Day 1

After class yesterday, around 10:20AM, I went to Alumni Arena (sport center at UB) and used the fitness center. I started out by stretching my arms and legs. For the legs, I just stand on one leg, and pull the other one backward with the other hand. Make sure you have something to hold on with to keep balance. Afterward, I went to the mats and got on my knees to do the"Bird Dog". You can learn about this technique at (http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1243489102/bclid1497991481/bctid1368763974). This is to stretch your arms and legs, so you don't pull a hamstring, etc. during training.

Once stretching was done and I was still on the mats, I laid down on my back and did 2 sets of 15 reps for "Floor Crunch and Bicycle Crunch." Once that was done, time to leave the mats and head to the "Captain Chair Crunch" with another 2 sets of 15 reps. You can watch the video of these exercises at (http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1243489102/bclid1497991481/bctid1243638280). I also did the "Lunge Crunch" right after the "Captain Chair Crunch." The exercises in this paragraph was used because it helps tighten your abs while providing control over your lower body.

Once all the abs works was done, I moved on to working out my arms, shoulders, and chest.

All of the exercises above will be repeated every time I go to the gym.

After completing all of the above, it was time to start my actual training on the treadmill. I started out by walking the first 5 minutes to warm up. This was at the speed of 2.5 on the treadmill. Once the 5 minute mark hit, I set it to 5.5 and run for 60 seconds, then started the 2.5 for a 90 seconds of walking. I did this for at least 20-25 minutes, switching from 2.5 and 5.5. Afterward, I cooled down by walking for another 5 minutes.

After completing the tread mill, I loosen up my body by, shaking my legs and arms. I did it for at least 30 seconds each, and hopped on the bicycle to pedal for at least 20 minutes. The reason why I ended with the bicycle was to watch Michael Chiacello on the the Food Network. Its great to finished the exercise with some "Food for thoughts", while at the same time teasing the people next to you.

It was fun on Day 1, but now my body is sore. Every muscles on my arms and legs aches whenever I bend them. So today, which is Tuesday, I am going to do "Crunches and the Bird Dog" at home. This way, I can let the arms and legs to relax a bit.

Welcome to my blog.

Welcome to my blog, and I hope that I can motivate others to get off the couch and do something similar. My goal is to run the Boston Marathon in 2010.

Brief info about myself:
24 years old
Student- currently attending SUNY at Buffalo
Do not exercise nor play sports
Drives my car even if my destination is a mile away.
Only exercise is probably walking from my car to classes.

This past weekend, 9/27-9/28, I went out and bought myself 2 pairs of running shoes. During the summer, I went to "Marathon Sports" a specialty store for runners in Brookline, MA. to test out what shoes works for me. My feet are flat, so regular retail stores wouldn't help much. After trying on 4 pairs, I narrowed it down to the Nike Vomero 3. The price was $130, which is $5 over retail, but I think the employees deserves the extra from the inflate price. The guilt that I had was that I didn't buy the shoes from them. I was on a budget and couldn't take the hit for a high price item, and not meeting my goal later on.

So I waited for a sale and finally FootLocker had their "Friends and Family 30% OFF" coupon, and I took the first initiative to buy running shoes. I bought the Nike Vomero 3, which is my dedicated running shoes, and the Nike Pegasus for everyday uses. During that Sunday night, I checked out a few websites, such as RunnersWorld (www.runnersworld.com) for advices from other runners. Many of them also recommended having a dedicated running shoes and another to do everyday walking, etc. Afterward, I checked out the video section of the website and watched most of the videos regarding strength and cores building. Lastly, I was browsing the internet and found a site: "Couch to 5K" (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml), where they provides a few get started running plan. I am going to follow this 9 weeks plan, and hopefully can run non-stop for atleast 30 minutes.

And now my training begins for the 2010 Boston Marathon.