the return of drsloomis - breakin' it down

[drsloomis]

Started 2013 strong and fell apart towards the end due to what seemed to be a perfect storm of life, work, family, and health. For the first challenge of the new year, I'm starting simple.

 

2014 Year Goal - Complete the Spartan trifecta (ETA Nov 2014)
I had to bail on my planned Spartan Beast in November, but am more determined than ever to complete the trifecta. My first run is the Spartan Sprint in Conyers, GA, on Mar 9th. I'll finish with the Carolinas Beast in Novemeber. Something to work towards overall.

 

Life Goal-Complete my PACE certification (ETA Summer 2014)

Once I'm a "free and clear" certified teacher, I can apply for reciprocity in GA and add Science to my credentials. This will open up a LOT of opportunities for me as well as freeing up time to pursue a Masters degree.

 

Now, for the specific goals this challenge (I'll come back and assign points later):

 

1) Drink water only - I don't drink near enough water, and the bigger problem is that if I'm not deliberate about it, I end up drinking stuff that's a poor substitute. Part of my overall health goal is to clean up my diet, a significantly harder proposition for me than working out, so I'll start by focusing on what I drink (caveat 1-I do supplement when I train, so pre- and post-workout drinks won't count against me...they're all powder that I mix with water anyway).

Accountability: Updates will include tallies of successful days (because of my schedule, updates may not be daily...see goal 4 below)

A = 39 days or higher

B = 35-38 days

C = 30-35 days

D = 25-30 days

F = <25 days

 

2) Complete the Spartan 30 days / 30 miles challenge - The challenge is to run a mile every day. As much as I love working out, I HATE running. Unfortunately, a big part of the Spartan runs is...you guessed it...running. The goal here is to complete a mile a day for 30 days (I'm not going to focus on time just yet).

Accountability: Updates will include miles / times (open mockery of mile times allowed every second Wednesday between the hours of midnight and 12:30 am eastern time only!)

A = 30 days

B = 27-29 days

C = 24-26 days

D = 21-23 days

F = <20 days

 

3) Five workouts / week - I've added a lot of muscle this past year, and am looking to cut a bit without actually losing what I've gained (all that running will certainly help). To that end, I want to continue doing short (<30 minute) workouts five times a week that focus on maintenance.

Accountability: Updates will includ workouts / details

A = 30 workouts

B = 27-29 workouts

C = 24-26 workouts

D = 21-23 workouts

F = <20 workouts

 

4) Life goal: Romance the wife - Soccer season starts on Jan. 6th, so my life is about to get a whole lot busier (I'm one of the coaches!), to include being gone tournament weekends and working REALLY late on game nights (some days I will leave my house at 7:30 am and not get back until after 9 p.m.!). My first three goals (my fitness goals) are about me, so I decided to make the last one about the person closest to me. This is pass / fail rather than graded, and is more a way of reminding myself to stop and not forget what's important when the rest of my life is crazy!

 

As mentioned earlier, updates will not always be daily because of my hectic schedule, but will be at least twice a week.

[Nuala]

Twice a week would make me a very happy guild leader! Glad to see you back

[Devyn]

Welcome back! I missed you!

Loving the goals! I will be your cheerleader.

[Elastigirl]

Glad to see you back. Your life goal is terrific.

[drsloomis]

Day 0 Stats:

 

Wt. 238

BF% 17

 

Pull-Ups 3

Vertical jump 15.5"

Push-Ups 25

Toe Touch 0 (just to toes)

Wall Squat 1 min

Curls 15r@20#

In and Outs 25

Heart Rate Maximizer 174 / 150 / 130 / 120 / 116

Mile Time 12:02

 

Could have gone higher on some (bicep curls and mile time particularly), but pushed myself just far enough to provide reasonable starting benchmarks. Will perform same test at end of challenge to check changes. Will edit later with other measurements and before photo.

[drsloomis]

Day 1

Workout, done. Mile time - 10:38. Water goal - 100%.

Good start!

[Lilith]

I'm here to help you by posting a beautiful photo of water. Makes me thirsty just looking at it. I looooove water! 

Love your benchmark workout and can't wait to see how much you've improved! And good to see you had an A for your first day!

[drsloomis]

Day 2

Ugh. My 6 am trek out to the makeshift gym in my garage was made all the more painful by the cold weather. Took some time for the space heater to really get the place to a tolerable temp, but it all turned out ok in the end. Workout - Check!

Soccer practice canceled for the second day in a row meant plenty of time to get a run in. Did 3 miles total but only clocked one - 11:02. Still playing around with intervals to try to find the sweet spot between best time and biggest cardio boost. Sprint intervals were either too hard or too long, meaning I spent longer at a slower recovery pace than I would have liked. Regardless, day 2 / mile 2 - Check!

Nothing but water - Check and double check!

[drsloomis]

Switched up the order for Day 3...ran my mile first (calves are NOT liking all this running, so today's mile was more of a brisk power walk than a jog) then did some yoga for my workout. I used to hate yoga, but have come to enjoy it quite a bit, particularly the wider range of motion I get from it.

Water goal - 100%!

Another day down!

[Lilith]

You're doing great still! I love getting a wider range of motion, it's like I'm freeing myself from my own body, do you get what I mean? Like, I feel less limited throughout the day in my movements and such. 

[drsloomis]

You're doing great still! I love getting a wider range of motion, it's like I'm freeing myself from my own body, do you get what I mean? Like, I feel less limited throughout the day in my movements and such.

I know exactly what you mean! I also find that I'm a lot less sore from my workouts if I've made time for yoga during the week.

Day 4

Workout is good ole push-ups and pull-ups...Done!

Ran 3 miles, one of them at 10:23. Lots of room for improvement, but...Done!

Slipped on the water goal-had a coke zero with lunch (I won't bore you with the myriad ways I struggled to justify it). Needless to say, I felt like crap afterwards, so I'm chalking it up to lesson learned.

[Lilith]

See! I knew this time would come! You need another happy water picture to keep you motivated! This time it includes a kitty!

[drsloomis]

See! I knew this time would come! You need another happy water picture to keep you motivated! This time it includes a kitty!

How can you resist water &cats?!?

Day 5 Workout Done! 3 miles Done!! (not a great mile time, but focused more on distance). Water....DONE!!!!!

[drsloomis]

Day 6--completed workout and run first thing this morning. Mile time sucked, but it was my first run around the neighborhood (to include HUGE hill) since starting the challenge. So far so good on the waster goal, but gonna have to be careful this evening. Life goal in progress!

[vengefulpear]

haha I think you're allowed to have a slower mile time especially if it includes a HUGE hill  

[drsloomis]

Day 7

Easy stretch workout followed by 3+ mile run. Done and done!

Water goal went well yesterday and is going well today.

Surprised wife with flowers and a special bottle of wine for no reason. Looking forward to coming up with creative ways to finish out the chalkenge!

[Elastigirl]

Day 7

Easy stretch workout followed by 3+ mile run. Done and done!

Water goal went well yesterday and is going well today.

Surprised wife with flowers and a special bottle of wine for no reason. Looking forward to coming up with creative ways to finish out the chalkenge!

That is so sweet!

[Lilith]

Day 7

Easy stretch workout followed by 3+ mile run. Done and done!

Water goal went well yesterday and is going well today.

Surprised wife with flowers and a special bottle of wine for no reason. Looking forward to coming up with creative ways to finish out the chalkenge!

I love how you're smashing your workout and your water goal. And awww very sweet what you did for your wife. Did it make her smile? I'm sure it did!

[drsloomis]

Day 8 & 9

Missed a daily update, but not my goals. Cranked through my workouts on both days without incident, along with 2.3 / 1.2 mi. runs (today's run was a bear cause I just wasn't feeling it). Water goal's going well, though the temptation is still strong from time to time. Looking forward to getting past the cravings, at least as much as possible.

[Lilith]

So you're still rocking it! Stay strong! Do so many fun things you completely forget about those cravings! 

[Sea Level]

Hey drs! Looks like you're doing well. Good work! I may steal your water-only goal in the future.

 

See! I knew this time would come! You need another happy water picture to keep you motivated! This time it includes a kitty!

 

Wow, this is the best GIF I've seen in a long time.

[drsloomis]

Been radio silent, but no less productive. Good to read about everybody's progress even when I'm not actively posting. Since the last update I've missed one workout and one run, and only had one slip in the water goal. Life goal going well, too--interesting to see things get the biggest response that I wouldn't necessarily have considered "romantic" in the traditional sense.

[drsloomis]

Down with the flu, so this week's gonna be a wash. Will reassess once i'm well again.

[Elastigirl]

Down with the flu, so this week's gonna be a wash. Will reassess once i'm well again.

ugh sorry.take care and feel better soon

[drsloomis]

Finally recovered from the flu. Was out for nearly a week and a half. Starting to work my way back to normal, so i'm hoping to post some revised goals this weekend.