Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: Fitness Page 2 of 3

It’s Time For A Fitness Update

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On June 24, 2020

In Fitness

It's Time for a Fitness UpdateIt’s been a while since I regaled you with my fitness efforts so it’s time for a fitness update. I believe the last time I wrote about it was my “Bad Idea Birthday Run” challenge. The COVID has created new challenges for staying in shape. Stress and quarantine create the perfect storm for indulging in snacks, desserts and vegging on the couch. It’s a huge motivation killer.

I don’t know how other people are managing, especially when gyms were closed. Personally, I never went to a gym because 1) I’m cheap and don’t want to pay for a membership and 2) I’m too introverted to workout in front of strangers. Be that as it may, I’m still maintaining a consistent workout during these crazy times.

Going The Distance

I haven’t had any spikes in weight gain, on the other hand I haven’t had any record weight loss either. In fact I’m more or less maintaining my weight. Granted that’s far better than consistently gaining weight. I am, officially, running 5+ miles a day and I’ve run 8+ miles at least twice on my push days during this pandemic. If you do the math there, that means I have run a combined 13.1 miles (aka a half marathon) over two consecutive days. I’m honestly thinking about just skipping the Flying Pig this year and just push for the Half Marathon in 2021.

As I said, the current state of the world has really negatively impacted my motivation. Sudden changes in my daily routine makes me quite uncomfortable and stressed. It’s been a Catch 22; running reduces stress but I’ve been too stressed to run. Now that summer is officially here that means heat and humidity which makes running especially difficult. Despite all that I’m still trying to run 5 days a week (I might miss a day or two depending on weather and other curve balls). At the time of this post I’m at least 63% of the way done with my Walk to Mordor challenge and I suspect that is a little behind my progress at this time last year.

I feel my motivation slowing returning but with the brunt of the summer upon us it begs the question, how long will it last? Enduring the heat is a challenging obstacle. Time to dig deep!

How have your fitness goals been during the COVID, before the gyms reopened?

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

Bad Idea Birthday Run Amid Covid

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On April 25, 2020

In Fitness

I’m a month overdue talking about my annual “Bad Idea Birthday Challenge”. Granted March and April have been a bit complicated and unorthodox. This year is a birthday milestone too. The big 4-0. Last year the challenge was to convert my age to kilometers, divide by 10 and complete that distance in miles. If I were to repeat that challenge, that means running 6.4 miles and that is not very challenging this year. So I need to come up with something new. The unprecedented living conditions of our current situation also creates complication. So what can I do for my bad idea birthday run amid covid?

40 Miles?? I Don’t Think So!

I’m not crazy enough (yet) to stop dividing by 10. Running 40 miles seems frightening, even if I divide the distance up over a couple of days. The pandemic has postponed (for now) the Flying Pig events until mid-October. The plan for the pig, this year, was to complete a 15k (i.e. run the 10k followed by the 5k). I thought about making the 15k my birthday challenge; however by October I will be half way to 41.

Each week I’m beginning to push myself a little bit more. I’m inching (literally and figuratively) toward 5 miles a day, and 8 miles on my “push day”. Therefore I’m leaning toward completing a half marathon, over the course of two days, as my 40th birthday challenge.

If I’m successful it might be the mental leverage I need to convince myself that in 2021 I will reach the apex of my running workouts. It might mean that the Bad Idea Birthday Challenge for 2021 will be the Flying Pig Half Marathon.

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

From 4000 Steps to 10K Races

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On June 26, 2019

In Fitness

From 4000 Steps to 10K RacesMany people comment to me that they don’t think that they could run like I do. Believe me, the distances that I run are minuscule compared to some of the marathon runners I know. Also, anyone that knows me well, knows that I did not just wake up one day and decide to run. I’ve had problems with my knees since high school and this all began by simply walking. A lot. This is how I went from 4000 steps to 10K races.

One Day I Bought A FitBit

Every time someone makes a lifestyle change like this, there is always some catalyst. It might be a health scare, marriage, divorce, having children. For me, it was buying a FitBit. We had been researching ways to exercise and when my wife read about these FitBit’s we thought we would give them a try; that was over six years ago. There must be something about the actual data that became the motivation I needed.

My life was pretty sedentary. I sat behind a computer for 8 hours to work. I sat behind another computer or the television, playing video games when I wasn’t working. My knees hurt going up and down the stairs and I had a prescription for pain killers. Pain killers that are a controlled substance in the state of Ohio. The day I put on that FitBit is the day I decided I was done with all that.

Within the first three years I went from an average of 4,000 steps to 10,000 steps a day and I lost 55 pounds.

Walking Leads to Running

So for the first 3-4 years after strapping on a FitBit, I became addicted to walking. I wanted to take a walk like a smoker craves the next cigarette. One mile lead to two miles. Two miles lead to three. I started walking for my lunch break and I was signing up to walk 5K races.

One day, about two years ago, I was out for a three mile walk and I was walking at a pretty decent pace. Suddenly I had this thought “I wonder if I can run”. I know that my knees would not appreciate the extra stress from the impact of running. However, I was just too damn curious. So I just started running. I started out alternating between running a block and walking a block and just gradually built from there.

Within two years I was running two 5K races and one 10K race. It just takes some perseverance, perhaps a little insanity, and having an addictive personality helps too. You just have to keep working at it and give your body a chance to adapt. Eventually your legs and your lungs will learn how to work together.

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

BIBC Revisited: Running My First 10k

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On May 15, 2019

In Fitness

Flying Pig 10K

FitBit map of the 10K

Two years ago I got this crazy notion to run a 5k for the first time. Following the success of that first 5K, I ran in the same Flying Pig 5K a year later. Since that day I am running 3.1+ miles every day so going for the hat trick didn’t make sense because it wouldn’t be a challenge. Therefore, the most logical decision is to up my game and go for the 10K. On May 4th (aka Star Wars Day) I completed my first ever 10K race which not only fulfilled a New Years Intention but also my Bad Idea Birthday Challenge obligation. The image on the left was taken from the FitBit app after I completed the race (click the image to enlarge it).

Training for the Race

I prepared for the 10K by still running 5 days a week, the change was how far I was running. Four days out of the week I increased the distance to 4+ miles and on the 5th day I would try running over 5 miles. I never actually ran 6 miles while training. This 10K is supposed to be a challenge for me and if I can run 6 miles before the day of the race, then it’s not really a challenge.

I also began doing additional exercises prior to running. These exercises mostly consisted of crunches or sit-ups, lifting free weights, perhaps even a warm up on the recumbent bike. I increased how much water I drunk and decreased my meal portions and soda consumption.

Flying Pig 2020

So now that I have a 10K under my belt, what is the next challenge? The next highest race at the Flying Pig is a Half Marathon, which is 13.1 miles; more than double a 10K. I really don’t think my knees are ready for that; and I’m not entirely confident they will be ready in a year. Now that I have 6.2 miles under my belt, I plan to try to work that into a weekly routine.

So, with that said, the plan right now is to run a 15K in 2020. Since the Half Marathon is the next highest race at the Flying Pig, that means I will sign up to run both the 10K and the 5K (they occur at different times), hence 15K. If I can accomplish 9.3 miles without feeling like I’m going to fall apart, then I will consider the Half Marathon in 2021.

Bad Idea Birthday Challenge 2019

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On March 27, 2019

In Fitness

So this week is when I’m supposed to run my-age-in-miles divided by 10, a.k.a. the Bad Idea Birthday Challenge . I first completed this challenge a year ago.  However I run farther than that 5 days a week so it hardly seems like a challenge. Case in point, on the day of I ran 4.3 miles. Then one of my coworkers had an interesting idea. They suggest to take my age in miles, convert it to kilometers and divide it by 10. Therefore my challenge would be equivalent to the 10k for which I’m still training. So this year I will fulfill my Bad Idea Birthday Challenge when I run the 10K in a little over a month.

In any event, I have reached a weight loss milestone as well which puts me on track to lose 5 more pounds by race day. As long as I maintain the fitness regimen and meal portions I should have no problems reaching said goal. Short post but good news.

/cheers

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

RTotD: What is it About a Circuit??

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On August 6, 2018

In Fitness, Random Cogitations

During my run this past Friday, I wanted to increase my distance but I have to change the route. School will be starting in a few weeks so I can no longer use the elementary playground (because I don’t want to look like some perv creeper). I thought the route I picked would be longer than the 4.4 miles I have been running through all of July. Unfortunately it is actually shorter so I ended up forcing myself to alter my route at the last minute to try to at least hit the same distance. As a result, I had to double back on parts of my route. I hate that!

Symmetrical OCD?

When I go out running, for some reason I have it in my head that I cannot finish coming from the same direction in which I left. For example, if I turn East at the end of my driveway, I should be coming from the West when I get back. I also hate going the reverse direction on the same side of the street. If I am going East on the North side of the street, the next time I go down that street I need to be going West on the South side of the street.

Yes, I know I am strange. It’s some weird symmetrical OCD. I would hypothesis that most runners are more concerned about the distance and the pace instead of the route. This Friday will be different. I have already plotted out my route and yes, it is a complete circuit and it will be longer.

The things that go through my mind when I’m alone with nothing but my thoughts for entertainment is dangerous. Some might even say eccentric. Consider this your warning when reading my Random Thought of the Day

 

 

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