How To

Oh, did I mention I did 3 chinups in a row yesterday? And, just because I was feeling cocky, I did 1 pullup, too. (Definitely harder, so that’s the next progression). I credit using negatives to get me to that level. Doing a negative means getting up on the bar, standing where I’d be at the top of a chin-up, and then slowly (SLOWLY!) lowering yourself back down to the beginning of the motion. Ever since starting this effort, I’ve done 15-20 negatives in between the few positives I’ve managed to get out. I feel the more work I do with negatives, the better my success.
More neato news. For the first time since somewhere in high school, My weight is in the 220s. 229 to be specific, so let’s not get crazy, but hey. That’s the first 22X I’ve seen on the scale since Poison, Cinderella, Ratt, and Bon Jovi topped the Billboard charts. Of course, this still means a hell of a lot of hard work between me and that 210 interim goal. This also doesn’t mention the slip back upwards to 234 and the subsequent scissorfight to get the weight back down again.
I ran a 5K to start my process to be ready for Margaret. Man, I should’ve listened to my Inner Coach. Here was the conversation.
Coach: You’ve been away from this a while. You should ease in slow.
Me: You kiddin? I’ve been doing sprint drills, baby. I’m tough as nails.Coach: Uh, sprints are brief. You’re running 5K today.
Me: Yeah, whatever. Watch THIS!
And what do you think happened? Yep. I ran a BLAZING first 1/2 mile, then wheezed through about a 1/4 mile of walking to recover, and then everything else I did for the rest of the 5K was a slog. I pulled my second worst 5K time ever, and that’s even counting the several attempts I made to shove the speed back up and finish strong. At this point, Margaret will blaze past me, take the ribbon, go home and get changed up, and then come back to thank me for supporting her first ever 5K.
Sorry, Coach.
This is day 2 of my super-huge new training program. Day 1 started with doing something I haven’t done for over a decade. Max reps. Yep. I did a warmup set with a lower weight. A few trial sets with more weight. And then… POW, all that I could muster for one rep. Two sets of single rep maxes.
Now, I’m a bit of a sissy still, so I didn’t really blow any blood vessels doing this. I don’t ask for spotters, so I use tricks to get around it (like smith machines, dumbells instead of bars, etc). But whatever. I’m doing super more weight than I’ve used in the last decade. And still no injury.
Sore? Hell, yeah! But I’m getting it done. And I’m doing it smartly according to a plan. I’m getting in better and better shape, and that’s the goal: to be in a better position, such that I can actually do those CrossFit workouts I read about with envy every day.
Oh, don’t bother buying Sylvester Stallone’s new magazine. It’s uh… well, there’s lots of issues telling divorced guys how to get laid. The rest is mostly advertisements for other things Sly’s doing. Fairly sad mag, in general. But great concept. I think the more interesting celebrity rag to look for will be Gene Simmons Tongue. It’s a weird world, people.
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Dear Everyone–
It’s truly a remarkable feeling to find dozens and dozens of comments and praise related to my race report. You were all very kind, very invigorating, and each and every one of you gave me a special feeling right here in my nostrils.
Since 2003, I’ve been working on self-improvement, including self-esteem, weight loss, education, and all kinds of internal fixes. The marathon was a kind of crown to those efforts, a tip of the hat. But the best part of it, to me, is that the marathon’s just the last dregs of 2004. Wait’ll you see what’s ahead.
I am blessed by everyone who reads and comments and writes me little private emails, etc. Sometimes, I get bogged down and don’t comment on all the posts I read, but I read your stuff daily. I’m inspired by your efforts.
I’m further blessed by an amazing wife, who is so supportive, it’s silly. I really couldn’t have achieved half of what I’ve done without her. I know. I’ve tried. She’s such a powerhouse. Have I mentioned she’s dumped 75 pounds of weight through her own superhero efforts?
In 2005, I’ve got a few goals. I want to race in about two dozen events, including some ultra-distance races, but also stirring in a mix of “fun” things, too. I plan to write the book I’ve threatened to write for the last few years on my self-improvement efforts. I also intend to be at my all-time goal weight by August of 2005 (but truly aiming for June).
I’ll do all of the above with your support. Superheroes all.
Last thing: I forgot to mention that I took my busted shoelace shoe to EMS, an outdoors company up this way. They said, “Hmm. I don’t know how to repair that, either. Hang on a sec.” Moments later, they came back with the Salomon XA Comp XCR trail running shoe, which is the same as mine, but the step up. “We’ll send back your shoes to Salomon, and give you these for the difference. Is $19.00 okay?” I tried to beg off. “I really just wanted a shoelace.” They shrugged. “Sorry. Best we can do is give you brand new trail running shoes.” Well, okay.
So, if you’ve got some outdoorsy purchases to make, I tell you, Eastern Mountain Sports stands behind everything they do 105%. I’m blown away by the way I’ve been treated since going there. Plug plug.
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I read somewhere the the ideal amount of water one should consume in their day is their body weight divided by 2, in ounces. For me, at 240 pounds, that’s almost a gallon of water to drink a day. I rarely make that number, but when I do.
Yesterday and the day before, I stayed very hydrated. I hit the gallon mark last night at some point. Here are the benefits I received:
*I had no hunger throughout the day. (Bodies don’t know how to tell you they’re thirsty, so when your body asks for a drink, it says, “I’m hungry” and hopes you’ll give it something moist to eat. By drinking enough, you feel less hungry).
*I felt less sore after my workout. (Is this self-explanatory? Bodies use lots of water for processing things. It uses some to keep tissues supple. It uses some to flush out toxins. And that brings me to the next one.)
*I had quite a good “purge.” (Not to be gross, but lots of water goes right to the bottom line, so to speak, with regards to getting wastes out of the body. When you’re really hydrated, lots of stuff leaves the body. If you think about it, getting such stuff out of you is a great plan.)
(Yes, I’ll stop talking about fecal matters.)
The old thinking was that beverages other than water didn’t count against your daily hydration needs. The new thinking is that you can drink decaf beverages and still have your hydration needs met. The only sticklers in the hydration game are alcohol and caffeine. The first definitely takes away your moisture. The second mucks with it enough that you need to have even MORE water than that number I gave you above.
Most people complain/worry that by drinking so much, they’ll have to pee all the time. That’s true in the beginning. But our bodies are really brilliant things. They figure out a lot of the curveballs we throw. Unless you’re suffering a kindey-related illness, you’ve got the capacity to start taking in much more water and eventually get back to “normal” peeing time frames.
Is it because my daughter’s on the verge of potty training that I’m talking a lot about bodily functions?
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