Unsure about what is going on

So I'll admit I didn't have a very good weekend as far as the diet and exercise went.  I haven't been to the gym since wednesday and I can't let that happen, but I am going to get back on my 5 day a week schedule.  However my body must be doing something very strange.  I ate bad over the weekend and by bad I mean an extra 1000 calories a day so maybe 2800-3200 but somehow from Wednesday when I was at 304 to today, it went up 8 lbs.  I don't know how that is possible, 8 lbs is 28000 calories, I could have understood a pound or even 3 but 8!  So today I'm going to flush with a lot of water and get some extra fiber as I feel like my body is retaining everything.  I think it will help I just hope it helps a lot.  In any case I'm not going to fall off the wagon because I am changing for life and maybe I just delayed how quickly I'll drop weight but it is still going to come off eventually.  I read about people who have cheat days all the time and I never do it, I have a cheap 2 days because friday and saturday were really my only bad days and this happens!! Guess I won't ever that happen again.

Pick me Up

Went to spin class last night and although my plan was to take it a little easier than I did last week, I didn't.  My legs aren't too sore today but every time the instructor would say to do something I would do it.  I got a good workout but it absolutely wiped me out.  Got a good nights sleep from it last night not as well.  Scale is being pretty steady this week which is no fun so might only be a 1-2 lb week.  Hopefully it goes down really all that matters. 

Looking forward to a bar crawl this weekend with friends called the Pub & Putt should be interesting just got to make sure I don't go overboard.

So haven't been doing as much work as I probably should today but I found an article about subconsciously training yourself to get up in the morning that I think I'm going to try.  Apparently you are supposed to practice while you are awake by getting ready for bed set the alarm for a few minutes ahead and then close you eyes while in bed with the lights off.  When the alarm goes off you are to get up turn it off and pretend as if you are getting ready in the morning.  Sounds interesting and I'm going to try it.  I think my association with being tired is that I can never get up until like an hour after my alarm goes off while hitting the snooze a bunch.  This is very annoying and I want to change it.  Plus side would be if I can do this before the weather gets nice, I could train myself to do morning runs which is suppose to help with weight loss.

On another note I'm going to try to get some more followers here as the more I get the more dedicated I feel.  Any suggestions?  Also is the content interesting at all or am I just being boring?  Maybe I need to spice things up, let me know.  Thanks.

Feeling Tired

Yesterday was a simple 3.3 miles around the track.  I ran too fast in the beginning which made it tough to go the whole way so  I walked for about a lap in the middle.  Other than that the scale ticked down a little today but lately I've been feeling very tired and have a hard time getting up in the morning even if I go to sleep early.  When that alarm goes off it is very difficult to get out of bed.  Once I do finally get out its not too bad but I'm definitely in a haze for a while.  Not sure if my CPAP isn't working as well or what but my pressure has been descreasing as I've been exercising.  I have an auto machine and so since January it has gone from 14.0 at night to around a 10 each night which is a significant reduction but now I don't feel like its working as well.  Spin class today YAY, yea not so much!

A little of everything

I've thought about posting a few times just hadn't so let me fill you in.  Saturday I ran on the track for about 20 mins and my achilles was bothering me so I moved to the treadmill for the final 20 mins, it was about 4.2 miles but I'm not going to extend my longest total distance running straight because I switched surfaces.  I have had some tightness in my achilles when I walk and was thinking about skipping yesterday but I went anyways and it felt good while I was running.  I did a little over 2 miles on the track and then the bike for 10 mins and then jumped in the hot tub hoping that would help loosen things up.  It felt good the rest of the night but was tight this morning. 

As for weight loss if you see on my tracker, I had a very good week and that made me very happy to see.  I'm down about 6 lbs for the week and the puts me at 20+ lbs overall.  I'm very happy about this and am hoping for a repeat week.  My goal is to be 30-35 lbs down by the time the 5k comes around which is March 12th so I have a little over 3 weeks to drop another 10-15.

I've been considering doing some swimming for cross training, although I don't really have a swim suit right now.  I might do the spin class again this week and just go easier on myself, we'll see but my legs were very sore after last week and it made my running much harder.  I know, I know its only been one class :P but swimming sounds like it could be fun.  I am very self conscious about my big ass going out to the pool though so who knows.  All I know is riding the bike (outside of spin class) and the elliptical are so dreadfully boring there is no way I'll get a high HR to keep a good workout so I have to find something else.

What a Day

Let me just start by saying that yesterday just absolutely sucked.  I was in a funk from the get go and really couldn't get a positive mood going about anything.  Then I started down the path of wondering if I can do it and I was able to convince myself that I could, but the thought of failing scares me.  I've always been the big guy and I hate it.  And the thought of not succeeding this time scares me not only for my health by just my overall happiness.  But I didn't let that deter me and I went to the gym in a bad mood but I pushed myself and made it for a full 5k in 29:37.  My legs felt like they were going to explode (due I'm guessing to the soreness from the spin class which I may have pushed myself too hard in) but I kept going, didn't walk and did it.  It really didn't help as much as I hoped it would with the attitude but I was down another pound this morning, today is my day off, and I'm not going to let this one day of doubt get me down.  I cannot fail.

Spinning

Short post today, I did a spin class yesterday that lasted about 50 mins to introduce some cross training as I'm worried about running every time 5 days a week.  It was a brutal workout but kept my heart rate between 145-165 the whole time and my legs were burning like crazy so hopefully I'm building some new muscles there.  The gym has this every week on Wednesday nights so I might keep doing this to break up the week into 2 days running, 1 spin class, then 2 more days running.  Scale dropped a little more today just gotta keep this trend going.

Just Run

Run now…to save your soul
Run now…to take control
Run now…to save your life
Run now…it's do or die
Just run…

These lyrics came on just at the right time yesterday from a DevilDriver song and really kept me going.  I did a type of interval I guess yesterday.  I ran about a mile then walked for a lap or two then another mile until I did that 4 times.  Due to my miles being a little longer as I more watching time instead of distance, I ended with about 5.2 miles total and although I was tired I felt good.  When I was first looking to run the 5k this year my friend looked into it and told me they had changed it to a 7k and at the time I didn't think I'd be ready to run that far.  It turned out he was looking at the wrong race and I'll be running the 5k I had intended on.  As I'm getting better at running each week, I decided that I want to be able to run a 7k before that race just to prove to myself that I could have done it.  Yesterday was a good start towards that.  Also I figure if I can run a 7k or 8k straight before the race, then a 5k will be a breeze.  Scale was down this morning which was great also, I won't post the number just yet so I dont' jinx it but the small hiccup I had at the end of last week may be over.  And soon enough I'll be into the 2's and I will not be looking back.

Monday, Monday

So after a long day of work, I decided to go to the gym which I went to on Saturday because the track felt better on my legs.  I had a good run with a total of 3.65 miles in around 37 mins with walking at the end and about 1 lap of walking during the middle of the run.  I believe I got about 2.2 miles in and then walked for a lap and finished out running at around 3.3 miles then walked for a cooldown.  My fastest mile was about 9:03 according to my stride sensor which is much faster than I was trying for and maybe why I had to walk.  As much as I liked the track on Saturday though, there were so many people there yesterday that it drove me nuts.  Especially all the people with absolutely no track etiquette.  The track is wide enough for 3 people to be side by side on but there must have been 5 couples walking side by side right down the middle making it very difficult to get around.  I myself run in the middle and move to the outside to pass but move back to the middle leaving room for others to pass me.  However, I appear to be the only one that does this as some just run the whole way in the runners lane even at a very slow pace in which case you must run to the inside to pass and avoid walkers at the same time.  It is very frustrating and takes away from energy I should be focusing on running.  My roommate pointed out that Mondays and Wednesdays are the worst because around 5-630 they have fitness classes near the track and people coming in and out will walk a few laps on the track and pay no attention to who is already out there.  Ugh, I guess I'll go back and see today because even with the frustration, the banking of the corners on the track at the other gym tends to really make my knees sore and pain will trump annoyance.

Another point of frustration is my weight right now, I'm in another platueu I guess.  I really am not moving weight wise even though I'm not eating poorly or in excess and I am putting on more miles than I have in the past.  Last week I totaled 14 miles only to see the scale slow to a stop after Wednesday.  Oh well at least I'm not losing motivation as my miles and endurance are increasing and my focus on a good time at the 5k in March is driving a lot of my workouts.

Now I know I can do it!

Well yesterday was a big day for me.  First I was lazy all morning and had to get a ride to get my car at 2.  Then I really needed a haircut so I stopped and got that and then it was like 2:45 by the time I got home and I had plans to be somewhere at 5.  So of course I was thinking to myself, "well I don't really have time, I guess I'll push my run off until tomorrow." Then I had a breakthrough of sorts because I've always wondered how my roommate who is a big time runner would do this but I said "screw it I'm going, I don't want to let myself down, I'll feel bad if I don't do my run." So I went and my roommate went as well and I ran around the indoor track for 3.6 miles without walking.  Let me repeat that 3.6 miles without walking in like 34-35 mins.  I had never really gotten more than 2.7 without walking on the track and so this was huge, especially on a day I really didn't want to run and to be honest didn't feel all that great before the run.  It is exactly 1 month before the 5k and I just did 3.6 miles and it wasn't too bad so I'm very excited because now I know I can do it! I hope to be able to push my training up to 5 miles straight before the 5k so that a 5k seems like a piece of cake and I can sprint across the finish line.  My legs hurt today but it's a good hurt and I'm looking to getting back to the gym tomorrow.  I may even go buy some new workout clothes today as a reward for getting my butt in gear yesterday.

Speedballs

Well its Friday and so since I've already done 4 days straight, today is my day off.  Tomorrow will be a long run around the track with Sunday being a recovery day.  I'm thinking about trying for 3.5 miles.  Yesterday I decided to do some sprinting intervals and I think I was overdoing it a bit.  During my interval phase I was basically sprinting and then I would walk after.  It was a good workout and I think it will help my endurance because it felt like it was pushing my lungs and heart whereas my legs really weren't feeling too bad.  I was wearing my HRM and you could see my HR shoot up to about 175-180 during the sprint and then slowly fall down to 145 then back up and repeat for 20 mins or so.  I had done a longer run the day before and so I figured I'd do some speed work to switch it up.  I've also heard intervals are great for weight loss and so if that is an added benefit, you won't find me complaining.

I have a friend coming in tonight from Michigan so we are all going out on the town to hang out.  I'm ok with letting myself drink my issue is the food consumption which is what I've got to keep an eye on.  I've done well the last month so I don't foresee a huge issue just need to be conscious of it.

Train is moving down the tracks.

A quick post as I don't have a lot of time right now.  Yesterday I put in 3.08 miles in just under 30 mins.  I did have to walk about .14 miles spread out, but I finished just about a 5k on the track in under 30 mins and I still have a month to go so things are looking good on training for the 5k in March which I really want to kick ass at.

Second, my weight loss has really been moving this week and again this morning I was down to 309.2 lbs.  Therefore, not only is today exactly one month from when I started but I'm down over the 15 lbs mark and I'm very happy about that.  I plan to take a picture soon for a progress record and it may not be totally visible but my pants and shirts are looser, and I'm moving belt notches.

Workout totals for the month:

20 workouts
48.5 miles

Building Endurance

So yesterday like I said I was going to, I didn't run on the track and instead did 40 mins on the treadmill.  The time involved about 30 mins walking at 9 incline and 3.5 mph pace then I lower the incline as my achilles was hurting a little bit and turned up the speed to a jog for the last 10 mins.  I felt good afterwards and today I'm going to hit the indoor track again and hopefully get a little closer to 3.1 miles in preparation for the race.  I plan to hopefully get up to 3.5 or 4 miles maybe more before the race so that the 3.1 will seem easier.  I've noticed I'm making better food choices after my bad weekend and even though I went out last night I ordered a sensible meal and didn't share any of what my girlfriend got because I just knew one thing would lead to another and I'd probably eat bad soon after and I'm not letting that happen. 

As of tomorrow it will be a FULL MONTH of going to the gym and eating better and just about 15 lbs down.  I'm really happy with myself about that but I don't ever plan to stop I just haven't gone to the gym this much in probably 8 years and even then I was only lifting and doing agility work never stuck with cardio for more than a couple weeks.  I am starting to enjoy running and setting mini-goals for myself. 

Seeing Results

Went for my workout yesterday which was a difficult one to say the least.  Not anything longer than before but my legs were burning from trying to keep a new cadence of around 180 spm.  I was able to do this but not at a slow pace, it definitely gave me a boost of speed to run at that cadence.  It didn't feel like I was really doing all that much different as far as breathing goes what stopped me was my legs were burning like crazy after about the first mile.  So I walked a little while then ran some more and alternated this until I hit about 2.7 miles.  I ran all this on the track which is where I really need to improve since in about a month I have to do a 5k outdoors, no soft cushioning of the treadmill.   Today I'm going to just walk on a good incline to get the heart going but give me legs a day to recover and then hit the track hard again tomorrow to build up that muscle. 

Something a little different today, most of my weight loss journey so far has consisted of 4-5 days straight of almost exactly the same weight and then all of a sudden I'll lose a few.  Well from Sunday to Monday I went down about 1.5 lbs and then yesterday to today I dropped another 0.8 lbs.  Its nice to see it not be stagnant and I'd really like to hit my goal of 30 lbs down before the 5k.  I'm almost halfway there and it has only been about a month with another month to go so if anything I'll get close.  My goal for the 5k first off is just to finish it because I've never done any running race except for the Fat Guy 4x100m Relay in high school track and also the 300m hurdles (just because there was an open spot, crossed at about 1 minute :p).  Second, I would like to finish in under 30 mins without walking.  That is a stretch goal but I think the adrenaline of the day might help and I've been averaging around 10 min/m so far on the track I just have to extend the distance my legs can handle without getting tired.  If I can keep up the 180 spm cadence, that had me at about 9 min/m and that would let me do that no problem.

Getting away with cheating!

No I'm not talking about the Packers. Although I'm not happy they won yesterday, I'm talking about me.  First I've been a bad blogger and need to keep doing this to hold myself accountable, maybe its because I dont' have a following yet, and second I ate terribly this weekend and appear to have gotten away with it for now.  I was doing good all week and went running 3 times meant to get 4 but realized on Tuesday morning I had a hockey game to go to that night and so I had no time and then Saturday and Sunday I wasn't feeling so great so I passed.  I'm thinking I wasn't feeling so great because I ate like crap over the weekend and so this morning I expected a gain on the scale and to my surprise, I was sitting at 312.2, I even recheck it about 3 times.  I'm very happy about this and so I'm going back to the gym today with some new confidence and motivation to keep going and training for a 5k I have now decided to run on March 12.  I may need to go get some winter running gear though as it can still be very very cold here at that time.

New to my running scheme has been more working on the indoor track than the treadmill to prepare for running outside.  There is a huge difference and I can feel it in my legs when I running.  Much more pounding and overall lower leg soreness.  I'm going to try to up my stride ran from 160 to 180 per min as that is suppose to help and also try this new Jeff Galloway technique of forcing yourself to walking instead of continuous running to get more distance without destroying your body and therefore upping my endurance.  I'd like to have run 5 miles on the indoor track before the 5k so that the 5k seems like a breeze.  Right now 1.5 miles seems like a breeze even maybe 2 miles but that last mile is brutal hopefully the quick walks will revive my muscles and make it a little easier.