Meh

Yes, it's 1 week later and I'm still not completely well. I thought I was finally over this nonsense on Sunday night, but then I woke up Monday feeling significantly worse, then felt pretty normal Tuesday other than alot of blowing my nose, and pretty much ditto today. I made it up to the gym for the first time in 12 days today, thinking that maybe getting my heart rate up a tad might help. I mostly just walked on the treadmill, and ran for a total of 2 minutes, but I could tell that my body is still a bit weak even doing something that modest. I also did a round of chest press, warming up at 90, doing 8 reps of 130, and then
3 reps (just to see if I could) at 170. The real surprise of the day was when I weighed in at 220.1 . I decided right when I got sick that I wasn't going watch what I ate and would give my body as much food as it felt like eating. And obviously, I was getting zero exercise or even normal movement, and yet I lost almost a pound in 12 days. I know weight fluctuates to some degree (I def wasnt dehydrated), but I was fully expecting a gain of 2-3 LBs, and was just hoping it wasn't more. Pretty confusing really, b/c I felt like I was eating somewhere around maybe 2800-3k
calories a day, though I wasnt keeping track. Another point on the bright side is that I haven't forgotten about working out or lost my motivation in any way, really I've just been antsy to get back into the routine again, hopefully that happens sooner rather than later. Of course, my roommate catches the same thing and he's over it completely in 3 1/2 days.

Weak sauce

So, I didnt get better. Woke up Monday feeling like ass after sleeping 12 hours, feel like more ass today, prolly feel like ass tomorrow, gay. Can't workout, can't get anything done, cant do shit, suckkkkkkkkkkkkks. All I did yesterday was sit around and watch Youtube of Radiohead and John Lennon interviews (which were actually quite good for the most part) and THAT was basically enough to sap me of all my energy. I'm not happy about this, but I guess there's really nothing to do but sit around and wait to not be sick. Fuck me.

Bahh

I worked out Friday, but other than that some sort of shitty developments over the weekend. First, there's a shitload of snow on the ground which is going to be a pain to drive around in if it doesnt melt by tomorrow or Tuesday. Second, I woke up today with a bit of scratchiness in my throat which has gotten considerably WORSE as the day goes on. I thought it was just from my smoking 3 blacks yesterday like an ijjjiot, but maybe it's actually a cold, which would really blow and put a damper on my workout schedule just as I was starting to hit my stride. I've had some bad meals (and some drinks) this weekend but overall its been better than the last 2 or maybe even 3 weeks. It'd be nice if I could just wake up tomorrow and be over this thing. God knows I've gotten enough sleep lately, my body really shouldnt be worn down at all.

Que Patha

Fairly tough workout today, decided I felt good after a day off and would push the running to 20/8 run/jog, and got through it but was definitely more fatigued than normal and almost winded, so I took a longer than average break. Ended up being 370 cals and probably about 2 1/2 miles, although I forgot to check the mileage. I also did some weights today, got the bench (machine chest press) up to 150, the leg press to 330, and the lat pull down to 130. Maybe one day I'll be able to do some pull-ups, always did suck pretty hard at those. I'm kind of surprised at the speed of improvement on the weights, considering I've gone so soft on them, but I guess it's always like that at the beginning. It's always going to be a game of diminishing returns as time goes on, which sucks, but I really dont have much to complain about so far. The MP3 player is also a MAJOR improvement over read/watching close-captioned episodes of Oprah or Ellen chat-time gayness. Unfortunately, my MP3 player is my Sony Ericsson cell phone, which is predictably of much lower quality than my iPod, even though that didnt occur to me until the fact was staring me in the face. Just gotta wait a couple months and I can get an iPoo Nano w/my Citi Card points. I think I'll cut back on my run again tomorrow, do it interval stylie, and then go for 20s next week w/better speed. My running is still pretty slow, and it'd be nice when I do finally bust out the 30 consecutive minutes if I could get at least 11 min/miles workin, which is about a 5.4 or so on the TM. Also did 18+3 on the ellip at lev 3-5, was pretty easy and relaxed compared to the running

Workout 36

Another pretty good day in the gym. I held back a little on the time, and went 16 run/12 walk on the treddy, but ran a little faster than I normally would, giving almost the same total calories burned as the day before (358 before cooldown), actually maybe a little more now that I think about it. My weight dropped back down as well after alot of pretty bad eating over the weekend, Im back down at around 222 now. I've definitely been slacking more than I'd like as far as eating healthy, but as long as I keep a steady workout regiment going, the weight should sort itself out sooner or later. As it is, Im down about 6.5 LBs in just over 8 weeks. I also did 17+3 on the elliptical, and hit a quick shoulder press before I left, as that was the only machine I'd forgotten to do the last 2 days (did a set at 130 then maxed out at 140). My upper body strength is still pretty puss at the moment, but seems to be improving pretty quickly, especially considering that I'm only doing 1 set most of the time to save time and b/c Im more concerned with improving my cardio. Pretty much everything I read regarding weight training preaches on and on about the superiority of free weights, but I feel like I really can't be bothered at the moment, as long as the running is coming along nicely. I've also noticed that my recovery time needed is shortening when Im running intervals (which is most of the time), in addition to feeling more comfortable at a higher heart rate. Im feeling pretty good just maintaining around 140-150 bpm, whereas when I started it was probably about 128-140 or so. I think I might also add a couple minutes to the treadmill run so that it corolates with the C25K plan, and then do the 2 minute cooldown on top of it. That would let me jump to the 21/9 segment next week, which seems about right. Be nice to get the porgram done in 4-6 weeks. Alright, guess that's it for now.

Wuh Sapaneen?

What's crackalackin non-existent readers? Well, I ate like ass over the weekend, but got a workout in Sunday, for 5 days last week, and went at it late today as well. Everything's feeling pretty good physically, not much shin or knee pain to speak of the last 2 days. I think doing a 5 min walk warm-up, then stretching, and strecthing again between workouts is helping. But my dumb ass probably shouldnt have smoked 4 Black and Milds over the weekend. For the uninitiated, they're pretty much ghetto pipe tobacco cigars, but when I get a little sauced I can smoke one as opposed to falling off the cigarette wagon, which I've successfully stayed on for 11 weeks now. Anyway, as the rational part of me knows, all putting any sort of nicotine in my body does is make me want to smoke more and re-initiate my cravings. Fortunately, working out minimizes alot of that. Anyway, I figured I wouldn't push it much today, so I stuck with the same as last workout on the treadmill, 18 mins run/10 walk, but I started out with 8 minutes of running after a short warm-up, which really wasn't all that much of a strain. Very encouraging. I think the exact stats were like 2.3x miles in 30 minutes (including 2 min cooldown) for 355 calories, and then 25 minutes on the elliptical (including 5 minute cooldown) for 270 cals I think. The idea of running 20-30 minutes straight (at 5-6 mph anyway), which was nonsensical a few months ago, is starting to seem honestly reachable in not too long a time. I guess I'll wait until next week to jump to 21/8 (which is pretty much in accordance w/beginnertriathlete.com's Walk/Run program), and just jump up the speed if I'm feelin any extra energy.

Giddy up Dohgeez

Ah, ya, that's been quite a while. Obviously a couple trips and an illness fucked over my last plan real good, but since moving back to Ohio I gave it another go starting in Mid November, quit smoking, joined a gym and am still goin good. I'd been just keeping a log every couple days of my workouts, progress, blablabla, but there's not enough space there so I figured I'd raise this paltry piece from the dead. Alright, a quick bringing up to date. I quit smoking, again and definitively, about 10 weeks ago, joined a gym 3 weeks later, and today was my 33rd day at said gym. I made it through the habit-forming period, made it through my 1st mini-illness which always seems to inevitably come after I start working out, and am pretty much addicted at the moment. I've been averaging 3-4 days/week for several weeks, but if my legs/feet/shins didnt advise me otherwise, Id prolly be hittin it 5 er 6. Ya, Im dorkin out hard now. I read fitness articles and blogs, I post in forums, I have a mini-obsession workin its hilarious. Anyway, my fitness level was predictably awful when I started, but the last couple weeks Ive been making noticeable strides and am feeling really really good during and after cardio, aside from some nagging shin splints which intermittently kick on and off, and some knee pain here and there which isnt too bad, and will probably improve somewhat as I take off another 15 to 20 LBs.
Today I did 30 minutes on El treadmill (including 2 minute cooldown), and pretty much killed it relative to what Ive done before, running 16 and walking 12. 7 weeks ago I started off with some hilarious, like run 4-5/walk 23-24, so even though I havent followed the plan I think Im roughly on the couch to 5K timeline that's either on coolrunning or another site I have bookmarked. Surprisingly, the real bottleneck so far hasn't been my getting winded (which at all times previous in my life would happen within 3-4 mins) but rather the stress that my shins, knees, and leg muscles feel so I havent been pushing it, and Ive been making sure to take rest days when I felt like I needed them (altho I have gone Mon-Thur this week and have felt alright). I also incorporated the elliptical into the mix after the 1st couple/3 weeks to take some of the impact burden off. I def like the machines, and theyre way better than the stationary bikes my gym has, but they cant really match the purity of running. I also find it difficult to do intervals as easily as I can on a treadmill, b/c there isnt a level as easy as walking on the ellip, and going hard doesnt work as well for me as running 6-7 mph (which is like lightning speed for
my body at the moment). So anyway, ya 16 mins running with 2 of those 6 and 6.5 I think, and the rest 5-5.7 mph, which is getting to feel pretty maintainable for my body like I could just do it indefinitely. Running 30 consecutive minutes used to seem completely unimaginable for me, but I guess the trick is just that you have to run REALLY slow, at least at the beginning. I've even read blogs on the net where people talk about "running" for 30-60 minutes or whatever at 4 mph, a speed at which I can comfortably walk. Anyway, when I hit that point, it's gonna feel pretty goddam good, and I really dont think its that far off, but getting the 30 mins in at a decent speed (read 3+ miles) will still probably take me another 2-3 months. Alright, this has been long-winded enough for now, Ill probably update post workout from now on.