Knee Issues

Today was meant to be C25K week 2 day 3 but I woke up this morning and found I've done "something" to my knee. There's an unfamiliar lateral tightness on my right knee. So I thought I'd postpone my run until tomorrow and do something a bit less vigorous today. To that end I pulled out a Tai Chi DVD I thought might offer some gentle streching. From the back of the box-

Tai Chi Gong Exercise DVD-27 Tai Chi Gong exercises for beginners and advanced, designed to enhance the mind and body. These selected exercises of internal energy cultivate inner peace and tranquility, balance the body and mind, and improve health, wellbeing, lifestyle and longevity.

I must be upfront and admit that this particular DVD came free with a magazine. I pretty much expected to get what I paid for and to a certain extent I did. First for the good: The exercises are gentle but at the end of the 45 minutes I knew I'd worked, lightly though it may have been. The DVD was recorded at some truly lovely settings. There is a comprehensive health warning prior to the session commencement. Now to the bad: The exercises are poorly explained and inadequately demonstrated. Often the spoken explanation of an exercise is not given until after it has commenced and the moves are demonstrated at speed, they are not slowed down or broken into individual components for the novice. Fortunately I've done some Tai Chi in the past and so was familiar with some of the stance names, without this I would have been entirely lost. This DVD has served to remind me that there is benefit to exercise even if it is not of a calorie burning, red faced and sweaty nature. Tai Chi has a lot to offer but I can't see myself repeating this particular program. There has got to be better out there on the market. I'm certainly glad I didn't pay the $39.95 recommended retail price.-Lynn

Keeping Up

Made it through C25K week 1, day 3.
Kept it low and slow, probably jogging at a gentle 6km/hr pace, and the last couple of runs were still a bit of a challenge.
I smile as the cues tell me to push myself and mentally reply that just keeping up is pushing myself.
I'll have a try at moving on to week 2 at this slower pace and see how I go.

Back with the Program

The cold that will not quit, is finally passing on. About a week ago, just as I was starting to feel better, I suddenly got worse again. I can't believe it was round two of the same cold. I suspect that while I was recovering from one, I caught another.
I'm still not quite 100%, being tired all the time and feeling a little warm (though no temperature), but I feel that I'm well enough to get back into the C25K.
So yesterday, after a three week break, I finally did week 1, day 2. It was a push, no denying it. My runs were jogs, and the walks were not as brisk as they might be. But I'm out there doing it.
My original plan was to alternate the C25K days with weight training days but I don't think I'm quite ready yet. At this point I still need a rest day to recuperate between runs. I may even need to repeat week 1 a couple of times before I move on. I'll see how I go and report back.

C25K - run one, week one

About a week ago I downloaded a C25k podcast into the hot pink MP3 player Lynn kindly passed down to me, partnered with headphones from Catch of the Day. I already had sneakers, track pants, and a great sport bra from Marks & Spencer - why is it so hard to get a proper sports bra if you're anything bigger than a D cup? Although I had everything I needed, it took me an hour after getting dressed to acually set out. I didn’t realise until I set foot outside the house that on some level I was quite apprehensive about running.
I spent the walk to my local park listening to the intro which, in a beautiful case of coincidence, was precisely how long it took. The park has a big loop around a grassy oval, with several paths criss-crossing around a little like a race track, complete with a couple of hills and a sandy stretch.
Tucking my MP3 into my sports bra, I started the official brisk walk that opens the program. Not long after Robert Ullrey's note that the warm up was at the halfway mark, I realised I'd been walking quite a bit longer than 5 minutes - somehow the earphone jack had slipped out enough for me to hear the (techno) soundtrack but not the vocal prompts. I fished the MP3 from between my breasts and re-started the audio, tucking it in the back strap. Another five minutes and I started to feel scratching behind me - pulling it out I discovered I'd lost the cap, and retraced my footsteps, hunting for a flash of hot pink, only to find it in my waistband.
Once I managed to get the technical aspects out of the way (slide the player in sideways, so the reset toggle's facing front and not reset by my breasts), I began the first run on my route toward 5k.
Good lord, 60 seconds takes a while! I made it, though the couple of legs that coincided with uphill sections of the path were tough going. I had to smile wanly when Ulley said I "should be breathing comfortably" when I had a respiratory rate around 44/minute! There was, sadly, no point when I was both (slowly) jogging and able to talk at a conversational rate. But I made it around, and felt a sense of accomplishment, as well as keenness to advance to the point where I can look back at this and look on it as a warm up.
I used a couple of techniques to keep going - I have a tendency to count steps anyway, and for the running sections I counted every time I set my left foot down, averaging 75 to 80 left steps per 60 second burst. I spent the walking intervals focusing on slowing and smoothing out my breathing. Throughout, as I felt discomfort, I'd take inventory of how I was feeling - noting where I felt fine, and cataloguing exactly where and how significant the feeling was. For the most part everything was fine, except for rapid breathing. I also paid attention to my form, hampered only a little by knowing next to nothing about how to run efficiently except that the hands should be open, arms loose and waist height.
I'm not a huge fan of techno, and though the beat works well for running, when I get the chance I'll look into alternatives. But I'll definitely be running again in two days! - Alex

Week 23, day 164

I'm much better and have even spent a couple of days at work, which means I have no excuse for not exercising, so today I walked home - around an hour and a half at 4k/hr, which is a bit of clip considering I also had some groceries (a couple of boxed of breakfast cereal, salad vegies, and fruit from Aldi).
I spent a lot of the walk being deliberately mindful - focusing on my environment, the sounds and smells, the feel of the breeze contrasting with the warmth of the day, and the sound of cyclists tinging their bells before whirring past. Whenever I started to feel achey I assessed my self from crown to toe, minimising discomfort by quantifying the sensation. My problem areas were my right hip, the front of my right thigh near the knee, my left knee and a couple of toes on my left foot, all of which cropped up a couple of times during the walk, and none of which were severe. I think I need to work on these at stretch tomorrow, though.
It was quite warm in Melbourne today, so I worked up a bit of a sweat, and am very disappointed in myself that despite my plan to come home, shower, change and head straight out for week one, run one in the C25K, instead I showered, changed, had a snack, lay down for a moment, took a phone call from a friend, and suddenly discovered it was getting too late to run. So tomorrow, without fail.
On the plus side, I'm still doing well with the calorie intake, which I've dropped down to around 1,500 for the time being. Lately, for some reason, late in the evening has been a problem - I'm not exactly hungry, but I roam around the kitchen a little, looking for an indefinable something. Tonight I had a couple of Lindor balls, and still made it under, though I ate 55.9g of fat instead of the 53 I aim for. On the other hand, the last three days I've had well under this, so it evens out. And now for an early night, before run one - Alex

Week 23, day 161

I'm starting to climb out of my fog of blah, which is quite nice. I'm feeling a little less blah, and even managed to walk down to the supermarket today, which is my first real venture into the world since Monday (today's Friday, and my second day sick off work). Of course I was a little damp and short of breath on the return journey, particularly as I was laden down with care package contents to be shipped to overseas siblings shortly, but quite pleased to be up and moving around again.
In the day or so since my last post I've been spending a chunk of time online - there being little else I can do when too crappy to even write book reviews (the pile waiting grows ever higher and is currently at 77). In that surfing way one has, I started out looking for reviews of Lite'n'Easy, which lead me to other meal delivery programs (plenty if I lived in America, a few if I lived in Sydney, not so many in Melbourne, at least from a calorie counting perspective). I was, however, lead to the Schkinny Mannini website - I'm not a fan at all of fasting, but they provide something in the vicinity of 1900 calories a day, in the form of six 600ml juices, at least one of which can be gently heated and eaten like a vegetable soup. They offer one-, three-, four- and five-day options, and even though they're vastly more expensive than Lite'n'Easy (somewhere in the vicinity of $75/day), I'm thinking about trying it for a few days in a couple of weeks. I need to do something different - I'm twenty-three weeks in to improved eating, and though I've lost some weight, fairly steadily, I'm not more motivated, exercising regularly or, as has been abundantly clear in the last few days, healthier. Perhaps a break from food, particularly if it coincides with days off work, will help.
The program recommends transitioning back to food with a day of just fruit and vegetables. That, in combination with an attempt to work out the calorie content of achacha fruit, lead me first to a site discussing the 80/10/10 low-fat raw vegan program, and though I have no intention of following it, that then lead me to explore weekly deliveries of fruit and vegies, which I think I'll start doing as I transition off Lite'n'Easy.
And what is the achacha that lead to this virtual journey? It's a South American fruit a little like a lychee in texture and composition, protected by a tough skin you can incise with a fingernail, popping it apart to access the lime-like, sorbet-textured flesh. I've counted it as a lychee for calorie recording purposes, as I couldn't find any nutritional information online. They're very refreshing. - Alex

Week 22, day 158

I weighed myself, even though I feel like crap – can’t miss check in Tuesday – and was reminded that excessive weighing is counter-productive. My initial weight was a modest 500g loss since last week but when I decided, after several toilet visits and no oral intake, to see what I weighed a couple of hours later I was surprised to discover I’d somehow gained 1.5k. And all this time I thought fattening air was a myth.
On the plus side, I also did a little tape measuring, and the news there is a little more rewarding. I've lost 3.1k since February 1st, 2cm off my bust and after doing a load of washing one off each thigh and my waist. Since starting this program 157 days ago I've lost 12.7k and a combined 47cm from my bust, hips and thighs.
On the minus side, climbing a flight of stairs from the laundry to my apartment, and had to lie down for a bit. So I've delayed both the RealAge aims for a week, and am stalling my foray into running until I'm most of the way back to normal. - Alex

Program Paused

Today is C25K week 1 day 2 and I can honestly report that I have broken into a sweat. Sadly it was while sitting on the couch.
Yes, I'm still sick.
To be honest when I started this program on Monday I really thought that this cold would have cleared up by today. Just goes to show how much I know. If anything I'm worse. I've now lost my voice and have a bona fide fever. Since there's little point in killing myself in order to get fit I've decided to temporarily throw in the towel and pause the program until I'm better.
I've heroically dragged myself around the supermarket and now I'm going to spend the rest of the day dozing on the couch watching dust settle.
Regular programming will hopefully resume shortly. - Lynn

Week 22, day 157

Beset by the dwarfs of illness (Dopey, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Achey, Coughy, Cloggy, Runny, Feverish and Acopic), my start to the C25K has been delayed. I started feeling sore and icky at work, and despite some vitamin C, zinc and a gram of paracetamol I was febrile and sore throated by the time my shift was over. I thought a little exercise might do me some good, and I hadn’t done any sustained walking, so I bridged the gap between the end of tram trip one and my place on foot. This may have been a mistake – my respiratory capacity is always the first thing to go when I get a cold, so I was huffing like a steam train up the hill, damp with a combination of exertion and fever by the time I got home, and suspect tomorrow will be a bed-bound write-off. – Alex

C25K

Over the weekend I developed a head cold. I've a headache, my nose is blocked, I feel as if I've been gargling glue and I'm so very tired.
In deference to my illness I didn't get up until 6:30 but with a family to get up, dressed, fed, watered, packed up and delivered I couldn't have the long sleep in I so richly desired. By the time I got back from the final drop off it was already hot and windy out, perfect drying weather. I stripped the beds and threw on a load of washing with the knowledge that I was procrastinating. I did consider using my cold as an excuse to put off starting the C25K until next week but if a head cold doesn't stop me from doing housework then it's not a real reason to pike out of exercise.
So I dragged my tired arse out and did week one day one. My runs were more like casual jogs but by the sixth interval I was barely catching my breath during the walk phase, which had become less of a brisk walk and more of a panting stagger. I really had to push myself to finish the final run but I did it. Then, because my usual running circuit is still partly flooded, I had to take a different route so I had a longer walk home than I would normally have. I'm hoping the extra walk time makes up a bit for the lesser effort. - Lynn

Getting back on the horse

For the past five months my motivation has been at an all time low. I've had zero enthusiasm for healthy eating and exercise. In fact, I've had little interest in anything this last while. Things I'd usually enjoy have become a chore and chores seem simply overwhelming. Not surprising then that I've let things slide. I can't remember the last time I exercised, even incidentally. And my diet, while not completely gone to the dogs, has been far from ideal.
I knew I was regaining weight (my clothes were feeling tighter) but I just couldn't bring myself to care. When I finally worked up the courage to step on the scales and assess the damage I discovered I'd put on just under ten kilos. Ten hard lost kilos. But even this didn't give me the impetus to change. I'm still unmotivated and the very idea of exercise is exhausting.
I can remember a time when it wasn't like this. When I maintained healthy habits without much thought. Motivation never entered the equation. In the words of the the Nike advertising campaign I just did it.
And that's what I've got to do again. I've got to re-establish a healthy routine in lieu of motivation that just isn't there.
To that end I've decided to redo C25K starting this Monday. In an heroic effort to help me out of my funk Alex has decided to go above and beyond the call of friendship and give it a go as well.
I know I can do this. I've done it before.
Forget motivation, I'm opting for routine. - Lynn