Run Ranger Run

I'm not sure why I just don't sign up for stuff every month.  It keeps me moving.  I'd say the that investing $300 to $400 in race fees is money well spent if it keeps me running hard.

Take today for example.  I came home from work, then met up with the wife and kids and another family for dinner at an Indian-Chinese restaurant.  The food was great.  And heavy.  And then we took the kids out for ice cream.  I passed on the treats, but the damage was already done.

We returned home around 9pm.  Was I going to run now?  Normally I'd say "hell no!" but I joined a charity effort for February 2013 called "Run Ranger Run" sponsored by GallantFew.  A team of 10 runs, walks or bikes 565 miles total in February to raise money for veterans needs/issues.  I went to the Facebook event page and one guy logged 10 miles today.  Doh!  Another did 6 miles.  And so on it went.

That was enough motivation to get me to the basement for 2.4 miles in a cold, dark space on a nice 2% incline.  And I feel wimpy about it.

I'm going to try to go out and log my first outdoor miles tomorrow.  It's amazing what you can do with goals and a little mental toughness.

Next Big Challenge: Tough Mudder

The new year is starting off slow.

I've been struggling because I'm running for park commissioner in my home town and all of my mental energy is directed towards the campaign.

I've signed up for the Tough Mudder on June 29, 2013.  It's in Michigan.  I need to get serious with my training or I'm going to make a fool of myself.

Ugh.

Today was a crappy workout.  I did sit ups, bench press (3 sets), dumbell shoulder presses (3 super sets), a 1/4 mile sprint at 1.5% incline on the treadmill and then 40 push ups.  It's better than nothing, but not by much.

The diet's been okay throughout the day, but the evenings have been a challenge.

I'm healthy and ready to go.  No injuries at all.  It's all mental.  I haven't flipped the switch in my head to make taking my fitness to a crazy new level a priority.

Damn.

Okay.  Here we go.  Switch.  Flipped.  Done.

I fell off the wagon...

Eating 2 sirloin burgers w/ cheddar cheese &
turkey bacon...  that there is about 1pound of beef!

Oh crap!  I'm slipping.  I let my guard down, I let one cheat become two cheats and now I'm weeks and weeks off my healthy regimen.

I know why I was so unhealthy for so long.  It's too damned easy.  And on the flip side, it is so damned hard to stay on track.

Thank God I caught myself.

There are a couple of reasons why this happened.

Reason # 1: I tried to do too much & couldn't

This year I wanted to add strength training to my running regimen.  I have the physical ability run and lift and spend a couple of hours working out everyday.  I will not do it though.  I have other priorities.

This isn't the same excuse as "I can't exercise because I don't have the time".  I know I have to make time to get in at least 30 minutes of exercise 4 to 5 times per week (minimum).  This is about whether or not I want to give up on other things like sleep, spending some time with my kids and doing my writing.

I was able to keep it up over the summer because the kids weren't in school.  Now that they are back in school the premium workout hours - from when I get home to when the kids go to bed - have to be shared with workouts, family meals and homework.  That's the difference.  The workouts have to be pushed to later in the evening, and by then I'm running low on energy.

Yes, I know it can still be done.  I've done it.  But there are consequences.  An awesome running and lifting workout will have me jacked up and wired for a few hours afterwards.  If I hit the workout around 9pm the I will not actually fall asleep until midnight and that doesn't work for my early morning schedule.

Reason #2: An "All or Nothing" Mentality

Because I've got it in my head that I want to do these amazing combo-workouts of lifting and running, I'm allowing myself to talk myself out of doing something - even if it's less than the full workout - when  there isn't time for the full one.

It's all in my head.  I know this.  I just need to remember it when its time to get the workout down, as little or as much as it may be.

Reason #3: I can't do moderation

I can eat like a spartan six days a week for months and even years at a time (I've done it).  I can pig out on carbs daily.  This is a flaw.  One day I should get around to fixing it.

In the meantime, I need to accept it and embrace it.  It's time to get back on the extreme healthy eating wagon.

Reason #4: I lost my virtual training community

As of late I haven't been working out for any particular races and I haven't been talking about what I want to do and what I am doing on Facebook and on Twitter.  Some people think its all about the ego.  That's definitely a small piece of it, but the biggest part of it is the sense of community I feel when others chime in with what they're doing and who keep an eye out for what I am or am not doing.  I need to get back to that now.

I'm back to the blog!

Lifting Weights @ Prairie Stone
Wellness Center in Hoffman Estates

This has been an interesting year!  I've been away from this blog for almost 6 months.  Fortunately, my absence from the blog is not because I have not been working out.

This year I resolved to work on both my running and my weight training.  In my youth I did a lot of heavy lifting.  In the last few years I've developed my running skills.  This year I wanted to see if I could work on both fitness goals simultaneously.

So far so good!

I've curtailed my running.  I'm running about 10 to 12 miles per week and lifting 3 to 4 times per week.  On some training days I run and lift weights.

Although max lifts are not my focus, I  cannot resist testing myself on my favorite exercise - the bench press!  I'm at 275 lb max bench press.  I did this a few weeks back at a body weight of 205 lbs.  That's way off from the "glory days"!

Back in 1989 I achieved a max bench press of 305 lbs at a body weight of approximately 185 lbs.  I'm not sure if I can get back down to 185 lbs (I'll address that in another post), but I think I can get up to 305 lbs again.

I'm really enjoying the combination of running and weight lifting.  I feel great!

A bad workout vs. no workout: which is better?

I had a bad workout today.  I did the bare minimum and wrapped it up quickly.  It makes me wonder: is it better to have a bad workout or to skip it until the next day with the hope that I'll be more focused later?

Excluding the scenario where the lack of motivation is due to fatigue caused by strenuous training, I'm going to side with those who say a bad workout trumps skipping the workout.

Today's workout called for strength training focused on my chest, shoulders and triceps followed by a 1 mile run and some core exercises.  This workout usually takes about 70 minutes.  I hit all three major muscle groups, did some core exercises and skipped the 1 mile run.  I finished the workout in 40 minutes.

I started out with sit-ups.  I did 3 or 4 sets.  Next, I did my regular barbell bench presses, but I skipped the supersets of machine benches and lying dumbbell flies.  For my shoulders I did 3 rounds of supersets that started with dumbbell lateral raises, upright rows and then barbell shoulder shrugs.  I wrapped up the workout with 3 sets of triceps pushdowns.

Midway through the bench press sets I turned off the television (UFC Unleashed on Spike TV) because I was wasting too much time in between sets watching the fight.

There are a couple of things that contributed to the lack of focus (and it was the lack of focus that was the culprit).  First, I was trying to workout during the last hour and a half before my kids go to bed on a night when my wife came home late from work.  Part of my mind was on the yelling and screaming upstairs.  I felt guilty that I wasn't upstairs helping out.

Today is pizza night for the kids.  I should have made a protein shake with some berries to fuel the workout, but instead I had several slices of cheese pizza.  That couldn't have helped, and psychologically I know it made me feel sluggish.

All of the foregoing notwithstanding, I'm glad I got the workout done.  This will keep me on track with the remaining workouts for the week (b/c missing a workout has a domino effect on all the remaining workouts).

Hopefully tomorrow will be a lot better!

AM Run, PM Weights

I woke up today feeling ill.  I had a queasy stomach.  I felt the same way yesterday and ended up missing a workout.  I couldn't let that happen again today.  I want to start 2012 on a strong note, and missing workouts this early is not starting strong.

By 10:20pm tonight I've completed two workouts.  Late this morning I ran 3 miles on the treadmill and did 13 minutes on the stationary bike immediately afterwards.  This evening after dinner I did a 40 minute strength training workout focusing on chest, shoulders and triceps.

I was able to get some extra reps out of my bench press because I convinced my wife to spot me.  I did my best to look and sound strong to impress her.  When I finished I got up and looked at her.

"Okay.  Can I go now?" was all she said.

Whatever.  I know I'm strong!  Now I'm going to chill out and watch the rest of the Cotton Bowl.  I picked Arkansas to win.

The reason for this quest has changed...

About two years ago, around December 2009, I decided to lose weight and regain some dignity.  Two years later I've lost lots of weight, gained plenty of endurance and regained a fair amount of the strength I once had.  I look better and I feel great.  But what's next?

On the eve of a new year I am adopting a new purpose.  It's no longer about the vain reasons that animated my long runs and rigorous diet.  The new purpose is to achieve all the things I once dreamed about accomplishing in my youth but set aside, little by little, as I fell short at one thing after another.

My kids are getting older.  I need to give them a real life example of how to push through pain, to overcome failure, to endure hard work, to do mundane prep work day after day and to pursue dreams.  Fitness training is an excellent way to train the mind and the body.

The world is a hard place.  I've actually had a very easy go of it, but everywhere I look I see others struggling and can't help but think to myself that but for the Grace of God I might be struggling like others.  While I've avoided any real challenges (homelessness, illness, chronic unemployment, ailing children, etc), there is no guarantee my kids will have the same luxury.  My parents struggled.  My kids may too.

I want my kids to have iron wills.  It's not enough to be book smart.  They may not struggle for physical survival (I hope), but the physical stress and the challenge that comes for grueling physical exertion has an impact on the mind and can the benefits can translate into purely cerebral situations.

How do I help them develop iron wills when I question whether I have one myself?  My solution is to challenge myself with tougher goals that require extreme dedication and grueling effort.

I don't know how to make them understand the connection between the strength of their bodies and the strength of their minds, but I know that there is connection.  While I can't explain it to them with words alone, I can try to live it for them.

In 2012 I'm going to train to run the Chicago Marathon (10/7/12) and I'm going to commit to simultaneously pursuing a powerlifting regimen as well.  I will bring myself down to (or under) 15% body fat by the end of 2012, and I will exceed 300 lb. lifts in each of the three powerlifting moves (bench press, dead lift and squat).

These are the challenges I will take on in 2012.  I expect them to be very hard, but if, by some miracle, they are easier than anticipated, then I will revise them mid-year.  And all the while I will keep my focus on relishing those moments when I'm feeling too tired or too sore too un-motivated and push myself to do more in those moments.