new year prep

here I am at the end of a year that was pretty much a bust for me in terms of physical fitness. I was all enthused about the idea of going out and running today to get a "jump start" on being more fitness committed in the coming year. The sky was beautifully clear and the temps in the 40's. Great day for running. So of course I have the nastiest cold I've had in months. Kind of a perfect way to end my year of not so good physical fitness outcomes - lying on the couch, box of tissues close at hand and enough congestion to make New York City rush hour look tame. However, in looking ahead to the coming months, I am encouraged that I do have a habit developed of doing push-ups and I did complete two 9 mile races during the past year. So while my appearance is suspiciously close to resembling a couch potato, I have not completely succumbed to a life of inactivity. Here's to a new year full of putting distance between me and the couch.

December Assessment

weight: 159.0 (ugh)
waist: 38
diet: fast food and junk food (as is obvious from the preceding numbers)
push-ups: 16 (given the extra weight, I'm actually pleased with that number)
running: hey, I actually covered 9 miles and one of those was done in 10 minutes (course it was all pretty much down hill, but still...)

thanksgiving run

Running for 9 miles last week was probably one of the most enjoyable runs over 5 miles that I’ve experienced. I had mentally prepared myself for fatigue and near physical misery knowing full well just how long 9 miles is, knowing I hadn’t run 9 miles in over seven months, knowing the furthest distance I had run in the last seven months was just over three miles and that happened nearly two months prior, and further knowing I had run all of maybe a dozen times in that seven months. So how the heck did a 9 mile run turn out so enjoyable? First of all, the weather cooperated splendidly. Thanksgiving in the northeast is suppose to be rather cold, but this year the temps were in the mid-50’s at race start and moved into the 60’s before I finished. The air remained precipitation free and the winds only gusted a bit here and there. Secondly, I think I simply ran smart. I knew full well going in that I was not properly trained and quite out of shape. I didn’t head out fast. I stuck to the middle of the road as much as possible, avoiding the natural rounding of the road sides that has been known to aggravate my IT band around my knees a number of times in the past. Mentally, I respected the distance (there’s always a few at every race that you just know they decided to run on a whim, thinking, “oh, it’s only however long, I can push through that.” But they don’t have a clue just how far even a single mile really is when you’re running the thing.) And I was familiar with the course so I knew that yucky hill in mile three would last the entire mile, but after mile four, I could look forward to rolling hills with a decent amount of net loss in altitude. I also had no shame in walking those hills. Due to past race experiences, I am quite familiar with the feeling of forcing myself to keep “running” up a hill that required an incredible amount of effort only to end up so spent that by the time I got to the easier parts of the course I had nothing left with which to take advantage of the downhills. Yep, there’s a lot to be said for mental preparation. Over 1,100 people finished the race and I was one of the last 100, but I did finish ahead of 50 people or so, with a time of 1:51 and change and zero injuries (gotta love that). Since my usual goal is to finish a race a few hundred yards in front of the trailing ambulance, I did really well. Now that I know my body can still get through 9 miles without completely rebelling, it’s time to get back to some regular training. There’s a spring marathon calling my name….

Thanksgiving success

I did actually complete the 98th annual, Run for the Diamonds, 9 mile race last Thursday. The experience was much more pleasant than anticipated. I hope to write more regarding the run before the week is over.

gotta start somewhere

Laced up today to see if the legs remembered how to run. All in all the endeavor was successful.

wrong direction

I started this blog weighing 152. I got down to 146 sometime between then and now, but on November 1st, I weighed 156. This morning the scale said 158. ::sigh:: um, this is not the direction I intended. I suppose that should be obvious, but I'm reminding myself since I've apparently forgotten.

November Assessment

weight: 156
push-ups: 15

unpleasant first

Last month I bought a new pair of pants. I usually enjoy buying new clothes. This occasion, however, was necessitated by an expanding waistline. Not really any fun at all.

arghh

while standing on the scale this morning, it stared back at me with a face that said, "152".
::huge sigh:: I find the universe incredibly unfair. I mean how can a person who takes a couple months or longer to lose 6 pounds be able to gain all 6 back in a single month? (inner wise voice speaks, "um, yeah the multiple daily sodas and trips through the drive through just might have something to do with that." Shut up, inner voice. I'm not in the mood!)

September Assessment

this is getting posted way late due to way more excuses than I care to type out, but this was assessed on the 3rd of September.
weight: 150.0
waist: measuring tape is packed in a box somewhere not yet unpacked after moving (convenient excuse, but also true)
diet: to hell in a hand-basket
push-ups: 18 (just two away from the magical 20. I don't know what's so magical about it, but I like the sound of, "I can do 20 push-ups.")
running: can't remember the last time I ran for more than 5 minutes

Race For the Cure, Sept 8 2007

I actually ran in another road race. My main goal was to actually cover the 5k standing. My hope was to get finished in under 40 minutes. Since I hadn't laced up in over a month, I wasn't so sure how my body would react to such exertion. I finished in 37:14. Go figure - my fall back standard, long-distance run pace of a 12 minute mile. Well, at least I can still handle 3 miles at a time.

uh oh

I did it again. I went out of my apartment wearing running shoes and actually jogged around the neighborhood for 20 minutes this afternoon. That's twice in three days. Maybe I'm serious about running a marathon next spring...

my legs remember

life has been crazy. actually, probably hasn't been too much crazier than usual, but I've been much more stressed about it all than usual and lots of things like blogging get neglected when that happens. today however, I left the house with a new pair of running shoes on my feet and actually ran/explored the streets surrounding my new residence for all of 15 minutes. obviously I didn't get too far in that time frame so there's much more for me to explore in the future. Here's hoping I do just that.

so now...

last week I got back to doing push-ups on three different days and was able to do 16 each day. that would be the only positive part of my weekly workout/diet synopsis. Thursday was somewhat psychotic and I consumed 3 cans, yes 3, of Dr. Pepper and a bottle of Sunkist. Friday, I toned it down to only 2 cans of DP and a bottle of Sunkist. Holy Cow what am I doing?? I did do a lot of physical work on saturday as I packed up the belongings of my apartment and unpacked them into a new one. of course, both apartments our on the second floor. lovely leg workout. Now that I'm in my new place, I have access to my scale. this could be ugly. I'll wait till tomorrow.

crash

I’m not sure what my problem(s) is(are) this week, but man the last half of the past week was a complete disaster with respect to diet and exercise. And I don’t have any excuses. No vacation schedule messing me up, completely wrong timing to even try to pretend I’m pms-ing, and no holidays or special events going on out of the ordinary. The past couple of months I’ve not had more than a candy bar a week, but I think in the past 72 hours I’ve consumed 5 servings, shall we say, of chocolate – not to mention a few bags of chips and a number (to remain undisclosed) of sodas.

I started the week getting back to my previously achieved 16 push-ups. Then I didn’t do any physical exercise the rest of the week. In my defense, I am in the process of moving so I’ve been carrying a lot of heavy boxes of stuff up and down stairs the past couple days. That’s gotta count for something, right? My scale has been moved to my new apartment where I am not yet staying. As a result, I have not weighed myself recently and I’m glad cuz I’m pretty sure I’ve gained a couple pounds back and knowing that for sure would depress me. Hopefully I can get a hold of myself this week with my eating and get in some exercise. Doing that, combined with more moving (including all furniture) this week and maybe by the end of next week when I get back on the scale I won’t be any heavier than last time I checked. ::fingers crossed::

need for routine

so what does going 50+ hours with only 4 hours of sleep mixed in (broken into three different flight segments) do for a weight loss program? certainly doesn't do anything for a person's energy level. Over the past three weeks, I have taken 2-3 days each week to vacation in different places. The last of which ended with non-stop moving from place to place for 50+ hours. Crazy. Both my exercise and diet programs (if you can call them that) have been nearly forgotten. Soda consumption has skyrocketed and vegetable consumption is at previously near non-existent levels. I've managed to get in some push-ups here and there, but the running continues to be mostly absent in my life. I've recently got the idea that I might want to do a spring marathon, which would require the institution of regular running into my schedule ASAP. My body is yelling for a little routine to return. I think I'll start with some routine sleep.

August assessment

so this one's a little late, but I was doing the vacation thing:

weight: 146.2
waist: yeah, not in the mood to measure
diet: (excluding the not-so-good, vacation diet) soda consumption down, veggie consumption up
push-ups: 15 (yes I did recently hit 16, but after 10 days of neglect (vacation excuse again), I could barely muster the 15.)
running: hmm, wasn't this the main reason for starting this blog? yeah, still struggling with this...

curse the vacation

I so love actual vacations but jimminy crickets they do a job on a person's attempts at dieting and exercise. last week saw all of one day where I did push-ups. while at the beach I went out running three days in a row for which I am quite pleased; HOWEVER, the running lasted no more than 10 -15 minutes as I ran out of interest and was busy collecting shells. and forget the diet. I am not looking forward to getting on the scale again.

continuing

reached push-up number 16 today. I only did my push-ups twice instead of three times last week, but I figure once every four or five weeks it won't hurt to blow off one day. ran on saturday for all of half an hour. (one day this blog title will actually be accurate, I hope) haven't been able to get the squat exercise integrated into my daily routine yet. and the veggies haven't quite made it into my daily diet, but I am getting 5 & 6 days out of 7 which is so much better than never.

5 and another 15

it's taken me precisely two months, but I have now lost 5 pounds. certainly no fast track weight loss going on here. and I was able to get out another 15 push-ups today. had I not done so last saturday, I think today I would have stopped at 13, but I wanted to reach that new level again just to prove it wasn't a complete fluke (0r that I wasn't asleep while counting). I'm heading in the right direction, I just got to keep on....

what?!!

this morning I cranked out 15 push-ups. yes, that's right - 15. where on earth did they come from? it's not like I've been taking it easy on myself other days and stopping before my muscles are straining. maybe it was the extra day in between (mon.,wed., & fri. are usual push-up days, but I ignored them yesterday.) maybe it was the the solid 9 1/2 hours of sleep I got last night. maybe I counted wrong....
I did notice that when I got into the push-up position this morning it finally felt right as opposed to a little awkward/off. perhaps after 7 weeks of doing push-ups my body has gotten used to the form of push-ups (about freakin' time). previously, the entire process has been a struggle - including holding my body straight (too much gut and butt). perhaps my back muscles are finally strong enough to keep a straight back despite the gravitational pull on my round front side.
whatever the reason, I DID 15 PUSH-UPS TODAY!!!! HOORAY FOR ME!
it'll be interesting to see if this feat is repeatable come monday...

yeah well

my food intake has been not so good the past couple days. yesterday was the worst with a couple candy bars and a soda, besides other stuff. today was a bit better (no candy bars or soda). man, pms food cravings are rough. but this month's pms diet was significantly better than the usual week long, junk food binging to which I'm accustomed. progress, however small, must be celebrated :) !

love the veggies

at this point in my diet alteration program, my favorite from-the-can vegetable is french-cut green beens. I was reading the label on the can and did you know that a single 1/2 cup serving has 1 gram of protein, 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of carbohydrates, and 0 grams of fat? but best of all, that little serving has all of 20 little calories. dag, I could eat the whole stinkin' can and only consume 70 calories! dude - I think I'm gonna need to eat more of this stuff.

inching on

made it to push-up number 11 today! at this rate I might reach 20 before my chronological age reaches the point in which my physical ability begins to significantly decline :0
But gosh darn it, I'm gonna reach that 20...

blah, blah

while I didn't get my 1/2 cup of veggies every day this week, I did have a 75% success rate. I've stuck to allowing myself soda only on the 4th and I actually ran a bit today. this running once every two weeks is just not doing anything for me (imagine that). instead of getting in some run time just twice a month, do you suppose I could get myself to run twice in the same week? what if it was just for a simple, single mile (I'm trying to bargain with my unenthused self)? tomorrow starts a new week and if my dates are right, I'm due for some PMS rather soon. a little extra running just might make that fact a little more manageable.

onward

three days now of eating my aforementioned veggies, stuck to the two soda quota for yesterday (and one was even diet), returned to no soda drinking today, started my squat combo thing, and am still faithfully push-upping 3 times a week (though wednesday's 10 were noticeably more difficult than usual). I do believe the waistlines of my pants aren't fitting as snuggly the past couple days. *big smile*

simple goals

after having gone 9 straight days without soda, I have decided I am allowing myself 24 ounces of carbonation on the 4th of July (which means I'll have gone 10 days soda-free). but on thursday, it's back to soda abstinence. today was a good diet day - not a single soda, candy bar, potato chip, or fast food item. I think it's time to add to my diet daily consumption of veggies as I severely lack this food group usually. I actually very much like vegetables but for whatever reason don't eat them much. So starting tomorrow, I will have at least one 1/2 cup serving of some kind of vegetable. I know I should be eating more, but I got to start small or I'll never get started. after 5 weeks of faithful 3 days a week push-ups, it's time to add something to the exercise list. I think I will try doing simple squats while holding 15 lb. dumbbells and at the top of each repetition I'll do a hammer curl followed by a shoulder press and then back down into a squat (and repeat). my upper body will get more of a workout than the lower, but, again it's a small step in the right direction. it's a slow process trying to break myself back into the habit of exercise ;) I could develop a full blown exercise routine and be all gung ho, but given the various demands on my life right now, after the oh, third workout session, I'd be thinking about all the things I need to get done that I could do with that hour I'm spending exercising. within two weeks I wouldn't be exercising at all. so I'm gonna add 5 minutes, 3x a week to the 3 minutes I'm in the habit of spending on push-ups and we'll see if that sticks.
so, summary for self:

• continue minimal soda consumption
• add 1/2 cup of vegetables to daily diet
  
• continue push-ups 3 days a week
• begin doing squat/curl/press 3 days a week

ok, I can do this (I think)

July assessment

weight: 147.6
waist: 37 (so I've lost weight from where? maybe I should reassess where I'm measuring my "waist")
diet: soda consumption notably decreased, not much else has changed
pushups: 10
running: recently covered three miles in 33:39 (yes a crawling speed for some, but for a usual 12 minute miler - quite good)

personal record?

no not in terms of running times, but in terms of going soda free. I've survived the entire week thus far sans soda. can I get through an entire saturday as well? it will be tough as I'm going to spend the day at my sister's and she has many varieties of soda on hand. hmmm. but I'm so close to my first entire week, yes seven whole days, without the carbonation this year and probably in a couple years (but I wasn't keeping track before). where's the can of will power?

loser

I want to be a loser - of at least 15 more pounds that is . I'm getting fed up. Maybe that's a good thing and I'll stop eating so stinking much. Is it practical to try to lose 10 lbs in 3 weeks? I'm planning on going to the beach for vacation in basically three weeks and I'd really like to be sans the roll around the middle.

sigh

feeling a bit discouraged today with my perceived lack of progress towards more fitness and less weight. maybe I'm just tired, but everyday seems like a fight with my food cravings and the results are not readily visible. on the other hand, I have lost a little and I'm not putting it back on, and perhaps the biggest victory for today is that despite my low mood I have not sought comfort in carbonated fluids. I'm aiming for a solid week without soda - we shall see.

oh, and the race...

was really good (for me). I had hoped to run about a 12 minute mile pace and in fact finished quite close to that goal. I ran the first 3 miles non-stop in around 33 minutes. the fourth mile, I alternated walking up the hills and jogging downhill. I managed to run the final mile completely albeit slowly. given my lack of consistent exercise (who am I kidding - I haven't even had inconsistent exercise), just finishing the 5 mile course was an accomplishment.

arrival

new york city is roughly a two hour trip for me and I had planned to get to the race about an hour before the start of last saturday's race; however, I left home 20 minutes late and after speeding to make up some time (which I did in fact do), I hit traffic. I actually think it's fun to drive around downtown manhattan and elsewhere in nyc, but the getting into and out of new york city is a royal pain in the arse. some accident on the George Washington bridge going into the city had completely stopped out bound traffic and slowed to a crawl, traffic heading into town. I was dressed comfortably for the drive and had my running clothes in a bag. when the traffic slowed to stop and go, what should have been 10 minutes from my destination, I knew I was going to be cutting it close. there wasn't going to be time for the planned change of attire in a port-a-john at the race site. on to plan B. not that I had actually thought of a plan B, because I really hadn't considered the possibility of needing one. but one was created and I began the process of changing clothes while driving. so as I'm stopping and going with traffic - off with the flip-flops, on with the socks. off with the pants and underwear, on with the running underwear and shorts. and then the running shoes. I just kept hoping someone in a large truck or suv wasn't going to pull up beside me and look down at the show. yes, changing while driving is a tricky feat, but let me add that I drive a standard. this means every time you come to a stop both feet must be on pedals and can not be removed without using some combination of putting the vehicle in neutral and applying the parking brake (and hoping you can get your foot through whatever opening of clothing before traffic starts moving again). before I could even consider trying to change from the waist up, I was through the slow down and hurrying on my way. I parked my car half a block from the park on E 102nd st, did a quick glance around for meandering pedestrians, threw off my top, threw on a sports bra and running shirt, ran from my car to the registration table at a faster pace than I planned for the actual race, grabbed my race number, race t-shirt, and chip timer, ran to the port-a-john (too much gatorade consumption during the drive), ran to the race start, and hurriedly attached the number to my clothing and the chip to my shoe. I usually would have returned to my vehicle before the start of the race to leave my race t-shirt, but had I had the time to return to my car, I wouldn't have needed to change in the car, so the race t-shirt was still in hand. the idea of wearing two t-shirts just seemed too hot and the race t-shirt seemed too heavy/big to carry, so I stripped down to my sports bra (I think I exposed myself more on this trip than I previously have in my entire life) and replaced my running shirt with the race t-shirt. my running shirt was much lighter, made of much less material and hence, easier to carry. when all was said and done, I had an actual 4 minutes to catch my breath before the starting horn went off. *whew*

finished

as in- I finished the 5 mile race in Central Park today. Big hurray. Nearly missed the start, ran carrying an extra shirt (not planned), and hurt more at the end than I cared to be, but I finished. more info to come as I am eager to detail my eventful day, but right now I'm beat.

avoiding responsibility

I'm passing the blame for poor diet onto my pursuit of higher education. The Starbuck's hot chocolate with the Dr. Pepper chaser are essential ingredients to the all-nighter required by an overdue empirical research critique. (the fact that I could go to bed sooner if I refrained from blogging this evening or if I hadn't procrastinated doing the paper in the first place is completely irrelevant) Oh, denial is such an emotionally useful tool. Doesn't do a doggone thing for the waistline though...

registered

guess I'm now committed - to saturday's race that is. finally went online and paid my registration fee for the race. I've participated in probably 50 different road races over the past few years and as far as I can remember, there is only one race I backed out of after I had paid the entrance fee. so the odds are I'll be running 5 miles on saturday. I'm going to try not to think too much about the fact that I haven't run a total of 5 miles in the past month, forget about on one day.

saturday repeat

saturday I went and ran the same roads I did the previous saturday. this time I ran a few minutes longer (and a bit farther). I'm a little concerned about the fact that I'm planning on participating in a 5 mile race this saturday coming up, seeing that I haven't run 5 consecutive miles since the first weekend in April. however, the idea of having gone on some kind of a run three saturdays in a row leaves me smiling. I just might get back into shape yet.

PMS

the monthly trial of millions of women is a great excuse for my horrible diet this week. went through the drive-thru today and got fries, a cheeseburger and caffeinated soda. a few weeks ago this would not have been unusual, but the past couple weeks if I've caved to drive-thru enticings, I have managed to only have one item of questionable dietary value. I've heard "relapse is a part of recovery". *sigh* guess I won't beat myself up over today's eating, but if I'm not careful the very few hard fought pounds I've lost will be right back with me shortly.
on a positive note, I'm now in week three of consistently doing push-ups. should be a habit soon, right? Being able to do 10 push-ups is somehow comforting being a double digit and all. Yes, that's only three more than three weeks ago, but it's still 1-0, ten. I've gotta grab a sense of accomplishment where I can ;)

back on the wagon

jeepers, this soda thing is baaad. three different times today I wanted a soda and had to convince myself to stay away. I'm safely home now with no soda on the premises, so I think I'll have a soda-free day under my belt for this week. I sure hope tomorrow is easier.

weekend run

went to a favorite country vacation spot of mine this weekend. saturday morning I got up and of all things, went for a run. look out, that's two runs in the same week. I'd better be careful before I become obsessive ;) ran for approximately 30 minutes, 25 of which was on a nice quiet, scenic, traffic-free dirt road. and to add to the accomplishments of last week, I managed to go six consecutive days without drinking a single ounce of soda. of course, I blew that accomplishment to shreds with my abundant soda consumption on saturday and Sunday, but hope is on the horizon. If I did it one week, I can do it again a second week.

day number five

five consecutive days without soda - dude. will I make it six? uh, beginning the weekend, ummm, no - don't think so.

sick day

I don't particularly care for being sick, but I really enjoy the fact that I can stay home when sick and still get paid. I was going to force myself to do push-ups today regardless of how I feel, but when walking up the set of stairs (1/2 a flight) to my apartment felt like an hour long workout in high altitude, I decided physical exertion beyond the essentially necessary was not recommended. However, being ill has helped keep food cravings at bay. Today marks the fourth day in a row that I have abstained from the consumption of soda. I believe that's a record for this year.

the thanks I get...

finally, I go running yesterday and how does my body reward me? with a nasty head cold. I am aware that immune system function can be temporarily decreased after significant physical exertion, but I can hardly call a mile run at no faster than 12 minute mile pace "significant" exertion. or maybe I'm more out of shape than I originally thought.

running shoes revisited

yes, I actually laced up the running shoes today and put them to use. jogged the maybe .2 of a mile from my residence to a track (dirt base with a very thin layer of cinders), ran a whole entire mile, and then walked home. I didn't take a watch, so I have no idea what kind of pace I was doing. just glad I finally got back to running. hadn't run in seven weeks. unless you're ill or something that's just terrible. (nine push-ups today, look out...)

seven and eighhhhhht...

I managed to eek out an eighth push-up today. I bet if I lost a few pounds, I'd be able to do a couple more without any additional effort. C'mon, you can do it...

June assessment

normally, I would not weigh myself two days in a row (I have no desire to become obsessive about this), but I want to start the first of each month with a gut check ;)

weight: 148.8 (yes, I bought a digital scale recently)
waist: can't bring myself to get out the tape measure
diet: still lousy, but only intermittently as opposed to a steady stream of sucky
push-ups: 7
running: yeah, um, I'm gonna start back with that real soon

what gives?

so, I made sure the scale was in the same place on the floor and I was wearing the exact same thing (nada) and weighing myself at the same time of day and the scale tells me this morning that I am two pounds heavier than I was two days ago. short of binging (which I did not do) or severe PMS water retention (wrong time of the month), how is that possible? arrrghh...

teeny steps

ugh - I am reduced to a mere 7 push-up fitness level. hey, at least, I did push-ups today. that's twice in one week. yesterday's food consumption included a candy bar, soda, and some fast food, but today has been healthy all around. this is good when considering recently my diet has included DAILY consumption of both junk (crap from a convenient store) and fast food (crap from a drive-thru). nothing earth shattering here, but at least today the waistline did not increase...

and I'm off...

where will this endeavor take me? who knows? what I do know is that for the first time in my life I have a "tire" bulge just below my belly button and though I've completed four marathons (slowly)over the past 4 years, I've run maybe a TOTAL of 26.2 miles so far this entire year. time for an intervention...

full disclosure

OK, at the mental inception of this project (approximately mid-May) my relevant stats were:

weight - 152 pounds
waist - 36/37 inches
avg comfortable mile - 12 minutes
fastest mile (without collapsing) - ? 10 minutes ?

yep, got some work to do.

under construction

as I am, so this blog is in the works