Friday, April 15, 2011

5 K Training

Another wet week on the West Coast. frog strangling rain everyday this week. Couldn't do anything outside unless you were a duck or a frog.

Gym training continues with the exception of yesterday. Traveled yesterday so I guess a rest day is good.

More to follow.

Monday, April 11, 2011

5K Training

April 11, 2011, Yesterday was a bit long winded, I got kind of excited by the progress being made by Blacknat and his Texas bike ride. Today will be shorter I promise.

Yesterday afternoon it rained, so not much chance for outdoor activity. As luck might have it however, the gym was dry!! So off I went for about an hour and a half of fun in fitness. About 45 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and 45 minutes split between abs and weights. Not very exciting I know, but the feel good part a half hour after finishing up is always worth the boring part. I'm starting to learn a lot about nutrition on this adventure. The foot problem I had a week or so ago was probably going to be a gout flare up and I thought it was from running or walking. You may remember my pig out weekend a few weeks ago. Unfortunately for me I moderated my poor eating habits but I still was sneaking potato chips and burgers at every opportunity. When I had the foot thing pop up I went back to my lean, low fat, lots of blue berry's diet and as if by magic, my energy levels started to go up and my foot problem went away. This nutrition thing may be under rated!!

I'll post Monday work out results tomorrow

TTFN

Sunday, April 10, 2011

5K Training Continued

Comment today on Comments. Blacknat gave me an update today on his progress on his training program. The guy ain't doing so bad. I think he is an older guy around 54 (me too actually) and in one of his comments early on he admitted, to some degree anyway, that he had been a bit of a couch potato for the last several years but was going to make an effort to spring off the couch and change his look and life style. Today he he said he was tired of the gym (me too here lately) and had given it up for a while to just bike ride a bit. He did 62 miles through a State Park in Texas averaging 15 miles an hour. I'm telling you this guy should never change careers! If he quits everything like he quit the gym he would be running Chevron in a couple weeks after the career change. GREAT JOB on quitting!!!! Keep that kind of attitude and you'll be doing the speaking circuit with Lance Armstrong in a few months.

He also commented on the fact that I had been whining about the less than favorable weather here in Western Oregon and that all of the personal comments he had heard over the years from folks that lived here was how the sky's are bluer, the mountains taller and the wildlife plentiful and very diverse, outdoor Mecca. That is in fact true with some clarification on what the tourist brochure prints. The sky's in Western Oregon are incredible when Mother Nature has finished depositing 60-80 inches of rain for the year. The mountains are in fact taller than most places in the U.S. and pristine from almost any vantage point, when the clouds have parted that is. Wildlife in Western Oregon, yep lots of it, if you can find it between rain storms.
 
This is all kind of tongue and cheek. Oregon is a wonderfully diverse State with nearly every climate zone known to man in one part of the State or another. The Oregon coast is one of the best maintained and diverse coastal zones in the World, Temperate rain forest just to the East of that making its way into the Temperate Agriculture belt of the Willamette Valley, on to the sub alpine and Alpine regions of Central Oregon and then the high desert of South Eastern Oregon going down towards Nevada. And don't forget the glaciers, We have more than one in North Eastern Oregon. Not bad all and all. I just get tired of long periods of rain. I grew up on the East side of the state where we would get 350 days of 100% sunshine every year!! Even after 20 years on the West side of the State I miss the sun!!!!!!!!!! 

Training??? Yeah still doing it. Off to the gym in a few hours. I'm re energized by Blacknat!!!! I get to go to the gym because it is raining and I get to go to the gym because I am healthy and getting healthier, I get to go to the gym so one day I can try a 62 mile bike ride in Texas.

Until next time!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

5K Training

Well Tuesday was a tough day at the gym. Foot feeling better but you would have to be a duck to run outside right now. I think Spring is close, we are down too about a half inch of rain a day.

Didn't really feel much like knocking myself out at the gym yesterday. Went in with a ho hum attitude. Got on the elliptical and started off to do 30 minutes of hills. Got about 10 minutes into the ever exciting elliptical training when this guy gets on the machine next to me. No big deal for a minute or two but then the smell hit me!! This guy, mid 20's, smelled like he hadn't seen a shower in a long time. Maybe he is holding off until the rain stops?? So at 11.5 minutes I moved to another part of the gym. Personal hygiene has to be mentioned in "How to Win Friends and Impress People" somewhere. So note to self, shower at least once a day and make new friends.

After the bad cardio program, moved to abs and light weights. Still got an hour in so I guess that's not so bad. More determination today!!!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

5K Training

Again, a laps between posts:(
Luckily my training has not been as sporadic. The only small little issue with training is a tiny little foot problem. Doesn't seem to be anything serious just a little sprain. Funny how as we get a little older body parts need more tender loving care than just a few years ago.

Still hitting the gym 6 days a week. Have increased the difficulty on the elliptical to hopefully mimic the real running thing while the old foot heals up. The weight I gained over my pig out weekend has gone away and then some so I'm feeling pretty good about the ongoing results. Well off for now I'll try and check back tomorrow with more in the exciting saga of training over 50!!!