Just got home a couple days ago from Maui. Such a nice place to relax in the sun. Too bad it was pouring rain. Well, in truth it only rained hard on two of the days. The rest of the week was partly sunny. Not as nice as last year, but pretty good.
My running plan kinda got put on hold, but I'm happy to say I weighed pretty much the same when I got back as when I left. It's nice to be away from home for ten days and not put on any pounds -- especially after the several juicy Maui cheeseburgers I ate, and the milkshakes.
I ran for the first day, but my knees were still hurting -- especially the weird pain I'd been having below the right knee. I was able to do my three minute intervals, but it left me pretty sore. Due to a combination of that, and the fact that I was getting up every morning at about 4AM and walking up and down the beach for several hours, I didn't run again until yesterday.
After ten days off, I didn't do too bad. I was able to run three 3-minute intervals and then I finished with a six-minute interval -- doubling the longest run previous to that. I found a nice easy pace that I felt like I could maintain indefinitely. It felt good to be running again, although I could still feel my knee pain. The weird pain below my right knee seems to be gone, however.
Strangely, today my knees don't really hurt at all -- even when I'm going up or down stairs. So I think the week off was good, although I need to keep building strenth in my quads and stretching my hammies to get my knees back in good condition.
My original goal was to do 20 minutes non-stop by March 31 -- that is tomorrow. As tempting as it is to try and do it, I think I will bite the bullet and pick up the program where I left off. I will do intervals of 5 and 8 minutes, and then try the twenty minute run next Friday. I don't want to cause further problems with my knees and end up derailing my running program for an extended period. As long as I take it easy, I think they will come around and the pain will eventually go away.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
W2D3
Yesterday was W2D3. As with Wednesday, I was breathing pretty hard at the end of each 90 second jogging interval. In fact, at the end of the 4th interval, I started to feel a little light-headed. During the 5th interval, I almost stopped at 60 seconds.
At that point I was feeling rather frustrated and, knowing that I have to do three minute intervals next week, I was afraid I was going to have to repeat week two. So I decided to test myself and see just how long I could go if I didn't have my mind fixed on 90 seconds. So I set my timer to three minutes and started out with a slow, steady pace. Surprisingly, I did the full three minutes, and could have kept going.
I learned a couple things from this. First, mindset has a great deal to do with performance. As long as my mind is fixed on 90 seconds, that will be my limit. That's apparently why 60 seconds seemed exactly right last week and 90 seemed exactly right this week. That's what I set my mind to, so that's what I was able to do.
Second, probably due to my mindset, my pace has probably been too fast. When I set out to do three minutes, I deliberately set a slow pace. I got into a rhythm and my breathing never got too heavy. At the end of the three minutes, it was still about the same as at the beginning.
It's good that I did that three minute test yesterday because I now have the confidence that I need to move on next week. Not to mention the fact that it just felt great to be able to run for three minutes without having to walk. That may be the longest I've run at one time since I did the 5k "fun run" in 7th grade.
At that point I was feeling rather frustrated and, knowing that I have to do three minute intervals next week, I was afraid I was going to have to repeat week two. So I decided to test myself and see just how long I could go if I didn't have my mind fixed on 90 seconds. So I set my timer to three minutes and started out with a slow, steady pace. Surprisingly, I did the full three minutes, and could have kept going.
I learned a couple things from this. First, mindset has a great deal to do with performance. As long as my mind is fixed on 90 seconds, that will be my limit. That's apparently why 60 seconds seemed exactly right last week and 90 seemed exactly right this week. That's what I set my mind to, so that's what I was able to do.
Second, probably due to my mindset, my pace has probably been too fast. When I set out to do three minutes, I deliberately set a slow pace. I got into a rhythm and my breathing never got too heavy. At the end of the three minutes, it was still about the same as at the beginning.
It's good that I did that three minute test yesterday because I now have the confidence that I need to move on next week. Not to mention the fact that it just felt great to be able to run for three minutes without having to walk. That may be the longest I've run at one time since I did the 5k "fun run" in 7th grade.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
W2D2
Today I did my second run of week two. I thought I would have a little more energy than I had on Monday since I didn't do any bike work beforehand like I did then. Strangely, it turned out that today was harder than Monday. But it wasn't so much a lack of energy as a lack of aerobic capacity. My lungs were practically gasping for breath at the end of each 90 second interval. My calves were pretty tight too, but I could've endured that. Maybe I should do some bike work before each of my runs. It seems like it would be counterproductive, but it sure didn't hurt me on Monday.
I weighed in at 216.5 and 30% bodyfat. About the same as a couple days ago, but I had about a two pound spike yesterday (even though I did everything right on Monday), so I can't complain about being back near 216. I do want to be well below 215 by the end of next week. Actually, 213 would be nice because that would be 25 down from where I started in November.
I weighed in at 216.5 and 30% bodyfat. About the same as a couple days ago, but I had about a two pound spike yesterday (even though I did everything right on Monday), so I can't complain about being back near 216. I do want to be well below 215 by the end of next week. Actually, 213 would be nice because that would be 25 down from where I started in November.
Monday, March 06, 2006
W2D1
I started the second week of the C25K program today. My legs were pretty sore when I completed the third run of the first week on Saturday, so I thought I might have to take two days off and start this week on Tuesday. But after 45 minutes on the stationary bike this morning, I was feeling pretty good and decided to at least take the dog out for a walk.
My legs didn’t feel sore, so I decided to go ahead and do the 90 second intervals of running. Surprisingly, I did not get out of breath until it came near the end of each 90 second interval. Just two days ago I was huffing and puffing at the end of 60 seconds, so it surprised me today when I passed each 60 second interval without feeling like I was even breathing hard. I hope the same thing happens next week when I have to start doing 3 minute runs.
I weighed in at 216# and 29.5% bodyfat today, so my fat loss efforts are moving along nicely.
As for my other goals, I did take the kids to play tennis Saturday, but I didn’t play long because it was very cold and my knees were still sore from the morning run.
Food logging? I don’t like the food logging goal I made. I am keeping track in my head and so I know I am staying below my 1500 calorie limit. But I hate taking the time to log everything. Writing down what I eat isn’t the hard part, it’s tallying up the points, calories, carbs, fats, proteins, etc., that I really hate. So as long as I know I’m doing good, I may not worry about writing it down.
My legs didn’t feel sore, so I decided to go ahead and do the 90 second intervals of running. Surprisingly, I did not get out of breath until it came near the end of each 90 second interval. Just two days ago I was huffing and puffing at the end of 60 seconds, so it surprised me today when I passed each 60 second interval without feeling like I was even breathing hard. I hope the same thing happens next week when I have to start doing 3 minute runs.
I weighed in at 216# and 29.5% bodyfat today, so my fat loss efforts are moving along nicely.
As for my other goals, I did take the kids to play tennis Saturday, but I didn’t play long because it was very cold and my knees were still sore from the morning run.
Food logging? I don’t like the food logging goal I made. I am keeping track in my head and so I know I am staying below my 1500 calorie limit. But I hate taking the time to log everything. Writing down what I eat isn’t the hard part, it’s tallying up the points, calories, carbs, fats, proteins, etc., that I really hate. So as long as I know I’m doing good, I may not worry about writing it down.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Still losing
I weighed in at 218 and 29.5% bodyfat today. So I'm still losing fat, though not as fast as I would like. I think I need to increase the cardio. 30-60 minutes a day isn't going to get me more than about a one pound per week loss.
March Goals
Action goals for March:
Eating: start logging food every day, keep calories under 1500.
Running: run three times a week (M-W-F) according to the C25K schedule.
Other exercise: on days not running, do at least 30 minutes of cardio (e.g., indoor bike).
Tennis: take kids to play tennis at least four times in March.
Golf: go golfing at least one time in March.
Results goals for March:
Lose ten pounds of fat.
Run two miles non-stop on March 31.
Eating: start logging food every day, keep calories under 1500.
Running: run three times a week (M-W-F) according to the C25K schedule.
Other exercise: on days not running, do at least 30 minutes of cardio (e.g., indoor bike).
Tennis: take kids to play tennis at least four times in March.
Golf: go golfing at least one time in March.
Results goals for March:
Lose ten pounds of fat.
Run two miles non-stop on March 31.
W1D2
I got my new running shoes last night and was excited to get an early start this morning on my second run of the C25K program. I was dismayed when I awoke at 5AM to the sound of heavy winds and rain hitting the house. It almost never rains here, but of course it would rain the morning I plan to try out my new shoes.
Fortunately, by 7:30 AM the rain and wind had stopped and the clouds were breaking up. So I was able to hit the road after all. I now have W1D2 (Week One, Day Two of the C5K program) under my belt. It went well. I felt great after I finished.
I was a little worried about how my knees would hold up because I’ve had a little pain right below the knee caps, but it didn’t bother me at all while running. Besides a little soreness in my calves, some fairly heavy breathing at the end of each 60 second interval was all that plagued me. Sixty seconds does not sound like much, but it sure is enough to get me winded.
I am looking forward to the day when I can run for miles without getting out of breath. According the C25K schedule, that day should be W5D3. On that day, I am supposed to be able to run 20 minutes (approximately 2 miles) without stopping or walking. If all goes according to plan, that will occur on Friday, March 31.
Fortunately, by 7:30 AM the rain and wind had stopped and the clouds were breaking up. So I was able to hit the road after all. I now have W1D2 (Week One, Day Two of the C5K program) under my belt. It went well. I felt great after I finished.
I was a little worried about how my knees would hold up because I’ve had a little pain right below the knee caps, but it didn’t bother me at all while running. Besides a little soreness in my calves, some fairly heavy breathing at the end of each 60 second interval was all that plagued me. Sixty seconds does not sound like much, but it sure is enough to get me winded.
I am looking forward to the day when I can run for miles without getting out of breath. According the C25K schedule, that day should be W5D3. On that day, I am supposed to be able to run 20 minutes (approximately 2 miles) without stopping or walking. If all goes according to plan, that will occur on Friday, March 31.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
C25K
Two weeks ago I had never heard of the C25K. Now I think about it day and night. It nearly consumes my every thought. So what is it? It’s the Couch to 5K running program I found on coolrunning.com. The idea is to turn a couch potato into a 5K runner in just over two months. That’s exactly what I need because I, Couch Potato, want to be a runner.
My wife was a runner in high school and, over a dozen years of marriage, I have heard many times that she is going to be a runner again. She has spoken many times of her desire to run the annual 4th of July run in Hood River, OR. I believe it is a 12K. As the years passed, my skepticism increased (though I never expressed it to her).
Last July, as we watched the runners (including one of her brothers) cross the finish line, she told our kids that she was going to run it next year (2006). Our older boys (9 and 11) expressed interest in running it with her. Despite my skepticism, I strongly encouraged her to do it. In fact, I told her that if she was serious about it I would do it with her.
Today, I am eating my words. About a month ago, she really got serious about it. She has been out doing walking/jogging intervals (“wogging” as she calls it), pretty much every other day. This morning she called me at work and informed me that, for the first time in many years, she was able to run for 30 minutes without walking. She was so excited to finally be a runner again!
Needless to say, my skepticism is gone. She has proven true to her word. I now have no doubt that she is going to run the 4th of July race this year. The problem is, I have committed to a race that I may not have time to prepare for. From what I’ve read on the internet, I’m not likely to go from Couch Potato to 12K in four months. But I’m going to work towards it and see what happens. If nothing else, I can always walk it.
In contrast to my wife, I’ve never been much of a runner. I’ve tried a number of times to start running, but I always get winded so quickly it never seems worth it. There is no question that I always try to do too much, too soon. But then, when you get out of breath in less than a minute, it seems impossible not to overdo it.
That’s where the C25K comes in. I start out doing 20 minutes of “wogging” (60 seconds jogging, 90 seconds walking), three days a week. Each week the jogging intervals become longer. By the 9th week, I should be able to run 3 miles (in about 30 minutes) without stopping or walking.
Before stumbling onto the C25K program, I had never heard that by starting out this way, a person could rather quickly work up to jogging non-stop for 20-30 minutes (or more). I have read enough posts on the coolrunning.com message boards to become convinced that it is possible. So I have committed to it.
In fact, I have found a local upcoming 5K fun run, which I will be entering. It just happens to take place the week after I complete the C25K. It’s one of those laid back kinds where dogs are invited and such. I plan to take my lab. It will be the happiest day of his life. If I am able to run the distance, I’ll be pretty happy too.
My wife was a runner in high school and, over a dozen years of marriage, I have heard many times that she is going to be a runner again. She has spoken many times of her desire to run the annual 4th of July run in Hood River, OR. I believe it is a 12K. As the years passed, my skepticism increased (though I never expressed it to her).
Last July, as we watched the runners (including one of her brothers) cross the finish line, she told our kids that she was going to run it next year (2006). Our older boys (9 and 11) expressed interest in running it with her. Despite my skepticism, I strongly encouraged her to do it. In fact, I told her that if she was serious about it I would do it with her.
Today, I am eating my words. About a month ago, she really got serious about it. She has been out doing walking/jogging intervals (“wogging” as she calls it), pretty much every other day. This morning she called me at work and informed me that, for the first time in many years, she was able to run for 30 minutes without walking. She was so excited to finally be a runner again!
Needless to say, my skepticism is gone. She has proven true to her word. I now have no doubt that she is going to run the 4th of July race this year. The problem is, I have committed to a race that I may not have time to prepare for. From what I’ve read on the internet, I’m not likely to go from Couch Potato to 12K in four months. But I’m going to work towards it and see what happens. If nothing else, I can always walk it.
In contrast to my wife, I’ve never been much of a runner. I’ve tried a number of times to start running, but I always get winded so quickly it never seems worth it. There is no question that I always try to do too much, too soon. But then, when you get out of breath in less than a minute, it seems impossible not to overdo it.
That’s where the C25K comes in. I start out doing 20 minutes of “wogging” (60 seconds jogging, 90 seconds walking), three days a week. Each week the jogging intervals become longer. By the 9th week, I should be able to run 3 miles (in about 30 minutes) without stopping or walking.
Before stumbling onto the C25K program, I had never heard that by starting out this way, a person could rather quickly work up to jogging non-stop for 20-30 minutes (or more). I have read enough posts on the coolrunning.com message boards to become convinced that it is possible. So I have committed to it.
In fact, I have found a local upcoming 5K fun run, which I will be entering. It just happens to take place the week after I complete the C25K. It’s one of those laid back kinds where dogs are invited and such. I plan to take my lab. It will be the happiest day of his life. If I am able to run the distance, I’ll be pretty happy too.
Sports, Sports, Sports!
My wife and I both want to be physically fit (i.e., athletic). Neither of us equate thinness with fitness. (I clearly learned the difference in seventh grade when it nearly killed my skinny little body to finish a 5K fun run in 38 minutes.) With that in mind, I cannot understand why we did not become more active while we were losing weight in 2003. We certainly had more energy. But our exercise consisted almost exclusively of riding the indoor recumbent bike.
We did not ride the bike because we thought it was a fun sport. Rather, it was simply a means to an end. We did it because it burned calories, period. It’s no wonder we quit doing it when the results didn’t readily show up on the scale.
It is clear to me now that, even though our goal was to become physically fit (i.e., athletic), our focus was entirely on becoming thin. Of course when you are 50 or 60 pounds overfat, losing fat is a big part of becoming fit. But it is certainly not the only part. Yet it is the only part we focused on.
It is different this time around. This time our focus is not entirely on losing fat. We are beginning to get active in a number of different sports, each with goals independent of fat loss. Naturally, participating in these sports will help us lose our fat (and keep it off!), but that is not what we focus on as we participate in these activities.
So what sports are we talking about? To begin with: golf, tennis, bicycling, and running. I plan to add karate in the near future, but haven’t yet committed to it. We also plan to add other physical activities such as hiking and backpacking. Right now the primary focus is on running, as will be explained next time.
We did not ride the bike because we thought it was a fun sport. Rather, it was simply a means to an end. We did it because it burned calories, period. It’s no wonder we quit doing it when the results didn’t readily show up on the scale.
It is clear to me now that, even though our goal was to become physically fit (i.e., athletic), our focus was entirely on becoming thin. Of course when you are 50 or 60 pounds overfat, losing fat is a big part of becoming fit. But it is certainly not the only part. Yet it is the only part we focused on.
It is different this time around. This time our focus is not entirely on losing fat. We are beginning to get active in a number of different sports, each with goals independent of fat loss. Naturally, participating in these sports will help us lose our fat (and keep it off!), but that is not what we focus on as we participate in these activities.
So what sports are we talking about? To begin with: golf, tennis, bicycling, and running. I plan to add karate in the near future, but haven’t yet committed to it. We also plan to add other physical activities such as hiking and backpacking. Right now the primary focus is on running, as will be explained next time.
Complacency Kills
In hindsight, I now see that the other major reason my wife and I gained back the 40+ pounds we each lost was that we became complacent. Being only 15 or 20 pounds over our ultimate goals, we no longer looked or felt like fat people. Oh how nice it felt just to be "normal" people again! Sure, we still wanted to lose the rest, but since the scale wasn't cooperating, we really didn't try very hard.
At this point, it became very easy to slip back into some of our old bad habits. "Who cares if I stop and get a quarter pound double cheeseburger super-size combo meal on my way home from work? It's not like I'm gonna lose any fat this week anyway." "Who cares if I don't drag myself out of bed to exercise this morning? It's not like I'm gonna lose any fat this week anyway."
The first 20 pounds or so pretty much snuck up on us and by the time we realized what was happening we were on a downward spiral that was like trying to stop a freight train.
We now know that in order for our success this time to be long-term, we must be prepared to combat the dreaded complacency which is sure to set in again. So we have devised a plan. I can sum it up in one word: sports.
At this point, it became very easy to slip back into some of our old bad habits. "Who cares if I stop and get a quarter pound double cheeseburger super-size combo meal on my way home from work? It's not like I'm gonna lose any fat this week anyway." "Who cares if I don't drag myself out of bed to exercise this morning? It's not like I'm gonna lose any fat this week anyway."
The first 20 pounds or so pretty much snuck up on us and by the time we realized what was happening we were on a downward spiral that was like trying to stop a freight train.
We now know that in order for our success this time to be long-term, we must be prepared to combat the dreaded complacency which is sure to set in again. So we have devised a plan. I can sum it up in one word: sports.
Goals: Action v. Results
I have a goal to lose 50 pounds before the end of the coming summer. 50 pounds in six months is less than 10 pounds per month. So it is not an unreasonable goal. However, there is a problem with it. It is a results-oriented goal rather than an action-oriented goal. So what's wrong with results goals? The problem is, while we have direct control over our actions, we only have indirect control over the results. In other words, the ability to meet results goals is not entirely within our control.
For example, anybody who has ever fought the battle of the bulge has most likely had an experience something like this: (1) they set a goal to lose two pounds in a week; (2) they did all the right things, all week long; (3) they got on the scale at the end of the week and learned that they had not lost anything -- maybe even gained a pound. Even though they did all the right things, the scale did not cooperate.
What happens next? Feelings of failure, discouragement, depression. We exclaim, "I worked my butt off all week and still failed! Why do I even bother? Even when I do everything right, I still can't win!" We then begin the new week with a feeling that it doesn't really matter what I do, I can't succeed, so why try. Of course that is a recipe for failure.
That, in a nutshell, is a major reason my wife and I ended up gaining back all the weight we lost in 2003-2004. We had nothing but results-oriented goals, which we measured by scale weight and bodyfat percentage. As we got closer to our ultimate goal, the results did not come as easily as they had before. It was not at all uncommon to work all week to lose a pound or two and see no progress at all. Very discouraging. Simply put, it's very difficult to be motivated when you feel like you are not in control.
Action goals, on the other hand, are directly within our control. Thus, they cannot lead to feelings like "even when I do everything right I still fail -- so why bother?" When we fail to meet our action goals, we know exactly where we went wrong and exactly what we need to do better next time.
Here are some examples of what I mean by action goals.
This week, I will:
- Write down everything I eat.
- Eat no more than X number of calories.
- Exercise at least X minutes each morning.
- Run/walk/bike/etc. X number of miles.
- Go to the gym and lift weights X number of days.
I firmly believe that as we implement action goals, rather than simply using results goals like we did last time, we will have more success in getting and staying fit.
I plan to post my goals on this blog and to report in where I succeed and where I fail. I will also be posting my results-oriented goals, because I do believe they can be helpful. But I will no longer focus solely on results goals as I have in the past.
For example, anybody who has ever fought the battle of the bulge has most likely had an experience something like this: (1) they set a goal to lose two pounds in a week; (2) they did all the right things, all week long; (3) they got on the scale at the end of the week and learned that they had not lost anything -- maybe even gained a pound. Even though they did all the right things, the scale did not cooperate.
What happens next? Feelings of failure, discouragement, depression. We exclaim, "I worked my butt off all week and still failed! Why do I even bother? Even when I do everything right, I still can't win!" We then begin the new week with a feeling that it doesn't really matter what I do, I can't succeed, so why try. Of course that is a recipe for failure.
That, in a nutshell, is a major reason my wife and I ended up gaining back all the weight we lost in 2003-2004. We had nothing but results-oriented goals, which we measured by scale weight and bodyfat percentage. As we got closer to our ultimate goal, the results did not come as easily as they had before. It was not at all uncommon to work all week to lose a pound or two and see no progress at all. Very discouraging. Simply put, it's very difficult to be motivated when you feel like you are not in control.
Action goals, on the other hand, are directly within our control. Thus, they cannot lead to feelings like "even when I do everything right I still fail -- so why bother?" When we fail to meet our action goals, we know exactly where we went wrong and exactly what we need to do better next time.
Here are some examples of what I mean by action goals.
This week, I will:
- Write down everything I eat.
- Eat no more than X number of calories.
- Exercise at least X minutes each morning.
- Run/walk/bike/etc. X number of miles.
- Go to the gym and lift weights X number of days.
I firmly believe that as we implement action goals, rather than simply using results goals like we did last time, we will have more success in getting and staying fit.
I plan to post my goals on this blog and to report in where I succeed and where I fail. I will also be posting my results-oriented goals, because I do believe they can be helpful. But I will no longer focus solely on results goals as I have in the past.
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