Jeff Hunt 5 K

Age:  25

Lifestyle: Currently building a new career as a financial security advisor with Freedom 55 Financial and working 50+ hours/week.

Goal: Focus is on finding a balance between work and healthy living.

• February 12, 2008
  When I was asked to participate in the Team Myles program, my initial response was, Let me think about it. After less than half a day, I quickly realized that Id be crazy not to participate&this was the excuse I needed to get back in shape. All my life, up to the age of 18, I was in great shape. Played all sorts of competitive sports, Id run 10k with friends just for fun, and in the summers Id play 36 holes of golf in the day then go play soccer in the evening. When high school ended, however, it became increasingly more difficult to stay active. Work took first priority in life and the pick up games of basketball, the running, and basically all physical activity slowly came to a halt. The only thing I did keep going over the years is golf, but my annual rounds have dropped significantly from 80+ to less than 20. Now 8 years out of high school, Im almost 205 pounds&.70 pounds heavier than my weight on graduation day. When I first began my fitness program in mid January, it was a struggle to say the least. I ran for about 6 minutes before I had to stop. In that short a time, I had managed to achieve a heart rate of 180! The weights were no better, although I managed to get through the workout ok, I was so sore in the following days that I actually had to miss 2 scheduled workouts, much to my disappointment. Now, 3 ½ weeks in, I can see huge improvement. My weight training is going great and no longer puts me on the DL list. As for running, I can now manage 20 minutes running at a fairly decent pace, covering 2 miles (3.6km). I feel great, have more energy, and a clearer mind. Im really enjoying getting back in shape, and have even taken up Racket Ball to give my fitness program some added fun. My goal for the 5k race is to complete it in under 25 minutes, and not have my roommate lap me (hes running the 10k and is very in shape)! With more than 3 months to prepare, I really think this is achievable and I look forward to the training and the test at the end!
• February 19, 2008
  So as training continues the improvements are coming faster and faster. At this point I can run 4K in 25 minutes. I'm starting to think that the 5k might be too small a challenge, so I'm going to treat this as if I'm training for the 10K run. If I'm comfertably running 10k by the Blue Nose Marathon, then I may try to do that race instead. Even though weight loss was not one of my goals I've dropped 8 lbs since I've started training. This is mainly due to my drastically changed diet. Almost all junk has been removed and I'm now eating 3 reasonable meals and 3 healthy snacks per day, instead of 2 HUGE meals like I used to. All soreness has disappeared from after my workouts and runs, except for after Racketball which my body is still fighting me on. I'm having a blast doing it though so it's well worth it.
• March 07, 2008
  Well I hit my first road block. I caught an incredibly nasty cold that hung around for what seemed like an eternity. I barely had the energy to make it through the work day, forget about a workout before or after work. Things are looking up now though. I'm much healthier now and looking forward to getting back to the routine. I still feel the results from training I've already done, so hopefully not too much progress was lost due to the time off. My goal is to reach my target distance and time by the end of this month. Wish me luck!
• April 14, 2008
  It's been a little while since I've had the chance to write about my progress. I'm still working hard at getting in better shape, but the last month or so has been a challenge. Between work, apartment hunting, and what seems to be a never ending string of colds, I've been finding it hard to find time and energy to go to the gym. I have managed to keep up with my running at least. My endurance is down a bit because of my health, but I still feel good about getting out there. A few weeks ago I achieved my distance goal, running 5k in 32 minutes. Now that my health has been restored (hopefully for more than 2 days this time!) I can start working on getting my pace up and the time down to 25 minutes. Aslo, with the apartment hunt over and a full month and a half until moving day, I should have no problem finding time for the gym and running in the park. As for progress, I can't say there's been any change in my weight which is fine with me, but there has been a noticable difference in my size. My incredibly supportive girlfriend tells me I look thinner, and just to prove she's not just being kind, my belt actually now needs to be one notch tighter! Here's to hitting the gym a couple extra times a week, and the streets 6 times a week. And with increased activity I promise there will be more frequent blogging!
• April 28, 2008
  I'm happy to say I've finally made a complete transition to outdoor running. It's much more enjoyable to run in the great outdoors vs on a treadmill. The added scenery, fresh air, and sunshine have done wonders for my motivation, and with race day fast approaching I plan to run a minimum of 6 times per week (weather permitting of course). Running in Point Pleasant Park (my venue of choice) has really helped me to see the full value of my training so far. The "hills" on a treadmill just don't compare to running them in the real world! Much to my suprise though, they've been less of a struggle than I first thought. My time is getting better with every run, down to only 5 1/2 minutes per km. With 3 solid weeks left I am confident I'll be able to crack the 5 minute mark and get my total time under 25. If this weather keeps up, I might have to start running Half Marathons just to give me a reason to stay outside!
• May 06, 2008
  Well I have to say this has been the most successful and rewarding week since I began training. As I've mentioned before, the outdoor running has been a significant challenge for me. The route I've chosen is in Point Pleasant Park and the surrounding streets. This route includes some major hills that up until last week have brought my run to a walk briefly while I caught my breath enough to start running again. Even when only running 3km this was an issue. Not anymore! After being forced indoors for my run last Wednesday I decided the treadmill was a good chance for me to see the extent of my progress so far. I managed to run the whole 5km without any need for slowing my pace at any point, and my time was 32 minutes. By far this was my run to date. This gave me great motivation that was very apparent in my runs for the days to come. Thursday I managed to run the whole 3km run in 19 minutes, and for the first time since starting that route I was able to complete it without slowing down after the hill. Friday was a day off due to an early morning work meeting. Saturday I ran the 3km loop again in a similar time. Sunday I ran the whole loop again, but this time I decided to add some extra distance by running out along Young St for a few blocks. I had not mapped this route in advance and was somewhat disappointed to find my new route was only 3.9km, but still a great acievement. Monday was a day off, then this morning, Tuesday, I ran my best run to date. I mapped out a full 5km before going, which is the full loop of point pleasant, plus the full length of Young St to Inglis and back. I wasn't quite sure I was prepared for this, but with race day so close I decided to give it a shot to see just how far I could make it. To my suprize I completed the full 5km in 30 minutes on the nose, but the best part of it was I felt I could have run a few more. In fact, I was less out of breath after this 5km run then I would have been after walking up a flight of stairs 6 months ago. The progress I've seen in the last 7-10 days is just incredible. At the start of this training I didn't really have any specific fitness goals, just to be in better shape. Having said that though, I have noticed some significant results that I thought I'd share: My weight is now below 200lb for the first time in probably 2 years, at around 196 down from 208 a few months ago. My heart rate at the end of my 5km on the treadmill last wednesday was 163. When I did my first run I had to stop after 6 minutes and my heart rate was 185! So now that I've reached my basic goal of 5km in 30 minutes, it's time to start working on shaving minutes off to hit my stretch goal of 25 minutes. With the energy I had left after today's run I'm sure I can do it.
• May 13, 2008
  Well, after a very successful week, I've experienced an unfortunate down turn. As reported I ran my 5km route in 30 minutes, then the very next day I did it in 28. Ever since then I've been unable to run, and at times unable to walk without a significant limp. I'm not completely sure why, but my right ankle has been very sore ever since my last run on Wednesday (6 days ago). On the advise of Fred from Quest, I will not be running any miles until race day. I'll be resting the ankle, and the only activity I'll be doing besides the everyday walking to, from, and around the office, will be on a bike. This will help keep my endurance up without risking further injury to my ankle. I'm still very excited about what I've accomplished so far, and look forward to a strong race on Sunday. Some of my best runs to date have come after scheduling or travel forced me to take a week off, so I expect a good time come race day, assuming of course my ankle is healed up by then. Getting back in shape has been a great experience for me. Now that I'm back in the habit of running and being active, I fully intend to keep up the running and plan on joining a basketball league in the near future. And of course, I'll be back next year, striving to complete the 10km race.
• May 20, 2008
  Well I did it! I finished the race without too much difficulty. Although my injury, which prevented me from doing any training for 10 days leading up to the race and was still not healed by race day, hurt with every single running step I took, I managed to complete 5km in just over 29 minutes. It felt incredibly good to cross the finish line infront of many spectators, and not be dragging my feet or gasping for air! It also felt great achieving the goal I'd set for myself just a few short months ago. Most importantly, I've already been back out running and have no intention of stopping my routine and keeping in shape (actually getting into even better shape since I still have a way to go!). In fact, I've already picked out a few more races for this summer just to keep me motivated, plus I've set my sights on the 10km for next years Blue Nose Marathon. I figure if I can double my distance each year I'll be running the Full marathon in 3 short years!..........we'll see! haha For anyone out there reading this who maybe isn't active enough (or at all) and wants to be, but just can't take that first step......just do it! believe me you'll thank yourself for it and the improvement it will make in your life and the way you feel is just incredible. Until next year, Jeff