Posts Tagged running

8 results.
Mar11

#167 – Sham-Rockin’ It…

by Saggy on March 11, 2013 at 10:23 pm
Chapter:

2013-03-11shamrock

So yeah… pretty much every muscle from my nipples down is hard as a rock and oh-so-very sore!  Don’t get me wrong… sore in a good way… in a righteous, “yeah… I did that” sort of way… but maybe, just maybe some training before hand is advisable.

Ouch…

That said, the Shamrock and Shenanigans 5k is a blast!  I really should have wore my kilt, but it didn’t occur to me until I was already there… the sporran would have probably caused bruising, in any case!  There was a surprisingly big crowd for a March run… Just over two thousand, in fact… even with the whole DST issue… beautiful day for a run too…

packview

A View from the Back of the Pack

[Editor's Note: Sorry to drop a Saggy on that poor lady, but it was a very clear picture of her face, and I don't really know whether she wants to appear on a site called Saggy Man Breasts!]

In any case, it was a challenging day.  I was seriously re-thinking my decision to run by about mile #2, but I soldiered on… oh so slowly… under an hour though, so good enough for our purposes.  Proof of principle that I *can* in fact still run.  I’m going to manage the training differently this year, though.  Alternating running to work with with riding to work/hitting the gym.  Not today though… way too sore.  The goal is to be less focused on one exercise/movement and try to avoid the DL list by this fall.

Food Intake:

  • Breakfast – Stonyfield Chocolate Underground yogurt and a cutie
  • Lunch – Black Bean burger with a pinapple slice, onions, mustard, ketchup and green olives with a side salad
  • Dinner – 1 stuffed pork chop with a green salad

No calorie count as I forgot to look for nutritional information at Bagger Dave’s where the burger was concerned.  It was a birthday outing in the lab today.  When Sean chose Bagger Dave’s, I opted to avoid the meat patty and fries.  When they all went for dessert, I gave that a miss as well (even though there were Peanut Butter Shakes!!!!!).  I was actually very surprised with the bean patty.  They can be iffy at times, but it was delightful.  Two thumbs up.

Okay… well, I’m off to bed.  See you all tomorrow.

 

 

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Apr27

#136 – The Less-Fat Mantra…

by Saggy on April 27, 2012 at 10:33 am
Chapter:

2012-04-27lessfat.png

It is, perhaps, somewhat worrisome how many of my personal mantras can trace their origins back to science fiction… but even though he was a Harkonnen, I think Piter was under-rated.  The man had style!

In any case, I forgot to bring my heart rate monitor to the gym on Tuesday which is a shame because I would really like to have seen the results.  I did full cardio before class (Bike sprints and elliptical), and then after the lecture, they had us do another 30 minutes of cardio (I did three miles of arms-only on the airdyne and the stair climber) before doing the group “Dear God they’re trying to kill us” circuit.

It was brutal!

How brutal?  I did not go to the gym on Wednesday.  I was tooooooo tuckered.  I did go Thursday, of course.

heart smart chart

As you can see, I was able to keep up with the running.  Because I missed wednesday, I shall run again on Saturday whilst at Penguicon (amongst my peers!).  Today will be cardio and strength training.  For now, I have to pack!

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Apr15

#132 – Together at Last…

by Saggy on April 15, 2012 at 5:29 pm
Chapter:

2012-04-15together.png

So… the Big House Big Heart run was today.  I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to be running any of it as it was BUCKETING down rain from the time I woke up until the time I arrived at the Stadium.  It did manage to slack down to a generally annoying drizzle as I waited for the start, but considering my general agility level, running in the rain seemed like a bad idea…

… and I’m… what?… three weeks into my training for a 5k?  Clearly not ready yet…

…but it did stop raining as we took off, and well… it’s hard not to run when so many (thousands) are running, so I went with the run a minute/walk a minute… run a block/ walk a block methodology throughout.  Figure I managed to run at least a mile, but well shy of two.

chart-o del heart-o

It was fun though.  It’s always fun when your doing some sort of athletic event with so many other people.  I’m more used to the cycling events where I can hold my own, but this was good too.  I’m sure I’ll be doing many more of them, and of course, my first “post-training/you have to run the whole thing” will be the Dexter-Ann Arbor run.  That’s the one where I’m trying to raise a few quid for Motts Children’s hospital (and lose a few stone from my arse).  Have you considered tossing a few pence towards a worthy cause?  If so, click here.  I (and the children) would be ever so grateful!

As I stare at this picture, I notice that I am wearing an impossibly baggy shirt (2 sizes too big at least) and standing in a pose that absolutely hides my torso from any critical dietary analysis.  It’s not actually intentional, but it is what it is.  Chris keeps asking to see a pic, so here you go.  Still fat, but melting bit by bit.  I’m a bit concerned about the growing sag of skin under my chin.  A gobbler is never a good look.  Going to have to figure out how to tighten that up.  Scotch tape, maybe?

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Apr09

#130 – I Gotta Wear Shades…

by Saggy on April 9, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Chapter:

2012-04-09shades.png

So, I skipped the gym on Friday (the afore-mentioned sore muscles) in order to go running in the big blue room on Saturday.

Saturday morning came much too cold and early, and I spent a good 15 minutes lying in bed thinking of good reasons not to go running.  However, I ended up doing this:

Heart Rate Chart showing speed and HR

It went better than expected.  As can be seen above, my self-directed pace fell right around 5mph which is what I’ve been going at on the treadmill (5.2, actually).  It went well until the last (9th) running segment where my pace kicked up a bit higher and I had to stop running about 10 seconds early.  As such I assigned myself a 30 second punishment run as soon as I caught my breath.

The knee still continues to complain post-squat sessions, but the toes remain blissfully unblue!

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Mar30

#126 – I Ran (Not So Far Away)…

by Saggy on March 30, 2012 at 6:34 am
Chapter:

2012-03-30c25k.png

So many of you may remember last year’s abortive attempt at learning to run… hmmm… that’s a weird statement… I’m pretty sure that as kids, we all knew how to run… it just seems that some of us may have… forgotten… along the way…

So anyway… I was attempting to run… I had to stop after a couple sessions, though.  It wasn’t because it was really hard (and it really was!!!), but rather because after two runs, two of my toes had turned black and the nails were falling off… ick…

Well, I’ve spent some time investigating answers to the toe situation (I’ll talk about that another day) and having found a reasonable solution, I decided to give it another go.

So, on Tuesday, I arrived at the gym and headed for the treadmill.  I loaded up my trusty Couch to 5k app (which is now called the Ease into 5k for some reason which I suspect is probably a legal thing), and climbed aboard.  Now, I’m not sure what speed qualifies as “running”, and I was only going for “jog” as opposed to “ludicrous”, so I set the running sessions for 5mph.  I also kicked the treadmill up a couple degrees of elevation as the outside world isn’t flat and…

…it wasn’t too bad.

Now the first week of couch doesn’t actually involve that much running all things considered, but it does feel like kicking the workout up a notch.  I didn’t have any real problem finishing the running segments like last time.  Now, this may be because I’m on a treadmill, so there is pace control.  It may also be because treadmills are softer than pavement.  I suspect it may have something to do with the fact that I do cardio 5 times a week though and weigh a lot less than I did.  Also, no black toes!

So… in eight weeks, I’m supposed to be ready for a 5k, so how to celebrate?  I guess I’ll have to run a 5k.  Specifically, I am signed up to run the Dexter to Ann Arbor 5k run.  This is, I’m told a fairly hilly course, but let’s face it, Ann Arbor isn’t that hilly!  I’ve paid for the run, and there’s no mandatory fundraising required, but the Ann Arbor Track club has dedicated $10,000 in matching funds for all donations, so I’m trying to raise some money for the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.  Now, Mott just re-opened in a new facility this year, and it is fabulous, but the battle is never open, and children deserve the best care we can possibly provide.  So, please consider making a donation.  Pretty please?  Remember, your donation will be matched, and it’s for the kids!  Thanks.

Now… let’s talk about Tuesday.

Heart chart for Tuesday and Thursday...

Now as you can see from the chart, I was at the gym for a while.  The running went well and was followed by the usual biking, but I had arrived pretty early, and still had a lot of time to kill.  I tried just wandering around for a bit, but it’s awkward just standing around while other people exercising, so I decided it was time to expand my strength training to include core exercises.  I grabbed the head of the program and asked him to recommend some exercises for me.  We grabbed a couple mats and got to it.  The first thing he had me do was… uhm… double crunches… okay… I don’t know what they’re called, but their crunches where you also lift your legs up while you crunch… then we did ab twisty thing.  Sit up… knees bent… medicine ball in hand.  lean back so your back is 45° to the ground, pivot your torso left and then right and back up… it’s actually kind of tough not to fall over doing those… need to work on that core!

Okay… so finished those and am adding them to my M/W/F strength regimen.  I got up to get some water and wandered a bit again… and then came to a stop at the stair climber.  I still had 15 minutes to kill, so I thought I’d read the big label/instructions thing that was posted on it… and danged if one of the trainers didn’t see me!

“Oh Dave, have you tried the climber yet?”

“uhm… no…”

“Oh, it’s great!  Here climb on board…”

That’ll teach me!  It was actually interesting.  I’d always pictured those things as an endless series of pushing down… turns out the key is lifting up… you lift your legs rather than pushing and it keeps you suspended in the climbing zone… to slow and you sink… too fast and you rise…

So fine… I do that for a few minutes, and I’m tired…

…and then it’s time for group exercise… and my quads and abs are TIRED at this point.

So, of course, for the seven stations in the circuit, 3 involve squats and 3 are ab centered… ugh… not fun!

Wednesday, I forgot my heart strap, so no chart.  Thursday is as above.

Tonight will be my third running session, the bike or elliptical or stair climber and strength… WEEEE!

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May06

#32 – Ouch

by Saggy on May 6, 2011 at 9:31 pm
Chapter:

2011-05-06boards.png

Okay… maybe a little stiff today.  I’m glad that I don’t have to run every day in this program.  I also seem to remember that this was all a bit easier when I was a bit younger.

I also will need to invest in a proper pair of running shoes if I’m to continue with this.  I’m currently wearing walking shoes (solid leather).  That is because, of course, the only running shoes on the frickin’ planet that I can find in 12 6E are a pair of New Balance for $148!!!  I just want to jog to work, not win a marathon… if anyone knows where I can find a pair of running shoes in that size, please let my flat-footed, over-pronating self know.

So… stiff.  Very stiff.

Screw it.  Let’s run the numbers…

Food Intake:

  • Breakfast – Turkey Sammich, mousse, wheat thins – 390 calories
  • Lunch – Pork Chop, house salad, mashed potatoes, and green beans – 700 calories
  • Dinner – Orange Beef and egg drop soup – 900 calories

1990 calories total.  Well, that was certainly close to the daily goal, eh?  Breakfast was the result of… oversleeping.  I didn’t want to be late to work, and I didn’t want to drive thru anywhere, so I just grabbed one of my Oscar Mayer lunch packs.  They’re actually quite good in calories and fat, but sodium… there’s always something.  Lunch found me needing to go with the Cytometry Company rep to what appears to be his favorite restaurant in town… the diet-unfriendly Carsons.  This time Mahi-Mahi was not on the menu, but they had a grilled pork chop that was appropriate in side.  Continuing with their habit of trying to make everything high in calories and fat, they even add blue cheese crumbles (BIG ONES) to their house salad.  I left them in the salad bowl with the croutons.

As it was Cinco de Mayo yesterday, we did the traditional thing and went out for Chinese.  I got a small cup of egg drop and ordered beef with orange sauce extra hot.  Beef dishes are usually a pretty good choice at chinese places because they are invariably some sliced skirt or flank steak with onions and a smattering of other veggies in some kind of sauce.  Fairly easy to estimate calories.  However, the orange beef… okay…

What kind of asshole thinks it’s a good idea to slice, bread and fry beef for a chinese dish?!?

I mean really?  Breaded?!?  Oh thank you very much… I wasn’t that hungry anyway.  I ignored the rice.  Ate some beef and brought nothing home… stupid breading.  I estimated about 750 calories, but rounded it up to 900 because it’s hard to really guess on breading… grrrr…

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May05

#31 – That Which Doesn’t Kill Me…

by Saggy on May 5, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Chapter:

2011-05-05copper.png

Okay… so I get an idea in my head and I go with it.  I’ll get to the running in a bit, but first let’s run the numbers.

Food Intake:

  • Breakfast – Alton Brown’s Fruit Smoothie – 350 calories
  • Lunch – Tinned Chicken on Bagel with giardineria and mustard – 380 calories
  • Snack – Fit ‘n Active Trail Mix – 150 calories
  • Dinner – French Bread Pizza – 920 calories

1800 calories total.  My but that’s a round number.  As I was planning on exercising, I made the usual smoothie for breakfast (skim, grape juice, banana, strawberries, blueberries, mango).  It’s always a good way to start the day, and fairly convenient as I keep stocks of frozen fruit in the freezer.  Lunch was of course pulled from the fridge in my office.  I have to restock supplies though.  The oranges went bad while I was traveling, and I’m down to my last can of tuna.

Giardineria continues to prove problematic.  The jar clearly saves refrigerate after opening, but since the fluid portion is oil, it actually gels up in the fridge making it impossible to drain. Well… not impossible.  I’ve started toasting the bagel, and I set my dollop of giardineria on the hot bagel which instantly melts the oil which I can then poor off, easy peasy.  However, I still say you could do the same thing with vinegar and save all the trouble.

Dinner was mighty tasty.  I believe I’ve mentioned a pizza craving.  Well, French Bread pizzas are not pizza… they are a loaf of bread with stuff on top, but they are tasty and a nice treat.

Exercise:

Heart Rate versus elevation plot

Can you find the 8 running sections?

So… rather than walking to work, I decided to try running.  Technically, I decided to begin the Couch to 5k running program.  My sister-in-law recommended it, and it seems a logical enough program.  This was day one which has a warm up and cool down and alternates 60 second running periods with 90 second walking periods.  In this first week, I’m actually only running for a total of 8 minutes.  Can you spot those 8 minutes in the heart rate graph above?

To be honest, even the 8 minutes exceeded my abilities.  I did the first two minutes of running okay, but the remaining six, I’d say about 30-40 seconds per period.  I seem to be out of shape.  Not surprising considering the time of year and the fact that I left the bike in the basement all winter, but still  I was hoping to do better.

So… this is the point where I say ‘screw it’ and give up.

Okay, this is the point where I would normally say ‘screw it’ and give up, but having stated on the internet for all the world to see that I’m going to start running, I’m not about give up easily.  I’m going to make this happen… one broken knee cap at a time.

It was interesting.  When I first took off running, I was doing a serious heel strike, and I cut that shit out pretty quickly.  BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM  My knees, shins and hips were not amused.  It didn’t take to long to figure out the forefoot step which is more cushioning but which feels strangely unnatural.  I’m sure I looked awkward as hell, as well.  I also noticed that while I had a long stride when starting out, by the end, I was doing those tiny little “running gramma” steps.  Again, I must have been a sight to behold.

Speaking of sights, I passed several folks whilst “running.”  I managed to not be self-conscious in all but one instance.  That would be the shortest peak above…. Yes, I know… fat guy running, but at least I’m running so… there you go.

Garmin informs me that I burned 1145 calories in my running and walk to work (if you believe such estimates), so that’s 1800 calories in minus 1145 calories out yielding a net positive of 655 calories in for the day… which isn’t a bad day.

 

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May04

#30 – What’s the Worst that Could Happen?

by Saggy on May 4, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Chapter:

2011-05-04running.png

I should say, rather, that I am looking for a cross-training activity to go along with the bike now that cycling season is upon us, and that I am enamoured of the idea of running but am concerned about the reality considering the previously broken knee cap and the rod holding my fibula together.  I think it would be nice to ride to work one day and run the next day.  Alternating to keep the mind and major muscle groups from getting lax.  I’ll pick up a book and look into it.

In any case, Tuesday has come and gone, and no superlatives, nothing to gossip about.  The new sorter in the new lab was giving me grief all day, but I managed to avoid turning to the hammer or the ding dong (actually, that sounds vaguely dirty).  In any case, food was good.  I tried to vary it up a bit.

Food Intake:

  • Breakfast – Blueberry yogurt – 170 calories
  • Morning Snack – 1 oz Cashews (lightly salted) – 170 calories
  • Lunch – French Onion Soup, Asiago steak, boiled potatoes and mixed veggies – 660 calories
  • Afternoon Snack – 5 olives – 25 calories
  • Dinner – Lobster ravioli with vodka sauce and guacamole salad – 700 calories
  • Evening Snack – Windmill cookies (3) – 210 calories

1935 calories total.

Not bad.  A goodly mix of foods, and pretty close to the 2000 calorie target.  I was in a rush in the morning, but I keep yogurt (amongst other things) in a dorm fridge in my office for just such an emergency.  I was on the road between labs for lunch, so I swung in to Crapplebees.  I was fairly famished, so I started with another bowl of French Onion soup.  I removed about 50% of the cheese and all the bread that I could, but counted the bowl at full calories because, I had no good way of estimating what I’d removed.

Okay… this is where I ask for help.  I’m not a big fan of soup (though I do so LOOOOOOVE French Onion – even with the cheese and bread removed), but find that starting with a good, brothy soup really does temper the appetite and give you that nice comfortable sense that only slurping a bowl of warm soup can provide.  However, canned soups are 93.5% sodium, and I don’t really want to keep eating at restaurants all the time, so what are your recipes for simple, cal-friendly broth-based soups?

I mean, I can always just sweat some onions and garlic and simmer them in a 75/25 mix of beef broth/stock.  This should be reasonably savory and freeze well, so that I could freeze individual portions and just nuke them in the microwave at work, but I’m open to suggestions to expand beyond the basic beef/onion/garlic taste combination.  What suggestions do you have?

Dinner was good.  Ravioli are an easy prep.  I was going to do a white wine sauce with walnuts, but didn’t have the requisite materials, and the only white sauce that Meijers seems to have heard of is alfredo, so we went with a simple vodka sauce which was tasty.  I just drizzled a bit over my ravioli.  The guac salad was, once again, a single avocado batch of guac I whipped up and mixed with spring greens.  No dressing needed.  I upped the cayanne and cumin which was a nice counterpoint to the bitter greeens.

All right.  I’m off to bed.  Hit me with some soup recipes, will ya?

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