Andrew is getting fit

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As you can tell from my post title it is still raining here in Auckland.  We’ve had 2 storm fronts hit us over the last week and the weather has not been particularly conducive to running outside.  As such, I’ve been making good use of my gym membership and breaking the 20 minute time limits on the treadmills.

I did a nice and easy 5K yesterday and today I did a fartlek(excuse me!) session.  One of my running goals is to do a 20 minute 5K.  It’s a tall ask but why not?  So today I thought I would see what it felt like to run at 20 minute 5K pace (15km per hour).  I did 400m at 11.3 kph then 100m at 15kph and so on until I got to 5K at about 25ish minutes.  15kph is fast!  But, I managed to run 1 km of my 5km at that pace (not continuously mind you) so that’s not too bad.  I won’t be doing this every run but my Tuesday run is going to be a fartlek run from now on I’ve decided.

I completed week 04 day 02 of the 100 pushups program yesterday as well and hope to complete week 04 tomorrow.  I did 27, 21, 21, 18 and 25 (min 25) so only the bare minimum this time.  Still another day down.

I also completed week 01 of the Essential Abs program.

Week 02 is as follows:

Reverse Crunch
Crossover
Crunch: feet first
Opposite arm/leg raise

Workout #1 - 16 reps of each exercise
Workout #2 - 17 reps of each exercise
Workout #3 - 18 reps of each exercise

I’ve realised I have very weak abs indeed!  So hopefully this program will help with that.  I’ve got a few of my friends doing this as well which is great.

Also, my wife has run for 30 minutes in a row!  Give her a round of applause ladies and gentlemen!  It’s funny but when the running bug bites it bites hard. ;)  She is working on a guest post but you can check out her blog if you are keen. *cough*Mizfit*cough*

P.S.  My work had a bakeoff competition today.  Nuff said.

Tags: fitness by AndrewE
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I’ve received a few emails from people saying that they can’t comment on my blog. I’ve tested it and I can comment, my wife can comment and random folks around the world seem to be able to comment so I suspect it’s an Askimet (spam filter) problem. I’ve checked my spam queue and there are no comments in there so I’m really not too sure what is going on. If you’ve had comments lost could you use the contact form above to let me know please? Also a few people have mentioned that they are not getting my feed either…it’s all very strange as I haven’t changed anything (except I’ve upgraded to Wordpress 2.6). Hmm…

Anyway back to the fitness stuff. Day 01 of week 04 of the pushups challenge. 27, 20, 20, 17, 36 (min 27) and day 02 of the abs program. Just a quick update tonight! Heavy rain at the moment so it looks to be a gym run tomorrow.

Tags: fitness by AndrewE
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My long run has been postponed due to bad weather.  We’ve had a rather major storm hit us and there is just no way I want to be out running in the heavy (and cold) rain that we’ve been having today.  Hopefully the weather clears a bit by tomorrow morning so I can head out otherwise it’s going to be a very boring run on the treadmill!

I completed week 03 of the 100 pushups program today. I managed to do 30, 22, 22, 20 and then a stunning 35 (min 27 required) for a total of 129 pushups!  35 pushups is the most I have EVER done in a row so I’m rather pleased.  It just goes to show that putting in the hard work does pay off.  I’ve been on week 03 for three weeks now and to be honest I’ve gotten rather tired of doing the pushups at times.  However, achieving new milestones definitely makes it all worthwhile.

This leads me to my next challenge:

Steve (of 100 pushups fame) over at Run Bulldog Run has just completed the Essential Abs program.  I figure building a bit of strength in my core will help my running.  Well, that’s the theory anyway!

I’ve been meaning to start doing it as well but the thought of doing ab workouts didn’t fill me with delight.  However, I’ve seen dramatic improvements in my strength by doing the hundred pushups program so today I bit the bullet and started.

Week 1:

Reverse Crunch
Crossover
Crunch: feet first
Opposite arm/leg raise

Workout #1 (Monday) - 12 reps of each exercise
Workout #2 (Wednesday) - 13 reps of each exercise
Workout #3 (Friday) - 14 reps of each exercise

I have to admit that after the workout I discovered I had muscles in places I didn’t know had muscles.  Not visually mind you.  The muscles are implied by the aches and pains.  Surely fat can’t feel sore?

Tags: fitness by AndrewE
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I had a great little run yesterday evening.  My wife has been doing C25K in the gym but has started doing her runs in the evening outside instead.  This is because she has signed up to a fitness class through work and it’s on first thing in the morning (in her previous running time).  This has been brilliant as I’ve been getting to run with my beloved wife and it has been really nice so far.  Conditions were cold but perfect last night and we did a nice gentle 4 km walkrunwalkrunwalkrunwalk.

One of the very rewarding side effects of my decision to get fit and active has been seeing the effect I’ve had on people around me.  Quite a few of my friends and family are now pursuing healthy activites and eating better and it’s really nice when they tell me that my progress has inspired them to take action.

So that was the good run.

I did another run today.  I was aiming for about 10km but I ended up doing just over 11.  Having said that there was a fair patch of walking in there as my daughter’s stomach bug (oh, did I fail to mention that my poor little monkey has been chucking like a banshee) hit me during my run.  Let’s just say it was not my finest run and leave it there.

11 km in 1:14:37.

I also managed to do day 02 of week 03 of the 100 pushups program.  I did 27,19,19,15 and 30 (25 required).    That’s definitely the most pushups I’ve ever done in my life.

Tags: C25K, running by AndrewE
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After weighing up the various options I’ve decided that I will just keep repeating each day of the 100 pushup challenge until I can do that day and then move on.  I figure that way I’ll keep improving and not be dropping down to an easier level.  I feel that htis way at least I know I’ll be progressing through improvement rather than progressing by dropping the intensity.

That means I redid day 01 of week 03.  I did 25, 17, 17, 12 and 15 (10 short) which is a big improvement over my last attempt.  That brings my total pushups for this session to 86 which I’m very pleased with.  Hopefully next time I can actually hit that 25 on the last set.  And even if I don’t, it doesn’t really matter as I’ll keep plugging away at it.

I also did my first hill run today.  Unfortunately the weather was a bit nasty this morning so I decided to run in the gym as I also wanted to do my pushups.  I did 7Km on a hill climb program.  I have to say it was quite tough!

I’ve received a lot of great feedback (you guys rock!) on my proposed half marathon training program and one consistent piece of advice is that my proposed long runs are too long.  So I’m going to have a play with the program and reduce the long runs.  A few people thought I was having too many rest days but I’m a big believer in rest days.  I also think I should clarify that a rest day just means a rest from running.  I will be doing some cross training on some of those days.

Tags: fitness, running by AndrewE
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Day 01 of week 03 of the 100 pushup challenge kicked my butt!

I was supposed to do 25, 17, 17, 12 and then max (25) but it was a struggle right from the get go.  I really struggled with the first 25.  I don’t know why as I did 30 with very few problems on the weekend.  The next 17 were very tough but completed.  I waited 2 minutes for the next set and only just managed to nut out 17.  I came very close to not finishing them.  I waited a full 4 minutes before attempting the next set and after 6 I just could not lift myself up.   My arms said Let’s go for a run instead ok? So we did that.  A nice easy 6 km run and it was much better than the push-ups!

Ellie suggested that instead of repeating the week we knock ourselves down a column.  I think column 3 is too tough for me so I’m considering going down to column 2.  Alternatively I might just repeat the day I’m on until I can complete it.  Thoughts from my fellow push-uppers?

Tags: fitness by AndrewE
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Today I was allowed to exercise again so I did!

The first thing I wanted to do was get back into the 100 pushup challenge. I neglected to mention that I completed week 02 last Friday morning just before my enforced hiatus.  Today’s aim was to do the end of week 02 exhaustion test.  In my initial pushups test I managed to do 20 and could probably have done 21.  Today I did 30 and could probably have done 31.  So a 50% improvement.  I’m quite pleased with that.

The downside of managing to do 30 was that this still leaves me in column 3 of the program.  As those of you who are doing this know, column 3 is the killer column so I suspect I’ll be doing week 3 and week 4 multiple times.  But I’m fine with that.  As long as I’m improving then it is worthwhile.

And I managed to get in a run today!  I decided to  restrict myself to a gentle 5K as I have a 10K race on Sunday and I really didn’t want to get injured.  I also did it on the treadmill so as to reduce impact stress.  I’m pleased to report that everything appears to be fine so it looks like I’ll be able to do the race.  I really wanted to do another 5K but decided to be sensible and stop after 30 minutes of running.  I’m so glad I can exercise again.  I was going a little stir crazy.

With regards to the race, this will be my first 10K run.  My aim is to try and do it in under an hour but we’ll see how I go.  From the comfort of my desk I will say that I am not going to be stupid and try and really go for it but come race day…who knows eh?  Any time I get will be a PR so first priority is to finish!

Tags: fitness by AndrewE
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I’ve noticed that my blog seems to have become a running and push-ups blog. That’s fine by me as it reflects my next lesson learned.

I’ve found that I HAVE to exercise to lose weight and get healthy. Some people may find that for them they can control what they eat and be in tip top shape but that just doesn’t work for me. I need to run and do my pushups. I need to go to the gym and try and lift weights every so often. I need to get on the crosstrainer, the rowing machine, my bike etc. I need to be active!

• Exercise has many beneficial effects for me. It makes me feel good about myself. There is a certain sense of smugness that sets in as I pass people sitting in their cars or cafes as I’m out running.
• It helps to keep me healthy. My cholesterol has dropped dramatically since I started exercising and eating right.  My weight has dropped dramatically.  103 pounds down so far!
• It means I can eat more of finer things in life (hmm…curly fries) as I’m burning more calories.  By exercising I’ve built more muscles so I’m burning more calories while I’m just doing my everyday activities!
• Exercise has transformed me from a couch potato into a runner.

Honestly folks, if I can do it then anyone can.  I think the mistake some folks make is that they try to do too much at once.  If you are just starting out you need to ease into it.  Take it one day at a time.  Before too long you’ll be one of us happy nutters who are out running in the rain!

And so, back to pushups and running:
I did day 02 of week 02 the 100 pushup challenge this morning in the gym.  The schedule called for 16, 13, 11, 11 and max (min 15).  I did the first 16 surprisingly easy although I could feel my abs (or lack thereof) quite strongly.  The next 13, 11 and 11 went well as well.  In my previous pushup post I said that I would definitely do more than the minimum and so I told myself I had to do at least 20 and I did 20.  I’m pretty sure that at least 50% of the pushup challenge is mental so from now on I’ll try and set more ambitious goals!

I also had a good run this morning.  I ran for an hour and did 10.3 km at a 5:50 pace.

Tags: Lessons, fitness, running by AndrewE
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The weigh in gods have been kind to me this week and I’ve knocked another half kg off my total.

I’m down to 92.87 kgs (204.7 pounds) now which is unbelievably low for me.  If I didn’t lose another gram I’d be happy to tell the truth but I’ll keep pushing on.   In many respects I think I’m no longer really trying for weightloss - I’m much more interested in my fitness.  Which is a great place to be.

I did day 01 of week 02 of the 100 pushup challenge in the gym today.  Today I was required to do 12, 12, 9 , 7 and max (min 10). I did 12, 12, 9, 7 and 12. I had no trouble at all today.  I guess it’s a bit of an easier session after the tough one at the end of week 01.

I’m getting a bit lazy with the max set of pushups so I’m going to make a real effort on Wednesday to do quite a few more than the minimum.  I know I could have done more today but the spirit was weak even though the flesh was willing.

I also participated in a virtual 5K today.  Technically I was supposed to do it yesterday but I figured it’s still the 29th in America so I’m fine.

I did it on the treadmill as I wanted to go to the gym as well.  Ironically the weather is glorious today and it would have been a perfect day for a run outside.

I think I did my fastest 5k ever on the treadmill with a time of 26:41.  I felt really good so I carried on and did another 5K which came in at 29:30 which, when you add them up (56:11), means I got a treadmill PR in both the 5K and the 10K!

Tags: PR, Weigh in, fitness, running by AndrewE
27 Comments »

I redid day 03 of week 01 of the 100 pushup challenge yesterday evening.  I couldn’t complete day 3 of week 01 last week.

However, this week I’m happy to report that I managed to do 15, 13, 10, 10 and then 16 pushups which means I qualify to move on to week 02 as I only had to do 15 for the last set.  To be honest I probably could have gutted out a few more but I wussed out and stopped after doing 1 more than the minimum.

The weather has been rather wintry (funny that) here in Auckland this week and today was no exception.  There’s been thunder, lightning and lots of cold rain.  Having said that, I needed to get my run in so I decided I would just wear my jacket and head out anyway.  While I was getting changed the rain started really crashing down and I started making excuses in my head but fortunately it stopped by the time I got to the front door.

I normally like to run by the coastline but after my experience with the high winds the other day I decided that I would be better off sticking inland today so I headed out towards One Tree Hill.

It was really nice out once I warmed up and the rain wasn’t really a problem.  I think the fear of rain is more of a problem than the rain itself which is probably true of most of our fears in life.  I was strangely happy to be out in the rain actually.  I think I get quite a kick out of doing things that I would have thought were the height of lunacy not too long ago.

Most of the run was along suburban streets except for the bit where I ran around One Tree Hill in Cornwall Park.  The park was rather deserted today.  Normally it is teeming with people out exercising but I guess the conditions weren’t really conducive to a nice day out.  I saw three other runners and one guy going flat out who zoomed past me.  I had a look behind me to see if he was being chased by the police but I guess he was just fast.

I passed quite a few bakeries and coffee shops on my route and I have to say it was a real struggle of the will to run past them but I managed.

Overall I did 13.9km in 1:25:33 for an overall pace of 6:09 minutes per km.

I’ve been having issues with snacking the last few days which is really annoying.  I’m a bit of a stress eater and I’m booked in for surgery next Friday and I guess it’s leading me to cookies and chocolate.

There has been a positive that has come out of finding out I need surgery next week.  It’s confirmed my status as a runner.  You see,  the first question I asked the doctor after he finished explaining the procedure was “How long until I can start running again?” He said about a week so I should be ok for my 10K race on Sunday.  I’ll just treat it as a nice slow long run.  Any time I set will be a PR so might as well make it one that is easy to beat!

Tags: fitness, running by AndrewE
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