Welcome To Healthysport!
The Summation
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I guess there will be a point when blogging privately has to stop and sharing my work-out routines, nutrition and thoughts with a few readers must be resumed. Otherwise all my experiences both as a runner and Physical Therapist will fade with me. There was a time I thought I needed to blog things in my private Google Drive and then after editing and finding the right pictures and the right mood, I'd share. Like whatever I write here will be read by millions, which goes without saying,Yeah, I need to get rid of my delusions.
So here is the scoop. I was able to finally do a 12 miler last week. I dropped five pounds in a little more than a month. I am less strained by school and I added more hours in my hospital work since I finished my second Bachelor's degree at FAU last December. For the last month, I focused on running, working out and yeah, relaxation. A few things happened along the way, like meeting new friends, a friend staying over, which somewhat disrupted my smooth flow and of course, there was work and work and work that puts further dents to my routines. These are not meant to bother me though. I'd try to keep up with you guys as much as I could.
So far, this is the best I have done in running. I am not counting here the weight days I have had (although I have missed some days in strengthening due to work). I had a problem between 1/15 to 1/19 due to heavy work and poor sleep. That was a 3 day gap of no running so when I resumed on the 19th, I felt like starting all over again. This happened to me many times during my schooling and most likely it would destroy my goal of running a race or getting healthy. If you notice though that on my serious running days, such as the 20th and recently 22nd, I have improved my pace to around 11 minutes per mile. That is showing me that my body is getting used to the running again.The difference nowadays is the added weight lifting mostly for my core and legs.
The Crawl Back
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Oh boy, lemme tell you! When it comes to health, there is no such thing as ‘consistency’. Yes I can visualize myself running everyday, going to the gym every other day, and swimming and biking along the way - the truth is - all of that visualization remains in my ‘wish’ and ‘keep dreaming’ bucket. Being consistent in healthy-sport is almost close to impossible, at least as far as I am concerned. I won’t be surprised though if someone right now rolls his eyes and yells, “I am consistent!”. Well, good for you, but you either are the most self-disciplined healthy man in the world or I am the most mediocre wanna-be sporty guy in the world. Let’s get things straight now before I switch to the ‘healthy lifestyle’ mode : Despite all the best laid plans, there will always be a kink somewhere, a failure or a non-compliance in the pursuit of a healthy-sport lifestyle. And despite my tendency to blame myself for it, I try to give myself a valid excuse. I may want to run every other day but if one night I needed to know the difference between a jar and a war file in java, I will most likely stay awake looking for the answer. I may want to go to the gym but when your work (in my case, if you haven’t figured yet, is Physical Therapy) gets you so fatigued and exhausted at the end of the day, the only thing you want to do is hit the sofa or the bed for a brief recovery nap at the end of your shift. And I am not even counting the impacts of deadlines you need to meet everyday when studying. So there - I may be sighing the mea culpa but I won’t play the blame game on me...no way. Now, let me proceed.
If you noticed my blogging, I am inconsistent. One week I will be running like a wild animal and the next, I am as quiet as a polar bear in hibernation. There is a reason for this - I was (and I emphasize ‘was’) in the university for my second college degree. Yes, my friends, I am finally done with Computer Science (to be more specific, Information Engineering Technology) where, for the last 4 years I spent my non-working days and nights learning almost all the important computer languages in the world and throwing into that the concepts of server management and program management and on and on and on. There was Calculus, and Discrete Math, and Data Structures and Data Management and Operating Systems and Java and C# and C++ and well… you get the picture. And I studied all these things from age 48 to 52.
So between hospital work ( I switched to per diem though it felt more like full time job on certain weeks) and school, I turned from a three times half marathoner every year to nothing. Of course I did some Ragnar Relays and some running component of triathlons somewhere, but the overall picture of my active lifestyle was tepid compared to my years before. I was a hot commodity in running before venturing into Computer Science course.
The good news is - I’ve finished the bachelor’s degree literally yesterday after submitting my required project in java. So, I am now crossing out my bucket list item that says, “Acquire a second degree in Computer Science or related field” and I swear, I will never do this again. It was a tough enterprise although fulfilling. The good news is that I now have the bragging rights of telling people that I have two college degrees: One is in Physical Therapy and another in Computer Science. I think only a few people can claim that. (Or maybe a thousand, I don’t know). Setting that introduction aside, it is now time for me to resume my healthy-sport blogging.
Two days ago, as has been my traditional custom, I started my slow jog in preparation for resumption of full blast running in the next couple of days. I believe I have emphasized this many times in this blog: After more than three days of hiatus, one needs to return gradually in running. It means jog or walk first and limit your distance. You just don’t stop running for days and then return on the trails in full blast. Sure you can try but good luck with those injuries.
My goal right now is to be able to run a half marathon in three months and I am thinking of Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon this coming February 2015. Good thing is, God willing, I have no more impediment to this goal. School is over. And as far as I feel, my legs are still in working condition, and although I gained a few pounds since I stopped exercising ( perhaps a month now), I can easily shed these with disciplined diet and regular exercises. We’re talking of 5 to 6 pounds.
Yesterday I jogged two miles. Today, I jogged 4 miles. Very slow jogs, no stress on the legs, lots of stretching in between miles. That’s where my running program starts for now.
A few reminders to myself:
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Returning to the road after weeks of being indoors can flare up sinus problems in winter so be aware of that.
2 . Returning to running is an added stress to what are very peaceful and quiet body processes. So besides being aware of soreness, also consider a possible albeit temporary deficit in your immune system. Take some vitamins C and B complex (I find these reliable)
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Eat sensibly and healthy and make sure you complete your sleep as much as possible.
I’d continue sharing my progress and setbacks in my future blogs.
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