11-16-2009 - Man Vs. Junk Part 2

Tis the season for air conditioners, lawnmowers, electric scooters and garden hose to be put away for a few months. I did exactly that variety of thing for the day's workout. Fortunately, since I'd rather be doing cardio, the outdoor work is almost done. If we could just have an unexpected warm-snap soon, the rest would be done.

I installed a heater in my workshop for those times when my supercomputer isn't running. It's surprisingly powerful, actually, heating the shop from freezing to passing the no-shirt test in about an hour. It also developed a short at some point, tripping the under-house GFCI and circuit breaker all in one shot. As labor-intensive as resetting the GFCI turned out to be, I'd prefer not to deal with that again.

11/15/2009 - Man Versus Junk

I took Friday and Saturday off for precautionary recovery (something I should have done early on last time) and spent four hours on Sunday giving my storage bay a much-needed reorganization treatment. That made up for the missed workouts and my knees are still fine.

I should be able to go all week with the 100 minute cardio workouts. That's my goal. Still keeping the Ibuprofen, though.

11-12-2009

Time: 1:40:03, Distance: 17.93, Avg speed: 10.76MPH, Resistance: 4, energy burned: 950.6kcal, Avg pulse: 155

I was surprised to see my performance actually went up despite the back-to-back effect I saw the first time.

My knees are still just fine so far. I'm keeping on the Ibuprofen at a gram a day.

Two days in, 178 to go. My goal is to weigh in at 160 in six months. My secondary goal is to see how early I can hit that goal.

11-11-2009 - Saves More Time Than Dynamite

Time: 1:40:04, Distance:17.22mi, Avg Speed: 10.31MPH, Resistance: 4, energy burned: 911.6kcal; Avg Pulse: 150

I'm often using my computer in the evenings these days. I sell stuff on eBay so I'm answering questions and posting auctions regularly. If I'm going to sit in front of my computer this much, I should make it worth my time. I set my trainer bike up in front of the machine to see if I could train while doing eBay stuff, design stuff and gaming. Yes. It works very well.

I'm getting back into full swing now that my swine flu is gone and I've fully healed from my earlier surgery. I've got lost time to make up for. I've gone back to my old rule of 100/1000. 100 minutes or 1000kcal a session, whichever I feel like doing. No hour sessions. I feel like I'd be slacking there.

Well Here We Go Again! GET UP!!

"You said it couldn't be done.
You said that it's the kind of battle that just couldn't be won."

This time it's personal.

7-8-2009 -

Time: 1:23:21, Resistance: 5, Distance: 16.0 miles, Avg Speed: 11.52 MPH, Kcal burned: 849.2, Average Pulse: 160

Oh man I'm going to have to crawl away. Ibuprofen, water and Glutamine for me.

7-6-09

Time: 2:01:00, Res: 5, Dist: 20.63, Avg speed: 10.24 MPH, kcal burned: 1093, avg pulse: 150

Slowed down a bit, but that was expected. All's well that ends well. Two days in, eighty-two to go.

7-6-09 - There's Got To Be A Morning After

Haven't felt like this in quite a while. I'm dragging cheek today from the aches. I don't feel voraciously hungry, however, so I'll count that as a plus.

I think I'm going to have to set a new rule. Last night, after the workout, I made a turkey and cheese wrap and wished I had greens of some kind. No salad on-hand. Crap. The problem with salad is it doesn't keep well. The moment the bag is opened, the clock is ticking on a 48 hour shelf life. The new rule is to consume salad the very day the bag is opened.

Since I do the eBay thing and often have to ship stuff, I'm out and about a lot of the time. This brings me close to various grocery stores so I can get salad whenever I need it. I think this will work. I need my greens.

7/5/09 - Rides Again

Time: 2:04:51, Resistance: 5, Dist: 22.22 miles, avg spd: 10.68 MPH, energy burned: 1185kcal, avg Pulse: 150

No problems at all. This was decent.

6-28-09 - So Much Blood!

Internal bleeding is no fun, but it was only a little bit and didn't down me for a month more.

Tonight, I look for more bleeding while forcing myself back into the game.

Time: 45:57, Dist: 8.83 mi, avg speed: 11.53, kcal burned: 464, avg pulse: 159
Miles total: 792.84
Post-knife: 8.83

I took some Ibuprofen just to be safe (I know it this blood, but I took my chances) with my knees and then went about my workout.

Since my wife is doing this with me, the old arrangement where I had two laptop computer podiums holding a sheet of tempered glass between them as a desk for my laptop just wasn't possible without purchase of more equipment. With that in mind, I bought a rollaway laptop stand that sits almost perfectly in front of her when she's training while working keyboard and mouse at her station.

I had planned to go a full hour tonight, but elected to ease back into this regimen. I have a week to ramp back up to ramming speed by my own standard.

And I'm not bleeding. This is a good thing.

6-22-2009 - Prelude To a Pwn!

I'm fully recovered.

It took longer than I expected and I weigh in at 207 now after two months of no workouts. These things happen. I'm still lighter than when I started and that should make transitioning back that much easier, especially since I kept a large portion of the muscle I gained.

I'm hoping I can avoid the knee troubles I was having when I started. Ibuprofen is my friend now that I don't have to worry about internal bleeding. I'll post later if I make my start today.

June Update - Recovery Progress

I'm almost to where I can get back to my routine. I'm merely waiting on the scabs from my vasectomy to go away. Can't very well bike with those still around.

Effective immediately, I'm switching back to the diet I was using during my program. It simply worked so I'm not going to mess with it. I need that kind of structure, I figure I have a few more days until I'm ready to hit the bike again.

On The Mend

I'm tracking my progress at Plasma Lamp. I went under the knife at 7:30AM May 12th for all of my pending surgeries. My tonsils were removed and I have a cool video of that, my septum was fixed and my sinuses worked on. I also got my vasectomy.

While I'm down for recovery, most of my pursuits are physically sedentary in nature so that's why I've elected to journal it at Plasma Lamp. I'll supposedly be back to normal after two weeks, but I am sure it will take longer than that for a complete recovery.

I'm off work until May 26th, taking powerful painkillers and still hurting quite a bit. Eating is difficult while drinking enough fluids is a chore.

I only wish I had saved up a few hundred dollars to buy new toys and stuff with while I'm down like this. Maybe I could post a couple of eBay items and see where that gets me? I'd get a good head start on paying the medical bills, for sure.

It's safe to say there's no way I'm going to be able to do LOTOJA this year. Registration was basically over before it began and I knew I had little chance of finishing the race without being able to breathe. Next year, maybe. I'm not really in it for LOTOJA. I'm in it for physical fitness.

At least my wisdom teeth are the last thing I'll have to worry about once this is done.

Down With The Sickness

Nothing is more annoying than being on a roll only to be stopped cold. I've been sick for almost a month. It started as a sinus infection and worked its way down to my tonsils and larynx. Coughing is a good, but unwanted, abdominal workout.

I dropped below 200lbs over a week ago and haven't gained any back. I know some of the loss is muscle.

I was diagnosed with Chronic Cryptic Tonsillitis and will be having my tonsils taken out after my CT scan on Thursday to see whether anything else has to come out with then.

In addition, I need my bottom Wisdom Teeth taken out. The left one, especially, since I can't close my mouth all the way without biting my inner cheek.

To top it all off, I'm getting a Vasectomy. I'm sure that will be fun.

I'm hoping to go back to my workout regimen soon. I haven't even hit 1000 miles yet.

3/25/09 - Two Months

Total distance: 762.15 miles

I weigh 201lbs after two months, having started at 213lbs. Twelve pounds is a pretty big deal, but I want to turn that into twenty by the end of next month.

3/11/09 - Back In Black

Total so far: 617.67 miles.

I've been biking, shoveling snow, playing handyman and various stuff.

Yesterday, I had the idea to add a desk of sorts over the trainer bike to allow using a computer while training. It's a lot better than watching Idol or whatever and starting my workouts at 7 or later.

I don't just surf. I lose myself in World of Warcraft. I reactivated my account and started building a Druid. I find it funny that I'll really only be playing while pedaling so when I do a "/played" command at the console, the result returned will reflect how long I spent working out.

I decree that I will only play the game while working out (other than stuff my bank character does) at least until I have gotten my Druid to Level 80. And that's going to take a very long time, even at two hours of play a day (strange how that doesn't seem like all that long per day now).

3/3/09 - Silence Is Golden

I'm backing my blog entries down to once a week with figures that combine the week's totals. I've grown into my routine and would much rather be doing other stuff than writing mostly repetitive stuff.

I took the weekend plus Friday off from workouts in order to get my lab back in order and work on the Fanglerfish (I used to call it the Lanternfish, but I was using the wrong term for Anglerfish. Since there was a Strong Bad Email dealing with what SB called "fangly fishes" when referring to the same fish, I combined the two). All I need to do now with that project is build the adapters because everything electrical is done, including the inverter for the backlight (at both maximum and minimum brightness).

I almost have 550 miles at this point.

2/16/09 - I'm Kickin My Ass! D'ya mind?

Time: 1:20:24, Resistance: 5, Distance: 17.79 miles, Average Speed: 13.28 MPH, Energy Burned: 950.6 kcal, Average Pulse: 165 bpm

I'm starting to love the feeling of pushing this hard. A month in and I'm already going hellbent. It's nice going to bed exhausted and actually sleeping for the full time. Last night wasn't so great because I was so throughly spent I didn't notice that my daughter was playing with buttons again and hit the Auto-Fill button to pump my mattress up hard as a rock. I was paying for that in the morning. Toddlers and buttons don't mix.

I'm considering having workouts like those of the past two nights every day for a month to see where it gets me. It's something I've never done before. I even saw the speedometer hold 14.0MPH for a short time while not on a VO2max sprint. And the last time I saw that was at Resistance 4.

At work, there's this program that gives you a discount on your health plan for either already being in great health or following their guidelines to get in great health. One of my coworkers now has his photo plastered on several walls. I noticed he was trimming down. That's pretty cool. I was kicked out of the program. Too words-on for me. Actions always speak louder, but I've always been that way so it's old news. I'd rather be seeing stars on the bike than talking about my veggie and fish intake with some girl a hundred miles away who's never had a weight problem in her life.

You know, it's funny how these things happen. I always have a hard time getting started with something long-term and/or not immediately appealing, but once I've been at it for a while, it becomes an addiction. I think about how I'm supposed to be working on Project Lanternfish (the repurposed iMac G4 hooked to beast computer), but I'm not willing to give up my workout to do it. If I'm going to have my workout at the expense of my pet projects, I'm going to make it worth the loss.

2/25/09 - I Would Ride 500 Miles And I Will Ride 500 More

Time: 1:50:04, Resistance: 5, Distance: 24.27, Average Speed: 13.23MPH, Energy Burned: 1300 kcal, Average Pulse: 160

I have my first 500 miles in the books. After today I know what it's like to truly kick my own ass. I felt like slowing down halfway through and didn't. I felt like calling it a night at 20 miles and didn't. I know what it's like to dig deep now. Not as deep as I'm sure the pros do, but I got a taste of it.

And I want more...

2/24/09 - Closing In...

Time: 1:22:00, Resistance: 5, Distance: 17.12 Miles, Average Speed: 12.53 MPH, Energy Burned: 913.7 kcal, Average Pulse: 155

Normal workout. I don't feel messed up at all. It would seem that I thrive on a challenge as my pace has increased. 476.07 miles in the books. I can hardly believe 500 miles is within striking distance. Actually, it would seem that 500 miles coincides with my 1 month point and I'm dropping weight at the rate I expected so I'm on track.

2/23/09 - Pick Up The Pace

Time: 1:20:41, Resistance: 5, Distance: 16.89 Miles, Average Speed: 12.56 MPH, Energy Burned: 901.6 kcal, Average Pulse: 155 bpm

I didn't think I'd be setting any kind of personal best any time soon at the new resistance level, but I did. Taking less time to cover the distance gave me almost 17 miles this time. I've now logged 458.95 miles.

2/22/09 - Resistance 5

Time: 1:23:00, Resistance: 5, Distance: 16.10 miles, Average Speed: 11.64 MPH, Energy Burned: 859.4 kcal, Average Pulse: 150

This was new and interesting to me. The change in resistance was certainly noticeable. I didn't have trouble keeping my heart rate up. While I had planned to go longer, I decided I shouldn't as the workout was different enough that treading with caution was just a real good idea.

The weekends always remind me how good a consistent diet really is.

2/21/09 - With A Vengeance

Time: 2:44:03, Resistance Level: 4, Distance: 32.08, Average Speed: 11.74 MPH, Energy Burned: 1685 kcal, Average Pulse: 140 bpm

I missed yesterday's workout. I was really in no condition for it. Even today I found myself wanting to slack off, but I finished at like 10PM.

After having scaled my worknight sessions back to 15-16 miles, I still want to knock out miles like I did at 20/day. After over 30 miles tonight before my feet made me pack it in, I think I have the solution. If I standardize on 30 miles for Friday night and during both weekend days, I'll have even better mileage. That's actually 150 miles a week where I was getting 140 in before.

My pace will be going down some next week. I have to turn the resistance level up on my trainer in order to keep my heart rate deep enough in the 140s that I'm not hawk-eying my watch twice a minute.

I've lost a significant amount of weight so far and I'm sure it will continue. While I track my weight daily and try to keep the same conditions each time, it's something that I understand will only really make sense over the long-term.

I also track what I eat, but I have done no calorie count tallies or anything like that. I have the data stored for post-processing when I've reached a target weight I haven't even decided on yet, but I'm not doing anything with it now. To put too much thought into that part would have me thinking about food a lot more than I should. I'd rather spend brain time thinking about workout stuff instead of the fuel I'm taking in to power it.

Actually, that's why a lot of diets fail--too much emphasis on what or how much you're eating.

2/19/09 - Huh Huh... He Said "Bones"

Time: 1:25:32, Resistance: 4, Distance: 16.53, Avg Speed: 11.6MPH, Energy Burned: 879.8 Kcal, Average Pulse: 145 bpm

I watched Bones tonight while I trained. It was the one with the sword people were killing each other for. That's about it.

I took the workout a little slower still this time to see how I'd feel while keeping my heart rate lower than where I have been lately. I have to say even 135bpm is almost effortless. I could probably go all day like that. That's a pretty big difference.

I'm down to 206lbs now, seven below where I started. This is includes over a week of no loss at the very beginning.

2/18/09 - Front Row Seat To A Trainwreck

Time: 1:20:06, Resistance: 4, Distance: 16.08 miles, Average Speed: 12.04 MPH, Energy Burned: 841 Kcal, Average Pulse: 150

I did my workout while American Idol was on. Like most, I only care about the auditions and the finale of that show (when there's nothing else going on), but this season became a question of "What will Tatiana del Toro do next?" Aside from being completely annoying until her last hurrah, she struck me as self-centered (as hell) both before and after the group performance. Seems fitting that she went up against the Danny Gokey guy my mother says looks like me (it's the goatee) and lost (Everyone has an evil twin--I guess I'm his?). Like there was any other possible outcome? I mean the guy was good and he lost his wife a year ago. On top of that, he's not annoying.

It was kind of ironic to see Tatiana hanging on the arm of fellow rejectee Stevie Wright (who looks like a cross between Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johansson) whom you would never know from maturity is, in fact, seven years younger than Her Majesty The Exhalted Precious Snowflake Princess Tatiana del Taco. Grow up and try again, kid, just be more personable next time and people will like you. You gain nothing by being yourself when you're a living root canal. If you were honest about the annoying you not being the real you, you will go far.

(A pound of post-workout skin salt crust says she reads this while googling her name.)

2/17/09 - No Hoggin Here

Time: 1:18:04, Resistance: 4, Distance: 15.35 miles, Average Speed: 11.8 MPH, Energy Burned: 802.9 Kcal, Average Pulse: 150

No pain today either. No medicine before or during the workout. I did scale my workout back to 15 miles because I feel like I'm spending my entire night on that bike and that's no way to live. I've also got to avoid hogging it so my wife can use it too.

2/16/09 - And Like That... It's Gone

Time: 1:40:41, Resistance: 4, Distance: 20.67, Avg Speed: 12.32 MPH, Energy Burned: 1103, Avg Pulse: 157

I don't believe it, no knee pain or inflammation at all today. It's just plain gone. I don't know if it will be back, but I'm not going to hold my breath. To put this in perspective, it's like waking up thinking you're late for school and suddenly realizing it's not only not a school day, but the beginning of a four-day weekend.

My biggest obstacle blocking me from running LOTOJA this year is gone for now and I toughed it out with 345.92 miles down so far.

2/15/09 - Three Weeks

Time: 1:40:02, Resistance: 4, Dist: 20.76 mi, Avg Speed: 12.45 MPH, Energy Burned: 1109 kcal, Avg Pulse: 147 bpm

325.25 miles down and three weeks completed. I also did two 15-rep sets of curls with 20lb dumbbells in each hand. That wasn't meant to be an actual part of the workout, just a test to see how I'd take to 20lbs. I'm going to work into training my arms slowly since I can't afford to be shaky with a soldering iron during recovery.

Three weeks and I have lost two kilograms while changing an unknown about of body mass from fat to muscle.

My World of Warcraft account goes dormant this week. I leave with 39 days of time invested on my main character. Granted, I took up the game when my daughter was pretty much stuck in the house, but I have had a lot more characters in the past and I'm sure the time investment is double what I have on the main one. I wonder what 39 days (936 hours) invested in fitness would do for me? This could very well go hand-in-hand with my larger goal of 10,000 miles by my thirtieth birthday in 2010.

2/14/09 - 300

Time: 1:40:04, Resistance: 4, Distance: 20.31 mi, Avg Speed: 12.18MPH, Energy Burned: 1071 kcal, Avg Pulse: 147

305.23 miles down. Another late night workout finished at 11:00PM. It's been quite a day. I didn't even stick to my regular diet of sandwiches and such. For lunch, I downed probably 1000 kcal of Kahiki frozen Chinese food in the form of General's Chicken and Sweet and Sour Chicken and had a few squares from a Symphony bar. For dinner, semi-healthy Chicken Marsala done low-fat style with a lot of chicken breast and Portabella mushrooms. The only greay area with that dish was the pasta. We used standard semolina spaghetti. With that, some great sparkling juice in Lingonberry and Peach flavors. I bet I took in almost 3000 kcal today.

But because my metabolism is jacked up and my workouts burn so much energy, I can totally afford to eat like that occasionally. And it looks like the same will happen tomorrow since dinner will be a family thing and that's always a surprise. Hopefully I'll be able to get my workout in before dinner so I'm not worrying about whether I get to bed on time.

Tomorrow marks three weeks. No way I'm missing that workout. Good thing I picked up another 1000 Ibuprofen tablets.

2/13/09 - Ibuprofen Is My Friend

Time: 1:41:08, Resistance: 4, Distance: 20.08 miles, Average Speed: 11.91 MPH, Energy burned: 1060 Kcal, Average Pulse: 150

284.92 miles down. I finished my workout at 11PM. Tomorrow's workout marks three weeks I've been doing this. My knees feel fine. It would seem that I need to take Ibuprofen in order to prevent swelling. I do have to walk a bit differently now, though. It almost seems like my posture and positioning have had to improve in order for me not to hurt all the time.

I wonder how important that will be in the long run?

2/12/09 - I Would Walk 250 Miles

Time: 1:45:01, Resistance: 4, Distance: 20.14 Miles, Average Speed: 11.51 MPH, Energy Burned: 1071 Kcal, Average Pulse: 150

I went back to my aerobic pace. I also used Ibuprofen throughout the day at standard 400mg dose levels.

I found the body fat analyzer device today and I'm not sure it's working right. It says I'm at like 35% body fat. I may well be. I don't know for sure. I do doubt the accuracy of something I paid $5 for, especially when it does that electrical fat test... using your thumbs as contact points.

Oh well. At least it's likely a relative indicator.

I treated myself to a little liver exercise in the form of 2oz 80 proof Vodka (no more, no less) mixed with about a cup of Orange Juice in a standard Screwdriver. It's a friendly way of saying "Wake up, buddy!" to the most important organ in my body and giving it something to do.

Like anaerobic sessions, this will become a weekly thing. Or maybe I'll have a Guinness or two some day during a given week. All things in moderation, you know?

I've challenged myself to log 10,000 miles by my 30th birthday. Barring any major injuries, damn straight I can do it. I'm almost at the three week point with this. It's starting to become habit. Based on 20 miles a day, I'll almost have 9500 miles by the time I'm 30. I'm certain my pace will increase and I'm equally certain I'll have days where I ride a whole lot further than 20 miles.

2/11/09 - Upped my pace

Time: 1:43:24, Resistance: 4, Dist: 20.17 mi, Avg Speed: 11.7 MPH, Energy Burned: 1061 Kcal, Avg Pulse: 155

244.70 miles in the books. Still having knee issues, but it's different now. Not as bad.

2/10/09 - Vampired!

Time: 1:50:22, Resistance Level: 4, Distance: 20.02 miles, Average Speed: 10.89 MPH, Energy burned: 1068Kcal, Average Pulse: 145

My right knee feels like something is actually mechanically wrong with it. I really need to get it checked out soon and get an MRI or something because it's not feeling any better.

I donated blood today. I don't know my blood type and I've always wanted to know it. They say I'll get a card in the mail with all that info on it. It would be interesting if I were some unique type, but I'm likely O+ or A+ as they are the most common in the USA. One more good thing about my donation is it will take my body another 650kcal to replenish what I lost. That's the better part of half a workout.

I felt light-headed about an hour after the donation, but at the time I was looking at the possible stuff that may have to be done to my knee if something's seriously wrong. The popping of cartilage weirds me out.

200 Miles

Time: 1:49:02, Resistance Level: 4, Distance: 20.06 miles, Average Speed: 11.04MPH, Energy Burned: 1070Kcal, Average Pulse: 145

It would seem that getting my pulse to stabilize to any great extent was difficult during the first fifteen minutes of the workout. I don't know why. While I tried to stay at the bleeding edge of 150bpm for the workout, I found my pulse slipping to the mid-140s every time I took my eyes off the watch. I didn't expect I'd see that much of an improvement so soon. Unlike last night, pushing the pedals was easy, however. I was holding 12MPH for about the last ten minutes of the workout.

I noticed today that I appear to be gaining weight again. I don't know whether it's due to the alcohol over the weekend or the large increase in distance per session requiring me to build more muscle. Still, I've passed the two week mark and that's supposedly how long it takes to see any results from a fitness program. I passed the 200 mile checkpoint today so I'm in pretty deep now.

Week Three Begins

Time: 1:50:55, Resistance Level: 4, Distance: 20.02 miles, Average Speed: 10.83MPH, energy burned: 1070 Kcal, Average Pulse: 150

Aerobic workout yet again. I completed the workout at 9:15PM and had to force myself to do it. I happened to partake of grain spirits over the weekend and it had a negative effect on tonight's training session. When I started pedaling, I thought the resistance had been jacked up all the way or a bearing had gone out. I just wasn't having as easy a time moving the pedals. That went away after a while, but my pace was slowed down. It seemed that I didn't reach my zone as quickly as I usually do. No alcohol before my daily workouts ever again.

I'm up to 184.45 miles. I go over 200 during tomorrow's workout.

Heirarchy of Knee-ds

My knees were being weird relative to usual weirdness so I took a day off from my workout, but I came back strong.

Time: 1:47:42, Resistance: 4, Distance: 20.08 miles, Pace: 11.18MPH, energy burned: 1067 Kcal, Avg pulse: 150

I'm hanging on and getting stronger.

Leveling Out And Locking In

I've got a good base to build on now so I've switched to an entirely aerobic workout. The workout you see below is what I'm going to standardize on for the next eight to twelve weeks or until my pace isn't getting any faster at 150bpm average.

Time: 1:31:46, Resistance: 4, Distance: 17.00 Miles, Average Speed: 11.18MPH, Kcal burned: 905.3, Average Heart Rate: 150bpm.

I also trained my right leg for 30 revs using nothing but my upstroke to turn the crank. It's really difficult this way, but I need to develop the "other half" (much less than half, actually) of my pedaling power. Of course, this means I'm going to have to have clipless pedals for my real bike when I start riding in order to use that power, but it's a small price to pay for such a gain.

I now have 144.35 miles behind me. My blood pressure from the only test I did today showed 134/80.

And That Makes Ten

1:17:51 workout time, Resistance Level 4, 15.16 miles, 11.68MPH avg speed, 807.8 Kcal burned, avg heart rate 165. One-leg training: Left leg, 40 revs, 192 peak heart rate, 14.3MPH (only saw one reading as machine cycles through all modes of display with each receiving equal time)

I spent twenty minutes in the 175-180 range with the rest being over 160 other than warmup for like three minutes where I was still 145+. I can handle the distance I went on a daily basis. I think I will standardize on 15 miles a day. A week ago, I wouldn't have thought it possible for another month.

I now have 127.35 miles behind me and I'm on track where I want to be. I started losing weight now, too. I've hovered between 212-213 with occasional peaks of 215, but I weighed in at 210 this morning.

I have new questions after today's workout and I need to get answers:

1. Based on the Fox and Haskell formula for training zones, I shouldn't be able to maintain a rate above 172 for more than a minute or so since that's my VO2 Max area. But I was doing it and did so for twenty minutes.

2. My peak heart rate is supposed to be 191 based on the Fox and Haskell formula. I saw 192, but I don't think that's my peak. I really don't want to look for my peak until my heart is ready for that kind of test, though. Is it possible that athletes just have higher heart rates from having more youthful hearts? Lance Armstrong maxes out at 201 or something like that, I remember.

3. If my heart rates really don't go along with the Fox and Haskell formulas, where are my real training zones? Does it matter? It would seem that optimizing at this point is kind of moot. Maybe I should just consistently train hard and leave it at that?

The Extra Mile

Time: 1:10:34, Distance: 12.78 miles, 10.87MPH avg speed, 680.4 Kcal burned, Resistance Level 4, Average Pulse: 155 bpm, One-leg training: Right leg, 40 revs, higher speed, 190 bpm peak, speed unrecorded

I'm stepping up my game. My knees are fine now so I know I can handle it. I'm going to start training in my aerobic and anaerobic zones as opposed to sticking with my fat burn zone, which maxes in the mid-130s. For me, aerobic maxes at about 155 and anaerobic at 172.

While I spent most of my workout at 160bpm, I spent a fair amount of time around 150 as well. During my one-leg training, I went up to 190 as the highest number I saw on my heart rate monitor watch.

So Close...

1:12:14 workout time, resistance level 4, 12.4 miles, 10.30 MPH avg speed, 652.6kcal burned, avg pulse 135.

Slept like ass last night from too much Super Bowl food, but what a game! I actually somewhat understand Football now.

I was wearing my knee brace on my right knee at work and found that it actually made walking a lot more difficult and put stress on my left knee. I still managed my workout, though. I'm not all that enthusiastic about taking Ibuprofen every time I work out, but it seems to help a lot.

I still haven't dropped any weight. I remember in 2005 this kind of effort had me dropping pounds like mad, but the circumstances are different now as I currently have about twice the body fat I did back then. Well, not now, I'm sure. I know I've gained muscle.

I predict that at the start of next month, I will be dropping weight just because keeping my new muscle alive has called for burning fat, in addition to what I burn during the workout. I'm really in no hurry. This isn't like the diarrhea diets where you shit and starve yourself thin temporarily. This is long-haul like a freight train. To put it mildly, I'd rather be a freight train hitting a brick wall as opposed to a puddle of shit. Even if it takes time for a train to get up to full speed, they'll still push a brick wall out of the way.

I'm 99.41 miles into my plan.

Super Bowl Sunday

1:07:21 workout time, 11.46 miles, 10.21MPH avg speed, 605.2 Kcal burned, Right Leg trained. Average heart rate of 135. I am 87.01 miles into my training.

Workout cut short due to having to get ready for Super Bowl Party. I might do five miles or so afterward if there's time, but I've got my miles in anyhow.

Today marks a milestone. I was tempted to slack on my workout, but didn't. I didn't need to take any pain relievers before the workout, although I did take 800mg Ibuprofen about halfway in just in case. As it's usually harder for me to start than to endure, I found that I was fine after fifteen minutes.

I think my knees are finally recovered.

For the record, I made some killer Little Smokies in the crock pot for the big game. Two pounds of Smokies simmered 15min in a tall-can of Coors (save half a cup), minced onions and a few other spices, drained and cooked on low heat in the cooker for six hours with a bottle of Jack Daniel's BBQ sauce and the rest of the Coors. Tasty stuff.

First Week Is In The Books

1:40:03 time, 17.17 miles, 911.3kcal burned, resistance level 4, average speed 10.30MPH, average pulse 135, left leg trained for 50 revs.

I wanted to see what the machine would do when the timer maxed out. I want to see the decimal point on the calorie counter disappear next with 1000 or more Kcal burned.

I found that my knees are fine when I have the machine up for a longer leg. I was using my Stamina 15-4800R with two adjustment holes exposed. I now use it with two. Funny thing is I used it like that the first time. I think I wanted to make things easier in that Monkeyette and I wouldn't have two different settings. Now, it looks like she's considering using my setting if she can.

She just tried it as I'm typing this. She prefers it.

High Five

1:06:28 workout length, 11.4 miles, about 10.28MPH average speed, 607.3 kcal burned, 160 bpm average heart rate, resistance level 4, right one-legged training 35 revs.

Knee was being strange again after I got up wrong today at work. I think I will be wearing my knee brace at work for a time. Sometimes I wish I could use a wheelchair for a while to save my knees. I'm up and around a lot at work and sometimes that means bending down or kneeling. Regardless, I'm just that much closer to my goals.

I realized something today. Round numbers are my enemy. I tend to push extra to make a round number and get too worn out doing that to continue the next day. I'm not going for round numbers with any of this. It's all based on round minimums, but never will match up in every way. I prefer that.

My minimums are: A one hour workout, 10 miles per hour, 600 calories. Due to the variability of pretty much everything, I will never make those match because there's no way to get my counter to show 600kcal on my display after an hour at 10MPH since the computer doesn't take resistance level into account and there are only four levels to that anyway. To add an extra bit of noise, I always one-leg train after reaching at least 600kcal.

Due to the fact that my distance varies even a little bit, I don't track round number milestones while I'm training and never will. I know whether or not I will hit a milestone during my workout, but since I calculate after the workout I don't know exactly how long I have to go until the next one. This way, my mind is off of the workout to a large extent and I find myself in the "where did the time go?" situation a lot. Timing everything to the second is no way to live.

Connect Four

1:13:34 time, 12.4 miles, 658.5kcal burned, average heart rate 160, Resistance Level 4.

I bounced back from the knee weirdness last night and even managed to one-leg for 35 strokes on that knee. The butt numbness I had is going away. It's being replaced by a feeling more like I'm carrying wallets in both back pockets. I remember this. Muscle is being built.

I don't feel drained after this workout the way I have before. I think it's partially due to the fact I had a good dinner of pulled slow-cooked chicken breast over white rice. You've got to feed yourself.

My heart rate was lower this time because I took it easy a bit. I don't think I've made that huge of an improvement in cardiac condition in such a short time, but only time will tell.

The Morning After

After last night's workout, my left knee was being weird. I've had this before when I used to work heavy labor. I was sent to the doctor and had it X-rayed. Nothing was found. I was fine a day later and didn't have any problems since then. There was never any pain either time.

This morning, I had no issues at all. My knee actually felt better than it ever has after a workout.

It looks like growing pains of a sort. I used to get this when I was a kid. I know I need Ibuprofen to keep any swelling down so I don't start tearing things inside. I didn't do that when I was young. I just stopped moving when it would come up.

Third Time's A Charm

Another one's in the books. 1:06:34 time, 11.6 miles, 618.4kcal and an average heart rate of 165 at resistance level 4. I was playing through the pain again tonight. Not because on anything with the legs, but because my butt was going numb again.

I recovered quickly again. I have a feeling I'm already seeing improvements. Not much just yet, but it will show after a month of this.

I'm up to 34.58 miles toward my goal.

I really need to fix the butt pain thing. Although I did have a fan blowing on me this time so that helped.

On a Roll

Hey, two day in a row. This is new.

I noticed today that I immediately had some burn going. I did my workout at resistance level 4 again despite the pain. The workout was more difficult than yesterday, but that's expected.

My workout lasted for 1:08:31, I went 11.48 miles and burned 608Kcal. Nice. I used my real heart rate monitor this time and held the lower 170s for most of the workout. I'm sure I averaged 170.

I was reading today about heart rate, wondering why my max is higher than it should be for my age. I guess time will tell. I did see that it's a problem when your heart rate takes a long time to drop back to normal.

I dropped back to 113bpm within three minutes. It's not an official reading or anything. I'll be tracking a lot of stuff in future posts.

Bicycle! Bicycle!

At home, we have an elliptical trainer, a Total Gym and some freeweights. total investment: $60. Now, for another $25, we have a recumbent exercise bike.

I just spent an hour on it.

605kcal, 11.5mi at resistance level 4 for most of it with a Vo2 Max sprint at the end. Lasted less than a minute there, but that's fine for a beginner. I can do this again, easy.

Now I have a headache and I'm a little loopy. Nice.