Back At It

252.

Been fighting a mancold and a sore back but have managed a few runs around the back cove. Trying again this morning. On the brief downhill stretch I kind of feel like a runner.

Old Friends

255. Ran around an old friend--the Back Cove running/walking path--last night with old friend and running buddy Scott. Met old friend Sam afterwards. New friend left achilles tendon are pain was present but manageable. It was a nice run, and a great visit. We've pledged to make it a Wednesday night habit.

2 Setbacks

260.

Shit! I just ate too much. I'm pissed at myself about it. I must do better. I was making progress.

It's not an excuse, because I got my 31 miles in (11 running, the rest walking) but I got too aggressive with my running early in the week and tweaked my left Achilles tendon, or the area around it. It's still tender and sore. I can walk, though.

I must have a better week this week.

Diversity

256.

My 31 miles this week consisted of 11 miles walking, 5 miles running, 5 miles rowing, 6 miles cross country skiing, and 4 miles snow shoeing. The snow shoeing was a new experience and I liked it--a winter hike through fresh snow up a steep rise. Hard work, beautiful, fun, nice. I need to do more although I guess that's next winter now.

I completed the Tabata course (6 weeks) and it definitely helped my fitness level. I got my push-ups in.

This week will begin training for a Kettlebell competition on May 1. Also, the weekly blend will start to skew towards more running.

3 More Days

254.

The weather sucks: high 30s and wind driven cold, cold rain. Impossible to walk or run, and not producing snow so no x-c skiing either. With 3 days left I have goals to meet! Specifically, I need 1 more Tabata, 16 more miles, and 130 more push-ups to hit my weekly targets. And we're stuck in this weather pattern so I'm stuck inside. Treaadmill and rowing machine, here I come!

Moderately Disappointing

257. This after a monster exercise day and a very successful exercise week. I guess I ate and drank too much although it seems I did neither in excess.

I did hit my goals: 31 miles (5 running, 6 cross country skiing, the rest walking). 4 X Tabata. 400 push-ups.

This week will be the last of the 6 week Tabata program. Running will start to increase as a percentage of my 31 mile (yeah, let's make it 50K rather than 30 miles) goal.

Must manage the intake.

One More Good Day

255.

I need one more good day to finish a strong week. I'm going to run and walk a combined 8 miles to get my 30 in. I'm going to do a Tabata to get my 4 in. I'm going to do 40 push-ups to get my 400 in.

Have I mentioned that cross-country skiing is great? It's great exercise, it's fun, and it can be beautiful. It's just a challenge to find snow. But these photos from Bear Notch (in North Conway, NH) prove that there is some snow out there.

The 30 Mile Per Week Threshold

257.

I need to get to 30 miles this week (last week was 26 miles) and stay there. Forever. Walking, running, X-Country skiing, and indoor rowing miles all count as a mile. There's enough variety in that composition to allow for injury, weather challenges, boredom, and other malaise and still get the 30 in.

The lack of snow continues. makes for great walking weather though.

Some Rules of Moderation

258.

1. Never drink enough booze so that you need ibuprofen (or aspirin or tylenol) the next day.
2. Follow the same rule in exercise: no medicine to get through a workout or to recover after a workout.
3. In eating and drinking, it's quality, not quantity.
4. Exercise duration should be short enough so that there is no need to worry about chaffing.
5. Follow the no chaffing rule and you can wear real clothes. No spandex, polyrazzmatazz, etc. is necessary.
6. Also, eat and drink real stuff: no gatorade, gels, powershots, hornet urine, etc.

These Boots Are Made For Walking

258.

I've just about walked them out, though. I bought these Merrell Somethingorothers for the winter of 06/07, and I need them for about 2 more months. They'll come through for me, I'm sure. They actually looked pretty good at one point. Now they look a little run down at the heel. So do I though. And I don't hesitate to pull them on to go for a long winter walk. I hesitate only a bit when I pull them on for a night on the town.

Signs of Progress

257.

Winter Walks

259. It's strange hearing about all the snow in places that normally don't get much snow. Stranger because we aren't getting any snow and we're supposed to get snow. It makes for good walking weather, though.

Hanging In

259.

The no snow trend continues, which really helps my walking possibilities. I've also been hitting my other workouts. I haven't had a weigh in below 259 since I started this, I'm hopeful about tomorrow morning.

I enjoy the walk (commute) for the most part. The city bits are interesting. Outer Congress Street has some nasty road noise and ugly strip mall like qualities. The iPod helps with the road noise, though. And there's some bizarre beauty in places like Johnson's Sporting Goods, although I've never been tempted by 357 ammo or Shiners (some kind of bait?). Espo's Trattoria is the exact midpoint in my commute--the 2 mile point.

Back At It

260.

Walked both ways yesterday, and did a rowing machine Tabata, in addition to my 100 push-ups. My hands prevent the snatch Tabata. The rowing machine is every bit as tough, though. Saturday's result was 101, yesterday it was 100.

The Seesaw

262.

Missed a Sunday workout. Ate, drank too much.

Walking and Jogging

259.

I can't call anything I do "running" yet but it's clear that even moderate jogging and walking really help with weight control. The snow is gone for now, and my walking has picked up as a result (I realized this morning that I hadn't driven my car in a week).

My back hurts a bit and my foot hurts a bit--typical symptoms for an uptick in walking. Both very manageable at this point.

My hands are the limiting factor in my kettlebell work. I'm about 1 snatch away from ripping my callouses off, which forces about a week off and is very painful. As a result, I've switched to the rowing machine for my tabata. Yesterday, my low score (the definitive score) was 99 meters--on the 6th of the 8 20 second pieces. The first time I tried a rowing machine tabata my low score was 91, so that's nice improvement. We'll see how it goes today.

Survival

261. Finished two business trips and I'm right where I started: 261. Need to kick start this thing now.

The Weekend and an Upcoming Challenge

259.

In addition to the normal weekend moderation challenges, I have a business trip from Sunday night through Tuesday night. I don't travel well. This will be a challenge. I must rise to the occasion!

Damn!

260. 260. 262.

Too much lunch, two days in a row.

I need a new plan, since I'm executing on my current plan and having no results.

Temptations Abound

260. Limited myself to 2 pints and a bomber bottle (Arrogant Bastard), ate almost nothing. Had a good workout. Got my 100 in. And stayed the same.

And there's so much good beer here. We're in the national news again. You can read about it here.

The Week Ahead

260.

I'm feeling like I can make some real progress on the fitness and health front this week. I just need to stay the course.

Living a two minute walk from a fish monger has its merits. I was craving scallops yesterday for some reason. A short walk, a hot pan with Pepperino olive oil and some salt and pepper, some rice and some spinach, Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA, and I had a Sunday afternoon feast. And enough leftovers for dinner tonight. Urge satisfied.

Strange winter weather today--rain and fog. It's supposed to be similar tomorrow. Maybe it'll wash away enough snow so that can get back into walking mode. Plays hell on the cross country skiing though.

From My Balcony This Morning

An impressive sunrise, and a huge tanker--aided by tugs--moving silently through the water. They had to put the bridge up to accommodate.

Need A Big Finish

To the week. 261.

It's important to plan meals and avoid spontaneous eating of junk food. I violated this credo and paid the price yesterday: nachos and battered (coated in something not beat up) fried vegetables became my evening meal when the comfort of beer with friends at the GLB dinged up my get up and go.

My workouts have gone well this week. 4 Tabatas and the associated warm-up. 3 runs (25 minute jogs). I got my 100 push-ups in 4 days (my plan). Did a nasty kettlebell sequence on Wednesday. Night skiing on Tuesday. Today the plan is really hard: the monster (a 60 minute kettlebell sequence) in the morning, a cross country ski outing in the afternoon.

I'm going to eat well today also. Quality, not quantity.

The Weekend

260. The weekend is always a challenge. An additional challenge is some right foot soreness. I need to eat and drink very sparingly.

It's Going to Take More Effort

261.

I'm going to really have to ramp it up to make any significant progress on the weight loss front.

Eating a whole bunch of chinese food last night didn't help matters, though.

Just Plain Stuck

261, 262.

The heavy snowfall has made walking to/from work impossible. So, despite some nasty workouts I've had no weight loss this week. I guess I need to do more (less, actually) on the intake side.

On a positive note, the night skiing worked well. There's enough light polution at the Riverside golf course so that the visibility is fine.

Stuck the Landing

262. 262.

I survived the weekend in maintanence mode. The new challenge: a big, beautiful snow storm which makes walking to work temporarily unfeasible. Time to uptick the cross-country skiing.

The Weekend

262.

The weekend is always a challenge! This weekend also includes long hours driving, which inspires bad food consumption and limits workout time.

The goal is for the Monday morning weigh in to be 262 or less.

Back At It

262.

I didn't walk, or workout, yesterday and the uptick in weight reflects the lack of calorie burn.

I'm back at it today but need to be careful managing the minor twinges of plantar fascitis flare-up.

Some Progress

260.

Snuck in a second walk at lunch time yesterday and had sushi for dinner. Little steps, stay on task.

Today's plan includes cross country skiing after work.

A Tabata A Day

262.

In addition to the walk yesterday I did my version of running: a 2 mile waddle. This was after work. Before the walk I did a thorough 10 minute warm-up (joint mobility exercises plus swings, push-ups, and planks) then blasted through a Tabata sequence using kettlebell thrusters. All in all a good workout day.

I ate and drank moderately as well.

Tabata is a Japanese exercise physiologist who discovered that having athletes work all out for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest X 8 (4 minutes total) produced significant fitness gains. It's supposed to work for non-athlete chubbos like me, too. I'm going to find out.

The Commute

The first part of my commute is nice, a brisk walk up Park Street (shown here). It gets a little ugly after that. It'll be cold, too, it's 10 degrees F. But the sunrise is beautiful and the air is clean and crisp: I'm looking forward to it.

Went cross country skiing yesterday. Despite my lack of balance and grace this is a wonderful thing to do, on many levels.

It's On!

265.

I entered a weight loss contest with/against my friends George--who makes my last few months as an insurance executive bearable--and Greg. Greg is the recently published author of the highly acclaimed memoir My Midlife Crisis. They are pictured here.

Killing Two Stones...

.....as they say in Lewiston. 263.

Sam is spending the rest of his school break with Kim, at Holly Haus. That's fine, she looks after him like the big sister that she is, and they love each other. It's a good thing. Left a little unclear, though, was the status of my car. It became more clear this morning. Anyway, this is all back story. The point is, I didn't have a car so I walked to work. It's not bad--a bit icy in places--but on balance ok. It was about 28 or so degrees F. I was overdressed up top in wool sweater and leather coat (sweaty) but comfortable in jeans and wool socks elsewhere. Barring terrible weather, I'll make this a habit. It takes 70 minutes to cover the 4 miles.

Recovery?

262. Feeling slightly better. I may try a workout today.

Update: after a thorough 10 minute warm-up/joint mobility session I hammered out a 4 minute Tabata snatch workout. 8 snatches each side during the 20 seconds of work. Very tough! But good.

Losing The Cold/Flu Battle

263. Feel shitty.

Battling the Cold/Flu

264. By overeating? Oh well.

I'm feeling badly but convinced the Zicam helps. I'm also taking a break from the workouts for now.

Let It Snow

262. We're in the middle of 3 days of snow--none of it blizzard-like, just a steady downfall that is starting to accumulate. I think I'll try to sneak out for some cross-country skiing. Or go back to bed and read a book.

The New Year

262. Exactly the same weight as when I started this blog on December 13. I suppose that getting through the holidays and maintaining weight is a good thing. yes, that's right--it's ok!

I'm fighting a cold, and Zicam seems to genuinely help reduce the symptoms.

On New Year's Eve, I drank (among other things) a Burnt Trailer. This is a Maine classic: equal parts Moxie and Allen's Coffee Brandy. It is absolutely wretched. If all booze was Burnt Trailer and Beer (??) with the word Light (or Lite) in the name, I'd easily give up drinking today and never look back.