Theophilus runs again! (again)

[theophilus]

Alright, my first attempt at a Nerd Fitness challenge came earlier this year, but quickly petered out before we even got through one week! I picked an incredibly chaotic time of life to attempt a challenge, and it's my own fault for not taking a more realistic view of life. I've got my excuses, you've got yours, but this is the place where we leave those behind us.

 

Seven years ago, I was able to run a half marathon at an 8:15 pace. A handful of health issues, two desk jobs, a wife, two kids, three years of grad school, and plenty of beer later, I can't even run a 5K without stopping to walk. But now, oh, but now...

 

This is the year I reclaim my health!

 

My quests look remarkably similar to my first attempt at a nerd fitness challenge, so here we go:

 

Main Quest: Beat my 2008 Half Marathon time at the January 2016 PF Changs Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in Phoenix.

 

Quest 1: Run, run, run: 3 miles, 4x per week. No excuses. I'll be tracking it all with MapMyRun. Wanna hold me accountable? Just ask.

Measurement: 10 points per run

 

Quest 2: Fruits and/or Veggies at every meal. Every. Meal.

Measurement: 1 point for each category for each meal (e.g., fruit and veggie at one meal = 2 pts.); up to 6 pts per day

 

Quest 3: Eliminate caloric beverages

Measurement: Perfect week = 50 pts; deduct 10 points for every caloric beverage (will count as negative points toward total if more than 5 consumed per week)

 

Side Quest: Read 20 minutes per day

Measurement: 0.1 point per minute read; up to 2 pts per day

 

Bonus Points!

Complete a Perfect Week (146 Points): +25 points

 

Motivation: I want to be physically fit to keep up with my growing sons, and to model to them lifelong fitness.

 

Reward System:

I still haven't worked out my rewards, but I'm going to follow your typical grading scale to determine what I get. I'll fill in the details below:

 

Points

923 +

821 - 922

718 - 820

< 718

[Tyburn Lil]

Good luck! Half a marathon in six weeks, you're braver than I'd dare to be

[theophilus]

Good luck! Half a marathon in six weeks, you're braver than I'd dare to be

 

Well, not quite! That's actually a long-range goal, closer to 6 months. Goal for this time is just to get out there.

 

Thanks for the encouragement!

[SavoirChic]

Good Luck, have you ever heard of an app called "Pact" it gamifies fitness and you can set up a challenge to eat more fruits and veggies by taking a photo of it daily. You can set a punishment in case you miss your goal (like $5). If you complete your weekly goals the app collects all the money from people who missed their goals and pays out people who completed their goals. Mine typically comes out to a $1 a week. It doesn't come out to much but my loss aversion is high enough to keep my achieving my goals

[theophilus]

Big news. After a discouraging start to the week, where my schedule has kept me from getting out on a run even once, today was a breakthrough. Not only did I get out and run, but I ran three miles without stopping -- something I haven't done in years! A much-needed psychological boost!

[theophilus]

Good Luck, have you ever heard of an app called "Pact" it gamifies fitness and you can set up a challenge to eat more fruits and veggies by taking a photo of it daily. You can set a punishment in case you miss your goal (like $5). If you complete your weekly goals the app collects all the money from people who missed their goals and pays out people who completed their goals. Mine typically comes out to a $1 a week. It doesn't come out to much but my loss aversion is high enough to keep my achieving my goals

 

I've not tried it out, but I love the idea!

[theophilus]

Quick update to Quest 2. I don't often eat veggies with breakfast or fruit with dinner, but usually get at least 6 servings combined throughout the day, so I'm modifying quest 2 to be 1 point for each serving of vegetables or fruit eaten each day, up to 6 points per day.

[theophilus]

Week 1 Recap:

 

Quest 1: Ran 1 time this week. It's my lack of sleep which is holding me up here. If I don't run before I leave for work, I don't run. With the climate where I am this time of year, you beat the sun up or the sun beats you down. Gotta get to bed earlier this week to make those runs happen.

 

Quest 2: Got 3-4 servings per day. Going to work on making more of my snacks fruits and veggies this week to up the count.

 

Quest 3: Had 1 caloric beverage this week. I was out with friends for pizza, and pizza without beer is a crime I have yet to commit. That one really stung.

 

Side Quest: I actually did manage to read for at least 20 minutes each day!

 

Overall, prorating for the fact that I was late to the game, I earned 70 of the available 130 points for the week.

 

Onto week 2!

[VRGirl]

Your quests are awesome. It's so interesting to read someone else's quests when our main goal is the same (Go Rock n Roll!). I do NOT envy you training in AZ - I grew up there and no one will ever make me go back to live never never never never. Alas, a number of my favorite people are there, so I return fairly often. 

 

I look forward to hearing how  your training goes! 

[theophilus]

VRGirl, funny story. I'm from AZ, but moved far, far away (MA) hoping never to return. But, much like you, those I love most live here, and "life" brought me back. Been back two months and I'm already planning my next escape (muahahaha). But yeah, training here sucks. Even more than training in New England winters.

[cepopaladin]

Nice job completing the 3 miles without stopping! You just won the mental game, now onward to the physical one. 

 

A half-marathon goal is really intrepid (and I like it!), but maybe you should set a mid-level goal also. I'm training (if this heel pain ever goes away) for a 10k by the end of this challenge with the hopes of doing the Brooklyn Half Marathon next summer. Maybe a 10k or other shorter race distance would be good for more short-term motivation.

 

I look forward to your indubitable success!

[theophilus]

A half-marathon goal is really intrepid (and I like it!), but maybe you should set a mid-level goal also. I'm training (if this heel pain ever goes away) for a 10k by the end of this challenge with the hopes of doing the Brooklyn Half Marathon next summer. Maybe a 10k or other shorter race distance would be good for more short-term motivation.

 

Good idea! Yeah, that's sitting as my long range-goal, and for this particular challenge, it's all about hitting the road again. But I'm thinking a 10k for the next six-weeker for me is a brilliant idea. Stay tuned!

 

Good luck on your training!

[theophilus]

Break.Through.

 

My goals this challenge are about building habits, not so much accomplishments. To that end, I've really just been focused on running 3 miles consistently, not quickly. It's been good. Especially this week, I've logged three runs in three days (!), all hovering around the 10:10 pace. Today, mile 3 came around and I was feeling good terrible, so I pushed a little harder: 9:52.

 

Still a long way to go if I'm going to meet my mark in January, but breaking that 10:00 minute mile mark, even in just one of my three miles, was a psychological barrier I needed to get through.  Can't wait to get back out there tomorrow.

[kenbear]

Broke the 10min line, good on you! I bet you're under a 10:00 avg altogether this time next week.

[Dianakdrury]

Great start. Half Marathons are insane. I tried one last year (i was never much of a runner to begin with but got a hip injury right at the start of my training) and walked the whole damn thing and was so dead at the end. Great long range goal to try and run one.

 

I agree you should add a slightly more mid range goal in as well - 10km is a great idea. I know with me I keep things 6 months is all the time in the world and then I don't end up doing anything.

 

Good luck.

[theophilus]

Set Back

 

Yesterday was a rough one. Actually, it started Wednesday night. After an incredibly long day for my whole family, we ordered in pizza, and that threw me off.

 

I overslept Thursday which meant no run and no packed lunch. Grabbed a sandwich, chips, and soda for lunch, with zero fruits or veggies.

 

 

Step Forward

 

I was up nice and early this morning, and feeling pretty ready to regain my Thursday losses. I hit the trail running, determined to log at least one more sub-10 minute mile this week.  Playlist going, off and running. I was feeling good while going the distance, and then it got harder better faster stronger. MapMyRun chimed in at mile 1 (What's her name, after all? She encourages me, taunts me, destroys me daily, and I don't even know her name!): 10:09. Damn. But I didn't stop believin' as I cruised into mile 2. I was a fighter and felt like I could go everlong, but alas, mile 2, she came back, 10:02. Close. But I was feeling it now. Thought for sure I would lose it. I looked straight into the eye of the tiger, ran straight into that hopeless place, where, finally, I found love. She came back to me. Hmm..., I wasn't expecting her yet. "Distance, 3 miles. Split pace, 9 minutes, 38 seconds."

 

YES.

 

Good enough to drop my overall pace below the 10 minute mile mark.

 

Spinach and eggs with an apple for breakfast. Killer salad coming for lunch.

 

We're cruising now.

[dustoff]

Way to go, sounds like an awesome run. I can't wait till I am back to being able to really run again. The weight I have gained killed that ability. I used to run a 6 mile course every other day during my lunch break when I was in the Army. It's been a long time since I was able to even think about doing it. Funny thing is I never thought I would actually miss it. Never enjoyed running in formation for physical training but I do miss the 6 mile lose yourself in thought runs.

[theophilus]

Thanks, dustoff! Yeah, I hear you about the weight. I'm a shorter guy with a pretty small frame, and so by the numbers, I'm not a big guy. But I'm still 15-20 lbs above where I was when I was training for my last half, and man, I feel every bit of it.

[Riverleaf]

Sounds like you're on a roll!  Congrats on breaking into the 9m mile.  You got this.

[theophilus]

Alright, not a great weekend. I had planned on having both days off of running, so no surprises there. However, I also let the eating slip which was a bit of a disappointment. Really hosed it with the fruits and veggies. Then, my wife and I went out for dinner on Saturday, and I had a couple glasses of wine. I wouldn't trade that time for anything--we have two kids 3 and under, so our opportunities to get out are few and far between--but it is a bit of a setback on the goals front. Going to hit it hard this week. Overslept and missed my run this morning, but I'm eating well today and looking forward to getting back on the trail again tomorrow.

[theophilus]

Mixed bag over the past couple of days. Workout wise, things have been good. Two runs in two days, both right around the 9:40 pace. I was surprised I held that pace today, as I'm starting to feel something they call "sore" for the first time in a long time. Interesting sensation... I'm going to take a rest day tomorrow and work on some better stretching.

Been losing battles on the food front. Yesterday got off to a bad start and kept getting worse.

Breakfast: Dutch Bros Muffin Top had me like

Lunch: Jack Godzilla'd my quests

Dinner: Costco Bid(en) me eat all the pizzas

BUT, off to a good start today.

[Riverleaf]

Isn't pizza a vegetable? 

 

Your quest is to add in vegetables, so even if your main meal isn't fabulous - add on a veggie!  Do you juice at all?  Or add them into smoothies?   Any other ways to sneak them in on a regular basis?  Bag of frozen veggies that you carry with for emergencies? 

 

Just thoughts,

hope they are helpful. 

 

River

[theophilus]

Isn't pizza a vegetable?

Your quest is to add in vegetables, so even if your main meal isn't fabulous - add on a veggie! Do you juice at all? Or add them into smoothies? Any other ways to sneak them in on a regular basis? Bag of frozen veggies that you carry with for emergencies?

Just thoughts,

hope they are helpful.

River

Great ideas River! I wish I could do smoothies more often. I'm out the door before the rest of the family is awake, and that blender would be the end of me! I've got a breakfast staple that gets my veggies in--egg and spinach omelette. And most days I do a salad for lunch. Yesterday was just a wacky day. I really like the idea of a bag of frozen veggies around. Especially for the work freezer!

[theophilus]

Let's recap:

Wednesday - Victory on all fronts!

Started the day strong with a good run, managed to get all servings of fruits and veggies, avoided crappy drinks, AND read before bed

Thursday - Rest and resilience

Took an intentional rest day from running (which means I'll need to run Saturday, my coveted sleep-in day). I again successfully ate my fruits and veggies all day. I struck to the letter of my beverage challenge if perhaps not the spirit of the challenge (Diet Pepsi, technically no calories... Still garbage). Read again before bed last night.

That's two perfect days in a row, feeling really good about that.

Today, my morning run was T-O-U-G-H. I was feeling it the whole time and kept a slower pace than usual. I'm ok with it, though, because it was the first run so far that I really didn't feel like doing, BUT I still got all 3 miles in. That's a victory.

[Riverleaf]

How was your weekend?  Did you keep up on your runs?   Did you try the veggies at work?  How'd it go?