I find myself suddenly very active.
Monday I worked out my legs. I need to push myself harder in the squat dept. Or perhaps, take my sets a little slower. Hmm....
In the evening, an hour-long walk around Hyde Park with tizzle, during which I spent most of the time trying to keep up with his insanely long legs.
By Tuesday, the ass was plenty sore - squeeze it!
The rain kept me from the gym til' about 2, where I had to rush through a chest/triceps/abs workout before getting to a meeting. Grr.
In the evening I ran for 30 minutes, roughly 2.5 miles. I could have kept going, but Tim was smart to encourage me to stop. I've only been at this running thing for a couple weeks and I don't think my legs are ready to get too serious yet.
Today, the sleep in and the rest is super sweet. I'm pretty sore from yesterday's workout, but my legs feel healthy and strong, and only a little sore in all the right places.
Keeping to <1600 calories / day while still getting at least 130 grams of protein has been mildly challenging but I've settled into it now. I'm not losing much weight yet, but my clothes are feeling a bit more loose (comfortable) and I'm enjoying the benefits of being able to both lose fat and put on muscle during this early stage of the game.
Here's to hoping for a good reason to buy some new Diesel's at the end of the summer...
Last Sunday I went to RunTex here in Austin, Texas. I got fitted for running shoes, which was a far less technical exercise than I thought. My feet pronate (roll-in slightly) so I tried on some shoes that corrected this. Many thanks to Tim for hooking me up with a new pair of Asics GT-2090's.
I've never been fitted for running shoes before (I always bought the gym shoes that "looked cool" and used them for everything) but the Asics make quite a difference. We took em' out for a 30-minute test drive around Hyde Park. I had been having some ankle pain, which came back towards the beginning of the run but went away quickly and never came back. I'm hoping that's the end of that. Overall, the shoes are really comfortable and my feet were unfettered by the run.
I enjoy playing sports - soccer, hockey, even basketball's alright. My primitive mind is motivated by the pursuit of a well-defined goal. And when it comes to exercise, motivation is all I need, and often all too hard to find.
This is why I probably loathe running. It's never done it for me. I've tried running on a track, on a trail, in my neighborhood, on a treadmill, at night, in the morning, in the middle of the day. But there's no goal, no immediate satisfaction, and I quickly grow bored and disdainful. I did alright running in Audubon Park (NOLA), where I had Mike and Brett to run with, and the promise of a cold shower in the middle of the run. But still, I was always more eager to throw the frisbee around or play football or have a watergun fight.
As I train for the apocalypse, I can't help but come to grips with the necessity of running in an end-of-civilization type situation. There will inevitably be a speed/endurance benchmark for survival, and I intend to be ready.
It was also slightly convenient that Tim stepped up to the plate to be my running partner. His presence has made running far more enjoyable, mostly because I have someone else to keep me company and help me with my pacing.
Right now, the running is pretty casual. We're running extremely slowly (about 13 min miles) for 25-30 minutes. But it feels pretty good to be doing it.
Always in search of a goal, I have my mind set on running the Keep Austin Weird 5k on August 28, just 3 days before I fly to London. It will be awesome to cap off my time in Austin with fitness success. Also, adding a social element to running seems to keep me at it.
| Gym Workout Program | |
| (Created June 25, 2004) | |
| Monday - Legs | |
| Exercise | sets x reps |
| Squat | 3x6 |
| Lunge | 3x6 |
| Deadlift | 3x8 |
| Calf Raise | 3x6 |
| Back Hyperextensions | 3x8 |
| Cardio - 20 mins | |
| Tuesday - Chest, Triceps, Abs | |
| Exercise | Reps |
| Dumbell Press | 3x6 |
| Assisted Dips | 3x6 |
| Incline Bench | 3x8 |
| Tricep Pull | 3x8 |
| Ab Crunches | 3x8 |
| Cardio - 20 mins | |
| Thursday - Back, Biceps | |
| Exercise | Reps |
| Deadlift | 3x6 |
| Assisted Pullups | 3x6 |
| Dumbell row | 3x8 |
| Bicep Curl | 3x6 |
| Cardio - 20 mins | |
| Friday - Shoulders, Lower Back | |
| Exercise | Reps |
| Shoulder Press | 3x6 |
| Shrugs | 3x6 |
| Lateral Raises | 2x8 |
| Ab Crunches | 3x8 |
| Back Hyperextensions | 3x8 |
| Cardio - 20 mins | |
it's been a slow couple of months, but at least they haven't been in the wrong direction.
Weight: 126lbs
Waist: 74cm
Hips: 90cm
Thighs: 54cm
Monica's Strawberry-Banana Hippie Muffins
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1 1/2. cups whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp. brown sugar (give or take)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsps. baking powder
1 cup chopped strawberries
1 cup skim milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 Tbsp. canola oil
2 egg whites
Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 12-muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, thoroughly mix the rolled oats with the whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Add the strawberries and stir gently until they are distributed evenly in the mixture.
In a small bowl, stir together the milk, banana, oil and egg whites until blended. Add liquid ingredients to dry and stir just until moistened. Spoon batter into muffin cups, dividing evenly. Bake for 15 to 20 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Makes 12 dinky muffins (or 8 less dinky muffins)
Nutritional guesstimates for 1 dinky muffin:
Calories: 150
Fat: 3 g
Fiber: 4 g.
