The weather was stormy this morning so Team Rio postponed the weekly group run to Sunday. However, by mid-afternoon the rain was tapering off so I decided to walk today instead of waiting until Sunday when the forecast is for near freezing temperatures. I’ve never done the “walk around Brentwood,” which is a nearly 6 mile rectangular loop along sidewalks around the city. It was a just over half a mile until I reached the “loop.” Most of the time the rain was light or stopped. However, it did get heavy a couple of times for 15-20 minutes each time.

My goal was 9 miles today. So after finishing the “loop” I continued walking to Granny White Park and made two laps around the 0.8 mile paved walking/jogging trail. Then back home. During the entire afternoon I only encountered three runners (and no walkers).

I felt good today – my legs and feet were sore, but not excessively. I did not get winded – guess I was not going fast enough for that. Right now my knees and feet seem to be the weakest links. My overall time was 2 hr 28 minutes for an average pace of 15:44 per mile. At this pace I would complete the half marathon is under 3 hr 30 minutes. That work for me!

As I’ve said before, I’m walking in the Country Music half marathon to support Big Brothers Big Sisters. If you’d like to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters and support me, please click here. Thanks for your support!

Last year during my chemotherapy treatment my doctors advised me to gain weight because I would likely loose weight during radiation therapy. As a matter of fact, my oncologist “prescribed” Haagen Dazs ice cream milk shakes with Ensure! How many of your doctors have prescribed Haagen Dazs ice cream? 🙂

However, I tolerated the radiation treatments better than most people and I only lost a few pounds. Of course, four days after my last radiation treatment I was in the hospital because my mouth sores were so bad I could not eat much and I ended up with a feeding tube. I lost about 12 pounds in 10 days during that time. Over the next month I gained that back at the direction of my doctor.

So my point in all of this is to say that during my treatments last year my weight maxed out at 203 pounds. Today, I weighed 181 pounds! That’s about 3-4 pounds more than what I weighed one year ago, before I knew I had cancer. Yeah! I’m getting back to my “old normal.”

However, I’ve got my mind set on a “new normal” weight of 165 pounds and size 32″ waist pants. BTW, last year 36″ pants were a tight fit. By losing 1-2 pounds per week, I should be there about 10-12 weeks – let’s say the end of May.

Okay, now it’s out there publicly – my goal: 165 pounds and 32″ waist pants by May 31, 2011. I’ll let you know how I’m doing along the way.

Another Saturday training walk with Team Rio. Today’s course was scheduled for 8 miles through the “country” in Williamson County,TN. The temperature when we started was just above freezing and when I finished 2+ hours later it was sunny and 20 degrees F warmer. Nice weather for a walk. Jimmy O. with Diamond Rio was one of the 30-40 runners today.

However, there were two “problems” with today’s walk. First, the surface of the roadway was very uneven in many areas, and narrow in other areas. My knees did not like the uneven pavement, and the narrow roadway made it risky in areas when cars passed by runners/walkers going in both directions. But the scenery was very nice – rolling fields lined with wooden fences and plenty of horses. About a mile into the walk, we passed Alan Jackson’s estate. At least, I think he still lives there.

The second “problem” is that the sign at the half-way turn around point had blow over when I passed by, so I did not see it. I had a GPS receiver on my wrist, but it stopped working a little after 3 miles. Bottom line, I walk about 0.2-0.3 miles beyond the turn-around point before I suspected that I had walked too far. So I turned around, and sure enough, I saw the sign on my way back. I later learned that one of the other walkers had righted the fallen sign. I believe I ended up walking at least 8.5 miles, maybe further. No matter – my pace for the last 3 miles or so was slower because my knee was hurting.

Despite these “problems” it was a beautiful day and a great practice walk. I’m feeling much better about completing the half marathon in my goal of 3.5 hours. I really appreciate the support of Team Rio, the coaches, and the folks at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee.

If you’d like to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters and support me for the Country Music half marathon, please click here. Thanks for your support!

I’ve been training to walk in the Country Music half marathon on April 30, 2011 in Nashville, TN. My training partner is Team Rio (as in Rio Diamond, the country music group). Team Rio presented by Arby’s is a group of dedicated, energetic runners and walkers who train together to support Big Brothers Big Sisters. This is the seventh year for Team Rio to join together for the kids!

Last week I attended an informational “lunch and learn” at the offices of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Middle Tennessee to learn more about BBBS. I was very impressed with the organization and surprised, maybe shocked, by the number of kids who are growing up with only one parent. BBBS is a mentoring program for these single-parent kids. Today I sent my application to become a mentor with BBBS – or a “BIG” as they call the mentors. I have an interview scheduled for March 4. In a future blog, I will let you know how that goes.

For now I am walking every day to get into shape to walk the half marathon in 2 months. Originally my goal was to finish in under 4 hours. Now I’m feeling that I can complete the walk in under 3.5 hours, which is about 16 minutes a mile. That pace has not been a problem during my practice walks. Of course, they are not 13.1 miles! And I’ve got another 8 weeks of training before the “race.”

If you’d like to donate to Big Brothers Big Sisters and support me for this half marathon, please click here. Thanks for your support!

Today Team Rio met at Percy Warner Park for our weekly group training session. Jimmy Olander, guitarist with Diamond Rio, was there and leading the runners. After a group picture, we headed off on our appointed routes, which vary depending on your experience (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and distance (half or full marathon).

My session today was 7 miles with the first mile up, across, and the back down a very steep hill in the park. Then onto flatter terrain on Belle Meade Boulevard, which is a four-lane divided roadway through an upscale neighborhood.

My goal today was to average 16m-30s per mile. I figure that would be good practice to finish the half marathon (13.1 miles) in under 4 hours. Turns out I was able to average 15m-45s per mile today. My left felt it too! Most of the Team Rio participants are runners, not walkers like me. So I was one of the last people to return to the starting station where Ingrid and Jan waited patiently.

As part of Team Rio, I am walking in Country Music half marathon to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee. If you would like to contribute to this worthy cause, click here.  Thanks for your support.