Goals 2011

I've made a few new year's resolutions that I've been meaning to blog about, but have kept putting it off.

Resolution #1: Stop putting things off when I can do them now.

Resolution #2: Be more organized. (I tell myself that buying an Ipod touch will make me more organized) So all I have to do to complete this goal is buy an Ipod touch.

Goal for the year #1: Towards the end of the year be able to run a 10k once a week and 5k twice a week. I actually completed this last week but felt dead after the 10k. If I can keep it up then I've reached this goal a lot sooner than I thought I would.

Goal for the year #2: Have my work out weight at 100 kilos for squats and 70 for bench. I've noticed that it is going to be very hard to increase my squats when I'm also trying to run 20k per week.

Long-term goal to work towards: MARATHON :>) I will be returning to the States sometime in the future. I predict in 3-4years. I will be returning in June for my brother's wedding, but that doesn't count. My long-term goal is to run a marathon with my friend Seth when I get back to the states. I will be about 30 years old so i think it's my best chance. I will also have at least the next 3 years to train and prepare. I picture the two of us crossing the finish line together. ;)

In other news I was curious to see how fast I could currently run a 5k. I ran it in under 25 minutes. I don't know the exact time because stupid me was thinking that a 5k is 3.2 miles when in fact it is 3.1. So I ran 3.2 miles in 25:10. I think my actual 5k was around 24:50 but I was so close to passing out at that point that I don't really remember.

weight lifting

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. As far as fitness this is what I've been up to...

I've stopped working on distance running.

Now I run a mile or two as fast as I can. My best mile time is 7:14 and best two mile is 17:06

After my warm up run I do some weight lifting.

For weight lifting i have been using strong lifts 5x5, which is a great program, followed by bodybuilding.com's ab workout.

That's about it nothing too exciting.

Victory

I am officially declaring myself the winner. "1010 in 2010" I have beaten you. I didn't mean to discourage you in your goals. But sadly my competition is forfeiting in light of my awesomeness. The following is posted on his blog.

Miles Traveled: 710

---

The Journey to 1,010 miles is officially over. I didn't reach this goal b/c my goals have changed, adapted, and have been modified throughout the year. Official goal ends at 710 miles. Thanks for cheering me on in this journey.

That sounds like a forfeit to me.

Never give up

To win the weight loss challenge I have stuck to a strict diet, and spent a lot of time running. This week being the last week of the competition I have been going to the gym every day. Monday I ran a 5k in 30 min with the treadmill set on the Hills setting followed by 30 minutes on the exercise bike set on hills setting. Tuesday was pretty much the same routine but I ran a little faster and longer. Today I was on pace to run another 30min 5k but my legs were a little tired so after ten minutes I stopped running on the tread and did ten minutes on the rowing machine (great cardio that isn't hard on the legs.) Then I went back to the treadmill and did another mile, this time in 7:35. After that I did the exercise bike for 45minutes.

To show for all of my work I've lost exactly 1 pound since Monday. I think I need a new playlist to run to.

I am still optimistic and hope to win the challenge. I'm not even sure what I win, but winning is always fun. Secondly even if I don't win I've still lost almost all of the weight I put on while in the states. Thirdly, even more than winning and losing a bunch of weight... I look forward to eating pizza again :)

Growing up, was our mailman black?

I'm back. I would like to apologize to all of my fans that have been waiting for me to update. I will give you all a brief summary of this past summer.

Hurt my back. Stopped exercising. Slowly started gaining weight. Went back to the states. Spent 3 and a half months visiting churches, my friends, family, and favorite restaurant. Gained 30 pounds while in the states. Swam a little.

That pretty much sums it up. But I'm writing to let you all know that I've gotten back on the horse. I've joined a weight loss challenge. I've lost around 15 pounds since being back in Germany. I've been running (usually on the elliptical machine cause the treadmill hurts my back) I've been trying to get back into running. I've run a 5k a couple of times, and today I decided (I have know idea why) that I should run a 10k. The first 5 were the worst. Somehow even though it was a tough 5k I made it in exactly 30 minutes. The Second 5 were explain-ably easy. I actually ran the second 5 faster than the first and with more resistance on the machine. I have two theories as to why this is.

Theory 1. We consistently tell ourselves that we can't and getting over that wall makes all the difference. Maybe if we allowed ourselves to dream and stopped saying we can't we would realize our possibilities our endless

Theory 2. For the first 5k I listened to Feist. The second 5 I listened to dirty gangsta rap. This theory opens up a whole can of worms that I don't know if I'm prepared to deal with. It brings about questions like "What is it about black people music that inspires me?" and "Growing up, was our mailman black?"

Anyways I ran my first 10k today and it was less than an hour. 55 minutes and 42 seconds

So I thinks it's been over a month now since I last went for a jog. Fortunately my back is finally feeling better. It is not back to 100%, but it is a lot better. Maybe the end of this week or beginning of next week, I can start doing a little bit at the gym again. At the very least I want my back to be completely better before I have to sit on a plane for 8 hours. Our flight is two weeks away. I'm pretty sure that Seth can now out run me.

To the doctor

I've finally realized that my back isn't going to heal on it's own. It is no longer a sharp pain (unless I start becoming too active). I've made a doctor's appointment for next week (it was the earliest they could fit me in). It is now just an uncomfortable dull pain in my lower back. Going for walks feels good and riding my bike doesn't hurt it, other than that everything is slightly uncomfortable. sitting, sleeping, working out, running, picking something up, etc... all are uncomfortable. A little depressing knowing that all of the work I've done for fitness is now going the wrong direction.

On the other hand I have been doing a lot of walking lately. I probably walked about 5 miles Friday. And I've gone on long walks just about everyday. On Sunday I don't have a ride to church, and I am in charge of leading the service. I am planning on riding my bike the 23-25 miles there and if my back is alright I will ride my bike back the 23-25 miles. If not I'll just take the train back home.