Dear James, Daniel and Emily
Last week was all about disruptions, disruptions and then sickness. First I let weather affect me. Then I let a schedule disruption throw me off. Then I got sick. But I still ran the 5K race with Jimmy, because I had a commitment to make. And now trying to use that as a springboard to get back into things.
Boy I am ready for some heat! Looking out the window as 40+ Mph winds blow snow and dust all over the place. I am so tired of this, I am perfectly content to run in some 90 degree temps at this point. I will simply consign this to being a sign of aging but the weather has affected me more this year than I can recall in the past. Either way one of the reasons I have not ran as much this year has been weather: ice on the ground, wind etc.
Along with the weather the other thing that has thrown me off lately has been a lack of sleep. I have had some nights when I just could not get to sleep, due to a dinner soda or being cold or having a spinning mind or all 3. Which resulted in being too groggy to answer that early morning wake up for a run. This has been my own fault, as I have added a new social event to my life and have not yet figured out completely how to manage it.
And illness, I caught a stomach bug Thursday that was compounded by an eye problem on Friday. Led to me being stuck at home, hiding from the sun and bright lights. But that was not something within my control like adapting to the weather and handling my sleep better.
All of that meant that by Saturday morning I had every reason to not run in the race. I wasn't prepared having been out of training for too long. I hadn't eaten a decent meal in 2 days. My eyes were still bothering me. But I had a commitment, to myself and to my son. So I sucked it up (helped by overcast skies keeping the sun away) and ran the race.
I got my butt kicked. I had a decent pace the first 2 miles, but in the third mile I fell apart. When everyone (including Jimmy) was hitting it for their final kick to the finish line I was actually slowing down! I wasn't happy with my final time (just under 35 minutes.) Yeah, I know I should just be happy I did it, how many other people were just sitting on their couches or in restaurants being lazy while I ran. But I know I could have done better. Sure if I had not been fighting the sickness for 2 days and been running on a real diet I probably would have had more energy for that final kick and that was beyond my control.
But what was under my control was the lack of training and preparation. And my big take away from the performance is to use that feeling as the mental kick in the rear end to get moving, no more excuses for skipping a training session. Time to get out there and run again! And make smarter choices about the things I know will disrupt my schedule (If I am eating out, no caffeine for dinner for example.) And also time to get back to pushing myself, especially on the weekends. I know I have it in me, just have to push that part of me back to the surface again.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Just trying to be happy & take my exercise where I get it #Fitwinning
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
There are times when these posts feel like a repetitive downer. Like I am doing nothing but repeating things like 'I am trying to get better about watching what I eat' or 'didn't run as much as I would like'. Yeah a lot of that does feel like excuse making. And some of it feels like I am just beating myself up.
Really the whole reason I keep this up, keep running when I can, keep trying to stay focused on eating better, keep trying to drop some weight; is because I want to be happy. And I know that there is a connection between health, fitness and happiness. I have friends who have pretty much always been fit, who are now fighting battles over things like injuries, and that is a good reminder that it doesn't end with getting lean and fit, it is an ongoing process.
Where this is leading is this, my kids are growing, and getting more active. Saturday we went to Jimmy's wrestling club banquet, which led to my spending almost 2 hours in the swimming pool, not active swimming, but still moving around, and getting in some real swimming her and there. Sunday we had an impromptu family picnic and kickball game at the park, which led to my running all over the place trying to catch up to the ball etc. Now I didn't run either morning (for a variety of reasons.) But I was still somewhat sore from those exercises. Which is basically okay, those are not activities I normally engage in, I rarely swim (although I intend to do more of that this summer with the kids), and while I run I rarely engage in sudden all out sprints like the kickball game. My real life goal is to be there whenever the kids ask about joining in those activities (and I don't have other commitments.)
So, if you ask what my real purpose is in all this running and trying to be food conscious it is so I can be out there with the kids. Hiking, biking, swimming, playing games. Because if there was any single motivating moment prior to my losing weight and beginning to run that sticks in my head it was one time when Jimmy wanted me to play basketball with him and I tried but my back kept spasming. I do all of this to avoid going back to being that guy, who cannot run and play with the kids as much as he wants.
Another prime example, I had not planned to run in the St. Patrick's Day 5K this year since I wasn't running in the Grand Prix series. But when Jimmy asked about it this weekend and said he really wanted to run it, how could I say no? In fact we even have a pact: I will stick with his early jack rabbit pace if he tries to keep it going the entire race and stays with me at the end when he normally runs out of gas. That is the guy I am and work to remain: willing to jump when my son wants me to join him for a run, game etc. Because more than anything else that is my definition of #Fitwinning.
There are times when these posts feel like a repetitive downer. Like I am doing nothing but repeating things like 'I am trying to get better about watching what I eat' or 'didn't run as much as I would like'. Yeah a lot of that does feel like excuse making. And some of it feels like I am just beating myself up.
Really the whole reason I keep this up, keep running when I can, keep trying to stay focused on eating better, keep trying to drop some weight; is because I want to be happy. And I know that there is a connection between health, fitness and happiness. I have friends who have pretty much always been fit, who are now fighting battles over things like injuries, and that is a good reminder that it doesn't end with getting lean and fit, it is an ongoing process.
Where this is leading is this, my kids are growing, and getting more active. Saturday we went to Jimmy's wrestling club banquet, which led to my spending almost 2 hours in the swimming pool, not active swimming, but still moving around, and getting in some real swimming her and there. Sunday we had an impromptu family picnic and kickball game at the park, which led to my running all over the place trying to catch up to the ball etc. Now I didn't run either morning (for a variety of reasons.) But I was still somewhat sore from those exercises. Which is basically okay, those are not activities I normally engage in, I rarely swim (although I intend to do more of that this summer with the kids), and while I run I rarely engage in sudden all out sprints like the kickball game. My real life goal is to be there whenever the kids ask about joining in those activities (and I don't have other commitments.)
So, if you ask what my real purpose is in all this running and trying to be food conscious it is so I can be out there with the kids. Hiking, biking, swimming, playing games. Because if there was any single motivating moment prior to my losing weight and beginning to run that sticks in my head it was one time when Jimmy wanted me to play basketball with him and I tried but my back kept spasming. I do all of this to avoid going back to being that guy, who cannot run and play with the kids as much as he wants.
Another prime example, I had not planned to run in the St. Patrick's Day 5K this year since I wasn't running in the Grand Prix series. But when Jimmy asked about it this weekend and said he really wanted to run it, how could I say no? In fact we even have a pact: I will stick with his early jack rabbit pace if he tries to keep it going the entire race and stays with me at the end when he normally runs out of gas. That is the guy I am and work to remain: willing to jump when my son wants me to join him for a run, game etc. Because more than anything else that is my definition of #Fitwinning.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Enjoying some unexpected exercise #fitwinning
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
Some times the exercise you were not planning is that much sweeter. Wednesday was like most other Wednesdays, I struggled but got out of bed, ran my 3 mile run, not super speedy, but my legs were definitely feeling the soreness from my 45 minutes on the bike Tuesday morning. For some reason I rarely have problems getting out for that Wednesday run.
When I got home I discovered that Emily was awake and not feeling well at all. After a thermometer check showed her running about a 100 degree fever I called in to work, as she is 6 and can't really be left at home alone and I try to limit the baby sitting from grandparents when the kids are sick to limit exposure. The rest of the morning pre-school preparations went as normal. Except that Danny was a little fidgety, kept wandering off to find something to do. Around 7:30 he announced he was bored, so I jokingly told him to start walking to school.
He asked if I was serious, with that look in his eyes that said he would like to do it but was nervous. I did a little math in my head and figured out that I should be able to walk him to school and still be back right around the time that Jimmy left for school, so Emily would have someone there. And the weather was reasonable. So I got my stuff and had a nice, enjoyable walk with my son. Although my legs were more sore than normal after adding another 2.5 miles, meaning a total of 6 miles traveled for the day.
Later, since I was home Kim decided to get into the action herself. Instead of just going and picking Jimmy up from school I drove her and their bikes to the school so she could go for a ride with him. I figure that between running with me and going on bike rides with her Jimmy has no excuse for not staying in shape.
If there is one thing that the improving weather means it is that days like this should become more of the norm rather than the exception. Heck I might even consider breaking with my attitudes about working from home if I could arrange to get in that walk instead of driving in for that commute.
Some times the exercise you were not planning is that much sweeter. Wednesday was like most other Wednesdays, I struggled but got out of bed, ran my 3 mile run, not super speedy, but my legs were definitely feeling the soreness from my 45 minutes on the bike Tuesday morning. For some reason I rarely have problems getting out for that Wednesday run.
When I got home I discovered that Emily was awake and not feeling well at all. After a thermometer check showed her running about a 100 degree fever I called in to work, as she is 6 and can't really be left at home alone and I try to limit the baby sitting from grandparents when the kids are sick to limit exposure. The rest of the morning pre-school preparations went as normal. Except that Danny was a little fidgety, kept wandering off to find something to do. Around 7:30 he announced he was bored, so I jokingly told him to start walking to school.
He asked if I was serious, with that look in his eyes that said he would like to do it but was nervous. I did a little math in my head and figured out that I should be able to walk him to school and still be back right around the time that Jimmy left for school, so Emily would have someone there. And the weather was reasonable. So I got my stuff and had a nice, enjoyable walk with my son. Although my legs were more sore than normal after adding another 2.5 miles, meaning a total of 6 miles traveled for the day.
Later, since I was home Kim decided to get into the action herself. Instead of just going and picking Jimmy up from school I drove her and their bikes to the school so she could go for a ride with him. I figure that between running with me and going on bike rides with her Jimmy has no excuse for not staying in shape.
If there is one thing that the improving weather means it is that days like this should become more of the norm rather than the exception. Heck I might even consider breaking with my attitudes about working from home if I could arrange to get in that walk instead of driving in for that commute.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Good riddance February, time for more #fitwinning days
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
February was a rough month. Distractions galore, bad weather, stress all combined to make it a bad month from a fitness perspective. But this is the month that I will regain my focus in Fitwinning.
I'm not going to lie, I let myself get away from what I should have been doing in February. I slacked off on my meal tracking. Te weather kept me inside due to snow, icy trails and cold. And When I could have been spending that time on the stationary bike I let it slide. And gradually the presence of junk food took away what little gains I made in January.
But like I said last week I need to regain my focus on 1 day at a time. Make each day about getting another fitness win. By that I mean some kind of exercise and recording all meals, resulting in a negative to my ideal calorie intake. Any day I can get below that line is a fit win. And my focus is to to get into that mode each day, eventually stringing those days together into a week.
Today was a good start, I got myself out of bed and did my 45 minutes on the bike, really worked up a sweat. I tell you, there are few things that match how it feels to start a day with that feeling you get when you complete a good workout.
I have to tell you it feels odd to not be planning and focusing on the St. Patricks Day 5K. But this year is not about running races, it is about overall fitness and balancing that with diet. So that maybe next year I can really tackle some tougher races.
February was a rough month. Distractions galore, bad weather, stress all combined to make it a bad month from a fitness perspective. But this is the month that I will regain my focus in Fitwinning.
I'm not going to lie, I let myself get away from what I should have been doing in February. I slacked off on my meal tracking. Te weather kept me inside due to snow, icy trails and cold. And When I could have been spending that time on the stationary bike I let it slide. And gradually the presence of junk food took away what little gains I made in January.
But like I said last week I need to regain my focus on 1 day at a time. Make each day about getting another fitness win. By that I mean some kind of exercise and recording all meals, resulting in a negative to my ideal calorie intake. Any day I can get below that line is a fit win. And my focus is to to get into that mode each day, eventually stringing those days together into a week.
Today was a good start, I got myself out of bed and did my 45 minutes on the bike, really worked up a sweat. I tell you, there are few things that match how it feels to start a day with that feeling you get when you complete a good workout.
I have to tell you it feels odd to not be planning and focusing on the St. Patricks Day 5K. But this year is not about running races, it is about overall fitness and balancing that with diet. So that maybe next year I can really tackle some tougher races.
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