Running (and lifting) while fasting...

I'm a Muslim and part of my faith is to fast in the month of Ramadan.  Fasting entails abstinence from food and drink from pre-dawn (that first crack of light) to sunset.

Ramadan began on August 1, 2011 and I've been fasting every day.  I've also been running and lifting.  It hasn't been easy, but it isn't as hard as some folks might think.

In the early days I tried two strategies.  The first was to workout just before sunset (usually 1 to 2 hours before).  The idea was to limit the time between the end of the workout and the time when I can eat and drink.  This strategy worked.  I did it this way for a few days.

After the first few days of Ramadan I tried strategy #2 which involved working out after I broke my daily fast.  This was a disaster.  I tried to eat enough to energize myself but not so much that I would feel bloated.  I found that once I ate something and started hydrating, I was too tired to work out.

If I were alone, strategy #2 may have worked, but I am blessed with a wonderful family.  The breaking of the fast is a communal time followed by a prayer.  By the time I finished up with these obligations it was already 9:30pm.  I had to be up by 3:30am to eat before that first crack of dawn so working out after 9:30pm would leave too little time for sleep.

Strategy #1 - working out just before the breaking of the fast each night - was formally adopted as the way to go.  After work I either go home, change into some workout clothes and hit the road or I get home and head straight to gym.

I feel good.  Normally I get very sluggish in Ramadan.  This year, in addition to the running and lifting, I've been very particular about my eating.  I've definitely indulged in some rich foods at special gatherings with family and friends, but mostly I've stuck to veggies, quinoa, lean meats and my protein + fruit smoothies made with unsweetened almond milk.

This Ramadan I'm not just running my usual 12 miles per week.  I set goal of 80 miles for Ramadan (it's part of a fundraising effort for orphans in India).  That's considerably more miles than I normally run.  It turns out to be 40 miles per week.

As much as I'd like to sound nonchalant about it, the truth is that running the additional miles every week is challenging!  I've been experiencing soreness more than in other months because currently I'm running almost everyday.  I have to because I don't really want to try running longer distances while I'm fasting.  The longest I've gone is 5 miles.  The trade off to running fewer miles at a time is that I need to run 6 or even 7 days per week.

In addition to the running, I've also continued to lift weights.  It's not as often as before Ramadan, however.  During the first two weeks of Ramadan I lifted twice each week.  I think that's about what I expect to do this week and next week as well.

I'm glad I pushed myself to workout this Ramadan.  No excuses!

New shoes, comfortable feet, better runs!

Yesterday I went to Dick Pond Athletics store in Schaumburg, Illinois.  I wanted to talk to some knowledge folks about running shoes, and maybe buy a new pair.  I bought the Asics Gel - 1150 running shoes after an 1 hour in the store.

First of all, I highly recommend the store because they have everything and they're very helpful!  I believe the person who worked with me last night is named Phil.  He looked at my walking patterns, we looked at video of my jogging on a treadmill (in their store!) and we went through about 8 or 9 different shoes of varying qualities (stability, cushioning, etc).  There was zero pressure to buy.  I never said I was going to buy anything when I first walked in.  Of all the shoes Phil showed me, the one we finally agreed on wasn't the most expensive ones I had tested out.

Secondly, the excitment and the psychological impact of having new running shoes paid dividends immediately (and perhaps the mechanics of the shoe as well).  I went out for a run last night after sunset.  I ran 3.27 miles in 38 minutes.  That is my best time so far and my first 5K isn't until 5/31/10!  Also, I know I had enough energy to go another 1/2 mile at least.  I decided to stop because I didn't want to overdo it.

Today is a weight lifting day but I hope to be back on the road on Saturday morning for another round of running with my new Asics Gel - 1150s!

20 lbs down and feeling better

While I haven't written on the blog in a while - that will change soon as I just bought a MacBook Pro today and now will be able to write more regularly - I have been keeping up on my workouts and on my eating habits.

First things first: I set a goal for myself several weeks ago. My goal was to get down to 225 lb by April 15. Well, I'm sorry to report that I only got to 227 lb as of the 15th. While I set my goals with the intention of achieving them, I'm not completely disappointed. I've lost 20 lbs since I began really working out and eating better near the end of January. That's not bad!

While that's only about 2 lbs per week, I know the accomplishment is more significant because in those 10 weeks I had a lot of bad weekends where I ate very poorly. I give myself credit for hanging in there and staying committed despite my own failures in self-control.

I feel better than I have in quite some time. This evening I went out for a 3.4 mile run. It was 1/3 up hill, 1/3 down hill and 1/3 flat. My early pace was a 12 minute mile or better but I slowed down as each mile passed by. I finished in 43 minutes. It may not seem like a lot in absolute terms (it isn't) but relative to where I was in mid-January of this year, this is a solid accomplishment.

In mid-January I could only jog 3 minutes on the treadmill before I had to slow down to a walk for at least 1 minute. I've built up from there, first on the treadmill and then more recently on the road, by adding resistance (inclines) and distance. Once I build up my strength and endurance for this distance (3.4 to 4.0 miles) I can then focus on getting a bit faster.

It's a Sunday night and I had another well balanced food weekend. There were no binges. While I definitely had some night food each day, I did not succumb to bread, rice and sugar.

It is easier now to avoid the junk food and the starchy, empty calories because I've had a few weekends of good eating and I can now look back on those and see the impact good eating has on my physical well-being. When I am tempted to eating unhealthy food I try to remind myself of how crappy I will feel shortly thereafter. It doesn't always work, but if nothing else, it does keep me from indulging more often!

Running 3 miles outside!

This is an excellent and noteworthy milestone for me! For the second time in the past couple of weeks I've been able to run 3 miles on the road. Sure, I've been hitting the 3 mile mark for over a month now on the treadmill, but covering this distance on the pavement is a much harder task.

It was slow. It took me 41 minutes. But I'll take it. Being able to run the 3 miles non-stop (no walking) is a psychological milestone. Now that I know I can run a 5K (I know the races are slightly longer - by 0.1 miles), I can focus my energies on improving my time and also my distance (for perhaps a 10K or even a 1/2 marathon later this year!).

I'm going to need to take care of my legs and my core - especially my core.

I've been stretching and doing some high rep weight training for my legs. My weight training includes squats on the smith machine and leg extensions and leg curls.

The core has been totally ignored until this week. Today is only the second day I've actually done any sit ups let alone anything more sophisticated for my core. I'm going to start doing sit ups and a few other core exercises every day either in the morning or evening and then find a few days to work it into my workouts as well!

I'm really enjoying the treadmill runs more than the weight lifting... Who knew?

When I get into the gym these days what motivates me most is the opportunity to jump on the treadmill and run. Who knew that running would feel better to me than lifting weights? It's never been the case before.

The day before yesterday (Tuesday) I ran for 35 minutes on a 0.5 incline. I started out at 4.8 mph, then after about 5 minutes I went to 4.9 mph, and after another 5 minutes to 5.0 mph and then topped out at 5.2 mph before doing the last few minutes at slightly slower paces. It felt great!

Yesterday I did something similar but without the incline. In yesterday's run I started out at 4.9 mph and moved up 0.1 mph every 5 minutes. And again - it felt great! After yesterday's treadmill run I performed leg extensions, leg curls, squats and calf raises. And I did it all in just over 60 minutes (the run was about 30 minutes).

I love the little "buzz" that I feel when I'm done running. And the feeling I get later in the evening - that physical tiredness that helps me fall right asleep.

Lest I be misunderstood - I still love lifting weights! It's just that running (at least on the treadmill) is not a chore. One thing I'm now challenged by is not over-exerting myself. Even though I feel good and am enjoying the treadmill running, I am trying hard not to push myself too hard. This would most likely come from running to many days in the week or running faster or for more time all of a sudden.

Ultimately I need to be able to run outside. I want to be able to do 3 or 4 mile runs outside as a regular workout. Right now that's not possible. While I can run 3 miles on the treadmill, I know that it will be way harder on the street. Hopefully the treadmill running, the consistent leg exercises (squats, leg extenions/curls and calf raises) and some significant weight loss will have a positive cumulative effect on my outdoor running (which I hope to be able to do by the beginning of the summer).

Friday through Sunday: First good weekend!

I had my first good Friday through Sunday since I started my journey to better health! These three days, until this past weekend, had been my Achilles Heel. My diet and my exercise were very poor and inconsistent heretofore but thankfully I got that under more control!

Friday I worked out after work. I ran 20 minutes and then lifted weights - chest and shoulders. It was a great work out. I like running before I lift as it seems to help me set a faster pace for the weight lifting portion of my work out.

I was able to reign in my carb consumption this weekend. I still ate well (I had my splurg foods) but they were spread out throughout the weekend and not at every meal.

I ran and rode the stationary bike on Saturday evening and then did two rounds on the heavy bag. The running did not feel as good (I couldn't keep up the 4.5 mph pace the way I do at the gym) but I was able to get a good 25 to 30 minute workout by interspersing walking and inclines into the run.

Sunday I ate a late lunch and then avoided dinner!

One of the things that helped me was weighing in last week and finding out that I had dropped 5 lbs since the beginning of February. Knowing that too much splurging would erase some of the hard-earned weight loss kept me motivated.

I wanna run but it hurts!

I've been running (I call it running and will continue to do so but keep in mind that I use the term very loosely) on the treadmill now with some consistency for the past 3 or 4 weeks and I feel good. In fact, the running makes me feel so good that I want to run more. I want to run longer and harder and more often.

The problem is (damn it - there's always a problem when it comes to getting healthy for me) my legs are not keeping up with the heart and lungs. For example, this afternoon I ran for 40 minutes at a steady pace of about 4.5 mph. By the time I got to 40 minutes my knees and my right ankle were hurting just a tiny bit; I could feel the slightest bit of pain (more like a tickle) and I knew I had to stop. The thing is, I wasn't gasping for air. My heart rate was at 150 but I felt strong in that sense.

I'm so nervous about doing anything to screw up my legs and feet that I'm taking it slow right now. My primary goal is to get my weight down and the running and other exercise is helping me feel better which, in turn, is helping my diet (I am more motivated to eat a bit better knowing that I've exercised). I hope that, as I get my weight down, my body will hold up better to the running.