Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

[Patman]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Do you guys have any recommendation for general purpose gym shoes? I am looking for something I can use possibly outside but more for floor hockey (which I'm looking into) and volleyball season (found out we're pulling in a kid from UMD and RIT I know the RIT guy from my first day of work... not a hockey fan.)

Anyhow... I think its time I picked up a good pair of shoes for the gym.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Did the big 14 miler this morning. Tough start, since my leg was pretty tight, but it eventually loosened up. Either that, or the rest of the pain just masked the tightness...

Really happy with the time- ran at 9:18, which is a) quite a bit faster than the 9:49 I did at the Detroit half, and b) only 8 seconds off my target for 3 weeks. It was a brutal hilly course, relative to the race, and was a good controlled training run.

Now the taper starts. 10 miles next week, 6 the week after (for the long runs), and the race 3 weeks from tomorrow.

Good job, alfa!

On further review, I think I know why I fared so poorly in the River Bank Run. I overtrained, and my body simply told me it wasn't going to go anymore.

 

[winger]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

As for food, I've realized I've cheated myself for far too long. Starting next Sunday, I'm going to cut this reduced-fat/fat-free junk and go back to real food.

Amazing what real food will do for ya!

As for the Fifth-Third 25K today, I did not run very well, posting a chip time of 3 hours, 26 minutes. To correct this, I'm reducing my running schedule to 4 days a week, sleeping in until at least 6:30 AM (unless I have to work), and running after breakfast, not before. I do not want to blow my hip out or post another 5+ hour time in the marathon this fall.

Good plan, it is always hard to find that balance of working out a enough but not overworking your body so it cant perform on the day you want.

Really loving CrossFit so far. I finished the On-Ramp last week, and now I'm in the "Elements" classes. My only beef is that I feel like the instructor is holding me back a little bit more than I'd like. He's really focusing on making sure that I have the moves down, which is good, I guess, but I feel like I can do more than he is letting me.

My affiliate is pretty new, my class is actually the first on ramp class. But I am looking forward to starting regular workouts after next week. I also want to go four times a week. I almost have my kitchen cleaned out too, so I proably will start eating Paleo next week. So I could be a really unfun person for a week or so. I have had a ton of traveling to do this past week and talking to clients, I didnt think that would of been a good time to come off the sugar. I am really looking forward to the clean eating. Plus my CSA starts in a couple of weeks, so veggies will be at my door a plenty!

I know a few people who do CrossFit. They tell me that there is a strong emphasis on form and correct movement. So even if you feel you can move on, your instructor may still see some flaws in your workout. But keep at it, and you'll probably move on soon enough.

Yeah I am glad I did the onramp class. I have pretty much no lifting experience and I could see people being able to do damage to themselves, especially in the knees.

I will say, a month of doing crossfit and I have not had shoulder pain at all. Which is awesome, and now I am making it stronger so maybe next year I can try swimming again and a tri.

This gym's one flat fee for unlimited attendance per month, so it doesn't make a difference that way. I just physically feel like I can do more.

And I want the group atmosphere because a) I don't work as hard on my own and b) I have no friends outside of work that live in a 100 mile radius of me, so I'm pretty starved for human contact!

I agree on both your a) and b). Being at the gym certainlly pushes me more than doing it at home. The workouts are easy to do on the road as well, which is great when I travel. It is also nice being in a gym with like minded people and I am new to the area so I am meeting people too!

I also like that because of the overall approach to fitness, I run less but I run stronger!

 

[Sloe Gin]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

On further review, I think I know why I fared so poorly in the River Bank Run. I overtrained, and my body simply told me it wasn't going to go anymore.

it's tough to listen to your body. You want to keep pushing. I get it. But you gotta listen to it , man. You gotta. You've seen the results when you don't. See the results when you do.

 

[moose97]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

I officially hit my target weight (below 275) at weigh-in this morning (a loss of 42 lbs.). When i started this, I threw out 275 as an arbitrary goal, and weighing 317, it seemed like it was pretty unrealistic. Less than 3 months later (I started calorie counting - with a 2000 calories a day diet - on January 2nd), here I am.

I've been slowly adding physical fitness into this thing, and will start biking to work this week (2 miles each way - nothing earth shattering), but my family did walk 4 miles yesterday, something that would have near killed me last summer/fall, and it was no big deal.

I've been told that for someone 6'7" and 35 years old, I should weigh between 170 and 220. I'm not sure if 170 is realistic (or even 220), but I'm going to set a new goal of 240 and see what happens now...

I kind of plateaued there for a while - right ~ 275. However, I've now lost seven more and am under 270 (268!) for the first time in forever. That pushes my total loss to 50 lbs.

Unfortunatly, I haven't been able to bike, but have walked a lot more than the past few summers already. In fact, I've got another ~ 3 miler today (my daughter's class is walking from school to downtown, and then to a picnic and I'm chaperoning).

 

[alfablue]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Leg update- Mrs Alfa let me have one of her hours at Arbor Wellness yesterday. Good deep massage. The Massuse spent the entire hour on my lower thigh. Holy cow- how did I get a bag of marbles in my thigh? Feels a lot better now, but I also need to do some more cross training- aka, riding my bike. That will help keep ballance between my hamstrings and quads.

Reading about Bob's 25k- bob- do you want a copy of my training schedule? I sent my half schedule to sloe last fall. I'd say it's medium in terms of overall miles- like last week was supposed to by my heaviest week- 44 overall miles- for a half in 3 weeks. (missed that mark by a lot resting my leg... oops). Also, I really realized that there's time for speed, and there's time for slow- weekends, I run roughly 20 seconds slower than my target pace for the half, weekdays- specific speed work on Tuesdays, pace run on Thursday (slow Wed). IMHO, that focus on speed has done SO much for me- my average HR has dropped for all of my runs. I know that it may be hard to undersand going slow on the long runs- Mrs. Alfa has had problems buying into that, except recently- but I see the point of training in two paths- one gaining endurance, one gaining speed- and the paths finally meet on race day. Mrs. Alfa has seen how focusing on that has improved her a lot- she did this past weekend's 14 miler is well under her target, at a pretty controlled HR pace, and for half of it, by herself (her parters were doing 16). So I know she's in a pretty happy place for the half coming up.

Anyway, sorry about the length.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

it's tough to listen to your body. You want to keep pushing. I get it. But you gotta listen to it , man. You gotta. You've seen the results when you don't. See the results when you do.

I know; last year, I was well-rested, and when it came time for the race, I was able to turn it up for the last 3.5 miles.

Leg update- Mrs Alfa let me have one of her hours at Arbor Wellness yesterday. Good deep massage. The Massuse spent the entire hour on my lower thigh. Holy cow- how did I get a bag of marbles in my thigh? Feels a lot better now, but I also need to do some more cross training- aka, riding my bike. That will help keep ballance between my hamstrings and quads.

Reading about Bob's 25k- bob- do you want a copy of my training schedule? I sent my half schedule to sloe last fall. I'd say it's medium in terms of overall miles- like last week was supposed to by my heaviest week- 44 overall miles- for a half in 3 weeks. (missed that mark by a lot resting my leg... oops). Also, I really realized that there's time for speed, and there's time for slow- weekends, I run roughly 20 seconds slower than my target pace for the half, weekdays- specific speed work on Tuesdays, pace run on Thursday (slow Wed). IMHO, that focus on speed has done SO much for me- my average HR has dropped for all of my runs. I know that it may be hard to undersand going slow on the long runs- Mrs. Alfa has had problems buying into that, except recently- but I see the point of training in two paths- one gaining endurance, one gaining speed- and the paths finally meet on race day. Mrs. Alfa has seen how focusing on that has improved her a lot- she did this past weekend's 14 miler is well under her target, at a pretty controlled HR pace, and for half of it, by herself (her parters were doing 16). So I know she's in a pretty happy place for the half coming up.

Anyway, sorry about the length.

That would be great! I know with the Detroit marathon on the horizon, I need to prepare, and I know the Team in Training schedule does not account for speed at all.

Amazing what real food will do for ya!

The real food approach is working so far! I feel fuller, I'm not freaking out around food as much, and I'm rediscovering the joy of cooking! I'm focusing on eating more healthy fats, learning that my veggies and poultry taste better with a light coating of olive oil, and that a small piece of regular cheddar cheese is better than a brick of the reduced fat crap.

 

[nmupiccdiva]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

I almost have my kitchen cleaned out too, so I proably will start eating Paleo next week.

Paleo? What does that mean?

I know; last year, I was well-rested, and when it came time for the race, I was able to turn it up for the last 3.5 miles.


That would be great! I know with the Detroit marathon on the horizon, I need to prepare, and I know the Team in Training schedule does not account for speed at all.


The real food approach is working so far! I feel fuller, I'm not freaking out around food as much, and I'm rediscovering the joy of cooking! I'm focusing on eating more healthy fats, learning that my veggies and poultry taste better with a light coating of olive oil, and that a small piece of regular cheddar cheese is better than a brick of the reduced fat crap.

Amen! Amen! This is something I've been working on for the better part of a month now, and I can't tell you how much I a) love it and b) better I feel. My focus has been on adding more fresh fruits and veggies to each meal, and more protein since I had a test come back and tell me I was moderately protein deficient. It makes meals a fun challenge--MAKING something as opposed to "open box, add water, stir", and while it is a challenge with my budget, it's worth it. Keep it up, Bob!

 

[BUT09]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Paleo? What does that mean?

http://www.thepaleodiet.com/

It's the diet most of the CrossFit affiliates promote.

 

[alfablue]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

That would be great! I know with the Detroit marathon on the horizon, I need to prepare, and I know the Team in Training schedule does not account for speed at all.

Shoot me an e-mail at alfablue (dot) uscho (at) gmail (dot) com

I can give you a schedule, but the speed part was a derivative of Hal Hingdon's book about running faster. It's a really good read, and really helped to focus the point of the different aspects of training.

My schedule only has miles in it, you have to connect the dots in terms of fast and slow speeds. And I wont have a marathon schedule until June, when the new season starts.

The real hard part to buy into is that your long runs should be 30-60 seconds SLOWER than race pace, depending on the race (30 seconds for Marathon, 60 for half, but I'm kind of cheating on that one...). You should note a drop in HR as you progress. And we always run slow on Sunday, too.

Basically- here's our schedule:
Monday- off
Tuesday- speed (various- hills, mile repeats, fartligs, intervals, etc)
Wed- slow, but between race and slow pace
Thursday- Speed- either AT race pace, or another speed workout (don't do too much speed- maybe twice one week, once the next- it does not take a lot)
Friday- rest
Saturday- long run (30-60 seconds slower than target race pace, but occasionally, I'll run it at race pace- maybe once every 6 weeks)
Sunday- recovery run, slow, every time.

The speed work needs to be done carefully, too- like if you do mile repeats, do your best to keep the pace down to a 10k pace, 200 or 400 intervals- around a 5k pace, hills- not too fast, etc. According to Hingdon, it seems as if the most important part of the speed work is the recovery- make sure your HR or effort drops enough before you start another.

So far, that's worked wonders for us. And I bet you can twist that into a tri-schedule, too, sloe. Not sure how to schedule it, but I'm sure you can come up with something.

 

[Dirty Bottles]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Leg update- Mrs Alfa let me have one of her hours at Arbor Wellness yesterday. Good deep massage. The Massuse spent the entire hour on my lower thigh. Holy cow- how did I get a bag of marbles in my thigh? Feels a lot better now, but I also need to do some more cross training- aka, riding my bike. That will help keep ballance between my hamstrings and quads.

In my opinion the best single piece of equipment any endurance athlete can buy is a foam roller. Regularly use that thing and it will keep those bags of marbles from forming. Use it on your quads, IT band, etc.

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Shoot me an e-mail at alfablue (dot) uscho (at) gmail (dot) com

I can give you a schedule, but the speed part was a derivative of Hal Hingdon's book about running faster. It's a really good read, and really helped to focus the point of the different aspects of training.

My schedule only has miles in it, you have to connect the dots in terms of fast and slow speeds. And I wont have a marathon schedule until June, when the new season starts.

The real hard part to buy into is that your long runs should be 30-60 seconds SLOWER than race pace, depending on the race (30 seconds for Marathon, 60 for half, but I'm kind of cheating on that one...). You should note a drop in HR as you progress. And we always run slow on Sunday, too.

Basically- here's our schedule:
Monday- off
Tuesday- speed (various- hills, mile repeats, fartligs, intervals, etc)
Wed- slow, but between race and slow pace
Thursday- Speed- either AT race pace, or another speed workout (don't do too much speed- maybe twice one week, once the next- it does not take a lot)
Friday- rest
Saturday- long run (30-60 seconds slower than target race pace, but occasionally, I'll run it at race pace- maybe once every 6 weeks)
Sunday- recovery run, slow, every time.

The speed work needs to be done carefully, too- like if you do mile repeats, do your best to keep the pace down to a 10k pace, 200 or 400 intervals- around a 5k pace, hills- not too fast, etc. According to Hingdon, it seems as if the most important part of the speed work is the recovery- make sure your HR or effort drops enough before you start another.

So far, that's worked wonders for us. And I bet you can twist that into a tri-schedule, too, sloe. Not sure how to schedule it, but I'm sure you can come up with something.

Alright, will do. Thank you!

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Alfa- got the schedule, and it's something I can easily follow. Thanks again!

 

[alfablue]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Alfa- got the schedule, and it's something I can easily follow. Thanks again!

Glad I can help!

 

[DisplacedCornellian]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Just a status update. Down 25 pounds since 2/28. Feeling better than I have in a few years.

In addition to my usual gym routine (basically I hit the gym everyday of the week except Friday, unless I'm out of town), I've started doing the hundred pushup challenge. Good stuff! They also have a program for a two hundred sit-up and two hundred squat challenge, if anybody is interested.

 

[nmupiccdiva]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Just a status update. Down 25 pounds since 2/28. Feeling better than I have in a few years.

In addition to my usual gym routine (basically I hit the gym everyday of the week except Friday, unless I'm out of town), I've started doing the hundred pushup challenge. Good stuff! They also have a program for a two hundred sit-up and two hundred squat challenge, if anybody is interested.

Congrats! That's great!


I just ran 7 miles. That's a first ever for me.

 

[Sloe Gin]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

I just ran 7 miles. That's a first ever for me.

Sloe Gin likes this

 

[MissThundercat]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Congrats! That's great!


I just ran 7 miles. That's a first ever for me.

Way to go 'diva! Now run 8.

 

[nmupiccdiva]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

Way to go 'diva! Now run 8.

2 weeks. My unofficial plan right now is to keep adding a mile to my long run every 2 weeks until I get to 10, then play around at that distance for a while. My goal right now is to just gradually build a mileage base.

 

[alfablue]

Re: Diet and Exercise 2010: Whatever it takes

2 weeks. My unofficial plan right now is to keep adding a mile to my long run every 2 weeks until I get to 10, then play around at that distance for a while. My goal right now is to just gradually build a mileage base.

Since I'm in a sharing mood-shoot me an e-mail (as seen above), and you can compare my recent plan with yours. Mine's a little long- starting in November, and ending in 2.5 more weeks- but you can adapt it to October.

I've sent one to Sloe and Bob, so far.

One important thing to fit in- light miles weeks. Basically once every 4 weeks, have a week where your weekly miles are lower, and your long run is lower. Rest and recovery week.

Oh, almost forgot- GOOD JOB!!!!! Milestones are cool, arent they?