I'm Back

It has been an interesting three weeks.  The last time I ran was Saturday November 20th.  I did a 5 mile jog/walk.  The next day I went to the gym and did 35 minutes on the elliptical.  I was then damn near crippled.  I really hurt my right calf.  I spent about two weeks limping around.  I got depressed and started feeling sorry for myself and despite not admitting it, I think I was starting to give up...again.

But I have to say that this little blog helped in a couple of ways.  First, the shame aspect.  Like I said when I started this up.  If I quit, I know there are at least a few people who have read my words here and would know that I was a quitter.  Second, I actually had a couple people say "Hey...whats up?  Haven't seen anything for a while on the blog."  Thank you to those people, you know who you are.  That is EXACTLY what I was hoping to get out of this effort.

So I really wasn't able to exercise much at all.  I went to the gym once and did the incumbent bicycle.  This was OK...didn't hurt too much.  But I really was just feeling depressed about not being able to run.

So I realized that I could not overcome nearly 20 years of inactivity in 3 weeks.  Despite thinking that I was following a sensible plan, I wasn't.  I obviously wasn't, or I wouldn't have hurt myself. 

But today I got back on the horse.  A couple of changes.  First, I took it slow.  Slower than before.  Second, I went to the gym and did the treadmill.  This was a WHOLE lot less stressful on my legs.  I obviously need to drop some weight before I go back to the roads.

I still plan on aiming for the half marathon this spring.  But I not going to do it by killing myself.  If I am ready, than I'll do it.  But hitting that destination is not as important as taking the journey. 

On another health note, I had my colonoscopy done this week.  Everything is fine.  One polyp, doc took it out and said it looked like nothing.  A relief.  I was actually worried.  Just had a bad vibe going in.  Family history and horror stories from other people had me concerned, but all is good. 

There was another lesson out of the experience though.  While I was getting ready to go in, they brought out the patient who was before me to the recovery bed the next curtain over.  I could hear the whole conversation.  55 year old man.  Smoked two packs a day and drank.  He had recently lost a lot of weight because he was having trouble eating/swallowing.  Well, I listened to the doctor break the news to this man that they had found an ulceration and a mass in his esophagus.  They immediately sent him to the hospital for more testing.  The nurse that was helping me was actually in near tears.  She said this was the toughest part of her job.

It is not often you hear a death sentence being delivered.  I don't know that of course...but that is what I was thinking.

Like I said in an earlier post.  Life provides you with plenty of messages.  You just need to be prepared to listen to them.

On a positive note, while I was not exercising I was still doing my low cholesterol eating and managed to drop some more weight.  Down to 276, which is a total weight loss of 14 pounds since I started.

Onward and upward...

A Setback

I am really disappointed.  I've heard about "running injuries" but didn't quite understand.  How do you get injured from just running?  I get it if you step into a hole or trip and fall...but how do you hurt yourself from just running?

Well the pain in my right calf has not gone away.  It has intensified and gotten more specific.  It is clear that I am not just "sore" but rather I am injured.  Walking hurts.. a lot.  Running is impossible.  Did a lot of reading tonight on calf strains and it is clear that I need to rest the leg for a few days.  If I run through the pain, which is what I did last week, I'll just make it worse.  Hoping I can rest the leg for a few days and get back on the road.

This is a precarious time.  I could easily "rest" for a week, then two, then more, then the whole program is shot.  I need to make sure I do the right thing here.  I need to give it enough time to heal the leg, but I can't let the program fade away.

Really depressed about this....

Sunday - The Day After

I can see Sunday's are going to be painful days for a while.  I am very sore from yesterday's five miler.  But the pain is a good thing...that's what I keep telling myself.

I went to Planet Fitness today for the first time since February.  I half expected the staff to laugh when a scanned my membership card, but there was no public humiliation. 

I did 30 minutes on the elliptical.  So much smoother than running, no pain in the joints.

Tomorrow is a rest day.  Facing Thanksgiving this week and Thursday is a run day.  I'll have to hit the road before I stuff my face.

The Polar Biathalon

What a great day.  Started at 7AM setting up at Cedar Beach for the Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics.  Then at 12 noon I jumped into the Long Island Sound.  It was COLD!! But it was a lot of fun and I will do it again.  And it was a huge turnout from the community for the first time event.  About 300 plungers!

Then after I got home and all the commotion was over, I still had to tackle long run day.  I did 5 miles today at 2 minute walk / 2 minute run intervals.  Longest effort yet.  It was a little tough, but I was still on a high from jumping in the water so I got through it in about an hour and ten minutes.

Funny moment was running past one of those roadside digital speed signs that show how fast you are going.  It didn't flash as I passed it.  I guess I have to pick up the pace a little!

And the best news is I am down 11 pounds since I began the program 2 weeks ago!

****
5 minute warm up walk
5 miles at 2/2 intervals
1 hour 11 minutes

Saturday weigh in : 279 (-11 lbs total)

A Long Day Finished on the Road

I spent yesterday volunteering at the Suffolk County Board of Elections doing the absentee ballot count for the very tight Bishop/Altshuler race.  I spent about 11 hours sitting on a folding chair in a big warehouse starring at envelopes and ballots.

They are nice enough to feed you lunch and dinner during the process.  Lunch was easy, I was able to order a healthy sandwich.  But of course dinner was the usual Italian take-out feast that I can't eat any of.  Meatballs heroes, chicken parm, fried calamari, lasagna, etc.  I did good...I picked at the salad while others at the table were scarfing down the food and probably wondering why the large man in the corner was nibbling on cauliflower...

So after hours and hours of sitting I got home around 8 PM and still had my Thursday run to do.  Again, having this printed daily schedule is the best thing yet because I know I just can't skip a day.  So out into the dark I went to do my program.  It was 2 minutes jog / 2 minutes walk, 34 minutes total.

Damn it hurt like hell again for the first 15-20 minutes.  Tonight it was my knees.  On the brighter side, the shin splints are getting better and hopefully will continue to fade away.  Once I was out there for a while things started to loosen up and feel better.  But it seems like every time now it just sucks for the first half and then gets tolerable for the second half.

But when I was back in the house at 9 PM and showered and resting, it felt great to have gotten out there, even late in the day and after a long day of complete inactivity.  Not something I would have done in the past...

****
5 min warm up walk
24 minutes of 2min walking / 2min jog intervals
5 minute cool down walk

Back on the Road

As per the program, I took Monday off after just doing the 25 minute walk on Sunday.  Tuesday had me back out on the road, increasing the jog time compared to the walk time.  I did intervals of 3 minutes jogging to 2 minutes walking.  Did these seven times along with the warm up walk and cool down walk.  Total of 45 minutes on the road.

My legs were totally dead last night.  The shin splints are getting much better, but I was cramping up a lot last night in the lower legs.  I just keep telling myself that the weight will decrease while the legs get stronger and eventually, the pain will subside.

Since my last run was Saturday, I noticed during the day on Tuesday a feeling I have had many, many times before.  I kept thinking, I don't have time to run today...maybe I'll skip today and do it tomorrow...I'm just too damn tired to do this today...etc.  This is the point, a week to two weeks into a program, where I have quit so many times before.  This is where a day off becomes a week off which becomes...Program Over. 

The best thing I have dome this time around is actually map out this program day by day.  I simply cannot skip a day or half-ass a day.  If the calendar says I need to do 45 minutes today, then I just need to do it.  I have every day planned out through May 1, which is half-marathon day.

I read this week that Al Roker said he hates running.  He did it just so he could accomplish the marathon, but found very little joy in the training.  I am experiencing a lot of pain and the process has been more difficult than I thought it would, but somehow I am I am finding a lot of joy in the process.  Twisted...

****
Tuesday 11/16
5 minute warm up walk
3 minute jog/2 minute walk for 35 minutes
5 minute cool down walk

Sunday...

Today is just a walk day, to recover from the long run day that is Saturday.  I was pretty wiped out yesterday, but in a good way.

But now we have the latest issue to deal with on this journey...chafing.  I'll spare you all the details, but lets just say that certain body parts are doing a little dance with other parts in a way they haven't done in a long time.  And the result is not comfortable.  So now I find myself researching running underwear (for big guys).  Its funny, every search I have been doing for the past week and a half is always "something for big guys", like running shoes for big guys, running for big guys, exercise for big guys...etc.

Good news received yesterday was that my 2-pack-a-day, 10 year older brother seems to have been inspired by my  message and has vowed to get on the program and run in the Long Island Half Marathon with me in May.  I look forward to sharing the journey with him, and hopefully this will get him to kick the habit once and for all!

***

25 minute walk / 1.4 miles

The Long Run Day

So this sadistic program sets up Saturdays as the long run day.  This week it called for 4 miles of 1 minute jogging/2 minute walking intervals.  I went to the HS track so I could know how far I had gone.  Running the track sucks.  Every lap I see my car sitting there and all I was thinking about was quitting.  At least when you run the roads and do an "out and back", once you are out there the only way you are getting home is by foot.

Despite running on the track, which is softer then the roadway, the pain in my lower legs is still pretty bad.  But I did learn that if you run long enough the pain goes numb, so that's a good thing I guess!

And I thought I was beginning to experience the "runner's high" I have heard so much about around 3 miles.  But I think I was just getting dizzy.  My body is still trying to figure out what the hell I am doing to it.  9:00 AM on a Saturday is meant for everything bagels with cream cheese, the newspaper and a cup of coffee, not dragging your fat ass around a high school running track!

I have to admit, now that it is not quite 10 in the morning and I have finished 4.5 miles on the track, it feels pretty good.


***
1/4 mile warm-up walk
4 miles walking 2 min / jogging 1 min (jogged the entire lap 16)
1/4 mile cool down walk
4 miles = 58:45


Saturday weigh in = 284 lbs (-6 lbs)

The Results Are In...

So I got today's kick in the ass...

My doctor's office called with the results of my blood work.  The one thing I always had going for me was that my cholesterol was always under control.  I've never had a bad result from blood work.  Well that is over.

My "bad" cholesterol is 247.
My "good" cholesterol is 34

And the icing on the cake (shitty pun intended) is that my blood sugar is 6.1, which is borderline high.

I looked up my cholesterol levels to see what range I was in.

My good cholesterol puts me at "a major risk factor for heart disease."
My bad cholesterol puts me at "twice the risk of coronary heart disease as someone below 200."

Those Goddamn all you can eat Chinese buffets...

But my mind takes me back to yesterday's post.  There was some kind of message from somewhere yesterday.  Out of nowhere this guy pulls up alongside me on the road and we start talking about how his doctor told him his cholesterol was out of whack and he tells me all about how he got on this program and started running and working out and now he is doing great.  Then one day later I get a call from my doctor with these results???  And all this one week after my bizarre Al Roker induced epiphany about my health???

OK...whoever is pulling the strings up there, I hear ya.  Message received... 

Off Day

The program I am on is very clear about the need for rest days.  Especially at the beginning when my legs are trying to figure out just what the hell I am doing to them.  They need a day in-between to rejuvinate.

I felt so good after yesterday that I decided to go out this morning for a walk/jog, even though I wasn't supposed to.  Now I understand why I need the day off.  My legs were dead the whole time...my shin splints were bothering me again.  Man does it suck being 40.

Today's lesson learned - Stick to the damn program!  Tomorrow I am supposed to do a 4 mile jog/walk.  Should be interesting.


Today: 6 minute warm-up walk - 20 minute walk/run - 5 minute cool down

Big Al

Al Roker finished the 2011 NYC marathon in 7:09:44 last Sunday.  In 2002 Al was 48 years old and weighed 320 pounds.  He has since had gastric bypass surgery, total knee replacement and back surgery.
He is now 56 years old and he completed the NYC Marathon. 

If Al can do it I'm damn well sure I can.

Relief

Thank God for the Nike Air Pegasus+27 running shoe.  Tuesday's run was such a painful experience I knew I had to do something.  So I did some research on shoes for big guys and went to a couple of stores and tried on a bunch.  I settled on this shoe because it felt the most comfortable in the store and had good reviews.  (To think, I am reading running shoe reviews...)

I did my scheduled jog/walk today and it felt so much better.  Shin splints still there but they started later in the run and were not as severe.  Relief...

I went to Carmines in NYC last night.  Holy crap is that a lot of food.  It was a really nice meal with good friends.  I ate everything.  But getting out on the road today felt so good and removed any guilt about last night.  I know that a month ago I would have been laying around on the couch letting all that food just stay there.

Interesting encounter on the road today.  A guy I know from town pulled up while I was on my cool down walk.  We started talking and I told him what I was doing.  He said a little over a year ago his doctor wanted to put him on lipitor. He bargained with the doc and told him he would start working out.  He joined a gym, got on a program, lost 50 pounds and his blood levels all came back to normal, without any meds.  And he just ran in a 5K in town with his 70+ year old father and his 13 year old son.

Now, you could just chalk this up to a coincidence that he just happened to pull up along side me during the first week of my program.  Or one might choose to believe that this was some type of message  A little positive reinforcement out of nowhere.  Life is funny.  Messages and inspirations are all around you.  You just need to be open enough to hear them...

Today: 5min warm up walk / 21 min jog-walk/ 5 min cool down walk

Changing Focus

I've been reading the book on marathons & half-marathons.  While I do think I could train for the marathon, the more sensible goal is to target the half-marathon first.  I am going to use the program that gets you up to speed to run a half-marathon in 26 weeks.  It just so happens that this will pretty much take me right up to the Long Island Marathon and Half-Marathon, which is scheduled for May 1, 2011.  A half a year to slowly lose the weight and gain the stamina seems about right.

So today after work I did 38 minutes.  5 minute warm up walk, then 28 minutes of run/walk in 2 minute intervals, with a 5 minute walk at the end to cool down. 

I was in so much pain tonight.  In fact, I was really discouraged for the first 20 minutes.  I have very painful shin splints that actually hurt more while I am walking then jogging.  After about 20 minutes I got into a little groove for the final15 minutes.  But I did have to put ice on my lower legs when I came home.  My right knee is also aching and my lower back. 

I guess I am now understanding what getting old really does.  Mentally, I still feel like a dopey 20 year old who can do anything.  But when I am 10 minutes into a walk/jog and my back, knee, and both shins are aching, I guess I can't ignore the fact that I am not a kid anymore.

I guess I need to look into a better pair of running shoes.  Something more designed for me.  Gee, does Nike make a Land Monster model?

SNOW??

I stepped outside my backdoor this morning for my walk/run at about 6 AM and was greeted by SNOW!  November 8th.  Its going to be a long winter.  So I guess today's lesson is that I am going to have to start using that Planet Fitness membership.  You know...the one I started in February and have used exactly two times.

I enjoyed my rest day yesterday (I'm going to enjoy those rest days!).  I went to the library and got a book on running marathons and half marathons for beginners.  It seems that the half marathon is being heavily promoted in this book for beginners.  And since I am really so far down right now, I think it might be a more appropriate step in the process.  It is a 26 week training schedule towards the half marathon.  So I think we are going to shoot for a 5K within 8 weeks...January sometime.  The shoot for a half marathon during the summer.

I am noticing that the sides of my lower legs hurt a lot while I am walking.  Not while I am jogging, just the walking part.   It is probably my calves.  I am sure my calves are talking to each other saying. "Hey, what the hell is this fat bastard doing to us????"

Anyway, I got in a 30 minute walk/run this morning in the snow flakes and windy rain.  Feels good to get it done.  And as I am writing this, Al Roker is on the Today Show being congratulated for completing the NYC Marathon.  Al-freaking-Roker...my muse.

Day One

So I got out there today and got it going. It was early and still dark out. As I saw my shadow from the street lights I couldn't help thinking that I must look like Sasquatch loping down the street for an early morning hunt.

I realize that the only way to actually do this is to start small...take baby steps. I did some research online and found a suggested program to go from a couch potato (hello) to a 5K in 8 weeks. That seemed perfectly reasonable. The first week involves walking for 6 minutes, jogging for 1 minute, etc. etc. I did this four times for a 28 minute effort.  If I can actually run a 5K sometime in January then I will be on my way.

Oh and yes, I hurt like hell.  Its pretty comical to think that this hulking, wheezing mass who is struggling through a 1 minute jog thinks he is going to run 26 miles in one year.  I also realize that I am tight as a drum.  I really need to get some stretching in because I couldn't touch my toes with a gun to my head.  Which is OK since I can't exactly see my toes these days.  I stepped on the scale this morning for the first time in months.  Un-freaking-believable.  290 lbs

It Begins...

AL ROKER IS RUNNING THE FUCKING NEW YORK CITY MARATHON?????

That was the immediate visceral thought that screamed through my brain.  Sure, since it is early November in New York I have been hearing for weeks about how this celebrity or that athlete is running in the 2010 NYC Marathon.  But Al Roker???   Al was America’s fat, jolly weatherman.  He made his fortune talking about warm fronts on NBC while scarfing down bbq and peach pie on the Food Network.  Then he went and had his stomach stapled and started working out and lost a bunch of weight.  That I could deal with, but today I heard he’s running the damn marathon????  This is the final insult.

 If Al-freaking-Roker can get his act together and actually become disciplined enough to train for and run in the NYC marathon, then why can’t I?  Well, that’s actually an easy to question to answer.  Because I am a lazy, procrastinating, undisciplined, overweight, out-of-shape 40-year-old with an addiction to all you can eat Chinese buffet restaurants and an aversion to any type of prolonged physical activity.  I blame fantasy football.  For the past 18 years that I have been involved in a fantasy football league I have been able to get my athletic kicks without actually being, you know, athletic.

 Anyway, now that I have hit 40 if there is any hope of me doing anything spectacular with my life the time is running out.  I need to make some type of drastic change…now.  I need to force myself into a disciplined, productive routine of health and training.  And discipline isn't exactly my forte.  I can’t even watch a television series anymore, because having to watch a particular episode once a week is just too much of a commitment for me.

 So that’s where this little blog comes in.  The one almighty force in life that serves as a great motivator is…fear of shame.  If I throw it out there for anyone to see, and make a public proclamation that I plan on doing something, I will at least have the spectre of public humiliation hanging over my head to force me to get out there and hit the pavement.  Day after day after day, for the next year.

 The goal…The 2011 New York City Marathon.