IronChefEd

Distance runners, what are your thoughts on hydration packs (Camelbak, etc) versus belts? I had a pack a couple years ago that fell apart on me and I've been slow to replace it. I didn't have too much of a problem with it bouncing as I was able to get the straps pretty snug and I'm concerned that the belts will have a little too much bounce to them. There's also the issue of capacity - I sweat a lot so I think the 1.5 qt and up packs would be better than 2 10-12 oz bottles. Thoughts? Or is it all a matter of personal preference and I should just go with my preferred option and return it if it doesn't work for me?

Honestly, I kinda forgot about this whole reporting thing. Just goes to show how much I've developed habits out of everything else. Anyway, week 3 results: Strength, stamina, and yoga goals all achieved, despite a bit of a challenging schedule. Also managed to mostly keep to the diet plan, with the exception of Saturday night when I was craving real pizza for some reason. Still tracking most of my meals when I know what's in them. Ran three miles in 28:54 last Thursday - a personal best since I started running again a couple years ago. I think my best ever is just over 27:00, but hopefully that will come around soon. Will try again this week to and see if I can tack on the extra 0.1 to reach the goal. Overall, I think my pants are getting a little looser, although that may be my imagination. I know my color guard vest isn't as tight as it was back in December, so that's nice. Looking forward to next month's weigh-in to see how much I've really dropped.

Week 2 results: -Met both training goals last week. Looking for an improvement on my 5k time this afternoon. -Diet: Did the best I could with what I had. I did avoid the beer at both the reception and dinner last week, so I saved myself the equivalent of about 15 slices of bread -Yoga: Three days. Did Water 2 yesterday, and it wasn't as hard as I feared. May go back to Water 1 so I can work on my Downward Dog and Forward Fold. -Reporting: Posted three times last week but missed reporting a couple meals simply because I didn't bother to find them in MFP (although it was BBQ, so it couldn't have been that good for me; probably just as well that I don't know how bad it was).

Challenge-mandated third post for this week: rough weekend, and the gym is closed tomorrow for the holiday, but I'll still ride the bike tomorrow morning and maybe do another BBW workout if my legs are up for it. Might also try Water 2 for my yoga, depending on how loose I feel.

Meant to post yesterday, but work reared its head. Anyway, I've kept to the schedule this week and it's working well. I'm a little concerned about this weekend since I'll be out of town and options for meals will be limited, but hopefully I'll be able to make some smart choices re: food.

Week 1 results! -Strength: Goal of all three days achieved. Went again this morning, and the crowd seems to be staying small. The fact that it was 21 degrees probably kept some people away, but that just means I didn't have to wait on the machines. -Stamina: Goal of three days achieved. Actually had five cardio sessions thanks to a couple bike rides on my gym mornings to burn a few extra calories. Did nine miles in 1:34:16 on Saturday, although I may have overdone it a bit. Going to start forcing some fluids during the long ones and maybe have a small snack beforehand to keep my blood sugar from dropping too much. -Diet: Mostly Paleo, as per the plan. M-F were all Paleo, Saturday dinner was a banquet and definitely not, but that was about the only thing I ate all day. We tried a couple new recipes from NomNomPaleo for deconstructed samosas, along with some cauliflower rice, Paleo naan, and homemade Paneer cheese. Good stuff! -Yoga: Goal of three sessions achieved. I think I might be a little closer to touching my toes, but it's hard to tell. I may start working that mini-session on the days I don't do a big one, just so I don't lose flexibility. -Tracking: Three posts last week, and this is the first of week two. I'm working on creating my character over in the new section. I may be changing names on here to match that one, since he's a fleshed-out character with back story and all.

Friday update: -Hit the gym for strength training MWF this week. It's definitely much less crowded in the mornings than it is in the afternoon, so I'm going to continue this schedule for a while and try to create a new routine. -Two runs this week, and while I'm not at the time I want yet, I'm able to go 3 miles without stopping to walk. Also got two bike sessions in this week. I'm going tomorrow for at least 6 miles on the track so we'll see how that works out. -I've been trying some new-again recipes to keep things interesting. I've been under my calorie count three days in a row, even if I'm slightly over on some of the macros. I'm going to a banquet tomorrow night, but the menu is such that I should be able to avoid too much bad stuff. -This is the third post this week, so there's that. Measurements were taken Wednesday and while they're a little over the last group from 2014, I don't feel like I've slid too far back. -Three yoga sessions: Touching toes, shoulder flexibility, and Water A. Not sure I'll do the shoulder series again, as I seem to have either overdone it in the gym or stretched too far, but the right shoulder is definitely more sore than the left. A couple days off should get things back to normal by Monday.

Yesterday started out well. Got a bike ride, yoga, and weight lifting session in all before breakfast. I was a little over my calorie goal, but at least I know where I have the opportunity to improve that (who knew pine nuts were so high?) Today had its ups and downs. I was well under my calorie goal (by almost 1100) after I factored in exercise. The problem was that exercise. I went to the gym for a 3-mile run but apparently I didn't stretch quite enough because my right shin was tight the entire time. Normally it will loosen up after a bit but when it didn't give after the first mile, I switched to a walk/run so I didn't make it worse. I've had shin splints, and they're no fun. Looking forward to keeping it up tomorrow!

Happy 2016! I kind of fell off the wagon for the last two weeks off the last challenge, so hopefully a four-week gig will be a stepping stone to completing the next six-week version. This may seem like a lot, but some of it isn't that much different than what I've been sticking to for the past year or so. Strength: Strength training three days per week, either lifting weights at the gym or some version of BBW. +2 STR Personal mini 1: 10 unassisted chin-ups. +1 STR Personal mini 2: 10 unassisted dips. +1 STR Stamina: Stamina training three days per week, either running/walking on the track or riding the stationary bike at home. +2 STA Personal mini 1: Complete a 5k in under 30 minutes. +1 STA Personal mini 2: Complete a 10k in under 1:05:00. +1 STA Diet: Eat a Paleo-ish diet most of the time. +2 CON. Normally my diet isn't too bad, but last month was way off with vacation, holiday gatherings, and the usual excuses that pop up every December. While I'll inevitably have some meals that aren't Paleo due to travel and events where I'm at the mercy of what they plan to serve, most of my day-to-day meals will be low in carbs, with the occasional outlier. Tracking: Log all diet, water, and exercise on MyFitnessPal every day, and post on here 3x weekly. +2 WIS. I had some good success last year when I was doing this regularly, so I hope I can recreate that. Also taking some measurements later today so I can know where I may have gained/lost an inch or two. Yoga: At least three NF Yoga sessions per week. Maybe not the full Water workout (since I'm still in those), but at least one of the mini-sessions to help improve flexibility and release tension. +2 DEX Personal mini 1: Touch my toes. +1 DEX All main challenges graded on a 100-point scale, with 10 points being taken off for every week I miss the goal. Minis graded on pass/fail.

Belated week one update! Strength: Three days achieved. Got some work to do to get my mini goals, but I think I have a good plan to get there: I'm going to use the assist machine at the gym and gradually decrease the support I'm getting. Stamina: Three days achieved. Best last week was 4 miles in just under 44 minutes, which is pretty good for me. Going to do a trial 10k on Friday to see where I stand on that. Yoga: Three days achieved. I had a bit of yoga as part of a stress management course in college, and I forgot how much I actually enjoyed it. I think I'm getting closer to touching my toes; certainly feels like I've loosened up a bit, but that's kind of hard to measure. Bonus: Starting weight was 231, and I'm not going to weigh in til the challenge is over, so we'll see what happens at the end.

Already doing yoga as part of my challenge, so I'll be trying a few new poses. Maybe one of the short NF Yoga sessions in addition to the long session I'm currently working on.

Pull-ups are already a personal mini-goal, and taking that would be too easy. Mountain climbers for me, aiming for 50/day (two sets of 25 is allowed).

I'm back after skipping the last challenge due to a two-week holiday (and subsequent illness... cursed climate changes!), and ready to re-engage! There's another week-long vacation towards the end of this challenge, but I'm hoping I can continue towards my goals even being away from home. I enjoyed the bonus mini-challenges I set for myself during the last one, so I'm continuing that trend and working towards even more goals. Strength: Three days strength training every week. Gym or BBWW circuit. +3 STR Mini challenge 1: Three sets of 10 dips. I can do one set with no trouble, two sets with difficulty. +1 STR Mini challenge 2: 10 chin-ups. I've maxed out at 4, so I'll be pushing to get this one. +1 STR Stamina: Three days stamina training every week, minimum 30 minutes. Stationary bike, walk, or run. +3 STA Mini challenge 1: Complete a 10k in less than 1:05:00. My personal best is just over 1:10:00, so I've got to shave five minutes off that. Ideally, I'll do this during the Tryptophan 10K on Thanksgiving morning. +1 STA Yoga: Do some form of yoga pose(s) three days a week. I joined the NF Yoga group a while ago and today was my first attempt to follow the first session. Not bad, but definitely room for improvement. On days I can't do an entire session, a few minutes of child's pose/tabletop/downward dog/bridge/corpse will still keep me loose. +2 DEX, +2 CON Bonus: Do a proper toe-touch with straight legs. Sounds simple, right? Not for me. I have great flexibility in my upper body, but I've never been able to touch my *@$!%# toes. I doubt I'll be able to do it after six weeks, but it's a long-term goal to work towards. +1 DEX Bonus overall: drop 10 lbs through combination diet and exercise. I made some good progress but slid back some between enjoying myself on vacation and missing almost two more weeks while recovering from a sinus infection that wouldn't go away. Starting weight to be noted this evening when I get back to the scale. +1 CHA

Final report! Strength: Main goal and two personal minis achieved. Total points earned: +5 STR Stamina: Main goal and one personal mini achieved. Total points earned: +4 STA. Would have been within a couple minutes of reaching that 10k goal had I gone for it, but scheduling was against me. I did post 1:10:15 in my road race on Monday, which is a personal best in competition. Diet: Amazingly, I managed to reach this one. Total points earned: +3 CON Accountability: It took a couple late-week posts, but I made it. Total points earned: +2 CON. Due to being on vacation for two weeks of the next challenge, I was thinking about skipping it entirely, but I may come up with something that will be easier for me to keep up with while I'm out of town.

I've got so much on my plate between now and the cruise that I haven't really started thinking about it too much. My wife, on the other hand, is already putting things in a suitcase. I tried my best to get the 10k goal on Thursday, but with one mile to go I was at 51:37, and I would have had to run a personal best mile split to get there, and it just wasn't meant to be. Although coming so close, I may make that a goal for the next challenge I do. I've got an actual 10k race tomorrow, so wish me luck!