Day 8: Just Liftin'

I tell ya, I'm a whole lot stronger in the gym when I lift *without* running beforehand.

My general routine of 3x5 of bench (185lbs), squat (185lbs), still dips and pull-downs felt really light today. One of those "damn! I shoulda put more weight on!"-type days.

I'll remember that for next week.

Didn't stick exactly to the nutrition plan today because I got 2 different kinds of gluten-free pizza crust mixes to try with @LosBee. She was diagnosed with celiac a couple months ago, which has caused us to rework how we eat. We made 2 pizzas with one of the mixes and, while it didn't look quite right, it tasted pretty good!

She's a beer-and-pizza girl, so celiac has been a royal pain in the keister for her. But I think in time we'll find things she really likes that won't jack up her innards.

That's what it's all about, isn't it?

Anyhoo, I was probably below my 2200 calorie goal, and I don't think I was on track with my 35% protein/50% carbs/15% fat macronutrient breakdown, but what the hell, it's pizza with the wife. And there are some things you just don't pass up.

Total Weight: -3lbs

Day 4: GORGEOUS Day

I looked around Flickr for a nice sunny pic to go with this post but didn't find anything that captured today's beauty at Crissy Field and the Bay. So, instead, I made this crappy image. Enjoy!

Today's run went great, even tho I was sucking some wind at some points. As an added value, it was on the warmer side (during which I generally crap out, so it was a great training and conditioning experience.

After the run I hit 24 Hour Fitness and did some lifting: bench, lat pull-downs, still dips. I did one set of squats (on the Smith machine—the squat rack was taken) but it didn't feel right, so I decided to let it go.

Good stuff!

As far as the other parts of the March-May plan, the last 2 nights of drinking and being out somewhat late caught up a bit, and I hit the snooze button for about 45 minutes... Didn't mean to but whatever. Food-wise I feel packed. We'll see how things go, but I feel like I'm getting more than enough food.

It's all about what you eat, because if you pick the right things you can seemingly eat like a pig. I learned that one a while ago, but it's still nice (and easy) to go slam down a burger and fries, you know? But that doesn't really get you where you want to go.

Total Weight: -3lbs

A Run and a Lift.

Morning sunshine gave way to a big temperature drop and a torrential downpour; it was crazy to see roll in—it was like one of those late summer days in the midwest when the temperature drops 40 degrees, the sky goes all green and people start looking for funnel clouds and tornadoes. (Hmmmm... spellcheck says there's an "e" on the end of the plural "tornado"...looks weird to me. Anyway, moving along.)

Of course the temp drop was probably only 10 degrees or so, but San Francisco weather generally sits right on the sweet stop between comfortably cool and chilly, so the drop was noticeable.

With my plans to run outside thwarted, I headed over to the gym to get my run in on the treadmill. I wish I could report a great run, but alas it was not to be.

As cool as it is in San Francisco, places generally seem to be stingy with letting fresh air in. The 24 Hour Fitness I generally work out at down in the Marina tends to be a little stuffy. On rainy days, it becomes a bit of a sauna; no fresh air, high humidity, rising temperatures. If you can't find a treadmill in front of one of their few fans, you're in for a weight-cutting session.

I wasn't lucky enough to get one of those fan-blessed spots; the woman next to me was the lucky one, and at maybe 95 lbs and fit even she was sweating buckets. But she was also smoothly cruising at 7.7mph.

Yes, I do check to see what speeds other people run at. I'm always curious. There are some smoking-fast folks out there, for sure. I remember one day in San Diego going down to the fitness area in my apartment complex and seeing this absolute gazelle flying on the treadmill. Just all grace and good form and speed.

When she finished and it was my turn, I had to compliment her—I remember telling her that watching her run was probably one of the most athletic feats I'd seen in person in a long time, which it was. She looked like she was put on this earth to run. We chatted a bit after, I asked her some form questions, and she kept telling me that I needed to loosen up. It was like a friendly gait analysis lesson from someone who was apparently a track star at UCSD. I'll take free coaching wherever I can get it, and I still try (with varying degrees of success) to stay loose and not tense up when I run. Thanks for the tip, random track star lady!

Anyway, I digress. It was hot at the gym, I got all hot, and my left lower leg started to bind up a bit. Screw it. With ramping up my weekly miles and the heel lift changing my gate, I feel like I'm playing with injury fire here. So I stopped short and hit the weights. Maybe I'll run tomorrow, maybe I'll R*I*C*E it and put in a good effort on Sunday.

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 195lbs
Deadlift: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 135lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Seated Rows: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 10 reps

Weights went a lot better than the run. Deadlifts are beginning to be fun, but you can definitely chew the crap out of your shins with the barbell. Good form dictates that you keep the bar close to your lower legs as you lift (to protect your back), and the roughened bar grip gives your shins a deep exfoliation with every rep. Good times.

I'll be adding more reps to the dips and crunches soon. I also just picked up a couple books on core training and lifting, so I'll probably adjust my routine once I've read them.

Man I was wordy today.

Have a happy Valentines Day tomorrow; even thought it's a Hallmark holiday, take it as an opportunity to enjoy whoever special you have around you, and remember (at least for one day) not to take their specialness for granted.

Photo courtesy Jpeg Jedi on Flickr.

Ugh, Terrible Run; Decent Lifting

Yeesh, terrible. Terrible terrible.

It was raining and hailing and acting all crazy outside, so I resigned myself to get my miles in on the treadmill. I moved yesterday's workout to today (was feeling a little funky and a little sore), so I was slated for 4 miles and a bunch of lifting.

I don't know what went wrong, but my left lower leg muscles were going nuts. Just knotted up and not into running today. It was one of those things where my right leg stride is normal, but my left foot is just flopping on each step. Ever have that? Weird.

All signs point to the lift I've put in my right shoe; my armchair physiologist theory is that to some extent I'm getting in realignment, and my left lower-leg is having to do a little more work than it's used to. Hopefully I haven't created a brand new problem. It really doesn't feel like it.

By the time I quit (2.5 miles short) both my lower legs were bound up and tight.

I've had the last 2 days off, so I'm not sure if I slept funny or have been eating poorly or what. But it's weird, fo sho.

Anyway, lifting went better. I'm now starting to add weight a little bit at a time. Since the weight of the pull-down and row machines are arbitrary—it says "12" instead of "___lbs"—I won't bother recording it here, but I've gone up a plate in both instances.

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 195lbs
Squats: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 135lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Seated Elliptical Rows: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 10 reps

It's Feb-Uhr-Yoo-Airy

The stunningly beautiful, sunny, warm weather we've had recently is yielding to the grey sort of blech stuff we normally get this time of year. It could be worse—much worse; it could be bitter cold and snowing. Or slushy.

Today was only a little gray and cool. Honestly, I might not love San Francisco weather for hanging out or having a BBQ, but it is FANTASTIC running weather. It really helps mitigate the heat.

My running feels like it's coming along nicely, and lifting's going well as well. I'll be starting the Cool Running 10k Training Plan beginning in March, and I think I'll be in the right spot for it as far as pre-training. Looking forward to it!

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 185lbs
Deadlift: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 115lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Seated Elliptical Rows: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Forward/Backward Lunges: 3 set of 5 reps each side
Ball Crunches: 3 sets of 10 reps

Although my weight is still up, I think I'm getting a lot closer to pull-up strength. I'll probably start in the next month or so. I'll also be bumping up my bench, squat and deadlift weights now that I'm feeling comfortable and confident with my form again.

It's good, babies; it's good.

Final Test Run with Hella Sound Running Music

Oh babies.

We are so very close to wrapping the first release of running music at Hella Sound. Today was spent fine-tuning the first song for the various stride-rates, and I took the 160bpm version out on the road to test.

It.
Felt.
Great.

I'm giddy like a schoolgirl to share what we got brewin'. I have some more fine-tuning to do (and then some technical stuff to wrangle on the site), and then we'll be releasing the running music doves (as it were).

Stoked.

My Nike+ run data graph kinda looks all over the place, but it felt like a great, energized, consistent run. Me gusto.

Also, to keep y'all updated on the shoe-shim: as you may recall, I put a little lift in my right shoe to make up for the slight difference between the length of my ol' pegs. Well, it's been good. My right lower leg and hip have been pleased as punch, and my gait feels very natural.

I will say, though, that my left lower-leg is a little sore, and my lower back is a little tight. My rationalization-slash-armchair-podiatrist explanation is that my body is adjusting to being back into alignment when I run. So it'll take a little while to get used to it. It doesn't seem to be causing any issues or problems.

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 205*, 185lbs
Squats (Smith machine): 3 sets of 5 reps @ 135, 185, 185lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Seated Elliptical Rows: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Ball Crunches: snicker snicker
*When I got to the gym, both benches were taken. I ended up working in with a guy, and it looked like he was lifting 185lb. But man, the first set was harder than it should have been. While he did his last set I did some math and realized there were 45x2 and 35x2 on the bar (instead of 25x2). Heh heh heh. Hehe. *sigh*

A 4 Miler (Finally!)

Another unseasonably warm, unseasonably gorgeous day in San Francisco.

It was beautiful out there, kids. By around 3pm I stripped the headphones off (I'm very, very nearly done with the first song for Hella Sound!) and hit the road.

Funny thing: a while back I was doing a post-run stretch that was recommended by Runner's World—the same stretch that caused Nitmos' foot to curl up into a "c"—when @LosBee walked by and pointed out that my legs were 2 different lengths.

"Your legs are 2 different lengths!" she said, or something to that extent.

Which got me thinking about how that may very well be contributing to some hip and lower-leg pain I seem to get. Then I was reading about the impact this type of physiological inconsistency can have after X number of miles (again, Runner's World I think), so I decided to go out and get a little lift to put in my not-as-tall-side shoe. Today was the test run.

It went pretty well, actually. At first my butt and my lower back were like "...heeeeyyy buddy, what's going on?", but within the first mile I got comfortable with the change and cruised along.

I'll report back if I spend all day tomorrow in excruciating pain.

I ran my scheduled 4 miles along my usual Bay route, through Crissy Field. There was a nice breeze, which always helps. After that I hit the gym.

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 185lbs
Deadlifts: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 70lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Seated Elliptical Rows: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight

I also generally do crunches on the Swiss ball, but I feel weird noting that I did "30 Ball Crunches"—it just sounds sorta...odd...and painful.

Hopefully it's nice out tomorrow. I'll make up for the 3 mile run I so flagrantly ditched yesterday (and instead went out for Chinese food). Mmmmm Kung Pow Chicken...

Photo courtesy of tanakawho on Flickr.

Gettin' Back on the Horse

This evening I hit the gym. I normally like to work out during the day, but that's how it goes sometimes.

Not a great run today, but that's okay. Again, I ended up walking some, but I'm just getting back into stride so I think it's okay. I also shorted the distance, but again, I'm okay with that. All I need to do is get back into my schedule and ease into my training plan without incurring injury and I'm golden.

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 155, 175, 185lbs
Dead Lifts: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 50, 70, 80lbs
Still Dips: damn. I forgot to do still dips. Damn.
Lat Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight

Tomorrow's a day off. Have a great weekend!

Blah Blah Blah Treadmill Blah Blah Blah Weights

Another great day with Hella Sound music in the ears, so I switched it up during my run and listened to Silversun Pickups album Carnavas. This was my drive-to-work album for a long time in San Diego, and it's near and dear to my heart. Not the best album to run with maybe, but good to listen nonetheless. If you don't know this album, maybe you should.

On the Hella Sound tip, I'm really happy with how recording is going, and I'm completely stoked to have something ready for folks soon. A big part of this has been a learning experience, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Slated for 2 miles, I hit 24 Hour Fitness and ran on the treadmill. 2 miles is doable on the treadmill; I'd hate to run 10 miles on it, but 2 is quick and easy. I kept the mph at 6.2, the total run time being 19:43.

The run was great, the pace (for me) was quick, and I felt mighty fine.

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 185lbs
Dead Lifts: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 95lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Lat Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight

I'm loving the multiple-joint, heavy-weight plan. Not that I'm hefting big weights, but it's so much more fun that high-rep, low weight crap I was doing. I truly feel improved strength overall. I'll have to mix it up some down the road, but for now it's great. However, I am playing it safe with dead lifts. The last thing I want to do is tweak my back and jack myself up. 95lbs with good form is good enough for me for now.

Short Trot and Hoistin'

Oh Wordle, you make the prettiest graphics when I can't think of a picture worth posting.

Nice little 2 miler today on the treadmill. I did get a little gassed for some reason halfway through; maybe it was the fancy, fatty dinner I had last night, maybe it was the high-ish temperature in the gym. But I didn't quit. Sure, no great achievement considering it's a measly 2 mile run, but hey, it's something. I'll hang my hat on it—small victories, baby. Small victories.

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 175, 185, 195lbs
Squats: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 135, 175, 205lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Lat Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight

Remember that I'm using the pull-down machine in lieu of doing pull-ups—something that I just can't do many of at this weight. I am gaining strength there, tho. So hopefully the weight will go down, the strength will go up, and I'll divorce myself from using any machines in my workout.

Damn, I just realized: I forgot to do my soleus muscle dorsiflex exercises. Dammit. I'll do them tomorrow.

Life is good.

¡Ay Mi Estómago!

I physically felt pretty rotten today. My guts were in a bunch.

But (as you can plainly see on this fancy calendar) I had a workout to do. So I done did it. Dood.

My run was pretty pathetic. I felt sorta blah and didn't do the 2 miles I planned. For whatever reason, the 24 Hour Fitness I go to has decided the treadmill and cardio area doesn't need fans or air conditioning. And it doesn't take too many people to get the temp (and humidity) up in a windowless room.

But my legs felt great, so I should knock tomorrow's 3 miler out of the park. I reckon I'll do it at Kezar Stadium's all-weather track. It'll be nice to mix it up a bit.

Weightlifting

Squats: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 135lbs
Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 145, 155, 165lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Lat Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight
Lunges: 1 set of 5 reps forward/backward, each side

Kids, I tell ya: I think those dorsiflex/shin strengthening exercises (see video here) are the real deal. Sure, I feel like a knob walking around the gym on my heels, but oh well. I am the same guy that bought Crocs, so I guess I'm not too concerned with what folks may think (sometimes). Etceteras.

Food

Poor @LosBee has been diagnosed with celiac disease. This is the girl that made it through med school and most of undergrad eating nothing but Kraft Mac & Cheese, so going gluten-free is a pretty big "oh crap!".

As such, we're changing our diet around a lot—no more pasta, bread or beer for her. Which pretty much means no more of those things for me, either.

As crappy as it is, it's good timing; after hitting what's probably my highest weight ever, I've been looking to switch up my diet anyway, so it's good to have an immutable driving force that'll keep me on track. It also fits in with my desire to become more disciplined in my fitness and health endeavors.

I've carved out a menu that consists of 2% milk, OJ, brown rice, steel cut oatmeal, eggs, potatoes, beans, chicken breast, greens (spinach and mixed greens), whole wheat bread, fruit and whey protein. These might sound like normal things to eat to most, but for me it's a pretty lean selection—something I refer to as The Aescetic Menu. Keep in mind, I've eaten more pizza, more steak and more cheeseburgers in the past year than I could even begin to count. So, this is a step in the right direction.

At some point I may begin to keep formal tabs on and publish any weightloss. We shall see.

A Quicky Treadmill Trot, Some Weights

Hey. So. Yeah.

Truth time: I haven't run or gone to the gym since last Tuesday. I have no real excuse, no explanation. Schedule conflicts, wicked insomnia and a general sense of blah kept me from sticking to my plan. I started feeling crappier and crappier until I finally grew a pair and got my workout in.

Funny, but as soon as I was done, I felt absolutely amazing.

I've noticed that in general the best way to turn around a funk, get out of a rush and crush ennui is to get your ass up and do something. It applies to work, it applies to household tasks, it applies to fitness.

It wasn't much of a run, but it was a run. And it felt great. My new Asics Nimbus kicks are great, and all is well.

In Other News

God help me, I went out and got a pair of Crocs. Now, pardon me (sincerely) if you really like Crocs, but I myself have always thought they were pretty darn...ugly. Fugly, really. But they've done a great job marketing to runners, because I kept thinking "damn, maybe my feet would be happy if I wore these around the home office." Sure enough, they feel great. Ugly as sin, but they feel great. They're pretty cheap, too, in the grand scheme of things.

Weightlifting

Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 135lbs
Still Dips: 3 sets of 5 reps
Lat Pull-Downs: 3 sets of 5 reps @ heavy weight

I've adjusted the Calendar a bit to reflect my botching the last week's plans. This was my ease-in period, and I'm not sure if I should stick with the schedule and jump right in to 19 mile weeks. I shouldn't, but I might.

Also, I just may move my Wednesday lifting (upper-body) to both Tuesday and Thursday. It'll get me a few more reps, and it'll also free me from having to go to the gym 3 days a week. I can get my Wednesday run in wherever, instead of being tied to the gym.

Until Friday!

I Don't Even Want to Talk About It

It was a wrong-side-of-the-bed-type run. I was so frustrated I didn't even get my weightlifting workout in.

Tomorrow's another day.

New Shoes == Happiness

Just like Harry Potter, I'm rockin' the Nimbus. Although mine are shoes, and his was a broomstick. Major difference.

I ordered the Asics Nimbus 10s from Zappos.com on Tuesday afternoon. Damn shoes showed up on Wednesday. No lie. And, while they weren't cheaper than other stores, the shipping was free. Fantastic shopping experience. (No, I ain't in any way affiliated with Zappos and was not induced to say this, just as this woman was not paid to relate this great post about her experience. They're just doing good work.)

I couldn't wait to strap them on and give 'em a run.

Today was 2 miles running, deadlifts and whatnot. I couldn't help but ratchet up the pace a bit more, spending most of my time around the 9:40 mark. Damn it felt good. And I'm pleased as punch with the Nimbus 10s. Very cushy, seemed to be friendly with my high arch, seemed to let me pronate as I'm supposed to. Goodness.

Weights

Deadlift: 3 sets of 5 reps @ 60lbs, 80lbs, 100lbs
Lunges: 1 set (each side) of 5 reps

I basically didn't really feel like doing lunges today. Not a great attitude, but eh. Whatever.

Hahahaha. *sigh* Oh well.

Tomorrow's another rest day as I ramp into the training schedule.

...It's Like a Hamster Wheel, But For People

Per The Plan III I hit the gym today, knocking out an easy 2 miler, some free weight squats, lunges and the anti-shin-splint exercises shown in this post.

Two miles were cake, and I bumped up the pace a bit. My whole plan is to ease into this the right way, and I didn't want to shoot myself in the foot (or the shin) by being way too overzealous and amping the speed way up. So, I stuck around the 10min/mile mark.

Unfortunately, in order to get my workout in quickly and efficiently (as well as avoid concrete or other hard running surfaces), I decided to run on the treadmill. Treadmills can be boring, but it didn't really bother me today. Actually, it was a pretty great way to get my run in and concentrate on my form. I think what you lose on a treadmill (aside from outdoor aesthetic values) is the need to pace yourself. When the machine is lapping the belt at X rpms a minute, you don't have to monitor your pace and maintain it yourself—it happens for you, automagically.

In trying to get lifting into my routine, I foresee a problem reconciling my run locations. Or, to say it in another, non-spaghetti-talk way: it's gonna suck to have to run on a treadmill all the time, but I'm not sure what my options are.

Regardless, and above and beyond all else, it was a great run and a good workout.

Weights

Squats: 5 reps x 3 sets, 115lbs, 135lbs, 155lbs
Lunges: 5 reps (each side) x 3 sets forward-backward step lunges

Photo courtesy kennymiller at Flickr.

"Speed" Work Tuesday

Today I was slated for six 800 meter repeats, followed by squats, lunges and other weightlifting chicanery.

It was going to be tough to get down to the track to get a clearly marked 800 meter course, so I decided to bust a freestyle and run three 1 mile repeats instead. I'm not going for speed here—I'm really just training so I can finish the San Jose Rock & Roll Half Marathon. I'm not looking to break records. My PB will be finishing a halfie, you know?

I went down to the Marina, since it's a route that I'm familiar with and the out-and-back plops me right in front of the gym. Doing intervals proved to be difficult to do with the Nike+, so I mostly ended up winging it and basically hustling as hard as I could keep up for 1 mile increments, mixed with about 2 minutes of slower trotting in between.

It went okay, not great. As you can see, I wasn't exactly flying. But I cooked along above my normal plodding pace. I ended up gassing (again) before my third mile interval was complete, and walked the rest of the way.

The clock was ticking, though; I ambitiously thought I could make it down to the route, run, do my lifting workout, get back home, shower and get down to Bimbo's 365 to pick up tickets for one of my all-time favorite bands, Trans Am. After my run I realized this was stupid, so I stretched out, packed it up and headed home.

But hey, I got a run in and Trans Am was awesome. Fantastic. Kick anus. You gotta love a band that does the majority of their vocals through a vocoder/synthesizer. Inexplicably, halfway through the last song the bassist/keyboard player peeled (with one hand) and ate a banana while playing. Like it couldn't wait. Hysterical and highly entertaining.

Photos courtesy of jpctalbot and the Trans Am web site, respectively.

Yeah, So I'm Down in San Diego

So I'm down in San Diego this week, helping out a friend and taking care of some bidness.

@LosBee and I lived here for 6 (or was it 7?) years before moving to San Francisco in the summer of 2007. It's a beautiful place, and while it's great to be back, it's not without mixed feelings.

Funny how that works. I guess it's not always easy to change—to pack up everything you own and leave everything you've become familiar and comfortable with and start something wholly new.

Yeah. Anyway, here I am back in San Diego for the week, hoping to get some sun, stay on track in my half-marathon training program and record, record, record.

After spending an inordinate amount of time making like Georgie does in this pic, I hit the gym for some treadmill and some weights.

Got in a little less than a 3 mile run with hills (5.5 degrees) and did 3 sets of squats @ 135lbs, 5 reps each.

Tomorrow's a full day, and I'm looking to hit it hard.

Photos courtesy of Michael in San Diego and jsome1 on Flickr, accordingly.

Finally Back In It To Win It

The last few days I've been feeling more like joining <--- my boy George here than hitting the road and the gym. But today I finally was able to get back in it and get the blood flowing.

As mentioned previously, I had fallen off track quite a bit. Today I was committed to halting my progress down the slippery slope. I've written off Saturday's run & circuit training, Sunday's long run, and Tuesday's run and weights; I've decided to consolidate the squats, lunges and deadlift into Friday's workout, and do upper body stuff today. Missing so many runs, I settled on doing 4 miles today and tomorrow, 3 on Saturday and then 6 miles on Sunday. Maybe I'll do 7, to make up for the 7 miler I missed this past Sunday.

Run went well—got a little hot at the end, but it was good. Weights was a very modest 3 sets of bench, 5 reps @ 155lbs; 3 sets of 5 reps pulldowns @ heavy weight; 3 sets of still-half-assed dips. The dips are getting better, but they're still not on the money.

I think to push myself down the road I'm going to need a partner/spotter. I always used to lift with @LosBee, and it's nice to have someone watching you when you heft a large amount of weight. With her schedule now, it'll be rough to find a time when we can both hit the gym together.

We shall see.

Anybody running the Nike+ Human Race? Hit me up—I'll be running it down in San Diego.

I Pretty Much Suck

Yeah, I pretty much suck.

Due to things somewhat within my control, I've missed both my running and weightlifting workouts for every day starting on Saturday. Missed my circuit training, missed my Sunday long run and missed today's speedwork and lifting.

If I'd have been truly dedicated to getting it done, I would have made it happen. Unfortunately, I let work, visiting guests and catching up on sleep get in the way.

I'm debating now if it would be unwise to move everything over one day starting tomorrow and cutting out my Friday rest day. That way I'd only have missed 2 runs (last Saturday's and Sunday's long run).

On another note, while I've been shaping up nicely and trimming down a little due to sticking with the revised plan, I've managed to gain like 6 pounds or so in the last few weeks. Granted, I've had some Roman orgy-style dining experiences during that time, but I look more trim.

I'm going to assume it's added muscle weight and go from there. Hey, I could be right and not delusional, right?

Here's to being dedicated and on top of it for the rest of the week.

The Equation for Failure

With the in-laws visiting, I've had to jockey around for time to get my workouts in, and the only possible time today was mid-day. It was actually summer-like outside in San Francisco (as opposed to how things are around here frequently), which meant I'd be running in a little daytime heat.

3 measly miles were on the roster, as well as deadlifts & lunges.

3 miles. 3 measly miles. Mid-day sun or no, I figured I could handle that.

The Equation for Failure

     sleep deprivation
   + hangover
   + blazing sun
   + black cotton t-shirt 
   + eggs benedict breakfast
   -------------------------
   = failure

Entertaining our visiting guests frequently requires you to drink too much and stay up too late, which leads to the requisite recovery breakfast.

This, however, is not the recipe for workout success.

Team those elements up with a hot afternoon, and I crapped out at the 2 mile mark. It was just too damn hot. I'm sure better, more fit runners could have handled these elements together, but I kept thinking over and over again about how hot I was. This lead to thoughts of those rave kids cooking their brains dancing on ketamine.

Add to that my lower legs feeling pretty darn sore. I'm not sure if it's a result of maybe pushing too hard recently, or the fact that I didn't wrap the pegs after the last run (which I like to do—the ol' Rest Ice Compression Elevation method). No bueno.

So, the short is I followed my great 5 miler on Wednesday with a crappy DNF today.

Weak.

Oh well. Weights went well. I did 3 sets of deadlift, 5 reps each @ 60, 70 and 80lbs. Keeping it light, still, until I'm confident in the consistency of my form. Then 3 sets of backward-forward lunges (5 reps each side), 50 crunches, 12 swiss ball crunches, and a bunch of stretches.

More familial gluttony to come, I'm sure.

Photo courtesy of liberalmind1012 and icanteachyouhowtodoit on Flickr.