Good News

Don't worry! Unlike certain BAD periods in the past, three weeks of silence in this case does NOT mean I have given up or fallen off the wagon or anything like that. I have just been busy with my new job.  :-)   Admittedly it is harder to fit a daily workout in when I have to leave for work at 8:30. I have not and never will be a morning person, and so morning workouts are simply out of the question. I've tried them; even when I can force myself out of bed (which is doubtful), I am never awake or energetic enough to get a good workout going.

So I've tried to fit workouts in after work, but it's tricky. I've mostly been getting them in on the weekend. I'm averaging about 2 workouts a week, which is not ideal, but it's better than nothing. My weight is holding steady.

Here's the REALLY GOOD NEWS. I've compared my weight and body fat logs from 4.5 years ago to now, and it turns out that although my weight has gone up 3 pounds, my body fat has actually gone down over one pound! Which means I've lost more than a pound of fat, and gained more than 4 pounds of muscle!

I still have a lot more to lose, especially around the middle, but it's nice to know I haven't completely dropped the ball these past several years. :)

Today's Workout:

• 36 mins recumbent bike (pulse avg 130-140)
• Leg Press: 10 reps at 170 lbs, 10 @ 240, 10 @ 290

Treadmill and crunches = good combo

I wouldn't go so far as to say I've "fallen into a routine," but I've noticed that I tend to naturally follow my treadmill C25K runs with 60-80 Swiss ball crunches. It works out pretty well, and I'm in and out of the gym in less than 45 minutes. And I feel great when I'm done!

I finished Week 3 of C25K today. Less than 60 days now until the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. Honestly I don't know if I'll be up to 10 miles by then. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to handle it from a cardiovascular standpoint, but I'm still just worried about doing too much too soon and getting another stress reaction in my metatarsals, like I did back in aught-nine. But we will see how I feel a couple weeks before the race; if I can't handle it, I'll drop down to the 5K and shoot for 30 minutes.  :-)  (OK, 35 minutes.)

Today's C25K didn't feel quite as easy as a couple days ago -- my body is likely still rebuilding from the 9 mph I threw at it! -- but I did keep the treadmill between 6 and 7.5 mph on the running portions, I didn't have too much tightness, and I felt pretty good overall. It's still hard to believe that in just two weeks I'll theoretically be running 20 minutes without stopping! That's what the program calls for anyway. We'll see if that happens.

I'm not sure exactly how high my pulse got while running, but just after finishing the last 3 minute run it was around 170. Yesterday I ordered a Polar heart rate monitor, so starting with my next run I will be able to monitor my heart rate continuously over the treadmill. I enjoy heart-rate training, as it lets me know quite naturally when I should pull back, and when I can push harder.

My new job starts tomorrow and I am super pumped... it's back to a journalist's life for me! I won't be able to workout tomorrow, and maybe not Friday either, but I will hit it again on the weekend and I'll try to figure out a way to incorporate fitness into my daily routine once I actually have to leave for work every day by 8:30!

(Say what you want about unemployment, but I will miss the lazy mornings and 11 am workouts.)

Here's a picture from today between sets on the Swiss ball! Good runs + good crunches = happy Matt!