I woke up this morning and canceled our Meals on Wheels run because Thumper was acting very sick yesterday afternoon. I couldn't get him a doctor's appointment until this morning, and when we went, the doctor said, no, he's not sick. He has allergies. She gave us free samples of Claritin, but confided that she's had better luck with Zyrtec. After seeing the Zyrtec prices at the drug store, I wish she'd had free samples of those. The Claritin must have worked some, though, because when we got home, Thumper said he wanted to go to the gym. It's nice having someone help me stay motivated by encouraging me to go.
I figured since I worked out yesterday and plan to work out tomorrow, I'd take it easy on myself, maybe give my knees a break and ride one of the recumbent bikes instead of running on the treadmill. But when I got there, I stepped up on the treadmill and thought, "I wonder if I can finish 10K without stopping?"
So I ran 10K non-stop today, for the first time since May! And I was only about a minute and a half behind my best time. I ran a faster second half than first half, and I burned about 1200 calories, earning 13 Activity Points. That's a pretty good day!
Now that I know that I can actually finish a 10K, I think I'm going to alternate between 5 and 10K runs. I'll work on speed on a 0.0 incline on the 10K's and work on increasing the incline on the 5K's.
My headphones shorted out on me halfway through today's run, though. I'm not sure if this was sweat-related damage, but I'll have to replace them, and soon. Who knows what I could have accomplished today if the right song had come along!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Because I Can, Mostly
After a couple of weeks, my training and weight loss program is going well, except that I'm having a hard time staying motivated on the not drinking part. I haven't gone crazy and still managed to stay within my allowed Weight Watchers points each day, even when I do drink, though.
Which reminds me: it is kind of amazing the number of points that I'm allowed as a large male. On days when I don't drink, I've regularly had around 20 points left over at the end of the day, and I'm not starving myself. I'm just making good choices.
I've lost 7 pounds so far. I'm pushing myself on every workout, too, improving my 5K time every time I run, except for today, when I significantly increased the amount of time that I ran on an incline, so though I didn't go faster, I did work harder and burn more calories. Choosing the right music makes a big difference for me. Last Wednesday, I picked a play list that Aerie made and called "Cardio." I was running out of steam about halfway through, and at the perfect moment, Fatboy Slim's "Because We Can (Can Can)" came on and saved my workout.
Today, the Chemical Brothers got me through with "Horse Power."
Which reminds me: it is kind of amazing the number of points that I'm allowed as a large male. On days when I don't drink, I've regularly had around 20 points left over at the end of the day, and I'm not starving myself. I'm just making good choices.
I've lost 7 pounds so far. I'm pushing myself on every workout, too, improving my 5K time every time I run, except for today, when I significantly increased the amount of time that I ran on an incline, so though I didn't go faster, I did work harder and burn more calories. Choosing the right music makes a big difference for me. Last Wednesday, I picked a play list that Aerie made and called "Cardio." I was running out of steam about halfway through, and at the perfect moment, Fatboy Slim's "Because We Can (Can Can)" came on and saved my workout.
Today, the Chemical Brothers got me through with "Horse Power."
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Huzzah! Also, Boo!
It wasn't as tough at the gym today as it was on Monday, and I was able to run continuously for a complete 5K. After Monday, I wasn't expecting to be able to do that for another couple of weeks, so that's exciting. I ran mostly on a flat incline, but I finished with a short sprint and felt good afterward. Also, I weighed in 2 pounds lighter than Monday, and despite what I said yesterday, I did not drink anything last night except water. I know it's only the middle of my third day, but so far I'm meeting all of my goals and exceeding my expectations.
Good enough.
Also, Jungle Java, our favorite indoor playground closed a couple of months ago. Thumper finally asked me today, "Can we go to the jungle place with the pretend animals on the walls?" When I told him it was closed down for good, he had a hard time understanding the concept.
"But we can go later."
"No, it's closed for always."
"But we can go to a different Jungle Java."
No, there aren't any other ones. That the was the only one."
I tried and tried to explain it, until at last he said, "I think Jungle Java is in jail."
Good enough.
Good enough.
Also, Jungle Java, our favorite indoor playground closed a couple of months ago. Thumper finally asked me today, "Can we go to the jungle place with the pretend animals on the walls?" When I told him it was closed down for good, he had a hard time understanding the concept.
"But we can go later."
"No, it's closed for always."
"But we can go to a different Jungle Java."
No, there aren't any other ones. That the was the only one."
I tried and tried to explain it, until at last he said, "I think Jungle Java is in jail."
Good enough.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
He Already Knows That Forever Young Would Just Suck
For Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa gave Thumper Modern Publishing's Treasury of Illustrated Classics, a box set of 16 children's versions of classic novels. His set has some different titles than this one on Amazon, including Black Beauty, Moby Dick, The Secret Garden, and Oliver Twist but you get the idea. He has been very interested in looking through the books one by one and asking us questions about the illustrations, but he has resisted actually reading them at bedtime. Last night, though, he decided he was ready.
I have to admit, I'm curious what a children's version of Moby Dick might be like. If they removed all of the bits about whale biology and the history of whaling through the mid 19th-century, it might be just the right length. But instead, what we started with was Peter Pan. I was excited to start his very first chapter book.
We read the first chapter, about the mother's perplexity over the presumably imaginary Peter Pan who manages to leave dried leaves and muddy footprints in the nursery while the Darling children are sleeping, even though the nursery is three stories up and he never uses the door. When we finished the first chapter, I told Thumper we could read more the next night, and he thought that was a good idea. We talked about the characters on the cover and in the couple of illustrations in the first chapter. When I told him that Peter Pan is always a little boy and never grows up into an adult, he furrowed his brow. I asked him if he'd like to be a little boy forever, and he said, "No!" in a tone of voice that clearly communicated that he thought that was the dumbest question I could ever have come up with. Why would anyone want to stay a kid?
I can understand why he feels that way. Being a kid has been tough lately. We're in a near-constant battle of wills these days, and most of the time he winds up on the losing end, though he puts up quite a fight. It's been a struggle for me, too, and I feel like most of my time is spent feeling either angry or guilty. I tell him to do something, and he ignores me. I tell him again and he ignores me. I say it louder, and he growls at me, hits me, throws something at me, or yells, "You keep saying it over and over!" And the next thing I know, we're both yelling at each other until finally he's wailing through a timeout in his room.
Today, though, when he refused to eat his lunch and then threw his spoon at me when I said he couldn't have dessert, I skipped all the yelling and carried him calmly to his room. He wailed, "Daddy! Daddy!" through a 3-minute timeout, and then I sat with him in his rocking chair and quietly explained that all of the yelling makes me feel bad, and I don't want to do it anymore. I'm the Daddy, and it's my job to keep him healthy and safe and teach him how to be polite. He's the kid, and it's his job to listen to me. From now on, he can choose to listen to me and we can keep playing and having fun and getting nice treats sometimes, like dessert, or he can choose not to listen to me and go straight to timeout, but we're not going to do the part where I tell him something, he ignores me, and we yell at each other anymore.
"But I don't like timeouts," he said.
"Then you should think about doing what I ask you to do. Does that sound like a good plan?"
"Yeah."
"I love you."
"Now can I have some dessert?"
I've heard that 4 is sweet. But it's only Tuesday, and 3 is already making me question my resolve not to drink.
I have to admit, I'm curious what a children's version of Moby Dick might be like. If they removed all of the bits about whale biology and the history of whaling through the mid 19th-century, it might be just the right length. But instead, what we started with was Peter Pan. I was excited to start his very first chapter book.
We read the first chapter, about the mother's perplexity over the presumably imaginary Peter Pan who manages to leave dried leaves and muddy footprints in the nursery while the Darling children are sleeping, even though the nursery is three stories up and he never uses the door. When we finished the first chapter, I told Thumper we could read more the next night, and he thought that was a good idea. We talked about the characters on the cover and in the couple of illustrations in the first chapter. When I told him that Peter Pan is always a little boy and never grows up into an adult, he furrowed his brow. I asked him if he'd like to be a little boy forever, and he said, "No!" in a tone of voice that clearly communicated that he thought that was the dumbest question I could ever have come up with. Why would anyone want to stay a kid?
I can understand why he feels that way. Being a kid has been tough lately. We're in a near-constant battle of wills these days, and most of the time he winds up on the losing end, though he puts up quite a fight. It's been a struggle for me, too, and I feel like most of my time is spent feeling either angry or guilty. I tell him to do something, and he ignores me. I tell him again and he ignores me. I say it louder, and he growls at me, hits me, throws something at me, or yells, "You keep saying it over and over!" And the next thing I know, we're both yelling at each other until finally he's wailing through a timeout in his room.
Today, though, when he refused to eat his lunch and then threw his spoon at me when I said he couldn't have dessert, I skipped all the yelling and carried him calmly to his room. He wailed, "Daddy! Daddy!" through a 3-minute timeout, and then I sat with him in his rocking chair and quietly explained that all of the yelling makes me feel bad, and I don't want to do it anymore. I'm the Daddy, and it's my job to keep him healthy and safe and teach him how to be polite. He's the kid, and it's his job to listen to me. From now on, he can choose to listen to me and we can keep playing and having fun and getting nice treats sometimes, like dessert, or he can choose not to listen to me and go straight to timeout, but we're not going to do the part where I tell him something, he ignores me, and we yell at each other anymore.
"But I don't like timeouts," he said.
"Then you should think about doing what I ask you to do. Does that sound like a good plan?"
"Yeah."
"I love you."
"Now can I have some dessert?"
I've heard that 4 is sweet. But it's only Tuesday, and 3 is already making me question my resolve not to drink.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Good News, Bad News
Six weeks away from the gym, and wow, it was hard. It's amazing how quickly fitness fades when it's not used. The good news is that I went. Also, I've gained less than I guessed. The bad news is that I was only able run for 12 consecutive minutes before walking, and at a slower speed with a flatter incline. I also did some weight exercises on the machines, but at less weight than previously. But at least I went, and at least I discovered that I am able to do some weight training with my still-broken finger (I went back to the orthopedic specialist last week and had another x-ray, which still looks remarkably like the old x-ray: a scattered jigsaw puzzle. Occupational therapy is helping, but I still can't bend the it.).
Now to just keep on keepin' on!
Now to just keep on keepin' on!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Start Again
I recall from my adolescence when my father and I watched British comedies on PBS each Sunday night that there was an episode of Monty Python in which the voice over would periodically throughout the episode say, "Start again..." and the title sequence would run again and the show would start afresh.
Yeah, my weight loss saga is kind of like that.
Tomorrow I will be returning to the gym after a 6 1/2-week absence. I've eaten whatever I wanted during that time and have no doubt I've gained 10 or more pounds in the interim. I ultimately want to take a look into the Paleo Diet and see if it's right for me. I heard about this diet from Le Trevolution! whose transformation since I first met him has been inspiring. I suspect some of my respiratory troubles may come from my diet, and I want to see if eliminating dairy and grains helps. I haven't done the work to become informed and plan ahead for that yet, though, so this week my goals are: exercise 3 or 4 days, count Weight Watchers points (on the old Flex plan, because who has the time or money to keep up with Weight Watchers constantly changing plans?), and not to drink on weekdays.
So I've put some numbers on the sidebar that I hope will help keep me motivated. Here's to 200 in 2012!
Yeah, my weight loss saga is kind of like that.
Tomorrow I will be returning to the gym after a 6 1/2-week absence. I've eaten whatever I wanted during that time and have no doubt I've gained 10 or more pounds in the interim. I ultimately want to take a look into the Paleo Diet and see if it's right for me. I heard about this diet from Le Trevolution! whose transformation since I first met him has been inspiring. I suspect some of my respiratory troubles may come from my diet, and I want to see if eliminating dairy and grains helps. I haven't done the work to become informed and plan ahead for that yet, though, so this week my goals are: exercise 3 or 4 days, count Weight Watchers points (on the old Flex plan, because who has the time or money to keep up with Weight Watchers constantly changing plans?), and not to drink on weekdays.
So I've put some numbers on the sidebar that I hope will help keep me motivated. Here's to 200 in 2012!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Happy Birthday to Me
I am soon to be 39, and naturally that makes me think of 40. If it's to be ready in time, I should get started on the birthday present that I want to give myself for my 40th birthday: a me that's not overweight for the first time in about 20 years.
I've done this so many times in my life that I'm going to try not to set my goals too high. Mostly I want to return to some idea of reasonable in portion control, alcohol consumption, and exercise. The portion control part will be in the vein of Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers has been the most effective weight loss program I've ever tried, but it's tedious and joyless and I've never been able to keep up with it for very long. I'm going to try again, though, and if I can stick with it long enough, maybe I can establish a new pattern for myself.
I'm also going to try to eliminate alcohol, not from my life but just from my routine. It's a part of my routine, which doesn't make me proud, but it does make me fat and sometimes surly.
And exercise. I was doing well on the exercise portion of the program for quite awhile, losing weight when I ate right and maintaining weight when I didn't. Then I broke my finger, and got pneumonia, and Thumper got sick, and Thumper got sick again, and now I've been over a month out of the gym and have put on 10 pounds or so.
When I think about maybe finally being healthy when I turn 40, it's great to have the inspiration of Greg Moyle, who's following a Couch to 5K program, and Captain Carl, who's posting weigh-in pics and talking openly about his struggles. There's also Le Trevolution, the father of a smart, funny, and pretty darn cute little girl just a little older than Thumper. He's doing Crossfit and following the The Paleo Diet and looks amazing. I'm doing physical therapy for my finger at a facility that also offers Crossfit, and his name is all over the bulletin boards there that show off the weekly standings. I went to a Crossfit session with him in October, and though the puke bucket and the manly yelling weren't for me, it was a great reminder that a narrow focus in exercise, like running on a treadmill over and over, is a quick path to boredom and doesn't create the broad-based strength and endurance that helps one succeed at all sorts of physical activities, like keeping up with a three-year-old.
So, there you go. My mid-range goal will be to improve on my Warrior Dash performance in April, and my long-range goal is to weigh around 200 pounds by the time I turn 40. If my sidebar becomes a list of short-term goals, successes, and failures, you'll know why.
I've done this so many times in my life that I'm going to try not to set my goals too high. Mostly I want to return to some idea of reasonable in portion control, alcohol consumption, and exercise. The portion control part will be in the vein of Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers has been the most effective weight loss program I've ever tried, but it's tedious and joyless and I've never been able to keep up with it for very long. I'm going to try again, though, and if I can stick with it long enough, maybe I can establish a new pattern for myself.
I'm also going to try to eliminate alcohol, not from my life but just from my routine. It's a part of my routine, which doesn't make me proud, but it does make me fat and sometimes surly.
And exercise. I was doing well on the exercise portion of the program for quite awhile, losing weight when I ate right and maintaining weight when I didn't. Then I broke my finger, and got pneumonia, and Thumper got sick, and Thumper got sick again, and now I've been over a month out of the gym and have put on 10 pounds or so.
When I think about maybe finally being healthy when I turn 40, it's great to have the inspiration of Greg Moyle, who's following a Couch to 5K program, and Captain Carl, who's posting weigh-in pics and talking openly about his struggles. There's also Le Trevolution, the father of a smart, funny, and pretty darn cute little girl just a little older than Thumper. He's doing Crossfit and following the The Paleo Diet and looks amazing. I'm doing physical therapy for my finger at a facility that also offers Crossfit, and his name is all over the bulletin boards there that show off the weekly standings. I went to a Crossfit session with him in October, and though the puke bucket and the manly yelling weren't for me, it was a great reminder that a narrow focus in exercise, like running on a treadmill over and over, is a quick path to boredom and doesn't create the broad-based strength and endurance that helps one succeed at all sorts of physical activities, like keeping up with a three-year-old.
So, there you go. My mid-range goal will be to improve on my Warrior Dash performance in April, and my long-range goal is to weigh around 200 pounds by the time I turn 40. If my sidebar becomes a list of short-term goals, successes, and failures, you'll know why.
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