The Chairman's Fitness Challenge Blog

I am starting to think about the goals for the summer challenge, which starts next week.  I am probably going to add a bit to each of my core goals, maybe 24 CT's, 22 RT's and 90 CE's.  These are stretch goals, but if I focus I think they are achievable.

The main personal goal is one I am undecided on though.  The 5% weigh tloss challenge is a good goal, although I have only achieved it once (thanks to a wicked bout of the flu that kept me from eating for a few days.  Great for weight loss!)  The other one I am considering is a running foal - maybe 52 miles (1 mile per day average) over the course of the challenge.  It does not sound like much, but I intend to keep doing the cycling on weekends, so realistically I'll only be running once or twice a week.  With a good run for me topping out at about 3 miles, the 52 mile objective suddenly looks pretty challenging!  I have a little time, but one of these two goals will no doubt be my major personal goal this time around. 

After a couple of spin classes on the weekend, and doing resistance training on the legs and gluteus maximus yesterday, I thought I'd take it easy with a run tonight.  A quick couple of miles, along the creek and back.  No problem.

Well, that was wrong!

Right from the first few steps, I could feel my ankles were tight and, well, not too happy with me for venturing out today.  I coupld barely go a couple of minutes without having to stop for breath, and the gentle hills of the path suddenly seemed like the Swiss freakin' Alps when I was running up them!

I did complete the 2 miles, it took 21 1/2 minutes, and was more than a little humbling.  I'm going to blame the heel raises yesterday (PB on those weights), the fact I hadn't eaten anything for a few hours, and too little sleep last night.  But bottom line is, I need to get out a few times a week and start really focusing on getting better at this.  With the nice weather here, outdoor running is going to become part of my routine.  (My tally of 3.25 miles this year is a little embarrassing at this point.)

Last night, I achieved one of the small, undocumented objectives of this 52 day challenge - I went for a real, outdoor run.  In public, where others could see me.  I've been doing the treadmill, on and off, for several months, and gotten pretty close to my goal of 3.1 miles (5km) in 30 minutes, but I haven't run outside for years.  Unfortunately, very few sanctioned 5k runs take place on treadmills, so I knew that sooner or later I'd have to venture out and try it on the road.  So, after much gnashing of teeth while studying my neighbourhood on mapmyrun.com, and obsessing over weather forecasts, I just laced on my 6-months-old-but-still-new New Balance shoes, ventured out the front door, and went for it.

Much to the surprise of my wife, I survived this first baby step (actually 1.75 miles of baby steps) in one piece.  I think it went pretty well - nobody pointed at me and laughed; my breathing sounded to me like a transport truck with faulty air brakes, but nobody else seemed to notice.  And it felt GOOD!  (Except for the "I'm gonna die" feelings that coincided with one of the walking breaks).

My time was actually about the same as on the treadmill, even though I took a break or three that I wouldn't have needed on the 'mill.  I think it's absolutely true that you run a little faster on the road, but it also takes some serious getting used to, stressing the cardio system more.

This was a great step for me - I know that I can get in a half hour of cardio without investing an hour and a half when factoring in the drive to the gym, changing, etc.

While running, my mind drifted back to years ago, when I used to take long late-night walks in similar streets, but smoking a half a pack or so to get my heart rate up instead of jogging.  All in all, this seems like a much better idea.

With yesterday's chest/back workout in the books, tonight was a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone on the CT side and get in a run.  (I should probably say, "run" in quotes, since my treadmill sessions are an ugly combination of running, walking, gasping, and sweating.  nothing like Alberto Salazar, or anything like that...)

After a 5 minute warm-up, I managed to do my benchmark 3.1 miles (5km) in under 33 minutes - getting close to my goal of a 30 minute 5k and well within striking distance to DO a 5k, outdoors, with actual other people, without using a bike or moped, this summer.

I'm not sure if once or twice a week is enough to get there, though.  With two or three spin classes a week, plus three RT's, it doesn't leave much time for running.  Like everything else in life - if I really want to become a runner (instead of a "runner") I need to prioritize it, rather than picking away at it in my spare time.

It's been a while since my last post, but I have not been slacking in the challenge.  I'm on track with the RT's and well ahead on cardio, and in fact put in another 3 miles or so today.  The bad news is, I really had my lower-body weight training scheduled and am procrastinating again.  Blah.  My eating has been pretty sound (except for last Sunday...) too, and I'm seeing indications on the tape measure that progress on the 5% weight challenge is forthcoming as well.  I am down almost an inch on my ab measurement since the challenge started, to a number I haven't seen for quite a while!

All that said, I'm starting to feel that things are generally in a bit of a rut.  I'm back to obsessing about relatively minor things (how many tire reviews on www.tirerack.com does one need to read before deciding on a set of clearly-overdue tires???) and most seriously of all, I realized that my recent campaign to get rid of old/ripped/worn underwear has resulted in my having nine pairs of identical gitch, purchased at different times over the past eight months.  The joe fresh line may be reasonably priced, and nicely made, but would it have hurt to at least get different colours?  This is the clearest sign yet that, after fifteen months, I think I need a vacation.

It's been kind of a good news/bad news weekend when it comes to the challenge.  I've booked three CT sessions, all spin classes, because the timing just worked out well for them and it's been a bit of a challenge synching up the schedules to get those classes in.  And honestly, I think it is a better workout in terms of cardio and weight loss than my fat-ass self huffing on a treadmill for 20 minutes or so.

That said, I do have two reasons I should be getting the running in - my 100km objective, and finishing the C25K program that I'm well into.  In order to hit the 100km, I need to do about 21 runs in the remaining 47 days.  That math is getting kind of tight, unless I can start running outside in the cold evenings, or making some other change.

Today, I did a couple of km after my spin class, and I don't see that as a viable solution at all unless I want to be scraped off the treadmill and dumped in a heap outside the gym by their cleaning staff.  And that is not my goal.

Right now, the running thing is a secondary goal, and the focus will remain on the major goals of CT's, RT's, and clean eating.  The 5% weight loss is also a priority.

Wednesday marked the first day of the challenge and I marked it by eating clean and getting in another midnight run on the treadmill.  The stamina, once again, pretty much sucked during the running - I'm not sure that the late-night stuff is working all that well for me.  However, it's better than the alternative of going all week without darkening the door of the gym.  I think it's about time to move on to week eight on the C25K sched, although the 25 minutes is a real struggle without a minute or two of walking in the middle.  Maybe I'll do another week at the week 7 level before ratcheting it up to 28 minutes.  I really want to get to the 5k/3.1 mile mark over the next few runs - I've hit 2.9 miles and Wednesday was a 2.6 mile day before I bailed.  45 crunches on the swiss ball before hitting the showers was my punishment for wimping out...

I got in my run today - probably week six day three although with my wimpy performance lately it's tough to tell.  I did 2.9 miles (including warm-up and cool-down), and ran for about 25 minutes (actual run time) plus a 90-second break at about 16 minutes.  It actually is feeling good now to run for that duration - I've found a pace that I can keep up and my heart rate settles in right around 150bpm and stays there in steady-state.  Today, I did a few minutes faster, including a 30-second sprint at the end, and it all seemed to go well.  

The next 52-day challenge starts Wednesday, so I need to figure out what my resistance training schedule is going to look like (along with my clean eating menu).  I'm looking forward to it - my weight has kind of plateaued (although I's seeing continued progress in the way clothes are fitting) and I really want to jump-start some weight loss with the goal of losing about 13 lbs by the end of the year (a little more than 6% of by BW).  My last challenge, I dropped that much, so I know it's possible, as long as I stay away from beer and fast food.

Friday, I managed to get in a run right after work (and before leaving to see the Skydiggers, a "quintessential Canadian folk rock band" according to the promo materials.  The run was great - night-and-day difference from the last couple in terms of my ability to get into a "zone" and feel like I could run all day!  I got my 25 minutes in, interrupted only by the short break as I watched my Creative Zen MP3 player dislodge itself from the headphone cord, drop to the belt, bounce around a bit and go hurtling off the end of the belt at an indicated speed of 6.5 mph.  Thankfully, I was able to resist the urge to stop running and try to grab it from between my feet (preventing me from becoming the 6.5mph projectile) and paused the belt in a controlled manner instead!  I don't remember exactly what was playing at the time, but the Zen seems none the worse for wear.

Oh, and the 'Diggers show was outstanding!  Today was a Spin day, and Sunday may be another, then C25K again on Monday.  That's the plan...

After my disaster on Wednesday, I snuck out for another run on Friday evening.  It went a little better - I made it about 22 minutes of running (plus a 2-minute recovery after the first 15) and covered about 4.1km including my warm-up and recovery walking.  At this point, the C25K schedule seems a little bit like nonsense - I'm just running as far as I can for as long as I can and then adding it all up at the end.  I won't consider week 7 over until I hit 25 minutes of running non-stop - this may take a while.

Tonight was W7D1, and it was a bust.  I did end up putting in about 2.6 miles (important in meeting my 200km goal for the fourth quarter of 2009) but from the first 30 seconds of the run I just wasn't feeling it.  REALLY wasn't feeling it  -my legs were sore, my breathing was way too heavy, and everything felt kind of leaden.  Last Wednesday was the same, maybe the late starts (after my night class) just aren't conducive to getting my C25K workouts in.  But it is IMPORTANT, so I will carry on!

I've finished week 6 of the C25K, although I came up short in my 25-minute run yesterday.  I got to 17 minutes, took a 2-minute recovery pause, then did eight more minutes (including the one-minute self-assessed penalty for wimping out!)  Ocverall, with warm-up and cool-down, I hit the 5k distance for the first time (3.1 miles on the treadmill). 

I was almost ready to pass on the whole thing - I'd done the W6D2 run (8 min run/3 min recovery/8 minutes run) on Saturday, then a killer spin class on Sunday; my shins were sore, my legs felt like jello, and I was overall just feeling drained.  The gym was busier than I'd ever seen before, just to top it off - I was ready to go home instead.  I'm glad I did stick it out; even with the unscheduled pause at the 2./3 mark, I felt it was a great run and another step forward!

I'm going to log my distance for the last three months of the year with a goal of hitting 200km, or 120 miles, over that period of time.  i'm at about 5.75 miles so far, with the next run on Wednesday night.

I tried to make the twenty-minute run at my normal pace - that was quite a stretch from the previous 8-minute maximum interval!  I only made it fifteen minutes, took a two-minute recovery, and then finished up the final 5 min.  Overall, I "travelled" about 2.6 miles on the 'mill - it's starting to feel like real running now!

This weekend, I'm going to try to get in two spin classes, then back running on Monday.  

I completed week 5, day two last night after my night class!  It was a challenge (I can't remember the last time I ran close to a mile non-stop for any reason) although I did shorten the planned 5-minute recovery time between the two 8-minute intervals since it felt like more than I needed.  The big test is next - a twenty-minute run non-stop.  Since I am trying to monitor real signs of progress, I've been checking heart rate at the end of each interval; I'm pretty much maxing out at about 85% of max at the end of an interval (and that drops quickly back to 60% or so within a minute or two).

I threw in a full-body circuit of what we used to call the "Nautilus machines" (not sure what they are called now) after the run.  I've been neglecting my weight training since starting C25K and I don't want to lose all the gains I've achieved, so a half-hour circuit can't hurt.  Once C25K is over, I'll be getting back into proper free weight training on an upper/lower body split.

It looks like the 20-minute run will take place Saturday- wish me luck!

I decided to skip the current 52-day challenge, since the combination of a new job, new classes and new support activities (driving the daughter to piano, etc.) made developing realistic goals a total crapshoot in terms of how often I would be able to work out, etc. For the first three weeks or so, I had a really hard time getting to the gym (but I pretty much maintained my weight etc.)

In my quest to find a cardio activity that wouldn't require a half-hour of round-trip driving to get to the gym, I got it into my head that running would be a great alternative! I jogged a bit way back when, running a two-mile circuit a few times a week, but this time around I decided running a 5k race would make a goal to shoot for, attainable but definitely not easy given my current weight and lack of recent running experience.

I found the couch-to-5k program (C25K - click here) and decided it would be my next challenge. Given the working out I've been doing, I decided to start with week 3, and do most of my initial running on a "random" setting on a treadmill at the gym (so much for eliminating the drive!). I'm at the end of week 4 on the program (my week 2) and so far it's going well. I added extra intervals onto the week 3 program to feel like I got a good workout, but really don't feel that need with week 4!

I haven't decided whether to jump into a forum like the MH running forum or one of the others out there - I might lurk on one or two for a while. And now, I'm obsessing about a proper pair of shoes (Stability? Comfort? Reebok, Nike or Asics?) for when I do start running outside. If all goes well, I'm about 5 weeks away from a 5k non-stop run!