check in--

so i was just wonder how the biggest loser is? how is the weight gain, i mean loss going?

i myself am slowing down a little bit because of my hamstring. i have been doing some weights but am being very cautious of my legs. also, my sister walked her first half marathon and now wants to walk other events. she wants me to do them with her. how am i going to become a better runner if she wants me to walk all the races i want to run in? but she wants to keep the momentum going after her big walk on sunday.

disgusting weight gain

so i find it absolutely disgusting to think that i gained 3.8 pounds in one day--one MEAL. wow! so with some basic rounding it equals 4 pounds which equals 4 miles. i owe you these miles in the near future--the goal was to run them today, but i have a slight injury. the other day (and here is the TMI part) i was on the toilet and noticed a huge green/ black/ blue bruise on my hamstring. since it doesn't hurt that bad i am assuming it is a strain. i should go see a doctor, but i have to pay out of pocket until i reach my deductible, so i will likely skip the visit and rest a few weeks--do some light workouts that don't include much or any running. a lot of stretching and some rehab stuff i learned from my last hamstring injury (same leg--except last time it was a tear). i am hoping it isn't that bad--but time will tell.

keep your eye on the prize!

i am certain that you are not the only person who has his difficulty staying true to healthy eating and exercise--i am proof that you can't be perfect. just move forward from today and take it one day at a time (is this AA?). Also, put away the scale--don't measure it on a daily bases rather on a weekly basis--measuring everyday is liking to discourage you. just keep track of what you are eating (a food diary--with the food, portion and approx. calories) and adjust that as needed.

here is a new workout for the next couple of trips to the gym--it is my favorite fat loss workout--it really works up a sweat!

squats--pull-ups--bench--bench crunch--dumbbell roman deadlift--dumbbell shoulder press

do this for about 3 sets of 10 reps or 4 sets of 8 reps. do in the order listed and as a circuit--once you've completed the circuit--start over. then do about 30 to 40 minutes on the bike (use a spinning bike if you have your own heart-rate monitor or an upright bike if you don't) and keep your heart rate at approximately 140 bpm (this number is a guess based off of my old fat-loss heart rate--it may be a little lower--maybe about 135--all this is a guess--you want it about 60% of your max heart rate) the jury is out as to whether or not this lower heart rate method works but it did for me.

those are my tips for the day.

i survived the cold which just came out of nowhere last night--running in about 40 degree weather. i survived my workout and keeping focused on portland in october. also, talk of the ironman came up and the coach said to keep in on the calendar for june. my immediate thought was she was thinking i should DO it--but no it was to watch. thank God! but than she said she thinks i could be ready by june if the race wasn't already full. i find this difficult to believe but she sees my potential a lot more than i do.

oh yeah--no pics this time.

Poor Week

Crage,
I have been doing some light running, but with this short work week I've been missing my gym time. Supposed to play racquetball and do our weekly weigh-in today. I will let you know my current percentage loss.

As for Josh, we had a great time last weekend. We went to a UT basketball game and then a UT football game. We had some fundraising action that involved playing Laser Quest. Also, my car got towed. Lots of goodness.

Sadly, I'm eating pizza and drinking sprite right now. That sucks for my belly. I may need fat pants. Have you been watching Biggest Loser?

biggest loser

doosty, i am hoping to see this type of results from you friendly challenge! oh yeah, now you have fat pants!

give me an update as to your recent endeavorers.

keep the weights

like the title says keep the weights and the running. do weights one to two times a week fewer sets more reps like 1 set 15 reps or 2 sets 12 reps...I'll attach my coach's weight lifting routine below. also, i know that men's fitness typically has a fat-loss workout in their magazine every month--i have one i continue to use when i need a really quick workout--so it may be worth checking out.

as for meals...smaller portions more times a say. here is my way of doing this. get a Rubbermaid or gladware sandwich box, or small container and use that to measure what one meal should look like (dinner can be a little larger but not extreme). if it exceeds the size of the box--it is too much. also, have one day (or meal depending on your willpower)a week where you can what you want. remember than many low-fat snacks/ meals are more then one serving per container. a 20 ounce bottle of diet coke is actually 2 servings--diet coke is bad example since it has 0 calories but you get the idea.

the work out:
Weight Lifting Exercises

Push-ups & Crunches (30 reps total push-ups and up to 90 reps abs per workout)
Dumbbell Bench Press
Shoulder Press
Triceps Pushdown Extensions
Lat Pull Down
Arm Curls
Leg Curls
Leg Extensions
Squats
Back Extensions
Hip Flexors (adduction and abduction)
Jogging with Dumbbells (see comments!)
Claw Drill with Dumbbells
Push-ups
Crunches

ALSO: are you going to take before and after pictures like all the infomercials? i suggest the one with the fat-pants held out to the side.

I accept your challenge

First off, I need to get with the picture posting, which you are very keen on. I love the idea of the Turkey Trot and I'm glad you are giving me some motivation. We go down to Nashville T-Day morning, otherwise I would run in the local 8k that takes place here.

Anyhow, not sure if I've mentioned it but I'm in a longer term (only 2 months, but longer than just 1 day) weight loss competition with my two friends here. Biggest Loser style, it is a percentage loss challenge to conclude on Jan. 2 where the winner gets a $50 gift certificate to Road Runner Sports. All that is to say, we started a week ago and I was not all that enthused about it, but now one of my friends in particular has been talking a ridiculous amount of trash and so I've decided that I'm going to win. It will be an uphill battle though as I'm starting smaller than either of them and the trash talker has also been the lowest weight of the three of us at one point in recent years.

The result of all of this is that I will be redoubling my fitness efforts. I'm going to start watching what I eat (primarily no snacking at night), I'm going to abandon weight lifting for the rest of the year, and I'm going to run my ass off. If I could get truly disciplined I would try to run long in the early (early early) morning and do speed work at night. We'll see how that goes.

Yesterday was a torrential rain here, so I hit the treadmill at the gym. I mashed the 5k button and cranked the speed to 8.2 mph. I mananged to survive at this pace for 21 minutes, but then had to dial it down for the last little bit. Craig, let's turn into lean, fast running animals. Animals like turkeys.

turkey trot...

so here is my proposition (it came to me on the bus):

thanksgiving is next week and gorging ourselves is likely inevitable and we will likely weigh more than when we started that day. so at the beginning of the day, when we rise, we weigh ourselves and record the weight; and at the beginning of friday, we weigh ourselves again. then we figure out our weight gain and run the following the next day: up to 3 pounds--we run 1.5 miles per pound, and anything above 3 pounds--we run 1 mile per pound. you might ask, what if i gain 3.4 pounds--if it is below the .5 round down, above round up--simple mathematical rules of rounding up and down would used here. then publish your results.

you up for the challenge?

lame run

don't worry about not getting up. I got up and i have to say it was one of the lamest runs i've been on in a while. the route was great as was the scenery, but i just felt like i was carrying big craig on my shoulders...i was very slow and sluggish and when it came to big hill...i decided to walk...i should have fought through it. but i got out. must try again another day. track on tuesday--time to man up and brave the elements.

Run Aborted

So I was supposed to get up this morning and run 6.5m at 7 a.m. When I awoke, my neck and mid-back were in great pain, presumably from a week of running, weight lifting and racquetball. So, I did not run. I'm hoping to make up for some of this laziness tomorrow.

a quick recap of the US marathon trial--makes you wanna do a marathon don't it. click here...it's strange to think that i am actually following a sport...i've never been a huge sports person but this has just captivated me.

Running in the Dark and Cold is Cool!

Maybe that's not totally true, but I do think it is better than getting heatstroke. I actually really like running this time of year, you know, seeing my breath and all. The key for me is to just make myself get out there. It stands to reason that the inhospitible outdoor conditions make it very tough to start, but easier to keep going once I get started. I feel like when I run this time of year I'm truly fulfilling my destiny as a runner since I am plodding through difficulties that others would shy away from. Stay strong dear Crage (and get some good gloves)!

training tips?

so do you have any cold weather tips--primarily motivation? as i've probably stated repeatedly, i hate the treadmill, so i need to convince myself that running in the cold and dark is cool. any ideas?

Let's get back to our blogging

Well, at long last, here I am. I'm stealing the final few minutes of my work day to update you on my quest for running glory. Being that I'm mentally taxed from the doldrums of my day, I'm sure that this will be a rather uninspired return effort.

I am indeed sorry to have been gone from blogging with you for so long. If it is any consolation, I have also been gone from running pretty much entirely for the summer and the fall (which was hot). Now, it is bitterly cold. We pretty much skipped fall. Here's my running report over the last 2 weeks:

Two Saturday's ago, Kristina and I ran the Corn Maze 4 miler about which I told you. Results can be found at www.totalracesolutions.com. I then took another week off from running. Last Thursday I busted out an impromptu 8.5 miles, followed by 6.6 on Saturday. I then took a few more days off. This morning I arose and ran 3.2 before work. It felt great to be out in the freezing cold.

I have some new ideas and passions in regards to running which, I will get into in my next entry.

Also, I do not in any way resemble Conan (the Barbarian, not the late-nite host).

rockin' the treadmill

so last night i beat the treadmill, or rather the monotony of the treadmill. intervals with the help of the iPod. so step one is to take off your glasses so you can't see the clock or most anything else on the screen(you won't have this problem or option). then load of a plat list that contains songs that are equal to the time of each interval. for example: a five minute song for a warm-up, then a three-minute fast song for your first fast section, then a two minute slow song for your slow jog/ rest, then repeat for however many intervals you want to do. all i had to do was increase and decrease the speed and the music indicated the time. it rocked and i was able to push through the dreaded treadmill run. i got to 4 miles in about 40 minutes and got all the way up to 8.0 on the mill...a speed i don't do that often.

i also started to grow a beard to see if i could pull off a prefontaine stache for my marathon next year--but i don't think i am gonna make it. also, check out the course tour for the marathon, here. in the right hand corner is 3-d tour of the course, but caution it will may make you want to puke like i did at H.S. beach-break in italy.

additionally, i added up the totals from the summer and i was over 60 miles. not bad compared to your what?

Have you started to look like this with all your weight lifting?*
* i wish i could figure out how to wrap the text around the photos.