2k Run - September 8th, 2008

I think that my run yesterday took too much out of me - I couldn't complete my measly 2k today without a mid-way walk.

I also think that my sub-60 minute goal for this springs 10k run will not be met. My brother was in a 14k race yesterday and his time was 67 minutes. So I'll abandon this goal and just look to having a good run with ds when the time comes.

Today's music was Jurassic 5's self-titled album.

It's the J-U-R-A
Capital S another S-I-C
5 MC's in the flesh
Bound to catch wreck
Hit the deck
Cause we'll pop the trunk
Plus the tape on your cassette

5.7k Run - September 7th, 2008

Today was my longest solo run to date. Pretty close to some of the other runs we've done together - across a bridge then back along the water - but doing it alone was weird. I should have mapped out the run first so I'd know where abouts the 2k mark was. Oh well, something to do next time.

Today I was listening to k-os' Atlantis: Hymns For Disco

Everyday is Saturday night, but I can't wait for Sunday morning, Sunday morning

It's the same thing, back in the cold
People know people come and go it bores me
Same thing

2k Run - September 5th, 2008

Another victory! Fridays are definately my day!!

I'm really surprised, only my 2nd attempt at running 2k and I did it! I didn't think I would make it, coming up the hill (I should heed my own advice) took a lot out of me, but once I was on flat ground again it felt great.

No doubt Eric B. and Rakim, Follow The Leader, was a great help.

So I'm outside of da club and you think I'm a puuuuuuuunk
So I go to my loaded tech 9 that's off in the truuuuuuuunk
I told that muthafucka
I ain't never scared (eastside!)
I ain't never scared (westside!)
I ain't never scared (southside!)
I ain't never scared (northside!)
I ain't never scared (southside!)
I ain't never scared (eastside!)
I ain't never scared (westside!)

Gym workout - September 4th, 2008

My abs aren't nearly as sore as they were last Thursday, so today's workout included them.

I started off, as usual, with 5 minutes on a bike then 15 reps each:

military press (40kg / 90lb)
seated butterfly (40kg / 90lb)
biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

20 crunches

torso rotation (40kg / 90lb)

military press (40kg / 90lb)
lower back (70kg / 150lb)
seated butterfly (40kg / 90lb)
biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

10 crunches

torso rotation (40kg / 90lb)


And today's music is Guns 'N Roses' Chinese Democracy

And no it's not going to change
I know it's gone, still I'm used
And that's nice to hang on someone
A change that's bittersweet

That's called the blues

2k Run - September 3rd, 2008

After my little victory last week, I've upped my training run, so today was my first 2k attempt. I ran just over .9k, walked .2k then ran the last .9k. Overall I'm happy with that, but I think that the next time I do one of these runs, my goal will be to run more than 1.5k before I walk.

And today's music was Dr. Dre's The Chronic

One, two, three and to the fo'
Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre is at the do'
Ready to make an entrance, so back on up
(cause you know we're bout to rip shit up)

Gym workout - September 2nd, 2008

My abs have, it seems, recovered so today I decided to concentrate more on them and my arms/sholders. I figure that I'm running enough that I shouldn't have to worry as much about doing cardio and leg exercises at the gym (not that I do a lot of leg stuff anyway). So, today's workout was (all this, x2):

5 minutes on the bike

a set of 15 followed immediately by a set of 10:
military press (40kg / 90lb)
lower back (70kg / 150lb)
seated butterfly (40kg / 90lb)
biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

20 crunches

15 reps, each side, on the Cybex torso rotation (40kg / 90lb)

Today's music was Eminem, The Eminem Show

WHITE AMERICA
I could be one of ur kids
WHITE AMERICA
Little erik looks just like this
WHITE AMERICA
Erica loves my shit
I got to TRL
Look how many hugs i get

9k Run - August 31, 2008

Our longest run ever! Well, mine anyway, I'm sure ds has run further. (whoops, turns out that we've both run further)

Great run - across town and over a bridge then back along the seawall. Lots of great views and plenty of sunshine.

Today's music was all Fatboy Slim.

We’ve come a long long way together,
Through the hard times and the good,
I have to celebrate you baby,
I have to praise you like I should

Tennis - August 30th, 2008

Another clear cool morning for tennis. Played with ds, again, and we're both better than last time. But soon tennis season will be over, our rainy fall and winter are almost upon us. So then it'll be back to the climbing gym.

1.5k Run - August 29th, 2008

Victory!

Well, partial, anyway. Today, for the first time ever, I ran the entire 1.5k without stopping. Plus for the last 2 blocks I really turned it on. It was a great feeling. Now I'll have to map out a 2k run to keep this up.

Today's music was the Lords of Acid's Expand Your Head.

Am I sexy?
Will you know
Follow me
And you will know

Gym workout - August 28th, 2008

Another good workout this mornig, but no crunches - my abs hurt too much from the other day.

5 minutes on the bike
military press (30kg / 60lb)
lower back (70kg / 150lb)
leg extension (45kg / 100lb)
seated butterfly (30kg / 60lb)
leg curl (70kg / 150lb)
biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
leg press (180kg / 400lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

10 reps, each side, on the Cybex torso rotation (40kg / 90lb)

Then the weights and torso rotation again.

Today's music was MAN-CAT's Bowie/Hip-Hop mashup, The Rise and Fall of Thuggy Stardust and the Hustler's From Mars.

3k Run - August 27th, 2008

Another wet, soggy run today. So I went out this afternoon and bought a shell.

But, all told, a great run - our first two legs were definately further than I'd run before at once.

And today's music was really good, N.E.R.D.'s In Search Of...

I'm an outlaw
Quick on the draw
Somethin' you never seen before
And I dare a motherfucker to come in my face

Gym workout - August 26th, 2008

Wow, 2 weeks since my last gym visit. I'm still convinced that the break I took was a good thing. Perhaps taking a week or so off every couple of months should be part of my routine.

Less cardio than previously, and I'm still doing 2 sets of 15 rather than 3 of 10.

5 minutes on the bike

military press (30kg / 60lb)
lower back (70kg / 150lb)
leg extension (45kg / 100lb)
seated butterfly (30kg / 60lb)
leg curl (70kg / 150lb)
biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
leg press (180kg / 400lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

2 sets of 10 crunches

15 reps, each side, on the Cybex torso rotation (40kg / 90lb)

Then the weights, crunches and torso rotation again.

Today's music, because I'm going to see them in October, Gogol Bordello's Super Taranta!

On burning bridges
Yeah o yeah you seen me fall
In love with witches
And you know my brain is held
Inside by stitches
Yet you know
I did survive
All of your lovely sieges

Tennis - August 25th, 2008

Played for a little over an hour today, with ds. It's been quite a while since we last played - over three weeks by the look of things - so we were both pretty rusty. But it was a lot of fun - and the weather was ideal, not too sunny and pretty mild.

3k Run - August 24th, 2008

Pouring rain today - I'm really going to have to pick up a light waterproof shell for these days, as they'll be occurring more and more often.



Still, a good run and I definitely feel I'm improving.



Today's music was Panjabi MC's Steel Bangle

3k Run - August 21th, 2008

A week! A whole week without exercise.

The heat over the weekend made it unbearable to go for runs or tennis, and I was out of town from Monday - Wednesday.

But today's run was great! Maybe a little break was ideal after all. We ran our regular 3.something k route and we ran further on the first leg than ever before, just over 1k.

I'm very happy with that result.

Today's music was the soundtrack from Kill Bill: Vol. 1

"Bang bang, he shot me down
Bang bang, I hit the ground
Bang bang, that awful sound
Bang bang, my baby shot me down"

3k Run - August 14th, 2008

Because of an impending DHL delivery, ds had to be back home by 8 this morning so we went for a run rather than the gym.

She like to run according to her heart rate, so I didn't time anything. Great little run, a couple of nice hills but nothing to extreme.

Today's music, in light of yesterday's excellent news, was Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D.

"I let you put it in my mouth
I let it get under my skin
I let you put it in my veins
I let you take me from within"

1.5k Run - August 13th, 2008

I'm loving these new shoes. Did the run faster today, ran further before I had to stop and walk and I walked for less time as well.

Today's music was Luther Wright and The Wrongs bluegrass version of Pink Floyd's The Wall.

"And if you're taking your girlfriend
Out tonight
You'd better park the car
Well out of sight.
Cause if they catch you in the back seat
Trying to pick her locks,
They're gonna send you back to mother
In a cardboard box.
You better run."

Gym workout - August 12th, 2008

I'm still doing the sets of 15, rather than 10, as I mentioned earlier. Good workout this morning but I'm wondering if twice a week is often enough at the gym. Oh well, once fall and winter sets in there will be pretty much no more tennis and golf, so I'll be at the climbing gym more often. Speaking of which, I took my 7 year old nephew (son of my aforementioned brother) to try out climbing (in the gym) yesterday and damn if that kid didn't love it! And what a little climber he is. Certainly climbed way higher than I did on my first visit. And he wants to go again, and again and again.

Today's workout:

military press (30kg / 60lb)
lower back (70kg / 150lb)
leg extension (45kg / 100lb)
seated butterfly (20kg / 40lb)
leg curl (70kg / 150lb)
biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
leg press (180kg / 400lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
upper back (45kg / 100lb)
abdominal (70kg / 150lb)


Today's music was William Shatner's Has Been

"Sing along with the common people,
sing along and it might just get you through,
laugh along with the common people,
laugh along even though they're laughing at you,
and the stupid things that you do.
Because you think that poor is cool."

1.5k Run - August 11th, 2008

The new shoes feel great! I shaved a minute off my run time and ran further before starting to walk. Really looking forward to our long run next weekend.

Forgot to mention my Saturday run music here (and I've forgotten now) but today was Marilyn Manson's "The Golden Age of Grotesque"

"Doll-dagga buzz-buzz ziggety-zag
Godmod grotesque burlesque drag"

New shoes!

My brother, who runs marathons, recommended a local store to go to get my first ever real running shoes.

I tried on 3 or 4 different pairs - and even took little test runs outside in each - and decided on the New Balance 768 ($139.99 CAD).

Tomorrow morning I'm going to try out my 1.5k with them.

1.5k Run - August 9th, 2008

As I mentioned yesterday, I've started on the 1.5k runs. This mornings was just under 10 minutes and I ran for the first half, a short walk, then ran the rest.

3k Run - August 8th, 2008

Today's run was about 29 minutes and was more-or-less untimed.

As a side note, on Sunday I'm going to buy my first pair of real running shoes (I've been using cross-trainers so far). We'll see how that enters into the mix.

Today's music was the soundtrack for "Lola rennt"

"I don't believe in trouble
I don't believe in pain
I don't believe there's nothing left
but running here again"

Gym workout - August 7th, 2008

Gut Buster II.

Well, I hope, anyway. Still working on devising a routine that will really work my abs. Although reading this makes me think that I should revamp my workouts entirely.

Today's workout:

15 reps, each side, on the Cybex torso rotation (40kg / 90lb)
15 crunches
15 reps on the Keiser abdominal (70kg / 150lb)
15 reps on the Keiser seated butterfly (30kg / 60lb)
5 minutes cardio

Repeated 3 times

Today's music was M.I.A.'s Kala.

"All I wanna do is (BANG BANG BANG BANG!)
And (KKKAAAA CHING!)
And take your money"

3k Run - August 6th, 2008

We tried a new route today - note to self: do not plan route anymore, yours have too many hills.

It was a good, if hilly, run. Total time was 26 minutes:

2 minute walk; 4 minute run
2 minute walk; 4 minute run
4 minute walk; 3 minute run
2 minute walk; 3 minute run
2 minute walk

And a new feature for the blog, my workout music.

Today was the soundtrack to Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses"

"1, 2, 3... Who should I kill
Every motherfucker, runnin' up the hill"

Gym workout - August 5th, 2008

Bit of a change in today's work out. Rather than do 3 sets with 10 reps each time, I did 2 sets with 15 reps each time. Makes for a slightly shorter workout, but with pretty much the same results.

5 minutes on the bike, Keiser circuit, 15 crunches
5 minutes on the treadmill, etc., etc.

• military press (30kg / 60lb)
• lower back (70kg / 150lb)
• leg extension (45kg / 100lb)
• seated butterfly (20kg / 40lb)
• leg curl (70kg / 150lb)
• biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
• lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
• leg press (180kg / 400lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

And a side-note to Sundays run - when we got back and I took my shoes off, I noticed that one of my socks was soaked in blood (well, a small part of it was). After a shower I saw that the problem was a too-long toe nail. No runners toe for me, yet!

7.5k Run - August 3rd, 2008

We went out for a 90 minute run this morning. New route, over a couple of bridges and past one of the stadiums. Great run, beautiful day. There was definitly more running this time, and longer runs each interval too.

Tennis, August 2nd, 2008

Today it was just ds and myself out playing tennis. Just over an hour this afternoon (after having some of my brother's birthday cake, that is).

Great game, lots of long volleys and more than one spectacular serve by ds!

Anonymity and Blogging

Obviously I'm trying to maintain some anonymity in these writings, but it's getting a little tiresome writing "my girlfriend" everytime I want to refer to the most important person in my life.

So, she will now be known as "ds". Our tennis partners are "ml" (him) and "gm" (her). Our climbing friends are "hm" and "cf". Pitch 'n' putt was with "bv" and the cat is "s".

Yeah, this'll be much easier.

3k Run - August 1st, 2008

My girlfriend's shins are feeling better so we both went for the run. Total time just over 29 minutes.

3 minute walk; 2 minute run
3 minute walk; 2 minute run
3 minute walk; 2 minute run
3 minute walk; 2 minute run
5 minute walk; 2 minute run
2 minute walk

But I'm disappointed that my gut is far from busted. And looking back on that workout, I can see why. Hell, all I did was add 1 exercise and remove a bunch of others. I'm going to re-vamp that workout for next Thursday and give it another try then.

Gym workout - July 31st, 2008

A new workout! Hereafter to be known as the "Gut Buster."

While I've been happy with my progress at the gym, the one area I really want to work on is my stomach, so with the introduction of a new (to me) machine - the Torso Rotation - I set up this workout:

5 minutes cardio
10 reps on the Keiser abdominal (70kg / 150lb)
10 reps on the Keiser lower back (70kg / 150lb)
10 crunches
10 reps, each side, on the Cybex torso rotation (40kg / 90lb)

All this, times 3.

One other interesting thing I noticed today. Usually when I'm doing my cardio, if I'm on a bike it'll be a recumbent one. But today I use a regular one and it was a very different feeling. Must remember to incorporate both bike types in my routine.

3k Run - July 30th, 2008

Another solo run this morning, but I'm getting better at those, I think. Total time was 25 minutes, 20 seconds.

2 minute walk; 4 minute run
2 minute walk, 2 minute run
2 minute walk, 2 minute run
2 minute walk, 2 minute run
2 minute walk, 1 minute run
4 minute walk

Gym workout - July 29th, 2008

Another full workout this morning.

5 minutes on the treadmill, Keiser circuit, 10 crunches
5 minutes rowing, etc., etc.
5 minutes on a bike, etc., etc.

• military press (30kg / 60lb)
• lower back (70kg / 150lb)
• leg extension (45kg / 100lb)
• seated butterfly (20kg / 40lb)
• leg curl (70kg / 150lb)
• biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
• lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
• leg press (180kg / 400lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

On the treadmill this time I set it for 6 miles an hour and ran for the full 5 minutes. At that pace, I should be able to achieve one of my goals. That is, once I can run for an hour non-stop.

3k Run - July 27th, 2008

Yes, today is the sheduled 7-9k run but my girlfriend (and is it ever getting tiresome refering to her that way - must come up with a better plan) fears she's developing shin spinlts again so we took it easy this time. If her pain continues, I'll be on my own for the Wednesday & Friday morning runs.

Tennis - July 26th, 2008

Tennis again with our friends, but for over 90 minutes this time.

In the singles, my friend and I played a real game - a series of real games, that is - and it was a lot of fun. He ended up beating me, 6 games to 5, but I really enjoyed it. I look forward to the rematch!

3k Run - July 25th, 2008

So it begins.

Our first timed and tracked run. Over all, 29 minutes, 38 seconds.

4 minute walk, 2 minute run
4 minute walk, 2 minute run
4 minute walk, 2 minute run
4 minute walk, 1 minute run
6 minute walk

Gym workout - July 24th, 2008

Great workout this morning - and we were up and out of the house early enough (as we're about to leave, my girlfriend says "Let's toss the kitten's toy into the living room so he won't see us walk out the door...") that I had time for a full workout:

5 minutes on the bike, the Keiser circuit (see below), 10 crunches
5 minutes on the treadmill, etc., etc.
5 minutes rowing, etc., etc.

• military press (30kg / 60lb)
• lower back (70kg / 150lb)
• leg extension (45kg / 100lb)
• seated butterfly (20kg / 40lb)
• leg curl (70kg / 150lb)
• biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
• lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
• leg press (180kg / 400lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

3k Run - July 23rd, 2008

Ah ha! Some else new (well, newly returned) to the gym scene. I'm not alone after all.

Good run this morning, but I am becoming a little frustrated in that I don't see any real progress. Am I less sweaty now than I was a month ago when we started these runs? Is the run easier? I dunno. I think part of the problem, as my girlfriend pointed out to me today, is that we're not being consistent in our run. It seems like every time we've got a new run-walk combination so it's hard to track progress.

Well no more. Starting Friday (the next scheduled 3k run) we're going to implement a consistent walk-run program, we're going to keep track of the times for the run and I'll post everything here.

Goals

Having goals is good, right? A tangible where one can look back, point and say "I did this!"

1) to be less than 200 lbs (90 kg) - frankly I'd like to get my BMI low enough that I'm "normal" but that means a maximum weight of 189 lbs (85 kg) and my love of beer may prevent that

2) to complete the 10k run in less than 60 minutes - I recently read that some world-class runners did 10k in just over 30 minutes, so I figure double their time is a good target

3) to lose my paunch - I'm not looking for a six-pack, but a flat stomach would be great

Gym workout - July 22nd, 2008

We got a late start this morning (no doubt to due to someones unbearable cuteness keeping us up last night) so it was another short workout:

5 minutes on a rowing machine
a Keiser circuit (10 reps for each station):

• military press (30kg / 60lb)
• lower back (70kg / 150lb)
• leg extension (45kg / 100lb)
• seated butterfly (20kg / 40lb)
• leg curl (70kg / 150lb)
• biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
• lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
• leg press (180kg / 400lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

10 crunches
Then I did that whole thing again, but this time it was 5 minutes on a recumbent bike rather than rowing.

Golf - July 21st, 2008

A friend and I went out to the local pitch 'n' putt course this morning. I shot 82 and he got 80. Not stellar games for either of us. It's not unusual for me to break 80 there and I'd like to break 75. Soon, soon...

Obligatory cat post

There have been many, many times that I've read an "Obligatory cat post" on a blog and I always question just how much of an obligation it was (as opposed to an indulgence.

Well, my girlfriend got a kitten today so here he is. Cuteoverload, watch out!

9.2k Run - July 20th, 2008

This morning was our long run. Just over 90 minutes, almost 6 miles. Left home just after 8:30. This is a long grueling run, a real test of my willpower. Last time we did a long run, it was about 7.5 k. After we got back, my girlfriend plugged the route into that gmaps pedometer site and we'd done 9.2 - not running the entire time (I should hope not at 90 minutes!)

Tennis - July 19th, 2008

Played tennis - mixed doubles and singles - for about an hour this morning.

My girlfriend and I met a couple of friends of ours at the public courts by the local elementary school. There are two courts and one was already in use so we played doubles for about 30 minutes. Couples, battle of the sexes and partner swapping.

Then the other players left and we split into singles. My friend and I are pretty well matched, we can get a good long volley going and sometimes we're even whacking the ball back and forth from the baselines.

Gorgeous day - and we went early enough that it wasn't too hot yet plus there was intermittent cloud cover.

3k Run - July 18th, 2008

3.2k morning run. Left home at 6:45 - 2 minute run; 2 minute walk; repeat for 30 minutes.

Ran alone this time which is always more work. I tend to run too fast when I'm alone. I miss my little pace car.

Rock climbing - for real!

My girlfriend and I meet after work and we waited to be picked up. Our friends swing by and we head out to a local park, a 15 minute drive away to a suburb.

Absolutely gorgeous. Clear blue skies, sparky water and real rock climbing - our first time.

Our friends tie in and three of us head for the scramble (I love learning new phraseology) while the fourth rappels down. For some reason, I'm chosen as the first to climb (maybe I volunteered, I don't recall). It's interesting climbing real rocks - they don't have anything labeled like at the gym! But this climb is pretty simple. They say it's a 5.6, but it's both shorter and way, way easier than any 5.6 I've climbed at the gym. All four of us climb it, and then we (well, they, our experienced climbing friends) move our ropes to the next climb.

Now this is a climb - a fairly sheer rock face and much longer. Again, I'm first up. Definitely work this time. I'm having difficulty finding hand and foot holds that I trust but I get to the top and I have to admit, it's more than a little exhilarating. Our friends each climb it and then as we're waiting for my girlfriend to work her way down (she has vertigo issues) I climb again. It's not so much that it's easier this time, but I have more confidence. It's also a very different climb because I can't remember what foot- and hand-holds I used last time.

Still my girlfriend won't come down to the rope, so they tell her that the best bet is to go up top, tie in and I'll lower her down and then she can climb up. And she bought it! Up top she goes, ties in and slowly, ever so slowly, I see her creeping backward over the edge. It's a slow descent but soon enough she's on the rock beside me and getting ready to climb up.

Her ascent begins. She's obviously quite nervous but damn if that girl isn't one of the bravest people I've ever met. With lots of helpful advice being shouted by the rest of us ("Look to your right... No, the other right") she makes it to the top like a champ!

By this time we're all hungry and tired so we have a little picnic up top and enjoy the evening. There are now a dozen or so other climbers and it's starting to get late, so we head back to town.

Gym workout - July 17th, 2008

This morning was a shorter than usual workout because of a special after-work adventure today. More on that later.

The gym we go to, the Y downtown, has a circuit of Keiser equipment which I really like. They use air-resistance with simple buttons to add or remove "weight". So, my routine at the gym is 5 minutes of cardio (bike, rowing machine, treadmill, etc), a circuit of the Keisers and then 10 crunches. All this is repeated, usually, 3 times making a workout that lasts anywhere from 45-60 minutes. But, as I mentioned, today was an abbreviated workout.

So, today was:

5 minutes on a recumbent bike
a Keiser circuit (10 reps for each station):

• military press (30kg / 60lb)
• lower back (70kg / 150lb)
• leg extension (45kg / 100lb)
• seated butterfly (20kg / 40lb)
• leg curl (70kg / 150lb)
• biaxial chest press (45kg / 100lb)
• lat pull down (45kg / 100lb)
• leg press (180kg / 400lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• upper back (45kg / 100lb)
• abdominal (70kg / 150lb)

10 crunches

Then I did that whole thing again, but this time it was 5 minutes on a rowing machine rather than a bike.

3k Run - July 16th, 2008

3.2k morning run. Left home at 6:45 - 3 minute walk; 2 minute run; repeat for 30 minutes.

How it all started

On July 15th I was on the New York Times site and they had a BMI calculator. I gave it a shot and my index was 29.2. I was overweight. For the first time I wasn't obese.

How it all began, the short version:

Quit smoking, joined a rock climbing gym, got muscles, wanted more.

How it all began, the long version:

About 6 months before I turned 40, I quit smoking. This was due in no small part to the fact the my girlfriend had quit about a month earlier (thanks sweetie). A couple months after my 40th, we were out for a walk and passed by a climbing gym, "I'd like to try that," she chirped. "Yeah, could be fun." That fall we took their intro course, 10am - noon on a Sunday morning. It's a blast. We walk out exhausted and thrilled and go for a burger.

We go a few more times, then a few more. Within 2 months we have our own equipment and year-long memberships at the gym. We go once or twice a week through winter and one spring afternoon I come home from work to find a pair of tennis rackets (thanks again sweetie). In 8 months I'd gone from playing a half dozen pitch 'n' putt games a year to a climbing tennis player who gets the sticks out to have a slack day.

And then I started to notice the changes. I was building biceps. Not huge, not rock hard, but these were distinct muscles that bulged and almost rippled. I had pecs, quads and lats. My so-called six-pack was still more of a keg (one of those little Heineken ones), but the changes were undeniable. So, one step further. Join the Y. Twice a week, first thing in the morning. After a month I said it. Those 5 immortal words. "Let's do the Fun Run," our local annual 10k spring-time race.

As it stands now, mid-summer 2008 a good week involves 2 morning sessions at the Y, 2 morning runs of about 3k, a longer 7k run, a hour of tennis, 18 holes of pitch 'n' putt, an hour climbing and now there's talk of Yoga.