Week 3 Day 1 of the program complete and finished with a cold no less. According to the GPS I did about 2.31 miles so distances are still going up a little each time. I ran everything I was supposed to run and then added some more to it just to see if I could so I ended up with a bout a mile of actual running this time. Back didn't hurt at all, that I remember. Knees hurt a little when I woke up from my sick day nap, but that could be because I didn't eat before I went back to bed.
Last week was the first week of calorie tracking as well. If I eat 2000 calories a day, that's the pound a week weight loss. I'm trying to keep it under 1900 except for that weekly sin. Weighing the meats, estimating everything else. Based on the tracking, I probably lost 1.5 - 2 pounds last week. No idea really since I don't own a scale.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Sin Night/Slack Day
Last night was sin night. Pizza and some chocolate on the menu. Over shot my maintenance calories by about 600. It's no wonder I got so overweight since last night was pretty representative of a lot of meals I've eaten over the last few years. Of course, part of the reason I ate that much was staying up until 2:30 to watch the last season of 24. Still, after a week of 1500 - 2000 calorie days, it was nice to splurge. In fact, it's necessary to maintain my sanity with all the other stuff I'm trying to change.
Today is sit on couch and be lazy day. Unless I decided to take a turn around the neighborhood tonight just to get the blood flowing. Another thing to help maintain my sanity.
Today is sit on couch and be lazy day. Unless I decided to take a turn around the neighborhood tonight just to get the blood flowing. Another thing to help maintain my sanity.
Friday, August 27, 2010
End of week 2
The latter half of the week went very well despite the beginnings of a cold. Wednesday's week 2 day 2 was a different route than usual. Ended up running on concrete instead of asphalt. Not sure if that was the reason my legs hurt more or if it was the fact that the new route has a steady incline for half of the first mile of the run. Either way, my shins were not happy with me, though the rest of me was fine. Not nearly as much back pain as when I run my route with steeper inclines.
Thursday my throat felt worse and my knees told me not to get out of bed. Since it wasn't a running day, I let them win this time. I figure I can make it up with a real bike ride on Saturday or Sunday instead of riding the crappy trainer in the stinky basement. Plus real riding will help me build up the butt callouses.
Friday I felt worse than Thursday but it's a run day so I'm not going to give in to the temptation to slack. Got up, dosed my self with cold meds, pain meds and vitamins, drank my water and hit the road. Extended the first interval by about 30 seconds into the recovery time. Just wanted to see what would happen. Wasn't as hard as I thought it would be so that gives me some hope for Week 3's 3 minute runs. Total distance today was actually shorter than the rest of the week. I attribute that to the extra 30 seconds of running and an overall faster pace. By the time I got to the cool down walk, I was closer to home than usual so when I doubled back down the street, I didn't finish the cool down before I got back to the house.
Generally speaking, after two weeks of consistent exercise, I feel like I'm making some headway on the exercise part of my life. I've been tracking calories online to at least get an idea of what I'm eating. According to the fitness coach and the website, 2000 calories a day will allow me to lose a pound a week. Most of the week, I've been well under that. Plus I burned about 1000 calories in exercise. I should probably go out and buy a scale, but those things are evil.
Thursday my throat felt worse and my knees told me not to get out of bed. Since it wasn't a running day, I let them win this time. I figure I can make it up with a real bike ride on Saturday or Sunday instead of riding the crappy trainer in the stinky basement. Plus real riding will help me build up the butt callouses.
Friday I felt worse than Thursday but it's a run day so I'm not going to give in to the temptation to slack. Got up, dosed my self with cold meds, pain meds and vitamins, drank my water and hit the road. Extended the first interval by about 30 seconds into the recovery time. Just wanted to see what would happen. Wasn't as hard as I thought it would be so that gives me some hope for Week 3's 3 minute runs. Total distance today was actually shorter than the rest of the week. I attribute that to the extra 30 seconds of running and an overall faster pace. By the time I got to the cool down walk, I was closer to home than usual so when I doubled back down the street, I didn't finish the cool down before I got back to the house.
Generally speaking, after two weeks of consistent exercise, I feel like I'm making some headway on the exercise part of my life. I've been tracking calories online to at least get an idea of what I'm eating. According to the fitness coach and the website, 2000 calories a day will allow me to lose a pound a week. Most of the week, I've been well under that. Plus I burned about 1000 calories in exercise. I should probably go out and buy a scale, but those things are evil.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Two days two workouts
So far I have managed to stay motivated for the first two days of the week. Yesterday was the first run in new shoes. After about half a mile I realized that the shoes that felt almost too tight when I put them on had loosened significantly with movement, to the point that my sock ran down into my shoe. Being a super genius, I kept going instead of fixing it. Pretty sure loose shoe caused the thigh pain. Could really tell a difference between the new shoes and the old ones. A lot more cushion in the new ones. I felt them squish as I ran which I think is probably a good thing. Distributes the force more so it's less jarring, right? Rocked out just over 2 miles of walk/jog.
Today was the trainer. And by that I mean bike trainer not some professional guy hired to motivate me. I hate riding the bike trainer. One, there's no sense of accomplishment because you didn't go anywhere. Two, you can't get a virtual representation of going anywhere because bike computers work with the front wheel not the rear wheel. I've been told putting a bike computer on the rear wheel doesn't work. Three, it's hard to judge just how much effort I'm putting into it with no readouts so what now feels like some real exercise might not be. I no longer have the speed to pedal rhythm associations I once had. Finally, the cat lives in the basement thus it smells like cat down there. This is not high on my list of things to smell when riding my bike.
Back to running tomorrow. I'm tempted to do some extra instead of sticking to the program, but I'm afraid I'll burn myself out at the same time and that could lead to skipping days.
Today was the trainer. And by that I mean bike trainer not some professional guy hired to motivate me. I hate riding the bike trainer. One, there's no sense of accomplishment because you didn't go anywhere. Two, you can't get a virtual representation of going anywhere because bike computers work with the front wheel not the rear wheel. I've been told putting a bike computer on the rear wheel doesn't work. Three, it's hard to judge just how much effort I'm putting into it with no readouts so what now feels like some real exercise might not be. I no longer have the speed to pedal rhythm associations I once had. Finally, the cat lives in the basement thus it smells like cat down there. This is not high on my list of things to smell when riding my bike.
Back to running tomorrow. I'm tempted to do some extra instead of sticking to the program, but I'm afraid I'll burn myself out at the same time and that could lead to skipping days.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Week two begins
Yes I know I started with the end of week 1. Give me a break, I just decided to start tracking this an hour or so ago.
To being week two, I bought new shoes. I hope they help with the back pain I get when I run. Was going to get fitted, but the place was closed on Sunday so I just ran to the local Sports Authority because they seem to have the best overall selection of running shoes. Finding something that worked took at least 15 tries. Actually, it took 2, but I wasn't shelling out $150 for shoes today. Maybe after Week 9 I will splurge on the good shoes to get me up to my 5 mile goal.
Week 2 will include the introduction of a slow morning bike ride on the trainer Tuesday and Thursday. Even though I'll only be doing 45 minutes, I think it will help with the recovery aspect of running and it can't hurt to add a little more activity. Just wish the bike computer worked with the trainer. I'm also hoping to add in a long Saturday or Sunday bike ride, but I'm not going to kill myself to do it this week. Road riding near where I live always seems a bit too daredevil. People don't seem to like cyclists riding on the street up here.
To being week two, I bought new shoes. I hope they help with the back pain I get when I run. Was going to get fitted, but the place was closed on Sunday so I just ran to the local Sports Authority because they seem to have the best overall selection of running shoes. Finding something that worked took at least 15 tries. Actually, it took 2, but I wasn't shelling out $150 for shoes today. Maybe after Week 9 I will splurge on the good shoes to get me up to my 5 mile goal.
Week 2 will include the introduction of a slow morning bike ride on the trainer Tuesday and Thursday. Even though I'll only be doing 45 minutes, I think it will help with the recovery aspect of running and it can't hurt to add a little more activity. Just wish the bike computer worked with the trainer. I'm also hoping to add in a long Saturday or Sunday bike ride, but I'm not going to kill myself to do it this week. Road riding near where I live always seems a bit too daredevil. People don't seem to like cyclists riding on the street up here.
End of week one
I've never been a runner for exercise purposes. I always ran as part of a sport. Running for exercise always seemed boring to me. Any time I tried to run, walk or anything, I was lucky to make it two days. Cycling was a different story, that was always fun, but the roads near me aren't really great for cycling. Much easier to just walk out the front door and run. Now I just have to do it.
I have multiple goals for this one. I hope they will keep me motivated. Short term I want to run a 5k. Long term I want to be in shape to play with my son and be able to keep up with him as he gets older. Other long term I need to get my weight down to join the JAG Corps, which is something I want for my future.
Day 1 about killed me. I was surprised I finished the last run interval. Thighs hurt, back hurt, drenched in sweat. All in all felt pretty good.
Day 2 was easier to finish all the the intervals. Changed the route a little to get away from two hills. Not really nasty ones, but not something I needed in week 1.
Day 3 actually finished the route before the podcast ended so I had to backtrack. Still had the back pain, in fact it seemed worse today, though that could have been the fact that I was going faster.
I have multiple goals for this one. I hope they will keep me motivated. Short term I want to run a 5k. Long term I want to be in shape to play with my son and be able to keep up with him as he gets older. Other long term I need to get my weight down to join the JAG Corps, which is something I want for my future.
Day 1 about killed me. I was surprised I finished the last run interval. Thighs hurt, back hurt, drenched in sweat. All in all felt pretty good.
Day 2 was easier to finish all the the intervals. Changed the route a little to get away from two hills. Not really nasty ones, but not something I needed in week 1.
Day 3 actually finished the route before the podcast ended so I had to backtrack. Still had the back pain, in fact it seemed worse today, though that could have been the fact that I was going faster.
The starting stats
As I start the Couch to 5k plan, I've decided to track my progress as a motivational tool as much as anything else. I'll keep track of my measurements as I go to see progress. The other stuff I update at then end of 15 weeks when I get my follow up blood work.
Blood pressure - 135/85
Glucose - 103
Triglycerides - 202
Cholesterol - 217
LDL - 147
HDL - 30
Height - 69 to 70 inches
Weight - 245 on a scale at my parents' house last Easter.
Measurements - I'll get some of those posted.
Blood pressure - 135/85
Glucose - 103
Triglycerides - 202
Cholesterol - 217
LDL - 147
HDL - 30
Height - 69 to 70 inches
Weight - 245 on a scale at my parents' house last Easter.
Measurements - I'll get some of those posted.
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