ironclm's world

Fitness Check-In

It's been 40 days since I started working with Trainer Evan and Tuesday we re-tested body comp.  I knew my scales at home had gone down some, but the official numbers were good - down 6 pounds and inches lost!  With the Styku machine they have, you can see in 3-D [http://www.styku.com] where the changes are.  So that's even more motivation to keep at it and I'm going to keep working with Evan twice a week, then swim or ride the trainer or walk on the other days.  He definitely keeps things interesting and mixes it up and definitely challenges me every session.  And writing down everything I eat and drink has been very enlightening and helpful.

And that's also 40 days without a zero in the training log.  In fact, last week was the highest volume of training in over a year and my first outdoor bike ride in 16 weeks.  For some reason, Tennessee has dimmed my love of riding the bike.  Drivers here are terrible, 90 degree humid weather, seeing huge snakes on the bike trail, having to ride by myself, my irregular work/travel schedule - all have played a part.  Thanks to Kathy for riding with me on Saturday.  I need to get back out there because you forget how much you enjoy it.  I've also gotten back in the pool and am looking for a half Ironman distance race in 2018 which has the aqua bike division.  That will be one of my 2018 goals.

projectreturntofitness

worldgymmusiccity

 

 

No Zeros

When I was working with Scott Molina, he once gave me a stretch of training with no days off for over a month.  He said because of my work and travel schedule, that a rest or off day would just happen, so in the meantime, "No zeros in the training log."  I think I hit about 40 days in a row of training at that time.  I also know that I really fall under Newton's First Law - An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion.  If I miss a day, it's hard to get back to it.  So as of today, I have 30 days in a row of some sort of exercise.

Most of what I've been doing is riding the trainer early or walking and working out with Evan two days per week.  He keeps it fun, but hard, and always throws something new into the mix.  I'm seeing results - wearing a dress to the Predator's Petey's Party charity function that I hadn't been able to wear in quite a while.  Very motivated to keep going!  Though I definitely get frustrated when I can't do something right or like I used to do.  Patience has never, ever been my strong suit.  As the V-Man used to say, "Passion, Patience, Persistence".  Need to keep the 3Ps in mind.

I've also been back in the pool a couple of times.  That is the harder thing to fit into my schedule since I can't seem to get in the pool at 5:00 AM!  When work or other appointments don't conflict, I'll be going to the noon MWF workout.  The two times I've been recently were good - the feel for the water is coming back and I just need to get my "swim muscles" kicking in again.

There is a 5K in early October that I'm going to target.  And I need to look at the 2018 triathlon/aquabike schedule and pick out a few races to do.  Suggestions welcome!

#projectreturntofitness

#projectreturntofitness and a Race Report

My last post here was well over a year ago. I’ve spent from about July 2016 to late July 2017 in a huge funk. Yes, hockey season was fantastic and oh so much fun, but life was work, hockey, drink beer, eat crap and barely work out. Somewhere along the way, I lost the love of riding my bike – winter and cold weather, other things going on, work travel, being fat and out of shape, probably some mild depression. The last time I had any good rides was the Slowtwitch Womens’ Camp in April and I didn’t pin on a number all spring or summer.

Sometime in August, after a trip to San Francisco, I decided that I was tired of being tired, out of shape, not fitting into the clothes I already have, and that it was time to do something about it. A new gym (World Gym Music City) opened near where I used to live, so convenient to where I now live and to work.   And the best thing? It’s open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Believe me, that is a big deal here. I shot off an email to the program director giving him my background and current state of fitness, well, actually the lack of fitness, and after a few emails back and forth, I went in to check things out. My lucky day as I was able to meet him, the membership director and the head of personal training. I got a great vibe from all of them and signed up that day and did a fitness evaluation, which was about what I thought it would be – out of shape!

I’ve started working out with Evan, the trainer, and I early on came to the realization that I really need accountability and feedback, and I haven’t had that since working with Scott and Kenny. So I’ve had 4 sessions with Evan and I’m starting to feel the athlete come back. And Evan just seems to get me (which I think is super important).  I’ve also gotten back in the pool and have been twice to Masters. The goal is to swim 2-3 times a week, ride the trainer or bike or walk, then work out with Evan twice a week until I get in good enough shape to go to the organized weight classes (sort of like Crossfit?) and do that and keep working out with Evan at least once a week.  We’ve been doing a lot of functional strength stuff and the treadmill, plus keeping a food journal (which I have to give to him). Let’s just say, I’ve skipped one outing where I knew the food would be crap and lots of beer just so I wouldn’t be tempted!  Oh yeah, they have this machine which tells you how fat you are and sends you drawings of your body.  That is eye opening!  But, what gets measured, gets monitored.

In addition, a few weeks ago I decided I needed a goal, so I signed up for a 5K to walk and today was the day. This morning when I woke up, I almost talked myself out of it, but got ready and went to the start. It was a half marathon, 10K and 5K, benefitting Best Buddies. I told myself I’d walk the entire 5K and my goal was to break an hour.

The weather was perfect – overcast and 59 degrees. The first mile was mentally hard but my watch said 17:09 for the first mile. That’s faster than I thought I’d be. Mile 2 was better – I started to eye people in front of me and tried to reel them in. Got to the turn and about 2.5 miles in, I got pretty tired, but didn’t want to let anyone behind me catch up (that “being last” monkey was on my shoulder big time). Got to the last turn and it was about a 0.2 mile straight shot to the finish. Kept to my promise to myself to only walk and crossed the finish line in 53:30, well under my 60 minute goal. Average pace – 17:13 min/mi. 142^nd out of 160 in the 5K and 6^th out of 7^th in my age group. A good start.

What didn’t work so well was walking the 5K in basic (non-running/walking) shoes, so this afternoon I made a visit to the new Rhythm Running store on Demonbruen Street and bought a new pair of shoes. I never did replace any of my running shoes after knee replacement surgery, so I should probably get rid of them.

Pretty happy with the race. Maybe down the line I’ll add in some slow jogging, but for now, walking is good.  #projectreturntofitness