Long Night's Sleep

Well after a long nights sleep which I must have really needed, I woke up to nice surprise.  The scale hadn't move in a while but today it was at 314.6 which means, that I'm officially down 10 lbs.  WOOT!  Like I said yesterday I was lacking motivation so the good workout and the nice drop on the scale is exactly what I'm looking for.  I was planning to take measurements as I do have a baseline to compare to and see if I lost any inches but maybe I'll save it.

Thank You Travis!

Well during my day off yesterday, I decided to email a guy who has been inspiring me the last 3 weeks.  I didn't know what to do as my shin was really hurting and I was having a hard time running.  I'm really not a huge fan of the bike unless its a real bike, and despise the elliptical (its so awkward).  Really for cardio, running is about the only way that feels good and natural.  Well Travis suggested something that I'm fresh off of trying and it felt great.  I did 30 minutes of walking uphill on the treadmill.  I will probably add this in at least twice a week to break up runs and allow my legs to recover.  All in all, at an incline of between 8-10 and a pace of around 3.4 mph, I went 1.9 miles and kept my HR right up there in the 150-165 range and feel really good about it again.  Thank you Travis for the suggestion and the renewed motivation to get my big ass back in shape. :)

Need to change things up somehow!

Yesterday was the third day in a row where I went to the gym motivated only to fall flat on my workout.  I'm not sure why but this week has been very difficult and I need to break through it.  I've had these weeks in the past and I refuse to let this one bring me down.  I'm not sure if I'm overworking myself and starting out a little too fast or what but I need to get back to basics.  I did about 1.5 miles on the treadmill yesterday but my legs were killing me and so  I jumped over to the elliptical for another 15 minutes to make sure I kept my HR at 150 or higher for at least 30 minutes so I felt like I accomplished something.  Scale stayed the same since the beginning of the week which is a bit disheartening seeing as I have been eating less than usual and for the most part healthier meals, very little if any dining out and no fast food and then smaller portion sizing and no snacking.  The only thing I've added is a bagel in the morning for breakfast with a small serving of low fat cream cheese.  I think I'm going to take a day off today, then go tomorrow and Saturday.  I think my body needs it and will maybe get me back on track to success.

Shin Pains

Well I had never really experience what others refered to as the Splints but yesterday I know thats what I had.  I was running on the track again and after about 12-13 mins my left inside shin felt like it was being stabbed so I swtiched to the treadmill.  It was feeling better but still bothering me so I switched to the bike.  I decided not to stress it too bad and iced it when I got home.  It feels much better today and I'll be running on the treadmill instead of the track for a while until I can strengthen my calves and shins (tibia w/e).  I don't want to injure myself since I'm just finally getting going and enjoying it.  I really do look forward to my runs now and am going to start stretching my legs better and doing some stregth training to prevent any injury before I get out on the road to prepare for outdoor racing.  Anyways pulled in at about 1.8 miles of running and 2 miles of biking which isn't much but I'll take it.

Sore and Disappointed

Well I was really hoping for a bigger change this week.  I've pushed myself quite hard and been watching what  I ate but it didn't make much of a difference.  Maybe I'm setting myself up for a good week but only losing 0.8 lbs this early on does not make me happy. 

Anyways went running again yesterday with my stride sensor and heart rate monitor.  It was tough, as I switched off the treadmill and onto the track.  Now that I can track my distance with the stride sensor I figure I should run on the track to get used to running outside and wow what a difference.  It wasn't so much my breathing that held me back more the burning in my legs much worse than I've had since I started.  Thankfully I'm not too sore today and so I'm hoping that burning will go away quickly as those muscles build up and get used to the track.  Another problem I have on the track is keeping my pace slower as I end up running closer to 6mph where on the treadmill I was closer to 5mph.  I went for 30 minutes and did 3 miles which is about where I'm going to try and stick for a week or two.  I'd like to get to the point where 3 miles becomes routine so when I run a 5k this spring it'll be no big deal to finish without walking. 

Again just a little disappointed when I run 15+ miles in the last week and only see 0.8 lbs.  Hopefully I'm just gaining some muscles and this week will bring better results.  I'm staying positive though because the running has increased my energy and mood most days.

Clouds over California

The title was the name of the first song that came on today and really set the pace for my run.  It may sound depressing but its a great fast paced metal song and got me going right out the gate.  Using my new stride sensor and ANT+ key from Wahoo on my Iphone, I ran 2.7 miles in about 30 mins.  Still not sure about the ANT+ key because it gives me some issues, but I just knew I was running faster than the treadmill said because everytime I switch to the track, I'm doing laps way faster than the treadmill says I would be and I feel like I run the same pace.  Even took the footpod up to the track and did a few laps to verify accuracy and it was within 0.01 miles so works for me.  Feeling good and got in about 12.2 miles this week.  That make just over 23 miles since I've started and I'm very happy about that.

On a side note I'm very depressed that I have to watch the Bears and Packers play for a shot to the Super Bowl as I'm a diehard Vikings fan but I'll say go Bears as I'd rather suffer through them bragging than any Packers fan.  I hate the Packers.

May or may not run tomorrow haven't decided was kinda sticking to the 4 days in a row then day off then run then day off and 4 in a row again, but I'm feeling pretty motivated so we'll see.

Running up Hill

So after some online research, I came across many people who seem to agree that continuous cardio can be very effective but switching things up in an interval style is needed to kind of shock the body for growth and weight loss.  With this in mind I head to the gym yesterday with the intention of trying something a little different.  I setup on the treadmill at about 0.5mph less than I ran the 5k in as I figured I could easily do that for 30 mins and did the hill profile on the treadmill.  This was basically intervals with a constant speed as the incline would go up and down every minute or so.  It was a pretty brutal workout, but I made it and with an added cooldown on the end it came out to 35 mins and 2.5 miles.  So for anyone reading this, if there are any of you, what are your thoughts on doing this interval training vs the continuous running?  I want to improve my endurance but also want to make sure I'm losing weight.

An added note, I went to a Super Target after working out to grab a bunch of groceries and feel I did very well.  I got good healthy food for sandwiches at lunch at work so I'm not tempted to go get something bad and it should save me some money.  Also I bought some good food to cook at home because its very tough to keep eating out healthy and very expensive.  I always struggle with keeping on the cook for myself bandwagon but I'm giving it a try.

Still Going

Well yesterday was probably the hardest day to get motivated.  I just wasn't feeling it , but I made sure to stop at the gym on the way home from work and I put in just under 2.5 miles which was about 90% straight running with a cool down that invovled running and walking.  Checked my weight this morning and was at 319.4 so staying about the same, but I didn't eat very healthy for lunch yesterday and so I'm guessing it had to do with that.  I've got to be more aware of what one bad meal can do to my weight loss goal.  At least it wasn't too bad and hopefully I'll still be able to put down a loss for the week by stick with my exercise plan.  My goal is 5 days a week with probably Fridays and Sundays off but that could vary slightly.  

Week 2. Engage!

So pretty much my main focus today was getting back to the gym.  I don't often stick with my workout programs and so a big thing is keeping a positive attitude about it and just going and luckily today was very easy to do, I was excited to get back there and see how I was feeling.  Not quite the performance I was able to muster on Saturday, still not sure what got into me, but I ran 2 miles straight. Now before the 5k I had never done that before so its not like I really reverted; just wasn't feeling it today.  Also I did not give up easily, I was ready to walk at about 1.25 miles and made myself finish that last 3/4 mile without stopping or slowing down.  I kept telling myself that I had to endure through it because if it is too easy to quit then how will I stick with it forever.  Looking forward to running tomorrow. (What a strange concept?)

First Post

I've been inspired to right this blog after reading Travis C's blog @ finallyairborne.blogspot.com.  I'm attempting to accomplish the same thing as him because like he was I am sick of pretending I'm ok with being overweight.  I actually already began running 1 week ago and checked in @ 325 lbs last Monday.  The first day was tough but I did a run/walk for 24 mins and 1.7 miles.  Tuesday 25 mins 1.85 miles.  Wednesday 30 mins 2.24 miles running for 17 straight mins this day, which was the first time I had done that in probably 8 years. Thursday 30 2.18 miles.  Thursday was real tough and so I decided my body needed a breather and I took Friday off.  My goal is 5 days a week+ of running.  So Saturday I got ready to run even though I wasn't sure I really wanted to but I went anyhow.  Once I got there  I started my 2 mins of warmup walking and then running @ 5mph.  By about the 7 min mark I was amazed how good I felt and so I decided I would see just how far I could push myself and I set the goal that I would complete a 5k straight of running.  And to my amazement, I felt amazing the whole time and finished the 5k by running 37 mins straight.  From that moment on, I have had a smile on my face; I can do this,  I can run a 5k, I can lose this weight, and I will.

This morning  I weighed in @ 319 and felt great so  I grabbed my workout bag and headed off to work.  Tonight after work I'm just going to get on the treadmill and see how I feel.  Who knows maybe I'll run another 5k, all I know is I'm excited about running and that is something I never thought I would say.