Brother, can you spare some motivation?

Yeah, it's been over a month now. Halo has done a pretty good job of both keeping me indoors and killing any and all motivation for lifting. Well, it's not just Halo, but there really is not coincidence that I go off the grid for a month and Halo released a month ago.

I've really found myself without any type of motivation. I dunno if I was just depressed or something, but my life just fell into a cycle of trying to do as little as possible. I'm still not terribly motivated, but maybe if I just start up again, I can get some momentum.

I've only got around 2 1/2 months until my son is born. I really want to be in better shape so that I'm not a bad fitness role model for him. I think I'm gonna use his birth as a goal. I'm going to try to get in as good shape as possible for when he gets here. The clock starts now.

I plan to keep lifting during lunch breaks, but now I'm thinking I will stop by the gym on my way home and get around 30 minutes of some kind of cardio. If I can keep that up(or even start to begin with), I believe I can find myself at a much lighter weight by the new year. I also plan on putting big red X's on days that I complete this. So here I go.

Motivation fight

I find that during my quest to stop being fat, I seem to stay within this pattern of extreme motivation turning to apathetic sloth and back. Right now: apathetic sloth.

I'm heading to the gym this morning so I should soon find myself heading back to motivation. I've also noticed that the more I focus on fitness, the shorter my laziness phase lasts. Hopefully, if I keep cycling like this, my less productive phase might actually go away or become a little productive.

The latest release of a Halo game on the Xbox 360 has definitely slowed my progress. It may as well be the blame for my recent disinterest in all things that deal with motion. I enjoy working out, but it hardly compares to giant robot men fighting aliens with lasers. I'm amazed at how bad that reads.

Also, I am hoping to start swimming soon. Running, as I used to do, is over for now. It's very counter-productive to run a small distance and then avoid exercise for a whole week due to the pain. I need to find a way to reduce weight so that running does not continue to destroy my feet and knees.

You'd think I'd write more

It feels like I just updated this blog, but obviously I haven't in 10 days. I guess I just get lost on the web sometimes.

Well, stuff is going good. I've started running again and I'm lifting too. I've noticed that the lifting alone has been helping me drop body fat faster than the running has. I guess there's a reason to believe all those people that tell you that muscles constantly burn calories. The only problem is that I'm not really losing weight as I build muscle. I have a feeling that the muscle gains will drop off after a while and I'll go back to weight loss, but it just seems counter productive sometimes to see that I've gained 6 pounds on the scale. Luckily, my scale reads bodyfat so I can see that my percentage has gone down.

I'm thinking about really sitting down and finding a better running plan. I need something that won't hurt my feet so bad. I guess I can go back to running once a week and trying to swim or bike on the other days until my feet don't hurt anymore. I'll figure something out.

Do'h

Well it looks as if I'll only be posting three times for the month of August. Strangely enough, I've been pretty good as far as exercise goes despite the fact that I keep forgetting to blog about it.

I've been holding up my lifting plan pretty well and it's starting to pay off. I find myself in much better moods and I wake up much easier. Then again, that could also be attributed to the fact that I've been going to bed earlier. I probably get around 7 hours of sleep on average. People keep saying that I had better get some sleep now, because there won't be much of that when the baby gets here.

Anyways, I'm going to begin running again today. I just had to get this new lifting plan locked down before I could really hit the road again. There's something about running with sore calves that really didn't work for me.

The weight loss is still ongoing. I've noticed that the pounds I gained from vacation have started to peel off. I think running and lifting together should really push me pretty far. I'm hoping to see at least 250 lbs by January.

Sore again

I forgot how much I love to lift. I'd completely neglected lifting while I was focusing on the running aspects of my training plan, that was a huge mistake.

There's something about a good weight workout that makes you feel absolutely great. I'm pretty sure it has to do with elevated testosterone levels, but I really can't say. Anyways, I've been in the best mood for the last couple of days and I find myself thinking about hitting the weights because I really have missed being in the gym.

The soreness has hit pretty hard in this pursuit of strength. Both my brother, Bryant, and I have been doing that shambling, stumbling walk that only new strength trainers seem to have. Bryant, at least, gets a week off while he goes through law school orientation. I'm still going without him so that I can get used to the routine of what our schedule is. Once I'm done with the soreness of it all, Evan and I will start a newly designed running plan.

The old running plan was good, but I didn't account for how heavy I had gotten. The weight was way too much for my feet and legs to carry for the distances that we were supposed to hit. I'm hoping that a revived running plan plus strength training will expedite the weight loss and lead to longer distances achieved.

It's a boy

I took a little time to be AWOL. With everything that is going on, it's hard to focus on my running. I think I'm finally able to get through all the clutter.

First off, we found out a week ago that the baby is going to be a boy. I'm very blessed because a boy is just what I wanted. I'd have been happy with a girl, but I like the idea of a little girl having a big brother(protection and all that).

I'm still trying to figure out how to keep running without all the pain. My feet really haven't hurt since we went on vacation, but as soon as we got back, my knees started giving me trouble. I noticed that if we travel somewhere, I don't ever hurt as much. This has led me to believe that our mattress topper is the problem. It's memory foam and it is ridiculously comfortable. I googled "memory foam joint pain" the other day and it came back with many responses with people having the same experience as myself. I'm not sure if it is the memory foam, but it does seem like time for an experiment.

Today, I start lifting with my older brother, Bryant. He's going into law school and all of his law books say that a proper exercise regimen will keep you from killing yourself while under the stress of law school. That really puts exercise in perspective. So, I bought him two months at the YMCA for a law school present. Now we'll be lifting at lunchtime. I gotta say, I'm really fired up about getting back into the gym. On my way home, I hope to hit up the Y again and get some running done.

Vacation over

So, I got back from the beach on Wednesday and I feel great. My feet haven't hurt in days and I'm ready for a good run.

On the downside, my running plans for the beach fell through completely. I was hoping to get in my run before my wife woke up everyday. It seems that while she can sleep to 11 a.m. when at home, she rises with the sun when she is on vacation. Before I could get out the door, she was ready to hit the beach already.

Today, Evan and I are going to go try some hill repeats. It's not part of the schedule, but my aching feet have really thrown us off the schedule anyways. I really hope we can make up the lost time in phase 3 of our training.

One more thing: the scale is saying I gained around 5 lbs. at the beach. That's what you get when your vacation diet consists of milkshakes.

Now, that I've fallen off the horse, it's time to dust myself off and get back in the saddle.

Another new record

This morning the scale told me I had finally pushed through my plateau weight. I finally got to 281 lbs.

I know this doesn't seem like much, but it feels like I was stuck at 282 for forever. It's really nice to see the scale start dropping again. It just sat still for so long.

The scale's revelation has really motivated me to get out there today. I think I'll try to get my hill work done tonight after I hit the YMCA and lift a little.

I'm going on vacation soon, so I'll get to run on the beach while my wife snoozes in the morning. I don't plan to do too much running, but I know I'll enjoy some short distance runs in the sand.

Am I doing it backwards?

I think I might be getting this weight loss stuff all wrong.

Last week, I tuned my diet so that I was getting quite a bit less calories and I was trying to stay active after work despite my aching feet. The goal was to finally break through this plateau I've been experiencing where I'm stuck at 282 lbs. It was almost a sure thing that I'd have it beat by the end of the week. By Friday, the scale read back that I had gained 2 lbs. I've stayed at 284 through the weekend and it kept me a little dissuaded over my failed attempt.

Yesterday, I finally gave into my sugar cravings and had two different soft drinks and a large chocolate shake. This morning, the scale told me I had lost those 2 lbs again. I'm pretty sure I may have invented the greatest diet ever.

Today, I start the new program where I run one day and hit the pool or bike on the other days until my feet recover. I'm still very committed to finishing the marathon in February, but several runners that I have talked to say that I'm just too big to be trying to run so far. My plan is to keep attempting to run, but I will swap out different types of crosstraining until my feet heal up. Hopefully, as I lose weight, the pain will recede in my feet and I will be able to get more running in. Seems like a sound plan to me.

Rethinking

Last week, I spent the major part of the week in pain due to the running I did on Tuesday. I'm not sure what's causing it, but it's really getting to bother me. As I've noted before, it feels like the bottoms of my feet are bruised, especially around the balls of my feet. The pain also seems to like to hang out around the back of my knee. I'm not sure if the two are related, but it sure feels similar.

I'm pretty sure it all comes down to how heavy I am. I was losing weight pretty regularly when we first started all the running, but now I'm stuck around 280. I think this is due to the fact that I usually run early in the week and hurt for the rest of the time.

My new plan is to get a run in early and let it hurt, but instead of missing the next run, I plan to go swimming or hit the bike until I'm better. That way I can keep burning calories. It will help me to not let my lazy side take over for recovery. The hardest part of this will just be taking off my shirt around people at the pool. Other than that, I'm pretty excited about these changes. Hopefully, my feet will stop hurting so much and I can find myself doing much more running.

More pain

Due to a crazy schedule yesterday, Evan and I ended up getting our run in between 11 and noon yesterday. Big mistake.

Now, not only are my feet hurting, but I have manage to rack up quite a sunburn. This one will have to be chalked up to learning a lesson.

Today, speed work is on the schedule. I'm not sure how likely this is to get accomplished. I worked late last night and had to be back up here around 6:00 a.m., so I'm not very focused on running right now. I went ahead and told Evan to show up at the house at the usual time, but I assured him I would be getting a good nap first.

So tired of hurting

I really am sick of hurting after running. I know there are such things as good pains, but I'm pretty sure this is not the case.

It seems like every two days after I complete a run, the bottom of my feet will get so sore that I can barely stand or walk. It feels as if the bottom of my feet are completely bruised. It tends to go away as the day progresses and is usually at its worst when I wake up in the morning. I have no idea what causes it, but I'm hoping that working through the pain and getting rid of some weight might help. Right now, I'm just sick of it and I really want to get to a place where I just tend to feel good more often than not.

That was all I needed to rant about. Sometimes it just feels good to get the complaint out.

I'm working a weird schedule today, so it looks like I'll be moving my speed run to the front of the queue. I'll have to go to the gym to do this since I'm working at the cooler parts of the day.

Accidentally Awesome

I thought I was supposed to run 7 miles yesterday. I failed at that. I made it 4.2 by the time I had returned to the house. This morning, I checked my running plan and realized I was supposed to run 4 miles. Sweet.

I found some revamped motivation yesterday and it was all I needed to get myself out the door. The way Evan and I have been slacking lately had really been wearing away at me and the fact that we were now way off schedule was getting me down. So, I decided to go out and get back on track despite the large distance I thought I was supposed to cover.

It feels great to find out that I actually did more than I was supposed to. My time for the run was an 1:17. I know it's not the best time for a little over 4 miles, but I know I'll be getting better. It has really gotten my motivation up. Hopefully I'll be able to run the seven miles by the time I get there on Sunday.

Also, I bought a water bottle belt since I thought I was going a huge distance. Now I just have to find out how I'm supposed to wear it. I feel like I look stupid with it in front of me and it's hard to get to if I turn it around and it's unbalanced on either side. I guess I'll just have to go with looking stupid. Who am I trying to impress anyways?

Trying to find the motivation

I'm starting to see a pattern between how much sleep I get and how motivated I am to run in the afternoon.

The last couple of nights, I've stayed up late playing video games. This has had an amazingly adverse effect on my overall want of fitness. It's very depressing that I keep managing to fail at keeping up the schedule. I've decided to find a way to give up video games completely.

If I can just focus on the fact that video games are nothing buy a time and money drain with little accomplished at the end, I may be able to make it. It's ridiculously addictive.

Anyways, I'm going to try to do my hill repeats today, since I've missed them all week. Hopefully, I'll succeed at that.

Feeling motivated

After a weekend trip tore into my running schedule, I feel pretty good about starting this week.

My wife and I had to go to Athens for her sister's wedding, but I still managed a small run and I got in some strength training for the first time in months. I forgot how good that stuff makes you feel. That little bit has just about pushed me back into a lifting schedule. As soon as I get my older brother a membership to the YMCA, I think we're going to start lifting on our lunch breaks.

Besides the workout I got, I really didn't take too good care of myself. The wedding food was really good and the open bar was a temptation that I did not have to power to refuse. Though, the day after I found myself unwilling to drink alcohol ever again.

Better shape than I thought

I finally got the chance to go for a run yesterday and I was really surprised with the results.

I decided to go ahead and do hill repeats since our previous attempts to do them were... um, repeatedly... foiled by the weather. Evan told me he might be able to meet me, but he never showed, so I ran solo.

Since I was by myself, I took the opportunity to push myself and noticed that I got my mile time down to 14 minutes and I was able to get in 5 hill repeats before heading home. My final time ended up at 59:02. Now I just need to see if I can cram in some more hill repeats and still beat that time.

It was really good to just go out running and and finish that mile with no trouble.

What the Crap? II: The Crappening

So the same thing happened yesterday.

Before our scheduled run, I had apprehension towards bringing Evan to the YMCA since they had just informed me that I wasn't supposed to bring guests in on Wednesday night. So, we planned instead to do our hill repeats. It appeared to be a cooler day and I decided we could head out earlier since it was so overcast. About that time, the thunder began again.

I want to be healthy and fit, but I don't care to find myself outside in a thunderstorm. That's just a bad idea. So now I've got Evan trying to get our Mom and Dad to buy him a YMCA membership. That would make it foil proof as to where we could exercise during inclement weather. Now, we just gotta do something about being fat and lazy.

What the Crap?

Well, I was very fired up to get in some hill repeats yesterday. I told Evan that we'd go running at 6:00. It was a nice and sunny day and we were waiting for the heat to drop off. That's when the thunderstorms hit.

So we ended up missing yesterday's run. After waiting for a little while, we realized the thunderstorms weren't going to ease up. By that time it was really close to my bedtime and we just called it a day.

In the end, it might be a good thing. Now I'm really jonesing to go for a run and I'm excited to see if I can beat my time this week for 3 miles.

Feeling better

I guess I was just in a funk yesterday. I believe it to be the effect of not getting enough sleep before a Monday. Today, I'm back to being excited about running.

Today, Evan and I have hill repeats to do and I think we may go grab some new gear before we go. Last week was when we had our close call with the heat, so I'm thinking we may take some preventative measures. We'll probably go grab one of those jogging belts with the water bottles in them and (I do know how gross fat guys look in them) some tank tops.

At least we're starting to actually look like runners.

Wore thin

I still feel dedicated to running the marathon in February, but I am feeling wore thin on running in general.

I don't know if it's just laziness or what, but the urge has just not been there recently. Evan and I haven't run our long Sunday runs in two weeks now. It's a hard thing to either force yourself to wake up early or wait until bedtime for a big run. I wish I could run in the middle of the day, but the heat is just killer.

Yeah, I'm just making excuses and I'll find my way back to running. I plan to continue like I always do. Maybe, I'll go buy me one of those water bottle belts or something. A gadget might make we want to get out there. I'll figure it out.