Still back pain

 Yeah, starting off on a downer, but I'm still having back pain. It has been over 2 years since that hike at Joshua Tree that started all of this. Many different procedures and it still hinders me greatly. It is better than it has been for sure, but still gives me that nagging question of "If I do this, will it hurt my back?"

I started off in February with a decent routine at a gym near work. I was doing a full body workout about every 3 days. I was fairly sore at first, but it was a good sore. I went through about 3-4 weeks and was actually looking forward to the gym. And then COVID hit. I was at the gym on Thursday, March 12th and then I didn't go back to the gym for 6 months. I stayed at home and tried to do body weight stuff. I suck at doing home workouts. I started up running again in May though. I think I took some time off because I was having knee and back pain again. I started running and was still having knee and back pain, but kept running though. I gained the COVID weight too. Gained about 20 at the worst of it. I even tried to go back to the gym, but there were too many covidiots there and it was crowded when I could go to the gym. Decided to stay at home and try to do body workouts. And yeah, body workouts, not that great. My diet wasn't great either because I mentioned in my personal blog, I had a lot of anxiety in 2020. Many people had a lot of anxiety last year. One of my (unhealthy) coping mechanisms is eating. So, I topped out at close to 210. I've trimmed some of that off, but I started off 2020 at about 189 with goals of hitting the gym, and I ended at 209 and no gym in months, basically. Eh, it was a shit year.

I did run still though. And snowboard. And I got serious about cutting weight when I could no longer stand up on a snowboard on my heelside because my stomach got in the way which prevented me from getting my weight far enough forward to stand up. That was a very rude awakening.

But for 2021, it is the same as last year: lift heavy and trim up...once I feel OK with going to the gym again.

2020 run mileage: 125 miles

Not so much running in 2019

As I'm going around and updating my blogs today, there is one thing that is affecting both my personal life and my training: back pain. I was making OK progress with recovering from knee issues last year. I was back to the point where I was running 3 miles non stop at a decent clip. However, the back issues that I have been having on my left low back caused me to have pain for 24-48 hours after that. The pain was bad enough to affect my mood during that time. I also had issues with working out in the gym because of the back pain. I eventually had a nerve ablation done in December, which helped, but it is still there. It has been a real bummer because I love moving and being healthy, but getting older, weird shit just happens. I do want my back to get better because then I can light weights without pain, I can run without pain, and I can snowboard without pain.

And to end on a positive note, my weight is down to around 189 now. I was able to make some diet changes to help get through the 190 pound plateau.

For 2020, I am going to focus on heavy weights again. Weird shit happened at my bodyweight gym and I just want different results for this upcoming year. So, I'm back to lifting heavy.

2019 run mileage: 86.5 miles

Wow, 2 years

Wow, it has been 2 years since I last posted. I'm still training, but it is different now. I do like keeping up this blog because it helps me look back and see how things went. Well, here is how 2018 went.

I hurt my knee in March. It appeared to be a bone bruise with a healing time of 4 months. Not much you can do to speed that up unless I'm a professional athlete with the money of a sports team behind me. For those that don't know, I am not a pro athlete. So, I waited 4 months of crazy knee pain where it would be fine, it would pop, it would hurt, it would collapse, etc. Just completely annoying and even doing a bike, elliptical, or even a swim, made my knee hurt. 4 months passed and I was still having pain in it. OK, time to go to physical therapy. The PT knocked out most of it fairly quickly since it was basically weak. Once I started doing exercises, it progressed pretty quickly. However, I had one spot that still had a lot of pain. It was a very specific spot. I was extremely frustrated with my PT because they kept saying to wait and none of the things they were giving me helped. Actually, some of the PT exercises made it worse. That was an extremely aggravating experience. Finally, I just stopped doing everything and basically after about 3 weeks, it was fine. I would still get twinges here and there, but for the most part, it was good to go again. I was ramping up my running and I was about ready to go all out, but then I bruised the 3rd metatarsal in my right foot. FUCK!

I started going to a gymnastics based gym. Someone told me about it and I thought it sounded cool. I had been trying to do handstands on my own for years and really just stopped progressing. Went to this gymnastics gym (hehe, it is always funny to say that) and I have been going for about 6 months now. I really, really like it. Each class is different and it is challenging. My handstand has really progressed and I can do free standing handstands in the middle of the floor and I am comfortable with bail outs. My goal is to hold 10 seconds and come down when I want. I'm sticking with this gym because it is a new challenge and fun.

I'm switching up my diet as well. I finally discovered I wasn't making progress with weight loss or strength gaining because I was not eating enough. I wasn't eating enough so my body was in starvation mode and screwed up my metabolism so it would not lose any calories. I wasn't gaining any strength because I wasn't giving my body enough fuel. So, I decided to do a clean bulk and see how that goes.

Once my foot is healthy, I want to get back to running 2-3 times a week. My focus will be weights/strength though.

2017 run mileage: 101 miles
2018 run mileage: 42 miles

Year In Running 2016

I had knee surgery in October of 2015.  It took awhile to recovery from that so I didn't start running outside again until May.  I did treadmill running, but that was just recovery from knee surgery and I don't have a good way to track it.  So, I'll do what I can.

I did 1 outdoor run in May in Austin and that was my last run in Austin.  When I moved to Denver, I ran a bit, but moving and traveling took up a lot of time.  Adjusting to the altitude wasn't that bad when doing long, slow distance, but doing anything with a higher heart rate definitely hurt.  I think I'm finally adjusted to the altitude now.  Well, I should be since I've been here for 7 months now.  I did some runs in the summer here in Denver.  They were great runs because the temperature wasn't too hot and it was nice and dry.  That's the reason why I moved here.  I did run at noon one day and got sunburned though.  Don't fuck with the sun up here.  I didn't have any real training plan though.  With the traveling and the great beer here, I ended up gaining some weight throughout the year.  I don't like that.  I got serious about getting back in shape the last few months and it is starting to pay off a bit.  My weight gain has stopped and I'm starting to feel better about myself.  I need to watch the diet closely though to make sure I start losing weight.  The goal for me, and always has been, 178.  I'll likely never reach it, but I gotta try.

In the end of 2016, I only ran 92 miles.  That's a bit disappointing, but knee surgery cramped that, but I'm glad I had the knee surgery.  It feels so much better now than prior to surgery.  I did run in some great places this year through while traveling:

* New York City
* Reykjavik
* Neskaupstadur, Iceland
* Belfast, Northern Ireland
* Galway, Ireland
* Killarney, Ireland
* Vancouver, Canada

Whenever I traveled, I tried to take my trail running shoes and do a short 3 mile run.  Although the quantity wasn't there this year, the scenery was.

For 2017, my immediate goal is to do cardio 6 days a week.  I need to get my cardio foundation, both endurance and speed, built up better.  This should also help with the weight loss as well.  In addition to the extreme cardio, I will be doing yoga and body weight exercises.  I'm backing off on strength exercises for awhile to focus on getting the weight down.  I also need to sign up for a race.  Once I'm employed again, I'll sign up for a 10K in the spring to give myself a goal.  I may also join a run group as well to help motivate me.

Here are my goals:
1) 10K in the spring
2) 178 pounds and maintain it
3) 11 pull ups
4) Handstand
5) 400 miles of running this year

2016 run mileage: 92 miles
Saucony mileage: 85 miles (all the non-home running was done in trail runners)

Running slowly but surely

I'm still running, slowly but surely. My physical therapist has me doing 5 intervals of 5 minutes each. Each interval is 3 minutes of running and 2 minutes of walking.  I'm about to increase that son though. I can keep increasing it as long as my knee doesn't hurt or if there is pain, it subsides quickly. I really need to run because I'm feeling so fat right now. I have lost 10 pounds so far this year, but I'd be much happier with losing another 10. Running was a major variable to weight loss in the past. I am moving to Colorado soon so I'm wrapping up things in Austin with happy hours and dinners at places that I want to eat. That counteracts all the exercise I'm doing. Once I get to Denver, I should be able to get into a groove again.

Mileage update: 7 miles

Saucony mileage: 11 miles

I'm Running Again

That's about all I have to say.  After having knee surgery back in October, I'm running again, but it is only on the treadmill.  It is progress in the right direction though.  So much progress that I had to buy new shoes.

Weekly run mileage: 4 miles
Saucony mileage: 4 miles

2015 Year In Review

Here were my goals for 2015:

1) 178 and maintain it.  This one may change because my muscle mass has increased so much over the last year.
2) 520 miles.
3) Sub 45 10k.
4) Keep up the motivation.
5) 11 pull ups.

And I met absolutely none of them.

For 1), my weight is just over 200 right now and the only reason is because of poor eating and not enough exercise.  I like drinking beer and eating crappy food.  And I did both more than I should have this year.  With the last few months, I'm not enjoying the effects of drinking the next day so that is motivation to drink less alcohol.  Today is my birthday so I'm having beer and pizza tonight for dinner.  After that, I'm back on clean eating.

For 2), I've been having knee issues for years now.  No amount of physical therapy, taping, braces, or injections made a lasting impact.  I ended up having knee surgery in October to fix the pain that I was having.  That pain has been fixed, but I'm currently having other pain which is preventing me from running.  I tried to run 2 miles yesterday, but could only do 2 blocks before the pain stopped me.  I did end up running about 230 miles which is an average of about 4.4 miles per week.  Considering I had planned no running from surgery, I averaged about 6.2 miles per week where I could run.

For 3), that didn't happen either.

For 4), my motivation was lacking because I'm just sick of the heat.  Actually, the entire year was just a lack of motivation for athletic stuff.  I sat on my couch a lot when I should've been outside and I ate a lot of junk when I shouldn't have.

For 5), I moved to a new house where I didn't have a pull up bar so I didn't get this.  I can do maybe 3 or 4 right now.

At the moment, I'm back in the gym with my personal trainer.  I'm finding that I'm just balanced overall.  My cardio is down, but when I'm in fighting shape, my cardio is fine.  I also have a lot of functional strength.  My flexibility and balance is also as well due to almost 15 years of yoga.  I am feeling more motivation right now from being back in the gym.  I like doing the strength stuff.  But I'm still not excited about my fitness because I want to be trim and not just strong.  I keep saying it year after year, but I gotta keep saying it because I can't give up.

Here are my goals for 2016:

1) 178 and maintain it.
2) 520 miles.
3) Sub 45 10k.
4) Keep up the motivation.
5) 11 pull ups.
6) Be able to do a handstand.

2015 running miles: 230

Just a running mileage update

I want to work out and get back to full triathlon training, but honestly I've lost the drive to do it to the level that I need to.  So, I'm just doing what I want when I want.  Also, I'm doing a running mileage update.

Run mileage since last post: 132.5 miles
Saucony mileage: 171.5 miles

A couple of races

I've done a couple of races this season.  The first was the Lake Pflugerville Triathon back in June.  Here are my splits.

Swim: 10:10 for 500m (2:02/100m)
T1: 1:24
Bike: 41:33 for 14 miles (20.2mph)
T2: 0:59
Run: 25:53 for 3 miles (8:38/mile)
Total: 1:20:01
25/57 in my age group

It was my first race of the season and it was OK.  I did better on the swim than I thought I would and actually the bike as well.  Running, well, it is running for me.  My weight is way heavier than I like so my running is horrible.  The good thing about this race is that it rained for about the last mile on the bike and the first mile of the run.  It felt really good.

I also did Jack's Generic Triathlon today and here are the splits for it.

Swim: 9:01 for 500m (1:48/100m)
T1: 1:44
Bike: 39:09 for 12.9 miles (19.8mph)
T2: 1:05
Run: 25:20 for 3 miles (8:27/mile)
Total: 1:16:21
6/15 in my age group

I went into this race in a bad mood.  But I knew I had some racing to do to work out the frustration.  Just life stuff going on and I didn't feel like talking to anyone.  However, once I got in the water, my attitude changed.  I improved by over a minute on the swim from 6 weeks prior.  This is a pretty significant improvement.  The biggest difference was that I had new goggles so I could actually see where I was going.  In the previous race, I had old goggles that fogged up pretty badly.  I ended up getting off course a bit as well.  Bike was OK; not much to say about it except that I wished I averaged over 20mph.  I actually took about 30 seconds off of my run.  This is a big deal because it was a lot hotter today and I've barely been running lately due to the heat.  The only thing that I can say was that my mental attitude was stronger today and I was pissed off at myself for being such a shitty runner.  Also, I had the fastest T1 in my age group and the second fastest T2.

From this race, I took in way too much sugar (Gatorade) prior to the race.  I had 32oz of Gatorade before the swim and 16oz of Gatorade and 16oz of water would've been enough.  On the bike, I had a bottle of Gatorade which was too much with the previous Gatorade as well.  I should've had one or the other but not both.  I say this because on the run I was worried about puking from too much sugar.  Luckily, that didn't happen but I did down 1-2 glasses of water with each aid station to dilute the Gatorade.

I have 1 more race in September and then my season is done.  I can't wait for the cooler weather so that I can run more and get last fat.

Life keeps getting in the way

Life keeps getting in the way of working out.  Yeah, I know, I'm just making excuses.  I really could prioritize working out over other stuff, but it isn't happening right now because of mostly good things.  I ended up moving so my formerly 22 mile commute is now under 2 miles.  I'm also turning my old house into a rental so that has been taking up a lot of time as well.  Oh, and a vacation or two.  And just general laziness.  Yep, lots of excuses when I just need to HTFU and get this shit done.

I've transitioned out of my winter weights program.  I swam for the first time since about September 2 days ago.  Surprisingly, I still have a bit of swim fitness.  My endurance is crap, but my top speed and form wasn't bad.  Who would've thought that getting back into the pool would be like getting back on a bike?  I still have a bit of linger PF around in my foot which I just need to do a bit of maintenance and that will nip it in the bud.  Bruised my ribs snowboarding a few weeks ago.  Having bruised ribs is one of the most annoying fucking injuries ever.  Some things I could do fine but I nearly pissed myself whenever I had to sneeze because it hurt so bad.

My love is running although I suck at it and it has been very lackluster lately.  Since my last post on 1/31, I've ran a total of 49 miles in the last oh 11 weeks now.  That's about an average of 4 miles per week.  Pitiful.  But I'm still doing it.

Run mileage since last post: 49 miles
Saucony mileage: 39 miles

I think I might have some motivation back!

I was feeling motivated today.  I haven't been that motivated in awhile so it is good to have it back.  I actually ran 12.5 miles this week which is a new high for awhile.  I really should be up to 20 miles per week though, but I gotta start somewhere.  The PF is still around and bothering me which is annoying.  It is getting better though.

I'm kicking ass at the gym.  When I started with my personal trainer, we did the same exercises but he always did more weight.  Now, in most exercises, I'm doing more weight than him.  He can totally kick me ass at 1 rep max type of stuff, but anything that requires functional, endurance, or balance, I can usually beat him.  This is good because I'm pushing him to come up with new stuff and he's pushing me to get me to this point.  Here's my secret though: it is all mental.  I just will not give up!  If I see something difficult in the gym, I want to do it.  Most people see something difficult in the gym and they say "Oh, I can't do that."  Fucking bullshit!  If you think you can do it, you can do it!

Weekly run mileage: 12.5 miles
Asics mileage: 261.5 miles

Shoe Mileage

Nothing really to show here except for my shoe mileage.  I need new shoes.

Asics mileage: 254 miles

Athletic 2014 in review

I don't always update my blog, but when I do, it is once every 3 months.

So, let's get this over with.  I generally track my running miles each year.  In 2014, I ran about 460 miles which averages out to 8.8 a week.  Not too far off from my goal of 1,000 miles in a year, but it is still about 34 more than 2013.  As I mentioned previously, I've been suffering from PF for what was the majority of 2014.  I was able to run through it, but it still hobbled me quite a bit.  I did a few triathlons which was good and I didn't get burned out like I did the prior year.  Towards the end of the year, I hit the gym again and didn't lose any fitness from the previous gym stint.  If anything, the gym stuff is one of the highlights since I'm still kicking ass at it.  Also, my fitness goals are the stereotypical fitness goals.  Most people either want to go fast as possible or lift as heavy as possible.  I want to do neither.  I want to be well balanced between strength, cardio, and balance.  And I am!  Oh, one cool trick that I did learn to do was the crow pose.

Here are my updated goals.

1) 178 and maintain it.  This one may change because my muscle mass has increased so much over the last year.
2) 520 miles.
3) Sub 45 10k.
4) Keep up the motivation.
5) 11 pull ups.

And for some strange reason, I miss swimming.

2014 running miles: 460 miles

I'm still here. . .

. . . but I wonder why at times.  The plantar fasciitis that I had earlier this year turned out to not be PF.  It actually turned out to be a nerve entrapment in my ass and it is still lingering months later.  Whenever I walk around all day long, and I've done that a lot since I've gone on two longer vacations, it just hurts and burns.  I'll do my work, but just still hurts.  This isn't preventing me from running, but it does hurt afterwards.

I'm done with triathlon training and I'm back to weights and running.  Nothing special about either of those at the moment.  I'm excited to get back in the weight room though because there's just something about feeling pretty sore the day after a hard gym session.  My weight is up and down.  I can get it down to a point and then a vacation hits.  And I've realized that I like beer and ice cream too much.

Asics Mileage: 163 miles

First race, third place

On August 3rd, I did the Jack's Generic Tri up at Lake Pflugerville.  I like the area around the lake so I was actually a bit excited to do that race because I've never done it before.  I signed up for the sprint because I wasn't ready for the Olympic.  I ended up getting 3rd place in my age group!  I was quite surprised by this because I didn't feel like I was in that good of shape.  I've been pretty consistent but I haven't been pushing myself that hard.  I ended up getting 2nd on the swim, 3rd on the bike, and not surprisingly, 12th on the run out of about 27 people.  Just shows that I really need to work on running.  But I'll be happy to take hardware home any day.

I still have some PF going on but when I saw my PT today, we found out it is more of a nerve entrapment issue than PF right now.  Still sucks and my running is still limited.  I wish I could run and I wish it was cooler.

My tri season is done at this point.  With being injured and only about a month of races, I don't think it is worth it at this point.  Running in the heat isn't pleasant but I'll do it, biking in the heat is fine, but what has been bothering me lately is swimming in the pool.  The water temp is 80* even with the sprayers on and I'm just completely wiped after those kinds of swims.  I feel overheated and dehydrated.  I might have a couple of swims this month and then switch back to weights and running.  Well, the weights in a few weeks and running once my foot feels better.  I'll probably be running with Coach Mac this year though and see how it goes.

4 weeks ago: 0 miles
3 weeks ago: 3 miles
2 weeks ago: 7.5 miles
Last week: 8 miles

Asics mileage: 94 miles

Hell hath no fury like a plantar fascia scorn

I've been having a bit of plantar fasciitis going on over the last few months.  I've been trying to manage it until two Thursdays ago.  I went for a run in the morning and after that, it was PISSED OFF!  I was limping around for 2 days straight.  Felt better on Saturday, went for a run, and it was pissed off again.  Back to physical therapy for me.  It isn't that bad right now, but I tried to run yesterday and that barely lasted half a mile.  It felt like a nail going into my heel with every step.  Bagged the run and went to yoga instead.

I've realized that I used to be a lot better at swimming.  I pulled aout a 1:09 for 100yds a few weeks ago, but in a race situation, I've gotten a lot worse.  I keep doing the Splash N Dashes and the swims I'm doing are some of the slowest I have ever done.  I don't know if I've lost that top gear or what, but they're definitely slower and I don't like it.  I need to make myself hurt a bit more with all of the athletic stuff that I do so I'm going to start doing that.

And now, I'm going to take a nap.

2 weeks ago: 10.5 miles
Last week: 9.5 miles
This week: 2.5 miles

Asics mileage: 75.5 miles

Most of the time, I really don't like working out. . .

. . . but I do it for the same reason why almost everyone else works out: I want to look good naked.

It is getting hot in Austin, but not nearly as hot as it could be.  Thankfully, we haven't had a 100* day yet, but it is still hot and humid in the mornings.  Long runs are a war of attrition, but bike rides are fine.  Oh, I have also been reminded that when I swim at lunch, I need to put on sunscreen.

Everything regarding training is going fine for the most part.  I'm taking it relatively easy to not burn myself out.  The downside to that is that I'm not pushing myself that much so although I'm fit, I'm not up to my potential.  And frankly, I'm OK with that right now.  I'm not a pro, my self worth isn't determined by my race times, and there's a lot more to life than training 20 hours a week.  Besides the weekends, I'm rarely doing doubles, but I should probably do a few more though.  Work has been crazy as well as other crazy things going on in my personal life.  But overall, things are fine.

3 weeks ago: 9.5 miles
2 weeks ago: 3 miles
1 week ago: 9 miles
This week: 15 miles

Asics run mileage: 53 miles

{insert title here}

I couldn't think of anything relevant to say so I just put something funnyish in the title.

The good thing is that I seem to be better about updating my training blog.  The bad thing is that I still think I'm the only person that reads it.  Two weeks ago was a meh week.  Work was kicking my ass so I skipped a few workouts.  My run mileage for the week reflects it.
a
Last week, my run mileage was the highest it has been in a long time at 20.5 miles.  I also switched out shoes because I started to get a bit of plantar fasciitis in my right foot and was having overall lower body pains.  I think they had 320 miles or so so it was time to change them.

The heat is picking up as it gets closer to summer in Texas.  The result of that is that I run slower.  I don't think it is really the heat but more the humidity that knocks me down a few pegs.  I'm focused on running as I usually am since it is my weakest sport.  I've been getting about 2 swims and 2 bike rides in a week.  I'm not following the training plan 100% but I'm about 75-80% which is fine considering my goals this year.  I'm also starting to fit in more weights which helps with the right knee pain that I have.  Overall, I'm feeling pretty good since I'm not putting a lot of pressure on myself and I'm still having fun.  There are definitely times where beer, ice cream, and the couch seem much more appealing, but I just gotta get out the door.

My weight dipped down to 185 from 190 in 5 weeks.  Then I hit 185 2 weeks in a row.  Right now, I'm up a few pounds so I'm concerned about what is going on.  I feel that I'm eating fairly healthy with a few unhealthy meals here and there.  I think the weight loss may be due to dehydration so I've been making sure to hydrate this week to see where I weigh in on Friday.  However, people are saying that I'm looking leaner and that I've lost inches.  I do feel a bit leaner, but not drastically leaner.  My clothes are looser, but I think I build a lot of muscle from swimming.

2 weeks ago: 11.5 miles
Last week: 20.5 miles

Old Asics mileage: 321.5 miles
New Asics mileage: 16.5 miles

I cleaned my bike

I cleaned my bike because it was absolutely filthy.  It was last washed probably 2 years ago.  It is looking much better now.  I put some new tires on it yesterday, but I need to get the bar tape redone as well.

I'm back with Texas Iron.  Well, kinda.  I'm showing up to the group workouts and I'm receiving the training schedule, but I'm not really following the training schedule.  My life has been insane lately so it is good that I'm still sticking with some semblance of a training plan.  However, my coach did compliment me kinda on my first workout back.  She said that I'm actually in shape because most of the time when I come back after some time off, I'm huffing and puffing pretty badly.  Well, I have been doing stuff on my own so I'm not completely out of shape.

This week has been more consistent than last week so that is good.  IT is getting hot so my running is about to take a complete nose dive very shortly.  I can do everything else in the heat except for running.  Not much else to say besides I'm feeling pretty good so far and I hope it stays that way.

Last week: 13.5 miles
This week: 19.5 miles

Asics mileage: 306 miles

I finally shaved my legs

I just got out of the shower about an hour ago and I now have nice, smoothish legs for the first time in almost a year.  The reason for this is that I'm seeing my physical therapist again and while there, I usually get taped up for various reasons.  Removing that tape a few days laters freaking hurts!

Been doing my own training for April and it has been going well so far.  I've had a few off days but for the most part, I've been fairly consistent on my own.  In May, I'm getting back with Texas Iron which will push me and keep me on track as well.  At this point, I'm feeling pretty good about triathlon training, but we will see how it goes.  Of the 3 disciplines, I seem to bounce back with swimming the fastest.  For most people, it is the most unforgiving but not for me for some odd reason.  I was out of the pool for at least 6 months and on my 3rd week back, I bust out a 1:13 for 100yds.  I was completely gassed after that, but I still did it!

Oh, I think it is time for new bike tires since I can see the threads through the rubber.

4 weeks ago: 6.5 miles
3 weeks ago: 15.5 miles
2 weeks ago: 14.5 miles
This week: 15.5 miles

Asics run mileage: 273 miles