Diary Of A Couch Potato...Reborn

2 in a row!

2009-04-03T19:33:00.003-04:00

Yes, that's right. I came home from work at 5:30 today, changed, stretched, and went running! I was a little sore, but i ran the full 1.5 anyway. My goal was to go a little faster. It's hard because i start at the bottom of a 100ft climb, so that wears me out from the start if I'm going too fast. I had a little cramp in my side after the first 2 mins, so I slowed down slightly. Still, I did a mile in 11:09. Not great, but probably better than average. I want to get that done to 10 mins, even with the hill.

My final time for 1.5 miles? 15:14. Not bad. Maybe next time I can be under 15. Today was perfect running weather - about 60 and sunny when I started. After a mile, I got caught in a bit of a storm. It only lasted a minute, but for that minute I was running against some strong wind and driving rain. I was funny looking - clutching my iPod to my chest to protect it from the rain.

Oh yeah, and my weight was 158.? today. I forget what the "?" was. I think it was like 7 or something on the higher end of the spectrum. But 158 is good. I'm fine with that. Better than that scary 164 when i first weighed myself after buying the scale. I guess that was false. Onward and upward...er...downward for the weight. And downward for the time. But upward for the distance ran. Yeah, you get the point.

Determination

2009-04-02T15:31:00.002-04:00

When my girlfriend (Kelly) was here last week, she made me run. We were going to stop after a mile but I said something to the effect of "no, we are doing 1.5, cause you're actually here to make me do it". We did the 1.5 in just over 16 mins (i think it might have been closer to 17). But we did it.

I haven't run since then. I was going to go yesterday, but it was cold and rainy. Last time I tried that, I had an allergy attack. So instead, I went and bought a scale to keep track of my weight. This morning I was 159.4. So there is my benchmark. I guess i'd like to get to 150, but honestly, the weight isn't the issue. It's fat. I have no muscle mass, so all my excess weight is bodyfat. Thus the running.

I was going to go today. However, after going to the store and driving with my windows open, my allergies had made me all stuffy and my throat tight. So I thought no run. But then i said screw it, I need to do this. So I changed out of my work clothes, and even though it would mean taking shower #2 for the day, I ran. I did the same route as I did with Kelly - 1.5 miles. I did it in 15:48. I think my plan is to keep doing this route until I get is under 14 minutes and it seems easy. Then go longer. I may only run once or possibly twice a week - and I'll probably stop when it's 90 degrees out...but it's a starting point!

Rain

2009-03-19T12:27:00.002-04:00

I woke up today to find that it was 44 and raining. Not exactly great weather for a "first run". So naturally my mind said I couldn't do it. But I knew if I didn't today, I might not ever. So I put on a rain jacket and headed out. It was actually still raining at the time, so I was wet as soon as I stepped foot outside the door. But off I went. I couldn't use my ipod because of the rain. So I was on my own. I pushed myself pretty hard, and ran 3/4 of a mile then walked the 1/4 the rest of the way home. I wanted to run the whole thing, but my lungs and heart just couldn't take much more. By the time I stopped running, I was feeling light-headed and my heart rate was way higher than it probably should have been. It was actually hard to make the walk home without falling over.

But i did it! I ran 3/4 of a mile, in the rain, on a somewhat cold day. Will I keep it up tomorrow? Well I work 10-4 tomorrow, so that makes it much harder. Maybe when I get home, but that won't be til 5ish. Check back and see what happens!

Re-Start

2009-03-19T01:08:00.004-04:00

Ok. So I started this in June 08, biked twice, ran once, and was done with it. I'm a quitter at things like this. I naturally rationalize EVERYTHING so it works out in my favor. Just read my second post. Grandparents, people around, other work...pretty much anything to keep from doing it. Now, I do live in the woods and I do have a lot of allergies - so that isn't great for a running environment. But this year, I WILL do something more.

My girlfriend has me watching Biggest Loser. She likes it so I caught on. These people have all lost like 100 pounds. When I finish watching it, I feel fat. Not that I'm a big guy. But I used to be able to eat anything and everything and stay around 150 lbs. Now I'm closer to 160. And I'm flabby. My body gets flabby more than it gets fat.

See here's my problem - i eat fairly healthy, but i get NO exercise. At least when I was in school, I walked to class and etc. It added up to a few miles a day. Enough to balance things out. Now I need to step things up before I get all fat and flabby.

My girlfriend is a Triathlete..except a year ago, when we started dating, she was super out of shape. And now look at her! She's super fit and looks great and is only getting faster and skinnier. The other day she ran 5 miles! So great. Me? Um...1/2 mile limit?

So, there's no way i'm doing the swimming part, but I'd like to be able to keep up with her in biking and running. We'll see if I can make it last more than a week. But tomorrow is a starting day. Here we go.

Running 13 hours from home

2008-06-19T17:39:00.003-04:00

I went running with Kelly today. Lord, I'm so out of shape. I thought we ran forever...turns out the round trip, including some walking, was only a mile and a half. Still, that's more than I've run in a long, long, really long time.

I think she's going swimming tomorrow...i'll probably pass on that. Maybe i'll go, but I was never good at swimming to begin with and haven't swam in years.

Geez...i was lazier than I thought. I hadn't ridden a bike, swam, or ran in years before last week.

First Loop

2008-06-17T18:17:00.002-04:00

It's really cool out today (75). I was going to make excuses, but instead, I decided I needed to go for the whole loop that i posted yesterday. I figured I won't ride for a week, so I needed to do it today.

So i rode the whole loop. A climb of 341 feet and total distance of 3.17 miles. And i did that in 20 mins which = 9.5 miles per hour. Not bad. The sad part? My legs were rubber when I was done. They could barely hold my weight. I walked down the stairs and almost fell over. I would have if I didn't have the wall. So out of shape...it's sad.

But...at least I got out and did it. Also, I wanted to walk up this big hill at the end and kept making excuses as it approached (i'm out of breath, it's a dangerous hill for traffic, I need to stop for a drink, etc). But i fought through it and made the trip. Go me!

Tomorrow I go to Illinois. Hopefully Kelly doesn't work me too hard!

Day 5 = Day 2

2008-06-16T17:07:00.005-04:00

So i took a few days off. Friday we played a graduation party so I had to move all our equipment, which was enough of a workout. Saturday I was mostly lazy but was busy with errands and church, so I just never got around to it. Plus, I hate working out when people are around. And my parents were home, so I didn't feel like it. Sunday I was busy with church and grandparents. Today I went outside and shot some baskets. I am a basketball genious when nobody is watching. I think i made 80% of my shots...some of them long distance. Either that, or somebody placed a magnet inside my ball and on the backboard. I get nothing but net on most shots.

Anywho...i did that for a bit then decided instead of making excuses, I should get on the bike and give it another try. My rule: if I felt a raindrop I should turn around (we're supposed to get storms). So I hopped on and it felt a lot better this time. Good to know i can ride a bike again.

I only rode a mile round trip because a) i felt a raindrop and b) I had left my dog outside and didn't want him to bark. So I went back home. But...it felt good and I wasn't that out of breath. I think tomorrow is supposed to be nice so maybe i'll go for a real ride. This is the shortest loop i can do without turning around:

And that has an elevation of:

Now i'm tired and am going to zone out for a while.

Maybe I shouldn't try.

2008-06-12T14:00:00.003-04:00

So today I had the brilliant idea to go biking. Our 4-day-long, 100 degree heat wave has broken, so I figured I should get some exercise. I got the bike we have down from the rack in the car hole (or garage for you fancy, non-simpson people). It was really dusty. I cleaned it off. Then i looked for a helmet. It was covered in disgusting dirt. So i cleaned it. The I put it on and decided it looked really stupid. So I opted for no helmet. The seat was too high. It took me forever to figure out how to get it to go down. So i eventually figured that out. This bike has those straps for your feet to go into. I've never ridden one of those. So I'm stumbling around trying to keep my balance while gliding slowly and get my feet in. Eventually I do. Then the gears on this bike confused me. They don't have numbers or anything and turn in oppostie directions. The one on the left you press forward to go higher. The one on the right you press backward to shift higher. Maybe this is normal? After about 10 minutes i was riding. But the handlebars felt really far forward and i felt awkward. And my butt hurt instantly. Eventually I mustered up enough courage to ride up the big hill in front of my house and out into the world. Unfortunately every direction from my house after that is downhill, which means it's uphill coming back. And I was so uncomfortable on the bike that I decided not to go down the hills. So I turned around after about half a mile. Total ridden: 1.25 miles.

Things learned:
1) They say you never forget how to ride a bike. I disagree.
2) 85 is still really, really hot.
3) I am really out of shape.
4) Biking hurts my ass.
5) I wish it were flat where I lived.

Is this the end of my biking career already? We shall see.