Greg Nilsen

Ok, do you remember all that positive stuff I wrote almost two weeks ago?

Throw it out the window!

So, now I have two confessions to make:

1. I haven’t run in nearly two weeks.  I’ve been almost avoiding it with a combination of missing motivation, stress, high temperatures and other obligations.  I’m kinda embarrassed because the “I don’t really feel like it” bug has been overly prevalent.  Oh, and in the same time, I haven’t been watching what I’ve eaten very well.  And what does that lead to?  Yep.  Weight Gain.  It’s only a pound, but it is still going in the wrong direction…
2. Tonight, I still wasn’t all that motivated, but dragged myself out to do something anyway, so I, yes, powerwalked tonight.  Ugh, that doesn’t even feel right to type, but I did keep a good pace and completed my 3.3 miles in 45 minutes, only around 5 minutes longer than running.  Wednesday, I hope to get back to running.

So, nothing really good to report.  I really did feel I was in a good place a few weeks ago, but maybe it was simply overconfidence.  Regardless, the last few weeks have reminded me how much hard work and dedication this process is going to require.

Yes, the weight loss efforts do continue, even though it’s been almost two weeks since I updated the blog.  I had a few weekends of trench digging and yard work, so I really haven’t done too much running in the last two weeks (only last Friday and tonight since the last update).  Part of that has been the effort I put into that (I spent around 16 hours digging a trench for a drainage pipe in 85+ degree heat, so I figure that counts for something), and I’ve also been trying to give my knee a break since it was getting sore on me back on the first of July.

I have been taking a glucosamine supplement the last few weeks to try and make my joints a little more flexible.  Hard to tell how much of a difference it’s making, but coupled with the rest, it’s helped a lot.  Tonight, I managed to pound out my 3.3 mile loop in 39 minutes with no more than a half-mile of that in a single stretch at a brisk walk.  At the end, my body really wanted to just let up and stroll into the finish, but I pushed through it and managed to make it to my end point (at the bottom of our hill…walking up that is my cool down).  Considering the amount of running I’ve been doing lately, I was very happy to see a sub-40:00 time for my run.

As for the weight loss, as of Saturday I had lost almost another two pounds since the end of June.  And I’m almost amazed at that because last week was a pretty bad one for me in terms of eating.  Work has been really stressful lately (currently at 4 guys running a 5-man team, and two of them have only been on the job for two months, so I’ve been doing the work of at least two people), and when I get stressed out I want quick comfort food.  So, last week included Wendy’s, Taco Bell, pizza and Quaker Steak & Lube.  Sure, it tasted good, and each of those on occasion is fine, but throwing all that into one week is a bad idea.  I really need to watch myself and put the extra effort into making my lunches for work so that I’m lest tempted to run out and grab something bad for me.  It truly is a discipline issue that I need to work on, both in terms of managing my stress and how I deal with it.

In the end, I’m still making progress, though my meal choices have been limiting the potential of that progress.  It’s time to focus on better controlling my diet, as difficult as that may be.

Ok, so there haven’t been many updates recently.  Well, that’s because I lost half the week being sick to my stomach and then my wife got the same for the remainder of the week, so it wasn’t pretty around here.  And, unfortunately I did get a bit into comfort food when I was feeling better (Chick-Fil-A’s new spicy chicken sandwich is mighty tasty), so I did put on a few ounces even though I spent the first few days of the week surviving primarily on fluids.

Thankfully, that appears to be behind us, and I hit the roads again tonight (and thankfully the weather cooperated, with the rain stopping about 15 minutes before I left for my run).

Since pace has always been a struggle for me (even when I ran distance for two years in high school, I was awful at getting a feel for how fast I was going).  I tend to start too fast and then wilt during my runs.  So, tonight I made a more deliberate effort to go slower, but to take fewer walking breaks (ok, so that wasn’t my initial plan, but that’s what came together as I was running).  Actually, it was very successful.  I started running the first 1.3 miles of my 3.3 mile loop, and then I walked and jogged and then walked again for the next 0.6 miles (the most uphill section of the route), and then I ran the last 1.4 miles.  So, that got me down to two walking stretches instead of the 4-5 I had been taking before.  While my time was actually a few minutes slower than it had been a week before, I’m actually happier that I was able to maintain a more consistent pace for my run.

Funny story when I got home though:  I came home to find my wife on my computer while hers was busy with some backups, and she asks me “Did you get rained on?”

“Ummmm…no.”

“Oh, it’s just sweat then…”

Sorry, I tend to sweat when I exercise.  Can’t help it, and won’t be ashamed of it!

Anyway, I’m back on the wagon, and it feels great already!

Another day, another run.  And they keep feeling better.  I keep hitting walls around the same points in my runs, but I’m moving faster, as my time for my 3.2 mile loop has gone from 45 to 39 minutes (a rough estimate based on the time on my Fuze).  Starting to close in on the 5 MPH mark .  (Yea, it does start to sound silly when put like that.)

Anyway, nothing else to report today…just pumped that I’m already cutting more time off my run than I had expected to so soon!

So, after being extremely sore for two days and a day of rain, I still managed to lace up my shoes and hit the pavement.  Did the same loop today, but it felt better even though I started out with sore muscles.  However, at least I ate lighter (and no burping up potato salad…a big plus) and hydrated better today, so I think that balanced things out.

I also have to admit that I already feel a lot better than I expected.  Yes, my muscles hurt (even my abs, which I didn’t expect…I guess that’s from all the heavy breathing), but I already have more energy and want to keep on the healthy track.

Oh, and while running, I realized that I hadn’t gotten a “before” picture so that I could compare now to wherever I get to (hopefully).  Yea, it may not have the same impact as The Biggest Loser before/after photos, but I’m curious to see the changes.  So, here’s the “before”, and it’ll probably be a few months before we get an “after”:

Well, there ya go…and now I’m off to bed to recover from tonight’s efforts…