My Journey of Change

Just want to upload my time before I chuck my kids in bed.  Same route as 2 days ago…this time 9:39:13.  Nearly a minute faster.  Yay!  Holy crap, I’m pouring sweat…Adrenaline tomorrow!

Run again tonight.  Can’t go to Adrenaline tomorrow cuz going to work late due to dr. appt.  Run was a little longer but slower.  10:26:44.  Now if I can just avoid the Resse’s Peanut Butter cups tonight…

Well, after a week of 3 group fitness classes and one day of heavy weights, I went for another run today.  This was my mile circuit again.  Completed in a time of 9:23:38.  It was quicker, which is awesome, but the second doubly awesome thing is that at the end, my son joined me and I ended up running a little further than my mile.  I told him to watch for me running up the block, which he did, and he joined me at the front of the house and we ran around our block again (I normally start my run with a run around the block then go around other the other parts of the neighborhood).  It was an extra 300m or so, and I don’t even feel super winded after the workout.  And I got to include one of my kids in my workout plans - something he’s been asking for.  Freakin’ AWESOME!!!

So I woke up a little sore today from yesterday’s spinning class.  Right from the get-go, I decided that since I did cardio yesterday, I would do weights today.  11:30 rolls around and I grab my gym bag and walk to the gym.  At the front desk, theres a bit of more people there than usual - talking about some class that’s just starting up or some junk…I didn’t pay too much attention.  As I’m getting changed, the music stops and a woman’s voice comes over the P.A. system: "Hey everybody!  Come on out and try out our brand new Adrenaline class starting up in 5 minutes!!  A great mix of cardio and weights, etc…"  Hmm…weights you say?  I want to to do weights….why not?!?

Ho-Lee Crap!

Turns out it was this circuit training/boot camp/kick you in the face while your hands are tied behind your back kind of thing.  Then there was this sprinting thing, and core work.  It was harder than the spinning class.  Brutal.  I still have a light sweat going on almost an hour later.  My back is sore (not sure why) and yeah…brutal.

Calories burned - somewhere around 600-700 in 35 mins.

SIX TO SEVEN HUNDRED!!!

I think I’ll be back next week.

So I’ve decided to try to up my cardio capacity, and I took my first spinning class today.  I was pretty nervous about it at first, as I’ve never really taken a group fitness class before, and I’d hate to be that person that left after 10 mins cause I couldn’t hack it.  (Although, after 10 mins, I felt like it!)  Anyways, I make it kind of easy on myself…not too easy - but I didn’t kill myself either.  The tunez were awesome and I think I gave it a decent effort.  2 things happened that were bad:

1)  My arm rests collapsed on me.  I didn’t hurt myself, but it might have been funny to see.  Then, when I tried to pull it back up, I ripped it out and couldn’t get the damn thing back in.  I just hopped on the next bike and kept going.  I fixed it after class.

2)  I got a stich (cramp, whatever) near the end, so I just biked for one song.  Least I didn’t quit.

I’m still sweating sittin here at my desk and class ended over half an hour ago.  I’m going to try it again Wednesday.  I figger around 600+ calories in 35 mins.

New route - longer.  After I was done, I jumped in the car, reset the odometer and actually measured it out.  Turns out it was exactly 1600 m.  Completed in 9:35:40.  Average pace:  10.01739 km/hr (or 6.2245056243 mph for you Ameri-folk out there - which is most of you).  Yeah, its slow, but my cardio sucks ok?    Cals burned:  183-ish.

Speed calculator: http://www.gazza.co.nz/distance.html

Calorie calculator: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calories.htm

Squeezed in a run before the downpour.  8:08:22.  Still getting over being sick.  Thinkin of switchin it up again…focus more on cardio than muscles…stay tuned…

If you read my blog on an even slightly semi-regular basis, or you know me, or both, you’ll know that I get hungry at night.  Hungry for evil things.  Evil, sweet things.  Evil, sweet, yummy, tasty, deli… wait, I’m getting off topic.  (Pause to wipe drool) Evil things…yes…

I think I found an awesome snack tonight.  Oatmeal.  Yes, oatmeal.  I added in a small amount of brown sugar and a bit of protein powder, mixed in some skim milk and that is the awesome snack.  Gets me full and sweet and satisfies the craving.  Fantabulastic.  I just wonder if that’s ok to eat as my final meal of the day before I set in for blissful slumber. 

Other sweet, low fat, low cal ideas I found while perusing the food place is:

• Jello
• Pudding
• Frozen yogurt
• Popcorn

Ok, that last one isn’t sweet, but depending on the mood, it’ll still satisfy the craving.  If anybody else has great high protein, low fat, medium to low calorie snacks out there, please share!

On to another topic:  I feel like this ride is at the top of the roller coaster and I’m about to plunge down.  This is because either tomorrow or Sunday we will be welcoming our third baby to our family.  I’m not sure having a new baby around will make it easy to get in regular workouts.  As I usually hit the gym at lunch while I’m at work - and since I’m going to be home for the next 2 weeks - that’ll also be a challenge.  Now before you say "Well, just hop in the car and drive down!" it’s a half hour drive - one way - so I’ll be gone for 2 hours just to get in a workout.  You try convincing my wife to let me get away for that amount of time.

I’m thinking that during the next 2 weeks I will run as often as possible (i.e. daily).  I do have some dumbbells upstairs, but we’ll see how that works out.  Basically, I’m thinking of taking a break from the weights, focus on cardio and try to seriously frag some fat.  When I get back to work, switch up the workout and target different muscle groups.  It will also give me 2 weeks to work out that new workout plan.

New stats and pictures comin’ down this weekend…stay tuned…

So, due to family/work commitments, I wasn’t able to hit up the gym today.  (Hello 9 hour workday!)  Anyways, after taking the kids to soccer tonight, I came home and did another run.  Same route.  Today it was 7:50:62. 

7:50:62!!!  And that was WITH a 30 second "walk-break".

That brings a good light to the gloomy day I was feeling today.  I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere with my weight loss.  I felt like I still eat too much;  and that I don’t know what I’m doing in trying to both build muscle and cut fat at the same time.  All this stems from weighing myself and finding that I’m not really making gains.  Of course, I don’t expect to see gains on a daily basis, but it does put me off.  I’ll be pretty disppointed if Sunday (weigh-in day) rolls around and I haven’t really lost anything.  Actually…not pretty disappointed….quite disappointed and very discouraged.  I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

If baby doesn’t come tonight, I’ll hit up the gym tomrrow at lunch.  Prolly be the last full, decent, gym workout I’ll get in before baby.  I’m thinking after that brief break/time out to welcome baby I will switch up my workout and move to the next level.  I don’t know if I’ll do a split yet or not, or if I’ll just change up the muscles I’m targeting (i.e. incline bench rather than flat).  Maybe when I’m off, I’ll continue my daily runs - to continue cutting the fat, but not necessarily the bulking.

One nice thing - my wife mentioned she would consider starting to do meal plans.  I think this could help better track what I eat (and help the wallet too!).  I’m so lucky to have a woman who supports me as much as she does.  Thanks hon!  (I know you read this!)

So I haven’t done a run since April 23rd.  Back then, it was 8:59:00 and I had to walk for the last bit of it.

Today, I managed to run all the way, and I finished my run in 8:21:84.  Yay!  Now, I’m not sure whether to try to do that faster, or to take a longer route…