jfrankovich

Just signing on to the new thread.  Have a happy and healthy recovery!

Thanks for the support, everyone... it means a lot to me.  Exercise this week will consist of lots of lifting, hauling, and stairs...

Week 4 Update #1

Well, I'm back from my conference. It was a decent experience overall, but social interaction and networking isn't exactly my strong suit and so it was a bit stressful in that regard, and I was also homesick and missing my wife and daughter.  It doesn't help that we're closing on and moving into our new house next week all while still trying to sell our current house (our original buyer fell through).  Long story short, I'm having a rough go of it lately.  I'm considering going to the doctor soon to talk about starting on something for anxiety and depression.

Not surprisingly, my fitness efforts are falling off in light of all this.  I did go on a good 4.5-mile run on Monday morning before the conference sessions, but that was my only run so far this week.  Tuesday night I did a fairly lame strength session that was interrupted by a massive headache, due to some combination of stress and poor hydration (my water intake has been lousy of late and all I'd had to drink before exercising was some beer).  My protein intake has fallen off to about 105g/day this week, although I haven't been doing much exercise to need it anyway.  I've even had thoughts about breaking my streak of logging at MyFitnessPal (currently almost 670 consecutive days).

Sorry to be such a downer, dear Scouts, but this is where I'm at.  I'd love to check in on all your awesome threads, but I just don't have the time right now.

Week 3 Update #3

Friday was a busy day.  After work I stained the deck and mowed the lawn.  Later I did a strength workout on the Bowflex, with bench presses, shoulder presses, and biceps curls, plus some pull-ups.

Saturday I did more yardwork: weeding, seeding, fertilizing, watering, and mulching.  In the afternoon I did a 3-mile trail run in a park I hadn't been to before.  There were a few flooded spots where you had to slow down and go off-trail to get around them, but it was really nice to run through some natural scenery for a change.  After that I did some housework, shaved and showered, and packed for my trip... I'm taking along several protein bars in case the food choices aren't up to par at the conference.

Week 3 Update #2
 
Wednesday I went on a 3+ mile walk at lunch, and I also did two sets of 40 mountain climbers. After work, I enjoyed a dinner out with the wife and daughter, and later I washed the deck to get it ready for staining.
 
On Thursday the wife and I got a babysitter and had our first night of co-ed summer league bowling... it was a lot of fun. Later I did a 5-mile run in our neighborhood that included 8 hill sprints.

Today I rode my bike to work (about 3 miles). Starting Sunday I'm off to a 4-day conference for work, but I expect to be able to stick to my exercise plan and healthy eating.
 
Protein intake this week: Mon 172g, Tue 161g, Wed 163g, Thu 159g

I am measuring just my intake calories.  At my 1970 calorie goal, I should lose around a pound a week.  Any calories burnt by exercise will just be a bonus (considering my exercise is not consistent yet).  So far I have lost a few pounds already for this challenge.

Great! I just wouldn't want you to feel too stressed about going/being over your goal if you're doing enough exercise to make up for the difference.  At any rate, if it's working, stick with it!

A trail run, biking with the kids, and resting watching hockey: a hat trick of goodness!

Hang in there, Shukar.  Keep doing your best and remember that the number one priority is always your wife.

Ah, the Dells.  Can one still have a swig with Nig?

Are you measuring your calories as gross (intake only) or net (intake minus exercise)?

Congrats!  Buying new clothes after losing weight is about the only sort of shopping I enjoy!

I don't know if I actually get strange looks or not, but I definitely am quite self-conscious when I run barefoot.

First barefoot rain run!  Felt awesome, makes me feel like Dr Seuss:

Pair of bare feet—

Stop-and-stare feet?

They're not odd feet,

Just not-shod feet!

Congrats on your degree!

And nice job with the sprints and deadlifts, too!

Woohoo!

Week 3 Update #1

On Monday I golfed 9 holes (walking and carrying my clubs) as a substitute for a friend of mine in her league.  It was my first time out this year, so I was pretty rusty (48), but I made a few nice shots and the weather was nice.

On Tuesday I ran 2 miles, rode the bike to the park and back with the wee one (she loves the swings!), and did 20 minutes of circuit training, including pull-ups and 2 sets of 30 mountain climbers.

Protein intake: Mon 172g, Tue 161g

Have a great half! The Scouts will be with you in spirit!

Another thing that can help with stitches is pressing/rubbing them for a few strides, and another is reaching your arms up and/or behind your head (like a hostage) as you do your deeper breathing.

Good work, Nicole.  Sounds like it was a full and fun Saturday!

Re Sifter:

Here's the 10-week, 4 runs per week schedule I used to train for my half (cobbled together from various schedules I found online).  The first three runs could be done on any three of Monday thru Friday as time allowed, and alternated between various forms (easy, moderate, hard; intervals, fartlek, incline, etc), nothing set in stone, just a good mix of rest and challenges each week.  The fourth (long) run could be done either Saturday or Sunday and was generally pretty easy and steady.  I rested at least one day after any hard or long run (unlike the plan you cited, which has you run again the day after the long run each week).

3    4    3    4    (14)
3    4    3    5    (15)
3    4    3    6    (16)
3    4    3    8    (18)
3    4    3    10   (20)
4    5    4    9    (22)
4    5    4    12   (25)
4    5    4    6    (19)  [begin taper]
3    4    3    4    (14)
2    3    2   13.1  (20.1)

You've got over 20 weeks until September 28, so you could stretch this plan out a bit (such as by replacing the 4 5 4 9 week with two weeks of 4 5 4 8 [21] and 4 5 4 10 [23]), and you could also add on some weeks to the beginning to build up from 10 to 14 miles/week.

Whatever plan you choose, build gradually, listen to your body, and have fun.  Good luck!

Well done, German!  Way to survive the heat!

Nice work, KG.  Loving the idea of riding the bike to get to somewhere fun and different to run, then riding home.

Burning, Jr had another "owie" you had to deal with ASAP (in his small opinion) during your squats, just like in your previous workout?  You're not squatting on Junior, are you?

Great photos! Kudos to the whole family!

Awesome job getting all that stuff done.

Now you're even enjoying a run?

Wow! And losing more weight?

You are cruising! That's great!

Life is good—keep it up, and have fun!

Looks like you had a good week!  ummm steak sounds good right now.  I'm eating similar amounts of protein.  Do you find yourself full all the time?  Seems like I'm never really hungry, but its always time to eat more protein.

Definitely feeling more full than I did for the past few weeks when I was eating less and running more, but not so much that I find it difficult yet.  I had a good variety of protein sources this past week: chicken, turkey, ham, bacon, pork, steak, eggs, cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, almonds, protein bars, and an evening protein shake on days that I worked out and/or was a little low.  And yes, that steak was the best of them!  (The sliver of caramel ice cream brownie cake afterwards wasn't half bad, either.)