Week 6 Day 1

I finished the 20 minute run of Week 5, Day 3 on Saturday.  I ran 3.4 km. in the 20 minutes which is good enough for 5K in 30 minutes if I can keep the pace.  I was happy with that.  Later Saturday morning my knee started hurting.  Not a lot, but irritating and I started wondering if this was the end.  I went to the chiropractor yesterday morning (my regular monthly adjustment).  He checked my knee and couldn't find anything major.  He suggested I buy some insoles.  I got some and decided to stick with the schedule and do W6 D1 this morning.  It is less strenuous than the 20 minute run.  I got into my walk and discovered that Day 1 and 2 are not on my IPod for some reason.  I couldn't remember what it was supposed to be so I just made it up.  I did an 8 minute run, 4 minute walk and 9 minute run.  I was supposed to do 18 minutes of running divided into three runs with walking in between so I was close.  The knee is about the same, no better, no worse  I'll take it a day at a time and see how it goes.

Dave

Let's Go People!

The posts are becoming few and far between.  Is that a reflection of the progress on our goals or just busyness?

I finished Week 4 of C25K yesterday.  I also participated in a 5K run today in Fort Frances.  Okay that's really misleading.  I sat in my van drinking a TH coffee while watching them warm up and start the run.  I then drove down the course to see the route.  Call it scouting--what people are wearing, how they're preparing--as some of us have talked about doing a 5K in Calgary when we come out in July.

First I have to get through Week 5.  Big jump next week.  The longest running period is five minutes in Week 4.  By Day 3 of Week 5 I have to run for twenty minutes straight!  That should happen next Friday.  I'll let you know how it goes.  In the meantime, how is it going for you?

Dave

C25K- Week 2 Done!

The weather was a bit of a factor this week, but I kept at it.  It was barely above zero celsius on Wednesday.  Too cold for me for running, but I had to get up with Jazz anyway so we did it.  This morning was warmer, but some stiff wind as a storm was approaching.  We just got back home as the rain started to fall.  The shin splints are gone, Jazz continues to do well and is a good motivator and companion.  The runs were a bit longer this week, but not a problem.  Now I get a couple days break before next week!

Dave

Setbacks :(

Upon leaving the school Thursday for my trip to Calgary, all resolve broke down.  I had a number things to deal with at school before leaving and missed my opportunity to go running.  That led to a complete breakdown in my resolve and I grabbed a quick, "unhealthy" lunch before getting to the airport.  I continued to make semi-decent choices that led quickly to a large piece of cheesecake for dessert.  I was conscious of the choices I was making but continued making some very poor ones.

Unfortunately, this has now continued on for a week.  I haven't run, I haven't cared so much about eating properly, and while I know I don't want to keep doing these things, I haven't stopped.  I will though.  I haven't given up; but I have taken a step back.

On a positive note, I did register a 2.6 pound weight loss last week.  I do not have high hopes of actually losing weight this week, though I will see what I can get accomplished in the little bit of time I have left between now and Sunday morning--At least a change in attitude and a choice to get back on track.

Jonathan Groff

P.S.  Dad, I am going to get going on the C25K.  I was talking with a student about some likely routes to run and have a couple options to be exploring.

C25K Restart

Nine degrees celsius at 6:30 this morning.  Finally warm enough for me to officially restart the C25K, this time with our dog, Jazz.  I got dressed,  put on my new running shoes, got the IPod set to the C25K podcast and headed out the door.  The five minute warmup walk was more like ten minutes as I have to give Jazz time to do all her jobs.  As long as we are running Jazz(who I have to keep on a leash or she'll be gone) does well.  During the walks she wants to keep stopping to sniff and pee a little more, so I have to give her a good pull now and then.

Shin splint pain started about half way through, but I concentrated on other things like not falling over the dog when she veers in the direction she thinks we'll go next.  I'll have to do some stretching in that area a few times a day.  The shoes felt good.  I have run very short sprints now and then over the winter and I've kept up the floor hockey so this first week won't be difficult (8-60 second runs interspersed with 90 second walks).  I thought about skipping to Week 2, but decided I need the easy week to settle in with the dog and have that sense of accomplishment.  Jazz still had lots of energy at the end so that shouldn't be a concern.  Now hoping the weather stays warm and we don't get the predicted rain on Wednesday morning!

Dave

Just a Quick Little Update

It's Thursday and I've been doing well with my eating plan.  I've stuck to it quite closely and I am hoping for some decent results on Sunday.  After school today though I leave for Calgary, with two other teachers, for a conference.  I will be gone until late tomorrow night.  I am hoping I will be able to stick with the plan despite eating out with others and at a conference.  I guess we will see.

One disappointment from this week was that I began the C25K running program on Sunday but have not gotten a second run in this week.  I'm not certain I'll get three in.  Beginning Sunday meant I should have run Tuesday and Thursday, taken off Friday and Saturday before advancing to the next level and beginning on Sunday again.  I forgot I had a meeting Tuesday night, plus I"ve found myself extremely busy this week.  You can hear the excuses can't you.  So can I.  That's why I'm putting them down in writing.  Here's the plan:  I will run before my flight this afternoon with the little bit of spare time I'll have between packing and needing to leave.  Then, I'll run again Saturday.  That will get me my three runs in, and though I won't start Sunday of next week, I could begin Tuesday and do Thursday and Saturday.  That will get me back on track.  That's the plan.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Jonathan Groff

Weight Loss Update

I am proud to announce that a week of eating better, and small amounts of fun activity with the kids at the pool resulted in a weight loss of 5.1 lbs this week.  I am pretty pleased with this number for my first week back to being healthier.  It is certainly motivation for continuing on this journey.  

My basic eating plan involves cutting out processed carbohydrates.  No sugar, no bread, no pasta, etc.  The idea is to essentially replace the carbs with fat as a fuel, with the goal being to train the body to burn fat instead of carbs for energy.  The premis stems from a paleo/primal way of thinking that builds off of how humans would have eaten prior to 10,000 years ago.  When men were nomads rather than settlers, growing crops did not happen, yet, experts say these humans were some of the fittest and healthiest in the history of mankind.  

Hoping to avoid any sort of religious debate, we are all well aware of the hunter/gatherer era when humans ate what was available from nature, without the need to grow their own food, process it, or alter it.  Nature does a pretty good job of offering quality food choices.  The plan I am following is the one outlined in "The Primal Blueprint" as written by Mark Sisson.  I like that it is relatively simple and easy to follow.  There are no points to calculate, no food to weigh, and no logging of food.  Eat what you are comfortable eating while avoiding processed carbohydrates.  Now that is not to say you cut all carbs from your diet.  Fruits and vegetables contain carbs yet these are to form the base of the eating plan.  From there, focus on protein, then add healthy fats for fuel and filling.  Of course, there are more specific rules and guidelines, but I will admit, I haven't reached the point of going full out with this.  But I am trying to follow the basic rules, and clearly it has produced some significant results.

Now, I know some of you are thinking that any new diet will produce similar results in the first week. That the weight loss is due wholly to "water weight" than any true weight loss. I did some looking into this because I've often wondered about what "water weight" actually means.  I found some answers here.  I did some double and triple checking just to be sure, but the info on "water weight" seems to be quite sound.  I liked this site because it discussed low carb diets specifically.  It does seem like the first couple of weeks will result in significant weight loss due to "water weight;" however, I was encourage to read also that low carb diets can be effective at eliminating cravings for unhealthy food as quickly as two weeks into the diet, and that this substantially reduces food intake and can lead to steady weight/fat loss.  

I'm going to stick with this for a while at least and I'll continue to update you on my progress.  It would be interesting to let you know that I weighed myself Saturday morning prior to taking a "free day" before my official weigh in Sunday morning.  Between Saturday and Sunday I gained over 2.5 lbs back due to my off-plan eating Saturday.  Reading the article on "water weight" has helped enlighten me as to why that likely was.  By the way, the 5.1 lbs was the weight on Sunday's weigh in, after the "free day."