I'm running again but not as much as I want

I'm running again but not as much as I want.  I've been working with my physical therapist and my mileage has been increasing slowly.  Some days my knee feels great and other days it doesn't.  The original issues on the lateral side of my knee are pretty much gone and now I have this one particular spot on the medial side of my knee.  Taping helps it out but my PT thinks it is cartilage damage and we are taking a conservation approach to help the inflammation to ease up.  I still think that surgery to repair my knee might be a good thing eventually.

Otherwise, I'm still hitting the gym with my personal trainer.  My strength is definitely increasing and my body composition is improving as well.  Those are going in the right direction, slowly, but definitely in the right direction.  I got my body fat measured last week and it was at 12.3%.  I feel like I'm higher than that but I'm an apple and my body fat is stored in my torso with little fat in my legs and arms.  I'm still hovering in the 184-187 range which is higher than I like but I bought new jeans with a 31" waist so more proof that my bod comp is changing.  I've also "been on a mission" and being really disciplined about what goes in my belly.  Clean foods with fewer and fewer cheats lately.  I haven't had a Friday donut in weeks now and I'm really focusing on good choices to reach my goals.  There have been a few lapses but I'm focused and it is showing.

(Old) Asics mileage: 257 miles
(New) Asics mileage: 30.5 miles

Mileage since returning to running: 49 miles

Still not running

My knee is still fucked up and therefore I'm still not running.  I'm not happy about it.  I'm still working out when I can though with weights, biking, swimming, elliptical machines, yoga, and a few other things.  Because of this, my weight has been going down slightly so that's OK.  I'm also feeling very strong at the moment from lifting weights.  My trainer and I are getting really advanced and it is now a pissing contest between us.  We will push each other to see how many sets and reps that we can do.  My trainer also spends at least an hour a week, sometimes 2, coming up with my session for the week.  We're doing crazy shit and I like it.  Also, I'm not big into lifting heavy.  My weight progression will go up over time just because I'm being consistent, but my goal is to not lift heavy.  I don't do anything such as 3x4 or max weight reps.  I'm more focused on balanced overall and functional strength.  I want to be decent in endurance, strength, and balance and so far I'm definitely getting there.  My trainer can definitely bench more than me but I can out last him in many cases where any bit of endurance is involved.

But I still want to get back to running because there is nothing really like a runner's high.  My favorite race, the Uptown Classic 10K, was this morning and I'm disappointed that I'm missed it.  With this injury delaying my running, I'm worried that my running season is completely shot at this point.  We will see though.  It is getting better though, slowly, but it is getting better.  I keep pushing my PT to allow me to run and I think I'm getting close.  I've even had injections in my knee to help lubricate it and it seems to be working.  I just have one spot at the top of my knee that still hurts.  And the weather is becoming perfect running weather with cooler mornings.  Damnit, I want to run!

23 Day Detox

I recently did a 23 day detox of alcohol.  I know, crazy, right?  Well, I don't want to go into the details of why I did it but let's just say that they were good reasons.  After the 23 day detox, I went out and had a couple of glasses of wine for 2 nights in a row.  The point of this is to document how I felt during the detox and after the detox.

During the detox, I felt that my head had cleared up.  I could focus a bit more and I actually got motivation back regarding working out.  I also lost about 4 pounds during the 23 days.  My mood was better, I was sleeping better, and I had better focus.  However, I avoided social situations that involved alcohol.  And in social situations that involved alcohol, I wasn't comfortable in them.  I have a bit of social anxiety and having a drink or two helps getting over that.  All that I can say was that I was uncomfortable in these situations which is consistent with other detoxes I've done in the past.

After those 2 nights of drinks earlier this week, I definitely wasn't as rested the next morning when I woke up.  My motivation towards working out was more or less gone and motivation at work dropped off a bit.  I felt better socially though.  My weight fluctuates a lot more, too.

These weren't huge differences but they are things that I have noticed.  I think it was good to recalibrate this and going forward I'll try to keep it to one or two nights a week and that's it.  I like wine though but it isn't worth it every night.

Oh, my knee is still fucked up and I'm seeing an ortho doc on Thursday for it.  I haven't run in almost a month and it is getting a bit frustrating.  It just isn't getting healthy as quickly as I would like and I'm actually in considerable amount of pain at times.  We will see how that goes next week.

Tri Season & Yoga

I ended my tri season on July 31st or so.  My knee got fucked up about a week and a half before that.  I went out for a run with Texas Iron on a Tuesday night run.  About half a mile in, my right knee started hurting.  By the time I was in a mile and a half, I couldn't run at all.  Walking was fine, but my knee hurt so much that I was limping.  Fuck!  I took it easy and basically anything that I did hurt it.  Even swimming hurt it.  I'm seeing a PT now but I decided to hang up my tri shoes for the season.  I had a race in 4 days and I couldn't do it.  Doing PT would delay running and I couldn't put full effort into the TriRock in September.  My heart hasn't been into this season so I decided to call it quits.  I may be done with triathlons but I hope I not and that I can find something to get my motivation back.

I did get back into yoga last week.  It is one thing that I can do without my knee hurting too much.  I haven't gone in a year and it was amazing to be back.  I was having a shitty time lately and I did it for the mental clarity as much as the workout.  The mental clarity was what I really needed and I'm going back at least once a week to keep it up.

My plan for the month of August is to do whatever I feel like.  Some cardio, some weights, some yoga.  Just whatever I feel like doing that day.  This will also allow my knee to heal.  After that, I'm hitting up my personal trainer again and will get back into running as soon as possible.

And that is what is going on with me right now.

4 Weeks Ago: 13 miles
3 Weeks Ago: 4.5 miles
2 Weeks Ago: 0 miles
Last Week: 0 miles
Asics run mileage: 238 miles

Frustrated

I raced Couples Triathlon last Sunday and it sucked.  My swim was decent, my bike was OK, but I just had nothing on the run.  I was averaging about 9min/mile.  I don't think I've ever ran that slow in a triathlon except for my Ironman.  I'm frustrated because although I'm training, I seem to be getting slower.  Ok, I take that back.  I really didn't train for a few weeks because I was sick, but still, 9min/mile in a sprint is fucking HORRIBLE for me!  What the hell?  I need to put on my big girl panties and suck it up.  Since this year's season isn't going as well as I expected, and it's my own fault, I'm just going to concentrate on sprints for the rest of the year.  I have Jack's Generic in August and then the TriRock sprint in September and call it a season.  I know what's wrong though.  I've lost the drive, the fire, the desire to really push myself to make myself faster.  I need to get that feeling back somehow.

5 Weeks Ago: 10 miles
4 Weeks Ago: 11 miles (6 were in Portland!)
3 Weeks Ago: 0 miles (sick)
2 Weeks Ago: 9 miles
Last Week: 4 miles
Asics Run Mileage: 220.5

Blergh!

As usual, I really need to be more consistent about updating this blog.  However, unlike my blogging, I've been fairly consistent with my training.  I'm usually missing 1-2 workouts a week but it isn't like I'm going pro or anything like that.  I've stuck to my running pretty well, been decent with swimming, and I've only biked maybe 1-2 times a week.  For June, I'm ramping up my biking and slacking on swimming since swimming seems to be my strongest leg right now.  Go figure.  Oh, side note, I had a really good swim practice last week where we did a a set with a bunch of stuff and then 12x25 at the end and then did that two times through.  The first 12x25 was OK but on the second 12x25, something really clicked.  I felt different swimming and it felt much more efficient.  Instead of spinning my arms like Wile E. Coyote, I was taking slower strokes that seemed longer, more powerful, and more efficient.  Because of this, I was actually about 2 seconds faster per 25 than the 1st round of 12x25.  So, although I was more tired, I was faster.  I want to remember that feeling because it was a good feeling and gives me something to work towards regarding my swimming.

Running sucks right now because it is hot and humid.  Best time of the day to run is right before sunset.  My weight goal for the end of May was 185 since I started the month at 188.  I weighed myself at 184 on June 4th which is close enough.  My goal for the end of June is 181 so I need to stick to it.  I've found that drinking is the biggest thing and among drinking, beer is the bad one.  Wine is OK but I tend to overindulge when drinking.  So, cutting out drinking means less overindulging.  And "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

Weekly run mileage (4 weeks ago): 21 miles (fuck yeah!)
Weekly run mileage (3 weeks ago): 12.5 miles
Weekly run mileage (2 weeks ago): 16 miles
Weekly run mileage (last week): 12 miles
Asics mileage: 186.5 miles

First Race in 2.5 Years

Last Sunday was my first triathlon in 2.5 years.  It actually went better than I expected.  The swim was good, rough but good.  Bike was cold but I was wearing a hoodie and a beanie.  I lost my sunglasses though.  Run was better than I was expecting.  I finished at 59:41 and it felt good to be back in spandex.  It hurt and made me realize that if I want to get faster, I'm going to have to get more serious about training.  And in the last week, I have been more serious and disciplined to a point.  I hurt my groin yesterday so I had to cut my 9 mile run short by 4 miles because it was starting to change my gait.  I couldn't ride this morning because of it so I'm just going to take it easy and try to run on Tuesday.  Other than that, I think I'm starting to get the weight thing under control a bit.

Weekly run mileage: 9 miles
Asics mileage: 125 miles

I'm back to triathlons!

After spending a year and a half focusing on weight lifting (which improved dramatically) and running (which didn't improve dramatically), I'm back to triathlon training.  I've been out of triathlons for about 2 years and I do miss it.  I'm also realizing how much time it takes up.  My non-working out life is getting to be a bit more balanced and that's a good thing.  Stuff changing at the job is giving me more free time and I've found myself in a relationship which gives me a reason to shower and hurry up and get home after a swim work out.  It's quite nice.

I hope to update this more now that I'm back into triathlons, but I've said that before, and the last time was on January 6th, but I mean it this time!  I hope.  Since the last update, I've done about 100 miles for the year with about 40 on a new pair of shoes.  Since I'm more tri focused now, and that means more consistent, I hope the average run miles will start to come up.

Regarding getting back into triathlons, swimming was the easiest.  I seem to have the muscle memory for swimming and although the cardio portion wasn't there, my stroke wasn't that bad.  My biking has fallen off quite a bit and I expect that to be the most painful for getting back.  Running fell off drastically and I need to get a better mental attitude.  Overall, I seem to have the endurance but I no longer have any top end speed on anything at the moment.  My goal is to be consistent with all the workouts and do them all for March.  In April, I'll start pushing myself to get faster.  The first 2 weeks of March were a bit rough, but this past week was a rest week and I did every single workout.  Next week is a full week and I plan on doing all but maybe 1-2 workouts.  It feels good to be back in this.  Except that my butt hurts from the bike.

(old) Asics mileage: 332 miles
(new) Asics mileage: 47 miles
Weekly run mileage: 20 miles
Year-to-date run mileage: 111.5 miles

2012 In Review

I just read my post reviewing 2011 and the biggest thing is that I didn't run as much this year as I did last year.  This year, I ran about 572 miles which is an average of 11 miles per week.  This is about 48 fewer than last year so not drastically off, but still off.  I have no excuses for this past year, really.  I was just lazy and talked myself out of a lot of workouts for various reasons.  However, that seems to be turning around where I am talking myself out of fewer and fewer workouts.  It got to a point where I just felt like fucking shit all the time and I'm tired of it.  I've been gaining motivation over the last couple of weeks and trying to keep up with that positive trend because a year of being lazy and unmotivated isn't good.  It's a chore to go workout these days and it used to not be a chore.  I need to push through the mud to get to the other side so that workouts fucking kick ass because I'm doing crazy stuff and it feels good to do it.

My weight yoyoed a lot this year starting off at around 191, climbing to 196 after England, dropping to 181 around March, and I ended the year at around 187.  My goal is to still get to 178 and stay there.  My running will be better as well as the body image of myself.  I'll likely have to buy some new clothes but I can deal with that.  I do have some positive things, though.  I PRed the 10K distance at the IBM Uptown Classic in October.  After that though, my running speed fell off.  I've been hitting it at the gym with my personal trainer all year long and it has really paid off.  My cardio has dropped off since the peak of triathlon training, but I am definitely in much better overall shape than before.  I have a great combination of cardio, strength, and balance which many people don't posses.

Here are my goals for 2013:
1) 178 and maintain it.
2) Get back into triathlons.
3) Sub 45 10k.
4) Keep up the motivation.
5) 11 pull ups.

Bring it, 2013!

Asics mileage: 279 miles

I'm still here

I'm still here although I doubt anyone reads these anymore.  Oh well, I'm writing this for me.

I haven't posted in over 2 months but I'm still training.  My run up to the IBM Uptown Classic 10K was great but I've been unmotivated since then.  Training with the personal trainer is going well and I continue to get stronger and stronger.  Also, I went snowboarding earlier this month and I found a new expensive hobby to participate in.

Regarding running, I'm still doing it but with not as much desire and motivation as I used to.  Work has been wearing me down and it's affecting pretty much every aspect of my life unfortunately.  I'm doing what I can to fix that but I need to find joy in running again to keep me running.

The highlight was the IBM Uptown Classic 10K on October 6th.  Or 7th.  It was the first Sunday of October.  My time was 45:59 and I PRed by about 41 seconds.  They changed the course and it wasn't as hilly as it used to be.  And I felt pretty good going into it as well.

Other than that, I'm running but not with a real purpose.  It's better than not running though.  I've put 126 miles on pavement over the last 2.5 months for an average of about 12-13 miles a week which I guess that isn't bad at all.  So, hey, when doing the stats, that's not so bad.

But I do know it's time for new shoes.

Asics mileage: 214.5 miles

Staying Consistent

I've been staying pretty consistent lately.  Wish the miles were up there a bit more, but I'm still doing everything on a fairly regular basis.  I am seeing progress in running this year.  Most of my long runs are in the 8:30-8:45min/mile range when the year or two before, they were about 9:00-9:30min/mile or more during the summer.  Additionally, I got my body fat checked and I'm at 11% right now.  I don't feel like I'm that low but this is good because I haven't been losing weight lately.  I've just been gaining muscle while losing an equivalent amount of fat.  I'm pretty happy with it and I feel really strong right now.  It's a very good thing.

4 Weeks Ago: 12.5 miles
3 Weeks Ago: 12 miles
2 Weeks Ago: 15.5 miles
Last Week: 14 miles

Asics Run Mileage: 142 miles

2 Months Sucks!

Two months since my last update sucks!  Although I haven't been updating, it doesn't mean I haven't been running.  I haven't been running as much as I want to, but I'm still doing it.  I think I'm averaging about 2 runs a week with about 11 miles a week as well.  I meant to take the summer easier just because I don't run well in the heat and work has been crazy.  However, I need to put on my big girl panties and start running 3 days a week with 15+ MPW no matter what.  I have the IBM Uptown Classic on October 7th and I want to PR that race.  I have also been hitting the gym a decent amount and I am definitely getting stronger and doing things I didn't think I could do even just a few months ago.  I'm pushing my trainer to come up with crazier exercises to challenge me.  He's a good trainer and I credit him ability to push me to another level.

Also, I'm still riding and swimming a few times a month just to maintain that activity.

Weekly run mileage: 12.5 miles
Asics mileage: 88 miles

Long Overdue Update

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted. I haven't stopped working out though. Actually, a lot of shit has gone on recently and I'm still working out. For example, I worked 75 hours last week and I still got 4 workouts in. Take that, work! Not much to say at the moment except that I really don't have any goals besides to stay skinny. Weights with my personal trainer are going well and I'm still running. I even try to throw in a single swim and bike in a week, too.

Run mileage since last update: 140 miles
Asics mileage: 236.5 miles (shit, time for new shoes)

Bleh

That's how I've been feeling the past week. I've been burning the candle at both ends lately and I'm getting tired and unmotivated to work out at times. I need to focus but I admit that I have been having a lot of fun lately. Can't keep it up though and I have to find a balance.

Two weeks ago was a pretty good running week for me with about 16 miles. Last week wasn't so good with only a single 7ish mile run. I skipped this morning's workout because of laziness so I have to run on Wednesday. I have the Cap 10K on Sunday so we'll see how that goes. I have been avoiding social outings on nights before runs so maybe that will help.

2 Weeks ago: 16 miles
Last week: 7 miles

Asics run mileage: 96.5 miles

Yep, I'm definitely running.

Got in a total of 19 miles last week. The long run on Saturday was actually the shortest run of the week since I'm trying to stay below 20 miles per week. I'm also making progress with weight training and weight loss. With a month of the paleo diet, I lost 8 pounds and I'm down to 13% body fat. I still have a bit to get to my goal weight but I can get there.

Weekly run mileage: 19 miles
Asics mileage: 73.5 miles

Hmmm, I might be running again

My abs are feeling much better and I've been running more. I actually ran 3 times last week, a crappy run on Monday, a decent interval workout on Wednesday, and then a nice long run on Saturday. I checked out my mileage on Garmin Connect and I actually ran 18.5 miles last week. So, I guess I'm running again. And it feels great! My abs hurt a bit from time to time but nothing that I think is too concerning. My knees feel fine as well and everything is just feeling pretty good at the moment. I'm going to work on speed again since it seems that I haven't lost much base, it should be a fun few weeks before the Cap 10K.

Weekly run mileage: 18.5 miles
Asics mileage: 54.5 miles

This Weather Has Sucked

for when I want to run. I want to run, but I don't want to run when it is 45* and rainy. Because of that, I didn't do much quality running last week when I really needed it. Yeah, I'm making excuses but I still did 7 miles. Also, my lower ab issue seems to be gone completely so I'm OK to run again. Also, I went and watched the Austin Half and Full Marathon this morning for inspiration. I'm going to go to bed by 9pm tonight to be up at 4:45am to run with Gilbert's Gazelles again.

Weekly run mileage: 7 miles
Asics mileage: 36 miles

Making Progress

Making progress on my injury. My abs seem to be getting better which is very fucking good. I ran 12 miles last week with relatively little pain. A total of 12 miles with a track workout thrown in there as well with Gilbert's. Felt good to run again. Not much running this week since I had LASIK done last Friday but once I'm OK to run from both the eye doc and the physical therapist, I'm back on it.

Also, I started the paleo diet again this month. Trying to change up stuff to see how it affects my physique. I'm seeing positive things already so we'll see how this goes for a month or more.

Weekly run mileage: 12 miles

Asics mileage: 29 miles

I'm running again

I'm running again but it isn't to the level that I want obviously. My lower abs are feeling better and the direction from my PT is to ease into it but I can run. My abs will start to hurt at the beginning of the run and then will ease up. Once they start feeling worse, stop because then I'm just hurting myself further. So far, I'm running 3-5 miles about twice a week but I'm going to start ratcheting that up over the next few weeks. I have lost some speed and endurance but not that much. Oh, 2 weeks in Europe with only 2 workouts didn't help either.

Additionally, my roommate and I are challenging each other to go full (or at least 90%) paleo for the month of February. When I was on full paleo the first time, I really felt good. I had a lot more energy, I wasn't as tired, and I just felt good and clean all over. I'm going to be trying to get back there. The biggest challenge that I have is the discipline in saying no to foods that I like to eat but aren't paleo and that it takes prep work to eat paleo. Right now, if I'm strapped for time, I just go out and grab something quickly. However, paleo options for doing that are few and far between. This will make me think ahead though.

Weight: 192

Weekly run mileage 4 weeks ago: 3 miles
Weekly run mileage 3 weeks ago: 0 miles
Weekly run mileage 2 weeks ago: 6 miles
Weekly run mileage: 8 miles

Asics mileage: 17 miles

2011 Review

Well, it is the end of another year where I review how I've done training wise for the year. First, let's start with last year's post about how I did. This year, I actually ran about 620 miles which is an average of about 12mpw. This is better than last year but would still like to be up to 15mpw or more. This year, I've done better in the cold weather. During this summer, it was absolute hell since it was the hottest summer on record. I ran when I could but I did it just for attrition and really didn't make any progress. I have been making progress with running lately but I was just sidelined with another injury unfortunately.

I didn't lose any weight this year and probably gained a couple of pounds unfortunately (191). That was mostly due to working out with my personal trainer where I'm just kicking ass when I'm not injured. I seem to have this "Don't fucking give up" mentality where many other guys that seem to be fitter and more in shape than me can't do the things that I do. It's pretty awesome and I can tell that my body is stronger because of it. However, I still have this layer of fat that I would love to get rid off quickly. Maybe this will be the year. My roommate and I seem to encourage each other so hopefully we can help each other focus and find the determination and discipline to get where we want to be.

I'm off for a couple more weeks while my strained ab muscle heals and then I'm in England for a couple of weeks where I hope to do some running but I don't expect to do too much. After that, I'm back to running and I'm going to take advantage of the coolish weather while I can before the summer swelter hits.

I really need to move to a cooler climate.