Recap of this past week

Activities for Last week - Week 2 of 31

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

C25K W1 D3 1.98 Miles

C25K W2 D1 3.07 Miles

C25K W2 D2 2.32 Miles

C25K W2 D3 3.1 Miles

Walking 3.3 Miles

So, for the week that has put me at 14.72 Miles of activities, with a running total of 25.47 miles since starting on 6/5/16.  

I keep swearing that I'm going to get the bike out during the weekends.  I HAVE to get it out next weekend and take it for a ride!

The week ahead - Week 3 of 31
I've started this week off with getting over 11,000 steps in for today.  In the very LEAST, I want to get 10,000 steps a day.  Something to strive for each and every day.  

Monday-Wednesday-Friday are my scheduled C25K Days, and big changes come up on the routine for this week.  

Brisk five-minute warm-up walk, then do two repetitions of the following:

• Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)

• Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)

• Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)

• Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)

I will be using the timed method.  So, that 3 Minutes of Jogging, at this point it seems HUGE.  All I can do is tackle it tomorrow and see how it goes.  Week 2 started off rough, but by Friday things were clicking together much better.  I hope that I can minimize repeating weeks.

I just have to remember, at my best, I was up to 8 Minutes of Jogging with 2 minutes of walking.  That was also the summer that we had temps in the 90's for several weeks of my training!  In re-reading my first 1/2 Marathon story, I had totally forgotten that I had jogged at least 4 of the first 6 1/2 Miles!

I know I have it in me!  It's just 3 Minutes, twice!

Other POI's
So, the selection of other jump ropes at Wally World were less than desirable for my tastes.  No, I really don't want a pink sparkly rope or a purple one.  The other ropes were all similar to the cheap plastic one I already picked up.  I may just break down and order the one from Amazon that keeps appearing in my suggested items, now that I've bought Buddy Lee's Jump Rope book!

In the very least, I've been spending 30 seconds to a minute before running kind of mimicking jumping rope and it seems to be helping the shaky ankle.  Yes, the ankle I injured several years ago still gives me fits.   Friday's run I felt much more stable than I have on it in a LONG time.  Today, it hardly bothered me at all!

When I went to put my shoes on to walk Saturday, I noticed that those were the shoes I had been running in all week!  OOopps!  Oh, well.  At least those shoes don't really have that many miles on them, so they're okay to still run in.  I'll have to make sure that my new shoes are put in a more prominent place for me to grab them Tomorrow!


Thanks for Reading!
Regards, ~Kipp

2016 - Challenge Year: Me Vs. Me! Check the link above to see my current and past races.

Are you f'n kidding me??

Now into Week 2 of Couch to 5K!
Week 2 has started!  The C25K App I have didn't sound it's notifications at first.  So around 8:30-ish minutes into the routine, I still was walking!  So, I restarted the app and started over.  It worked okay the 2nd go around, so I got some extra walking time in this evening.

Brisk five-minute warm-up walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Going up from 60 Seconds to 90 seconds may not seem like much, but trust me, I felt it!

Research...Statins (Lipitor type meds)
So, I've been looking into some research on Statins.  One thing that is different from 5 years ago is that when I was training 5 years ago, I STOPPED taking all of my meds.  The weight started falling off.  

Then I injured my back at work and needed to visit the doctor, she wasn't happy that I wasn't on my meds at all.  So, back on them I went. The weight came back on... slowly, steadily and surely.  Even through I  was still doing the same things I was doing before.

So, in two studies I've read about so far, state that in less that 10% of those on Statins, there is a possible side effect of inhibited fat oxidation.

WAIT!  What?!!??  Lemme take another look at exactly what Fat Oxidation is:

"Fat Oxidation:
Fat oxidation is a process by which the stored, giant lipid molecules are broken back down into their smaller parts, triglycerides and fatty acids. Why is the process necessary? Well, we eat more lipids at a given time than we need at that time. However, we don't eat constantly all day long. So, it's a form of time release that allows us to have energy throughout the day.
Without the fat oxidation process, fat molecules would stay in their larger form. The larger molecules can't be used as energy by the body, so, they just stack up. They provide some insulation, but that's about all. So, fat oxidation is extremely important, if we want to function on a daily basis.
How does the magic happen? Well, our bodies are full of hormones and it's the job of some of those hormones to regulate the triglyceride conversion. It's a bit like controlling a valve to slowly release air into a tire or balloon. Without that slow release, we'd have far too much energy being released to use at a given time and we'd run out in times of need."

So, the very medication that is supposed to be HELPING me, is possibly contributing to me keeping this weight on!??!  Talk about a Catch-22!  Doctor tells you that you have to loose weight to get off the drug, but the drug stops you from easily loosing weight?

if you see kay!!

Onwards
Tomorrow is weigh-in.  I'm not expecting miracles on the first week, so hopefully I lost some!

Oh, I picked up 2 books over the weekend.  I got the Buddy Lee jump rope book AND Hal Higdon's Half Marathon book.  

Hal Higdon's Plan is what I've pretty much followed for all of my half marathon training (that I've actually trained for...) that I've done in the past.  Just started reading a little bit of each last night.  So, we'll see how it goes.

Oh, by the way, not the best idea I've had in purchasing a jump rope for only a couple of dollars.  The darn plastic, even when left out in the sun, is still all bendy and twisty, which makes for it to not turn in a steady manner.  I have a mark on my left ankle where I smacked it good a couple of times.  So, my next purchase may be a rope that cost more than just $2.83...

Thanks for Reading!
Regards, ~Kipp

2016 - Challenge Year: Me Vs. Me! Check the link above to see my current and past races.

Walk run skip and jump!

C25K W1 D1
Made it out the door for the 2nd day!  It was hot.  But you know something, I may be an odd one out, but I actually LIKE it when it's hot.  

There was some pretty good wind this evening too.  It even took my hat at one point.  I had a shaky time with one knee for a little bit, but it got better after I walked it for a little bit more.  Same leg as the old ankle injury.  Muscles took a while to warm up, I think is all it was.  

After walking yesterday and then this today, I can feel my muscles starting to wake up and starting to complain.  We'll see how I feel in the morning!  

Tomorrow Morning is Weigh-in!
I did a sneak peak at the scale when I got back from my C25K run.  Eh, it is what it is.  From now on, it's time to do better.

A new thing I'm looking into
I've lost a lot of stability over the past couple of years.  So, I've been looking into some alternative ways of trying to rehab the legs up a bit.

Jumping rope!  Embarrassingly enough, I was going to use it to warm up this evening, but some guys were talking in the driveway across the street and I really didn't want to look like an idiot when I smacked myself with the rope.  Maybe tomorrow evening I'll not have spectators.  They did get to see all of this awesomeness walk and jog past them a couple of times, with my BLISTERING 18 minute plus pace!

So, back to the jumping of the rope!  From some of the reading I've done so far, there are many skipping variations that can help with runners form!  Some side-to-side work that can help with IBS issues.  High knees and butt kicks that I've seen many videos of suggested runners exercises while actually running. I've also read that it helps strengthen the ankles and could even be a benefit to those with Plantar Fasciitis (All ends of the spectrum on this, from NEVER to IT's A CURE!  Remember, YMMV [You're mileage may vary]).

So, step one, I just need to get the basic skip step down, so I don't inadvertently kill myself.

Oh, and it's also supposed to burn calories like mad!  So, bonus that.

I'm looking at picking up a book this weekend:

Get a load of this!  There's Bluetooth everything!

Yes, REALLY!  A Bluetooth jump rope that will sync with an app on the phone to help you keep track of your skips!  Ranging from about $25 all the way up to $130 (USD)!!  The one above is the cheapest one I found on Amazon.  I actually typed it into the search as a joke, not expecting to get any hits!!



Thanks for Reading!
Regards, ~Kipp

2016 - Challenge Year: Me Vs. Me! Check the link above to see my current and past races.