I need a vacation. . .

Last week pretty much was a lost week as far as my fitness was concerned.   My Calf still bothered me most of the week, so I was only able to walk.  With Lisa out of town all week, I was left to my own devices and I ended up eating poorly all week.  The weather was rainy and miserable.  Work seemed more stressful.   All in all, it won’t go down as one of my best weeks.

More than anything, I just feel like I’m in a funk.   Life seems like more of a chore for me right now, especially with respect to exercise.  They talk about the dog days of summer in baseball.  For an average Joe just trying to stay fit, it’s really the dog days of winter where I struggle.   I feel like I’m in limbo waiting for things to get better – or to get started.

One thing I’m waiting for is for the weather to get better.  This has been a fairly miserable winter in Seattle – or at least it seems that way to me.  Yes, I could go out and ride in the wind and rain anyway, but I look forward to the days when I can go out and enjoy the ride, not just survive or endure it. 

I’m also waiting for Bloomsday to get over with.  I have concerns that I won’t be ready to run 7.5 miles, especially losing  last week’s training.  Mostly though, I’m waiting for Bloomsday to get over with so I can start focusing on cycling.  I chose to run Bloomsday to give me something to do until outdoor cycling became viable.  I know running is good cross training for me, but it will probably never be a passion for me.  At best, I hope to one day be able to run without a sense of dread.  So for Bloomsday, I’m just looking forward to it being done.

I know the “correct” answer for my funk is to focus on one day at a time.  But honestly, I am going to continue to to stay in limbo for four more days.  On Friday –  the family heads for Kona, Hawaii.   I am so looking forward to a week in the sun.  I am so looking forward to a break from work and the rest of life.  I “plan” on running while I’m there, but if my calf acts up, or life gets in the way – no worries.  I’ll be in Hawaii. 

I can’t wait for Friday to get here…

Calf Update

 I woke up today and my calf is still sore, but better.  I hydrated, massaged, iced, and heated per all the great suggestions I received in comments.  Thanks to all of you for looking after me

I decided I’m not going to go tp spin class today.  I think I am going to either take my dog for a walk, or do a lite ride on an exercise bike.  Tomorrow, I am going to go on a long bike ride rather than run.  My next run will therefore be on Tuesday, and hopefully all will be well by then.

Today’s run didn’t go so well

Today was my easy day run.  Now for me, “easy” and “run” don’t yet co-exist.  So what I chose to focus on was running slower, but running the entire 30 minutes. 

It started out perfect.  I ran at a 10:20 pace, kept my heart rate in the low 150’s, and even had the bonus of watching the beginnings of the NCAA Basketball tournament. 

Everything went smoothly for the first mile.  Then, in Mile 2 and with no forewarning, my right calf started cramping up.  I tried walking but it wouldn’t go away.  I tried stretching it, but it didn’t seem to help.  I tried ignoring it and running further, and that definitely wasn’t an option.

Finally I gave up and did a slow walk for the rest of the time.  It didn’t really hurt to keep walking, but I definitely felt it.  Since then I have been hobbling around.  It feels like I have a charlie horse in my calf.  It is especially bothersome when I walk down steps. 

This sucks!!!   I am going to be really bummed if this is serious and it interferes with my cycling.  I never get injured cycling!!!

Okay, I am going to calm down now.  I don’t have to run again until Saturday, so I have a couple of days for it to go away.  Tomorrow I have spin class.  Even if it’s still sore I’m going to give it a shot.  I’ll let you all know how it goes.

Running Intervals on the Treadmill

Today was a good day running.  I ran for the first time in a while without my shins really bothering me.  I ran on the treadmill and I focused on intervals of 3 minute walks and 7 minute runs.  I did this three times for a 30 minute workout.

 I ran the first segment at a 10 minute mile pace, the second segment at a 9.00 pace, and the last one at an 8.5 pace.  I was surprised I could run that fast as I previously hadn’t tried going faster than a 10 minute mile. 

My average heart rate was 151, and my max was 177.  In the last segment, I ran the last five minutes with my heart rate over 175 – and it didn’t feel that uncomfortable.  My average was low because I was able to drop back into the low 130’s during the three minute walks.

 Hopefully before Bloomsday (less than two months away ugghh), I can get to the point where I slowly run during the resting part of the intervals instead of walking.  I also need to start running outside more than once a week.  And I need to increase this particular workout to 40 minutes instead of 30.  But for now, I’m progressing nicely.

If you want to lose weight – focus on your habits

I stated in my week 10 results that I was going to make losing weight my number one priority this week.  Turns out that might not be the best long term approach to losing weight.  I know, that sounds contradictory, but let me explain.

I went to lunch today with my coach.  This is the first time I have seen her face to face since she started coaching me at the beginning of the year, as she lives in Arizona.  She asked for a general update on how things were going.  I naturally focused my attention on the fact that my weight was up and I needed to do something about it this week.  She said that she wasn’t in favor of that approach.  Her insight – the problem with diets is that your attention is on losing weight.  

If you want to read more, click here

2007 Resolutions – Week 10 Results

Ooops! I was up 2 pounds this week.  It has now been three weeks since I lost weight.  My blood pressure is also back up.  Time to get back on track.

I feel like I’m getting more fit, but I am also falling back into my old patterns.  The number of days per week that I am working out and the overall hours working out have really fallen off.  I haven’t lifted in three weeks – but not sure if that means anything with respect to my weight. 

I am going to make losing weight my number one priority this week.  I know I haven’t been mindful about quantity or quality of what I have been eating.  I will target 2,200 calories a day this week and see if it makes a difference.  I haven’t been eating within two hours of bedtime, but without sufficient exercise and other eating habits, it’s not enough.

Here is how I did in week 10 against my goals:

2nd Run Outside

Today was the second run outside for my uncle and me, who are training to run Bloomsday from scratch. In my training plan for it’s called my “Long Run”, but it isn’t really that long yet. We ran/walked for 40 minutes. I figure we covered somewhere around 3.5 miles. It still bothered my shins, but the new shoes definately helped. I also didn’t have as high of a heart rate this time. My average heart rate was 150 with a max of 172. Both were lower than previous runs.

Bloomsday is now 56 days away, which translates to 8 weeks. To stay on plan we need to add 10 minutes each week to our long run. I only ran one other time last week, and I need to get up to three runs a week immediately. One of those runs I will focus on getting my heart rate up either by using hills outside or intervals on a treadmill. The other run I will focus on maintaining a slower pace, but running the entire time.

Currently we are running 7 minutes and walking 3. We used 8/2 last week, and changing it to 7/3 had the intended effect of keeping our heart rates lower. As we continue to build I expect we will start running for longer periods of time, but I wouldn’t care if we just ran/walked the race. I burned about 150 calories per each 10 minute segment, so there is no worries about not burning enough calories.

This run’s in the books. The next one is Tuesday. I’ll just keep taking them on run at a time.

Done with Jury Duty

I finished jury duty, and I am ready to get back to a more normal life.  This was my first experience on jury duty.  I have always gotten out of it in the past – easily done when you work at a startup company.  But courts in Washington State are making it harder to get out of jury duty, and I felt like I really could go this time without too much impact at work.  So I went.

I had heard that a lot of time is spent waiting to see if you get put in a jury pool.  I brought a book and was expecting a nice long read.  Not so!  I was juror number 9 on the first case.  This meant that I was in the jury box, and the only way I was going to not be on the jury was if I was excused for cause, or if the defense or prosecution excused me without cause (they get so many of these per trial).  Of the 28 jurors in the jury pool, probably a dozen were excused before the final 13 were set.  I was still in the jury box when they were done.

At the end of the trial, they randomly picked a name from the 13, and this person became the alternate and was excused (to be on call if needed).  Our jury turned out to be a great group of people.  We spent a lot of time going over the instructions, talking about what they meant, and especially debating the meaning of laws and definitions given to us as part of our 30 page closing instructions.  Everyone took the job seriously, and we all made sure everyone was satisfied before we moved on.  I don’t think it could have gone better.  It was our system working the way it was designed to work.

 I ended up glad that I had the experience.  I wouldn’t hesitate in the future to serve on another jury.  And for those curious George’s out there, we found the defendant guilty on both counts.  But I’m not going to say anymore about it.

Now it’s back to real life.  And my first assignment – figure out how to get rid of the three pounds I somehow put on eating cafeteria food and other junk during the week.

Running Day

Yesterday was running day, and as much as I wasn’t looking forward to it, I hit the gym and got in 2.5 miles.  I ran/walk for 30 minutes, with 20 minutes of it running.  Even with the walk breaks my average hr was 155, with a 172 max.  Since this is my “Hill” day, I tried to make it more of an interval workout, using higher speeds than I normally would use. 

The real bummer about yesterday’s run was that I had to do it in a gym at night.  It was a gorgeous day yesterday.  I didn’t check, but I would guess it was in the mid 60’s.  Not too many days like that in Seattle in early March.  But I am on Jury duty right now, and so I couldn’t get outside.  Well, actually there was a false bomb threat at the courthouse, so I did get to go stand in the sun for about 1.5 hours – that I nice.  This is the first time I have been summoned and felt I could actually take the time off work.  I thought I would end up sitting in a room for a bunch of hours waiting to see if I was selected.  Nope!!!  I was juror #9 on the first trial on the docket.  Can’t say anything more about it right now, but it’s been interesting and a positive experience so far.

My next run is on Thursday and it’s my easy run.  I have two thoughts on it.  First, for me, “easy run” is an oxymoron.  If you want me to do something easy, then don’t ask me to run.  If you want me to run, it ain’t going to be easy.  But in the spirit of “easier run”, I am going to lower my speed and shoot for 20 minutes straight of running. 

My first run outside

I ran for the first time outside on Saturday. It was a 3 mile run, and I walked two/ran eight for the three miles. It ended up taking 34 minutes counting the walking. My average heart rate was 161 and my max was 179.

Overall, it was a lot harder than the treadmill. My shins hurt right out of the gate and didn’t stop the entire time. Afterwards, I was trashed the rest of the day. Amazing that you could get that tired off of 34 minutes of exercise. Should I actually make it to Bloomsday; somehow find a way to finish (I’m guessing around 1 hour 20 minutes for the 12k); then we face about a 300 mile trip home that same day. I am going to be useless as a driver. But I suppose I should just worry about running three times this week for now.

I did immediately go out and buy new shoes after I was done running. I have been walking in my running shoes – a major no no if you want your shoes to last. Hopefully the new shoes will make a difference. Otherwise it’s going to be a long 9 weeks…