Dear James, Daniel and Emily,
Made yet another error with my body weight exercises. I thought I could handle a double day, turns out I was wrong. So time to adjust, no problem.
I did my first workout on Thursday, no problem, did a better job of handling the timing and reps. So didn't have the soreness from that one. Then Saturday I charged into my planned double down day: ran then came home and did my body weight work out. Turns out that was a mistake.
I was sore for 2 days. I was able to run on Monday, but slowly. And I didn't even try to do the body weight workout on Sunday or today, putting myself back behind schedule again. But I should be able to run again tomorrow, and keep the running schedule going.
Clearly I erred in thinking I was ready for a double day. But not a problem, I can adjust things. It means I lose Friday as a rest day, in order to get in my 4 body weight workouts per week, and my 3 running days. And if I complete a week with that schedule and feel that I need a rest day I will adjust again.
Because I can be flexible with this, so long as I am getting the exercises I want, and sticking to some programs. The hardest part right now is accepting that I cannot perform the long running routes I was doing last year, I see places I was running and think to myself how I want to run there again. But I know I can get there, I just need to be patient, stick to the program. And the body weight exercises will help me get there once I get into the flow with them.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Mind straight, Health good, time to get back to it!
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
After a couple of months of therapy I think I am ins a better head space to get back to taking care of my body. And with my foot healed, and last weeks cold gone I could finally get up and start on a new 'regime'.
I already have a running program (although I do need to adjust my schedule to account for taking some days off to get healthy.) And that is working so far. And more importantly the new shoes are doing what I expected as far as being able to handle the running.
Today I embarked on the Beginner program for the 'You Are your Own Gym' workout. I received a copy of the book a while back, and it really does seem to be a sensible approach, and I like the idea of just doing body weight exercises using what I have around the house. That goes along with my running as far as keeping as minimalist as possible (except the shoes, gotta buy good shoes.) It was a good workout, and I hope to be able to keep that up and stick to the regime.
And once I get settled into that I may start getting back to the calorie counting, but that is something on the horizon, because to be honest it is not the best thing for me to do as it does not get along with my OCD. Tracking calories when you are OCD is asking for a negative feedback loop ('I didn't hit my calories again?! Well screw it') It is better to just keep aware of my general eating, try to stick to keeping well rounded, and not over eating.
All this means that I feel that I can get back onto my Fitwinning lifestyle again.
After a couple of months of therapy I think I am ins a better head space to get back to taking care of my body. And with my foot healed, and last weeks cold gone I could finally get up and start on a new 'regime'.
I already have a running program (although I do need to adjust my schedule to account for taking some days off to get healthy.) And that is working so far. And more importantly the new shoes are doing what I expected as far as being able to handle the running.
Today I embarked on the Beginner program for the 'You Are your Own Gym' workout. I received a copy of the book a while back, and it really does seem to be a sensible approach, and I like the idea of just doing body weight exercises using what I have around the house. That goes along with my running as far as keeping as minimalist as possible (except the shoes, gotta buy good shoes.) It was a good workout, and I hope to be able to keep that up and stick to the regime.
And once I get settled into that I may start getting back to the calorie counting, but that is something on the horizon, because to be honest it is not the best thing for me to do as it does not get along with my OCD. Tracking calories when you are OCD is asking for a negative feedback loop ('I didn't hit my calories again?! Well screw it') It is better to just keep aware of my general eating, try to stick to keeping well rounded, and not over eating.
All this means that I feel that I can get back onto my Fitwinning lifestyle again.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Finally running again
Dear James, Daniel and Emily,
This week I ran, for the first time in weeks I managed 2 days of morning running. I was finally able to get out and get that pair of Hoka's I wanted/needed for my toes. And it felt real good to get out there. Neither run was special in terms of speed or distance, but it was running, and that is good for now.
I am taking my time, pacing myself on distances, letting the build up occur gradually and naturally. Adhering to the plan, with a goal of returning to 10K distances by the end of the year. I figure that will be about my max distance from here on out, barring something miraculous occurring for my feet.
And I am in a real good head space as far as keeping the healthier eating habits compartmented from the running. Not going to let myself obsess about calorie counts or burns. For now it is enough to avoid the over eating and get back to regular exercise, and let the weight take care of itself.
This week I ran, for the first time in weeks I managed 2 days of morning running. I was finally able to get out and get that pair of Hoka's I wanted/needed for my toes. And it felt real good to get out there. Neither run was special in terms of speed or distance, but it was running, and that is good for now.
I am taking my time, pacing myself on distances, letting the build up occur gradually and naturally. Adhering to the plan, with a goal of returning to 10K distances by the end of the year. I figure that will be about my max distance from here on out, barring something miraculous occurring for my feet.
And I am in a real good head space as far as keeping the healthier eating habits compartmented from the running. Not going to let myself obsess about calorie counts or burns. For now it is enough to avoid the over eating and get back to regular exercise, and let the weight take care of itself.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Recognizing and accepting how powerful the mind is
Dear James, Daniel and Emily
This has been a crossroads summer for me regarding fitness. In June I finally recognized and admitted I needed help. First, the pain in my feet got properly diagnosed, and after some enforced time off the stress fracture has healed properly. And I know about my arthritic toes and what I need to do to cope with and minimize that pain. Second, I was diagnosed with Depression and got the help I needed. That is a continuing issue, with a fair amount of therapy still on the horizon.
But, regarding fitness the thing I have begun to recognize is how powerful the grip of depression was. Because as the anti-depressants and therapy have kicked in I have begun to see just how much of my eating was driven by Depression. Because in recent weeks it has become so much easier to just push away from the table after a meal, my body knows when it is full, and with the mind no longer driving me to eat in search of comfort I have already noticed a difference.
So I am recognizing how powerful the mind is, and what it was doing to me. And as I keep getting better, and begin to return to running I hope that a different cycle will begin. The most important thing is to get this started before I begin the running routine again, so I am not reliant on the running. I am certain that on some level the injuries affected me, and knowing what they are and recovering from those that are not permanent helps. But it is more important that I develop the skills to keep the weight off without the running, so that the running becomes an end of itself, separate from the overall fitness.
That being said, I do plan to begin light, limited running next week (hopefully with new shoes.) I plan to keep my mileage and time in check while my body works itself into shape again. I recognize that I might never get to that marathon distance, and possibly not even the Half. But if I can at least return to the level of running the Long series and running regularly again I will be happy (and that is something I really look forward to.)
This has been a crossroads summer for me regarding fitness. In June I finally recognized and admitted I needed help. First, the pain in my feet got properly diagnosed, and after some enforced time off the stress fracture has healed properly. And I know about my arthritic toes and what I need to do to cope with and minimize that pain. Second, I was diagnosed with Depression and got the help I needed. That is a continuing issue, with a fair amount of therapy still on the horizon.
But, regarding fitness the thing I have begun to recognize is how powerful the grip of depression was. Because as the anti-depressants and therapy have kicked in I have begun to see just how much of my eating was driven by Depression. Because in recent weeks it has become so much easier to just push away from the table after a meal, my body knows when it is full, and with the mind no longer driving me to eat in search of comfort I have already noticed a difference.
So I am recognizing how powerful the mind is, and what it was doing to me. And as I keep getting better, and begin to return to running I hope that a different cycle will begin. The most important thing is to get this started before I begin the running routine again, so I am not reliant on the running. I am certain that on some level the injuries affected me, and knowing what they are and recovering from those that are not permanent helps. But it is more important that I develop the skills to keep the weight off without the running, so that the running becomes an end of itself, separate from the overall fitness.
That being said, I do plan to begin light, limited running next week (hopefully with new shoes.) I plan to keep my mileage and time in check while my body works itself into shape again. I recognize that I might never get to that marathon distance, and possibly not even the Half. But if I can at least return to the level of running the Long series and running regularly again I will be happy (and that is something I really look forward to.)
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