Not A Complete Disaster

I survived Christmas. Grazed a bit here and there at various family gatherings, but have done far worse in the past.

("If I eat one more bite, I'm gonna explode.")

The good news is, I ran 3-1/2 miles twice. That's the first time in a long time. Aerobically it wasn't hard at all. Seriously. The first 5 minutes or so are painful and make me want to give up and start walking. Around about 10 minutes, things settle into a nice cruising feeling and I begin plotting a longer course. The difficulty continues to be my inefficient and punishing running stride. Shin splints are too bad but they're definitely there. Running downhill is also unpleasant on the knees.

Chi Running is just beginning to fill in some gaps. It has me convinced there's a better way but is slow to get into the technical details. I think it will take some time to sort out.

Fun With Treadmills

(Remember OK GO's video? The bass player in the pink shirt has the best moves.)

I didn't have nearly as much fun on the treadmill this week as these guys did. Granted it was only 15 minutes, but my shins sure regretted it. Also I believe my fellow gym members thought I was going to compromise the structural integrity of the YMCA's floor; my footfalls were LOUD. Must have been like jogging next to the Incredible Hulk's much fatter brother who always wears normal colored pants. Jogging the indoor track is altogether more pleasant but my running form clearly needs improvement.

While there I found an old favorite, the Precor 'Adaptive Motion Trainer', which mimics the running motion, which feels a lot more natural than standard elliptical machines. Much easier on the ankles, shins, and knees compared to actual running as well. Precor has introduced a new model, the 835, since my last time on one. It's got some nice control & display options. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up.

The workout on an Adaptive Motion Trainer is not quite as high impact as real jogging but it does allow for a much longer workout. I was on it for 45 minutes this morning and the machine claims I burned 636 calories. Heart rate was right in the 80-85% zone for my age (155-165 bpm). I want to improve my running form before taking on the underground 5k next month, but this a terrific workout right now. I've managed to get a workout in every day this week on the Precor.

Tuesday is for Winners

(Aw man. Stuck in a chair again.)

I've gotten several workouts in this week. That's good because this week is full of buffet meals. According to the MyFitnessPal app, I went negative today despite burning 400 calories before 7 AM. Clearly a little more self control is needed when the cookies show up. Thankfully this has been an anomaly. Most of the time I'm beating the numbers. Current weight is 226, inching down little by little.

Bought a new scale recently. The old one was tiny and had poor repeatability. My weight would vary by 2 lbs depending on how much weight was on the ball of my feet and where they were placed. The replacement is big and repeatable. Progress.

In other news, I've started reading Chi Running. Hopefully I can learn a running form that's less punishing on my joints and a little more efficient.

A Laughing Matter

Put another 2 miles on my old running shoes tonight. It was at the indoor track at the Y again. A group of high school bench press monkeys appeared to be laughing at me when I nearly sprinted my last lap. They were trying not to be obvious about it. I guess that's some sort of polite gesture. Honestly can't say I blame them. Probably had some hilarious jiggle going on. Funny look on my face. Awkward running style. But we'll see where they are in 10 years. I didn't have an X-box paunch when I was 17. Could be that time will be worse to them.

On the technical side of things, my 2 miles were slightly quicker than 2 days ago. I was also just barely sore from the jogging, short sprint, and squats as the previous workout that left me sore 3 days. Progress is being made.

Keep On Truckin'

For those of you keeping stats at home, the current number is 228.8 lbs. The stitches were removed and I have a bitchin' scar. Pics soon! Work and life have been a bit busy but I refocused and got back at it tonight. Cranked off 2 miles around the indoor track in 18:20. Kinda cheated on the last lap, taking it at nearly a sprint to see how close to 18 minutes I could get. Overall jogging feels like this right now:

(Yes, it was the first video that came up on Youtube.)

While plodding around the track it came to me that not only do I need to train for events, I ought to aim for some specific times if at all possible. So here it is. I want to run that 5k (3.1 miles) in 29 minutes. I also want the scale to read 220 the morning of the event. January 29th is a little less than 7 weeks away, so that's about a pound of vaporized pudge per week. Seems realistic but won't just happen without work.

Not Good Enough for Me

I wasn't exactly the Cookie Monster, but it wasn't pretty today. 650 calories over target. Splurged a bit at Panera. Damn their irresistible cookies! It's too bad they do nothing for lactic acid. Plenty of that from the Thursday p.m. workout. It's not debilitating/temporarily-handicapping pain of times past, but enough that I haven't bothered running or doing anything the past 2 days. Need to get a good walk in tomorrow.

January 29th is 49 days away.

7 Days

The stitches have been in 7 days. I'm tempted to post a semi-gory pic but it's really not worth the effort. Also I really should have gotten moving again a few days ago. I think there was little risk of tearing the incision. 

At least my diet hasn't totally gone to crap. I've been eating about 1700-2000 calories a day and the weight is dropping ever so slowly. Got to the YMCA tonight and ran a mile and a half, walked a mile, and did some ab/lower back work. Pace was slightly quicker than last week since I was fresh and energetic.

Also couldn't resist sliding under the bench press bar and giving it a go. Pretty ugly. Nothing I want to post but at least the workout was good. Also got in a set of dumb bell exercises that Chris at WJJC taught me. It works most of your body in one long set with light weight. 

Overall it was a humbling night. I'm looking forward to getting back in there.

Unplanned Time Off

Took yesterday off to recuperate my legs. The soreness wasn't debilitating, just thought it would be best to take the day off and bounce back strong today. That was a great plan, and I was eager for exercise today, but then realized I had an appointment to have a cyst removed on my back this afternoon. Doh! Just a minor thing but it amounted to a few stitches which I don't want to open up by jogging or bending a lot. This pretty much precludes running, situps, and stretching. I'll just have to continue with the diet, which has been going very well, and begin walking tomorrow.

The scale said 229.8 this morning. I'm planning on that being the last of the 230's I'll ever see. Good riddance.