Better about going to the gym than blogging about going to the gym

Fortunately if one had to choose either going to the gym or blogging about it to do, going to the gym is pretty unambiguously the higher priority. Still haven't hit my overall goals for gym attendance but April was an upswing and hopefully a good trajectory.

Also! I went for a run with Aurana around Greenlake. Ok, so we didn't jog all 3 miles straight but we did commit to meeting up 1-2 times a week to do it, and agreed that running with a buddy makes it way easier. I'm also excited to note that we agreed to tackle the bleachers at Greenlake - I think I need to start reminding my body what it means to go Up Up Up Up Up.

So here's the stats to close out April and start out May:

April Gym Visits: 8
Long walks: 4

Visit 1:
Miles jogged: 1
20 @ 45 lb chest press
30 @75 lb leg extension
30 @ 105 leg curls

Visit 2:
Miles on elliptical thingo: 1
Miles jogged: .85
30 @ 45 lb chest press
30 @ 90 lb leg extension
30 @105 lb leg press

Visit 3:
Miles on elliptical thingo: .9
20 @ 60 lb chest press
35 @ 90 lb leg extension
20 @ 120 lbs leg extension
70 crunches

And starting off May:
May Gym Visits: 1
Runs: 1

Miles jogged: 1.68
20 @ 45 lb chest press
30 @ 90 lb leg extension
25 @ 30 lb and 10 @ 45 lb shoulder press
30 @ 105 lb leg press
80 crunches


Cumulative Stats through April (I really need to figure out how to get a counter widgit)
Gym visits: 19
Hikes: 1
Long Walks: 4

Finally hit 3/week

Tuesday, Friday, Sunday. Finally I went to the gym 3 times in one week. Since that's my general goal that shouldn't be remarkable - it's remarkable I hadn't hit it yet. Ah well. With everyone moving (my mother, girlfriend, and good friend) at once, things have been busy. Still now that I've finally hit my 3/week and seen it can be done, I hope to continue the trend.
I screwed up my foot mildly - it's already getting better but because of it I decided to use my running time this week doing ellipticals instead due to the reduced impact. While I found the exercise to be as good or better a workout as running, I also found it much easier to maintain the effort for longer. I may start doing this more often with running being a more occasional part of my routine.

April gym visits: 5
Long walks: 2

Some gym stats:
Visit 1: ran some, didn't note the distance
30x45 lbs chest press
15x75 lbs and 15x90 lb leg extension
30x90 kb leg extension
70 crunches

Visit 2:
1.35 miles on elliptical (26 minutes)
30x45lb chest press
30x90lb leg extension
60 crunches

Visit 3:
1.35 miles on elliptical (26 minutes)
30x30lb shoulder press
30x90lb leg extension
75 crunches

Also! Donations have continued to pour in for the Summer of Garage Sales. I have a ton of stuff to try to sell, but can and will always take more. Today was a milestone as today proceeds from sale of donated items passed $150!
And in more fundraising news the May Movie will be Army of Darkness at the Grand Illusion. Exact date is still TBD for now.

Quiz for a Cause

Had a fun night at the Blarney Stone courtesy of Jon and Geeks Who Drink. Not the biggest fundraiser ever but a relatively low-effort one at which people had fun. Raised $174 for VSO.


April Stats:
Gym visits: 2
Long walks: 2
Miles Run: .83 (was running on a tight schedule)
...some machines

Two miles

I kicked off April with a gym visit on Easter Sunday. And I passed my next big milestone.

I ran TWO miles straight! I can confidently say I've never done that before. Ever. And moreover, I stopped partly because I was getting bored and mostly because I really had to get going to make it to a potluck. I can see the mental block is the next big thing for me to work on, but it feels pretty awesome to be able to do a thing I've never been able to do, and have it not actually seem that hard at all.

Though where the boredom is concerned, my newfound habit of listening to This American Life while working out is really working out well as it's giving me something interesting and external to focus on.

Also did a walk around Greenlake Monday evening with an old friend from high school, who is doing Team In Training and wanted to catch up in a format that was a little healthier and more in keeping with our training schedules than going out for a pint or two.

That being said, I should have gone to the gym tonight and didn't. <_<

April gym visits: 1
Long walks: 1

This visit-
Miles run: 2
Chest Press: 10 @ 45 lbs, 20@30 lbs
Leg Curl: 15 @ 105 lbs, 15@90 lbs
Leg Extension: 20@ 60 lbs

March - could be better

In February I went to the gym 5 times. It's less than I wanted, but it was a short month and I didn't even belong to a gym until a quarter of the way through. That was my excuse.

In March, though, a full length month during all of which I belonged to a gym, I only managed to go 6 times. I also went on 1 hike, but still, kind of lame even if I'm jogging far more than I ever had before. I definitely need to kick it up a notch. I'm really liking the "bring my gym stuff to work and stop by on the way home" thing, though, so I'll try to keep that up.

March gym visits: 6, hikes: 1
Miles jogged: 1.7
75 crunches
10x3 @ 30 lbs chest presses
10x3 @ 90 lbs leg curls
15@60 lbs and 15@45 lbs leg extensions
30 @ 90 lbs leg presses

V

Went to the gym as I won't be able to work out for a couple days after I get my wisdom tooth out. It was a pretty crappy day and I'm not sure why - I couldn't even run a mile. Usually I have the physical capacity, not the will. Tonight I had the will but my side seized up and it was starting to hurt. And when I called it quits my scooter wouldn't start and that is an entire other epic adventure. So while I'm glad I went, it was a pretty rough night.


March gym visits: 5
March hikes: 1
Miles run: .8
Crunches: 60
3x10@30lbs chest press
10@75lbs + 20@90lbs leg curl
15@45lbs + 15@60lbs leg extension

Wardrobe Fail

I've been failing at hitting the gym. Spending all my energy thinking about the fundraising and being lazy on the physical stuff. So between that and the fact that I'm going to be benched for a few days after I get my wisdom tooth out on Thursday (dentist's orders), it seemed pretty important I go today.

I'm trying to start being prepared to just go straight after work. It seems like a better model for success. So today I packed up some clothes and bused straight to the gym after work. That's when the realization of wardrobe fail started:

1) No sports bra. Whoops.
2) One of my gym socks had a hole in it that was basically my entire heel.
Either one of these can make a workout pretty uncomfortable but I went for it anyway and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't matter too much.
3) I started jogging an realized that despite my efforts to tighten the drawstring, my shorts really just wanted to fall off. It was a lot of hitching things up, tucking things in, and other desperate attempts at modesty over the course of my jog.
4) As I was considering the multiple points of wardrobe fail while jogging on the treadmill, my shoelace came untied. Since stopping and starting sucks way more than it really should, I just kept going.

Nothing terrible. More amusing than anything. I'll do better at bringing the right stuff next time.

March gym visits: 4 March hikes: 1
Miles run: 1.25
Crunches: 60

Rattlesnake Ledge

Last Saturday I hiked Rattlesnake Ledge with 13 or so friends as step one of my field training up to Kilimanjaro. This location was suggested by William, who sent me an amazing email a few weeks ago outlining a training regimen, tips, offers of support, etc. He also gathered the crew to make the hike happen. It's great to know such helpful and supportive people. :)

I had never been to this location before, and I admit that I'm glad I requested we start on the lowest level of difficulty he found suitable. And, judging by the swarms of children and dogs happily galumphing up the mountain with ease, it was indeed an easy hike. Still, by the time we had gone up the 1000+ ft over the course of 1.5 miles, I was getting pretty tired of the up, up, up. I was definitely one of the least able people there, given that one of the members of the group carried one of the other the last quarter mile or so. Just means that it was a good start. Plus the view from the top was beautiful. All around a good day. William suggests Tiger Mountain or Cougar Mountain next.


But probably I need to hit the gym quite a lot so these hikes get easier. Found a lot of difficulty getting myself to go to the gym recently. Must reverse that trend
March gym visits: 3 March hikes: 1
Miles run: 1.3
Crunches: 50
Miles biked: some - may stop keeping this statistic as I mainly just bike to warm up the muscles before stretching.

Marching on

Forgive the lame pun.

Already gotten the first round of donations for my Biggest Garage Sale Ever, and already made my first circuit of the used clothing stores on the Ave with my first bag of clothes. Total funds raised: $5.25. It's a start, and it's $5.25 more than I would have had otherwise so while my wildest hopes have certainly not been surpassed, I'm pretty ok with this drop in the bucket. I also now have a better idea of who is buying what, and how to sequence things, so it was a good learning experience.

Lest I forget, gym metrics:

March gym visits: 2
Miles run: .75/1 continuously and 1.2/1.25 total

Both were a bit rushed, but the first was more along the lines of higher intensity but shorter duration activities.

Have plans with William for my first hike of the season! To ease into things we're hitting Rattlesnake Ridge next saturday, and I am looking foward to it.

20 minutes

20 minutes can be a very long time or a very short time. Examples of things that take about twenty minutes, give or take:

• An episode of the Office
• my upcoming wisdom tooth extraction
• a default manually set workout on the treadmill at the gym

It's that last that is relevant tonight, because yesterday I did something which I don't think I've ever done, which is to jog the entire 20 minutes without slowing down or stopping once. I powered through, and though I was a bit wobbly and tired afterward, it didn't feel like much of a struggle at all. I think I might be at a minimum level of fitness!


Metrics:
Miles biked: 1.1 uphill
Miles jogged: 1.56 straight!
Feb Gym Visits: 5

Triumph of the will. More or less. Kind of. Ish.

While I've had my scheduling issues, today was the first day where I planned to go to the gym and when the time came I just sat there saying "I don't feel like it." That continued for quite some time but I did eventually find the gumption, made easier by knowing I'm only hurting myself and would only be more upset with myself if I bailed. So I went. And while I didn't have the time or energy for a full workout, at least I did something and didn't let myself down. Especially important now that I have my first donor signed on to the "Sponsor my gym visits!" donation system of $1 per gym visit to help keep me motivated to push myself as much as possible.

Metrics:
Miles biked: 1.2 uphill
Miles jogged: .8 continuously, 1.55 total
Feb gym visits: 4

Also I got the ok from the director to show one of the better-received shorts from the Scifi shorts film festival at my Grand Illusion fundraiser. Just need to work out the logistics. Exciting! For that I'm currently leaning toward the Big Lebowski purely because the Egyptian is doing it as their midnight movie on the 26th, so if I do it on the 21st I can still snag people but if I wait until the month after interest will surely be more limited. Now if only I could figure out how to serve white russians for extra fundraising without breaking state liquor laws.

Some things come first

Ok, so one drawback of signing up for a non-24 hour gym: they close at 7pm on weekends, which I decided was ok because I would make it enough of a priority to plan my day around.

But today filial piety took precedence, and what I thought was going to be a quick lunch with my mom turned into an epic condo-viewing day that lasted just long enough to stop me from heading to the gym. Ah well. Just need to try to make sure that's the exception rather than the rule I guess.

On the plus side I walked about 6.5 miles yesterday, so it hasn't been an entirely slothful weekend.


Also! I've got vague plans of throwing a garage sale when the weather gets nicer, and am accepting donations now of things to sell. If you find yourself facing a closet of stuff to donate, consider donating it to me first, and I'll make sure anything that doesn't get sold still gets donated to charity.

Goals at the gym

I jogged a mile straight!


That's right, I have already met my first goal. What I had always seen as a huge challenge actually proved to be totally attainable, faster than I thought once I was actually motivated enough to do it. Of course that means now that I have reached the arbitrary goal I had set for myself as a marker of being at least vaguely in shape enough to actually get in shape, I probably need to figure out a more rigorous and goal-oriented training plan.
On a side note, I found the scale at the gym, and while this is not my primary goal I do want to lose at least 15 pounds. That's not entirely un-Kilimanjaro related. The porters won't be carrying my extra flab up the hill, so it's definitely in my best interest on that one.

Metrics:
Miles jogged: 1 continuously, 1.6 total
Miles biked: 1.25 uphill
Inclined crunches: 50

Conspicuous lack of gym post here

I started this week thinking the working out was going great but very apprehensive about the fundraising. However, as the week has progressed, people have repeatedly proven their generosity, and I'm farther along on that front than I ever hoped to be by now. I'm also finalizing details for an upcoming Pub Quiz and an upcoming movie night (Big Lebowski, in a theater, white russians and bathrobes welcome, anyone?). So that front is going swimmingly!

But it's already Wednesday evening and I haven't had a single workout this week- I wanted to establish Tuesday and Thursday + 1 weekend day as my default workout days, knowing the importance of routine in making things happen. Those are also the days that Judy is in class until late. But Tuesday had too many things going on so I told myself Wednesday would do. Now it's Wednesday evening and once more I'm telling myself "tomorrow." I know that things will come up, but I need to find a way of not letting that totally derail my workout routine or this will simply not work. It is both good and bad that time is on my side, in this sense.

I found out an old coworker has trekked up Kilimanjaro. I look forward to talking to him on Friday for a more personal account of how to prepare and what to expect.

Let the gyming begin!

As a pasty computer nerd I was as surprised as anyone to find that what challenged me about my time at the gym tonight was not my ability perform physical activities without collapsing in a heap, but rather using the new-fangled high tech gym gear.

I should have known something was up when the Pandora station I was listening to decided that what I really needed was the mellow side of country/blue-grass for my work out, playing it consistently until any moment I might be doing a cool down or stretch at which point it instantly transitioned into the upbeat techno pop I more normally associate with a work-out mix.

I started with a "Spin" bike. I surely cannot explain to you what made this bike different from the other exercise bikes other than that it had a shiny screen and did not respond to any of my attempts to set a program, or make it tell me any useful metrics about what I was doing. I know this was my failure to understand the technology and not a lack of ability in the tool, since the woman next to me had an incredibly complex display up. Of course, none of this really mattered. Turns out when you pedal a bike, it goes, and you get exercise, regardless of whether or not it's hooked up to a fancy paper weight.

Turns out it's secretly a bike

Things went pretty well after that until I hopped on a treadmill. I jabbed at all the buttons until I realized I probably couldn't handle whatever the treadmill would throw at me if I let it decide, and went for a manual setting. Or so I thought. I was jogging away, actually quite pleased with my ability to make it more than 30 feet without feeling exhausted, when the treadmill told me I had two minutes left and put me on mandatory cool-down. I upped the speed in what was ultimately a vain attempt at self-determination as it just turned off and gave me a workout summary at the end of my "cool-down" anyway.

All of this left me somewhat bemused but generally pleased with my first deliberate work out in I don't even know how long. So far so good though we'll see how I feel in the morning. Right now I'm riding the high of everything seeming totally doable. Now I can just add the challenge of figuring out all this fancy equipment to the rest of the things I've signed up for.

And since I'm a consultant, and consultants love metrics, here are a few numbers to help track progress:
February workout count: 1
Miles jogged continuously: .5
Miles biked: 4

Getting into shape

I am not in Kilimanjaro shape. In fact it would be more precise to say, I am not in shape period, and even I know that needs to change if I'm to make any part of the ascent at all.

So today I signed up for a gym membership. It took a surprising amount of shopping around. The gym near my house wants $75 a month in dues, plus a $100 sign up fee, and while I generally believe in paying for convenience, I don't believe in being robbed for convenience.

University Fitness never answered their phone. Eventually I discovered that University Fitness went out of business, despite signing up people for memberships until the bitter end. Sketchy.

I ended up signing up at a place that combined a generally walkable location (the mile+ walk will be good for me!) and affordable prices.

If anyone reading this is interested in supporting my efforts to get in shape for the trek, I have a proposal. Sponsor my gym visits! It's 7 months until the trek. If you'd like to help keep me motivated into getting in shape while helping me raise the funds I need to, consider pledging $1 for every time I go to the gym for at least one hour between now and September. If I go just once a week that's only $28, but with the dual incentive of not dying on the mountain and meeting my fund-raising goals (if anyone takes me up on this pledge), I will strive for 2-3 times a week. I have two big challenges ahead of me, and it's the sort of pledge that is challenge-efficient. :)