Pheidippides’s BodyBlog

2008 is over, and it’s time to move forward and set new goals for 2009.

2008, overall, was a fitness success.  I started the year barely able to run, because of my Achilles tendon problems.  By the end of the year I had achieved personal records in the 5K and half marathon, and run my first marathon ever in 3:20:00, qualifying for the Boston Marathon.  I competed in my first ever triathlon, finishing respectably in the first half despite somewhat deficient training.

In terms of strength training, I started well but finished poorly.  Basically, strength training gave way to running, which I prefer.

In terms of body weight and composition, I failed to lose weight, but I seemed to have lost some bodyfat, at least until the end of the year.  Unfortunately, after the marathon training I ate poorly for several weeks, and my weight is not up a few pounds.  I weighed 177.6 today, with a bodyfat reading of 19.2%, and my waist has expanded a bit.

I stayed healthy, although I have some ongoing weakness in my right Achilles tendon, and more recently I seem to have strained what I think is my hip flexor muscle on the left side.  I have an ongoing tendency to injure myself with my running, which I have to address.  My health has been good, and I’ve continued to lower my cholesterol a little bit (the men in my family tend to have very high cholesterol).

So, my fitness goals for the year are as follows:

1.  Improve my running, especially at the 5K to half marathon distances.  Lower my 5K time to 19:15, and my half marathon time to under 1:30.  Run 10K in under 40 minutes by the fall.  Run the CIM marathon again, this time under 3:10, ten minutes faster.  Be able to run 5 days a week, over 30 miles per week, without injuring myself.
2. Lose weight and improve body composition through exercise and improved diet.  Get weight under 165 pounds, and bodyfat under 13%.  Lose the love handles for good, and improve muscle tone, especially in my mid-section.
3.  Strength train moderately, mostly to supplement my running, and to improve basic strength, flexibility, and muscle tone.  Be able to do 60 plus pushups at once, and over 15 pullups at once.  I’m going to start a mostly at-home weekly strength training exercise regimen that will emphasize pushups, pullups, curls, and bodyweight exercises and stretches.

4.  Eat a cleaner diet, cutting weigh back on bad carbs (candy, cake, chips, junk like that) and be more careful about controlling portions and limiting late night snacking.  I won’t eat completely cleanly, but I will eat more cleanly.  The goal is to continue to improve health and fitness, lose some weight, and provide my body with good nutrition to continue improving at running.

5.  I will continue to engage in supplemental aerobic activiities such as swimming, cycling, and use of gym machines to supplement my aerobic fitness and running as necessary, for fun, and to engage the rest of my family in healthy activities.

Phase 1 of my 2009 fitness plan begins now and ends on Valentines Day, the day before my family leaves for a trip to Hawaii.  The goal is to lose a lot of weight, get my weight down to 165 pounds, look better in a swimsuit, get well underway with my strength training program, and establish a modest base of running at least 4 times per week, over 30 miles per week, with minimal pain or injury.  When I get  back from Hawaii I will start ramping up my running program to try to achieve my time goals in races later in the spring.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 5th, 2009 at 10:31 am and is filed under Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.