brother who ran a breakout 1:37 at the hilly Conwy half marathon this past weekend.  It's nice to see somebody who has worse race photos than me.

Contrary to popular belief, he did not run it in a speedo!!!

The Spouse Smackdown

As I have documented extensively in these very pages, I hate working out on the bicycle trainer.  It is one reason why you will never see me do an ironman (and probably not even a triathlon).  So Sunday night (a workout-free zone for me) I found myself watching Nancy as she pounded the hell out of the thing.  At one point she was doing 120rpms while I sat there with my mouth open, comparing that to my "damp squid" of an effort the night before.

Fast forward an hour, and we were sitting in front of the tv catching up on past episodes of Chuck (our favorite tv show), when I happened to casually toss out the "hand grenade" comment that really she should still be working out on the bike while watching the show.  She countered with somewhat less than complementary comments about my "effort" of the previous night, which led to an admittedly shaky defence of said effort, which (somehow or other) led to me agreeing to a "2 chuck" challenge.

Which basically means I have to stay on the bike and keep pedaling for the duration of 2 Chuck episodes.

That's about 90 minutes total.

Or 5400 seconds if you happen to be counting.

Which I happen to be doing.

How do I keep getting myself into these stupid challenges?  This is the damn cracker challenge all over again (and btw, I know the cracker challenge is possible because my buddy Derek confirms he actually managed it).

So the spouse smackdown challenge is tentatively set for Wednesday evening.  If it doesn't happen then, it will be reconvened after White Rock.

But there's something the good lady wife doesn't yet realize, and it is this.

Babe, if I have to do it, you're going to have to do it too!!!

Running with the Moon Gods

If I were a horror movie director, I would have had my film crew up early Saturday morning because we had the perfect combination - a misty morning with a huge blood red full moon.  I loved it.

And I had a great run to boot.

I met up with Clea for my last 20 miler before White Rock and we chatted away the miles - I don't think a 20 miler has ever gone by so easily.  We didn't really pay much attention to our pace, and the miles flew by as we savored the aroma of barbecue surrounding the few tailgaters in the downtown area.

As we got near to the end I decided to put in a big effort, and managed a 6:48 for the last mile - a great way to finish up the run.

Oh, Mike and Clea - the carrot cake was delicious!!!

Most of the rest of Saturday was taken up playing with Gavin down at the park.  We took the ball, and it was a good few hours of "kick it high daddy", "kick it higher daddy", "go fetch it daddy", "chase me daddy", "can you climb through there daddy?"

We had a super fun time, but it was a tired daddy who fell asleep on the sofa Saturday night.

And after another 11 miles this morning followed by some more chasing around after the ball at the park, I'm already ready for a nap.

I don't think that's going to happen though.  My father-in-law is mad at us again (for what, who knows, and I really don't even care any more), so Nancy and I may just grab the ball and take the boys back to the park.

No rest for the wicked :-)

The White Rock Diaries (week 4 of 5)

Another week of great training in the books, and up next is my last 20 miler before White Rock.  This week is also Thanksgiving, which is an American holiday I knew very little about until I moved Stateside.  The key to it seems to be the ability to eat as much as possible - something I am remarkably good at - so I'm planning on getting some good runs in early in the week, and then moving smoothly into feasting and taper mode.

Then I will probably have to work it all off again!!!

Date	Saturday November 20th
Plan	am - 20 miles pm - Bicycle trainer (1 hour)
Outcome	am - 49F and foggy.  Ran a fun 20 miles with Clea.  Beautiful misty morning with a huge full moon.  Finished in 2:44:32 (8:14 pace) with a nice 6:48 for the last mile.  Felt like I could keep going and do it all over again. pm - 30 minutes on that darn bicycle trainer is about all I can stand.

Date	Sunday November 21st
Plan	am - 16 miles pm - Nothing
Outcome	am - 70F, humid and windy.  Ran the 11 mile scenic loop in 1:31:38 (8:20 pace).  Not a great run, but the positive was I still managed an 8:20 pace.  Traffic was surprisingly heavy and I seemed to catch every red light so I never got a rhythm going.  Decided early on to take it easy and turn it into a recovery run.

Date	Monday November 22nd
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Bob workout 2 (30 minutes)
Outcome	pm - does dancing to Johnny Cash count as a workout?  In case it doesn't, I also did the Bob workout 2.

Date	Tuesday November 23rd
Plan	am - 10 miles pm - Bob Harper's Inside Out Strength workout (1 hour)
Outcome	4:30am - 71F and humid.  It's the middle of November and it's 71F at 4:30 in the morning?  Oh boy.  Felt tight this morning and didn't feel like hammering it, so I settled for 10 miles at MGP - 1:18:51 (7:53 average).  Can we get some 50F (or colder) weather back please? pm - real life sometimes gets in the way.  It was crazy here tonight and I just didn't get time to do this.

Date	Wednesday November 24th
Plan	am - 8 miles pm - Bicycle trainer (30 minutes)
Outcome	4:30am - 72F, humid and windy.  Did my 8 miles in 1:02:16 (7:47 pace).  Felt tired, especially running into the wind.  Legs were heavy and wooden - I'm looking forward to taking the next few days off pm - did the "spouse smackdown" challenge: 90 minutes on the bike trainer while we watched Disney's Christmas Carol.  I think I need bigger bike shoes.

Date	Thursday November 25th
Plan	Nothing - Thanksgiving
Outcome	5:15am - 72F and muggy.  Met Clea early to get in 8 miles before leaving town.  Got in my 50 miles for the week (57).

Date	Friday November 26th
Plan	am - 7 miles (optional) pm - Nothing
Outcome	Nothing - ran yesterday instead

Hungry like the Wolf

I know I said I was going to stop titling my blog posts with song lyrics, but I couldn't resist this one!!!

Because it seems that I am almost constantly hungry these days, and I prowl around the house scavenging for food like, well, a wolf.

And when I'm not eating, I'm planning my next meal.

When Nancy comments on the fact that I'm always snacking, I just reply "fueling the furnace babe".

And it really feels like that.  It's like I've kicked my metabolism into high gear and there's a constant fire simmering just below the surface.  I burn hot, it doesn't take much to get a sweat going, and when I work out I can almost hear and feel the blood sprinting through my veins - it's an amazing feeling that leaves me energized, exhilarated and ablaze (in a good way).

My weight is at 145lbs and I'm taking advantage of the lighter, leaner me.  I ran the 8 mile danish route on Wednesday morning in an all-time best 58:27 - a 7:18 average pace, topped off with a 6:59 last mile.

I wonder.  If I keep pushing those midweek effort runs, maybe I can get my average down below 7:00.  That would be cool.

I'll ponder on it after I find something to snack on :-)

Feeling Fly like a G6

My two cross training coaches!!!

I really need to stop using song lyrics to title my blog posts, but this crappy "Far East Movement" song was playing on the radio when I started my run this morning, and it was still playing when I got back to the car.  Very annoying.

It's been another great training week for me.  I did 23 miles on Saturday at an 8:08 pace - not quite as fast as I would like, but it was a hard run and I left it all out there.  If you factor in some monster hills, windy conditions and running the whole thing solo, I think I did a great job to keep going.

I was looking after the boys on Saturday afternoon, and we went to the park.  They kept me running around, and I spent a good bit of time chasing Gavin with Dylan giggling away on my shoulders.

I'm not sure which was the harder workout!!!

This morning I woke up with legs stiff and sore from all the cross training I've been doing, and really didn't want to go run.  But I made myself get up and get out.  It occurred to me that this would be a great opportunity to see how much I could push myself when I was feeling tired.

And it turned into one of my best midweek runs ever - 10 miles at a 7:23 pace.  I just found a rhythm and let it flow.  My slowest mile was 7:31, my fastest (mile 8) was 7:07 and it felt great.

One of my short term goals has been to run 8 midweek miles in under an hour, and I did it this morning with room to spare - the first 8 miles were run in 58:56.

Gotta be happy with that.

It also occurred to me that my training tends to bookend my day.  I do my run early in the morning before everyone gets up, and my cross training at night after reading Gavin his bedtime story.

I think I need it right now - it channels a lot of anger and frustration I need to let go of.

And it's been a very long time since I've been quite as focused as this.  Almost every run I do is an effort run and I pour my heart and soul into some intense cross training that usually ends with me lying on the floor dripping with sweat.  And when I'm feeling tired, the old mental steel that pushed me to all those ultra finishes kicks in.  It's nice to have it back.

And I've taken to talking back to the TV when I'm working out.

"We're going to hold squat position for 30 seconds" says Bob the trainer.

"Bring it on" I grin.  "I can hold this for a loooooooong time".

The White Rock Diaries (Week 3 of 5)

Week 2 was a very good one for me.  I hit my pace on the 22 miler, kept it going for the midweek runs and cross trained hard.  I also picked up my first 50+ mile week in months - 63 miles.  Whoop whoop and hooray for me!!!  Up this week is my biggest back-to-back weekend before White Rock - 23 hilly miles Saturday and 16 on Sunday, with a weights workout stuck in the middle.

I should be whining pretty good after that!!!

Date	Saturday November 13th
Plan	am - 23 miles pm - Bob workout 1 (30 minutes - this should really hurt)
Outcome	5am - 49F and windy.  Did a hard 23 miles in 3:07:14 (8:08 pace).  Slower than last week, but very pleased for several reasons:  it was very windy, I added in the monster hills of Stratford early in the run and attacked them (though they did take some of the starch out of me) and I did the whole run by myself (it's a real mental challenge to keep your pace going for 23 miles when it's just you, you're tired and you're running into the wind, but it's also great practice for Rocky).  And I just realized, if I finished out another 3.2 miles at that average, it would still be a marathon PR.  Have to admit, I'm pretty tired now though.  Tonight's workout and tomorrow's 16 miles should be interesting. pm - tonight's workout has been moved to tomorrow since the TV is booked (wife is watching the Texas A&M game).  Ever the opportunist, I am instead enjoying an extra slice of the yummy pumpkin pie I made this afternoon.  I may just go and get another piece too.

Date	Sunday November 14th
Plan	am - 16 miles pm - Nothing
Outcome	am - curtailed this morning's run to 8 miles because of a sick kid.  Ran with Steve and Clea - a nice 8:11 pace pm - holding plank position, feeling completely alive and watching the sweat pour off me, I'm so glad I shifted the weights workout to tonight.  Some days you just need to hit something really hard, and this was one of those days.  Great workout.

Date	Monday November 15th
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Weights with balance (30 minutes)
Outcome	pm - 30 minutes of weights circuits while balanced on one leg.  I notice I'm still sore from yesterday and Saturday.

Date	Tuesday November 16th
Plan	am - 10 miles pm - Weights circuit training (1 hour)
Outcome	4:30am - 48F, clear and breezy.  I woke this morning with tired and sore legs.  What a great opportunity to see how much I can push.  Found the zone, ran the soreness out and did 10 miles in 1:13:49 (7:23 pace).  Mission accomplished. pm - held back a bit tonight because I want to put in another big run tomorrow morning

Date	Wednesday November 17th
Plan	am - 8 miles pm - Bicycle trainer (30 minutes)
Outcome	4:30am - 46F, chilly and still.  Great running weather, and another big effort run - I did the 8 mile Danish run in 58:27 (7:18 pace) with a 6:59 last mile.  Felt awesome. pm - oh bike trainer, how much do I hate thee!!!

Date	Thursday November 18th
Plan	am - 6 miles pm - Bob Harper's Workout 1 (30 minutes)
Outcome	am - rewarded myself for a good training week by having an extra hour in bed instead of running this morning.  I don't know why I never do the Thursday run, maybe because it's "only" 6 miles. pm - got in a good hard workout tonight.  Here's to the end of another great training week.

Date	Friday November 12th
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Nothing
Outcome	Rest day

I Like the Way it Hurts

Endurance is leaping around and dancing to Rihanna with one boy in your arms and the other hanging off your back on the Sunday afternoon of a weekend when you've run 38 miles at a sub-8 pace.

But that's alright because I like the way it hurts (love the song too).

Kids are a great source of cross training.  I'm just glad they didn't pay attention to some of the lyrics!!!

Saturday was a great run for me.  I've chanced upon a golden seam of running form and had decided beforehand that I was going to hit it hard, and I did.  I ran 8 miles by myself and then met up with everyone.  I didn't want to be anti-social, but I was also aware that I needed to be running at a faster pace than the group were going, so I took off by myself again.  My goal was to keep my average under an 8 minute mile, and I finished 22 miles at a 7:55 average, with a nice negative split thrown in for good measure.  If I kept that average for another 4.2 miles, that equates to a 3:27 marathon.

And I was still feeling frisky when I finished.  Very happy with that.

A nice hour of yoga Saturday night stretched me out nicely for another 16 miles on Sunday. 

So it's now Tuesday, and I did 10 miles at a 7:35 pace this morning.  I keep hitting these pace targets, and I credit that to the consistency of a written plan and the accountability that entails.  It all boils down to a simple matter of repetition and these pace targets are getting easier to hit.

I'm already at 48 miles for the week, and I think this is going to be my biggest mileage week for a long time.  I'm so glad that I signed up for White Rock because it's really given me the extra drive and focus that I needed to kickstart my running for Rocky Raccoon.

I haven't trained specifically for a goal marathon in years, and I'm looking forward to laying it out there in Dallas and seeing what happens.

The White Rock Diaries (week 2 of 5)

I'm very happy with the way that week 1 unfolded. I got in some quality runs at a very good pace, and cross trained really well. The plan for this week is to maintain consistency in pace, and to make Saturday's long run an effort run and keep under that 8 minute mile pace.

Date	Saturday November 6th
Plan	am - 22 miles pm - Yoga (1 hour)
Outcome	am - had a great run this morning, and did 22 miles in 2:54:22 (7:55 pace).  That translates to a 3:27 marathon (if I could hold that average for another 4.2 miles)!!!  The best part was that miles 15 thru 22 were my fastest.  The temperature was in the low 40s, and I really hope we get the same weather at White Rock. pm - great hour of stretching.  Legs felt fine after this morning's run - I could tell because I enjoyed the chair poses.

Date	Sunday November 7th
Plan	am - 16 miles pm - Hill repeats (optional)
Outcome	am - another cold morning.  Started out with 8 miles of downtown hills.  Managed to keep just under an 8 minute mile pace, and my legs felt fine after yesterday's 22 miles.  Joined up with Steve and Clea for the second 8 miles. pm - I don't even know why I put these on the schedule, because let's face it - I'm never going to have the time to do them.  I did spend the afternoon cutting branches off our trees though.  Does that count as cross training?  It should.

Date	Monday November 8th
Plan	am - Nothing pm - abs workout followed by tabata
Outcome	Ok, the abs workout was hard.  And I thought I was really good at core work!!! Did two sequences of 8 round tabata afterward - scored 19 on bicep curls and 20 on squats.  My arms felt like there was liquid lava flowing through them after the bicep curls - it was a great feeling. Also played ride the horsie with Gavin and Dylan.  I was the horse.  Good times.

Date	Tuesday November 9th
Plan	am - 10 miles pm - Plyometrics (1 hour)
Outcome	am - another perfect 55F morning, great for running.  Did 10 miles in 1:15:50 (7:35 pace).  Kind of a strange run - felt tired in parts, but then hit my stride and finished up the second half really strong. pm - did a combination of kickboxing and plyometrics.  Nice change-up, though I think my legs (especially my quads) are going to be sore from all the jumping.

Date	Wednesday November 10th
Plan	am - 8 miles pm - Bicycle trainer (30 minutes)
Outcome	am - it was a bit foggy this morning, but still mild (60F) and a great morning for running.  I did 8 miles in 1:03:41 (7:57 pace) and my legs just felt tired, though I was determined to stay under an 8:00 pace.  Maybe all the fast runs and cross training (hello plyometrics) I've been piling on this week are catching up with me.  I may need to rethink tomorrow's run as I want to ensure enough recovery for a good 23 miler on Saturday. pm - busy evening.  Took Gavin to gymnastics, did his homework with him, made supper and managed to squeeze in 30 minutes on the bike trainer.  Damn, but I'm not much good on the bike.

Date	Thursday November 11th
Plan	am - 12 miles pm - Bob Harper's Workout 2 (30 minutes)
Outcome	am - ok, Thursday morning runs are just not happening for me.  When I scheduled this knowing I had the day off work, I didn't take into consideration the fact that we still needed to make the school run, and that I ended up working anyway.  I may revise the next few weeks to remove the Thursday run.  Since I was feeling tired yesterday, the extra rest might do me good. pm - this is just a flat out badass upper body workout.  I love it simply because I can outlast the guy on screen.  I plan on doing an easy-paced run in the morning to make up for the one I missed today.

Date	Friday November 12th
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Nothing
Outcome	am - 4:30am, 68F, wet and humid.  I met Caroline this morning for an easy 7 miles.  It felt good to run without constantly checking my pace - I didn't even take my Garmin.  Nice relaxed way to end the week.

The White Rock Diaries (Week 1 of 5)

One of the great things about maintaining a blog like this is that you can use it as a motivational tool for yourself. I have come up with a training plan for the Dallas White Rock marathon, and by posting my planned workouts on my blog as well as on the fridge (and updating the post throughout the week), it makes me very visibly accountable.

And I am counting on you, dear reader, to give me some grief if I start slacking.

Since White Rock is the first weekend in December, my training plan started on November 1st (yesterday) and will run for 5 weeks. It will probably then transition into a plan for the Rocky Raccoon 100 in February.

So here we go - week one of the "White Rock Diaries".

Date	Monday November 1st
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Bob Harper's Inside Out Strength workout (1 hour)
Outcome	Well, it would look really bad if I missed a workout on the first day of the plan, wouldn't it. Nancy and I did this together after everyone went to bed. It makes it much easier when someone else is suffering alongside you :-) I celebrated my dedication by diving into our stash of leftover Halloween candy while catching up on "Top Chef".  I was rooting for Angelo.  He lost.

Date	Tuesday November 2nd
Plan	am - 10 miles pm - Bob Harper's Inside Out cardio workout (1 hour)
Outcome	am - It rained overnight.  I was woken by torrential rain and thunder around midnight - but it had stopped by the time my alarm went off at 4am. It was cloudy and the footing was surprisingly slippery, but I had a fantastic run. The temperature was 55F. I ran 10 miles in 1:16:27 (7:39 pace), and felt like I was cruising. pm - oh yes, this was the workout with all the kettlebell swings and squats.  Tomorrow's run should be interesting :-)  Waited until everyone went to bed, then ground my way through it fuelled by a handful of Candy Corn.  Recovered afterwards with cold rice pudding and caught up on Survivor.

Date	Wednesday November 3rd
Plan	am - 8 miles pm - Bicycle trainer (30 minutes)
Outcome	am - another 4am alarm call.  Woke again this morning to the sound of the rain, which left me humming the old Eurythmics song as I ran.  It was cool (55F) and wet - great running weather.  Expected to be a little sore after all the squats and swings from last night's workout, but I felt really good.  Another fantastic run - I did 8 relaxed miles in 1:01:05 (7:38 pace). It feels good to be putting together a series of these pacy runs, and I celebrated afterward with some breakfast tacos.  If I don't have a good run in Dallas, it won't be for lack of effort!!! pm - did my 30 minutes on the bike trainer while watching "American Greed".  Great show to pass the time but I'm really not a good cyclist :-)

Date	Thursday November 4th
Plan	am - 6 miles pm - Bob Harper's Workout 1 (30 minutes)
Outcome	am - decided to skip the easy 6 miler this morning and opted for a few hours extra sleep instead - my reward for a few excellent runs.  Three 4am wakeup calls in a row were a bit much this week, but I'll make up for it by hitting tonight's workout that much harder. pm -Ah yes, the Bob Workout 1.  30 minutes of non-stop workout and home of my nemesis, the Turkish get-ups. I alway enjoy this one.  Nice way to finish out the week.

Date	Friday November 5th
Plan	am - Nothing pm - Nothing
Outcome	Day off from working out (as it's Guy Fawkes night) - hooray!!!