Running Playlist 8FEB2012

A Different Kind of Truth by Van Halen

Great new album especially if you're an old-school rocker like myself.

Running Playlist 6FEB2012

Running Playlist 6FEB2012

Could easily be subtitled WTH?!?!?!?!?!

Started week 4 of the Couch to 5K program tonight and figured I would have 3 segments as there's only so much running you can do in 30 minutes with a 5-minute warm-up/cool-down. Gave the third segment a pretty epic effort and then... SURPRISE..... that cute little voice says running. GAH!!!!!!! So session four was pretty ugly but it's done and dusted.

Colorado Bulldog (live)- Mr. Big
Don't Tell Me You Love Me (acoustic)- Nightranger
Hanani- O.C Supertones
Turn It Up- Pillar
For the Love of the Game- Pillar
Neon Nights- Queensryche
Death of Me- Red

Let the music do the talkin'!

I have no idea why, perhaps because before I was a "foodie" I was known as somewhat of a music freak, but a couple of people have asked what I listen to when I run at night. So here you go, the first of probably many running music posts.

Core Of My Addiction- Fireflight
Activate- Stellar Kart
Adding To The Noise- Switchfoot
Student Driver- Stellar Kart
Everything Back But You- Avril Lavigne
All Fired Up- Pat Benatar
Don't Tell Me You Love Me (acoustic)- Night Ranger
Drop Dead Gorgeous- Republica

And no, I do not run in time to the music. I'm sure my brain is wired in some funky fashion that allows my feet to do one thing and my hands to keep a totally different tempo. Probably too many years of playing gee-tars and bass-es.

Rawk on!

Gym? I don't need no stinking gym!

I hate gyms. Not as much as I hate running, but the strong negative feelings are there. There was a time when I was a young cut/ripped gym rat but just like Star Wars it was a long, long time ago. As nice and helpful as people can be I'm just not a fan of them. There's always a snicker or a whispered cut-down and I'm just too old and grumpy to get out of a situation like that without causing someone some embarrassment. It would probably be me, but I'm sure I could drag a couple of folks down in the process.

So how do I get in my required strength workouts? I just use myself against myself. Better put, I use my own body weight as the resistance instead of a big chuck of iron. I use a modified version of Mark Sisson's Primal Essential Movements routine that can be found in his free e-book Primal Blueprint Fitness over at Mark's Daily Apple. In my case I substitute situps for the pullups as situps are a required part of the AF Fitness Exam and that it is my goal to pass by the first week in December 2012.

Now since I have zero upper body strength from years of sitting at a desk editing photos and writing I needed to start VERY simple just to get my body used to doing things it hasn't done in a very long time. The upside to this is I can do it anytime, anywhere!

Wall push-ups- feet together about 3 feet from the wall, hands a little wider than shoulder-width apart. Lean forward until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle then press back. I started off by doing 1 set of 50 and am now working on doing 2 sets. As you progress move from the wall to a lower object as a counter top and then lower still to two chairs (facing each other). Finally make it to the ground and keep pounding out the sets of 50. Be sure to keep your spine straight, don't stick your butt up in the air or let your belly scrape the ground (most embarrassing). Since my goal is a maximum number in one minute I'm shooting for a fast set of 50 (I get max-points at 44 in a minute).

Squats- feet shoulder-width apart, keeping your back and neck aligned lower your butt until your legs are parallel to the floor then press back up until standing with your arms crossed over your chest. Hold onto a chair or other object if you need to. I'm currently on 2 set of 25. Feel free to cry at any point along the way but mind you that whimpering is strictly forbidden.

Planks- assume the push-up position on the ground and hold your abs, butt, everything tight for as long as you can and as straight as a, well... a plank. I do two sets until failure and am shooting for 2 minutes. Start on your knees if you need to like I'm doing. When you're consistently hitting this mark start working your obliques by tilting your upper body to one side while pointing your arm towards the ceiling. Repeat for the other side.

Sit-ups- you know the drill here. On your back, knees bent and arms across your chest. Use a couch or a partner to hold your feet. Tighten your abs the pull up your head and then your chest towards your knees until your arms hit your knees or thighs. Initially I'm doing 2 sets to failure. I'll do 'em until I can do 50, then work on doing them faster. Big Blue (the Air Force) can put a bomb through a window but they're still schlepping along with situps instead of crunches. Apparently they're looking at the fitness of my hip flexors. That's sarcasm in case you didn't catch it.

That's pretty much it. The strength exercise no-gym get fit fitness routine.

So you need to be motivated?

Anonymity. It's like a plague among us and we don't even know it. Anonymity has allowed us to suffer alone and not ask for or receive help. Anonymity allows us to be snarky and snipe away at others without consequence. Anonymity also allows us to make a half-hearted attempt to change and if the change gets too hard we can stop and no one is the wiser. Anonymity is not your friend.

There's another "A" word that IS your friend and can be instrumental in accomplishing nearly anything- accountability. Accountability is having someone in your life that cares enough about you to say "You're full of crap, stop your whining and do your flipping situps!" They don't do it to be mean and it's not said in a hateful manner, they just know you well enough to see through the facade we put on for most of the people we deal with on a daily basis. For some it can be a spouse or significant other. Personally I would steer clear of that route because those folks know you a little too well. Think of the prophet getting no respect in his home town type of thing.

I have had a couple of great men who were tasked with keeping me accountable for things through the years. The most memorable was Steve (my brother from a different mother) and he knew how to cut to the chase often telling me in some very forthright ways that I was being a selfish whiner and I needed to just suck it up and get on with it. Sounds harsh, but at that time those were exactly the words I needed to hear. He was doing it out of true concern for my well-being.

Not everyone needs to be motivated by having someone this close emotionally. Motivation can come from declaring your intent to a small group of friends and colleagues. Or even a large group of people like the readers of your own blog.

I started my life transformation on December 18th 2011. In the 2 1/2 weeks that followed I implemented my eating and exercise plan and was on my way. What I didn't realize until I saw a Facebook message was that the following week the Yokota Samurai Fitness Center here on the base would be starting their 2012 Biggest Loser event. Twelve weeks of friendly competition with an emphasis on lifestyle changes and healthy weight loss. And get this; first prize is $1,000 cash with second place getting $500 in men's, women's, couple's and family categories. This might be fun! I have already made the hard changes in my life and I'm working my plan!

So if you want to keep me accountable, gently bust my chops on this from time to time. But do it in love, do it because you care about me. And if you watch the Yokota Samurai Fitness Center page on Facebook for updates, keep your eye on number 9. But keep in mind that my goal is still the same as ever; pass the Air Force PT test by the first week of December 2012. Whatever happens in-between is just what happens and is icing on the cake. OK, better described now as butter on the bacon????

Everything I Know About Running

Running sucks! If you hang around long enough and get to know me, I might open up and tell you how I really feel. But before you start to try and convince me otherwise, I feel a bit of background is in order.

Running is something I remember doing when you were playing War or Tag or something of the like. It was never really something I saw the need to do as an adult. Besides, the thought of my fish-belly white legs in skimpy filmy running shorts.... ugh! It's like a moving horror show. 

I was not an athlete in school, I was the brainy nerd in the band. I got out of PE in high school because some kind soul realized that band camp in the summer was no picnic. After high school I was working construction and in rock bands. I never had a fitness or weight problem but I did smoke 3 packs of Lucky Strikes a day and could hang with the best drinkers around. Even in college I was decently svelt as I worked at a factory stacking cinder blocks during the day and going to Nursing school at night.

After graduation is when I started to plump up (anyone else have a vision of Ball Park Franks at that moment?). Lots of time standing at an operating room table and the nurse's lounge always had something to snack on. I got my first introduction to running courtesy of my neighbor Vince. Vince was a pilot and was muscle on muscle. I think he flew the C-130 Hercules because he would never fit into a fighter being a wrestler and football player. Big guy. Anyway, he decides he needs me as his running partner so off we go. I'm sure I had some junk shoes, no warmup or anything and off we go. Not long into what I've fondly remembered as the Valdosta Death March I got some horrible shooting pain in my shins and was sucking wind like I was on the top of Mt. Everest. Luckily we only ran for a mile or so after that began. I couldn't walk for two days on my return and I never ran again; with him or anyone else. That would have been the mid-1990s.

Fast-forward to December 2011. After making the decision to reach my goal of passing the Air Force Fitness test I sadly realized that it indeed included running. In fact, I would need to run a mile-and-a-half right at fourteen minutes to make a good enough score. Well crap. Luckily one of my friends runs so I asked BabyPT for some advice and she turned my onto the Couch to 5K app by VitaStone.

Couch to 5K on my iPhone and I love it!

Couch to 5K is designed to get sedentary slugs like me up and moving with the goal of being able to run a 5K in nine weeks. In my case nine weeks is a little overly optimistic. With a 5-minute warm-up and cool-down period during each week the remainder is divided into jogging and walking segments. You can play the music on your device or ever select certain songs for the workout.

My first session was predictably painful. Sixty seconds of running left me breathless and with painful shins but I walked the rest of the time instead of quitting. My goal for the second session was to run two of the eight running segments. After nearly three weeks I was finally able to complete all the running segments! My form is probably pretty ugly and I'm not leaving a trail of fire behind but I now am a thing in motion (remember my post stating Newton's First Rule of Motion?). Currently I'm on week two and on my first day out I ran all the segments, the second day I even felt like I was doing an honest-to-goodness running pace. But don't tell anyone please.

So do I still think running sucks? Yep. But not as much as before, and there's every chance it will get less sucky as time goes on. Stay tuned.