veginator

Weight this morning was 162.6, and that was after breakfast, so probably down around 162 on an empty stomach. Ran 3.8 miles either Tuesday or Wednesday, can't remember which.

10k (6.2 miles) this morning in 58:27. Average HR 140, peak 167. So, I managed to break an hour for 10k even though I took it easy for the first mile or so (average HR 110-120). I really kicked it into high gear for the last couple of miles, averaging around 155, to make sure I got under an hour. There's a 5k again this weekend which I'll probably enter, and hopefully I'll break 24 minutes this time.

Hamstrings a little sore from yesterday's race. I'll probably take it easy (well, actually, work all day, but that entails just sitting in front of my computer), and go for a run tomorrow morning. Weight this morning: 163.2.

Ran a 5k race this morning. Time was 24:12, 23 seconds slower than I ran the same race last year; average HR was 160. I feel pretty good about the time, though, considering that my broken wrist and a busier work schedule have limited my training somewhat, so I'm about 10 pounds heavier (164.2 this morning) than I was at this time last year. I was also slowed a bit because my asthma was acting up somewhat today for some reason. If I can just keep it up and lose those 10 pounds, I can hopefully beat my best time of 22:40 some time this fall. Cast should come off in a week and a half, so hopefully I can get back to playing racquetball. I miss it!

Ran twice today. For the first run, I wanted to run at race pace, but I was using an old inhaler and it didn't do much good, so I had to hold back a little bit to keep from setting off my asthma. Still, I ran about 3.8 miles in 31:07, just slightly over an 8 min/mile pace, which would be good enough to beat my goal time of 25 minutes for Saturday's 5k. Average HR was 150 with a max of 165. And since Saturday's race is only 3.1 miles instead of 3.8 and I'll also be sure to take my good inhaler, I should have a shot at beating my time of 23:49 from last year. Second run: 3 miles in 27 minutes, average HR 137.

Somewhere later last week I did a run, but I don't remember what day, mileage, HR or anything, so we'll go with either 3.8 or 4.6 miles and about 10 min/mile, which these days is a pace I can run with HR a shade over 130. Monday: 6.2 miles in an hour, average HR 148. Today: 3.8 miles in 35:45, average HR 134. Race is Saturday. Last year's time was 23:49; this year I just hope to break 25 minutes, given that I'm carrying about 10 more pounds.

Sunday: 7 miles in 80 minutes. I forget the average HR, maybe in the 120s somewhere. Wednesday: 3.8 miles in 33:45, average HR 141.

Weight this morning: 164.8 pounds. Still lagging a few pounds behind weight loss progress last summer, but with less free time this summer and a cast on my arm the last 3 weeks, I'm okay with the progress I'm making. In two weeks, assuming my wrist continues to make good progress and I'm not worried about hurting it again, I'm planning on running a 5k. I'm hoping I can match last year's time (23:49) in this race, which is within reach if I can shed a few more pounds between now and then. Ran 5.6 miles in about 54 minutes, avg. HR 139.

Tuesday and Wednesday: ran 4.6 miles each day, at about 10 min/mile on Tuesday and in 43 min. on Wednesday, average HR 137 on Tuesday and 139 on Wednesday. Ran the middle part at a higher pace, and (supposedly) hit a max HR of 186 on Wednesday. The highest HR I'm sure about is 177, which is still quite close to what I think is probably my maximum possible HR. Thursday: ran 7 miles at a slow pace, not sure exactly, but somewhere between 115 and 120 bpm average. Weight seems to be about 165 in the mornings lately, and under 163 after runs.

Saturday (I think): about 90 minutes divided between mostly elliptical and some exercise bike, slow pace (avg. HR 115). Sunday: 45 minutes elliptical, 45 minute (4.6 mile) run, average HR 137 for both. The new Warbringer album kicks ass and was really helpful for my enthusiasm! I'm still planning on running a 5k on Sept. 12, despite the broken wrist. So glad that it isn't hurting me at all when I run. It does hurt a little bit when I type, though!

Didn't get a chance to weigh myself before breakfast this morning, but I was curious so I weighed myself anyway, and it was 166.4. So I'm guessing that on an empty stomach I'm below 166 now.

Monday: About an hour on the elliptical machine, average HR about 135. Tuesday: 90 minutes on the elliptical machine, average HR about 120. Wednesday: no exercise. Thursday: Ran for the first time since before I broke my wrist (which was 11 days ago). Ran about 5.4 miles at about a 10 minute/mile pace, but the intermediate 3.2 miles (slightly longer than a 5k) I ran pretty close to 5k race pace. Not sure what my time was because it's awkward to stop and start my watch with a broken left wrist when it's strapped to my right one. Anyway, average HR was 147, with the 3.2 miles being at about 155.

Friday I did about 50 minutes on the elliptical machine. Weight this morning is 166.7. Lagging a couple of pounds behind where I was at this time last summer, but that's to be expected given my injury and other circumstances getting in the way of my exercising as much as I did then.

Tues. Aug. 11: 60 minutes on the elliptical machine, 15 on stationary bike. Thur. Aug. 13: 70 minutes on elliptical. Weight is down to 168 (including a few ounces of cast). Lagging a couple of pounds behind last summer's weight loss, but at least I've got an excuse for that!

Monday Aug. 3: about an hour and a half walk with the dogs. Tues. Aug. 4: the same, and also ran for about half an hour, relatively slow pace. Wed. Aug. 5: ran for about an hour in some pretty hilly terrain in intense heat. Average HR was 135 with highs consistently in the 160s (max 169) going up the hills. Thur. Aug. 6: ran for half an hour. Sat. Aug. 8: back home, hiked for half an hour...and broke my wrist! This was after a flat tire on my car when I got back in town Thursday, and a clogged kitchen sink as well. Rough weekend! Fortunately, the X-ray showed that the radius wasn't broken all the way through, there was no displacement, and the ulna is fine. I'll just have to wear a cast for 6 weeks and then I should be okay. Mon. Aug. 10: did an hour on the elliptical machine, average HR 130. I'm planning on doing a 5k on Sept. 12, although I'll still be in a cast at the time. Hopefully it won't rain!

Got a little lazy on documenting things the last few days so I may get a few details wrong, but to the best of my knowledge, here's what I did the remainder of the week. Wednesday: ran about 4 miles at a little over 10 minutes/mile. Thursday: ran around 4 miles, same pace as above, and played an hour and a half of racquetball. Friday: no exercise, was driving to visit relatives in Chattanooga. Saturday: two walks of about 45 minutes each. Sunday: about an hour and a half hike in a very steep canyon, Cloudland Canyon State Park. Other than eating out a couple of times, I've been following the Eat To Live diet this week. I'm going to wait and weigh myself and check progress when I'm pretty sure I'm well under 170.

Sunday: half an hour on the elliptical machine, and climbed several flights of stairs. Monday: hiked with the dogs for an hour and a half. Played two games of racquetball. Weight this morning was at exactly 170, a couple of pounds lower than it was at this time last year during my big summer workout binge and around 5 pounds less than at the beginning of the month. Definitely thought I'd be closer than this to my goal weight of around 150 by now, but hey, it's progress and I'll take it.

Wednesday--I honestly don't remember exactly how much exercise I did, but I think it was about half an hour of racquetball practice, 15 minutes of the elliptical machine, and an upper body workout. Thursday--did two 5k runs at maybe 11 minute miles, and played 2 games of racquetball. Drove to Philadelphia for a vegan gathering Friday, so no exercise. Saturday, went for a 2-hour bike ride along the river in Philly. This is a great place for bike rides! Also did 15 minutes on the elliptical machine and ran a few flights of stairs, and did an upper body workout with the dumbbells they had in the hotel fitness center.

Monday: Did two separate runs (3.8 and 5.4 miles) totaling 9.2 miles. Aside from stopping briefly to talk to two friends that I happened to run into on the second run, I managed to keep a pace just a tad slower than 10 minutes per mile. Average heart rate was 140 for the first run and 133 for the second. Later I walked the dogs for an hour, then played an hour and a half of racquetball. So, all in all more than 4 hours of exercise yesterday, all but one hour of it intense. Still pretty sporadic with the weights, just a few sets of this or that here and there. Losing fat is the priority. It sucks having a low metabolism! Damn middle age!

Wednesday 1.5 hours of basketball with my son. Thursday about an hour of basketball with my son and half an hour of racquetball with other folks. Sunday about an hour and a half total exercise, basketball and racqueball.

Monday: 45 minutes of soccer with my son, 1 hr. 45 (6 games) of racquetball.

Saturday: Practiced racquetball for about an hour and did a little elliptical machine and a little on the exercise bike, for a total of about 2 hours aerobic exercise. Worked out arms, shoulders and chest for about 20 minutes. Sunday: Went for a 3-hour hike with the dogs in the morning, and this afternoon I went on a 25-mile bike ride. Didn't push very hard; average HR was about 114. For good measure, I threw in a 4 1/2 mile run late in the evening. Pretty slow pace, did it in about 50 minutes, and average HR was 133 with a high of 155. Fortunately, my Achilles-area pain that I've had off and on for over a year now was pretty insignificant and sporadic, so maybe it's doing well enough that running--the activity that is most likely to make it hurt--will be okay to do regularly now as long as I don't overdo it. All in all, nearly 6 hours of exercise today. I'm afraid to look at the scales yet, but surely I will have finally lost significant weight when I get around to doing so! The bike ride was kind of interesting today because about 1/3 of the way through I encountered a snake coiled up in the middle of the road. It looked pretty sedated and didn't appear to be one of the poisonous types, so I picked it up and moved it off of the road. Hopefully it didn't go back!

47-mile, 4-hour bike ride this morning, my longest of the season. Various parts started hurting on the way back, so overall I didn't push much this ride, probably an average HR of just a bit under 115. Went on about an hour 45 min. hike with the dogs later in the day. So all in all, by far the longest exercise session of the year.

Hiked with the dogs for an hour in the morning, and played two hours of racquetball in the afternoon. Just out of curiosity, I wore my heart rate monitor while I was walking with the dogs. Average HR was 96, a far cry from running or biking or racquetball but definitely a lot more of a workout than sitting on my ass.

It's great that you're doing this. It's tough, but it will get less tough, and it's worth it. Best of luck!