Day Two...here Wii go

The morning started out promising, I spent the morning running about a mile and change while stopping to take part in various cardio like torture at the direction of my trainer Regina. The five person boot camp ventured out and around running and exercising, laughing and getting to know each other as we began on our day by with an outdoor 6am exercise routine in August like temperatures and humidity.

Three miles was on par of the day. I prefer not to break my miles up, but was going to get at least two miles in after work with a goal of actually shooting for three consistent steady miles. Alas, Mother Nature decided to blanket us with torrential downpours, thunder, lightening and a myriad of warnings that caused me to make alternate plans.

The Wii....the island lap (the longest of the "runs") is roughly a mile....I did two island laps and a short lap just for good measure. Not exactly the run I wanted but I had to keep moving. I knew that if I didn't find some way to create the miles I would frustrated before I even began. On the upside, Wii Fit Island is a pretty fun place to visit everyone is friendly and waves and the dogs, though unleashed, are friendly and don't pester you.

My wife so kindly asked why I didn't just go to the gym and run on the treadmill...honestly by the time I realized that I couldn't run I also didn't want to venture out and drive back across town through roads that often flood, so improvisation came into play.

I wouldn't recommend Wii Fit as an all the time alternative, if only because it will leave a bald spot in my carpet, but as a last resort to keep the momentum going it's the perfect solution. Some kind of movement is better than none at all.

Marine Corps Marathon 2015 Training Begins

Another marathon training season has begun. I always feel that I start out the training season gung ho and filled with passion, only to fizzle out mid way through. The fizzle more often than not is the result of outside factors: my thyroid, unseasonably strange weather of one end of the spectrum or the other, major life event. This year I plan to stay the course. My intention is to follow the Hal Higdon plan to a t. After thinking about my disastrous marathon from last year I have found a few key areas that I plan to focus on that will make this year’s race more successful.

 

This training season I plan to:

 

• Work on strength training
  • Specifically glute and upper body strength to improve posture
• Increase core strength
  • This could go with strength training but it’s a key component that needs its own focus
• Increase flexibility
  • I need much better overall flexibility but, my hip flexors are notoriously horrible; working at a desk job makes them worse. Working them is incredibly painful but necessary to be successful
• Strengthen my knowledge about running and training techniques.
  • Basically just read everything I can. Watch documentaries. Just learn my craft as much as possible.
• Have fun         
  • This I think will be the most challenging component of my plan, but I need to remember to have fun. Remember why I started to run. Remember that I am accomplishing that something only about 1% of the world’s population has ever accomplished.

SURPRISE!!! The Weekend Does Contain Calories

I am forever baffled by those that spout stories of great unhealthy weekend excesses, and then finish by saying “but I ran/exercised on Saturday morning”. A statement that sounds as if it’s their attempt to justify their behavior; or perhaps their assumption is that by saying it out loud it will have a magical impact and negate the bodily damage that was done by too much of whatever they partook in.

 

I am not a prude or a teetotaler; I have a multitude of stories of my weekend (sometimes not limited to the weekend) excesses. However as someone that now prides myself on my fitness and my focus on health not my consumption of alcohol beverages, I am frustrated and baffled by those that feel that they can out exercise a bad diet.

 

Why spend the week in the gym, putting in the work and the sweat and at times tears, only to undo those efforts in a few short hours? Those few drinks, that rich food from the restaurant, that decadent behavior more often than not totals more calories than burned during your combined workout effort during the week.

 

Personally, a weekly splurge or treat isn’t out of question…I’m pretty steadfast on some things but even I need my occasional froyo splurge or pizza treat. Moderation is the key to success when it comes to your food plan and exercising. Reward yourself in a manner that reflects your hard work not in a way that will completely undo your hard work.

 

If you’re not progressing, if you seemed to have stalled and are stuck stagnate in your journey take a few minutes to look at what your weekend activities look like. Contrary to popular belief, the weekend counts just as much as the other five days in the week….especially when calories are involved.