30 January 2007

My training program is going well so far.  Saturday’s 6 mile run was fine… one thing I’ve noticed is that once my heart rate gets up it stays up even at a lower rate of exertion.  I did my 6 miles on the treadmill.  To get up to 75-80% of my Max Heart Rate (MHR) I was going 7.5 mph with a 2% grade.  After a while I exceeded my heart rate goal and slowed down to 6.7.  By the time I was done I’d lowered speed to 6 mph and grade to .5%.  I was still exceeding my heart rate goal but refused to go any slower.  Is this normal?

Sunday’s run went well except (as I had anticpated after Saturday) that 65% of my MHR means I’ll be walking and running.  I can’t walk fast enough to keep at 65% but if I run – even slowly – I’ll exceed 65% every 5 to 10 minutes and have to walk briefly.

I didn’t lift Monday because I was exhausted.  This morning I ran 5 miles with three at LT (Lactic Threshold – about 85% MHR).  Went pretty well ran about a 24.5 min 5K and was far from running all out.

In other news I was going to quit caffeine cold turkey.  It lasted about 16-17 hours and my wife said to please drink some coffee.  I guess I’ll try weaning myself off… From about 6 cups yesterday to 2.5 today.

In weight loss news – I don’t think there is any news… I expect to weigh in the same tomorrow as I did last week.  <sigh> I’ll have to buckle down if I’m ever getting rid of this last 10 pounds.

Updated Training Schedules

I noticed today that my training schedules scrolled off the page and were useless.  There are linked pdfs for your browsing enjoyment. 

I lifted this morning and it went well, I’m excited about my training program for the 10 miler.  I’m hoping to hit around 80 minutes this year!

Weight is up but coming back down – NOW!

After an awful couple of weeks basically eating any food that crossed my path I’ve gained 3.2 pounds.  I’m buckling back down in addition to beginning intensive training for the 31 March Charlottesville 10 Miler.  I have a training schedule and will be posting it here as soon as I get it entered into a PC.  It is basically a modified schedule from Runners World. 

I’ve done well activity wise this week – I lifted on Monday and Wednesday, ran on Tuesday, and this morning I ran 6 quarter mile repeats at a little better than 6 minute mile pace.  My splits this morning were:

1:20.18, 1:22.23, 1:29.00, 1:24.12, 1:31.85, and 1:31.00

I’m pretty happy with those times, and look forward to running the 10 miler at my goal weight in 9 weeks!

Calorie tracking – or lack thereof

I’ve not posted in quite a while and I think one of the main reasons is that tracking my calories is such a chore, and not at all enjoyable for me.  I’m doing WW so I may post points instead.  I know that isn’t as transparent, but it is easier for me, and if I don’t enjoy updating my blog I won’t do it.

More soon!

10 January 2007 – A New Low!

My WW meeting was this evening, and I’m happy to say that I was down almost a pound!  This indicates that I am truly back on track after the holidays (I’m actually .2 below my lowest weigh in since Thanksgiving).

I’ve been quite busy and therefore a little lax about posting calorie counts etc… also a bit embarrassed because I ate a huge amount of food Saturday at least I ran (about 8.5 miles).  I was happy that I recovered after that though… often I go on feeling guilty and eat a lot more the next day – repeat.

I didn’t run Sunday or lift Monday – I’ve been spending too much time reading a book I got for Christmas.  Tuesday I ran 46 minutes with a little speed work thrown in and I lifted this morning.

I’ve just posted a weekly wrap up for last week (steps, cals, & chol).

My stats so far this week:

Sunday: 1,605 calories; 205 mg cholesterol; 4643 steps
Monday: 1950 calories; 92 mg cholesterol; 8391 steps
Tuesday: 1680 calories; 92 mg cholesterol; 17,717 steps

Wrap up for the week of 1 January 2007

1 January: 1172 calories, 145 mg cholesterol, unsure about number of steps 
2 January: 1426 calories, 35 mg cholesterol, 10213 steps
3 January: 1544 calories, 115 mg cholesterol, 7996 steps
4 January: 1804 calories, 117.5 mg cholesterol, 16956 steps
5 January: 1495 calories, 147 mg cholesterol, 8813 steps
6 January: 2974 calories, 795 mg cholesterol, 18793 steps

Total 10,415 calories, 1354.5 mg cholesterol, 62771 steps
Average (for six days)  1736 calories, 225.75 mg cholesterol, 10462 steps
Average of 12,554 steps for the 5 days I tracked steps.
In total I ran about 16 miles & lifted 2 days.

5 January 2007

Today was a lifting day and I experienced a problem that crops up occasionally when you’re (in my situation) forced to lift at home without a spotter.  I got pinned on my last rep for bench press.  I have a tried and true escape method – roll the barbell down myself (I’m obviously not lifting gargantuan amounts of weight here), sit up and leave the bar sitting on the bench.

Anyone have any suggestions for lifting alone (other than you shouldn’t do it)?  For me its lift alone or don’t lift at all.  One other negative thing about lifting alone – I can never go for my max… I just increase weight a little when I get to 12 reps in a set.  I’d love to know (definitively, not from an equation) what my max bench press.

Yesterday’s numbers:

calories: 1,804
cholesterol: 117.5 mg
steps: 16,956

4 January 2007

I was down 2 pounds at my WW meeting last night – I’m glad to be headed in the right direction.  It was my 16th meeting so by WW statistics I’m now more likely to meet my weight goal than not.  Just 0.6 pounds and I’ll be back to my lowest weight on the program.  Only 5.4 pounds to my 10% goal (I’ll have lost 10% of my weight at the first meeting) and only 8.4 pounds until my goal weight.  I’m quite excited.

This morning I ran 45 minutes with 11 all out 15 second intervals (~4.6 miles).  Its a “beginning speedwork” program from Runners World.  Do this workout twice a week increasing the intervals by 5 seconds each week.

Yesterday’s Numbers:

1544 calories
115 mg cholesterol
7,996 steps

3 January 2007 – A Catch Up Post

This post is going to be a bit of a catch-all, and catchup.  I started off the New Year by sitting in my basement watching X-files (I got Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD for Christmas) instead of lifting or running.

Yesterday I ran for a half hour at lunch (up some very steep hills!) and this morning I lifted – I’m continuing on my previously posted schedule because I’m still seeing gains.  I’ll probably switch up the lifts I do and the order I do them in during February.  I stashed away my DVDs and promised that I’ll watch just one or two episodes on weekends – so they don’t interfere with my fitness.

The holiday season is over – so I’m hoping this 2 pound roller-coaster I’ve been on since Thanksgiving will turn into a steady weight decline and that I’ll hit my goal weight in 6 weeks or so.  I’m weighing in at WW this evening and expect to be down about a pound.

I’ve written out my fitness goals (most are the same as last years) and will post them in the next few days.  My next races include a 5K at the end of February and a 10 miler at the end of March. 

I’m planning to follow through with my promise of tracking calories/steps/cholesterol and am catching up now:

Monday 1 January:  1172 calories, 145 mg cholesterol, unsure about number of steps

Tuesday 2 January: 1426 calories, 35 mg cholesterol, 10213 steps

I plan to do a weekly recap as well.