Recap of the Past Few Days (Day 227)

My laptop is still in for repairs, so I'm trying to catch up on my posts with an old machine.

Saturday Kim and I jogged around the lake for her C25K work, then I went to the gym and did another 3+ miles on the treadmill, followed by a leg workout. At that point I thought I was finished for the day. I returned home and was greeted by Kim, who was ready to take one more little run around the lake. I ended up doing almost 9 miles of jogging + the leg workout.

Sunday I was exhausted, sore, and in need of rest. So I did absolutely nothing. I ate OK, but I didn't do any exercise at all. I realized late in the day that I was in a foul mood because I didn't train at all. Kinda grumpy and feeling like a waste for not doing some sorta exercise.

Monday I jogged early with Kim around the lake, then hit the gym for another 3+ miles on the treadmill, followed by a chest workout with my mother. Monday afternoon we went shopping for Kim's Birthday. I made a decent lunch choice and drug my mother to get sushi. Well, I had sashimi (some delicious blue fin tuna) and she had yakitori. She was a little hesitant to begin with, but after the first bite she was all about it. She had chicken, salmon, pork, & bacon wrapped scallops. Now mom can eat with me for lunch more often!

Tuesday I ran 3 miles in the morning (Kim had to work), followed by 3 more on the treadmill, then a shoulder workout. I didn't do any other cardio the rest of the day. We went out to eat (and deliver my Mac to the repair center) for Kim's Birthday late in the evening. We ended up eating at a great little pizza place in Chattanooga called Lupi's. You can order pizza by the slice so we didn't over eat. Stopping for Ice Cream at Ben & Jerry's after dinner didn't help with the healthy eating, but it was her birthday, thus a great excuse to get some ICE CREAM!

Today I got up and ran 3+ miles around the lake with Jumping Jack Flash, did 3 more miles on the treadmill at the gym, trained back, then did 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer. Tonight we're planning on running the track around the lake after Kim gets in from work. She's kinda getting excited about training for the Warrior Dash now. She's also very concerned about being able to run the whole thing. I keep telling her she's doing well and will be ready by the day of the run.

The mac should be repaired and back home within a few days. I didn't realize until it was broken how much I use it. All of my photo and video editing is done on it. All of my food logging, blogging, menu planning, etc. is done on it as well. We have quite a few PC's in the house (using one now) but they're tied to a particular room, and most are so OLD and slow.

Below is a map of route we run here at the lake.


View Running Track Around Moss Lake in a larger map

If I could get a week or two in a row without a birthday party, a dinner, or other special occasion (like last weekend's uncontrollable fried fish craving) I'll be back at my weight before we went on vacation. I'm close now. As soon as the mac returns I'll post a new "Warrior Beard" pic.

Computer Problems, Be Back Soon

Hi all. My mac book pro, followed by my backup pc, have crashed. Headed to repair shop today. Try to post from other computers soon. Without the mac, I can't edit photos so I'll hold up on posting much until it returns. Still training, still running, still doing well. Be back soon

Horse in My Yard, Star Trails (Day 222)

This post is for Friday, March 26th, 2010.

I was unable to run outside because of all of the rain on Thursday night, so I started my training for the day on the treadmill at the gym. I wanted to do the same routine as last Friday when I ran with DJ. I ended up changing it just a bit. I walked uphill for 10 minutes to get warmed up then ran 5 minute intervals at 8, 7, and 6 mph. Next I walked for another 10 minutes and then repeated the intervals again. Finally I walked another 10 minutes to cool down. Not a bad workout at all. 60 minutes and over 5 miles with half of the time spent walking. I planned on training legs after finishing up with the treadmill but just as I finished Kim walked in the gym. She smiled and told me she'd lost her house keys and was locked out. Perfect reason to push the leg workout a day and go home to have lunch with Kim!

We had a healthy lunch (chicken for me, veggies and a soy burger for her) and then went our separate ways to finish up the day. I had a quick meeting with an accountant then off to the grocery store. I stocked up on chicken breasts and found some fish I planned on grilling us for dinner. We ended up going to a little place in town for dinner. Kim had crab legs, and I planned on having oysters, but I ended up with catfish (fried) and chicken wings..... I've been craving fried fish for 8 months & this is only the 2nd time I've had any. 2nd time for wings as well. I felt like poo afterward.

I waddled home and plopped down on the sofa as Kim went to visit a friend for the evening. I thought of riding the spin bike, but just couldn't get motivated. I'd resigned myself to resting with the Pug for the evening. A little later I heard my big dogs going crazy outside. It was about time to bring them in for the night so I got up and walked to the back door to let them in. I opened the door to find a man on a horse standing in my yard. My dogs were going bananas! Before I go on I should say we get a fair amount of weirdness at our lake. People are always trying to sneak in to hunt, fish, hang out, do stuff they shouldn't be doing, etc. So we're kinda used to finding people on our property that shouldn't be there. This is only about the 2nd time I've seen someone on a horse on the property. The other time they were a long way from my house and I knew the person (neighbors who have permission). So as I see the Lone Ranger in my back yard I really don't know how to greet him. I lamely wave and say hi. In response the man wheels the horse around, goes all Hi Ho Silver on me, and takes off at a gallop riding toward the barn, though my yard and the neighbor's yard, and into the night. Now I'm compelled to chase after the horseman to see why he ran and what he's doing on my property. So I did end up getting more cardio in last night. I quickly brought the dogs in, grabbed a high powered flashlight, my night vision gear, and side arm. Next I'm running through the night trying to catch up to a galloping horse. 2 miles later I gave up. The tracks vanished once the rider left the dirt road around our lake. I walked around and hung out in the dark for a bit to see if they ever came back. Nothing. All in all I guess it was a pretty normal night at our lake.

Since I was out late, in the dark I took the opportunity to shoot some star trail pics. This is a composite of about 99 photos (each 30 seconds long) of the stars above my house. I shifted the sky to blue to try to eleminate the horrible color from the sodium vapor light near our house (those terrible orange security lights, I HATE those things).


Tomorrow I'm gonna run outside (I hope), train legs, and grill my chicken and fish. Good sounding day!

Running in the Rain (Day 221)

This post is for Thursday, March 25, 2010.

The rains hadn't started yet when I woke up, so JJF and I headed out on a jog around the lake. About a mile & a half in, the rain began. Never more than a good drizzle, but cool and wet none the less. We finished up with a 3 mile jog before the forecast heavy rain arrived around 9AM. The rain ended up arriving around 9PM....

At the gym I ran another 1.8 miles on the treadmill and then finished up with 1.7 on the elliptical. So on the day I only ended up with an hour of cardio and around 6.3 miles. I trained arms after the cardio at the gym. 3 sets of press downs and 3 sets of overhead presses for triceps, followed by 3 sets of standing dumbbell curls and 3 sets of straight bar curls for biceps. Fast, heavy, and finished. The total muscular workout lasted less than 15 minutes.

Another pretty good food day. I had a NS snack (chocolate rainbow delight) as my only NS item of the day. The rest of my meals were either grilled chicken breasts, salads, protein shakes, or granola. I ended up eating to much cereal late because I ran out of chicken. Lazy, I know. Any way, I ended up with about 1700 calorie deficit on the day. It's sad, but I just can't burn 4000 calories anymore without doing 3 cardio sessions a day. I've been trying to get it with just two, but I'm falling short. So back to three it will be.

My sodium intake was low again today. Not much NS and again a low sodium day. That is my only concern with NS. Everything else has been so great (and the sodium levels get you just about the recommended amount, give or take a little) so I guess it's not really that bad.

Tomorrow is leg day! Woohoo! At least I didn't forget about it this week...

Pic is another from Costa Rica. That isn't me in the waterfall. We didn't know about doing this until it was to late to try it. Did make for a cool photo though.

Stil Running (Day 220)

This morning I was able to run outside again. Things were still a bit muddy, but not to bad. Jumping Jack Flash and I took off at a moderate pace around the lake. I ran my usual route, but then doubled up on the back portion of the property, extending the run from 2.2 to 3.4 miles. My pace ended up being much slower than what I'm used to running on the treadmill. Damn hills (and mud). Great workout though. A little later in the day I hit the gym and did another 2.9 miles on the treadmill. The first 2 miles were at 7mph with the rest of the time at a slower jog, then finishing up with a slow pace uphill. My workout for the day was back. I forgot my lifting straps & training belt (thinking more about the cardio instead of what I needed to train with, I guess) so no pull-ups today. I began with 3 sets of hammer strength pull downs, followed by 3 sets of hammer strength low rows, and finally 3 sets of lat pull-downs. Kinda pathetic workout really. I was very fatigued by the end though. I was resting between sets and my arm and back muscles began to twitch/tremble. This is an improvement from last week when I wanted to cry between sets from exhaustion. The only other cardio of the day was about a mile and a half walk with Kim late this evening after dinner.

Today I didn't eat a bit of NS. I didn't mean to, it just worked out that way. Lots of chicken breasts, a protein shake, grilled blackened fish, salad, and cereal. My sodium intake today was the lowest recorded yet.

Tomorrow I'll try to ease up on the total miles I run (one session outside before the rain returns & one on the treadmill) and get in some time on the spin bike. Hopefully we'll be able to get Kim's C25K workout in as well.

Pic below is my dinner. Grilled blackened salmon with a salad.

Tuesday on the Treadmill (Day 219)

Today began with a ten mile ride on the spin bike after breakfast. Next was a post ride protein shake, then time to get ready for the gym. I ended up arriving at the gym later than expected (so I could meet Kim during her lunch break) so I was a little hungry by the time I started on the treadmill. I began with 10 minutes walking at an incline, followed by a 20 minute set of intervals. 1 minute @ 6mph, 1 @ 7mph, and 1 @ 8mph, then start over back at 6 again. Once I finished the interval set Kim had arrived, warmed up, and started her C25K workout. I joined her in the interval portion of her routine (running at 6mph for 1 minute, then walking at 4mph for 1 minute, then repeating) for 10 minutes, then I increased the speed to 7 & 4 for the next 10 minutes. After the cardio portion of the workout was over, Kim caught up with a quick little leg workout as I trained shoulders. 3 sets of machine military presses, 3 sets of side lateral raises (dumbbells), and finally 3 sets of upright rows. I wanted to do one more exercise, but I could tell I was spent and needed to eat.

Once back home I had a chicken breast and a double serving of designer protein (with much less water today, yesterday I made it way to weak) with a little Nestle's Quik. Pretty good protein shake. Kinda tasted like college!

The rest of the day I spent grilling chicken to have over the next few days, washing clothes, tending to the herd of dogs, etc. Fun stuff. I'm putting off preparing for an upcoming insurance audit. I'd rather have a root canal.

Anyway, on the day I had 2300-2500 calories and burned around 4000. Decent deficit for the day. Looking back at when I started NS I was training about 25 minutes per day and walking slowly uphill on the treadmill for about 30 minutes per day. I wasn't hungry at that point. Now, with a minimum of 1.5 hours (and usually more) of cardio daily, plus a workout, I'm staying hungry if I don't hit around 2000 calories. I looked back at a time where I was hungry every night and now it's obvious this was the time when I had kicked up my cardio to around an hour a day and was still taking in 1500-1800 calories. I could get by, but I was staying hungry. Even with the amount I took in today, I was still a little hungry late in the day. I've been adding protein shakes, and actual meals instead of trying to snack my way through the evening. Sometimes a PB sandwich (well, 1/2 of one anyway) or a bowl of cereal if I don't have a shake. Now that I've got lots of chicken grilled up, I may try a chicken breast post dinner, or even put it on a slice of bread and have a sandwich. Yum!

The rain has ended here and hopefully it'll be dry enough for me to run around the lake tomorrow. I need to keep training on real terrain along with the treadmill. We did walk about a mile this evening, but Kim needed to get some more work finished up so we cut the walk short.

Tomorrow is Belle's (our Pug) Birthday. She'll be 3. Pic of the birthday girl below....

Sunday & Monday (Day 217 & 218)

This post is for Sunday, March 21 and Monday, March 22, 2010.

Sunday Kim and I headed to the gym for her second C25k workout. Same as the first. Very easy and easy on my knees. That was all of the working out we did for the day. Late in the evening we rode to Atlanta to celebrate my mother's birthday. We each had a dozen oysters and split a lobster salad.

Monday I didn't get to the gym until around lunch (I had to work briefly in the AM). I warmed up with 10 minutes walking uphill on the treadmill, then ran 20 minutes at 7mph, then 5 minutes at 6mph, and then another 5 at 7mp. After the running I walked uphill again for about 5 minutes before moving to the elliptical for 15 minutes. After the hour of cardio I trained chest. 3 sets of presses, 3 sets of incline presses, 3 sets of incline dumbbell flies, and 3 sets of push-ups. Quick, hard, and out.

Food Monday has been mostly non NS. Granola cereal and yogurt for breakfast, chicken breast for AM snack, and a protein shake for lunch. In the afternoon I had another (different, lower calorie) protein shake and 1/2 a grilled chicken breast. Dinner tonight was NS Thick Crust Pizza with fake veggie chorizo, arugula salad with olives, onions, tomatoes, a few Gorgonzola crumbles, and a dash of raspberry walnut dressing. Along with the dinner I had a granola bar before and after dinner to get in a few extra calories. Dessert was more granola cereal and a Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich. Total calories for the day was about 2100. I burned about 3750.



Tuesday should be a more typical day. Bike in the morning, running and training around lunch, and hopefully another bike ride in the PM. I bought some Nestle's Quik Low sugar chocolate powder to add to my designer protein shake. It's been a little bland so maybe a little less water and a little coco powder will help.

Bearded Warrior

This post is for Saturday, March 20th, 2010.

Saturday began Kim's training for the Warrior Dash. We're gonna use the Couch to 5k program for her. Check it out at C25k.com. Her treadmill workout began with a 5 minute warm up, then an interval of 60 seconds jogging, followed by 90 seconds walking, then repeating the interval for 20 minutes. We finished up with another 5 minute walk. I did the routine along with her. It was nice. I still got a little running in but more importantly I rested my knees a bit. Kim was dreading the first workout (her first since before our vacation), but felt great afterward. After the treadmill she had a quick but intense upper body workout. Shoulders, triceps, chest, and biceps all trained in a huge super-set. Two cycles through the routine at a quick pace wiped her out. We both trained abs next. Fast paced with little rest for 12 sets. We began with decline crunches and hammer strength machine crunches in a super set, and finished off with 3 sets of v-sits. Continuing the theme of resting my knees and hips, the only other cardio I did Saturday was about 10 miles on the spin bike and a 2+ mile walk around the lake with Kim.

Great food day on Saturday. I began with some NS granola cereal (I LOVE that stuff), some Fage' yogurt, and a granola bar. I had a protein shake later in the morning and then a grilled chicken breast for lunch. Before we grilled out for dinner I had another 1/2 grilled chicken breast as a snack (trying to work on the protein consumption). For dinner Kim and I had grilled salmon and shrimp with a small salad. Outstanding! So happy to have some warm weather and be able to break out the grill. Finally for dessert I tried a Skinny Cow Chocolate Truffle Bar. Pretty good. The entire day I had around 1800 calories.



Tomorrow we head South to the big city to celebrate my mother's birthday. Her birthday was a few days ago, but she didn't feel well that day so she moved her bday dinner to this weekend. I've already planned out my meal. Salad and raw oysters. Happy Birthday Mom!

Finally, I shot a new pic of myself on Saturday. Well, Kim shot it & I lit it. Anyway, in preperation for the Warrior Dash, I'm growing a Warrior Beard (there's a contest for best Warrior Beard at the run). So I'm gonna shoot a pic every few weeks to document the progress of the Warrior Beard. Here's the Bearded Warrior at about 3 weeks in.

Running & Grilling!

This post is for Thursday and Friday, March 18 & 19, 2010.

Thursday morning I woke early thinking about an upcoming insurance audit and was unable to fall back asleep. So I got up, ate breakfast, worked on some bookwork, and waited on the sun to rise so I could run around the lake. As the sun finally made an appearance I decided it was still a little cool to run so I hit the spin bike for 30 minutes instead. I planned to clean up and go to the gym after the bike, but Kim was getting ready for work as I finished with the bike so I decided to run before the gym. The Jack Russell and I trotted off on a 2.3 mile run and made it back before Kim came downstairs for breakfast. I was sorta tired at this point, so I rested a few minutes with the dog on the front porch and had a small protein shake. Once I felt somewhat recovered I cleaned up and headed to the gym. I began my workout with a run on the treadmill, and it was just terrible. I've never tried to do my treadmill work last (not without resting hours beforehand) and I was beat. I manged to get in 3.2 miles, but it was a struggle. My arm workout afterward was none to impressive. 3 sets of press downs, 3 sets of overhead presses, and 3 sets of rope press downs for triceps. Biceps began with 3 sets of seated incline dumbbell curls, and ended with 3 sets of hammer curls.

Friday's workout was brutal. I met DJ at the gym for a treadmill workout. 10 minute warm up, then his 5x5x5 for 15 minutes, followed by 10 more minutes of a recover walk, then repeating the 5x5x5, and finally a 10 minute walk to recover again. Brutal. I did well until the final 5 minutes at the highest speed (8mph). I got in about 2/5 of the time at 8, about 1/2 at 7, and the rest at 6. During the final cool down walk I realized it was Friday and I had to train legs. WHAT? I've NEVER forgotten leg day before. I've been so geared towards cardio training and was so happy to have someone to run with this morning that I absolutely forgot it was leg day. I contemplated waiting until tomorrow, but ended up deciding to go ahead and train after the HOUR on the treadmill. 3 sets of leg extensions, 3 sets of leg presses, & 3 sets of hack squats for quads. Hamstrings began with 3 sets of seated leg curls, 3 sets of hyper-extensions, and finally 3 sets of stiff leg dead lifts. After the workout I got on the elliptical for 20 more minutes. More of a final cool down than any real cardio work.

I've been trying to balance my food intake better. Lower sodium, more protein, same calories. Everything I look at has something I don't like in it now. If it has low sodium, high protein, decent calories, then it's loaded with cholesterol. Low in fat, carbs, and calories, then it's full of sodium. AAAHHH!!!

I rolled out the grill for the first time since last fall today. Grilled chicken (just chicken, nothing else, no marinade, nothing) and made a wonderful small salad. I had some shrimp yesterday for lunch and was very happy with it as well. I think I'm gonna try to have only 1 or maybe 2 NS meals per day. I'm good on non NS breakfasts now, I just happen to really dig the NS granola, muffins, and pancakes. NS lunches will be easy for me to do without. As long as I've got time I can grill some chicken/fish/shrimp and have a salad every day. The lunches were always my least favorite. I plan on still eating NS dinners pretty consistently for awhile. I love the veggie fajitas, some of the new wraps, the pizza. It's just so easy to have these meals and not have to worry about what to do for dinner.

Pic below is yet another from Costa Rica.

So Much Sodium!

This post is for Wednesday, March 17th, 2010.

Today I switched things up a bit. I ran around the lake before going to the gym. No big dogs on the run today, just me and Jumping Jack Flash. Pretty easy run overall. I'm still not used to running on real ground, up and down hills, uneven dirt roads, etc. I'm finding it akward trying to set a pace. I'm all over the place with it now. Starting to fast, finishing to slow. Hills are throwing me off. After the run around the lake I changed and headed to they gym. I ran 3.3 miles on the treadmill (plus the 2.2 at the lake for a total of 5.5 miles) before starting my back workout. I began the workout with 2 sets of pull-ups (just awful), followed by 3 sets of pull-downs, 3 sets of T-bar rows, 3 sets of seated rows, and 3 sets of straight arm press downs. Between the second and third sets of the pull-downs I realized I was about to cry. Over the years I've had lots of "experiences" during workouts. I've vomited often, passed out, bled, even shed a tear while actually exercising, but this was the first time I've ever almost cried from shear exhaustion WHILE RESTING between sets. I laughed at myself, got some water, and moved on. Good times. After the workout I jumped on the elliptical machine for a final 10 minute cardio session for the day. BB showed an almost 4000 calorie burn for the day. WooHoo!

Good food day calorie wise. Not so good on the sodium front. We went shopping last night to find some lower sodium items for me to eat. Got some chicken and shrimp to eat either at lunch or dinner. EVERYTHING I looked at was loaded with sodium. Guess I'm gonna be eating lots of salads, veggies, and grilled chicken/shrimp. The protein shakes that I've used on and off for years are LOADED with sodium. So last night I found the brand I used way back in college, Designer Protein. Much, much less sodium and calories.

Below is yet another pic from vacation. This is "Pinchy." He(she?) was on the steps leading to our room one morning. I bent down to get a pic and the claws came up, ready for battle. I haven't unloaded my camera gear yet, so that's why I'm not posting any food pics right now. Maybe this weekend I'll get motivated and unpack all my stuff.

Running With the Big Dogs, Canceling NS, and Another Costa Rica Picture

This post is for Tuesday, March 16th, 2010.

Today I decided to cancel the auto-delivery of Nutrisystem. I have almost two month's worth of food remaining (a month of my food, and quite a bit of Kim's last order) so I'm not stopping the program quite yet. I am planning on transitioning myself off slowly though. My training, healthy eating, and blogging will continue as usual. Just no more auto delivery.

I ran outside again along with my treadmill work today. I took one of our big dogs (the 70+ pound Zoey) along with Jumping Jack Flash and I on the run. She did great for the first mile. She was dragging me along behind her at a full on sprint. The next 1.2 miles she was behind me. She wanted to stop and drink from every mud puddle, sniff of every leaf/tree/whatever so she could rest. I let her drink some, but dragged her away from her sniffing rest spots. I'm gonna try to take Daisy running tomorrow (she's around 80#s). Along with the outside running I got in 3.7 miles on the treadmill. I varied my treadmill work by doing the fast paced part of the run first, then slowing over the rest. The first miles was less than 8 minutes (hey, that's fast for me), the second mile was 8 minutes even (still fast for me), but the third mile slowed considerably. I think the third was just under 9 minutes. The remaining time on the treadmill was at a nice, slow, 10 minute mile pace. After the treadmill I trained shoulders. 3 sets machine military presses, 3 sets dumbbell side lateral raises, 3 sets of smith machine upright rows, and finally 3 sets of shoulder shrugs. The weight training is still good (probably intense for most) but it's become almost an afterthought with all of the cardio I'm working on. Never thought it would be this way, but I'm very happy with it now.

My sodium intake was still higher than I wanted today. Protein was much better (I added 2 protein shakes). More salads/fresh veggies instead of frozen veggies to help with the sodium issue. Still a little hungry at night. I've gotta work on that. Either another protein shake, cereal, or something.

Pic is another from the Costa Rica vacation. This is our first morning on a deserted beach called Playa Biesanz. One of the most beautiful places either of us has ever seen. Later this same day I proposed. An absolute perfect day!

Warrior Dash

This post is for Monday, March 15th, 2010.

After a few days of entering my food on the BodyBugg food log I've come to a couple of realizations. The first, which I already suspected, is that my protein consumption is low. Very low compared to what I used to take in when training hard. No problem to correct that. I'll replace some snacks with protein shakes and all should be good. The second realization is the amount of sodium I'm taking in. WHOA! Super high & we don't even own a salt shaker. Most of the sodium is of course from NS foods. I knew they were high, but when combining them with some of the vegetarian burgers, frozen veggies, and granola it really totals up. Not much I can do about the amount of sodium in the NS meals so I'll have to really watch my choices concerning veggies & proteins.

Hopefully the protein shakes will help me with feeling weak and HUNGRY at night. Last night we had to go to shopping for Kim some work related books and we were both so hungry (I'd already had dinner) we stopped to eat on the way home. I had a salad with fat free dressing and a dozen raw oysters. That helped, but I still had to eat another snack before bed. I feel positive the hunger is a result of my workouts. Yesterday I ran 3.6 miles at the gym, trained chest (12 sets total), & ran a little over 2 miles around the lake after lunch. I'll try the shakes tomorrow and see how it goes.

Kim and I have decided to enter our first race. It's called the Warrior Dash. Basically you run 3.22 miles and have to navigate 11 various obstacles throughout the course. Sounds fun. You get a "warrior helmet" and shirt upon completion. They have prizes for best costume, best warrior beard (since I forgot my razor on vacation and have a beard going already I've decided to see what kind of warrior beard I can have ready for the race, which is over 2 months away). I'm excited, I think Kim is too.

My Jack Russell looked like he had run in the Warrior Dash when I found him setting on the front porch after my run around the lake. He was covered from end to end in mud. He even had mud in his eyes. No clue what he was chasing, but he looked like he had fun. No pic of the dirty dog, I just grabbed him and gave him a bath as soon as we came in the door.

Pic is another from Costa Rica....

Off Day

This post is for Saturday, March 13th, 2010.

Today ended up being an off day all around. I tried to ride the spin bike. I actually changed clothes, climbed onto the bike, and was about to begin a ride when my father called. We needed to inspect a roof to try to find some leaks, so I never began the workout. I did climb some ladders, stomp around on a roof, but that was the extent of my exercise for the day. I really didn't mind missing a day of training. My legs are SORE from Friday's leg workout. Bike and treadmill tomorrow.

Since I missed out on training, I decided to have a meal off last night as well. We ended up at a tiny local Mexican place. I had a delicious carnitas burrito, beans and rice. So I guess I had an off day all around.

Pic is another from Costa Rica...

Awful Leg Workout

This post if for Friday, March 12th, 2010.

Friday = Leg day for me at the gym. I began the day with 30 minutes (9 miles) on the spin bike. I ate breakfast and a snack before going to the gym to make sure I had enough energy to make it through the workout. At the gym I ran 3.6 miles on the treadmill and was then ready to train. This would end up being one of the worst leg workouts in memory. It seemed to take forever. I felt hot again the entire time. By the end of the workout I couldn't use my towel to clean off the machines after each exercise because the towel was so wet it wasn't doing any good. I had to use my sweatshirt to dry off the last few machines. I lost over 4 pounds during the running and workout. Anyway, I did 3 sets of leg extensions, 3 sets of hack squats, 3 sets of horizontal leg presses, 3 sets of seated leg curs, 3 sets of stiff leg dead lifts, and 3 sets of hyper extensions. Every rep was difficult and deliberate. I guess usually when I train I feel so strong I catch a groove and power my way through a lot of the workout. After all of the cardio that's not really an option. The rest of the day I was useless. I didn't even attempt a third cardio session late. I sat on the sofa and watched days worth of stuff on the DVR.

I only have cardio and abs tomorrow. Maybe I'll recover well over the weekend.

Pic below is from Costa Rica.

Running Hot & A Monkey

This post is for Thursday, March 11th, 2010.

I began the day backing up about 65 GB worth of photos and video from our trip to Costa Rica. At least I'll sleep better now knowing everything is backed up here and off-site as well. I'm in the process of finding a relatively large RAID network storage device, I'm just not looking forward to paying for it.

After finishing up with the backup I met my mother at the gym for our morning workout. We began on the treadmill. I ran about 3.7 miles and again I was dying it felt so hot. I know they can't turn on the AC yet, but it's awful for me in there now. After cardio we trained arms. 3 sets of triceps press downs, & 3 sets of overhead presses. Biceps followed with 3 sets of dumbbell curls & 3 sets of cable curls.

Later in afternoon Kim came home from work and had about 2 hours before she had to be back so we changed and went back to the gym so she could get in her first post vacation workout. We started with about 20 minutes on the treadmill. I ran intervals and got in a little over 2.3 miles bringing me up to around 6 miles on the day. She trained shoulders quickly afterward. 3 sets of dumbbell military presses and then 3 super sets of side lateral raises/front raises. Again, I felt HOT while in the gym. Last evening I hit the spin bike for only 15 minutes. I felt tired and knowing I have to train legs on Friday I decided to only do half the regular amount on the bike.

I had a good food day. NS along with some granola and a PB sandwich. I've decided that I'm gonna stop tracking food on NS. I'm gonna switch the food tracking to the BodyBugg website. I hope to slowly make the switch back to normal food over the next few months and I'd like to already be using the food tracker there when I do. I think when I do begin mixing non NS meals into the diet again I'm gonna begin mostly with high protein meals (chicken breasts, the occasional steak, etc.) but still keep the calorie count under 2000. This will probably occur when the weather is nice enough for me to roll the grill back out and begin cooking outside. Anyway, I've still got a few months to figure it out.

Below is one of the monkeys we ran across in Costa Rica. Once we knew where to look, they were everywhere. Quality isn't great. It was very early in morning (not much light) and deep into the forest so even less light.

Spin, Run, & a Sick Baby

This post if for Wednesday, March 10th, 2010.

I woke up and hit the spin bike to begin my cardio for the day. I've been making up my own riding routine for the past few days as I watch SportsCenter and I've been going a little further (mileage wise) than usual. Typically I get 8.5 miles in during a ride but the past day or two, not following a DVD workout I've logged 9+ miles each ride. Must be because I don't slow down so much during the cool down when not using the DVD. After the bike I cleaned up and headed to the gym early. 3.3 miles on the treadmill and then I trained back. It was HOT (to me anyway) in the gym and I felt like I was dying on the treadmill. The workout was quick (only 9 sets total) beginning with 3 sets of pull-downs, then 3 sets of T-Bar rows, and finishing with 3 sets of serratus exercises (straight arm press downs).

After finishing up at the gym I raced home, cleaned up again, and then rode with my parents to visit my sister and her family. Oliver (nephew) has a double ear infection and a terrible cough. We relieved the parents so they could go out and eat lunch and get a little break from the sick baby. He woke after they left and was in a rather good mood, to be so sick. We played, had lunch at FireHouse Subs (I had a turkey sandwich on wheat, no mayo, no cheese, lettuce and onions, plus some delicious Cholula hot sauce) and then headed back home in the rain before Atlanta rush hour began.

The rest of my meals for the day were NS, plus a peanut butter sandwich instead of dessert late in the evening. I've also been eating 90 calorie granola bars in the place of my snacks. I'm still on a granola kick. The snacks have kinda fallen in the time just before or just after training, so it's worked out well with regards to keeping me from feeling so hungry during/after workouts.

Only 2 cardio sessions on the day. I've felt a little sore from the running so I decided to lay off the third cardio session and rest.

Pics of Oliver playing with his grandparents (my sister has taken to calling the grandparents "The Saints" for all of the help they give to her by taking care of the baby) below.

Left for Vacation With My Girlfriend, Came Home With My Fiancee.

Yup, we got engaged while on our vacation! Along with the engagement (you can read more about it on my personal blog over the next few weeks here) we had a wonderful trip. We saw dolphins, monkeys, sloths, falcons, butterflies, hummingbirds, and countless iguanas. I ate like a king (maybe more like a fool) and loved every minute of it. I discovered a new delightful treat (new to me anyway) dulce de leche (caramelized condensed milk). I LOVE it. I ate it on everything I could spread it on. We zipped through the canopy, rode horses, sailed during sunset, and hung out on a couple of beautiful beaches. Our hotel/resort was fantastic. Kim cried when we arrived because it was so beautiful, and she cried when we had to leave. What a trip! I shot over THREE THOUSAND photos (OK, so that's really not that many for me, last vacation I shot over 1o00 per day) and hope to have some posted later tonight. I'll post a link when they're available.

Monday morning I returned to NS (I now have a wedding to get ready for!) and the gym. I trained chest, ran 3.3 miles, and biked 8.5 miles. It wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. Today we (mom & I) trained shoulders after cardio. For cardio I ran 3.5 miles (back to normal) on the treadmill and then ran 2.2 more miles at home around the lake. This was my first "trail" running experience. Quite different from running on the treadmill. It'll take some getting used to, but I ran the trail we usually walk with no problem. I outpaced the Jack Russell (he let me win) over the 2+ miles. 6 months ago I couldn't run from my living room to the kitchen. Crazy.

Anyway, good trip, but good to be home. Good to be back eating right and training. Photos soon!

Ok, one photo. This is the view we woke up to on the first morning.