Judebert

I was keeping up with my running just fine until Tuesday, when the Big Red Bus came to my office. My veins weren't big enough for a double-red-cells donation, so I just gave a regular pint. (I asked how to help those veins grow; they said, "Water." Shoot, I don't drink anything else. And I drink loads. If I try to increase my intake, my veins might grow big enough, but the blood will be too dilute!)

I skipped Wednesday's run, since they warn you not to do anything strenuous for 24 hours. I went out this morning, imagining my triumphant post to this blog detailing my 30-minute run only two days after donating blood.

I kept to an easy pace. Three klicks later, I was feeling just fine (insofar as that's possible while running). Then I went up a little hill. I found myself gasping at the top.

Trouble breathing constitutes a failure under my "5K, 30 minutes, or failure" policy. I took the nearest shortcut home.

As a result, I only got 22 minutes of running today.

And lots of water, of course!

Judebert

Saturday was my daughters' combined birthday party. We hosted a geocaching and kite-flying party in the park. It was fantastic! The temperature was 89F, and the news said it felt like 109. But we did most of our geocaching in the shade near the river, and we got a little breeze just when we needed it to fly the kites.

However, setting up the caches and running the party meant that I was working from 10:30 AM straight to 6 PM. Walking, lifting, carrying... and an occasional ride in the car to get pizza or batteries. After my normal cardio-only week, which included a 5K run the previous day.

I'm proud to say that my endurance has increased enough to handle it with no problem! Before I started exercising, I wouldn't even have made it past 2 PM. Thanks to all this running, I only quit when my shin, knee, and hip all started hurting while I unpacked the car at home.

Eri insisted that I skip my Monday run, since I'd already done so much work. I agreed, but then I abandoned my good eating principles and stuffed myself. Twice.

My weight is not going to be pretty. Maybe I'll just avoid the scales for a week or two...

At least I'm still running on my regular schedule. And now I know it's helping!

Judebert

For the past two weeks, I've skipped the strength exercises and ignored good eating habits. After finishing the Coporate 5K, it seems I've lost my motivation. I even missed a day of running. (Okay, I traded it for walking the next day with my wife. But that fell through, so I wound up with nothing.)

Granted, it's been busy. There have been birthday parties, kids finishing school, and even a hospital visit. The house is a mess, and the guinea pigs are hanging out in the spot where I put down my exercise mat.

But I could still manage, even with all that. I just haven't.

I've got to find some way to get back on top of my workout!

Judebert

Last week, I finally managed my full schedule of exercises. That's running M-W-F, with strength exercises T-R.

It had been a hectic couple of weeks before that, so I was lucky to get two days in a row. I had to start small again: not running 5K, just running for 30 minutes. The first day, I couldn't even manage that! I got dizzy around 28 mins.

I'm keeping the trend going today. This morning I ran with an iPod reading to me. Not a bad experience, but there was no way to tell how long I had been running. I settled for my regular 30-minute distance.

Maybe I'll figure something out along those lines later. Here's looking forward to future runs!

Judebert

Yesterday I tried Wii Fit Plus. Color me unimpressed. The new games are pretty cool, but the new exercises leave a lot to be desired. Still, I suppose it's better than the old exercises.

Today I ran. I was questioning whether I'd be motivated to do it now that I've finished a 5K, and considering my terrible after-race workout, but I went. I want to lose some weight and improve my endurance; that's not going to happen without aerobics. If I ever do get on The Amazing Race, the majority of the aerobics I'll be doing are running. So I've got to run.

I walked part of the 5K as my warmup, and finished the whole thing in 36:24. That's slower than my race, but that's OK. At least I actually finished!