I'm sorry. It seems as though I have fallen off the horse for a bit. But fear not! I'm back! And I'm making the resources I have work so that I can continue writing about this amazing journey! :-D In a few hours expect my next contribution!
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I wonder if cacti enjoy sunsets... I must say that I love my friends! Monday night I was at the bar watching the Pittsburgh Steelers do a very unconvincing job of playing professional football when Chris comes in with our friend Margaux. After the customary exchanges and welcomes she gets right to business. The question is posed to me, "What are you plans tomorrow?" Having not started work yet, the answer I gave has been the same as every other day over the past three weeks. "Nothing." That's when everything changed... I wish I could go on to talk about a life-changing adventure that took us across the globe on a wild goose-chase focused on finding the meaning of life. And that along the way we ran into secret societies that wanted their secret kept quiet and ancient civilizations that survived underground who wanted their whereabouts kept quiet so they teamed up and tried to hunt us down. Yet we survived and managed to gain all the knowledge we set out to find. But no... That type of story is completely unrealistic and, quite frankly, ridiculous. Instead we went on a hike. I've learned that I really enjoy hikes. The challenge that the different terrains provide keep you on your toes. I walk with my eyes on the ground because the paths are full of rocks and never evenly laid out. So I have to make sure I step in the right places to keep from falling or rolling my ankle. When I pause or rest I look around in awe at the sights around me. The landscapes and scenery are amazing to take in. The air is fresh and clean. The feelings of adventure as you constantly scan the world for things that you'll never see in your home settings. On this trip I was looking for desert Tortoises and desert sheep. *SPOILER ALERT* I didn't see any... The biggest reason I love hikes is the silence. Whether I'm alone or with people, there is always moments and stretches of silence. It doesn't matter if we're walking, climbing, sitting, or whatever it is that we are doing, there comes a point when we're all quiet. The silence returned is like nothing you'll experience in the city. There's always cars and sirens to compete with. Noises all the time. Out in the middle of nowhere nature gives you very little. Maybe a bird chirping or a gust of wind through the leaves. It gives me time to reflect of everything in life. What we need is a hero? Ask and you shall receive. Greetings! It's been a while again. Life sure does know how to make things interesting for sure. The startup company I was working for closed it's doors, leaving me unemployed. HUGE BUMMER. The last two and a half weeks have been spent half in wallow and self-pity, the other half adjusting to life and preparing to get back on my feet. Last Friday I began my resume blitz and that resulted in four job interviews! How does this all relate to my blog? Well it's now been over three weeks since I've been to the gym. I've been keeping with nutrition and tracking my calories through the My Fitness App, but I won't lie to you all or myself. I haven't been running in any capacity during this time. Until this morning. Also, I had a couple of maintenance and near maintenance days. Some points I just didn't care about stopping at 2200 calories. I was bummed about being unemployed and all the other sadness that comes along with it. I'm back and I'm on top of my game again! I decided to amend the Frank to 5k program yet again. For round two, I'm looking to just get into running shape. So I'm going to break down the program I'm on right now. My current level of running is being able to sustain chunks of running at two minutes at a time followed by a minute of walking in between. I'm able to finish the run without too much trouble. So the next run I take I'm going to bump it up to three minutes with a minute of walking in between. I'll do seven sets. Once I'm able to complete this while only taking a minute in between each running session then I'll move up to the next level. Telling from the running I've done today I can't say that I'll be able to do this with a minute in between right off the bat. If I can't, then oh well. I'll take my time in getting there. Each time I'm able to complete a run as it is written then I'll move on. It doesn't matter if it takes a day or a week or a month. I'll keep pushing until I'm able to step up my game! So while I'm doing this, I'm going to rename the program from Frank to 5k: Part Deux, to Frank to Fitness! This way it's not a focus on winning a race or running in a certain time, it's focused more on getting there. Getting healthy. Once I get to somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes of running then I'll try doing the Couch to 5k program live. Progress isn't just leaps and bounds, sometimes it's baby steps. Long time no see! I'm sorry for being MIA, life has been vary cruel to me over the past month and I finally caved to the unbalanced scale that I was standing on. I have no laptop to write from and trying to do this at work is incredibly difficult. Car problems have been nagging me and I find myself lacking the energy to write when I have the time and resources to do so. I apologize. I'm turning the corner and I'm putting this back to the forefront. My current weight is 349 pounds as of Saturday. This is great considering from where I started but it's not good enough in my eyes. I've been hovering around the 351 mark since August 30th... I've been wracking my brain for a reason why I'm not making headway and I realized what changed from the beginning of September until now. Football. I'm not going to go on a rant about the NFL and it's effects on my waistline. Some insight on this is that where I'm at we don't have cable TV. Not even the local channels. We don't have internet either. I'm a rabid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. So to support my addiction, I have to go to a place with tv's or internet connections (Not so much the internet anymore because my laptop is a giant paperweight.) To watch the games at said establishments I must support said establishments. Buying beer at a bar is my pleasure. In the end we both get something out of it! The only problem is their bottom line isn't the only one being effected by this... I have spent a part of my Sundays at the bar the last seven weeks. Sundays are mimosas for $2 (Lucky me!). A mimosa is calorically equal as a Bud light. Some weeks I'd have three or four. Others I'd have closer to seven or eight. It all depends on how many interesting games were playing and when the Steelers were on. Going on Sundays opened it up to also going on Monday nights and Thursday nights for the games then. Sometimes Pittsburgh, other times other teams. I even went to the bar to watch the presidential and vice presidential debates. Each time I'm tacking on 600-1200 calories on to my daily intake. This whole time I've been honest with myself. I don't lie and say "I'm doing great!" or "This will be my little secret!" Instead I calculate the damage then stop caring immediately afterward. The more I looked at the numbers (my weight plateau) the less motivated I was to get back on track. I'm glad that I've been able to maintain my weight but the name of this blog isn't the Neverending Journey to the Center of Myself. To add to my grief, gas prices out here have peaked at about $4.70 per gallon so I've been to the gym less and less. To top that off I bent a rim when I took my roommate to work last week so I've been on a donut. Monday was the last time I was able to work out. Another thing that discourages me is this running program. It's set up to increase the running time without increasing the walks inbetween. Running for a minute isn't taxing. Running for two is pushing it. Going three is damn near impossible for me. I didn't finish the program on that day from exhaustion. So far, all you've read are reasons. Looking back on these paragraphs they look like nothing more than excuses. I've gotten used to being down on myself. Instead of trying to find solutions to my problems, I allowed myself to get caught up in the emotions associated with the problems I can't change (car problems, gas, lack of money for cable). So I'm going to fix this now.
There you have it! Changes are all about! If you don't see anything posted from me then get on my case. I give you all free range to call me out any way you wish. That's all for now! Till the next episode! That was a fun mouthful! Nonetheless, the title is true. I survived a week on the treadmills and a day out in the real world! I still don't know yet how I want to present this information seeing how it's all the same except for the day of running outdoors. For now I'll settle with a general description of how things went and then reflection at the end. Treadmill Running The assignment for this week's running is to run for one minute alternating with two minutes of walking ten times. The first day was a little bit of a mess because I didn't allot enough time to run/walk for 20 minutes plus do a full five minute warmup and cool down. I ended up walking for five minutes than after last run I just made a mad dash to the showers because I was running really late for work. As far as the actual running/walking portion of the program it was pretty easy! I set the speed at 2.5 mph for walking and then I bump it up to 4.0 for running. 4 mph is what I need to hit to run two miles in a 30 minute time period. I was able to run the entire minute on the treadmill with no difficulty. Even the last few "laps" (as I call them) I managed to run through with no problems. I really built this up as something much more difficult that it appears to be. I suppose that I undersell the stamina I built up running on the elliptical as well. On the contrary, it's easy to declare the whole thing a cinch after just running for one week. We'll take things week by week! In 33 minutes I ran 1.63 miles!
What I noticed on day two was that my lower back was a little stiff and I could feel a slight soreness in my hips, but I pushed through with no problems. The soreness in my back could be from running but also from working out. The hips... It's a growing pain. I've got no qualms with that. On day two I walked to warm up but once again skipped the cooldown. I did walk the final two minutes though. In 35 minutes I ran 1.71 miles. The next two days I took off from running. On Saturday I went to the gym and I got my run on! The stiffness from previously in the week had left me running free and easy. I managed to finish easily and had time to hit the weights as well! In 33 minutes I ran 1.62 miles. This is not my actual bike. It is only a picture of one. On Thursday I was talking to a buddy of mine when he touched on an interesting subject he had recently heard about. There is a trail that goes all the way from Pittsburgh, PA to Washington DC and he wants to traverse it. I, being the newly freed adventurer that I am, expressed my desire to do it as well. Ever since I started making these changes and writing about them I find myself up to any challenge that presents itself to me when it comes to the human body and endurance. We decided that a year from that date we would reconvene on that subject and set a specific date and time to do it. So the table is set. I have until October 4th, 2013 to not only get a bike, but train myself to endure a 300+ mile bike ride over the course of a couple of days. Now that I have a target in mind, I launched myself into research mode. After a few minutes I stumbled across this site which lays everything out for the trip. Traveling the GAP (Great Allegheny Passage) and C&O Canal. What I gathered is this.
To learn more about it the trail and the expectations definitely check out the site! There's a lot of good information. I also found this website which explains how to train for a double century (back to back 100 mile rides- possibly in one day). After I get adjusted to riding a bike then I'll start working on my endurance training and stamina so that I can be ready in a year's time to ride this three hundred plus mile journey! In the mean time I'll add riding the stationary bike at the gym to the list of things to do. I'm treating this like I'm training for a race, but in actuality I'm thinking the whole thing will be more like a cruise than constant racing all the time. Even if I over prepare, that's fine because it'll make the trip itself much more easy on me. I'm really excited about this and so is Alex! Once I get the bike then I'm going to start writing updates- like the Frank to 5k Running program! And then hopefully by the time next year rolls around I'll be in good enough shape to take this on! Speaking of the Frank to 5k program, part two is coming along just nicely. Tomorrow I complete week one by running on the beach along the water line! Wish me luck! That's all for now! Until the next episode! I did it! A few months ago I went to play a game of dodgeball and I had a blast. Sadly I didn't have enough money to join a league at that time. My finances are improving and with the open enrollment, Chris and myself signed ourselves up! On Wednesday night we got to meet with our team for an orientation and open gym. I'm stoked that the team we're on is called the Mother Huggers! They are all about having fun and not caring about wins and losses. I'm not that good but it felt awesome jogging off of the court to receive high fives and congrats from other people for the effort! There is only one problem that I see is that each team has 20 players so it takes a while before you can get active. The first few minutes of the round is just kind of rows of people. The athletes and then the non-athletes. As people thin out then you get your opportunities to move more and throw the ball every once in a while. You gotta start somewhere though, right? In the mean time there are a lot of really cool people to meet and talk to. I look forward to bonding with these strangers over the next few weeks and forging bonds that will live forever! Also getting a really cool t shirt! :-D I decided that I had better outline what I'm doing for the second round of the Frank to 5k running program. In a nutshell, I went to the options menu and changed the difficulty from Easy to Medium. Instead of running on the elliptical I will be running on the Treadmill three to four days out of the week and on the final day I will be running on the beach along the water line. This program is designed to get me to run two miles in eight weeks in a half hour's time. I figured I'd use this as an in-between from running only on the elliptical to running out in the real world full time. This allows me to get a feel for running unassisted and the bar isn't as high as running three miles in a half hour. By doing this program I increase my chances of success since two miles in 30 minutes is easier to achieve than three miles. Once I finish this program then I will go on to the Couch to 5k version and that will be done completely outside. Below I have pasted the program directly from the article on Runners World. (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-520--9397-F,00.html.)
Week 1 "Sit as little as possible. Give no credence to any thought that was not born outdoors while moving about freely." --Friedrich Nietzsche Monday Run & Walk Run 1 min Walk 2 min Repeat 10X Walk Tuesday Walk easy 30 min Run & Walk Wednesday Run 1 min Walk 2 min Repeat 10X Walk Thursday Walk easy 30 min Run & Walk Friday Run 1 min Walk 2 min Repeat 10X Run & Walk Saturday Run 1 min Walk 2 min Repeat 10X Sunday Rest Training tip: To fuel up for your workout, have a piece of fruit or an energy bar about 2 hours before you lace up your shoes. An hour later, drink 8 ounces of a sports drink. The drink will ensure that you are fully hydrated, and also that you have sufficient sodium and potassium for a healthy workout. WORKIN I skipped the gym this morning. I believe it was for a good reason. I needed sleep! Last night we went to a potluck with the Couch Surfers group and had a good time. What is now becoming the usual, I didn't eat a ton of food last night. I'm to the point now where I don't need to boast anymore about that. I'm proud of me for changing the way I eat, but I think I've tooted the buffet horn enough! Anyhow, we ended up hanging out at the place until the early morning. Around 1:00 we left to go back to our place. Along the way, we happened to come upon a car in need. I had Chris roll down his window (cause my car is awesome and stuff and it chose not to come with power windows) and I asked if the two guys needed any help. They were both winded and gulping down water. Between breaths they accepted our assistance. Apparently the car stalled out while they were driving and they had to push it for quite a while before we came along. So Chris and I pulled into a parking lot and the four of us pushed this Bronco-like SUV up this hill. The grade got tougher as we went and another gentleman on a bicycle stopped to add to our manpower. When we got to the top of the mini hill the owner said that he lived at the bottom of the hill and to the left at the intersection and that they were fine. So we all wished them luck and took our leave. My lungs were burning as I struggled for breath. Chris and I discussed how it might have been smarter to have put on shoes instead of wearing sandals. By the time I got to the car I had caught my breath but my lungs were hurting and my shoulders were sore. Here we are at the world's end. Today I closed my eyes, jumped into the vast nothingness and took a plunge into my final run this morning. La Fin du Monde is French for the end of the world. This isn't the end of my running days but this marks the end of something that has changed my life! Due to the car issue, the last day I ran was Thursday of last week. Because I'm so awesome, I suffered no setbacks today besides a minor stitch in my side 3/4 of the way through. With no more delays, here are my FINAL stats for the Frank to 5k running program! Day 1 Here we are! Day one of the final week of my running program. I am going to run for 30 minutes nonstop. Confidence? I've got it for days! Overall the run wasn't that bad. I'm not used to going for so long so I ran into a small case of the checkums. The checkums is where you keep checking the clock every couple of seconds for a set period of time. Overall the run was pretty easy. It's crazy that I just ran for 30 minutes straight! To calculate my actual distance from running for 30 minutes I noted the distance I was at when I started running at the 5:00 mark and then again at the 35:00 mark and subtracted them. Now I know how far I can run in 30 minutes on the elliptical! Woo hoo!
3 mile time: 27:12 Time: 40 minutes total (30 minutes of running along with a 5 minute warmup and 5 minute cool down) Total Distance: 4.25 miles 30 minute distance: 3.64 miles |
Weight loss timeline:Starting weight: 446 lbs Archives
September 2016
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