Wednesday, September 11, 2013

LD's Labyrinth Blanket.

LD holding the blanket

Labyrinth

When I was about to start on the blanket for our best friends's baby, I mentioned to her that I had tried to do a very fancy lace pattern (which Rachel ended up making) and found it too challenging. She suggested the labyrinth blanket (which I have made 4 times before) and I said it was too heavy for a baby.  So she suggested another blanket which I made.  But my plan was hatched.  Since her birthday is 9/9 and her due date was 9/10, I made a labyrinth blanket for her.  She was very surprised when we gave it to her on Monday.  

Monday, August 19, 2013

Weekly Update

I don't have a lot of exercise to report.

Sunday - Cycling 12.73 in 1:05.  I went for a very easy ride and my HRM didn't pick up a signal.  After about 55, I stopped at the store to get a few items and then rode home.  Later I did some stretching and a plank.

I saw my doctor on Wednesday and she diagnosed Achilles Tendinitis.  I'm not surprised by the diagnosis.  She gave me a scrip for a stronger/safer NSAID that she said I can take for a month without even starting to have liver or kidney damage and is getting me a referral to a podiatrist.  When I asked about cycling her answer was that it would be better than walking/running but not as good as swimming.

This week I'd like to fit in more cycling and also do some core work.  My weight at the doctor was 173 but that included slacks, blouse, shoes, belt, etc. so I'd say 170-171.  At least it's down a few from my all time high last month.  Still, I'd like to get the needle moving back into the 160s and lower.

Oh. And I went to donate platelets on Friday afternoon but my Crit/Iron was only 37 so I couldn't donate.  I'll try again when I'm on vacation next week.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Weekly Wrap-up


Weekly Wrap-up:

Monday - 11.9 Cycling in 50 minutes (14.1 mph).  My rides are getting faster.  This one was in 98 degrees and I just went up and down the boulevard which makes it faster because I don't have to deal with dogs and trees.  I did the loops because I didn't want to get too hot too far from home. 

Tuesday - Fitness workout.  My first in a long time. I did legs (squats & lunges), chest, back, shoulders, arms. And about 15 minutes of core.  It felt good and left me sore for a few days.

Wednesday - 3.05 walking on the treadmill. I planned to do some running but 30 seconds on my heel told me that was badness.  Also the kids kept having "emergencies" so I actually did 30 minutes, 6 minutes, 2 minutes, 23 minutes between the emergencies. Also I made and cleaned up from dinner and ate dinner during the workout. 

That was it for my workouts.  Thursday I just wanted to spend with family.  Friday I donated platelets. Saturday it rained and my heel hurt. Sunday my heel hurt. 

I called and made an appointment for Tuesday morning about my heel.  Now I need to fill out a bunch of paperwork. 

Friday I donated platelets - a triple.  I think that is the last time I'll do that. On one hand I love donating whatever I can and I have the platelets to spare. But it takes over 2 hours and I feel significantly crappier after a triple than after a double. I think I'll go back to doubles and just try to get over there more regularly.

Saturday I went to a training and became deputized to register voters in Travis county. I have not done any yet or gone to any registration events but I'm quite excited about it.  My brother went as well and my SIL is already deputized. My nephew has been volunteering with Battleground Texas for weeks and is their phone bank pro!

I took the weekend off from working out due to my heel. 





Monday, July 22, 2013

Exercise 07/15 - 07/21

Not a terrible week but not as good as I would hope.  Had a combination of the rest of the family having a stomach bug and my having one very late evening due to an eye doctor appointment and getting my eyes dilated.

Wednesday - 2.5 miles walking in 50 minutes.  I jammed this one into my day and got what I could. 

Friday - 1.5 miles walking in 30 minutes.  Again, what I could fit in.

Saturday - 18.91 miles cycling in 1:27 (13.1 mph).  A very good ride. I'm getting somewhat faster and stronger. I can ride faster on the streets than in the park but the park is more fun and prettier. 

Saturday - 15 minutes of core work.  My first core work in months. I did a 1:00 plank and a :45 plank and some ball work and crunches.  I need to do more core work.

Sunday - 2.6 miles hiking in 60.  I was planning to go for a run but then I suggested that we take a family hike and we did. We went to Walnut Creek a little later than we would have liked because ChocolateSon needed some hiking shoes.  It was a good hike but everyone got too hot and tired by the end.  We went from the park to Chuys so all was good in the world.

My weight is back "down" to 170.  I think I started this effort at 169, got down to 165, and up as high as 173 (my lifetime high I believe).  I want to be at 155 or 150 so "down" to 170 is not good but it's better. 

I'm reading The 4-Hour Body.  It is much much thicker than I expected but is going very quickly.  So far my very general and preliminary thoughts are:
  • *While I am sure it would help me to reduce my intake of "white foods" (starches) I don't intend to eliminate them entirely (his classification of white foods includes brown rice).  More strongly, I'm not going to eliminate fruit from my diet. 
  • One thing I am really enjoying from the book is his instruction to just read the parts you are care about and just implement the parts you want to implement. He even says "if you want to lose weight, read these chapters" to build muscle, read these ones, etc.  It's not all or nothing. 
  • Another concept he has that I really like is that all goals should be 20 pounds difference (defined as 15 pounds fat lost, 5 pounds muscle gained or 20 pounds muscle gained or whatever as long as it adds to 20).  If someone needs/wants to lose 150 pounds, their goal should be a 20 pound meaningful movement and when that is done they can set a new 20 pound goal. He says some people only need 10 pounds but they are the exception. 
I should probably say that I signed up as an Amazon Affiliate so if you click that link and buy the book or click that link and buy something else, I'll get some small amount of money. 




Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Ace's Baby Layette

Our best friends are pregnant with their first baby.  His due date is 9/10 but of course he could come at the end of August or first half of September.  I completed the gifts weeks ago or longer but have been waiting to post pictures until after the baby shower which was last Saturday.  In complete lack of surprise mode, LD actually suggested which blanket pattern she would like.  I don't know that she knew that there was a layette that went with it so hopefully that was a surprise.  I've made this blanket 3-4 other times but I enjoy the pattern very much.  Most recently I made it for a co-worker's baby two years ago.



The layette: blanket, sacque, bonnet, and booties.

ChocolateWife made the booties

It's hard to see but the bonnet has the same v pattern as the blanket

The sacque also has the v pattern.
I think it all turned out really well and liked the color very much.  ChocolateWife knitted or crocheted quite a few items as well including a knitted cap in the same green yarn. 

Monday, July 15, 2013

Workouts 07/08 - 07/14


I have not posted in weeks. I'm not sure why - apathy?  I actually have been getting some exercise but not on a training plan.  Last week was somewhat typical although we had a very busy week. 

Tuesday - Cycling 12.5 miles in 1:02.  After a weekend at the farm with only one walk to show for it and eating too much eggs, cheese, and bread I was dying for some exercise and green vegies.  I left work 2.5 hours early for a hair cut, then rode my bike.  It as between 96-98 degrees out. I rode past the end of town, back to the grocery store where I had to lock my bike to a cart return because there don't seem to be any bike racks in the suburbs.  No kale!  No green beans!  Still I grabbed a few things and rode back home.

Wednesday - Treadmill walk 3.15 in 1:00.  It recorded twice so my pic shows 6 miles in stead of 3.15.  Nice peaceful walk.  The kids played with their visiting cousin and let me walk and read.

Friday - Cycling 13.41 in :57 (14.1 mph).  I woke up feeling crummy but then went out after a few hours. I rode mostly on streets so it was faster than usual. 

Sunday - Cycling 16.44 in 1:16 (13 mph).  I was up a good part of the night with ChocolateDaughter so I set out easy. Even so a better speed than I would have done a month ago.  Lots of runners and riders out.

My weight is up from my starting and certainly my goal.  I started about 165, got to 173 and am now at 171.  Obviously I'm not happy about that.  I need to keep working at it. 

I'm enjoying all the cycling I'm doing.  A month ago my speed to hit was 12.0.  Now it's 13.0 or 13.5 and my legs feel stronger all the time.  I still wouldn't consider myself at all serious and I ride mostly on the bike/walk path which is, by definition, slower than riding on streets.  But it's also more fun and prettier and still burns about 900 calories an hour. 

My step counts are not really worth posting any more. The pedometer app I was using did an update that did not work on my phone and I've pretty much stopped carrying it around all day although I am still taking the long route to/from my desk and around the house, etc. 




Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Activity 06/10 - 06/16


Monday - 1.5 miles walking while ChocolateDaughter rode her bike.  Fun walk.
Tuesday - 10 miles Cycling in 48 minutes.  A very refreshing and good but hot bike ride. I came home before an hour because I thought I would ride with ChocolateDaughter but she was busy.
Wednesday - 4.05 in 1:00 on the treadmill. Mostly walking. I wanted to run some but just felt too hot. 
Saturday - 15.7 miles Cycling in 1:13.  Nice ride with high humidity.  Got home and CD was riding around so she and I rode another 1.5 miles.
Sunday - 2.06 mile walk in 32 minutes while both kids rode their bikes.  They did really well taking turns leading.


Steps - 53,182
My steps weren't as good as in previous weeks.  I can't post the daily steps because Noom rolled out a new app called Noom Walk and I don't see that I can access daily totals any longer.  So I only see weekly steps. Still, I should be getting >= 70,000.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Star Baby Blanket


I finished this blanket a week or two ago for a co-worker who is having  a girl and a very traditional color scheme. It is the same blanket that I made a few years ago.  It is fun and easy although it gets very tedious on the last few rows.  I used partially leftover yarn and a few skeins of new yarn. 

We went to the shower on Saturday and it went over very well.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Activity 06/03 - 06/09

I feel like there are some things not showing up on this pic but ... 

Monday - Strength training workout. Coach Jeff's set up. 
Tuesday - 1.6 walk to library.
Tuesday - 3.56 walk/run in 1:00. Tried to do a treadmill run in the garage. I turned on Doctor Who for the kids and set my watch to zone 2.  It was hot.  Very hot. Extremely hot.  I ran for about 15 minutes.  Then later another 3-4.  Mostly it was walking. 
Wednesday - 2.0 in 40 minutes in the garage.  Ok. Tuesday it was so hot I was afraid I would pass out.  The garage faces West.  So I brought home a thermometer a friend has at work and put it in the sun/out of the sun by the treadmill (half in/half out at that time of day).  Here are the results:


Yeah... we moved the treadmill into the house on Thursday. I think that will be more sane.
Wednesday -  20 minutes core. I usually do 30 minutes but between the heat of the treadmill and getting the kids fed and being hungry myself, I cut it at 20.  Good work though.
Thursday - Cycling 15.5 in 1:17.  I took time off work to donate blood platelets but my iron was low (37). It was my first time in a while to fail the crit check.  Since I was off anyway (and using leave time) I rode my bike.  As I turned onto our street, there was ChocolateDaughter pedaling away on her bike for the first time! 
Sunday - Cycling 12.5 in 1:03.  I got up early to fit a ride into our busy day.  Glad I did too as it was a total downpour shortly after I got home. 

Weight - ?? I don't know. I've been frustrated and feeling blech so I've done no calorie tracking and didn't weigh this week. I will get back to it.

Steps - A lot of either not carrying my phone or it not tracking while I'm on the treadmill but here are the numbers anyway:
Monday - 10,018
Tuesday - 13,379
Wednesday -  7,953
Thursday - 9,980
Friday - 3,087
Saturday - 1,862
Sunday - 8,801



Monday, June 3, 2013

Activity 05/27 - 06/02


It was a bit of a strange week as part of the family was still out of town and then they got back and it stayed a strange week.  I got in some workouts:

Monday - 3.08 Treadmill walk in 1:00.  My son was not very patient. We had an agreement to go get FroYo and he nagged me about when we were going. He also asked if the Santa Claus myth exists just to get kids to go to bed. 
Tuesday - Core work.  30 minutes of good core work on the floor and ball.
Wednesday - 5 miles in 1:15 or so at Walnut creek.  A good mix of running and walking.  Did 1:00/1:00 ratio and sweat like a pig in 86 degrees.  Joy was the portopotty in the parking lot at the end of this one.
Wednesday - I did a short chest/back/legs workout. Basically I did the Coach Jeff workout but skipped the core work since I had done full core the day before.
Friday - 4.0 miles.  I got off work early on because of was our company picnic.  I walked to the store and back with a little bit of food.  Very hot - 90. 
Saturday - Nice bike ride.  15 miles in <1:15.  I didn't push it and it felt great.  I fully intended to do strength training later in the day but had a bad experience at lunch and my stomach did not settle well after that.
Sunday - The best laid intentions and all that...  I woke up with stomach cramps like heartburn and it lasted all day (literally every moment of the day).  The family took a short (30 minute) walk/bike ride around the neighborhood but that was it.

Weight 
My weight was up a few ounces to 167.8.  Arggghh.

Steps
My step count was plagued by times that I didn't have my phone in my pocket and one day that the phone clearly didn't count steps well.  But here are the numbers anyway:
Monday - 11,192
Tuesday - 7,160
Wednesday - 13,107
Thursday - 4,863
Friday - 11,625
Saturday - 6,057
Sunday - 5,901

I'd like to get those counts back up this week. 



Monday, May 27, 2013

Activity 5/20 - 5/26


A pretty good week:

Monday - 1.25 mile walk. I did a quick walk at lunch.  It was hot enough that I actually came inside and walked in the tunnels a bit.
Tuesday - 4.0 run and walk in 1:00.  Jesus it was hot and humid out.  I did my walking warm up and then started 2:00/1:00. Then 1:00/1:00. Finally I just switched to running between the zone 2 beeps on my watch and then walked back to the office.
Tuesday - 30 minute Core Workout.  Such a good core workout.
Wednesday - 1.5 walk.  I would have done more but a hard day at home left my workout out of the question. While the wife laid down with our daughter to put her to bed, I went for a neighborhood walk.
Thursday - 3.3 in 1:05 walk.  I walked to the dry cleaners and back to drop off the clothes.  Very hot out 88 with 85% humidity.  Nice to do an errand.
Friday - 3.05 in 40 minutes run (13:06) plus 1.00 walking warm up/down.  First chance to use the new/used treadmill.  It was too hot and still in the garage so I cut the running short.
Saturday - Strength training. I did the Coach Jeff total body workout for the first time in months.  Very challenging. I need to start doing some strength training at least 2x a week.
Saturday - 3.05 walking in 1:00.  Treadmill walk in the garage. My son watched an episode of Doctor Who, then came out to nag me to stop.
Sunday - 4.5 in 1:00 (12:53) plus .5 walking warm up/down.  A good run at 2:00/1:00 with the fan moving the hot/humid air around. I don't know if I could do this in temps 15 degrees warmer without passing out. I wanted to run longer but my son nagged the entire time for me to stop.  I was not feeling supported at all...

Weight:
Sunday 167.3 so I'm down .3 for the week and 2.7 overall.  Obviously I'd like to be seeing better results....

Steps:
Monday - 10,073
Tuesday - 10,829
Wednesday - 9,600
Thursday - 13,663
Friday - 12,387
Saturday - 8,032*
Sunday - 18,579

* Saturday I checked the step count while I was on the treadmill for an hour.  It recorded around 1000 steps.  By my calculation it should have gotten around 7200.  So that should be well over 13,000 or even 14,000 steps.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Activity 05/13 - 05/19


Yeah... that's what it looks like.  Let's detail:

Monday - Walked 3.15 in 1:00 during lunch. I came in early to take an hour lunch but it is getting too hot to do that until Fall.
Tuesday - Core Work - 30 minutes.  A good session. I was home with the kids all day and all evening. That's very unusual for our family. I think it may be the first time ever in fact that I've had both kids for 12+ hours.  ChocolateWife had a conference, we met her for dinner, and then she saw clients in the evening.  So there was no chance to do any other exercise.
Wednesday/Thursday - I woke up Wednesday feeling crummy with some sort of stomach bug, went work, worked 2 hours and came home. Spent the rest of Wednesday and all Thursday at home eating a lot of starches which were the only thing that sounded/felt ok and hanging out. 
Sunday - 4.5 in 1:25 hiking/running. Finally felt back to normal.  I went for a hike/run at Walnut Creek Park.  It was very humid and I was just enjoying being out and burning some calories.  Did 2:00 walking/1:00 running. 

Weight:
167.6.  I gained 1.8 pounds this week which doesn't surprise me at all.  The carbs/no working out combination is doom to losing weight.  I'm ready to get back on target though. 

Steps:
Monday - 13,247
Tuesday - 8,272
Wednesday - 1,530
Thursday - 4,638
Friday - 4,556
Saturday - 7,455
Sunday - 15,786

Total: 55,484

Also, I bought a used Treadmill on C r a i g s l i s t.  It was $100 and the guy actually brought it over in his car because I would have had to go home and take out the car seats from mine.  It's in the garage and I bought an extension cord.  Basically I want to have more flexibility to fit in a run or even just 20 minutes of walking when leaving the house isn't an option. 

Monday, May 13, 2013

Activity 05/06 - 05/12


I have a very medium week.  No big spectacular workouts but no crashes and burns either.  Not enough steps...

Monday - 1.6 mile walk at lunch time.
Tuesday - 4.0 mile walk at lunch time. I should have run but my stomach was not of the good from the moment I woke up and I didn't want to chance something ugly.  A very nice walk and good pace (17:00 miles).
Tuesday - 30 minute core work.  Very good work.  All the usual suspects.
Wednesday - Bike ride 13.37 in 59.  (13.7 mph). That's fast for me.  Now that I've got my mechanical issues resolved (for a few days) I am riding a bit faster. 
Thursday - 4.0 walk with running in 1:00.  Very slow.  Mostly walking with a bit of running.  I did not feel well before I set out.  Still, I'm amazed at how slowly I'm moving in these run/walks. 
Saturday - 5.05 in 1:20.  I intended to ride my bike but had a hole in my tire and tube so switched to a walk/run.  Felt run down and slow and I was slow.  Again, I find it shocking how slow I am.  Part of me doesn't care about speed because I'd prefer to walk but want the calories burned from running but another part wonders if I'm actually doing "damage" by doing it this way. 
Sunday - I went and volunteered at a race in the morning rather than working out in the morning. And then the family was going to hike but we decided to just not.  Instead we celebrated Mother's day by crafting while watching Downton Abbey and then visiting our friends. 

Weight:

4/8 - 170.0
4/14 - 169.5 (-.5)
4/21 - 166.7 (-2.8)
4/27 - 167.6 (+0.9)
5/4 - 166.2 (-1.4)
5/11 - 165.8 (-.4)

So it's moving and in the right direction.  I think I need to be more active and also eat less candy to lose more.  15.8 pounds to go!

Steps:
Monday - 10,614
Tuesday - 14,304
Wednesday - 7,095
Thursday - 12,613
Friday - 3,933
Saturday - 13,641
Sunday - 4,166

Total - 66,366

Monday, May 6, 2013

Exercise 04/29 - 05/05


Not too pressing but it was a nice week for me. 

Tuesday - 3.9 miles walking in 1:10.  Again I forgot my sports bra and had to walk instead of run.  I printed up a list and will attach it to my gear crate so hopefully this will be the last time.
Wednesday - 11.5 bike in 58.  Lovely ride in a lot of sunshine but having some mechanical issues. I called my brother and asked him about it. From my description he suggested either user error or bad bearings in the rear wheel.  Not to keep any (I don't know if there are any) readers in suspense - I took my bike to the shop Saturday and user error is the answer.  The brake thing was not pulled far enough so it was rubbing and causing issues in tightening down the wheel.  I'm looking forward to riding without dealing with that. 
Thursday - 3.6 miles in 47 (13:03) plus walking warm up/down.  I did 2:00/1:00 throughout and felt really good about it. I was able to keep my HR down throughout and keep it up.  Not fast but felt good.  Oh and it was 53 degrees out with a 14 mph wind.  In Texas! 
Saturday - 30 minute core work.  Then a 4 mile walk to the grocery store and back. 
Sunday - I was feeling somewhat lazy and didn't really want to go for a long bike ride or run so it was perfect when a friend texted to say did we want to hike.  ChocolateDaughter and I met the friend and her dog for an easy hike before gathering the rest of our families and going to a birthday party.  We probably only went about 2 miles but it was lovely. 

Weight:
4/8 - 170.0
4/14 - 169.5 (-.5)
4/21 - 166.7 (-2.8)
4/27 - 167.6 (+0.9)
5/4 - 166.2 (-1.4)

Steps:
Monday - 8,517
Tuesday - 12,189
Wednesday - 8,110
Thursday - 11,655
Friday - 9,712
Saturday - 16,017
Sunday - 9,734
Total - 75,934

I donated a small triple of platelets on Thursday.  Not coincidentally I learned that it is a bad idea to get very cold before donating platelets.  The run done in 53 degree weather immediately before and combined with the cold temperature in the center made my donation very difficult. I will not make that mistake again.


Monday, April 29, 2013

Exercise 04/22 - 04/28


I had another good week although I felt like I ate more (and worse) than I should. That probably shows in my weekly weigh-in (I gained 0.9 pounds at weigh in Saturday).  Still:

Monday - I feel like I probably walked around at lunch hour but I'm not seeing it on the graph.  I also did a 30 minute core workout. I combined exercises from pre-dawn and the box of cards I got. 
Tuesday - 4.2 in 50 (11:54) plus walking warm up/down.  The phone GPS showed less but it was obviously off so I mapped it and came up with slightly more than this. I sort of split the difference.  Ran 1:30/:45 intervals on the hills by the university.  Very humid.
Wednesday - 11.5 in 1:00 biking.  Easy heading out and then hard coming back. Either I hit the wind or was having trouble with my bike again.  Or some combination of the two.
Thursday - 4 miles in 1:00. Mostly just walking with a few minutes of running. Very tired legs. 
Saturday - 4.2 miles in 1:20. All walking.  Very humid out. 
Sunday - 16.28 in 1:20 biking.  Very nice ride but the ground was wet. I hit one spot of mud and started to skid out. I kept myself upright and was quite impressed. 
Sunday - 30 minutes core work.  Very challenging. I mixed the Pre-dawn and the box of fitness cards.  I was already feeling too hot in the house and was pretty much drenched by the end of the core work.  Later ChocolateWife wanted to try some core exercises and noticed that the box shows a few other core moves mixed in. 

As I said my weight was up .9 pounds as of Saturday. But I had worse diet as well as getting my period on Sunday so that probably had some effect. 

I'm still using my phone and Noom to count my steps. I find it very motivating but I'm also aware that it is not all that accurate.  I went for a walk on Saturday and did a few spot checks.  My actual step count was about 120 steps per minute and the phone was logging 70 steps per minute (a very big difference).  Still, it's fun to sort of note the steps and strive to reach the (increasing) goal every day.

Monday - 7,808
Tuesday - 15,320
Wednesday - 9,305
Thursday - 11,652
Friday - 9,502
Saturday - 12,013
Sunday - 9,007

Total: 74,607

As you can see, it is obvious that it's not an accurate count and it awards some steps for bike rides (Wednesday and Sunday) but it's still fun to look at.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Exercise 04/15 - 04/21


Monday - 1.82 miles in 30 minutes. Easy lunch time walk.
Tuesday - 3.7 miles in 1:10 walking. I was going to run but my stomach was very iffy so I walked instead.
Wednesday - 3.6 miles in 45 minutes (12:30) run/walking plus .65 in 15 walking warm up/down.  I started at 2:00 run/1:00 walk but ended up dropping to 1:30/1:00 and finally 1:00/1:00 because of the humidity.  I've got to acclimatize.
Thursday - 2.5 miles in 45 minutes walk to and from lunch.
Friday - Core work for 30 minutes. I combined the exercises from the Pre-dawn runner routine from the ones in the the cards I ordered last week.  It was a nice workout (or as nice as a core workout can reasonably be) and gave me some new exercises. 
Saturday - 20.4 cycling in 1:42.  Lovely ride. I feel like my legs are getting stronger. I'm riding more in 12th and even 13th than a month ago.  I think this was my longest ride ever. 
Sunday - 5 miles hiking/running at Walnut Creek part in 1:40.  Not fast but it was hiking so that's to be expected. The first hour I did 2:00 walking/1:00 running, then I just walked (hiked).  I was going to meet up with a friend and her dog but some days our phones/texting don't play nice together and this was one of those days. 

Other notes about the week:
* I'm really enjoying the combination of the meditation bell reminder to move around and the pedometer tracking.  It's hard to track at much at home because I don't wear pants with pockets that often and it's strange to carry my phone in my hand to get the laundry or get a drink.  Still, my steps according to the phone were:
Monday - 6724
Tuesday - 11,388
Wednesday - 11,199
Thursday - 12,001
Friday - 6,567
Saturday - 7,562 (biking not counted or sort of counted)
Sunday - 14,107

Total: 69,548

Obviously the goal is to get every day > 10,000. 

* I lost 2.6 pounds between my weigh-in 4/14 and 4/21! 

* My heel is acting up.  It gets tight progressively the more I've run and walked.  A day of rest helps tremendously but I don't want to rest my heel. I want to be active every day.  I actually suspect the issue is walking in my running shoes which are low (4 mm) drop shoes.  They are fine to run but I don't think good for walking. I need to just go buy new/more traditional shoes.

* As a part of the running community and the community of Americans and humans, I'm upset by the Boston Marathon bombings.  I think it's particularly scary because it could be anywhere: a race, a little league game, an art show-- any place people are gathered.  Nonetheless, I'm impressed and proud of the running community's reaction that the way to go is to be strong and proud and keep running and cheering. 

Monday, April 15, 2013

Exercise Report 04/08 - 04/14


Monday - I took a quick walk at lunchtime.  1.5 miles in 30 minutes and jogged up the stairs to end it. 
Tuesday - Walk/Run 3.5 miles in 55 minutes.  Again, I mixed in running with walking to do a 1:00/1:00.  I ran over at the track and it was just lovely. 
Wednesday - 1.7 mile walk in 30 minutes ending with the stairs.  It was 40 degrees and had just rained a lot but I walked over to the library to return some books and then to 7-11 for some bananas.  Perfect walk for lunch time.
Thursday - 3.5 miles running in 47 minutes plus warm up/down.  I went to Pease Park and ran on the trails.  Still a 1:00/1:00 so I'm not pushing anything but I'm increasing mileage and calories. 
Saturday - 17.5 miles riding in 1:28.  A lovely day for a bike ride. I adjusted my read wheel and cleaned the brakes so that it was a really smooth ride. 
Sunday - 15.1 miles riding in 1:15.  It was windier and sunnier than the day before but I had a nice ride.  I usually ride in 10-11th gear depending on hills and occasionally 12th.  I noticed that this weekend I was riding primarily in 12th with a few downshifts to 11th for hills.  So I have to assume that my legs are getting stronger. 

I'm maintaining my calories and calorie count. I think I went over calories one day last week by maybe 100 calories. Most days I'm under by 100-300 calories.  I get a baseline allowance of 1500 from the app and then whatever exercise I do, I get 1/2 those calories.  My clothes feel a bit more comfortable but the needle on the scale hasn't moved yet. 

One of my co-workers came by my desk the week before last.  She was one of the people really interested in the stand-up desk and she asked about it.  Then we were talking and she said that she read that you really should get up every 15 minutes - that even every hour is not enough.  Thinking about that I installed a meditation bell timer on my phone. On silent, it lights up every 15 minutes (approximately) and I try to stand up (at minimum) or walk around a few minutes (at best). 

I also started using the Noom app to count my steps daily.  That has some limitations including:
  • Obviously the app only counts steps if you have the phone with you.  If you're going to the bathroom or shower or whatever, no counting.
  • The step count does not seem accurate when on a run/walk.  One day I calculated that my steps during my lunch time run/walk should have been around 7500.  The app counted about 3500.  It seems to do better in a walk without any running and seems to do better if the phone is in my pocket than if it is on the armband.
  • It adds some number of steps to the count when I ride my bike but it's not a # equal to my cadence.  My riding cadence is probably 170-175 per minute (10200 per hour).  It probably added 3500 - 4000 steps per hour to my counts. 
That said, I think for me the two things - meditation/move around reminder and step counting are good for me.  My step counts last week (such as they are were):

Tuesday (partial day) - 8689 (only about 3500 steps for the run/walk).
Wednesday - 7927
Thursday - 12,741
Friday - 7,586
Saturday - 8,482
Sunday - 5,029

So obviously you have to take the #s with a grain of salt when considering the bike riding as well but I think it's a nice measure and incentive, particularly when I'm at work.  Perhaps my goal should be 4000 steps while at work? 


Monday, April 8, 2013

Exercise Summary 04/01 - 04/07


Last week was a better workout week with an unexpected hiccup at the end. 

Monday - I walked 1.2 miles at lunch time. Then rode 8+ miles when I got home from work.  It was all I could manage in the time I had and I don't feel like my bike is as smooth as before I changed the tire.  I need to see if the wheel needs better adjustment.
Tuesday - 3.4 miles walking at lunch time. It was very humid.
Wednesday - 3.15 in 46 minutes.  I did mostly walking but with a little bit of running. 
Thursday - 3.15 in 1:01. Lovely lunchtime walk.
Saturday - Trail hike/run.  4.5 miles in 1:25.  Mostly hiking with a bit of running thrown in.  Basically 1 minute run for every 2 minutes hiked when I was doing that.  Took some time with just walking in the middle when ChocolateWife called to say that ChocolateDaughter fell and hurt her arm. 

I planned the day off on Friday after donating a triple of platelets on Thursday. I'm happy to be able to donate triples the last two visits but it takes longer and I need to account for the extra time.  Technically I could workout on the day after but I was ready for a day off anyway. 

Sunday I missed after being up part of the night and then the entire family going to the ER with CD who has a broken radius.  She got it splinted and we're waiting for a follow up with an orthopedist to get a cast.

My weight is unchanged but I'm optimistic nonetheless.  Even without my weight dropping I actually feel slightly more comfortable in my pants so that's always a good thing.  I'm tracking my food in Noom and my calories burned and trying to do little things that burn calories.  I'm probably nearing the point that I need to change my work schedule and either run/walk in the morning before work or the evenings because it will be too hot and sweaty to go at lunch (even with a shower).  Right now I'm mostly doing my lunch time as walks so I don't have to shower but if I want to intersperse any running, I need to bring my pack and shower. 


Monday, April 1, 2013

Training 03/25 - 03/31

I've been using RunKeeper for my exercise logging and not daily mile.  I'll tell you what: it is not as summary-friendly as DailyMile.  According to RunKeeper, I walked 14.5 miles and it's not easy to see how much on which days or how many days of walking that included.  I'm going to go back to using DailyMile in addition to RunKeeper. I use RunKeeper for 2 reasons: I can track my miles on the GPS and it links to Earndit. 

So...

I don't have my day by day breakdowns but according to RunKeeper, I walked 14.5 miles last week.  That seems low but I can only believe it.  On Friday and Sunday when I walked, I actually did a few minutes of running.  Both days I basically did 1 minute run, 2 minutes walk.  I took it very easy.  What's amazing is that usually in an hour of walking I burn about 450 calories.  Sunday I did 1 minute run/2 minutes walk for 40 minutes so about 13 minutes or running. Instead of 450 calories, I burned 832.  I continued with my stretching and did some core work this week. 

I have nearly finished my Mind Masters Journey program. All I have left to do is the written/journal exercise for day 21.  At the end of the program it did turn into a lot of steps and calorie counting and exercise tracking and all that stuff but I think what makes it different is having the ability to address the habits in a new way and not get discouraged. 

So my weight is 170 now and the goal of my Mind Master Journey is to weigh 150.  I don't have a timeline on that but that's the goal...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

21 Day Mind Mastery Weight Loss Program


A few weeks ago I signed up for an online seminar/course called The 21-Day Master Weight Loss Program.  I had seen a post about it on Facebook a few months ago and then again another post a few weeks ago.  The course is normally $97 but the FB ad said you could get it for $49.  I looked at the two free introductory videos and downloaded the first two free chapters of the author’s Kindle book and was interested. 

While my weight is not a major problem, it is higher than I would like.  More troubling, I don’t find that counting my calories or my fat calories or working out more or harder or easier seem to have much effect on my weight.  I seem to be at a plateau for the past few years in spite of eating generally healthy and running, biking, stretching, doing core, etc.  A few years ago I went to see a Homeopath to work on that issue.  We discovered that I had a gluten insensitivity if not allergy and I’ve cut my gluten consumption almost completely.  While you sometimes hear anecdotal evidence about cutting gluten and losing weight, that hasn’t been my experience.  It has helped my allergies and digestion but doesn’t seem to have affected my weight. 

When I mentioned the course to ChocolateWife she said that if it spoke to me I should take the course.   The next day when I logged in to my e-mail I had an e-mail from the online hosting company saying that since I had viewed but not purchased the course, here was a code for 30% off.  A few hours later I got a here is a code for 50% off.  So I spent $48 to start the course. 

I’m now on day 12 and quite intrigued with where it is going.  I believe that the course will end up being about sort of rewiring my brain to have control over different things including my weight.  I’m not sure how that will happen but I’m open to it and looking forward to it.  In terms of mechanics the course is comprised of:

·         A daily video to watch from the Clinical Psychologist – Dr. Sean Sullivan.  These are about 5 minutes long and very encouraging.  He is quite charismatic and relates his personal experience in life and how it relates to the challenge for the day.

·         You do 20 minutes of exercise, any exercise you choose.

·         Immediately following the exercise, you do a scripted 20 minute walking meditation.  It’s basically a mediation progressing through body awareness, sound focus, breath awareness, and observation of internal thoughts.

·         Then you do a journaling/challenge.  It differs daily and is what takes you toward the main objective of the course.  This what I find the hardest as I find myself actually confronting painful memories and trends in my life. 

The course is challenging in that there is no day off.  I have not managed to run all the steps together that often.  Frequently I do the first 3 together but then do the last one at home that evening.  It’s not ideal but I believe I am making progress. 

More to come later. 

Monday, March 18, 2013

Exercise 3/11 - 3/17

I had a much better workout week this past week.  Nothing was particularly intense but it was consistent.




Monday - I'm on a new program (I'll write an entire post about it this week) that includes 20 minutes of exercise followed immediately by a 20 minute walking meditation.  Most days I've done the 20 minutes as walking.  So this was 40 minutes, 2 miles approximately.
Tuesday - Ok, the picture is showing up weird.  Really it should only show the 3.3 miles for my lunch walk which includes 40 minutes and then the 20 minute walking meditation.  For some reason the entry I made originally for Monday is showing on Tuesday and I can't find it to delete it.
Wednesday - 2 miles.  The program of walking and walking meditation.
Thursday - 3.2 miles in 1 hour.  Walking and then the meditation. I also made my first blood platelet donation of the year and actually did a triple. I knew that there were triples but have never been asked/allowed to do one before. The time was 96 minutes for the donation but I figure once I'm there, I might as well do as much as I can. 
Friday - The day was going to be difficult so I took an hour off work to come home early and ride my bike.  I rode about 11.5 miles in under an hour. Then jumped off the bike to do the walking meditation ritual for 20 minutes.
Saturday - I did my 40 minutes walking 2 miles including the meditation ritual. Then later we met up with my sister's family at Monument Hill State Park. We had a picnic and a little hike and then threw around the football.
Sunday - I rode my bike but only about 7.5 miles.  During the ride, I noticed that the air was low in both tires. In the course of trying to air up the tire, I broke off the stem which destroys the tube and lets all the air out.  The family came and picked me up.  Later I did my walk and walking meditation.  Also later the entire family went to play tennis.  I literally had not touched a tennis racket in 10-11 years and was pleasantly surprised at my ability to hit the ball and get it over the net. 

No running but I think I'm ok with that for now.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Livestrong Thank You Hats

While my performance in the Livestrong Half-Marathon was subpar (as expected), I out raised my previous totals for Livestrong.  I raised nearly $1900 this year which is about $400 more than last year and almost $1000 more than my first year running for Livestrong. 
 
When I started I had the idea of raising money for hats I would make with the suggested donation being $20 a hat.  I posted on both Etsy and a blog page (after getting permission from Livestrong and Etsy) but got no takers that way.  When I posted on FB, and mentioned the hats sometimes people would post and say that they wanted one. 
 
Mostly though, I just sent people a thank you hat or 2 or 3 after they made a donation.  After getting the donation I would send an e-mail and ask color preferences or just used my judgement. At first I stuck to Livestrong colors but quickly did whatever color people asked for.  And I really liked the black hats with Rainbow trim. 
 
Pictured here are some of the hats I made and sent out to say thank you to all my wonderful donors (and one happy recipient)! 
 
 







Monday, March 11, 2013

Training Report 03/04 - 03/10

Yes. There are actually some green lines on last week's picture.

Monday - 1.6 miles. The family took a nice walk after I got home from work.  We took both puppies. I love the way the kids alternate between running ahead and complaining that they are so tired and exhausted that they can't possibly take another step. 
Tuesday - 3.5 miles in 1:03 walk.  This was to be the first run day in over a month.  Yeah... until I pulled my clothes out of my bag and realized I had no running bra. I took a nice walk to the park instead and found a $5 on the way back to the office.
Thursday - 2.6 miles in 35 minutes. First run in over a month.  I have lost a lot of cardio fitness with the time off and the cough/cold but it felt good to do at all.  I did a 1:00/1:00 and walked 5 minutes before and 15 after. 
Saturday - 2.0 in 40 minutes Walk. More on this later.
Saturday - 10.5 miles in 58 minutes.  I took an easy bike ride which included stops at two different Redboxes to get Wreck-it-Ralph and Twilight. Wreck it was awesome and Twilight was terrible even if you grade it on a curve and consider that it was a Twilight movie.
Sunday - 3.2 miles in 60 minutes.  Lovely walk and it had rained to very little pollen in the air.



Monday, February 25, 2013

Training Report 02/18 - 02/24

I had a pretty slack training week again last week as I recovered from my cold.  I actually think I felt worse as I was "getting better" than I did during the first part.  Mostly it's been a lot of coughing my lungs up. 

Wednesday - Walked to the Credit Union and Post Office on lunch.  Probably about 1.5 miles.
Thursday - 3.2 miles.  I walked over to the park in very nice weather.  Felt fine except for a lot of coughing.
Sunday - Went to the park for a hike with the kids, wife, dogs.  It wasn't fast or hard but it was so fun.  I sometimes think I would give up running entirely if the family hiked at least one day every weekend.

Other - I'm basically released from my Chiropractic. I'll be going every 2 weeks or so for a while but mostly I've got my assignments to stretch and work on my strength and core and to take it easy when running and ice if needed.  I probably spent 3 - 3.5 hours working on those things last week.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Training Report 02/11 - 02/17


Another Monday... another Training Report.  Such as it is.

Tuesday - 3.37 mile walk in 1:00. A very nice day out and a walk with no low back pain.  I concentrated on tightening my core throughout.
Wednesday - 3.2 mile walk in 57.  Another nice day and another walk without back pain.
Saturday - 1.5 mile walk.  I'm guessing on distance.  The kids and I walked from the Marathon expo over to the park to play.
Sunday - 5.6 in 1:38.  I walked the first part of the Austin Livestrong Half-Marathon.  Due to my back injury and having a cold, this was all I could do. But I wanted to do something. I planned this and quit after just under 6 miles.  I carried the names of those I walked for and am glad I got up to do this race. 
Week - Monday and Wednesday I saw the Chiropractor and did strength and core work.  I did stretching every morning and evening and some middays when I could. I am definitely becomming more flexible.  I believe that when I am done having a cold, I will feel ok to start running again. Or at least to try to run again.  We will see.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Training 02/04 - 02/10


Again, I had a better week with some walking and even a short bike ride.  I've continued my treatment with the chiropractor which includes a bit of strength work, some core, and a lot of stretching.  At this point he says the problem is largely the lack of flexibility in my hamstrings and glutes.  So lots of stretching...

This week besides that work I:

Tuesday - 3.5 miles in 1:10. I walked over to the park and through for a little while before returning.  Had to walk up the very big 11th mile Half-Marathon hill. 
Wednesday - 3.18 miles in 58 minutes. I walked through campus because I wanted to avoid traffic noise because I was listening to a book on tape. 
Saturday - 3.0 in 1:00.  Went for a walk at Wells Branch with my friend LD.  Not challenging for either of us but a good walk and no pain. 
Sunday - 3.2 in 58.  A little neighborhood walk. I thought the family was going to go for a bike ride so I stayed close to home.  My map ended up looking a little like a flower. 
Sunday - 3.5 miles in 18 minutes. I've been wanting to see how I do on the bike. The chiropractor gave me the ok but said to ride about 1/3 as usual the first time and maybe 1/2 as long as usual the second.  I went just under 20 minutes and FELT NO PAIN!  I'm very excited about that. I came home and stretched and then iced. 

--I have two more chiropractor appointments this week.  It's a doctor heavy week as the kids both have dentist appointments and their annual well child checks too. 

--I've raised $1790 for Livestrong which is well above my hopes and expectations.  I'm very happy with that total. A few people have said that they will donate but once I get to this point, I've nagged enough.  They will give or they won't...

--Runkeeper updated their app to allow more options for time and distance triggers. I'm thrilled as it was one of the thing that irritated me.  I like the trigger to give me a cue but the longest time you could wait between triggers was 5 minutes.  Now you can choose up to 30 minutes or up to every 10 miles (why would you even want a trigger at 10 miles?). 

Monday, February 4, 2013

Training - 01/28 - 02/03

I don't even see a reason to post a planned week at this point.  Certainly last week was better in terms of my doing some walking.  And it's nice to see some green bars on the graph. 


Monday - 1.0 miles.  I walked around with ChocolateDaughter after work and chiropractor.  
Tuesday - 2.8 miles in 1:00.  Rather a slow lunch time walk around downtown.  I just wanted to move a bit but not worry about speed at all.
Wednesday - 2.95 miles in 55 minutes.  A bit faster but not pushing it.
Thursday - 3.5 in 55 minutes.  Mostly walking. I tried a bit of running which basically told me that I am not ready to run yet. 
Saturday - 6.5 miles in 1:50.  I walked both farther and faster than I have in the past few weeks.  I probably should have only gone about 5.5 miles or 1:40 but I was doing loops to the house and got a bit farther than was ideal.  I iced afterwards and it isn't too bad.  Lots of soreness on Sunday though.

What I know:  I can't possibly run or even walk the entire half-marathon.  My current plan is to walk the first 5 miles.  The family usually shows up at that point to cheer for me. I'm thinking that I'll walk that far, then DNF with them.  I feel bad for the people who have donated and those I'm (not) running in memory or honor of but I have to stay healthy too.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Training Plan Week 9 - 1/21 - 1/28

Planned:

Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - 10 K Race
Sunday - Cross-train

Actual:
None of that.  My back has been an issue since I woke up Sunday (1/20) in pain.  I did a lot of heat and rest throughout the week and then took my friend's advice to see a chiropractor on Friday.  He said it was a problem with my iliosacral joint caused by muscle imbalance and flexibility imbalance. He also said no heat!  He said that there is inflammation and that the heat feels nice but does more hurt than good.  So ... ice. 

Sunday I went for a 30 minute walk with the family.  Not fast and it felt uncomfortable by the end. 

Lots of ice.  Some rest. 

I'm worried about my half-marathon and about letting down all the people who donated to my run for Livestrong and particularly those for whom I'm running a mile.  What if I can't run in their honor? Or only make it 5 miles?

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Training Plan Week 8 - 01/14 - 01/20

Planned:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles race pace
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - 10 mile LSR
Sunday - Cross-train

Actual:
Tuesday - 3 miles in 38 (12:36) plus walking warm up/down.  I ran up and down the hills by campus.  School must be starting because it was more crowded than usual. I won't run through campus until after the semester again.  It was about 35 degrees out but still a lovely run.
Wednesday - I went for a hike with my friend and her dog to enjoy the social for the day. It was a lovely hike and she goes quite quickly (3.15 miles in 1 hour).
Saturday - 11.88 miles cycling in 59 minutes.  We were ready pretty early for the kids' birthday party so I went out for a bike ride.  It was a lovely day and I went easy to run LSR on Sunday (let's revisit that). 

That's it.  I woke up Sunday with something wrong with my back. I've never had any significant back issue before in my life.  But I could barely walk.  I spent Sunday and then the Monday holiday on a heat pack on the couch.  I didn't go to the funeral I planned to attend Sunday or for a run or walk. I didn't clean the kitchen or do laundry.  I sat and sat and took pain killers. 

Today it is slightly better but it hurts and is hard to walk.  Running is literally incomprehensible to me.  The half-marathon is less than 4 weeks away.  So far in my training plan, I've done my 5 mile LSR, skipped the 6 mile, had to stop the 7 mile at 5.5, run the 8 mile, skipped the 9 mile due to my stomach issues, and missed the 10 mile due to my back.  I'm concerned about the race.  Assuming my back feels better I can walk it in the worst case scenario but this is by far the least prepared I've ever been for an event. 

On the bright side, our best friends donated $100 to my Livestrong effort yesterday putting me over my $1500 goal.  I raised my goal to $1750 and hope to get a few more donations but right now I'm well over my previous high.  I guess even if I have to walk the HM, I still have made a difference to those who need services from Livestrong.org.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Doctor Who - Tardis Afghan

I have been working for months on a Tardis afghan for ChocolateSon's birthday.  I wanted it to be a secret.  For the first part I felt fine working on it in front of him because for a long time it was basically just a big blue rectangle.  A few times he or ChocolateDaughter asked what was I working on and I said a blanket for one of our friends or their Grandfather or a scarf but mostly they didn't care.  I got as far as the 3rd blocks of door cutouts twice only to decide that the dimensions were off and tear it all out and start again (twice). 

Once I got to the windows, I no longer felt I could work on it in front of the kids so every night I waited for ChocolateSon to fall asleep.  The schedule was tight and I was struggling to try to finish it.  ChocolateWife did the lettering on both the Police Public Call Box and the sign on the door and still the time was tough.  And then Tuesday evening I realized that the top stitching that I had done up until that point (about 2/3 of the top stitching) was on the back (because of the sign on the door).  I had to rip that all out and redo it.  Luckily Wednesday evening ChocolateWife helped me "sew in woogies" or the loose ends and I got it done in time. 

Chocolate Son was trilled to say the least and kept snuggling it yesterday when he was in the living room. 

The best shot of the afghan

Ash holding the blanket
As he opened it

 

Monday, January 14, 2013

Training Plan Week 7 - 01/07 - 01/13

Planned:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - 9 mile LSR
Sunday - Cross-train

Again blogger won't let me upload my image file. This ones shows more bars than last week. 

Actual:
Tuesday - 4.1 miles in 46 minutes (11:13) plus walking warm up/down.  This one was in rain ranging from sprinkling to pouring down rain throughout.  Temp was about 49 so not freezing but bracing.  I ran at the track to avoid having to deal with very much traffic.  Pace seems faster than usual but I checked and double-checked my lap count/math and it seems pretty good. 
Wednesday - Raining again and I skipped the run to go to lunch.  It just seemed... unwise.  While I hate missing a workout it didn't feel right to me and felt really wrong to my ChocolateWife (which I didn't actually know until later but makes me feel even better about skipping).
Thursday - 3.76 in 46 minutes (12:14) plus walking warm up/down.  I ran the hills around and through campus.  It was a really nice run in perfect running weather - 55-60 and sunny.  Strangest sight was a dead adult possum I saw near the end of the run.  I guess it wasn't perfect running weather for him.
Saturday - 20.3 mile bike ride in 1:45 (11.6 mph).  It was supposed to be LSR Saturday, bike Sunday but I wanted to bike in 68 degrees and run in 40 so I switched the schedule.  The only downside was that I was riding in the pretty wet and a little light rain.  Felt really good throughout though.  I don't go fast but I feel like a 20 mile ride is very doable for me now. 
Sunday - 12.5 mile bike ride in 1:02 (12.1 mph).  It was cooler (45 or so) but dry.  I should have done a LSR but my stomach has been very problematic and I'm very nervous about runs when my stomach feels like that.  Bike ride didn't give me my LSR time on my feet but did a little cardio and activity and calorie burning. 

Right now this is probably the least prepared I've been for a race.  I've missed 2 LSRs completely and cut one short.  Right now I'm just trying to keep myself active and make it fit into my life. 

Thursday, January 10, 2013

2013 Goals

Well it's 2013 and what are all the cool kids doing?  Setting their goals.  Setting their fitness goals. 

I only set two goals last year and I didn't reach either of them.  So ... what's the purpose of a goal? Should it be specific and measurable such as "I will lose x pounds by March 1 blah blah blah..."  Or should they be more vague and less measurable?  I think that's up to the individual.  I haven't felt driven to setting goals but now I've been thinking of it a lot.  Maybe I'll set motivations for the year such as:

Motivations:
  • Run >750 miles and Bike > 750 miles OR Run/Bike > 1500 miles
  • Do >75 core workouts
  • Run a half-marathon in <2:35:59
  • Be more fit
  • Love more
  • Laugh more
  • Make love more
  • Volunteer at some races
  • Give more
  • Forgive more easily, more quickly, more thoroughly
  • Pay better attention
  • Be more present

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Training Plan Week 6 - 12/31 - 01/06

Planned:
Tuesday - 3 miles
Wednesday - 4 miles at pace
Thursday - 3 miles
Saturday - 5K race
Sunday - Cross-train

Hmmm.  Blogger is not letting me upload my handy-dandy image today.  If I could it would show 3 bars and that is it.  A very scant workout week due to life in general.

Actual:
Tuesday - 14.84 bike ride in 1:20.  Very fast or felt so on the ride out. Then I turned into the wind and was just about blown backwards. I rode my bike rather than running because New Year's day gave me the chance to do so.
Thursday - 3.82 in 46 minutes (12:02) plus walking warm up down.  I ran over to the park so had some trails and hills.  It felt like a very good but cool run. I did 2:30/:45 and feel like I could keep running more/walking less.
Friday - 3.15 in 40 (12:41).  Wet and yucky out.  No timer so I ran when I wanted and then walked short bits.  Took it every easy. 

That was it for my week.  My niece was a Bat Mitzvah this weekend which took precedence over everything as it should be.  I'm glad that the 5K race fell on this weekend rather than missing an LSR. 

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

2012 Running/Riding Totals

Last year I posted that I wanted to run 1100 miles and break 2:30 in the half marathon in 2012.  I achieved neither of those goals but I had a good year. 


 
I ran 709 miles in 2012 which was markedly down from 2011. But that was because I began to focus on a more varied exercise schedule which included more strength and cross training.  You can see from the graph that in the early part of the year when I was just running, I was logging more miles than in the later part as I became more flexible in my workouts. 
 

 
The graph at the top shows my running miles and the one at the bottom show all miles.  In the later part of the year as I started to do more biking, my miles increased although my running miles decreased. 
 
Although I did not reach my goals in 2012 it was a good year.  I ran a 2:41 half marathon which was a 9 minute improvement from my first effort.  I stayed relatively healthy and had no injuries.