T. Shawn's Blog

Fitness program derailed

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:54:02 -0500

Last week I found out that there is nothing broken in my ankle, just good old fashioned tendinitis! I always thought that was some BS condition that people used as an excuse. Well, if so, it’s a good one to use, because it hurts like hell.

This injury has totally derailed my fitness program, and I was doing so good! I have made up my mind to get back on the wagon tomorrow morning. Going back to counting my calories, and getting some exercise every day. I’m going to lift weights, ride a bike, walk/hike and use my new fitness ball to try and keep losing weight, get my mind right and feel better.

WolframAlpha - shawn

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:31:44 -0500

WolframAlpha - shawn:

This is what Wolfram Alpha says about my name.

Almost ready to start running again

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:39:22 -0500

I haven’t ran in 9 days and while my ankle is feeling a lot better, it’s not 100% yet. I did get an X Ray and the initial reading is that there is no fracture, but I have been referred to the Orthopaedic surgeon for a second opinion. Not sure when I’ll get in to see them, so I probably won’t run at all this week either.

Just as I suspected, without the running, my eating and drinking habits have started to slowly slip back to my old ways. Not sure why I have a hard time controlling myself if I’m not exercising, but that seems to be the case.

I was on week 6, ready for day 3 of the C25K program, so not sure where I’ll start back up, but I suspect it will be around week 4 if I’m lucky.

Blackout is starting

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:23:45 -0500

The SOPA blackout protests are starting, seeing lot’s of my favorites sites “going dark”.

Stop SOPA

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:38:08 -0500

Stop American Censorship

On Wednesday Jan. 18th thousands of sites will go dark to protest SOPA & PIPA, two US bills racing through Congress that threaten prosperity, online security, and freedom of expression.

Ankle sprained

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:11:00 -0500

Looks like I may have sprained my right ankle last week. It’s been really sore and has some swelling. I’ve been doing the RICE thing, but still did my C25K runs and it’s not getting any better. I am going to take a few days off from the running program and see if it feels better, it not, I’ll go see the doctor about it.

Here is what I’m dealing with, which I think is a ‘high ankle sprain’.

So, until that heals up, I am going to concentrate on doing some other forms of exercise. I am going to start the 100 pushups and the 200 sit ups program. These structured programs seem to help me stay on track, so I’m going to see how well I can do with these.

Another Woot shirt for my collection. Wife says that is me, in...

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:13:37 -0500

Another Woot shirt for my collection. Wife says that is me, in bed with my Kindle each night!

Reddit stickers on the way

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:50:00 -0500

Hell ya! Just put in an order for some Reddit alien goodness that I can stick where I want!

Weekends are bad for my fitness

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:39:00 -0500

Here it is, Sunday night, and I’ve officially over-indulged the entire weekend. Too many beers, too much junk food :-( I’m going to pay for this when I run in the morning and when I weigh in on Wednesday! I’m going to have to be extra good this week!

Who else went off the plan this weekend?

Too many of these for sure!

Magellan Switch

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:23:00 -0500

Magellan Switch:

I want one of these to track my running. I’d like to get to where I can run without my phone, but keeping the stats is very important to me. Seeing my progress really helps keep me motivated!

C25K week 6 day 2 completed!

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:11:51 -0500

Took me two tries, but I did it! After my first attempt, I drove to the place I normally run and gave it another go. Nothing amazing, but I did it. I was determined not to fail the day, despite the over-indulgence in Hopslam and junk food last night.

My ankle is still hurting pretty bad, but like my knee, I plan to just keep icing it and run through it until it gets used to the activity and straightens up.

Running Activity 1.42 mi | RunKeeper

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:00:00 -0500

Running Activity 1.42 mi | RunKeeper:

Attempt number 1 at C25K W6D2. Didn’t make it. Too much snow…not sure what all, but couldn’t do it. So I stopped and drove to my regular running spot and…see the next post!

It's Hopslam Day!

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:19:41 -0500

I splurged and got an entire case of Hopslam today! It is the best beer ever, ever, ever! Comes out once a year, is really expensive ($19 per 6 pack), but is is so very, very good!

Going to crack one or four open tonight! To hell with the diet tonight!

Fruit and Vegetable Smoothies every day

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 07:15:00 -0500

Since I started running and watching what I eat about 7 weeks ago, I have been making a fruit & veggie smoothie just about every day. I have a Vitamix blender that I use that does a great job, no small bits of anything left after I blend it.

Here is what I put in today’s breakfast/mid morning snack;

Dole - Frozen Blueberries, 0.5 cup
Michigan Apples - 1 Large Fuji Apple
Carrot - Large - Raw***, 1 large
Pineapple - Raw, all varieties, 1 cup, diced
Spinach - Raw, 1 cup
Dannon - Light & Fit, Non Fat, Vanilla Yogurt, 4 oz
Tropicana - Orange Juice, Some Pulp, 6 fl oz

This was calculated by MyFitness at 412 calories, which is not bad since this is breakfast and mid-morning snack for me. Very filling and introducing the fruit and vegetables has really made me feel better in several ways. It’s an easy way to get vegetables and fruit that I wouldn’t normally eat.

This is not today’s smoothie, but a recent one.

Weigh in complete

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:31:41 -0500

Did my weekly weigh in and am down another 1.5 pounds!! The running and watching calorie intake is working!

C25K Week 6 Day 1 complete

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:01:33 -0500

Despite oversleeping this morning by an entire hour and lingering ankle pain from my last run, I made it out for the start of week 6 of the C25K program. I made a few mistakes today that made my run far less enjoyable than it should have been:

I took it too lightly, since I had just run 20 minutes, I figured today would be easy
I started running too soon after waking up
I ate a Clif Bar and some OJ before running

With all of that, I’m glad I made it through. I am going to rest my ankle for 2 days so that hopefully when I tackle day 2 I’ll be feeling much better.

Got my FiveFingers today!

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:49:12 -0500

I got a sweet deal on a pair of Vibram FiveFingers last week at rei.com and they arrived today. The color is not my first choice, but they were over 50% off and I wanted to try a pair, but wasn’t sure if I’d like them.

They will take some getting used to for sure, but everyone says that they are great and very comfortable. Not sure if I’ll run in them or just kick around in them.

C25K Week 5 Day 3 complete!

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:01:13 -0500

I did it! I completed week 5, day 3, which is 20 minutes of continuous running! That is a huge achievement for me! 6 weeks ago I couldn’t run anywhere, and here I am acting like a runner, running a few times a week and looking forward to it! Have to keep working on my legs, because my legs are what hold me back/slows me down. My cardio improved so quick (as I read it would) but my legs are taking some time.

In the spirit of who I am and what I’m doing, I could not pass up the shirt on woot.com today!

C25K week 5 day 2 complete

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:03:00 -0500

I got out for my C25k week 5, day 2 run this morning! It was pretty good and the first time I ran for 8 minutes! Two runs of 8 minutes with a 5 minute walk in between. No issues, aside from a killer cramp in my left calf, but I just ran through it. It is sore now, but I think it will sort itself out by tomorrow.

Stats and graphs are good for me

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 11:56:00 -0500

I recently payed for an Elite membership at RunKeeper and for the $20 it is a good value. Keeping track of my routes, distance, time, etc and being able to see the progress is helping to keep me movtivated!

Weighed in today and see a 5lb loss since I started the C25K program and watching what I eat and drink!! Not as good as I’d like, but considering that we just came through the holiday season I’ll take it as a win!