stachedwalker’s BodyBlog

Last weekend I did 2 hours on the treadmill, put in 9.3 miles and used up 1100 calories getting ready for the 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks.  The plan today, was to go for 11-12 miles.  I ended up doing the same thing as last week, 9.4 miles in 2 hours … 1100 calories.   Why no further?   Didn’t bring along calories to burn.  Huh??  I always think of the treadmill as aerobics so that you’re using that to burn up calories, thus you don’t want to bring along stuff with sugars to ingest while you’re on the treadmill.  That’s a good mindset for one hour on the road … 2 hours +, you’re not doing aerobics to burn up calories, you’re doing endurance and you NEED calories to keep going.  About 1:45 into it my stomach was telling me .. in no uncertain terms … it was HUNGRY … and I didn’t have anything with me to give my system the extra energy it needed at that time. So I backed off to a 2 hour workout.  I am going to try to get a 10+ mile session in this coming week but I know I’ll have to bring something like "Gu" in order to give me my needed energy to make it.  Besides, the gym won’t let me bring beer/stout in my water bottle. 

Yes, as one can tell, it’s been a while since my last blogging … nearly a solid month.  In fact, I even got an automated gentle ‘reminder’ from the CEO/Computer reminding me that I’ve been remiss on that (I need to find some way to shut that little pain in the behind SPAM off!!).  I got down to about 179 lbs, and then the dreaded "First of May" yearly syndrome happened.  Birthdays, Mother’s Day, visiting relatives … and this year business travel on top of that … which all work together sabotage my diet and workouts.  Added to the fact that this year I turned 50, people who don’t necessarily take me out to dinner did so with a gleam in their eye (evil gleam I may add).  My eldest sister sent 10lbs (literally) of desserts …my younger one about 20 lbs of food.

As you can guess, the weight did NOT go down from there … and little to no weekday workouts.  The times that I got to workout on the weekends were spent getting some walking training in for the Helvetia Half Marathon June 9th.   I would get about an hour in on Saturday and/or Sunday.  

Well, Ladies and Gents, this past week was get yer behind back in gear time.   With the 1/2 only 3 weeks away, the walking takes #1 priority.   This past week I did speed(ish) training on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. For me, that’s starting out at about 4.5 or 4.6 mph, then slowly and continually upping the speed 0.1mph every mile, or 15 minutes, etc.  That way it’s not noticeable that I’m continually pushing myself to go faster.  Sometimes it works pretty well.  I still get winded pretty easily over 5.1mph, and my form falls off there.  I need to get some help from some trainers there.

Saturday I marched into the gym early (’bout  8:15), headed to the row of treadmills, turned on my radio … tuned out the world, and started ‘er up!  I did 2 hours on the treadmill yesterday.  Yes, it can be done … just turn the brain off!  Actually, it’s easier for me to do at the gym than in my house. THAT is an exercise in mental torture.  But I did it, 2 hours, 9.3 miles, approx 1100 calories …. and a beer for lunch!!  No flack now, that beer did NOT contain 1100 calories!  

Today I’m none the worse for wear due to the walking yesterday.  I should be able to do the 1/2 in under 3 hours now, if I can keep up my tempo … actually pretty well under 3.  Keep the fingers crossed for no blisters.   The calves are tight today, but that’s the only residual effect.  I’m stretching them frequently.  

Now, where does the title of this blog come in?   My training journal said 4/23 was the last time I lifted any weights.  It’s been a while.  I’m getting tired of JUST doing the walking.  It sure isn’t building up the arms or shoulders, or back, or chest … my lung capacity may be getting better but I could still lose at armwrestling to a 15 year old.  Not good.  So, this afternoon I marched back into that gym and never glanced once at the treadmills.  I used free weights, dumbbells, plates, cables and machines.  I did abs, shoulders, traps, lats, pecs, biceps and triceps.   It felt good to lift something more than a pen …. or my laptop when I’m slinging it over my back in my backpack.   Even for people who are in training for walking/runing competitions …  every once in a while …  you just feel the need for WEIGHT!!

Supposed to have been a speed training but fighting off the beginnings of a cold, so I decided not to push it.  I did one hour at 4.5mph … a nice, steady pace.  Supposedly used up some 500 calories.  Instead of trying to go fast I was concentrating more on my form.  You have to have form down so much you don’t think about it because you’re disqualified if you start doing things like bending your lead leg, or not having one foot down on the ground at all times.  The longer the race goes, the worse your form gets.

I was just under 180 lbs this AM when i got up so I’m hoping that I’ll be able to register 179 come Thursday’s weigh in.

One nice thing about working out later in the evening … most people are gone and there’s minimal waiting/fighting for the equipment.    Today was upperbody day and I was successful, really, at getting everything I wanted.  Here’s the workout

Abs
Naut Rotation machine  35×12, 45×10, 45×10
Hammer ab machine  35×10, 35×10, 35×10

Torso
Nautilus low-back  150×10, 15×10,150×10
Hammer Shrugs  90×12, 90×10, 90×10 (need to raise weight next time)
Nautilus pullover   90×10, 90×10, 90×10
Nautilus freeweight incline bench  110 (55 each side)x12, 110×10, 110×7
Machine 1arm row  60×10, 60×10,60×10

Arms
Dumbbell laterals  15×10, 15×10,15×6
Nautilus curls    75×10, 75×6, 75×8
Triceps pulley pushdowns  52.5×10, 52.5×10, 52.5×8
Freemotion Hammer curls  35×8, 35×7
Dumbbell Overhead press  45×11, 45×8  (two hands on one dumbbell)

As soon as I got home had 2 glasses of skim milk for my protein and carbs … in liquid form for quickest absorption.

Today was again a distance day.   Last week I did 7 miles, I wanted to do at least 7 miles again to.  It was pushing it a bit at the end, but I upped the day’s walk to 8 miles.  Total time of about 103 minutes to do it all.  My speed started out at 4.5mph, and every 1/2 hour I upped it 0.1mph.  So I was doing 4.8mph at the end. The treadmill estimated that I used up about 900-950 calories.  Given what I ate yesterday … I need to burn that up.

Friday night I got a pretty good leg workout in.  It started off with singled legged, no weight squats on the smith machine for 2 sets of 15 reps (each leg).  Next I went to the Free-motion step up machine. It’s like climbing/descending stairs while holding onto 70 lbs … 3 sets of about 10 reps.  Next was heavy weight with a seated leg press (3 sets).  Quads were finished off with 1 leg leg extensions. (3 sets again)  After quads I headed over to do stiff legged deadlifts for the hamstrings, followed by standing 1 leg legcurls.  After hitting the major muscles, it was onto the smaller ones.  I’m in the process of adding some glute exercises in the way of a leg extension the back with weights.  In racewalking, most of your power comes from pushing the leg behind you … so the bum gets used a lot.    Legs were finished off with 3 sets of straight leg calf raises and 2 sets of seated calf raises.

more speed walking tonight.  1 hour again.  4.75 miles total   About 550 calories.  Let’s see what tomorrow’s weigh-in says.

speed training day.  An hour on the treadmill.  I started off at 4.0mph for about 5 minutes to get warmed up.  then upped the speed to 4.6mph to start the speed portion.  For the next 45 minutes I slowly upped the speed to a max of 5.2mph.  I didn’t stay at the max very long … remembering what happenned to my hip the last time I was there.  This was just to get the feel of it.  50 minutes into the training I slowed back down to 4.0 for 5 minutes and then slowly upped the speed by 0.1mph each minute until the 60 minutes were up.  Grand total of 4.58 miles in an hour, over 500 calories burned.

The last two weeks have been busy, hectic, frustrating … and at times pretty emotionally draining (a lot going on), but I did get some workouts in.  

I was on the road for 2 1/2 days the end of the first week in April.  The good news was that even with that I didn’t do too badly on the eating.  Most of it was pretty healthy.  I got the chance to visit an old favority … Boston market … and had steak, cornbread, yams, creamed spinach and spiced apples.  Not low cal (or low sodium) but not bad for food on the road!  

Sunday the 8th I spent the afternoon doing 6 miles on the treadmill … starting at 4.0mph and stepping it up by 0.1mph every mile.  Monday night I missed my weight training, but got up at 5am on Tuesday mornining to hit the gym.  With gents like Red Weston and others doing the early morning thing, I couldn’t wimp out and not do it myself.    Tuesday and Wednesay nights were spent doing 1hour walks on the treadmill.  

Weigh day for work’s 15 week, 15lb weight challenge was Thursday.  This was week 10, and I’ve lost some 17 lbs by that scale in the 10 weeks.  That’s possibly a little off since week to week can vary alot due to whatever we’re waying.  I did weigh in at 181 lbs at home, so I figure about 15 lbs in the 10 weeks is realistic.  

Thursday - Friday no exercising … except for gastric juices due to what was listed in the first sentence.  Today, back to the long distance walking.  7 miles in 1:38…. appx 700 calories used up.  Again started at 4.0 mph, adding 0.1mph each mile …finished off at 4.6mph.  

the plan these days is to spend the weekends doing long walks, then weight train Monday, 2 days of fast walks, weight train on Thursday or Friday.   Now, if I can only get my schedule to agree with this. 

Yeah …. like Hip adduction and abduction.  Thursday was leg day … and a good one it was.   I did nearly all my exercises that I had planned on doing.  The one thing I bypassed was a butt blaster.    But the rest of it was good, as I said.  So good that Friday and Saturday I had some trouble walking.  The inside of my thighs ached!  Friday was supposed to be chest/back/abs day …but I was so drained from work my 1 hour post-dinner/pre-workout nap ended up going from 7pm until midnight.  Consequently … no workout!  I did that on Saturday and had a good day then, too.  Sunday my legs were still sore so I forego the walking, and finally got on the treadmill this evening.  Still taking it easy.  I did 4.25 miles in an hour.   No pains at all.  However, if I’m going to do the 1/2 marathon this June I need to start doing longer weekend walks.  Starting with about 6 miles this weekend and adding a mile every weekend until I get up to 11-12 miles.