Marshall Ramsey

At last year’s Fit4Change 5K with Paul Lacoste.

I wrote everything down and then left the numbers at home. Therefore, I might have to come back in and tweak this post later today. I improved at many things over the last 12 weeks but my memory isn’t one of them. 

Yesterday, I left the house at 4:15 a.m. and got home at 10 p.m.  That’s just short of an 18-hour day.  In those 18 hours, I gave two speeches, drew four cartoons, wrote three blog posts and did about an hour’s worth of booking and office work. The bottom line? I was exhausted when my alarm went off this morning.

It was test day for us Paul Lacoste Fit4Changers. We were measuring our performance as compared to where we were 12 weeks ago.  So today was part 2 of 3 our final exam.  I came into the program being able to run a half marathon. But I’m in much, much better shape today.

We started with the Shuttle run. It’s like a mini-suicide. You run five yards then ten then 15 then 20 as fast as you can.

Shuttle Run:

12 weeks ago: 27 seconds.  Today: 23.

Comment: Not bad. I tweaked my hip halfway through it (it went one way and I went the other.) And I felt like I was going to barf from being tired. But it was still a 17% improvement.

Then we moved on to pushups and sit-ups.

Pushups:

12 weeks ago: 20 Today: 55

Comment: My upper body strength is where I made the most improvement. And a 275% improvement isn’t half bad. I probably could have eeked out a few more, too.

Sit-ups:

12 weeks ago: 30 Today 60

Comment: I actually did more, but was rocking my feet, so those didn’t count. I probably could have done close to 100. Still, it’s a 200% improvement. Having a strong core saved my life last year when I was in a boating accident. So I will continue to try to improve my stomach.

Step-up and squats.

I’ll have to get back on these numbers because I forgot them.  But honestly, I could have done both exercises all day. I’ve improved considerably in both areas. I did around 60 on both. I know I at least doubled my numbers from the beginning on both exercises.

One-mile run.

12 weeks ago: 9:40 Today 7:38

Comment: A couple of points to make: Number one, I’m not Roger Bannister.  I’ve never run the mile quickly. 7:38 obliterates what I did it last year.  Number two, my lungs (because of the pollen) were almost asthmatic. It wasn’t until the third lap that I felt good and could breathe. I think if I wasn’t so tired, I could have easily broken a seven minute mile.

Tomorrow is the third part of the final exam — the 5K. The fastest I’ve ever ran a 5k is 28 minutes. My goal for tomorrow is to run the 5K in 25 minutes.

Stay tuned.