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Compartment Syndrome?

The 5K run is coming up in one week and, although I am not yet nervous, I am becoming ever more curious as to whether my body will be able to hold up. I've been doing some research on the chronically tight calves that I have, that cause pain and numbness on many of my 2+ mile runs. Although shin splints do share some of the same symptoms, a telltale sign of shin splints is that the pain continues even after exercise ceases. In my case, the pain and numbness dissipate very quickly as soon as the exercise is over.

After much Googling, I am afraid I have come to the conclusion that I am most likely afflicted with what is known as "exercise-induced compartment syndrome," also known as chronic exertional compartment syndrome, which basically means that when I exercise, my calf muscles connected to my shin expand to such a degree that the sheath that contains the muscles, known as the fascia, does not have enough flexibility to expand and allow the muscle to function properly. According to the various websites I've seen, this leads to a very tight feeling in the legs, pain with each step, and tingling or numbness in the front of the lower legs and on the top of the feet as the expanding muscles and tight muscle sheath cut off blood flow to the peroneal nerve. Sound familiar?

The bad news about exercise-induced compartment syndrome is that the only foolproof method to completely relieve the symptoms is surgery. Apparently they cut along the length of the fascia, which gives the muscle room to expand without pain. However, surgery, like war, is a last resort. I have had this problem in the past, and I know from experience that when I drop a lot of weight, and generally get into better shape, my compartment syndrome symptoms virtually disappear. So I am hopeful that I can avoid a trip under the knife.

Currently, I have been able to reduce the symptoms by frequent deep tissue self-massage using The Stick. By massaging my tight calf muscles several times a day, I am able to effectively "pre-stretch" the muscles -- and possibly the fascia -- so that I do not get the symptoms while running. Most of the time, this is effective. Yesterday, I flung myself out the door and jogged 2 miles, walking twice for about 1-2 minutes each time, and I am very pleased to say that my legs were neither tight nor numb! However, a few days before that, I attempted a two-mile walk/jog, and my calves tightened up to the point where the pain was excruciating, and I had to walk most of the route. So, who knows. I have one week left until the race, and I will just do the best I can to keep my muscles limber until then.

I am also going to look into getting new shoes. I am told that several symptoms of compartment syndrome, and tight calves, and numbness, can be alleviated with the proper running shoes. Now, I had thought that my running shoes fit me just fine. But I haven't actually gotten fit for running shoes in seven years -- I have been using the same model ever since I was fit in a New Balance running store in 2001. All my friends who run in DC tell me to go to the Georgetown running company, where they will watch me run on a treadmill, and give me a shoe that will solve all of my problems. I am looking forward to this magical shoe, and I plan to go there as soon as the 5K is over. Well, maybe that week, as I am pretty sure that right after the 5K is over, I will be limping home and crawling into bed.

A great treadmill run -- finally!

In my experience, the days when you really don't feel like running are the days you have some of the best running experiences.

Today was one of those days for me. I had told myself that I was going to see if I could run a mile on the treadmill without stopping, but when today actually came, and I had free time, I really didn't feel like getting off the couch. Watching television is so much easier than running -- why run when I can watch reruns of Star Trek Voyager?

Ah, the Eternal Question. But instead of laying there, pondering, I decided to get off my fat ass and walk three blocks to the gym. I am glad I did. What followed was the best treadmill workout I have had in years.

I have never been able to test my Run-a-Mile-Without-Stopping ability when running outside, because I live on the set of The Sound of Music -- you know, rolling hills that are so much fun to spin around and sing songs on but a bitch to run on? I can't run a mile around here because I hit massive hills after half a mile!

Outside, I have been training at about 4.2 mph, which is a fairly slow shuffle. Today, I wanted to go faster. My goal? Run 5 mph, without stopping, until I have traversed one mile. Twelve minutes of nonstop running. Doable? I thought so. But it was going to be tough.

Once on the treadmill, I walked one minute to briefly warm up. Then I pushed it up to 5 mph, and we were off! The first five minutes were a breeze, as my pulse steadily rose from 130 to 150. I was still below 75% of my maximum heart rate, so it was still easy. But my pulse continued to rise, and soon it was approaching 165. Now it was getting tough. I knew that once I hit 13 minutes, that would be the one mile mark, so I was eagerly counting down the minutes until I could stop running. As I counted down, my pulse continued to rise. 170, 175, 179...

And there it hovered, around 175, for the last two minutes. It was hard... but I did it! As the clock hit 13 minutes, I hit the off button and jumped up on the handrails. Sweat was dripping from every part of me, but I had done it! I know it is kind of pathetic that my heart was working at 90% of its capacity to finish one mile at 5 mph, but I was still ecstatic. The last time I had an okay treadmill workout was one month ago, but at that point I had to use The Stick every few minutes, my legs tightened up incredibly, and I had to walk every few minutes. This is the first time I have been able to run one mile on a treadmill without stopping in several years. (I had been using The Stick religiously the past few days, and it paid off -- no tightness, no numbness!)

After the mile, I got off the treadmill for a few minutes, walked around, talked to some trainer friends, and eventually got back on the treadmill. My only goal for the day was really to see whether I could run one mile without stopping. Having accomplished that goal, I was fairly open about what to do next. I ended up jogging for a few minutes, walking for one minute, and repeating that several times, trying to keep my pulse around 150. Once I had hit 2 miles, my instinctual reaction was absolutely unprecedented, and it went something like this:

"Well, I have already gone 2 miles -- I might as well go 3!"

I cannot remember, ever in my life, having uttered something like that. I've already gone 2 miles, why not keep on going? What the hell is that? That is something a runner says! I'm not a runner! I'm a guy who is trying to run -- there is a big difference.

Unfortunately, just as I was a couple of tenths of a mile into my third mile, having pushed the speed up to 5.5 mph, the damned treadmill shut off. "WORKOUT SUMMARY," it said. Noooooo! Alas, my momentum was lost. After several seconds, I was finally able to turn the treadmill back on, but I only ended up running about 2.5 miles. Still, pretty impressive for me. :-)

After the 35 minutes of running/walking, I felt great. Hungry, as I hadn't eaten in about seven hours, but great. Full of energy, chipper, and just generally content. It was a great run, and I am extremely glad that I got off the couch today. Star Trek Voyager is nice, but not nearly as nice as an unexpectedly great running experience!

Mountains and Flatlands

I have been slightly hampered in my training so far because I have no idea how fast or far I can run on flat land. You see, I live in the middle of what must have been a prehistoric mountain range, because it is impossible for me to run a block in any direction without feeling like I should have brought ropes and carabiners.

The 5K that is coming up in just over 2 weeks, however, is flat. How flat? As the map below shows, other than a slight 20-foot downhill at the beginning (and corresponding uphill at the end), it is completely flat. (Yeah, yeah, there are a few bumps here and there, but after routinely covering 300 feet of elevation on my training runs, a 10 foot hill over the course of a block is fairly inconsequential.)

Now, it is possible that my constant walk/jogging on hilly terrain will make running on flat land a piece of cake -- I know things get much easier once I hit the flat straightaway on Wisconsin Ave. after 2 miles of uphills! (See: When I'm Not Jogging Up a Mountain, I'm Actually Pretty Good at This.) But I do wish I had more flat running experience, if only to give me the psychological boost I need. Right now, having not really run on flat land from the beginning, I'm not sure how I will do.

So... maybe I should pre-run the course this weekend to get my bearings?

Tight calves, numb feet, and the power of prayer

I am surprised that I haven't updated my blog in an entire week. Well, work week anyway. I want to say a lot has happened in the past week, because it feels that way. But really, not lot has happened. I completed a jog of 3.7 miles Wednesday night, but I am using all of those phrases very loosely -- it was not really a jog, I barely completed it, it wasn't really Wednesday, and so on. Honestly, the whole thing was a mess. My calves tightened up within a half-mile, and although the soreness did not preclude me from running, it did get fairly excruciating at points. Oddly, the trouble this time was really with my left calf, specifically with a band of muscle that got so inflamed that I could actually see it swelling and pushing out my skin. Not a pleasant sight.

Oh yeah, remember how a few weeks ago my right foot and outside of my lower right leg went numb? Yeah, about that... this time it happened in both legs. Yes, that's right, after about 1.7 miles both of my legs started to go numb. As you might imagine, this made training difficult. It was distracting to try to practice proper form while I could not feel my god damn feet! I sat down for about five minutes outside the National Cathedral and prayed to Jesus for sweet, sweet relief.

Well, I wasn't really praying, and if I had it would not have been to this so-called "Jesus" character; it would probably have been to Obama. But anyway, that's all beside the point because I did not pray. I just rested. And after a few minutes, the feeling in my legs came back, and I was able to run the last mile or so -- with a liberal amount of walking.

The point is, I am a mess. Things are tight and numb and just plain rotten. But I persevere, because I am some sort of masochist, or something. Or maybe it's because I know things will get better as my fitness level increases, my legs become more used to carrying my weight, and for that matter, my weight drops. I know I am about 30 pounds heavier than my ideal. And I also know, from experience, that once I reach my ideal, the problems with my calves virtually disappear.

Unfortunately, I don't see how I can drop 30 pounds before the Cherry Blossom 5K, which is just over two weeks from now. Looks like I'm going to have to learn how to run through excruciating calf pain and numb feet...

Or pray to Obama.

Disgusting General Tso's Feeling

I just ate an entire meal of deep-fried chicken, fried rice with little bits of pork, several steamed dumplings filled with meat, and an egg roll.

I feel absolutely disgusting. If you look at my Twitter account, which is quoted at right, you'll see that I have come to a revelation of sorts: a good, solid run of 3 miles can make me feel far better than a good General Tso's chicken combination platter ever can. This is, in many ways, a momentous epiphany, because that is not something I would ever have said several years ago, or even several months ago.

On Saturday, after my easy three-mile walk/jog, I felt absolutely invigorated. It had taken 45 minutes, I worked up a good sweat, kept my pulse beating at a vigorous 150 beats per minute, and by the end, I had a big smile on my face.

Instead of taking the 45 minutes today to consume a massive meal that I did not need, I should have taken that time to go out and do the run that I was planning. I told myself that the reason I was not running is because it was too late and the run would keep me up. But, the answer in that case is not to consume a gigantic meal that will leave me feeling awful. The answer, if I choose not to run at all that night, is to have a light meal and do the jog early the next morning.

I am going to sleep now, and hopefully, I will be able to do the run in the morning. I know this has not traditionally happened. But, I also have not traditionally had such an epiphany as I have had tonight.

"...an entire meal of deep-fried chicken, fried rice with little bits of pork, several steamed dumplings filled with meat, and an egg roll."

God, even reading that makes me feel nauseous. I don't want to feel disgusting anymore. I want to feel invigorated. I want to feel like I felt at the end of my last run.

Plan for Tonight...

The 5K is coming up in a very short three weeks, and it is time to start adding some speedwork into the fold. Not much, because I am a weakling, but enough so that I'll feel it. So tonight I plan to jog to the nearest high school track, then do a couple "fast" laps on the track with rest in between. My goal is to run the full laps at 80-90% of my MHR, without stopping to walk.

The Amazing Shuffle

I have been reading Jeff Galloway's book on running, called something very obvious and momentous, like, "Galloway's Book on Running." In the book, Mr. Galloway explains that on our easy jogging days, we should be keeping our heart rate around 65%. Definitely no more than 75% of our maximum heart rate. Now, my maximum heart rate is somewhere in the vicinity of 190 -- 195. When I run -- and I am using the term loosely -- my heart rate quickly exceeds the "easy" or "recovery" heart rate that I am supposed to be maintaining. On my last run, my training software told me that I was in the "zone four" most of the time. this means that my heart rate when I try to run is somewhere between 80 and 90% of my maximum. This is not good. Apparently, if I train too hard too often, one of three bad things will befall me:

1. Massive injury.
2. Susceptibility to nasty bugs and viruses.
3. Something called a "slump," in which a sad looking pencil drawing of a man is slumping against a wall.

I routinely suffer minor injuries, such as calves that get extremely tight, legs that turn into numb blocks of ice, and a bruised pride whenever I tell somebody I ran 3 miles in 48 minutes, and they respond, "isn't that just like a brisk walk?"

Yes, asshole. It is. I'm learning.

I'm not sure if I have slumped yet, as I am neither drawn of pencil, nor have I had to lean up against the wall in lethargy anytime recently.

I am pretty sure, however, that several nasty bugs and viruses have set up camp in my throat, from which they have launched their weeklong invasion on the rest of my body, leading to fatigue, lethargy, and the desire to slump up against a wall. I can only imagine that the reason I have been so susceptible to viruses is because I have pushed myself on what are supposed to be "easy" days.

So today, I tried something different. I stepped out the door with no intention of keeping a particular pace, or finishing in a certain time, or wowing my friends with tales of 13 minute miles. No, ladies and gentlemen, my only goal was to keep my pulse around 150 beats per minute, which would put me at about 75% of my maximum heart rate, ensuring that the entire run would be "easy" and the nano invaders in my throat would soon be destroyed by virtue and good health.

The first few minutes started out like they always do: I walked for a bit to warm up, and then I started jogging at a too fast pace of 5 mph. My pulse was steadily rising, surpassing 120, 130, and hovering around 140. Great, I told myself, everything is going according to plan.

Soon, with my steady pace, my pulse continued to rise. As it was still below 150, however, I was still okay to go. Then, the hills. As most of you know, it is impossible to run up hills at the same pace while keeping your heart rate steady. My pulse quickly began to rise, and I quickly began to walk. The next half hour was an amusing journey, in which, every 30 seconds, I looked down at my watch to find out what my heart rate was, saw that it was over 150, and backed off. All told, my average pace -- not that I am worrying about these sorts of things -- was 3.5 mph. Yes, that is a brisk walk. Not even all that brisk, come to think of it. But that is also a rather slow shuffle. And that is what I did: shuffled over 2 1/2 miles. I kept my pulse at an average of around 150 the whole time, except on the very steep downhill in which I had to actually run at around 5 mph in order to keep my pulse high enough -- characterized as over 145.

So, here are my findings: I felt like kind of a jerk shuffling along at 3 1/2 mph under the guise of "running." But I managed to keep my pulse around 150 the whole time, I added almost 3 miles to my running base, and for once, I would actually characterize my run as "easy." Yes, I was running at a very slow rate, but I felt great. I felt like I was getting exercise, and I finally understood what an "easy run" is supposed to feel like.

I realize that I am very out of shape, that I have never run before, and that I am starting out as a pure beginner. But I also realize that, if I continue to do this by the book -- Jeff Galloway's book -- I will build endurance and cardiovascular fitness at a slow, steady, and maintainable rate. If I keep this up, jogging two or three "easy" days a week (including my long-run), and one harder day in which I push myself and keep my pulse higher for a brief time, I will quickly improve.

I'm not sure if I will improve quickly enough to beat a time of 45 minutes in the very upcoming cherry blossom 5K, or whether Granny Smith with her walker will walk the 5K more quickly than I will shuffle it, or whether my name will forever be inscribed in the annals of the cherry blossom website as "that guy who was beaten by several 80 and 90-year-olds," or --

Wait, where was I?

Anyway, the point is, even though my run was pathetically easy, it was just hard enough, and I feel great. And I look forward to feeling great on a regular basis.

Taking it easy...

I have decided not to run tonight. I have a lingering chest cough, and I'm still under the weather. It is possible that a slow jog, in which I keep my heart rate less than 150 beats per minute, will knock everything loose inside and get the blood flowing and help me feel better more quickly... or the run could just keep me out of commission even longer.

Not that I'm making excuses, but I do have a choir concert this weekend, and I want to make sure I'm healthy!

In other news, my new voice recognition software arrived today and it is amazing. It is called MacSpeech Dictate and it is exactly what I have been waiting for... for as long as I can remember. This program works like magic. What does this mean for you? Probably a lot more blog entries. :-)

Realism

It's a good thing I took the time to run last night because, as I predicted, there was no way for me to squeeze my exercise in today. Now, the plan was to run in the morning tomorrow, which I thought would be feasible because I was exhausted all day today, and I was positive that tonight I would flop down in bed and pass out. Unfortunately, I am a total geek, and choir rehearsal revived my spirits like a jolt of caffeine!

I want to be optimistic but I have to be realistic: there is essentially no way I will be able to wake up early enough tomorrow to run three miles.

I can try to squeeze it in tomorrow after work and before dress rehearsal at the Kennedy Center, but again, I have to be realistic. The odds are I will be able to squeeze it in on Thursday, which will mean I'll have gone two days without physical activity.

Perhaps I can fit in a few push-ups tomorrow. Ha!

This is the problem with being a Night Owl. I have fun at night, but I cannot run because it will keep me up for several more hours. Yet I am still unable to go to sleep early enough to run in the morning. For God's sake, man, something has to change!

When I'm not jogging up a mountain, I'm actually pretty good at this

I'm coming off an illness, which is why I haven't posted in a while. I tried to run on the treadmill this weekend, but I was stymied by weak and tired (sick, really) leg muscles that couldn't carry me more than half a mile.

Today, after not running outside for 9 days (!!!), I felt mostly back to normal, and this evening I set out for a 3 mile jaunt. Out of shape as I am, I find it interesting that "going out for a quick 3 mile jog" doesn't phase me anymore! It seems like for years, 2 miles was this arbitrary limit, above which was the domain of Athletes and Runners, and as I was neither, I wouldn't even attempt it. But tonight was the third time I've attempted 3 miles, and it's kind of become the New Normal.

Not that a "quick 3 mile jog" is either quick or a jog. It's more like a "a 45-minute 3-mile jog:walk." But that doesn't have the same ring, does it?

Fearing tight muscles, I brought The Stick with me, but I found that I didn't really need to use it. (NB: It feels neat to run with a 20" stick in my hand -- it's like I'm carrying a baton in some sort of relay race!) Jeff Galloway's tables say that at my pathetically slow pace, I should actually be running 30 seconds, walking 30 seconds, and repeating. But I can't bring myself to walk that much! So I ran 2, walked 1.

It was slow going. I had gotten about 1.5 miles into it, and I was exhausted. This was hard. I started shortening the running segments, and then lengthening the walking segments. I was really exerting myself, even at my slow pace, and I felt as though I was carrying a massive invisible weight... why was this so hard?

Then I turned the corner onto Wisconsin Avenue. And suddenly it was easy.

I had been running uphill for a mile and a half. THAT'S why it was so hard.

As soon as I got to level ground -- not a decline, just level -- it was as though that invisible weight was lifted. After 2 minutes of jogging, my watch beeped to signify that it was time to walk for a minute -- but I ignored it. I'm going to keep running! After a minute, the watch beeped again to tell me to start running, and I kept at it! Here I was, halfway through my run, and I had the energy to jog for 5 minutes straight. A few cycles later, I did it again. I was 2.5 miles into my 3 mile run, and all I could think was, To Hell with the walk breaks!

I felt good. I was heading into a downhill. I was flying. My right foot started to go numb, but I didn't care. I had just finished reading Dean Karnazes' Ultramarathon Man, about a man who ran hundreds of miles at a time. He routinely lost feeling in his feet! Granted, this was after dozens of miles in brutal conditions; mine was after 2 miles at about 4 mph. Still, I felt kind of like Dean. I knew I'd get the feeling back. So I kept flying.

Near home, I finally listened to my watch and walked the last block, with the biggest smile on my face. It had taken a long time, but I had made it 3 miles, and I felt great. And ya know what?

I could easily see myself going 4. :-)

Running While Sick?

I skipped my planned 3-mile run today. Well, "skipped" is rather harsh; I prefer to think of it as "postponed" until tomorrow.

The reason I pushed the run back is because I felt kind of under the weather today. I have had a scratchy throat for the past few days, and today I felt lethargic and just kinda out of it. So I decided that a run might do more harm than good: it might push me over the edge of healthy into SICK.

One rule of thumb I've heard says that if your symptoms are in the head -- i.e. stuffy nose, sniffles, sinus congestion -- you can run. If symptoms are in the chest -- chest cough, chest congestion -- you should rest. But my symptoms were in my throat! Where does that count? Should I have run or not?

(The suggestion of Ian -- ever the engineer -- was that since my symptoms were halfway between my head and chest, I should simply run 1.5 miles instead of my planned 3. "It's simple," he said. Gotta love engineers.)

We are Okay to Go!

I am very pleased to report that my planned 3-mile run with longtime friend Diana went off without a hitch yesterday! The numb foot of Thursday night was, thank God, nowhere to be found. Perhaps this was due to the regular stretching and massaging I had done over the past couple days, or the new "parallel lacing" scheme I found on runnersworld.com that relieved pressure on the top of my feet, or fact that it was now a pleasant 45 degrees and sunny out. It was likely a combination of all of those things.

End result? A slow as hell 48:38 5K over very hilly terrain -- and by "hilly," I mean a 14% incline at one point. Ugh! Add to that Diana's refusal to let me deviate from her predetermined 3:1 run:walk ratio, and my 16 minute pace left me exhausted. They say you're supposed to maintain a "conversational" pace while running -- that is, be able to have a conversation without panting or gasping for air. Well, Diana will confirm that I did indeed keep it conversational... for about the first 8 minutes. After that, the conversation went something like this:

Matt (gasping): They ---- say ----- should ---- be ---- able ta ----- talk but ---- I can't ----
Diana (perfectly fine): Don't talk.
Matt (panting): Why --- can't ---- walk for ---- TWO minutes.....
Diana: No. We can reduce the running time if you want, but you can only walk for one minute at a time.
Matt (dying): Why --- aren't --- you ------- tired!
Diana (not tired): I am tired. I'm just not breathing heavily.
Matt: Wha? Howza?
Diana: I learn breathing techniques in Yoga.
Matt: bzz kjes fp eeee z (gurgle)
Diana: Don't talk. Focus on your form.
Matt (dead).

Mind you, this is all even more ridiculous than it sounds, as we were literally jogging at about 4 miles per hour. The only time I ran faster than that was when, around 2.5 miles into the run, Diana told me I could rest once we got to that Starbucks up there.

Zooooom!

Yes, I sprinted 1/10 mile to the Starbucks, doubling my speed to 7-8 mph, because that way I could rest sooner! Diana chastized me for sprinting -- "You shouldn't sprint at the end of your run! You're not going to get any benefit out of it! You're just going to get sore!" -- but I was just happy to finally have a chance to rest.

Shortly thereafter, Diana and I parted ways, as I jogged a final 1/4 mile around my block to hit the 3 mile mark, and she took the bus home.

No, she actually jogged the 2.5 miles home, on top of the 3 she jogged with me, on top of the 2.7 it took for her to jog to my place in the first place!

I hope I am never as crazy as Diana.

A Zone of Beautiful Contradictions

It is 9 p.m. on a chilly winter night in our nation's capital. The temperature is below freezing and our hero is sitting on the side of the road, immobile, poking at the top of his right foot and wondering why he can't feel anything. It looks fine, he thinks to himself. It can't be frostbite. He is a mile from home and afraid to run, for fear of doing even more damage. He has no cell phone, no money for a cab or for the bus. He has no choice but to hobble home, increasingly aware that although he was dressed warmly enough for running, he was nowhere near insulated enough for walking. As his Garmin counts down the minutes until he reaches home (20 minutes at his current crawl), he thinks back to a scene in one of his favorite books where the protagonist is left outside in the cold too long, and has to have his feet amputated. Surely that won't happen to me, our hero tells himself. Still... is this the end of my Cherry Blossom aspirations?

Tough Beginning

The training schedule said 3 miles, and even though I had gotten home late, and I don't normally like to run in the late evening because it keeps me awake, I had no choice. I mean, I had drawn up that nifty little 5K map and told the whole world about it -- and I couldn't disappoint the world, could I?

It was cold outside, but sweats, a long-sleeve wicking shirt, gloves and a hat keep me warm enough. I was rested, caffeinated even. I could make it.

After mapping out my route I uploaded it to the Garmin, so that it could beep at me angrily when I inevitably veered off course. I started on my adventure and my pulse began to rise... I walked for a minute every 3-4 minutes because that was the plan... but then around half a mile my calves became incredibly tight! I have had problems with tight calves for years, but I thought I had gotten over the problem several weeks ago. I stopped to stretch, and then continued running, and got tight again, and stopped to stretch. After about a mile, the pain hadn't let up, so I looked around for a stick to press against my muscles -- a poor man's version of the rolling-pin-like Stick that I use daily at home.

I found a suitable stick, rubbed it up and down my calves over my sweat pants, causing an oddly relieving pins-and-needles sensation. I felt better.

In the Zone

I pushed ahead, trying to keep my pulse in the 150-170 range. I jogged at a slow pace until my pulse hit 170, and then walked until it dropped to 150 -- since it usually takes one minute for my pulse to drop 20 points, this worked out well, averaging out to a jog 2-3, walk 1 pattern.

The jog wasn't altogether pleasant, but then something interesting happened: For a few minutes, I felt almost like I was in a Zone of Beautiful Contradictions:

1. I was exerting myself, working hard, and it was tough -- yet I felt like I was in a groove and could continue the exertion with minimal effort.
2. It was very cold out, the people I passed were bundled up from head to toe, and I could see my breath -- yet I felt comfortably warm.
3. All I could hear was my own breath and the pounding of my feet on the pavement -- yet with my steady 2-2 breathing pattern, the sound was rhythmic, quiet, and almost tranquil.
4. The world was dark and it was hard to see -- yet what I did see was beautiful: houses and paths bathed in the yellow glow of the street lamps.

At one point I passed an elderly couple walking a dog. One of them said to the other, "Hold the dog, there's a jogger coming." It took me a second to realize that they were talking about me. I smiled. Me? A jogger? Come now; I spend frigid winter evenings watching TV.

A Sudden End

As I passed the 2-mile mark, I felt good. With the walking and stretching, my overall pace was abysmal, but I told myself it's not about pace at this point -- it's just about conditioning my body to be able to keep moving. Speed will come later. Don't worry about it. Just keep putting one foot ahead of the other, focus on the feeling of each foot hitting the pavement.....

....hang on, is my right shoe coming unlaced?

I looked down. My shoe was fine.

....That's odd. Why can't I feel the shoe?

I stopped moving. With my left foot, I tapped the top of my right foot. Nothing.

Uh oh...

Contradiction #5: I had finally hit a running groove -- yet I couldn't feel my right foot.

I started to become a little panicky. I took off my sock, afraid of what I would find... but my foot looked perfectly normal. I reached down to feel it, but there was no sensation. It was as though the top of my foot had fallen asleep, along with the front and outside part of my right calf. Completely numb.

I didn't know what had caused the numbness, so I didn't want to risk exacerbating it by jogging the mile home. I didn't have my wallet with me so I couldn't catch a cab or take the bus. I had no choice but to walk. I realized that when you're jogging in sweats, 30 degrees feels like a comfortable 50. When you're walking in sweats, 30 degrees feels like THIRTY F#@$ING DEGREES.

On the walk home, I had a lot of time to think about what could be causing the numbness... and by the time I got home, I had figured it out.

Mystery Solved?

The working theory I had developed on the way home was that because I didn't warm up, and because it was very cold, and my right calf was far more tight than usual, the muscles in my leg ended up swelling so much that they cut off blood flow to the nerves running down the outside calf into the foot.

Within a few minutes of returning home and removing my shoe and sock, the feeling returned -- thank God! I turned my attention to the Oracle Google -- and I think I confirmed my theory. Several other people have reported the exact same symptoms, and no one is quite sure of the exact cause, but everyone is generally in agreement that it's some sort of pinched nerve.

But why did the numbness come on suddenly at the end of mile 2? Enter technology:

Look what happens 1.8 miles in: the elevation shoots from 330 to about 400 feet. That's equivalent to a treadmill incline of about 8 or 9 percent! Think about the angle that the foot hits the ground with a 9 percent incline -- it restricts the blood flow even more. End result?

Reduced blood flow to the nerve.

Conclusion

Now that I know what happened (I think), there is no need to stop my training. I just have to make sure I warm up before I go jogging in the cold, and I make sure to stretch and massage my calf muscles religiously. If it continues to happen, I'll make an appointment with a doctor, but this is the first time my foot has ever gone numb during a run -- and hopefully the last time for a while.

Next step: 3 miles with Diana. I am looking forward to showing her the Monster Hill that I have to face every time I jog through my neighborhood. It's not that I'm sadistic, just that I much prefer it if others suffer with me.

The 5K I am about to attempt...

The Endurance of a Kumquat

My GPS/HRM is providing some very useful data: Specifically, it has analyzed my heart rate as I attempted to jog for a couple of miles but petered out just before completing the first mile -- on completely flat terrain, mind you -- and it has determined that I have the endurance of a kumquat. I already knew this, of course, but now I have a neat little graph showing that I can only exert myself for about a mile, at which point my wittle heart just can't take it anymore. To-wit:



It's very interesting to be able visualize what I have felt on my "runs": I hate that first mile. I just can't get over how much I hate it. And it's not because I'm running too "fast" or anything; I seriously keep my pace at 4.5 mph, which is the speed at which most Washingtonians walk. But as you can see, on that first incredibly slow mile, my pulse increases slowly but surely from 150 to about 164, even though I am running at a steady pace. (Note: Ignore that little spike around 0.3 miles; I was dashing across the crosswalk at 7.5 mph before the light turned green!)

Anyway, what the graph shows is that my endurance SUCKS. A mile progressively taxes my body because I am apparently in very bad shape, and afterward, I can bring my heart rate back up but cannot maintain it. This results in a lovely series of peaks and valleys. Great for admiring. Not so great for building endurance.

I guess I will just persevere, and really try to stick to the Gallowalking program that has brought success to so many beginners. I am told that it will get easier, but there are no magic solutions. I just have to slog through it.

In other news, my Garmin Forerunner 305 is apparently smarter than me. About 1.5 miles into my jog on unfamiliar terrain last night, I got completely and utterly lost. Thanks to the Miracle of Technology, if you click here, you can actually see a little red dot run around aimlessly on a map, retracing his steps several times. That little dot, of course, is me. (Couldn't you tell?) In fact, the only reason I didn't keep on going in the wrong direction at the 26-minute mark is because I realized that the Garmin has a nifty "Return to Beginning" function, which will point a big stinkin' arrow in the direction of my starting point.

I suppose it is worth noting that even when the Garmin told me I was back where I started, I refused to believe it, and almost started panicking, until, on a whim, I pulled out my keychain and pressed the button. HONK! "Holy crap, I am where I started!" I said aloud to no one in particular.

This proves that not only do I have the endurance of a kumquat, apparently I also have the intelligence of a kumquat.

Carry on.

First Runs with the Garmin Forerunner 305

Well, this is momentous: I have actually stuck to the training plan so far (although I did have to jigger the days around somewhat to fit in my schedule), and I ran 6.5 miles between Thursday and Sunday!

As you know, my Thursday 2 mile treadmill run was tough as hell, but left me energized. Thursday night saw the arrival of my Garmin Forerunner 305, which I purchased from a once-technologically-minded friend who has since eschewed all running technology, preferring to run au naturale. (Apparently that also includes no longer updating his running blog!)

On Saturday, I had my first chance to strap up and use it. I must have pressed a wrong button or something, because the thing lost the satellite signal around .89 of my jog, and didn't find it again until I restarted the device. Oh well -- I still managed to go about 2.5 miles AND run right past everyone's favorite news personality, Tim Russert! (My brain didn't realize it was him until about 3 seconds had passed, and by that point I thought it would have been a little scary for me to run back to him, all sweaty, and tell him he was my role model.)

Saturday was also momentous because it was basically the coldest outdoor run I have ever attempted. Now, it wasn't that cold -- only in the mid-30s. But for a running novice like me, the fact that I actually attempted and COMPLETED a run in such frigid weather was fairly monumental! I suited up in wicking shorts, sweatpants over that, my long-sleeve wicking shirt, a zippered sweatshirt over that, a knit cap, and gloves. It was a pretty good combination! About 20 minutes in, I had to take off the hat and gloves because I was getting toasty, but other than that, I felt just great throughout the entire run. I was only planning to run 2 miles, but because of the GPS mixup, I ended up running about a half mile more. Total: 2.5 miles.

On Sunday, I went out again, this time in the opposite direction. I had mapped out a route that would take me to the National Cathedral and back along a circular route that didn't have too steep an incline. At least, that's what I thought from looking at the little upward sloping graph on USATF.org. It turns out that a little slope on the computer translates into a fairly intense hill in real life, especially when that hill comes around Mile 1, which is currently the point where I am most tired before I "get over it" and settle into a more "comfortable" higher heart rate zone. My pace was still excruciatingly slow, but that's because of all the hills. I'm hoping that when it comes time to run on a flat course, I will be more than prepared.

And my Garmin worked perfectly on Sunday! Click here for details about my run. (Note: The "8.8 mph max" from Sunday's run was on the last 1/2 mile, which is a very steep downhill. Now that was fun! Felt like I was flying!)

I pushed myself pretty hard this weekend so I'm giving myself a day or two off. The next run is 2 miles, and then after that I am attempting 3 miles. I think I'll be okay as long as I can find some flatter terrain. Wish me luck!

TRAINING LOG

Thursday, 2/21: 2 miles
Saturday, 2/23: 2.5 miles
Sunday, 2/24: 2 miles

TOTAL: 6.5 miles*

*For logging purposes, my running weeks will end with the Sunday "long run."

Slowest pace, hardest run

As you can see by the nifty Training Plan up at the top of the page, I have decided to give the Cherry Blossom run an actual sustained effort. Whether I can sustain that effort in the long run is debatable, and, frankly, unlikely if history is any guide. But this is the first time I have ever signed up for an actual race, so I am hoping that, like in my work and academic lives, the deadline will make all the difference.

So in order for the Runner's World SmartCoach program to calculate my suggested pace, I had to tell it how fast I can run a mile. That is, if there were an actual race and I was all pumped up and my friends were cheering me on, how fast could I run a mile?

I entered in "10 minutes." I think that is fairly reasonable, as back when I was in great shape a few years ago, I could do it in less than 8. And I could probably keep up 6 mph for 10 minutes...

Okay, it's a stretch. Anyway, the training program came back and told me that I should do my easy runs at a pace of 13:37 per mile. That is equivalent to 4.4 miles per hour. A slow jog. A fast walk.

"You gotta be kidding me!" I shouted aloud to no one in particular. "I can go much faster than that!"

But I decided to give it a try. Yesterday I stepped on the treadmill, set it to 1% incline, and set it for 30 minutes. GO.

The first couple minutes were easy as cake. I looked around, worried that the athletes around me would start snickering when they saw how slow I was going, while they were all at 6mph or above.

Then 2 minutes turned into 3. And 4. And 8. And that slow ass pace became HARD. I wasn't taking any walking breaks yet, and I guess I wasn't used to moving that fast for that long. I walked for one minute once I hit 10 minutes in, but then kept jogging until I had traversed a mile.

My time? 13:50.

I know this is pathetic. I know that it's 30% slower than I used to train at, and almost 50% slower than my best mile ever.

But it is also a beginning, and it was less than 14 minutes, which is good because 14 minutes is the slowest pace they allow in the Cherry Blossom run, as you have to complete the 10 mile course in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Any slower, and you have to jump on the Stragglers Bus.

It's not like I wasn't trying either. By the time I hit the 1 mile mark, my pulse was up to 170 and I was not able to carry on a conversation, as is the recommended effort level on Easy days.

I stretched for 30 seconds and then walked for the next couple minutes, before jogging again. I hit the second mile mark at 28:44, which means that second mile took me 14:54, including 3-4 minutes of walking.

At about 27 minutes, I had pushed the speed up to 5.0 mph and set the incline to zero, because I had wanted to try to break 15 minutes for that second mile. 5 mph, normally very easy at the beginning of a run, was brutal now. I was at an intensity of 9 or 9.5, and when I hit 2 miles, my pulse was up to 180.

I walked for a couple more minutes and then got off the treadmill, having gone about 2.1 miles in 31 minutes. I know, I have a long way to go. But even a journey of 10 miles begins with a single step. (Sorry for the cliche but it is true.)

An hour after my run, I felt great. I was relaxed and refreshed and full of energy. I felt renewed. And while I still don't like running, and doubt I ever will, I love the idea of challenging myself. And this is sure to be one hell of a challenge.

Habits

I was planning on ordering my standard General Tso's combo with dumplings last night, but I didn't feel very well and I wasn't that hungry so I just ended up making soup. And it was delish! And I didn't gain 5 pounds from all the deep-fried chicken that I missed out on. :-)

Haven't run in a few days. I cannot find THE STICK, and without THE STICK my calves tighten up to unbearable levels when I try running. I will have to find it soon or else buy another one. Eek.

Come ON!!!

FORCE YOURSELF TO GET UP IN THE MORNING AND EXERCISE!
The bed is NOT THAT COMFY!!
COME ON!!!

PS - I ate another General Tso's combo with steamed dumplings.

Got to

I've been so busy with trying to find a new place to live. It takes up all my evenings and so much of my weekends. I haven't had time to prepare healthy meals or to exercise. I have GOT TO make time. I am exhausted currently, and it's because I'm not exercising.

Matt Actually Enjoyed an Evening Jog

Executive Summary

1. I don't hate Ian.
2. I have found one of my joys of running.

Incroyable!

I managed to run for 5 minutes without stopping!

Twice!
And then a few minutes more!
And my legs didn't tighten up!!!

This is gonna be tough...

So I went jogging today after 8 days of not, and my calves got so tight I could barely jog at all. I walked for 1 minute, jogged at 5 mph at a 1% incline for 3, walked 1 jogged 3, then I had to take 5 minutes out to run The Stick up and down my tender, tender calves. I got back on the treadmill to go again, but I only managed a few minutes before I had to stop and massage my calves again.

I know I can get over this hurdle with constant stretching and frequent exercise, but right now I feel frustrated because my cardiovascular system is more than willing to jog for much longer than I can right now. It's the damn musculature that is the weak link. Grrrrr.......

Yes, but look at the ONE month graph...

I know that if you look at my total weight graph o' doom since I started keeping track of it, it looks like I've gained about 5 pounds. BUT if you look at the one month graph, the results are much nicer:



This means I am holding steady. So far so good. Next step: a DOWNWARD trajectory.

I vow this, my friends: One Day we shall rechristen the graph. No more shall it be Weight Graph o'Doom, but rather it shall become the Weight Graph o' Delight!

A Jog and Healthy Meals

Good news bad news good news.

The good news is that I doubled my walk/jog from yesterday. The bad news is that "doubled" means I managed a mile and a half before collapsing, compared to my paltry 3/4 mile yesterday. The good news is that I have a lot of time until the 10-mile run in April.

I got ahold of the Beginner training schedule from a couple of years ago, and this is what the first week of training looks like:

• Jan. 23 - 30 minutes
  Goal: Walk for 1 minute and then run for 2 minutes. Do this 10 times.
• Jan. 24 - 21 minutes
  Goal: Walk 1 minute, run 2 minutes (7 times)
• Jan. 25 - Rest Day
• Jan. 26 - 32 minutes
  Goal: Walk 1 minute, run 3 minutes (4 times)
• Jan. 27 - 24 minutes
  Goal: Walk 1 minute, run 3 minutes (6 times)
• Jan. 28 - Rest Day
• Jan. 29 - 36 minutes
  Goal: Walk 1 minute, run 2 minutes (12 times)

Once again, the bad news is that I am totally a beginner, and this training plan actually looks appropriate for me. The good news is that I am starting to train about three weeks before the training schedule kicks in, so I should be ready to go in a few weeks.

My meals today were good. A soy breakfast burrito this morning, a South Beach bar, South Beach chicken alfredo whole wheat frozen dealie, an apple. I did have a burrito from Baja Fresh, but it was after my jog and I was famished. The really good news is that I grilled a sirloin burger for dinner and ate it without the bun and it was DELISH. Then I had some baby carrots with hummus.

I'd say my calories for the day are around 2200, which is right on track. I have no idea what the Weight Graph O' Doom will say tomorrow -- I'm hoping for a green triangle instead of a red one -- but whatever happens, I know I did well today.

I think today's dinner provides a good model for the future. It's like a compromise: I can eat as much protein and veggies for dinner as I like, as long as I lay off the carbs. It'll work out because I can't see myself gorging on saturated meat or anything. Maybe two chicken breasts? A couple sirloin burgers with no bun? I'm not concerned.

Onward...

Starting 2008 off right?

So that green triangular area up on the graph from last week, that was when I went home to Michigan and dropped about 5 pounds. Of course, I probably didn't lose 5 pounds of fat -- much of it was likely water weight -- but it shows that when I don't eat big meals late at night, when I don't eat sodium-filled meals, and when I generally curb my calorie intake, weight loss comes quickly for me.

As you may have also noticed, the graph has jumped back up to my pre-Michigan levels. This is because two nights ago I ordered Chinese food, and last night I had ramen noodles. Both carry massive amounts of sodium, so I have no doubt retained several pounds of water.

It is interesting to note that the General Tso's combo I had two nights ago was incredibly delicious, but after I consumed the entire thing, I was completely incapacitated. Apparently 2,000 calories (at least) of a fat-laden meal, consumed quickly, causes me to get very very drowsy, become unable to do anything, and fall asleep.

Huh.

Some other interesting news: Yesterday I "began" "training" for the 10-miler in April, and I had an interesting finding... it seems I am unable to run a mile. Not because of any cardiovascular issue (my pulse didn't go above 120, when I am easily capable of maintaining 160+ for a long time), but because my calves were incredibly tight. This always happens after a long period of dormancy, and after massaging my calf muscles with THE STICK, everything worked fine again. But this shows that it will take me a couple weeks before I can get up to the distances necessary to properly condition my body for 10 miles.

Clad

Ian and I went to the Running Fit store in West Bloomfield yesterday to pick up running gear for me: lined shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, and socks. They're all the wicking kind, which makes perspiration magically disappear or something.

I looked for a hat or headband to keep the sweat out of my eyes and glasses, but because my head is monstrously ginormous, nothing fit -- UNTIL we made it to Dick's later that night. Dick's Sporting Goods is an amazing and awesome store, able even to wow the least athletically gifted among us. (Me.) Long story short, I picked up another wicking T-shirt AND, after trying on all the hats, I found a Nike wicking visor that just barely fits me on its largest setting.

Running is so much fun!

But... now I'm told I have to actually put these things on and run around and stuff. Yeah....... not sure about that one.

Okay, so here's the deal

I am aware that the (newly rechristened) Weight Graph o' Doom is on a seemingly unending upward trajectory.

I am aware (Diana!) that I haven't posted in a while.

I am aware that fitness has not been a priority.

That all must change.

I recently signed up for the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run on April 6, 2008. I have to start training for that soon, because currently I can run no more than 1 mile before I collapse into a steaming pile of perspiration. I am working overly long hours, but one of the guys there works the same hours (longer, actually) and still manages to fit in a 4- or 5-mile run every day. He just takes a long break in the middle of the day, and then uses the office shower on the 9th floor. If he can make time, so can I.

I'm not sure when I'll fit weight lifting in, but again, I have to make fitness a priority. I was at 213 this morning -- that's about the same as a year ago, so I haven't really gained, but 213 is not ideal. 183 is ideal.

So we have a number now. Thirty pounds. Let's break that up into easier chunks: 3x10. I will call them my Challenges. Challenge 1: Lose 10 pounds, bringing me to 203. Challenge 2: 10 more pounds, to 193. Challenge 3: 10 more pounds, to 183.

Godspeed.

Wow, a month already?

The title about sums this one up. I knew I hadn't posted in a while but I can't believe it's been an entire month! Huh. Well, here's a brief recap:

I started on Turbulence Training, which details incredibly efficient and ass-kicking workouts that one can accomplish in about a half hour a day for six days a week, or an hour a day three times a week.

I did this for a couple weeks, and found my muscles very sore and my energy buoyed, but then I became inundated with work.

I haven't run in the past month. It got cold and I got busy and that was the first thing to fall off the plate. But I still intend to do the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run in April, so I'll have to get started training soon. Ian has promised to pay for the entry fee as a birthday present. I told him that was an ingeniously twisted present.

If you look at the big honking graph at the top, you will see that my "weight loss challenge" is not proceeding very well, as I am up a few pounds from the start. But you will also notice that the green areas -- which signifies prolonged weight loss -- were immediately proceeded by a 2-mile jog. So it appears that that simple-yet-incredibly-difficult endeavor is quite successful at blasting away the pounds.

Right now I am supposed to do lots of work every day -- basically 10-12 hours a day doing contract attorney work -- so that doesn't leave a lot of time for exercise. But it turns out that there is a Washington Sports Club right across the street from where I work. It's not "my" club, but I am allowed to work out there during "off-peak" hours. I checked, and that's 2-4 pm. Perfect! I can work from 8-2, take a break by going to the gym for an hour or two in the middle of the day, and then return to work from 4-9. This will allow me to get my hours in (thus making gobs of money, woo!) while also getting my exercise in (thus destroying gobs of fat, blech!). The bad news is that I won't be able to implement this until after I return from my Thanksgiving trip. The good news is that the schedule should help me counter the recent weight gain and, hopefully, begin a downward trend that will see the newfound fitting of my oldfound pants.

come ON!

FORCE YOURSELF TO GET UP IN THE MORNING AND EXERCISE!
The bed is NOT THAT COMFY!!
COME ON!!!

PS - I ate another pizza.

Truths

Seeing the scale number jump so high this morning was upsetting, but it was not a shock. Two nights ago I had a General Tso's combo for dinner, and last night I consumed an entire pizza. The massive water retention that accompanies such sodium-filled eating is not surprising. I knew it was coming.

The good news is that this is almost certainly all water weight, and it is just as easy to lose as to gain. Well, not JUST as easy, but just as simple. Don't binge on crap for a while.

I was going to jog today but I couldn't because I didn't wake up early enough and I had rehearsal directly after work, and after rehearsal it was too late to exercise because exercise keeps me up.

But I will have time tomorrow. Odds are I won't be able to squeeze it into the morning, since my sleeping schedule is not on track yet, but there is no reason why I can't hit the gym after work. The night is clear and I want to make progress toward my goal.

I saw a rather bad picture of myself yesterday. It was taken at church this Sunday, and it is what I look like when I am singing on stage with the rest of the choir. As you can see, the double chin is HUGE:



It's photos like that which I want to avoid. I know from experience that when I lose weight, it first comes off my stomach, and then my face looks a little less round, and then, finally, it starts slowly coming off from under my chin. It really is a genetic thing: some people can be 50 pounds overweight and not have a double chin, and some people can be a perfect weight and still have some flab under there. It's genetics and there is nothing I can do about that, EXCEPT to try to minimize it as much as possible.

oooooh that's a pleasant surprise

I just weighed myself at the end of the day and the results were good! I normally put my weight into the physicsdiet log in the morning after i use the bathroom, so i'm not sure if my weight will be this low in the morning, and I want to document it now so that I can be publicly pleased:

205.6! Body fat is also down too.

If you look at the little chart, you'll see that i'm basically as low right now as my low point a couple weeks ago. So I have gotten over the weird red triangle hump, and hopefully it will continue. :-)

I didn't run today because I was quite tired, but yes yes I will jog tomorrow.

Really not a lot to eat today, as I was not hungry:

• Breakfast: Coffee with cream
• Lunch: Chipotle (chicken, barbacoa and guac) + barq's root beer

And...... that's it. I know, not exactly a proper diet, but I kept the calories down and I wasn't hungry! And believe me, I got enough protein in that burrito to maintain my muscle mass.

Good Day Today

I had a good day today, with the only indulgence being an order of fries with my late lunch (I wanted to fill myself up because I knew I wouldn't be eating again for a while). Here is what I had:

• Bagel and a bit o' coffee w/ cream, sugar (300)
  
• Turkey wrap with hummus - tasty! (200)
  
• South Beach bar (140)
  
• BIG pita sandwich filled with chicken, hummus and veggies; fries (yeah yeah); Mountain Dew (900)
  
• Spicy lentil soup with ripped up turkey breast; some raisins and peanuts (300)

Approximate rounded up total = less than 2000

It seems I don't need more than 2000 calories to feel generally satisfied during the day. I absolutely don't need to scarf down a whole pizza at night! I am hoping the scale will be back below 207 tomorrow, but who knows - I might have a delayed rebound upward from last night's pizza experience.

I haven't been able to jog in a few days because I have been uberbusy. But I am absolutely making time tomorrow afternoon.

AGAIN

I DID IT AGAIN I ORDERED AND ATE A WHOLE PIZZA EVEN THOUGH I WASN'T HUNGRY I DID IT OUT OF HABIT THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME THERE'S GONNA BE SUCH A RED TRIANGLE TOMORROW

---
Edit: Aaaaaand the scale went down. Green triangle. I'm confused.

Failure to plan

It is easy to overeat the day after a hard run, buoyed by the lingering satisfaction of a job well done, the emerging second-day soreness in my calves. It feels like I deserve it. It's also easy to overeat when you don't plan, when you don't eat every 3 hours, when you become famished at night and inhale the entire box of Kraft Mac & Cheese with cut up chicken sausage even though you told yourself you would only have half of it.

400 calories for bagel and coffee at breakfast. Then I was in the car for hours and succumbed to a Wendy's spicy chicken COMBO (yes, with fries) because it was right there, even though I didn't NEED it. Some peanuts and raisins tided me over after that, but 5 hours later I couldn't help but inhale the mac and cheese.

If I had kept my blood sugar steady by eating protein and carbs every 2-3 hours, I wouldn't even have had the DESIRE to overeat late at night.

Okay. Tomorrow is another day. But I will not be surprised if the scale's up tomorrow -- overeating ups the sodium which makes my body hold water like a sponge. Eek! Anyway, if I have the energy tomorrow evening, it will be time to jog.

A positive day

I would characterize today has a positive fitness day. I managed to run two miles even though it was excruciatingly hot outside. I do not intend to do that again. From now on, I will either run in the morning or in the evening, but not during the middle of the afternoon when it is approaching - or surpassing - record breaking temperatures.

So I ran two miles - well, walked and ran two miles - and did not ruin my diet today:

• Kashi GoLean Crunch with low fat milk - 300
• Half a pound of chicken breast with couscous and delicious hot sauce - 500
• Four pirogues sauteed in olive oil - 400
• A little bit of fat-free lemon sorbet - 100
• A diet lemonade and lots of water
  

Total: 1300 calories... is that right? I could have sworn that I ate more than that! I know that I have to eat more than that in order to maintain my muscle mass, because my base metabolic rate is around 2000.

That is very odd - surely I am missing something. But I can't think of anything - okay, time to have a protein shake and go to bed. :-) By the way, for any of you who are attempted to chastise me for low calorie intake, rest assured that I am not hungry! Don't worry - I would not purposely deprive myself too much. I know that I have to maintain a healthy eating lifestyle for life.

ADDENDUM: I remembered what else I ate today -- I grazed sporadically on raisins and low-salt mixed nuts, some organic peanut butter, and some cauliflower with hummus. I'd say it's an extra couple hundred calories worth. I also just ate a chicken sausage for 150 calories + some hot sauce. Still under 1800 calories for the day, and I was never hungry!

Katherine's Nutrition Tips

Tips from my Sister Katherine...
with editor's commentary from me!

1. chicken stir-fry. so easy. get your veggies and some sesame oil and some cut up chicken. use garlic salt or curry or whatever. but it's delicious, low-fat, and filling.

Yep, I too am a fan of the chicken stir-fry. I don't use as many vegetables as I should -- in fact I usually don't put veggies in at all -- but it is still delicious and low-fat and filling. I also use olive oil instead of sesame oil because it's very good for you.

2. cauliflower and hummus. one of my favorite snacks. also amazing with red pepper. it almost seems too good to be good for you!

I tried this suggestion and Katherine is right! Cauliflower + hummus = muy tasty, and filling too!

3. sugar free snacks. if you eat like ONE or TWO of the candies, it's much better for you than eating real sugar things.

I'm not a big sugar guy anyway, but good tip.

4. Wyler's lemonade. 0 calories, 0 grams of sugar. I live off of these things when I need something sweet. And it makes me want to drink water more.

If only I could figure out where to buy these... right now I'm getting my lemonade fix from Minute Maid Light Lemonade, 5 calories per can. Pretty tasty.

5. Ground turkey. Last night I browned ground turkey and added onions, broccolli, and some cheese with sesame oil. I didn't make a lot, but it was amazing!

I am also a fan of the browned ground turkey (in olive oil), but unlike Katherine I don't add veggies. That's not because I don't like veggies, but only because I am too lazy to cut them up and throw them in there.

6. SALADS! a key to success. add good things like turkey bacon or chicken. and stick with lite dressings or fat free dressings. cuz those will get you.

DO NOT LIKE SALADS. I am hoping there is another key.

7. if you are going to eat carbs, only eat WHEAT. and not fake wheat. there can't be any enriched flour. only whole grain flour. wheat bread, wheat pasta, brown jasmine rice. a serving size of spaghetti is equal to the circumference of a quarter.

"If you are going to eat carbs.." hahaha... I love my carbs. Eating them is a given. I cannot go through life remaining healthy and fit and SANE if I am forced to give up carbs. But yes, I try to get the whole grain stuff -- it keeps me fuller longer.

Progress is being made.

My run two days ago accomplished several important and positive things. As soon as I returned home, I realized that I had no cravings whatsoever for any bad foods. Whereas traditionally I have a very high chance of ordering pizza in the evening, after I returned from my two mile run, during which might pulse reached the very high number of 193, I had absolutely no desire for pizza. Or Chinese food. I actually had a hankering for - get this - vegetables!

The next day, I felt refreshed. Quite invigorated. Instant rejuvenation is a common side effect of exercise for me, and so when I do jog, for instance, I can take solace in the fact that even though weight loss may take several months, I will feel energized within days.

I was going to go for a run tonight, and I even when so far as to put on all of my jogging clothes, attach my heart rate monitor, and warmed up my muscles. But I was procrastinating because the thought of going back out there and running for two miles was not pleasant.So by the time I was finally ready to go, it was after ten o'clock. And there have been several crime alerts in this area recently. I am not making excuses! Alright, I am. But I did manage to walk around the block, and I swear to God I will go jogging tomorrow.

There is more good news though, which is that my resting pulse was at 72 beats per minute today! A couple of weeks ago there was nothing I could do to bring it under 85. It is amazing how fast cardiovascular changes can occur when starting - or, in my case, restarting - a fitness program!

One more thing: I find it very amusing that the graph of my weight fluctuations that the top of this page corresponds exactly with the days in which I have chosen to eat healthy, binge, and eat healthy again! Seriously, I could draw a box around the red area on the graph and write, "pizza!" And it would be exceedingly accurate and appropriate.

I saw my reflection in the door way to my apartment building yesterday, and it was very easy in my mind's eye to visualize what I would look like as a skinny person. I liked what I saw.

About to run... well, jog/walk

Long-time chum Ian, who told me about "Body for Life" 1/4 of a lifetime ago, just told me about another book, called "No Need for Speed." It's about running, and it is aimed at people like me -- we who have never thought of ourselves as "athletes." It's very motivational, and so far it's working.

I have long had a love-hate relationship with running. I hate getting out there, and yet when I'm out there it isn't so bad, and when I return, I usually feel pretty good. Tired but good. The longest run I've ever done was 6 or 7 miles, back when I was a senior at the University of Michigan. The date was September 28, 2001. I ran from central campus all the way to north campus, rested, and ran all the way back. Wow! I was thrilled! So proud of myself!

I didn't run again for years.

I don't know why. Maybe I thought I couldn't surpass that one-time burst of activity. In any case, I know that running has great benefits, both on the psyche and on the waistline. My mother has taken off 60 pounds in the past year by putting one foot in front of the other on a treadmill, and she looks and feels great now.

If she can do it, I can do it... Here is the 2-mile route I mapped out (well, 1.96 -- close as I could get):



At my peak running efficiency (mid-2003), I could jog 4.5 miles without stopping. It took 45 minutes, so it was slow, but it was steady and constant. Today, I'll be lucky if I can do the 2 miles in 45 minutes. :-) Anyway enough procrastinating. Time to get out there.

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Addendum: I DID IT. I missed one leg of the job because I took a wrong turn, so it was more like 1.86 miles, but there were a SHITLOAD of UNEXPECTED HILLS and I sprinted toward the end and got my pulse up to 193 at one point. It took 31 minutes. I HATE IAN.

Yeah. I know.

Today is Turkey Day

I made a tasty meal today. For several months, ground turkey breast has been sitting in my freezer. I don't even remember purchasing it - it must have been during one of my many weight loss kicks. Anyway, the "use or freeze by" date on the label was July 31st, and I know I had frozen it by that date. So today was Turkey Day!

Rudy, my little parrot, is enthralled whenever I am in the kitchen cooking. He was positively ecstatic as I ground over a pound of turkey breast at once, drizzling it with olive oil and my many spices. As usual, the most important consideration when cooking over a pound of turkey breast and a bunch of pasta is portion size. I scooped out about one-quarter of the dish, put it on a plate, and put the rest in the refrigerator. Together, Rudy and I feasted on our turkey pasta!

• Starbucks Eggs Florentine sandwich and grande iced chai (700 calories)
• string cheese and raisins (200 calories)
  
• turkey pasta (600 calories)
• a couple of diet lemonade (10 calories)

I plan to have a bit more food today, but as of now I am holding steady at just over 1500 calories. Pretty damn good. And I am really not even hungry. Seriously, it is all about portion control. If I were not obsessed only trying to watch my food intake, I would have absolutely no problem ordering a pizza right now. I just have to tell myself, I will not lose weight unless I make a concerted effort to.I have not yet made it to the gym, but as you can see by the trend line above, I am losing just under half a pound per day. I am sure that will even out, but it is still nice to see - with out even setting foot in the gym!

Weight: 205.4 - 208.4

Habits

• Breakfast: Starbucks -- Grande Iced Chai Latte + Pepper Bacon Egg Sandwich (620 calories)
• Lunch: Potato and Cheddar Pierogies, a little lettuce (250 calories)
• Snacks at Rehearsal (200 calories)
• Dinner: Chicken and Rice (380 calories)
• Low-sugar apple juice with Greens+, a few diet lemonades (75 calories)

TOTAL: 1525 calories

That really seems pretty low... I keep thinking I'm missing something between the starbucks and the pierogies, but I cannot for the life of me recall anything else. So I guess that's that. Wow! Not bad, not bad at all. I know it's actually a little low, but I really haven't been hungry or anything.

Oh, and get this: Tonight after rehearsal I went out to the bar with everyone else like I have the past couple weeks, but instead of my usual (about, oh, 3 Yuenglings), I decided not to get anything! That's right, not a single beer! You see, I usually have three pints because it takes at least that much for me to feel anything. (My tolerance, for some reason, is quite high.) But I don't have to get tipsy to enjoy spending time with my Choral Arts friends -- they are quite enjoyable in a sober state. So I didn't get anything to drink, and ya know what? I still had fun. And I didn't consume a meaningless 600 calories.

It's all about habits. My goal is to change them, one step at a time. So far, so good......

Weight: 205.8-207.6

Introducing the Temptation Index

I think it's time to introduce a new concept to my readers. I speak now of temptation. Today I went through my entire day and only succumbed to temptation once, and even that momentary lapse was not very great. So I thought to myself, how might I go about describing my daily menu while also conveying the difficulty I had in sticking to healthy diet? And thus the temptation index was born.

I think that I want to have two numbers: one for how much temptation I felt that day and one for how clean my eating Was that day. I'm not sure if higher numbers are better or worse. This is all very new for me as well as you, so please bear with me while I work out the kinks. Without further ado:

• Breakfast: a delicious smoothie made with protein powder, frozen berries, a bit of milk and orange juice, a banana, greens powder, and some honey (300 calories)
• Lunch: the leftover Chinese food from last night (500 calories)
• Snack: the remainder of the smoothie (100 calories)
• Dinner: pad thai frozen dinner (400 calories)
• Snack: small piece of matzah with natural organic peanut butter, one scrambled egg on a small whole wheat wrap, and some edamame with a dash of sea salt ( 300 calories maximum - and I think I'm estimating high)

grand total: 300 plus 500 plus 100 plus 400 plus 300 equals 1600 calories!

Not bad. Not bad at all. Oh, yeah, the temptation index! Damn, I forgot about that. Okay: the temptation that I faced throughout the day was somewhat high. And I gave into it, but only once - and that was because the Chinese food was sitting right there and I had already paid for it. The second time I felt temptation was about two hours after my frozen dinner - I had an urge, like I do most nights, to order a pizza. I could very easily see myself giving in to temptation, and simply ordering that pizza, and eating it and feeling like crap. But I didn't give in. I looked at the refrigerator, and thought, what do I have here that could get rid of my pizza craving? What would fill me up? Sometimes when I want pizza, instead I will have a piece of whole wheat, toasted, with torn up string cheese, a bit of tomato sauce, and a drizzle of olive oil. Today, however, I realized that my pizza craving was not very strong, and I did not need to replicate the taste of pizza in order to quell it. So I simply ate what ever: peanut butter, an egg, and edamame that had been sitting in the freezer for two months. :-) It worked!

Right, right, temptation index! Hmmm..... 8? 5? 8/5? Oh, who knows. This is all too confusing. All I know for sure is this: 1600 calories baby! Yeah!

Weight: 206.2 - 208.2 (That is the range given by my scale today, starting at the beginning and ending at the end.)

Not so hard...

Eating the right things isn't so hard. What's hard is changing INGRAINED HABITS. But all it takes is a conscious, concerted effort. Remember how I didn't order pizza delivery last night? And you know how I've been trying to eat healthier the last couple of days, and limit my portions? Well today I got on the scale and I was at 205.8 -- down two pounds from yesterday, and four pounds from the day before. It is fairly obvious, then, that when I eat like CRAP, I retain water like a mofo. That's why I feel fat and look bloated and am all sluggish. Cut out the insane number of calories, limit the sodium intake, and I can at least get down to a reasonable "starting weight" for another go of exercise.

All is not lost.

Weight: 205.8

Baby Steps to Curbing Bad Habits

It is so hard to change the way we do things. It is so hard to break out of bad habit, especially when that bad habit feels good. I think my worst nutritional bad habit, at the moment, is ordering delivery at night, and eating the whole thing -- even if I'm not particularly hungry.

Ending this bad habit is far harder than one would think. I KNOW, intellectually, that ordering pizza or Chinese all the time is stupid. It's fattening, it's expensive, and I don't need it. You don't have to tell me all the reasons it's a bad idea -- I KNOW it's a bad idea. And it is SIMPLE to change: just don't order delivery at night anymore.

Oh, how simple indeed. Alas, "simple" and "easy" are not the same. Getting a law degree is straightforward: just follow the steps. Take the LSATs, apply to law school, pick one, and attend it for three(ish) years. Do the work. Boom, you have your JD. Is it simple? Yes. Is it EASY? Hell no.

I think that in order to stop doing what I KNOW is bad for me, I have to dig deeper. I have to get to the EMOTIONAL reason why I do what I do. Is it because pizza tastes good? Well, yeah, sure, but that's a bit too superficial. I think I am really eating because I am bored. Because I don't want to do my legal work, and I am looking for anything that can allow me a short reprieve. Perhaps because my good friends have left town and I don't really have a lot of people to hang out with, so I pass the time by eating pizza. I don't know.

But whatever the reason is, I didn't succumb to my bad habits tonight. Nope. I wanted a pizza. I love my pizza. I was bored. All the reasons above. And yet I knew that I didn't need it and I would only feel a momentary burst of pleasure, followed by hours or days of guilt and sluggishness. So I made some chicken breast instead. I ate that and washed it down with my super veggie drink. And ya know what? It was tasty. And satisfying. And I DIDN'T spend ten dollars and consume 2,000 calories at 11 p.m. (I think the chicken breast and drink came out to about 350 calories.)

So, yeah. I don't know if I'm going to be posting a lot on this fitness blog, but I probably will whenever I am struggling -- which I am now. The good news is that I am about the same weight as I was a year ago. I haven't lost, but I haven't gained either. So that's good news.

Ugh.

I don't know how, but I must have gained ten pounds in the last month.
Seriously, it seems like I was just down to 202 in August, and my tummy was getting flatter and everything. Then I lose Sweetie to North Carolina, and my NAB job ends, and suddenly everything is up in the air and what do I do to sooth myself? Eat. And what do i do because I'm home all day telecommuting? Eat. I eat when I'm NOT EVEN HUNGRY. WTF??!!!!!

So now, as usual, I feel like a total fattie. Last week I was incredibly sluggish, but then I forced myself to finally get to the gym, and now I don't feel sluggish anymore. But I do feel chunky, and I can see the difference in the mirror, and I can feel the difference in the tightness of my pants.

It's very frustrating because when I stand shirtless and look in the mirror, I see a guy with muscles -- they just happen to be buried under layers of fat. How much fat? I'd say I could lose 20, 30 pounds. Heh... I've been saying that for the past couple of years, haven't I?

Thing is, Jake and Gweeps just came to visit, and they are 236 and 278, respectively. I don't think I'll be nearing Gweep's proportions anytime soon, but 236? That's a lot closer than I like to think. A few years down the road... a pound a month... and BOOM. 236. Gradually. Naturally. Catastrophically.

Blech.

Hmm.

I haven't been to the gym in 2.5 months.
I actually exercised fairly regularly while studying for the bar...
And even through March.
But since I returned to DC, I haven't had access to a gym!

And yet I haven't gained much weight. Perhaps I have lost... I'm not sure. I haven't stepped on a scale since I came to DC either.

Will keep you posted.

Awesome

I only had a few minutes, but I wanted to get a workout in. I went downstairs to the apartment gym, which was already somewhat full. I staked out the decline bench -- the one where your head is below your feet -- and grabbed a couple of 25 pound dumbbells. The next few minutes proceeded quickly and intensely:

• 12 reps of dumbbell presses; no rest before next set
  
• 12 reps of dumbbell flyes; no rest
  
• 12 reps of dumbbell presses; no rest
• 12 situps

Rest 30 seconds

• 12 reps of standing alternating dumbbell curls; no rest
  
• 12 reps of dumbbell shoulder presses

I saw a girl looking at me. Probably noticing that I was hardly resting at all, just going in there like a tornado, busting the place up, and getting the hell out of there. I put the dumbbells back, grabbed a cup of water, and left the gym. I was positively giddy! I wanted to laugh, or shout, or jump for joy. It was a great little workout, a great boost of energy, and I could just feel that it was doing my body good.

I think that's what I need. More mini-workouts to keep my heart pumping and my muscles growing. In just a few minutes, I had hit my pecs, abs, biceps and shoulders. Take note.

Maybe T-giving week isn't a good week to start a diet program

Today was not a good diet day. I got a Burger King combo for lunch and then met my friends for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Tomorrow will be no better -- with a flight to Michigan and a turkey buffet, there is no way I am getting any exercise or a healthy diet. I will just have to start back up on the weekend, I suppose.

I did stop by Target tonight and pick up a few diet-related things: South Beach meal replacement bars that look very tasty; Kashi meal replacement bars that look equally tasty; and Xenadrine EFX. I used Xenadrine back before ephedrine was banned, and it really gave me a lot of energy. The energy is very useful in getting you motivated at the gym -- you're literally bounding with energy, and you feel almost compelled to work it off at the gym. I'm looking forward to trying the ephedrine-free version. (Though, fwiw, I didn't have any real jitters with the ephedrine formula, and I think it's a shame the FDA banned it.)

Oh! I also found a very tasty protein drink: WorldWide Pure Protein vanilla shakes with 35 grams of protein per serving. It comes in a can, so I don't have to deal with messy, inconvenient powders; it's only 160 calories (and almost no carbs or sugar); and it's actually quite palatable! I wouldn't go so far as to call it "delicious," but it's definitely much better than the vomit-inducing concoction one makes from those giant jugs of protein powder. (More expensive too, at $2 per serving vs. about 30 cents per serving, but what point is cheap protein if it's too disgusting and/or inconvenient to drink it?) So I plan to order a shipment from the Web and include a can or two in my daily diet regimen...

Will keep you posted.

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ADDENDUM: Perhaps it's a sign of my general exhaustion that I completely forgot I had already discussed the Pure Protein drink in my last post. Please accept my apologies. :-) (But it really is good -- you should try it!)