Still around, still working out...

Santa was very kind to our family this year, giving us a Nintendo Wii! As part of the package, I bought a 'game' called My Fitness Coach, which is basically an interactive workout DVD. Until it gets warm enough to run outdoors, that'll be my workout routine. I considered getting Wii Fit, but it was $100 (versus $20 for My Fitness Coach) and it struck me as more of a toy than a real workout.

On a side note, I've ditched Nike+ for tracking my runs. Runkeeper does everything Nike+ did, only better - especially now that it allows easy tracking of indoor runs on a treadmill!

Need to find a treadmill...

The city I live in has recently spiraled into a winter deep freeze, making it pretty much impossible to go for a winter run without slipping on the ice or losing a limb to frostbite. Running in the evenings came naturally to me over the summer, but I've got to find a way to fit running into my schedule for the winter months. Any suggestions?

I have been keeping up on the lifetime fitness ladder daily and am now up to rung 37, so it's not like I've been a total sloth through the winter months.

Cooler weather running

It's getting colder around here, but I'm committed to keep running outside as long as I can. I've switched from shorts to sweatpants, and my super-technical (read: $10 cotton) running T-shirt has been supplemented by a fleece jacket. Light gloves have been added to my repertoire as well.

I'm really not sure what I'll do once the snow hits the ground - running on slippery sidewalks doesn't strike me as a really good idea. That said, the city does a pretty good job of keeping the sidewalks and pathways clear, so it might actually be a doable proposition. As an added plus, running in cold weather burns extra calories - on top of the running itself, my body will have to burn off some fat just to keep warm!

Another day, another run...

Back home and I headed out for an afternoon on this chilly Sunday afternoon. It felt great to enjoy the crisp fall air fill my lungs while I listened to the repetitive thump-thump-thump of my runners on the concrete.

It constantly amazes me that I can go out and run for over 45 minutes and over 7k (with about 1k devoted to warm-up and cool-down), when it seemed challenging to just go for 20 minutes straight a few months ago.

You can check out the run on Runkeeper here.

Working in Calgary this week, still running!

I'm working in Calgary this week, but that hasn't stopped me from running! I headed out last night for a sunset run along the Bow River - the run can be found on Runkeeper here. At 7.15k, this is my longest run yet... the GPS in my iPhone was a little screwy around the downtown towers, though, so I'm not sure if that's totally accurate. Should be pretty close, though.

Today is a scheduled rest day, but I might be joining some colleagues for a volleyball game tonight. I haven't played since junior high, so I'm fairly certain I'll embarrass myself!

Back to 100%

Wow, I went for a run last night and it feels like I'm totally up to my previous level of running fitness. I was worried that my fitness level would have dropped after being sick for a few weeks, but apparently the human body is pretty good at bouncing back from illness.

My run last night, which you can see in Runkeeper here was for 6.45k (including warmup/cooldown), so about 5.5k of actual running. My eventual goal is to compete in a 5k race, but there aren't really a whole lot of them until the spring. I suppose I could just work on my endurance a bit and aim for a 10k instead!

Mostly healthy, back running

After a few weeks of fighting off some sort of virus-based cold/flu thing, I finally managed to get back to running last night. My run, viewable via Runkeeper here wasn't that long - only about 25 minutes running, and about 5.3km total (including warmup/cooldown), but it felt like a huge accomplishment to get back "in the saddle" after being on my butt for a few weeks.

I'm going to do my best to get back into a schedule of running every other day. It's getting colder now so it's getting harder to run outdoors, and I'm not a huge fan of running on the treadmill. Time to get some winter running clothing, I think.

Downtime... stupid colds...

I really love my kids, but this time of year they morph into festering germ-pods, ready to infect me (the noble parent) with whatever variety of illness the kids are playing with nowadays.

One of my children gave me a nasty cold, and I've been down for the count for a few days now. It's not so much the stuffed nose and coughing - I can deal with that - it's the fatigue! I've never felt so drained. Hopefully within a few more days I'll be able to get healthy again.

I've still kept up with the Hacker's Diet exercises each morning, even though they've felt a lot more challenging lately because of the cold. My goal for the next few weeks is to establish a routine of running on the treadmill at the gym, and hopefully I'll still squeeze in some outdoor runs before it gets too cold out.

The perils of Thanksgiving

This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada, and we went to visit the inlaws in Saskatoon. Despite being out of town and having plenty of other people around the house, I managed to fit in a couple of runs while there, upping my distance to 6.48k and 6.72k respectively (links are to the Runkeeper activity pages for those runs.

I'm quite pleased to see some of the updates to Runkeeper - it now allows selective map sharing for activities, which is a feature that I requested a while ago. It allows me to share my runs via the web, but lets me limit which maps are viewable. I'd rather not share my exact address with the world, and sharing a GPS map of my runs would do just that - as with most runners, the start and end points of my runs are at my house.

Runkeeper now has a publicly-viewable dashboard for each user, which is a pretty useful feature.

The bad news is that the combination of turkey, wine, and desserts added four pounds to my waistline in three days. I know that only some of that weight gain is 'real' - a lot of it is just the normal day-to-day variation in weight - but I need to cut down for the next week to bring my weight back to target. Nothing dramatic, just a few calories cut here and there.

I have some commitments that prevent me from running today, but I'll definitely hit the pavement tomorrow.

Blog neglect

At the same time that I've neglected running for the past week, I've neglected this blog.

I'm still alive, and I'm still doing rung 36 of the lifetime fitness ladder every morning (545 steps running in place, 70 jumping jacks, 49 forward bends, 39 sit-ups, 56 prone lifts, and 30 pushups) along with around 60 reps of some bicep curls.

I'll be hitting the pavement for a run today, and am hoping that I haven't lost any cardiovascular ability in the week I haven't ran... Now that I've completed the C25k program, I'm looking for a new challenge to work toward. Perhaps a 5k-to-10k transition. I'd love to run a 5k race, but I've missed the boat for this fall season - I'll definitely be entering one in the spring!

Back running, completed C25k

My last C25k run (week 9, day 3 - 30min of non-stop running) was completed yesterday, and I had the privilege of running with public service blogger and colleague Nick Charney. Nick's an inspiration for me professionally as he is amazingly nimble at navigating the bureaucracy where we work, but he's also an inspiration on the fitness side of things - he recently completed a half-marathon and has only been running for four months or so!

The run itself consisted of a few laps around a nearby urban lake, totalling 5.29k. At about 4.2k, my phone rang and I had to take the call. I forgot that Runkeeper pauses its recording if a phone call is answered, and forgot to restart it afterward, so the last seven minutes or so of the run didn't get mapped.

After about 10 days of not running at all, it felt great to get outdoors again. Summer's gone and winter is upon us... I'll have to get some better running clothes for cold weather - the sweat pants and hoodie worked well enough yesterday, but they won't be that helpful once the snow flies.

Downtime

I'm currently resting and recovering for a few days, so I won't be blogging much about my fitness progress. For the time being I'm going to be a couch potato and enjoy it for a little bit.

I should be back up and running by the first week of October.

The final week!

It really doesn't feel like it's been 9 weeks since I started this whole running thing, but I'm already on the last week of C25k. Of course, there had to be a hurdle in the way - I'm going to have to take a break from exercise starting in a few days (medical reasons) but I'm hoping to be back up and running (literally) within about 10 days or so.

In the meantime my exercise will consist of sitting on the couch, watching movies, reading books, and playing video games. Given the choice, I actually would prefer heading outside and running!

I've hit 6k, week 8 complete!

As of my run today, I managed a distance of 6k. About 1k of this run was the warmup/cooldown, but I still think it's pretty impressive! I'll start week 9 on Tuesday, which consists of a 30-minute run of about 5k in distance.

Week 8 day 2

I'm on to week 8, day 2 of Couch-to-5k tonight, with a 5.91k run. The weather has been unseasonably warm around here. Normally we'd have daytime highs of around 17C in mid-September, and it was 24C for my run tonight!

Now that the run is out of the way, I'm going to have a delicious Friday Night Feast from a local market, along with some excellent red wine! Good times!

Week 7 complete, Week 8 underway

Monday night this week I completed Week 7, day 3 of Couch-to-5k (running for 25mins straight), and last night I did day 1 of week 8. For week 8 of the C25k program I'll be running for 28 minutes with a 5-minute warm-up and cool-down - my distance in total for last night's run was 5.86k, which is amazing to me.

Only a couple of months ago I was out of breath if I ran for more than a couple of minutes, and here I am running for nearly a half-hour straight without much trouble. Running has become a pleasant activity for me rather than an exhausting one!

A colleague of mine mentioned something called the Cooper Fitness Test, which involves running for 12 minutes straight and measuring the distance. I think I might give this "test" a shot after completing C25k and see how I do. I'm using Runkeeper to track my runs now, which provides a very accurate measurement of distance, so it'll be pretty easy to use the Cooper test as a gauge of my overall fitness level over time.

Week 7 day 2

I completed Week 7, Day 2 of C25K tonight. I made the switch from distance to time to add a bit of challenge to the workout. Instead of running for 4k, I ran for 25 minutes (or about 4.5k). The extra distance was a bit of a challenge, but surprisingly was quite doable. I adjusted my running route a bit to give me a bit more "room" for running and seemed to do quite well.

At the request of my wife, I went to Mucho Burrito after the run and picked up some burritos for dinner. My wife had a "smothered" burrito with pork and assorted veggies. I opted for a small vegan "fajita" burrito - lotsa veggies, black beans, and hot salsa. The hot salsa was truly hot - not sure if I'd try it again. We'll see if it causes indigestion in the morning.

Personal fitness really is about balance in your life. If I can get some takeout burritos and enjoy them with some delicious red wine (classy I know), while still being fit and in shape, then why not? Enjoying the ride is 99% of the fun - I'll worry about getting off the ride (the other 1%) some time many years down the road.

Week 7 begins

The time has flown by, and I'm now starting week 7 of the Couch-to-5k program. From this point forward, I'll be running for at least 25 minutes at a time, three times per week. My endurance has been slowly increasing to the point where I'm able to do the runs without a huge amount of difficulty. They're a challenge, but they don't feel impossible and I get home refreshed and "pumped" rather than exhausted and drained.

There's something calming, even meditative, about being outside and running.

I'm also still completing rung 36 of the Lifetime Fitness Ladder every day, which takes about 15 minutes each morning. All told I'm doing about 3.5 hours of exercise each week, or an average of about 30 minutes a day. On the one hand this seems like far more than most people do, but on the other hand it feels like the "right" amount to keep me healthy.

My weight has been bouncing around for the past week, but I'm still aiming to hit a rolling average of 150 on an ongoing basis, and hopefully I'll hit that point by the end of September. If not, that's fine too - part of learning to enjoy exercising is allowing myself a bit of wiggle room when it comes to weight-related issues. For my height, I'm well within the range of a "normal", "healthy" weight, so worrying about a pound here or there doesn't make much sense.

The dangers of breaking routine

This weekend was different from most for a few reasons: some family from out of town were visiting, it was a long weekend, and the kids were a little extra rambunctious. I suspect the latter reason was due to the first week of school being last week.

With the "normal" routines thrown off, I found myself eating a lot more - nothing obscene, but a few nacho chips here and there, a glass of wine there. My "daily" weight has jumped up to 155.6 from 150.6 on Friday - a 5lb gain in four days! Of course, I know that I didn't eat over SEVENTEEN THOUSAND extra calories over the weekend, so I'm pretty sure that the extra weight gain isn't body fat but just accumulated water. Salty snacks, while fattening, have a huge side-effect in that they cause your body to retain as much fluid as possible. I fully expect that going back to my usual diet and not having salty snacks will reverse things and drop off the so-called "water weight".

This is the advantage of using a rolling average to look at body weight, rather than the day-to-day fluctuations of the scale. The rolling average of my weight on Friday was 151.0, and today it's 152.1. An increase is still there, but it's a more reasonable 1.1 pounds.

Today I'll be back into the usual routine, and I'm going to make it my goals for the day to eat as little salt as possible. It's always good to spot a weight-gain trend early and stop it before it becomes a long-term trend.

Sunday afternoon, thoughts on routine, and Week 6 Day 2

It was pretty rainy overnight last night and there are still puddles everywhere, but it was a very nice Sunday afternoon to go out for a run. I completed Week 6, day 2 of Couch-to-5k this afternoon, which is the last run of the program that includes walking intervals. From Tuesday forward, I'll just be doing straight runs, starting with 25 minutes, and working my way up to 30 minutes of straight running with a goal distance of 5k!

Going through this program has started to become part of my routine and is feeling "normal" rather than something I'm doing that's outside of my comfort zone. I think this is the true way to accomplish anything - do it often enough and regularly enough that it becomes part of you.

Week 6

Today was week 6, day 1. Back to intervals, and a rainy day to run in (thankfully the rain stopped before I headed out). My endurance has really gone up - I'm not even out of breath after the runs now.

Week 5 complete and the "big" run!

It's been hot for the past week or so, with daily highs around 30C every day for the last 5 days in August. My previous two runs were early in the morning when it is fairly cool outside, but tonight I decided to go for a run in the evening after dinner. The sun was starting to go down, but it was still 27C outside (80F for any American readers that are out there)!

On top of the heat, today was the first "big" run of the C25K program. Up to today, the runs have consisted of intervals - running for a few minutes, walking for a few minutes. Today, I ran for 20 minutes straight over distance of 3.58K (measured precisely by Runkeeper)! At first it felt like I wasn't going to be able to do it, but once I got started I found that my endurance really had increased and I was able to keep moving without too much trouble. Due to the heat I was sweating pretty profusely by the end of the run, though.

On to week 6 and back to intervals for the next couple of days - hopefully the weather cools off a bit!

Week 5 Day 2

Before sunrise this morning I headed out and completed the week 5, day 2 run for C25k, consisting of 8 minutes running, 5 minutes walking, and 8 minutes walking (with 5min warmup/cooldown, of course). I thought 8 minutes would be really challenging, but surprisingly enough it was quite doable - I didn't even work up much of a sweat.

Of course, it was only 14C outside this morning at 5:30am, so the lack of sweat probably had more to do with the cool temperatures than my fitness level...

I'm now past the halfway point for the C25K 9-week program, and I'm feeling pretty good about things. Time really flies - it feels like I just started yesterday.

Day 3, and my first extended (20 minute) running stretch will be on Wednesday.

I'm still using Runkeeper and Nike+ side-by-side (they run concurrently on the iPhone 3GS) but I'm not sure I'll keep using the Nike+ on an ongoing basis. One plus that it has over Runkeeper is that it has celebrities congratulating you on improvements - twice now I've had Lance Armstrong tell me that I've achieved a personal best for the mile. Sure, it's just a pre-recorded message, but it's cool nonetheless!

Week 5 begins, target weight (almost) reached

Last year I decided to bring my weight down to 150, based on the rolling average calculated by the Hacker's Diet Online, and I set August 31, 2009 as the "target date" for that goal.

As of today I'm ever-so-slightly shy of my target - I'm at 150.6lb. For some strange reason, after losing nearly 40 pounds, it's the last half-pound that's giving me the most trouble. I'm not too worried about it, though - I'll just hit the target a week or two behind schedule.

That said, taking up running over the past month has helped accelerate my weight loss, and I'm feeling much better for it. For the first time in my life I'm able to run for an extended distance without getting out of breath.

It's brutally hot today (high of 29C) so I went for my run this morning while it was still relatively cool out. I've started week 5 of Couch-to-5k, which means that today's run was alternating between 5 minutes of running and 3 minutes of walking. By day 3 this week I'll be up to a 20-minute continuous run, which should be a pretty big accomplishment for a recovering couch potato such as myself...

Week 4 complete!

Today I finished week 4, day 3 of the Couch-to-5k program. I'm feeling good, my endurance seems to be improving slowly but surely, and I'm injury-free. The weather was absolutely perfect for a run tonight (23C, gentle breeze) and there were tons of people out walking dogs, rollerblading, and taking in a beautiful summer evening.

After a taxing day at work, it feels great to go for a run.

Social Media awesomeness...

So I post a quick review this evening comparing Nike+ and Runkeeper. I decide to send out a link to the review on Twitter. Within 10 minutes of tweeting the link, the developer of Runkeeper replies and states that one of the features I've suggested (posting status updates without map data) is "coming soon". How cool is that? It's great to hear back directly from a software developer, and it's great to see that features suggested by users are actually being incorporated into the product!

It's been over 30 minutes now since the blog post and tweet went live, and I have yet to have any response or commentary from the folks at Nike, and I don't really expect one will be forthcoming.

If you have an iPhone 3G/3GS and are a runner (or do any other sort of outdoor sport), pay the $10 and buy Runkeeper. Totally worth it, if anything just to support such a responsive developer.

Nike+ versus Runkeeper showdown

Today's run was day 2, week 4 of the Couch-to-5k running program. As I'm now the proud owner of an iPhone 3GS, I've had the opportunity to compare the Nike+ tracking system with that of Runkeeper Pro. The former is a creation of Apple and Nike, two corporate powerhouses, and the latter is the creation of a small development firm in Boston.

The Equipment
Both tracking systems consist of an iPhone application and a corresponding web site where the data is uploaded. For Nike+, the required equipment is a shoe transmitter and a receiver. Receivers are built into the iPod Touch (2nd generation) and iPhone 3GS, and are available as an external add-on to the iPod Nano. The sensor is a small plastic button about the size of square of chocolate that is inserted into the sole of your left running shoe (assuming you have the corresponding Nike+ shoes), although it's possible to attach the sensor to any running shoe using third-party sensor-holders. The sensor supposedly lasts for 1000 hours of use, but as I found out with my first sensor, that isn't always the case. For Runkeeper, all that's required is an iPhone 3G or 3GS. No other sensor is required as Runkeeper uses the phone's GPS capabilities.

Cost
The cost of each system depends largely on what equipment you already have. If you have an iPhone 3G or 3GS, Runkeeper is only an extra $10 to purchase, and there is a free ad-supported version available. If you don't have an iPhone, though, then Runkeeper just isn't an option. Nike+ is available for a wider variety of hardware, but requires that you purchase a shoe sensor ($25CDN on its own) and have compatible shoes or an appropriate holder on your laces for the sensor. If you have an iPod Nano, a kit that includes the sensor and receiver costs $40CDN.

The running experience
I ran using both systems operational at the same time, so I received audio cues from both. Nike+ gives feedback periodically whenever you press the home button on the iPhone, listing pace, distance, and so on. Runkeeper does the same, and can be configured to provide periodic updates. For this run, I had the audio updates set for every 5 minutes.

At the end of the run, Nike+ reported a distance of 4.78km and a pace of 6m45s/km. Runkeeper reported a distance of 4.69km with a pace of 6m49s/km. All told, the readings from both systems are quite comparable, although I'm inclined to trust Runkeeper's measurements since they're based on GPS readings. The Nike+ system is based on a measurement of how long your foot is moving versus staying still, which provides a fairly accurate measurement of speed and pace, but can't tell where you're running. Accordingly, the Nike+ system will work even if you're running indoors on a treadmill - Runkeeper is pretty much useless indoors since it won't be able to get a GPS signal.

Website experience
Nike+ has a massive number of users, and the website is very feature-rich. That's also it's biggest drawback - it's an entirely flash-based site, it's slow, and it's difficult to navigate if you're looking for something specific. It does, however, have some great community features such as challenges between users (even those you don't know), goal setting and tracking, and an elaborate system of rankings, milestones, and "levels" that are designed to keep you motivated.

The Runkeeper website is more spartan, but has the advantage of showing not only where you've ran, but a chart showing the elevation change and speed over the course of a run.

Both systems have the opportunities to share run data publicly via social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, but one downside of Runkeeper is that any publicly shared runs show a full map of the run - I view this as a huge privacy concern, since it would advertise exactly where a runner lives (in most cases), since many people begin and end their runs at their homes. I've suggested to the developers that they make map-sharing optional, so that it's possible to share run data without sharing the exact trip taken.

Overall, I think my preference is for Runkeeper. It's nice to know that I won't need to replace sensors on an ongoing basis, and it's really neat to see exactly where I've run on a map. I'll still use the Nike+ system though, since I've already purchased a sensor and it lets me send run updates via Twitter (without a map, obviously).

Tomorrow's a rest day, which will be followed by the conclusion of week 4. Wish me luck!

Week 4 begins

Tonight was the first run of week 4 of couch-to-5k, which consists of intervals as follows:

• Jog 400m (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 200m (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 800m (or 5 minutes)
• Walk 400m (or 2-1/2 minutes)
• Jog 400m (or 3 minutes)
• Walk 200m (or 90 seconds)
• Jog 800m (or 5 minutes)

This run felt like a big shift from week 3's runs - it feels like I'm jogging most of the time interspersed with occasional walking, whereas the earlier runs felt the opposite. I'm feeling pretty good, notwithstanding that I did back-to-back running days.

Tomorrow I'll definitely be taking a rest. I've been told that week 4 is a bit of a turning point in the C25K program - a point where many people drop out. I'm not gonna do that. For some bizarre reason, I feel accountable to the (likely nonexistent) readers of this blog to keep going. Even if there isn't anybody reading this, it's still a motivator for me.

Week 3 complete!

I had a fantastic run tonight to top off Week 3 of Couch-to-5k. For part of my cooldown I decided to try Runkeeper, and I must say I'm quite impressed. I'll probably pick up the "pro" version just because it has built-in interval training with audio cues, which is exactly what I'd like for C25K.

I'm still waffling between tracking using Runkeeper or Nike+, but with the new iPhone I don't really need to choose - they will both run side-by-side.

New Nike+, new iPhone!

I returned my Nike+ sensor to the Apple store today, and replaced it with a brand new one. Hopefully this one lasts longer than a few weeks.

I also replaced my iPod touch with an iPhone 3GS. It'll be nice to use the voice control during runs in case I want to change playlists. I'm also going to give Runkeeper a try for tracking my runs via the iPhone's GPS. The web interface for Runkeeper seems a lot more streamlined than that for Nike+, but the Nike+ challenges are a nice touch... Time will tell which one fits better for me.

Tomorrow is week 3, day 3 of Couch-to-5k. Things are going great so far, and the muscle soreness I experienced in weeks 1 and 2 hasn't returned (touch wood).

Out of town for a few days

I just got back home from a quick trip to Regina. I did Week 3, day 2 of C25K on the treadmill at the hotel, and kept up with my daily fitness ladder exercises also.

Travelling has a draining effect on me, though. I'm sure I'll be feeling a bit exhausted tomorrow, but thankfully it's a scheduled rest day. W3D3 of couch-to-5k will be Saturday.

On a side note, my Nike+ sensor is still hobbling along but is giving low battery warnings. I'll probably return it to the Apple store tomorrow and get a new one.

#@$(*#$ Nike+ sensor...

So, my 2-week old Nike+ sensor died tonight. It gave me a "low battery" warning and then died part-way through my run. I've still got the receipt and packaging, so it's back to the Apple Store for me to get a replacement. Frustrating, though.

In any event, I completed week 3, day 1 of Couch-to-5k tonight. I'm planning to get an iPhone at some point in the near future, so I might switch my run-tracking over to something like Runkeeper.

Completed week 2!

I've completed week 2 of the Couch-to-5k program and I'm feeling pretty good about it. The runs are challenging but not so much that I'm exhausted, and I'm able to see a bit of progress.

My next thought is the possibility of signing up for a 5k in October.

Couch-to-5k Week 2 day 2

My week 2, day 2 run was tonight (90sec running, 2min walking repeated for 20min). It felt great, and I've slowly been improving my overall running pace. I'm now down to 6 minutes and 52 seconds per kilometer as an overall pace - my first run was 8 minutes and 15 seconds.

It doesn't really feel like I'm improving at all, but the numbers show a slow but steady improvement in my pace. I'm the first to admit that it's nothing spectacular, but it's a start.

Warm-ups do help...

For Tuesday's run I made it a point to thoroughly warm up and to do plenty of stretches before and after. Yesterday I cycled to work (11 miles each way) and this morning I'm feeling no stiffness at all! Yay!

Today was to be day 2 of the C25K, but I'll be going to the Eskimos football game tonight, so I'll do day 2 tomorrow and day 3 on Sunday. Better to have more rest days than not enough, especially while starting a new running program.

C25K: Week 2 starts

Week 2 of Couch-to-5k started today. Up to 90 seconds of running followed by 2 minutes of walking (repeated for 30mins). Feeling pretty good - stretching helped get rid of the soreness.

Mental note: warm-ups and stretching are not optional...

DOMS

A little searching has discovered that my stiffness and soreness has a technical name - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). It's good to see that it's the body's normal way of adjusting to increased exercise.

I don't think I did an adequate warmup for the runs Wednesday or today, resulting in the excess stiffness and soreness. A cold compress and some ASA has helped to make things less painful, and I'm planning on having two rest days before my next run (Tuesday).

End of week 1

I completed week 1, day 3 of the couch-to-5k plan this afternoon. A little stiffness, but nothing that can't be overcome with some stretching and lots of water.

Rest day today

Today was a scheduled rest day. Had a great dinner (Sunterra Friday
Night Feast) and a bottle of "Barefoot" Merlot with my super-awesome
wife.

Week 1, day 3 of the couch-to-5k is tomorrow...

Hacker's Diet chart

The Hacker's Diet online automatically charts my weight and fitness ladder progress. This is a chart of how things have progressed since I started in May of 2008. As I climbed the fitness ladder, my weight dropped. My weight has stayed around 153-155 or so for the past six months, but my goal is to bring it to a slimmer 150.

The blue line indicates my progress on the lifetime fitness ladder. At rung 36, I complete 545 steps of running on the spot, 70 jumping jacks, 49 "bend & bounce", 39 sit-ups, 56 prone lifts, and 29 push-ups. I do this once per day, first thing in the morning. The beauty of this fitness program is that it requires no equipment and takes no more than 15 minutes to complete - as a result it's really hard to come up with good excuses not to do it.

The yellow, grey, and red lines all reflect my weight. The yellow line is the target (150), the grey line shows the values each time I've weighed myself, and the red line is a weighted rolling average weight.

Couch to 5k

I've started going through the couch-to-5k running program to try to boost my endurance and get back into running regularly. My runs should automatically show up on my Twitter feed.

Yesterday's run was week 1, day 2. Today and tomorrow are rest days, and W1D3 will be on Saturday.

Nike+

I've started tracking my runs using the Nike+ system and my iPod touch. Delightfully geeky and functional at the same time.

It's not listed on my Hacker's Diet badge but I'm on rung 36 of the Lifetime Fitness Ladder (see the "What, me exercise?" chapter in the Hacker's Diet. I complete the rung every day (it takes about 15 minutes).

My fitness blog

This is a blog I've created to track my fitness progress.