Rubik's Cat Goes Old School

[RubiksCat]

@Tobbe

 

Quote

But what I feel is interesting is that we can so clearly feel where the limitation in our body lies.

 

I know what you mean and I can relate. Like having a "feel" for how much fuel is left in the tank before the exercise is over. We all have days where we stop exercising and think to ourselves "I could've gone an extra mile if I wanted to."

 

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For me it's usually the other way around. I feel my heart/lungs have more to give, but my legs are wasted.

 

Now that I think about it I honestly have trouble remembering which is the first the fail, my legs or my lungs. I want to say it's my lungs because my heartbeat is beating like a jackhammer.

 

[RubiksCat]

October 20th, 2018

 

2.80 miles (4.506 km)

 

Walked / Ran: N/A

 

October 24th, 2018

 

5.40 miles (8.690 km)

 

Walked: 3.40 miles

Ran: 2.00 miles

 

Well...I said Vermilion City would be a "game-changer" once I get there. I wasn't entirely truthful. It has the option to be a game changer for me because it will be the first Stage I reach in my challenge when I am allowed to ride bicycles and have that form of exercise count towards my daily totals. Riding exercise bicycles in the gym will also count. I know I said I wouldn't be adding side quests* into my challenge but that is only for side quests that involve adding more miles to my challenge.

 

*Obtaining the bicycle in the Pokemon games is - technically speaking -  a side quest, but one that does not involve traveling long distances or to another city altogether, which would otherwise add more miles to my current challenge total.

 

Will I start riding my bicycle for extra exercise? Probably, but we'll see.

[Tobbe]

Cool idea to "level up" your mode of transportation  But myself I much prefer the treadmill to the stationary bikes at the gym!  So personally I'd continue running (at least if counting exercise by the minute - if I counted km I'd might opt for the bike, just because it's obviously so much faster).

[RubiksCat]

October 25th - November 5th, 2018

 

22.80 miles (36.693 km)

 

• My average miles per run during the month of October was 3.52 miles (5.66 km). Out of the six months that I've been doing this, that is the worst average of them all.
• I did not spend a lot of time this month going very far past 5-6 kilometers for each exercise session.

 

Target to reach Stage 7: 329.504 miles

Currently at: 304.272 miles

 

Some very important news: There is a 5k walk / run this weekend that's free to attend. I'll definitely plan on participating since I don't plan on running anymore until then. I want to avoid injury at all costs so this will be my last run/walk until Nov. 11th or 12th. This will be my second ever public test outside of a gym or a running track too. The last time I ran in a formal event was in 2001 when I was 15 years old.

 

 

    

 

 

 

[Tobbe]

5 hours ago, Rubik'sCat said:

Some very important news: There is a 5k walk / run this weekend that's free to attend. I'll definitely plan on participating since I don't plan on running anymore until then. I want to avoid injury at all costs so this will be my last status update until Nov. 11th or 12th. This will be my second ever public test outside of a gym or a running track too. The last time I ran in a formal event was in 2001 when I was 15 years old.

 

Good luck with the race!

[RubiksCat]

Injury update:

Well, I seriously doubt the timing could be any worse on this one. My shin splint that I thought was completely healed has decided to rear its ugly head yet again. Thankfully it's only on again off again as far as pain goes and hopefully it shouldn't be an issue moving forward, even then it's not nearly as bad as it used to be.

 

The Achilles tendonitis is at least 95% gone I can confidently say.

 

Pain is cropping up in the back of my left leg. It's right behind my knee, between where the femur and the tibia meet at the knee joint. Fortunately for me this is only a work related pain, because for almost every shift at work I am forced to stand in one spot for several hours at a time. I have a bad habit of placing my body weight on one leg and locking my knee, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

 

I refuse to let this stop me. Know the difference between pain and injury.

 

 

[Tobbe]

The only thing I can think of is to "half remove" your left shoe, so you're forced to stand on your right leg instead. Like pull your left heal out of the shoe and place it on top of the back of the shoe.

 

 

Paint skillzz!!1!11

[RubiksCat]

20 hours ago, Tobbe said:

The only thing I can think of is to "half remove" your left shoe, so you're forced to stand on your right leg instead. Like pull your left heal out of the shoe and place it on top of the back of the shoe.

 

Paint skillzz!!1!11

 

I used your suggestion today. My left heel started hurting after a few minutes and then when I needed to start walking again my right shin started feeling like it was bruised (must have been the shin splints coming back to haunt me). Even though I couldn't keep doing it for long it did make me more conscious of how I was standing up on both of my legs and I didn't go back to my bad habit as much as I used to. You know...it doesn't help me that my shoes make me feel like I'm walking on hardwood floors all day long.

 

That person's foot is clearly made of jello. Now I'm hungry again. 

[Tobbe]

Heh, at least it was worth a try!  

[RubiksCat]

November 10th, 2018

 

6.20 miles (10.0 km)

 

Before I began my challenge I tested my physical limits on the treadmill. I ran as quickly as I could on the treadmill for 5k and finished in 36 min. 5 sec. Remember, that was in a temperature controlled environment on a level surface inside of a YMCA. If I tried to run outside I could barely get to 0.50 miles (0.8 km) without huffing and puffing and then go back to walking.

 

Fast forward six months to today's 5k race (there was also a 5k walk. That's why it says 10 km). 

It was 8 C (46 F) according to my phone, on and off drizzling rain, there were two naturally inclined surfaces during the race, and yea...I had to run outdoors in all of it.

I shattered my previous best 5k record by more than 2 minutes. Outdoors no less, and under those conditions.

 

Thank you to the following people that have helped keep me motivated. I'm probably forgetting a user, I don't know yet.  

@Amazon Ninja

@ReturnOfTheDad

@Tobbe

@Kae

@Sloth the Enduring

 

Anyone that's followed my content knows I'm from San Antonio so they're going to know which 5k I ran in if they know how to connect the dots. I'm not going to post my official 5k time because the official results are posted online right next to my real name. I never know who's reading this to be honest.

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Congratulations on the race. Getting a PR in tough conditions is awesome.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RubiksCat]

November 16th, 2018

 

4.00 miles (6.437 km)

 

1.0 miles ran

3.0 miles walked

 

November 21st, 2018

 

4.00 miles (6.437 km)

 

1.0 miles ran

3.0 miles walked

 

Target to reach Stage 7: 329.504 miles

Currently at: 318.472 miles

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Following to support another Texan.

[RubiksCat]

1 hour ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Following to support another Texan.

 Thanks for the support here. I am from San Antonio, do you mind if I ask you which part of Texas you're from? I'm going to do more research on your current challenge and see my way to supporting a fellow Texan myself, there don't seem to be many Texan natives on the forum from what I've seen thus far. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

3 minutes ago, Rubik'sCat said:

 Thanks for the support here. I am from San Antonio, do you mind if I ask you which part of Texas you're from? I'm going to do more research on your current challenge and see my way to supporting a fellow Texan myself, there don't seem to be many Texan natives on the forum from what I've seen thus far. 

I'm from San Antonio as well  

 

There are some other Texans, but most of them who post are in the Metroplex or Austin.

[RubiksCat]

2 minutes ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I'm from San Antonio as well  

 

There are some other Texans, but most of them who post are in the Metroplex or Austin.

 

• I didn't subscribe to your challenge thread while hungry.
• You're a forum admin, congratulations. I didn't know that until now.
• I'll be eagerly awaiting more recipes on your thread.
• I'm following two threads - yours and someone else - that both contain the Beginner Body Weight workout. I've looked for it but can't find it. Can you help?

  Thanks again.

[Sloth the Enduring]

 

 

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle

 

Waiting for the great chili debate to start.

[RubiksCat]

4 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

 

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle

 

Waiting for the great chili debate to start.

 

Thanks Sloth! It's bookmarked. No wonder I couldn't find it. That page isn't even from the forum.

 

My feelings on chili:

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

1 hour ago, Rubik'sCat said:

 

• I didn't subscribe to your challenge thread while hungry.
• You're a forum admin, congratulations. I didn't know that until now.
• I'll be eagerly awaiting more recipes on your thread.
• I'm following two threads - yours and someone else - that both contain the Beginner Body Weight workout. I've looked for it but can't find it. Can you help?

  Thanks again.

Thanks, and you're welcome. Thanks to Sloth for posting the BBWW. It's not on the forums because it actually predates the forums. It's from when Nerd Fitness was just a blog Steve was writing in his spare time. He posted that in 2009, the forums didn't go live till 2010.

[Sloth the Enduring]

They’ve been rewritten to include ads, but there are some nuggets of gold in the old blog posts.

[RubiksCat]

On 11/26/2018 at 9:38 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

They’ve been rewritten to include ads, but there are some nuggets of gold in the old blog posts.

 

It's refreshing for me to see an internet forum that isn't littered with advertisements added in, which is nice. I'm glad they're in the blog instead.

 

4.832 miles (7.77 km) until I reach Vermilion City (i.e. Stage 7)

 

November 28th, 2018

 

6.20 miles (10 km)

 

3.50 miles ran

2.70 miles walked

 

One of the very few times in my current challenge where I ran/jogged more than I walked. Thank you YouTube for distracting me while I exercised. 

 

Fun facts:

-- Despite my diet not being the healthiest, I've managed to lose ~8 lbs since I began running in May. Honestly, I know most of this may be due to a reduction in lean body mass. 

-- I have only 238.902 miles (384 km) to go until this challenge comes to end.

-- According to my Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, I've ran/walked a total of 74 times (average 4.44 miles/run).

-- Out of the 74 times, I've never ran during a thunderstorm. I'm pretty disappointed about that.

 

A visual representation of the route I've taken - starting from Stage 6 to Stage 7:

 

 

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

43 minutes ago, Rubik'sCat said:

 

It's refreshing for me to see an internet forum that isn't littered with advertisements added in, which is nice. I'm glad they're in the blog instead.

 

That's actually a core value for Steve. He does not want ads on these forums, and wouldn't do it even in the earlier days of NF when he didn't have as many revenue streams. He's always run the forums at a loss because he cares that much about helping people.

[RubiksCat]

I have made it to Vermilion City (Stage 7)

 

November 30th, 2018

 

5.45 miles (8.77 km)

 

Only 1 mile was ran. Today was my "off day" to let my legs rest.

 

 

• This is the town in the game where the player receives the bike voucher (the actual bike is received in a previous town).
• The S.S. Anne cruise ship is a side mission, so it will not be included. What would I do anyway? Calculate how many miles it is from one side of the ship to the other?
• This is also the point at which I am now able to ride the exercise bikes at the gym (or my actual bike) and have the mileage count towards my overall total.

 

 

 

• When I first began this challenge I took my heart rate, jogged for as long as I could @ 4.0 mph and @ 5.5 mph, jogged a 5k, and weighed myself. It's time to do it all again to see how far I've progressed.
• The third and final test is going to come after I finish the entire challenge.

 

 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

Well done on the milestone. Animal treadmill gifs are awesome.

[RubiksCat]

The last post I made was on November 30th? I've been slacking off on the posts, but at least not on the exercise.

I am currently headed towards Stage 8, which is Cerulean City again. Cerulean to Vermilion and back to Cerulean is how the player is supposed to progress in the game (without the use of cheat codes of course).

 

December 3rd, 2018 - December 19th, 2018

 

29.17 miles (46.94 km)

 

Target to reach Stage 8: 389.342 miles

Currently at: 359.292 miles

 

 

Below are my exercise test results:

 

May 2018 (top) vs. December 2018 (bottom)

 

 

Notes:

• Pre-workout HR's should be taken with a grain of salt. Heart rates in the picture represent those taken at the gym before exercising. I was sitting at my computer 3 days before this post and my heart rate then was 66 BPM.
• Heart rates were all taken at the right carotid artery with the right index and middle finger.
• All runs were done on the treadmill. The only difference being I had a Powerade with me the first time, but not the second time (<-- mistake).
• I don't know how I didn't realize this the first time around - because I'm a moron maybe? - but the treadmills at my gym have a 2 hour time limit before they start to power down. This means the furthest I would theoretically be able to run is 8.0 miles. I honestly thought that once the timer on the treadmill almost reached zero I could just keep adding more and more time to it....but alas, not the case.
• I wonder what my weight would look like had I not spent so much time at Subway and Taco Bell. Damn my gluttony.