If you need an excuse to skip the gym today…
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One Hour Runner Week 01 Day 02
I did 5.44 km in my 30 minutes today. I did this at the gym on the treadmill. On my last run I set the treadmill to a 11 kph pace so this time I set it to 11.1 kph (an improvement is an improvement). I managed to maintain this up until the 25 minute mark when I reduced the pace to 11 kph. The .1 made all the difference I tell you! Once I hit the 5K mark I slowed right down to 9 kph and it was bliss. My 5K time was 27:04 which was a new PR for me.
My next two runs are going to be outside as
a) I want to get used to running outside as I have my first 5K race next Sunday and
b) I’m going to Christchurch for a week as my brother is getting married and I won’t have access to a treadmill there.
I bought a Garmin 305 exercise watch which has a built in GPS receiver so that I could track my outdoor runs but unfortunately it’s been intercepted by customs here in NZ as the person who I bought it from didn’t write down the proper value on the package and they got suspicious. I guess the seller thought he was being helpful but I wouldn’t have to pay any duty anyway so it’s a bit annoying. Fortunately it was easily fixed as I just faxed them a copy of the invoice and they released it. It does mean I won’t have it in time for my Christchurch trip however. Oh well, something to look forward to when I return.
I don’t think I’ll be able to blog much over the next week but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up or anything. I still plan on getting in my runs and eating healthy while I’m on holiday. Of course I will have the odd snack (hmmmmm….wedding cake!) but on the whole I think this will be the healthiest holiday I’ve ever had.
A run in the Domain
I went for a run in the Auckland Domain earlier today.
The Auckland Domain is the oldest park in Auckland and is a great place to go for a lunchtime run. There are quite a few tree lined tracks that are ideal for running along. As an added bonus it is a two and a half minute walk from my workplace, which makes me wonder why I didn’t think about running there before.
You may recall that I had expressed some paranoia a few anxieties about going out and running outside with a partner. Turns out that it was a lot of fun. My running partner is from Hawaii and had a lot of interesting things to say about it. Running outside is nice and not nearly as boring as running on the treadmill.
We ran about 5.2 km in about 36 minutes which is slower than my treadmill pace but I noticed that it was a lot easier at that pace. I think I will try and go slightly faster for my next one but I was taking it easy today as it was my first outdoor run of this distance.
I used the Google Pedometer to work out how far we went:
It was good and I’m looking forward to my next run. Incidentally, that is week 8 day 3 of C25K completed.
The art of planning ahead
My wife and I have just finished cooking our lunches for the next week. I made a vegetable medley of assorted veges all simmered up with herbs and spices and she made a vegetable pasta bake. Both looked absolutely delicious. I’m sure they will taste great too.
This is one of the not so secret ’secrets’ to my success in losing weight. It’s planning ahead. I know that if I don’t make my lunches ahead of time then I’ll get to work and go looking for food. It’s amazing how hard it is to find decent healthy food in a decent healthy portion size on a University campus.
By bringing my lunches along I’m just not tempted to go off scavenging for treats and stuff.
So my tip to you is: “Be prepared.” I should have been a boy scout. 
C25K Week 06 Completed
I had this great idea that I would go and run along the beach at Mission Bay this morning but when I woke up today it was absolutely pouring down with rain. I don’t know about you my loyal readers, but the idea of running in monsoon like conditions just does not appeal to me.
So, I did the next best thing and went to the gym to visit the treadmill instead. On the drive in to the gym I passed a bunch of hardy souls out running and I must admit I did feel a little soft.
Today’s run called for 25 minutes on non stop running. No mucking about with intervals or what not. I started off thinking “I can do this!” Halfway through I was thinking “I’m going to die.” But I refused to give up and I didn’t die.
Today’s run was the longest non stop run I have done in my life. I covered 4.1 km in 25 minutes. I’m fairly proud of that even though its not particularly fast. The fact remains that I did it.
C25K Week 05 completed
I’m back from illness. I won’t say I’m 100% yet. Probably only 85% but I decided to go to the gym today. I figured a light workout would be good.
I decided that I would do a bit of a walk on the treadmill. So I started to walk and I felt quite good. Then I thought, might as well do a light run, just 5 minutes so that I don’t get too out of shape on the running. And what do you know, I kept running for twenty minutes which means I completed week 05 of the couch to 5K program.
I’m rather pleased.
It also meant thatI have achieved another one of my personal running milestones. I ran for over 3km today. I think I ran for 3.4 km in my 20 mins. I also suspect that this is the longest I have run in my life. Which is a bit sad but it is also an achievement.
So I’m rather pleased now.
C25K Week 05 Day 01
Well, I’m at the halfway week of the C25K program and it is going well. Week 05 is a bit different in that each day has a different workout. Up until now you did the same workout for each of the days during a given week.
Week 05 Day 01 of the C25K program consists of a brisk five-minute warmup walk, then the following: Run 5 minutes, Walk 3 minutes, Run 5 minutes, walk 3 minutes, run 5 minutes and then a five minute cooldown walk.
I managed to do it reasonably comfortably. It was definitely easier than any of the week 04 runs for some reason. Maybe I’m getting fitter?
If you have a look at my 43 things list in the sidebar you’ll notice that one of them is to run 1 km. Technically I ran 2.4 km today but not all in a row. At the speed I was going I ran 3 stints of 800m. I’m really looking forward to Friday’s run as that involves running over a km at a time. I can mark another of my fitness goals as achieved!
C25K Week 04 Completed
The value of having a blog really came home to me today. I was on the treadmill doing my last run of Week 04 of C25K and I really wanted to give up. But, I just couldn’t face reporting failure to my loyal readers. So I stuck it out and managed to finish. I almost did a Marshmallow and woohooed. Thankfully I resisted the urge.
I think I made a mistake in doing my run after my weights workout today. I did a personal best (and achieved one of my goals) on the squat in that I managed to squat (ass to grass) 100kgs (220 pounds). However, I think this made my legs quite tired so the run was a lot harder than usual. But, having said that, I completed the run so it’s all good.
I also managed to do 20 pushups in a row and then followed it up by doing 30 more (3 sets of 10 not 30 in a row) so I am getting closer to my goal of 25 in a row. Which is great.
Overall, I’m rather happy with my progress. I’m getting fitter and am feeling great.
Weigh in
Well I had a pleasant surprise on my weekly weigh in this week. I’m down to 107.6 kg (237 pounds). I don’t know how but I managed to lose 1.9 kgs (4 pounds) this week. That seems suspiciously large so maybe I’m just a bit dehydrated. I’ll drink more water today.
My eating and exercise were reasonably good this week. Wednesday was Chinese New Year and we went to a family gathering. I ate quite a bit more than normal but having said that it was all very healthy, nutritious food.
If only losses like this could happen every week it would make this journey a bit quicker.
That makes 70 pounds lost so far and only 50 to go.
Cakes and cookies are vegetarian food too
I’ve been a vegetarian for 580 days now (Not that I’m counting or anything).
I had gone through periods of vegetarianism when I was a kid but never voluntarily. It was more because my parents went through bouts of it and as a child I didn’t have much say as to what was served up.
I made the decision to be a vegetarian of my own free will (contrary to popular opinion). My wife is a vegetarian and so some of my friends believe that she forced me into it. To tell the truth I think my wife was more shocked than anyone that I became a vegetarian. I had read something on zen habits (I think) about how you can make anything a habit if you just stick to it for 30 days. So I thought I would surprise my wife and be vegetarian for 30 days. (I’d been going through a hard time at work (we were going through some restructuring) and I was looking for something that I could control I guess.)
And what do you know, it does become a habit after 30 days. At the end of 30 days I thought I would do 30 more. Then another 30. Then I wanted to reach 100 and so on and so forth. Now I’m aiming for 600. 
Most people thought I was joking when I told them about my decision. One of my friends was particularly shocked when she found out. “But you’re Mr Meat!?” she spluttered at me. That description was rather apt. One of my favourite dishes was the traditional South African boerewors roll. Basically, it’s a big meaty South African sausage in a hotdog bun as pictured below.
I used to eat meat and lots of it. I did enjoy meat but I’ve decided that it is better for me if I avoid it.Originally I thought that being a vegetarian would help me lose weight. But ice cream, cake, cookies and chips are all solidly vegetarian. Which turned out to be a bit of a problem. I think I’m one of the few people who actually gained about 20 kilos (44 pounds) within a year of turning vegetarian. I was one of those vegetarians that didn’t really eat many vegetables. Not really something I’m proud of but hey it happened.
I’ve since revised my eating habits and now eat mainly fresh vegetables with the odd treat thrown in for good behaviour.
Most days I eat the following:
Breakfast (6am) is some bran cereal with blueberries and a glass of protein drink.
Morning tea (9am) is normally 2 hardboiled eggs.
Lunch (12pm) is normally some concoction of vegetables all mixed up (my last concoction had 13 different vegetables in it). I normally make my lunches for the week in bulk on Sunday afternoons.
Afternoon tea (3pm) is normally another glass of protein drink and some fruit.
Dinner (6pm) is normally a fresh garden salad and some fruit.
Occasionally I’ll vary from this (normally on the weekend) if the circumstances warrant but it’s a pretty good indication of what I eat. On the days I do weights I’ll have more protein.
I feel better than ever so I think I’ll give this vegetarian lifestyle a few more days yet.
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