Archive for Uncategorized
January 24, 2009 at 1:08 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Got up early today - fine, 10am - and went for a long run as part of getting back to my marathon training plan.
It was a beautiful morning in Denver: sunny, with nary a cloud, and a brisk 30 degrees. I put on my running tights, socks, Brooks, a long-sleeve running top, and a t-shirt, then sucked in my gut a bit because the lack of running in the last month is really catching up to me.
And off I went.
I never really cared much for running outside; I have no idea why. I suppose for the same reason that as a child I already knew that vegetables I’d never tasted were going to be yucky. I tried it a couple times when I first started running, and I think I also perhaps associated beginner’s aches and pain with running on pavement and roads. The treadmill seemed safer, there was eye candy, and nature doesn’t provide 10 televisions like the gym either.
But today, I just headed out with no real plan of where to go, following roads and open space trails, seeing areas of my part of town I didn’t even know existed (and I’ve lived in this house for 8 years). I got barked at by a multitude of territorial dogs. Met another runner or two along the way. Got odd looks from non-runners what with the way running tights fit, uh, certain parts.
And without the distraction of television or even my iPod, I spent most of the run lost in thought, mainly about the kinds of things I plan to write about on this blog. Fitness. Simplicity. Happiness. Health. Which isn’t to say I didn’t also think about things like beer and women and music, just not as much as one might expect from me. It was, if I may summarize the experience in the most trite way imaginable, very nice.
So, 6.5 miles later, I arrived back at my house. I think I could easily have put another three or four miles behind me, but didn’t want to risk too much too soon, coming back from an injury. I took Jeff Galloway’s advice and set my Forerunner 50 to an interval of four minutes running, one minute walking, for the entirety of the course (with the exception of getting stuck at one or two street crossings).
The training data generated by the Garmin software is over there to the left, cropped from the full display. It’d be nice if the mapping software was up to date, as the area I ran doesn’t seem to exist. I am pretty sure my house is not a figment of my imagination, but I’ve been wrong before. It would also be good if they would interface with something like MapMyRun.com and let you overlay your performance data over the quality maps they provide. Are you listenin’, Garmin?
Speaking of the Forerunner 50, Costco has them on sale still, now good through February 8. Well worth the $80 I paid for the HR monitor, foot pod, watch, and wireless USB dongle to tie it all together.
The formerly-injured foot seems to be doing ok after the run; we’ll see what the morning brings, but tonight I will preempt inflammation with Ibuprofen, ice, and New Belgium 2° Below Ale.
February 19, 2008 at 6:00 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
In one of the introductory posts on the site, I mentioned how - after being generally disturbed by the gelatinous quality some parts of my body had acquired - I decided to get serious about getting back into shape. The journey began sometime in November, and since then I have gone from nearly 200 pounds down to 180. I still have another 10 or so of the jiggly stuff to drop, but I’m well on the way.
So, naturally, I thought you might be curious how I have been going about losing weight and gaining muscle mass. If you’re not, hey, you just spent 30 seconds you’re never going to get back, might as well cut your losses now (or, since you’re invested this far, read on).
Either way, we’ll still be friends and - yes - we’ll always have Paris.
(musical interlude)
OK, so what did I do to lose weight?
The simple explanation is that I got my butt in gear. My workout schedule is weight-lifting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with cardio on Tuesday and Thursday. I take the weekend off, allowing myself some tasty beers and potential cardiac arrest incidents on a bun.
I don’t bother with hours upon hours of sweat-drenched physical activity. I’m not the person who ignores the “please limit yourself to 30 minutes on a machine” sign guy. No, my routine to date has consisted of 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer, followed by 10 minutes on a treadmill.
My elliptical routine came right out of the Body for Life playbook. It’s 20 minutes of interval training, ranging from a comfortable pace to an all-out, fast-as-I-can-move-my-feet motion extravaganza. I absolutely hate it, especially the one minute called the “high point,” at least until it’s over.
From there, a quick side trip to the water cooler for a drink and then right on the treadmill.
As my colleague and I want to do a 14er or three this summer, I set the incline at 15%, the pace at 2.5 - 3 MPH, and start walking. Ten minutes later, I’ve climbed a few hundred vertical feet and another 120 calories or so have been burned up.
Step off the treadmill with wobbly legs, grab a drink of water, and I’m done.
That’s it. Thirty minutes. Easy (at least to describe).
Today, for the first time, I tried something new for my elliptical routine. I downloaded an interval training podcast from Podrunner by DJ Steve Boyett. The speed was a bit slow for the elliptical, so I just ramped up the difficulty level and got a good workout too (also followed by 10 minutes on the treadmill).
It runs a few minutes longer than the Body for Life routine, but burned nearly as many calories (if the calorie counter can be believed, and I’m sure it’s not accurate to any significant digits). I will probably alternate routines just for variety, doing one on Tuesday and the other on Thursday.
Check it out, let them know what you think.
And if you find any of the above helps you shed some unwanted poundage, pass it along.
Tomorrow is lower body weights day - I’ll write about the weights routine soon too.
February 7, 2008 at 8:43 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
While not actively looking for a new job, I have learned the hard way that it’s better to always have an eye out for opportunities rather than being laid off and wondering where to go next (at least I had several months severance and paid health insurance, which is more than many people get, but - still - lesson learned!).
So, I figure it’s time to get to work on updating my resume, as it is now at least three years out-of-date. I’m even more fascinating now, honest.
Yes, I know, there are numerous books, websites, and articles out there that give you instructions on how to write the perfect resume for the perfect job in a perfect world with perfect guarantees of perfect interviews or your money back.
Allow me to add to that ever-increasing mound of career-planning information with a series of posts on resume writing.
I can’t promise you perfection, but I can tell you what has worked for me, and it’s free of charge so, hey, no refunds and please don’t bother the management with complaints.
Some background…
Read the rest of this entry »
So, 6.5 miles later, I arrived back at my house. I think I could easily have put another three or four miles behind me, but didn’t want to risk too much too soon, coming back from an injury. I took Jeff Galloway’s advice and set my Forerunner 50 to an interval of four minutes running, one minute walking, for the entirety of the course (with the exception of getting stuck at one or two street crossings).