This is a post about running

I think I have officially caught the running bug. I have spent the last six months or so trying to do the Couch to 5K program. I started several times, making it through two to four weeks, but could never complete the program.

About a month ago, I accidentally fast forwarded to the last week and ended doing a 20-minute run with about a five minute walk in the middle. I obviously was aware very quickly that something was wrong when I missed the first couple of walking reps, but I went with it. While it nearly killed me, I could do it.

Faced with starting Couch to 5K yet another time and finding it hard to make time for exercise, the other day I threw on the work clothes, did some errands and stopped by the park on my way home to run a mile without stopping. I found I could do this pretty easily.

Yesterday, I decided to test myself. This time I ran two miles without stopping. It was difficult, but I did  it.

So, tomorrow, four miles. No, just kidding. I think I'll stop at two miles for a few weeks and reassess. What I won't be doing is Couch to 5K or Easy 5K or programs like that. Perhaps it was my fits and starts or all the cycling, but I found that starting from scratch doesn't work for me. Not enough running.

That's not to say these are not great programs. If you are indeed going from the couch to your first 5K, then I highly recommend Couch to 5K or Easy 5K, another app available from the Apple Store. Both use the same idea of alternating walks and runs.

In any case, I felt terrific after the two-mile run. I posted on Facebook, told my wife and even called my sister-in-law, an avid runner. "I thought you might find that pretty cool," I told her voicemail.

I do. And now I can add runner to cyclist after my name. And, at least mentally I'm not as afraid of taking on hills on my bike after the runs.

Well, back to class. I still want to tack on an RN or PhD after my name as well.

Nice Solution for Keeping Insulin Cool

I love the convenience of an insulin pen, but there are some issues in this part of the country keeping them at an optimal temperature. I found a cool solution, though. And it's a lot cheaper than some other products.

Frio Coolers

Nice Win for OPQS in Qatar.

Mark Cavendish of Omega Pharma Quickstep had a nice win today in the Tour of Qatar.

Katy Trail News

The dream of riding your bike from Kansas City to St. Louis entirely via rail trail is quickly becoming a reality.

BikeWalkKC has provided a nice update to plans along those lines.

BikeWalkKC Katy Trail Update

The link between Pleasant Hill and Windsor, which was made possible by a settlement with the operator of Taum Sauk Reservoir due to environmental damages caused by the reservoir's collapse and subsequent flooding of the valley bellow, is nearing completion.

Meanwhile, Jackson County leaders are putting together a plan for an extension that will take the trail from Pleasant Hill and the Truman Sports Complex.

BikeWalkKC has the wider goal of linking the trail to Kansas' Flint Hills Nature Trail, which will extend the  trail into the hinterlands of the Sunflower State.

I could not be more excited.

My Lance Armstrong Moment

I am a post Lance Armstrong cycling fan. I never watched a minute of the sport until after Lance Armstrong was retired and doing Ironman triathlons, mountain bike races and beer commercials.

So when Armstrong confessed on Oprah the other night, I could not have cared less. It was a non-event for me. I was not surprised, nor was his admission a confirmation of what I had suspected for years. I had essentially not formed an opinion about it. I was only mildly curious as what effect it might have on my ability to follow the sport. In other words, would American viewers turn away from the sport and cause the executives of NBC Sports to drop all their great cycling coverage? Would I have to rely upon my subscriptions to Velo and Road Bike Action and, I suppose, the Internets, to feed my thirst for knowledge?

The answer to that will be learned over the next few years, and I'm not going to make any predictions here. It's like trying to guess who is going to pan out in the NFL draft. You just can't tell, which is why the Chiefs drafted Todd Blackledge.

However, in what is hardly more than a footnote to the larger Lance Armstrong controversy, the whole thing hit me in a way I had not imagined.

I am a Levi Liepheimer fan. Liepheimer is a terrific racer with an impressive resume. He has won three editions of the Tour of California and one US Pro Cycling Challenge, which is essentially the Tour of Colorado. These are some serious races against many of the best from the European circuit and with elevation changes that rival the Alps. And unlike the Alps, I've driven over Independence Pass and the thought of climbing it on a bicycle and, perhaps more terrifyingly, descending the other side, is incomprehensible to me. And it's the second climb of the day during the Colorado race.

Liepheimer also cheated. He is currently serving a six month ban for doping while a member of Armstrong's U.S. Postal team.

In other words, my opinion of Liepheimer is, well, complicated. Just like so many are conflicted by their opinion of Armstrong. Sure, there are people who always view these things as black and white, but for most of us, it isn't that simple.

Armstrong has done a lot of good. He popularized the sport we love so well. Then there is Livestrong. He is not lying when he hides behind the fact that everyone was doping at the time he did so. That does not, however, make it right.

Liepheimer does a lot of good too. His annual charity ride, Levi's King Ridge Gran Fondo, sells out in advance and in addition to being a celebration of the sport and a financial boon to his adopted home in Northern California, it raises a lot of money for charity. It is also on my bucket list.

So, while I don't feel the same way about Armstrong, I know how his fans must feel. And, well, who hasn't heard of Lance Armstrong? He has a lot more fans than Levi.

A more immediate concern is that Liepheimer was fired from his Omega Pharma team. Also my favorite team, largely because Liepheimer, who more-or-less supports other riders on the European circuit, is a member.

The team has other great riders, who I suppose I will be following more closely this season. One is Tom Boonen, a multiple Paris-Roubaix winner and a master of the Spring Classics: One or two day races that are often a lot more fun to follow than the Tour de France.

Tom Boonen. Who also used to be a U.S. Postal teammate of Lance Armstrong.

The Winter of My Discontent

I have had one Hell of a time getting in exercise this winter. Very little riding. Very little running. The gym has been making money off of me this past few months.

Not exercising feeds on itself. It becomes easier each day to say to yourself, "it can wait until tomorrow." But tomorrow comes and goes. Then before you know it, you haven't been out there for a week. A month. A year. A decade. I'm not kidding. I don't think I ran a mile between high school and about a year ago. Decades.

Today I took the bull by the horns. I said, f#@! it, I'm going to run. Something. Anything. I threw on my workout clothes, ran a few errands and went to the little park by our house. I'll walk. Run a little anything.

I hopped out of the car, took off my sweats (Due to cycling, I've got great legs. I figure if I wear tights and people are admiring my legs they aren't looking at my gut). I started running. No warm up, nothing. Five laps. Hey, .2 miles times 5: I just ran a mile!

Again, something. Anything, to get started. I can't wait to run again.

Back to the Library

I spent the day laying (lying?) about the house with little to do, girding myself for the return to work tomorrow and the spring semester, which starts next week.

As such days often go, I eventually became self-concious of my laziness and so I went down to the man cave to retrieve some fitness books from which I draw inspiration from time-to-time. The idea was to at least read about exercising, even though on this day I was too lazy to do it. Maybe something would stick.

I have several excellent books on cycling: The Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills by Ed Pavelka and the Editors of Bicycling Magazine; The Big Book of Bicycling by Emily Furia and the Editors of Bicycling Magazine, and; The Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel, which he wrote all by himself without the help of the Editors of Bicycling Magazine. These are a small fraction of my cycling collection, both hard copy and digital, mind you, but they are the ones I tend to go back to on days like this.

Last year I took up swimming and I found an excellent book about the subject, which is no easy feat. Books about swimming are few and far between. If you are interested, Swimming for Total Fitness by Dr. Jane Katz with Nancy P. Bruning is just about the only book you need on the subject.

Swimming wasn't the only thing I took up last year. I started running. Three times in fact. I am at the point I enjoy it, but I seem to have trouble maintaining regular workouts over time. I go great guns for a few weeks, then don't run for a month. This has to change. I have to say, it is a great way to drop weight and feel great. I picked up Running for Mortals: A Commonsense Plan for Changing Your Life Through Running by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield.

I also have an excellent book for anyone who works out with diabetes. The Diabetic Athlete's Handbook by Seri R. Colberg is indispensable.

When I have a question about a gym workout, I find the Men's Health Big Book of Exercises by Adam Campbell is a good resource.

I recently picked up a few cookbooks. I have made no secret of the fact that I pay little attention to nutrition beyond counting carbs. This strategy works okay. For a year I managed to essentially maintain the same weight, even coming in two pounds less at the end of 2012 than at the start. Having said that, for the amount of working out, riding, swimming and running that I do, I should have lost a ton of weight. And, I have made little improvement to my A1C.

In 2013 I want to change this. Earlier in the year when I was on Coach K's radio program, "Total Health" the host, Rob Kingsbury, said I would wake up one morning and realize I can't go on like that. Well, it happened right after Christmas. I picked up a stomach virus and it lingered for two weeks, largely because the crap I eat wouldn't allow my stomach to return to normal. Once I watched what I ate for a few days, I returned to normal. The fact that my pancreas only works at 20 percent or so and I have no gall bladder leaves me with little wiggle room. Let me tell you, when I hear Jamie Lee Curtis' voice in those Activia commercials, my ears perk up.

Anyway, two excellent cookbooks from that American Diabetes Association in my possession include Fast and Flavorful: Great Diabetes Meals from Market to Table by by Linda Gassenheimer and The Diabetes Comfort Food Cookbook: Foods to Fill You Up, Not Out! by Robyn Webb. They have some great recipes and I vow to try them this year.

Anyway, I've got a bit of studying to do, so that's all for now. Maybe I'll get motivated and walk the dog after the kids go to bed.