Once A Runner…

The Road Back So Far (Week Nine)

It’s been a topsy-turvy week. My weight is stable at 180 pounds, despite my falling off my diet for a few days where I was drinking more diet cola than I should and I snacked on some candy lying around from Easter. The workouts, on the other hand, have been hit-or-miss.

I’m supposed to be working out at least every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, with an optional longer workout on Sunday. However, several trips to the home improvement-gardening store(s), getting home late from work, and other details have made it too easy to skip and leave it for tomorrow. And, we all know, tomorrow never comes!

Saturday was a pleasant run — though all the while I had to keep one eye on some rather nasty-looking storm clouds gathering in the distance. There was a little trouble with my left knee paining me a bit during and after. It persists, but it’s not terrible. I know this is a long road. Can’t get there any faster than my body will adjust to things, but I’ve made it worse by not keeping up the schedule regularly enough to permit my body to adjust properly.

Add to that a slip back into the gaming side of things, since my player character in World of Warcraft is a Paladin (Protection spec for tanking) and is needed for my daughter, her boyfriend, and my two oldest online-gaming friends to run more challenging instances we’ve all talked about running forever. His gear is finally shaping up for the more moderately advanced instances that provide access to the gear they all want — not to mention it all being a bit more challenging and fun than the routine content — so I’ve been putting in a little more time in getting him set for that. It’s far too easy to play a little longer than I intended, robbing me of the sleep I should get instead.

So, Spring has arrived here. Lawn maintenance is back in the mix. Gardening is back in the mix. Gaming is back in the mix. I’ve just got to get a handle on it all and bring everything together, prioritized appropriately, and make it all work. The workouts have to fit in, regardless. I have to make that piece of things work, or I’m looking at falling back into the less healthful habits and patterns of before.

The Road Back So Far (Week Eight)

I’ve got a ways to go with the weight loss, but it’s going well so far. I’m going to obviously hit a little plateau or two here soon and have to work to get through it (or them) on my way down to my goal weight. I just think I’ll generally be much better off, and especially able to run better, when I get down to a weight closer to what I used to be at.

I’m not having much difficulty with the transition to jogging for most of my workouts now. I’ll still force myself to keep to a walking warm-up, then jogging for what should normally be 2/3 of my workout time duration, and finish with a walk for a cool-down. This is progressive enough for me at this stage, and the full-day’s rest as recovery is working well for me, too.

Though I’m feeling stronger and my joints — especially my knees — are giving me less and less trouble, I still have a little trouble with them. Mostly, that comes a bit after my workouts or later in evening. Nothing like before, so this is a good sign.

Overall, I think I’m still making good progress. I’m pleased.

The Road Back So Far (Week Seven)

I wound up taking off nine straight days to let the ankle get better. I wasn’t very optimistic when I laced up to go for a walk Friday, but it turned out well. Today, on the other hand, was much better. I walked about half a mile and then, for no other reason than because I suddenly felt like I both wanted to and could, I kicked it up into a slow jog that I was able to easily manage for over a mile before slowing back to a walk to cool down a bit.

Overall, it felt great. Almost no problem with the ankle injury. Nearly nothing at all from the knees. Almost no knee pain or ache in either knee the whole way. The pace was very slow, of course. I remember reading somewhere the poet Odgen Nash saying something like, “…when I jog, I joggle.” And I do joggle, what with some extra weight still on my frame, while jogging — not running really yet — but the weight will come off someday and I might be able to actually run again… without the joggle.

I guess an initial adjustment period is to be expected. I forget how these things should go — even though I read what others have written and should expect certain things — but it’s easy to simply not remember how the body has to adjust progressively to increased physical stresses. So long on the couch or in front of the keyboard and not out on the roads. Yeah, I forgot what it’s like.

And — just to be sure I can stay on track from here on out — I’m going to try to keep in mind that there really is some wisdom to taking days off to recover. I’m taking Sunday off. I think I may alternate days of only walking with days of mixed walking and jogging. When I can manage something faster than about 11 minutes or so a mile, I may be able to cut down the walking and slowly build up from jogging to some faster running. At least for a while, I believe, I’ll have to be a jogger until I can get to the point where I can run easily and comfortably without much trouble.

It’s going to be a long road. I knew that before I started, but I think I wasn’t clear on how long it could really be this time around. I’ve got a lot of time to travel it, though. There’s no hurry. Not really. Patience and perseverance.

The Road Back So Far (Week Six)

Well, until the ankle injury, I had thought I was going along relatively well. My weight was going down at an acceptable rate, I was feeling better and stronger, and I was able to ramp up my distance easily enough. In short, I felt like I was making very good progress and could look forward to starting some easy running in the next month.

That pretty much fell apart when I started having the ankle problem, which has also recruited my right knee into its diabolical scheme to make things go a little more interestingly difficult to realize those goals.

Now, after three days off, I feel pretty crappy. Here we are going into Easter — with all the candy lying around for the grandkids — and I feel like I’m wasting my time. Still, a little work on the exercises the doctor gave me to do, some additional strength training work, and I almost feel good again. Then, I want to go out and walk but the ankle and knee protest. So, more rest, ice, and kicking my feet up for a while.  And that bowl of Easter candy sitting just within reach.  A comfort food thing?

I have to think this is going to pass. It has to pass, as all injuries and such usually do. In the meantime, it just feels horrible.

The Road Back So Far (Week Five)

Well, here I am at the 35th day since starting up again with the walking. Whether you subscribe to the “21 days makes it a habit” adage or the one that says it takes 35, I guess I’ve reached the point either way. I feel compelled to get in the workout before I can consider my day as done. I’m on an uninterrupted streak and even my wife accepts that I’ll be getting in the workout before I do anything else that needs doing. I count this a good thing. I’ll need this kind of commitment later on.

I still have to get my sleep cycle settled, though. I’ve been alternating between morning and evening walks some days because I get wrapped up in a book and don’t get to bed on time. That makes hopping out of bed the following morning more trouble than it’s worth. My reading over the past few days has kept me up later than I should have been, but revisiting Quenton Cassidy has been worth every minute. Besides, when I go in the evenings, I get to go longer than in the mornings, with nothing held up but dinner.

Today was an evening workout, and it was — for me, at least — a red-letter day. I alternated walking with some good jogging. I managed quite a lot of jogging, actually — more than I probably should’ve, but it just felt good. I tried to concentrate on good form and quicker steps, so there were a couple of bouts in there where I actually exceeded the intensity that I was aiming for. My Nike+ iPod tapped Joan Benoit Samuelson to do the honors in congratulating me on my longest workout so far (4.66 miles), but I also ran up a better mile time and 5K time than I’ve done up to now just walking.

I weighed in at 185 pounds this morning, so that’s 21 pounds since February 4; 12 more to go before I drop under the “Overweight” line. I’ve said before I’d love to get down lower, of course, to be able to run better. I’ll have to work harder to get there, but I still think lightening up more will permit me to actually run more and better, which would then let me drop a little more weight.

The diet is hanging tough. No real problems with maintaining it, though we have modified it slightly. Oatmeal a few times a week is a good modification, I think. We still make sure to get a portion of lean protein at every meal, along with fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. A while back, we added back in a healthier canola spread to substitute for the unhealthy margarine we had grown to depend upon for our English muffin. This canola spread is only cream, canola oil, salt (90mg per serving, 4% RDA, and we use it a little more sparingly than that), and vitamin A palmitate — no soybean oil, no hydrogenated oils, nothing else weird. Oh, and lately I’ve been craving asparagus, of all things. Go figure.

Homemade beef jerky, fresh fruits, and walnuts have been the snack foods of choice. For a crunchy snack food — instead of potato chips, corn chips, etc. — I’ve got a bag of good, ol’ chiccarones — yeah, pork rinds. They’re low carb, a good supply of protein though they have a good bit of fat in them, too, and they have a satisfying crunch. Eaten moderately, they make a decent snack — if you can get a brand that’s not too heavy on the sodium.

Those nasty headaches I used to be plagued with before changing my eating habits and walking again? None, nada, zip. No tension headaches, no morning headaches, nothing. I used to pop acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or aspirin like candy all day long. Now, I take one 81mg aspirin with my morning supplements, and occasionally I take one aspirin or ibuprofen for muscular or joint aches from my working out. Nothing like before. I’m sure the local WalMart is probably wondering why the demand for NSAIDS dropped almost overnight.

With the success of the jogging I threw into the mix today, I’m feeling even more confident that I can make a go of this. Whether or not I’ll be ready to make a good showing in the 10K at the Cowtown 2009 with my brother next February remains to be seen. I think I’ve got enough time between now and then to work up to decent enough shape to not look like hell trying to stay with him. I’d like to push him a little, too, especially as he jumps into the 50-54 age group with me — they’re running it after his birthday next year, so we’ll both be competing in the same age group. I’d like for us to both turn in decent times and place well.

Yeah, I know — dream on. But it could happen. Time will tell. Patience and perseverance.

The Road Back So Far (Week Four)

Well, here I am at the end of the fourth week of this odyssey. Not that “odyssey” is completely accurate as things haven’t been very eventful, but there has been progress and some of it almost good enough to qualify. It has been long and wandering — or it will be before I’m done — so I guess maybe the word does fit after all.

I’m still a long way from my weight goals. The initial weight goal being to get over the line out of “overweight,” which for me is about 173 pounds. I still have about 15 pounds to go. The goal after that is to get back down to something nearer my weight when I retired from the Army — 160 pounds. I probably may never, but I would love to, get back down to the weight I’ve always identified with serious running shape — about 2 pounds per inch of height. For me, that would be about 140 pounds, but that’s probably just too damned unrealistic a goal to pursue.

The diet has been slightly modified, but is still going strong. I added back in old-fashioned oatmeal for breakfast a few times a week, and frozen beans and corn are back in, sparingly. Oh, and the wife and I now share an English muffin at breakfast, so I get one-half of one. There are “free meals” on the diet plan, so I can deviate somewhat for up to three meals a week but we’ve not done too much of that. We will, though, because we both have missed Tex-Mex food terribly — tacos with very lean ground beef are in the menu plan for this weekend. (I’ll just walk a little farther than usual Saturday or Sunday.)

I’m still not running, and when I try jogging my knees still protest, but they protest less vociferously than they did in the beginning. I hope that is a good sign that I may realize that goal eventually and be able to return to running. It’ll be a red-letter day for me when I can. I’m so looking forward to being able to run again. Just jogging for half an hour would be wonderful, as that is pretty much the end-goal of the Daniels’ Running Formula “White Starting Plan,” a sixteen-week program that is probably a lot like The Couch-to-5K Running Plan or The Runner’s World 8-Week Beginning Runner’s Training Program, except for being twice as long and, I think, would build a good base, as Jack Daniels says, “… as preparation for future, more advanced training.”

I’m still kind of hit-or-miss on the strength training and not really doing a regular routine. I have mostly just hit some work on my quads, gastrocs and soleus, and some upper body work. I’ve been relying on the walking to do most of the rest. I really do need to get more serious about it, though, and not just because the garage gym is sitting out there unused if I don’t. More lean muscle mass burns more calories to maintain itself, which helps lead to greater weight loss and a chance I can keep the weight off.

I had last repeated the wisdom of continuing anything for 21 days makes it a habit, and then I read somewhere that 35 days was when the magic happens. Regardless of which is supposed to be true, the walking has become pretty much a habit now. So’s the diet. Now, I just have to get that to happen with the strength training side of this battle.

Overall, I’m pleased with the progress so far. I want more, of course. I want to be running again. I want to be more healthful and physically more fit.

And, so long as I stick to it, I’ll get there. Patience and perseverance. I’ll get there.

The Road Back So Far (Week Three)

I did my longest walk this week, 4.5 miles, and my knees didn’t give me a whole lot of trouble. Today, in fact, there were only a couple of times they gave me any trouble at all during a 3.6-mile walk. I’m beginning to think that they’re becoming accustomed to the increased activity, but I’m not about to jump the gun and try jogging a bit yet. It’s still a little too soon, as my first week attempts clearly proved.

I’m down to about 189 pounds. Not enough to be rid of the “spare tire” around the middle at all, but enough for people to tell me they can tell I’ve lost some weight — they mostly say they can tell it first in my face. This is good news, in my opinion, because losing it anywhere is progress. Still, 189 pounds is 16 pounds over the line into “overweight” for me, so I have a lot more work to do. The problem spots — including my paunch — will eventually get in line over time, so there’s no rush. Build muscle, continue to eat the way I have been, and stick to the walking — eventually start running, I hope — and those problem spots will get taken care of.

As I’ve said before, the main emphasis right now is to get my weight down to where I can run again, without injuring myself by forcing my knees to try to bear my overweight butt around sooner than they’re ready. So, just getting my weight down some is good enough for right now. More will come off when I can run again. Patience and perseverance, remember? Yeah, the keys to getting there. I remind myself constantly.

I’ve read that if you start anything and keep doing it for 21 days straight, you turn it into a habit. Well, I’ve been at this diet for nearly a week more than that and with the walking for just over three weeks. The getting up at the crack of dawn is still a bit troublesome, but I can easily manage getting the walk in later even on those days when I just don’t feel up to springing out of the bed with the alarm clock’s urgent nagging. I guess I could be a bit better about going to bed at a regular time and waking up for the morning walk on time. That would require nothing more than just forcing myself to do that and maintain it for the fabled 21 days straight, right? Okay, that goes on the list, right after the strength-training routine. I’ve got to get settled into that first, I think, because that’s going to help at least as much with the weight loss and improving my general fitness.

So, yeah, the walking has become something of a habit, and I’m glad of it. The wife not only accepts that I have to get a walk in daily, but she expects it by now and even helps by shifting things around to help me to accommodate getting out and doing it. Support like that is always a great help and very welcome, of course.

Anyway, I can look back now on three weeks of doing myself some good. I’m definitely feeling much better. I’m starting to look better — well, more fit than I was at any rate. When I can start to motor about a bit more intensely, even just jogging, I expect there will be more dramatic changes. Hey, it took me years to get this far out of shape. I reckon I can spare as many months — even years if necessary — as it takes to get myself straightened out again.

I’m still a very long way from joining my brother, Darrell, in running the Cowtown 10K next February, but a little closer than I was a month ago to be sure. Patience and perseverance.

The Road Back So Far (Week Two)

Okay, so I’m still not running, but I know from my past experiences that this isn’t something to push too recklessly. Too fast and too far don’t help worth a bit. So, I’m still walking and not ready yet to start jogging, much less turning loose the demon to run and play like he wants to. I’ve tried throwing in a little easy jogging here and there and found my knees not up to the task yet, so curbing my enthusiasm and impatience is still the order of the day and for the foreseeable future.

I weighed in at 190 pounds this morning. Since February 4, that’s 16 pounds. Most of the early weight loss was just water, I know that, since I’ve restricted my sodium intake severely with the change in my eating habits — cutting way back on processed foods will do that for you, and I reach for the salt shaker only rarely and use it far more sparingly than I used to. Snacking between meals — or instead of meals — and settling on fast food instead of taking the time to prepare a proper meal are also out.

As my body starts to accommodate the increased activity level and I stick to getting in a walk every day, I’m starting to be able to go farther and maintain a good pace longer. I’m not quite up to a 4-mph clip yet, so my walks are brisk but not too brisk. I’m trying to keep the pace down a little during the early minutes of each walk and gradually increase my pace as I go along. This feels pretty good to me. I still feel the urge to hit a double-time as I warm up, but I still have to continue to resist for the time being.

I haven’t started a strengthening program yet, but I have assembled a good general conditioning program that should help to strengthen my whole body. I realize that getting that ingrained as a regular habit is important to continuing it after I finally get healthy enough to run, so I have to get cracking on that in this third week.

The new eating regimen is starting to feel a bit stale. I’ve settled into picking a couple of regular meals and not varying it enough. That’s dangerous, so I’ve dived into Google searches for recipes that either adhere to the diet goals or can be modified to fit it. I never was a fan of meatloaf or meat balls until I found a recipe using very lean ground beef and no cereal products for fillers. I’m going to be making my own beef jerky today so I will have a good high-protein, low-sugar/low-sodium snack that isn’t a handful of dates and walnuts — good as that sounds, it does get boring after a week or two. Preparation time for eating real food instead of processed food products is a bit of a burden in the morning after a walk, shower, and trying to get ready for work, but the meals are worth it and will pay off in the long run.

I’ve back-slid a bit into my bad sleeping habits. I’ve gone to bed a little too late for several nights running this week because I’ve let the computer geek in me have his way about researching and working out ways to make the blog run better and do more that I want it to do. I’m learning great things, but I still need my sleep and rest is a critical component in not only my getting back into shape but also in my settling into a more healthful lifestyle altogether.

In the past, I could always count on a good solid month of working back up to a decent level of maintenance conditioning, but I’ve never let myself fall so far out of shape before. There will be a much longer time frame for this early, less strenuous walking and general adaptation than in the past, but it will eventually give way to a level of conditioning that will let me do more and faster. Patience and perseverance are the keys.

After sitting for a bit, I get up and my right knee cracks and pops so much it sounds like I’m walking on bubble-wrap, but there’s no real pain — just tension and pressure being released. The pain only comes when I try to jog, and it’s not as acute as it was in the first week. Not enough progress yet, but any progress is good.

So, thus far, all is well, but I’ve still got a very long way to go.