From alpha testing to the QUERCUS 200

Thanks Mystic!

Day 45 of the Run Streak
2.14 miles
30 minutes
Outside road run in the cold. It took a while for my hip to loosen up enough for a decent pace.

272.0 this morning. A small rebound, but I was on target yesterday.

The hip/sciatica hurt enough to wake me up a few times last night. I'm going to start with the dynamic warm up and then decide whether to go ahead with the bodyweight workout.

I'm waiting on the rain to quit to get an easy mile run. I have done some foam rolling, stretching, and assisted pullups and hangs today. Hangs are much easier than they used to be, but pullups are still tough even with assistance. They are a bit easier, but not markedly so. I think that will change quickly if I will just stick to working at it.
 
Today's Exercise

Notation: Sets x Reps (Rating) *Notes

Foam Rolling *This made the hip feel a bit better.

Dynamic Warmup (simple) *I didn't do 5 min of jump rope because I suck at it. This made my hip feel much better.

Bodyweight Basic Routine


1. Deep Squats 3 x 4 (simple)

2. Assisted Pullups 3 x 6 (moderate difficulty) *Performed earlier. 5 Rubber bands rather than platform assist.

3. Incline Pike Pushups 3 x 4 (fairly easy) *Form was poor. I need a lower platform. + 2 Single Pike Pushups (really hard) * "easy" angle

4. Flat Straight Leg Raises 3 x 4 (moderate difficulty) *Could cause back spasms so proceed slowly.

5. 3/4 Pushups 3 x 4 (not bad) *Could have tried regular pushups but I was a little wobbly from the pike stuff and didn't want to risk my back.

Plank 31 seconds (not bad) *Happy I started with regular plank. Watch the back here too.

Run Day 46
1 mile
12:43 minutes
(easy recovery mile) *Bit of a hip twinge around a quarter of the way through until the end, but not bad.
 
I tried to do a some pullups at a friends place the other day since he has a pullup bar. When I was in high school I could definitely do at least a few in a row. The other day at my friend's? I couldn't even possibly get one done. Of course it doesn't help I'm carrying around all this extra weight, but I'm super unfit too. Eventually I want to be able to do a few in a row again.

Great job on all the exercise today!
 
If you can keep your back stabilized during those exercises they´re bound to help you a lot. Good start!
 
I think the body weight exercises and yoga should help you a lot. One thing you might try is stretching your hip flexors in particular. A tight hip flexor is often responsible for lower back and hip pain. It might not completely fix your issues, but it could help some.
 
I've never done an unassisted pull-up Mystic. I will though. Thanks!

Thanks LaMa! I'm being careful.

I need to start doing them Cory. I was, but the ones I know are a pain to do.

Hi Hana! I'm pooped, but I spent the day playing in the mud and got my run done so no complaints.

Day 47
1 mile
11:09 minutes
 
I imagined you doing unassisted "chin ups" & was in awe, I must admit. It has been a lifetime since I could do those. My older brother was conscripted to the Army back when I was a teen & I remember he & I having a contest to see who could do the most "chin-ups" to our pergola. It was about even. That was a Lifetime ago & there is no way I could do even one again!
 
Never say never Cate! I would think never might apply to someone that hasn't ever done one by age 39, but I intend to.

So today is one of the rare circumstances in which I am home and my wife is out of town. I started the day feeling run down and dreary and now that has transitioned into run down and anxious. I'm feeling off for a lack of better description. I am hopeful that I will feel better after a run, but I am reluctant to go to the gym and would rather run away to home and just put up with a cold dark mile there. If I felt better after my run then being in town would be nice, but if I feel as tired then driving home after will be a chore.

I will go to the gym I suppose. I think that's the best choice. Thanks for reading my whinyness.
 
I'll excuse your whinyness, if you'll excuse mine Q. I'm feeling a bit off today too. Woke up during the night with Asthma, feel lethargic & didn't go to golf. Hope you do get to the gym Q & hope I find some energy & enthusiasm & do something!
 
Day 48
indoor track
2 miles
19:47

I did feel better after running Cate. Asthma sucks. Mine has been much better lately, but there never seems to be much rhyme or reason as to when it gets bad. I hope you are feeling better.
 
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What are the temps looking like these days, sir? I woke up to single digits again. Sometimes I wish I was still streaking with you but days like today I was happy to stay in bed! When is Mrs. Q back?
 
It was in the high 20s this morning Oaks and it is still chilly out. Not cold like yours. She is back tonight. I just got back from a field project called Oaks with a string of numbers behind it. I'm sure the land guy wondered why I grinned at the name. No implications here, but that project was really easy. :p

I did a little LJ. I overate yesterday. I didn't sleep well and was already tired yesterday. I feel exhausted and I am hoping to get to bed early tonight. Since my wife will be home tonight I will be hanging around town until she gets back. I will go run after work and hopefully she won't be too late. I think the streak will continue indefinitely, but I need to get past this rough patch of fatigue. The field work woke m eup a bit.

I haven't been weighing while I try to start the bodyweight routine as I usually pop up in weight when I do something new, but I overate last night by quite a lot. That whole fatigue/appetite thing, but I will fight it today. I want to do the routine again tonight, but I may be too pooped or pressed for time.

The streak isn't really important to me anymore. What I mean is that I don't care about how many days it is really. I just want to run every day. Every day I run is a day I make progress and a day that I am healthy.

/:rant:/
I'm really tired of being fat. I'm frustrated lately in the realization that doing things correctly means that I am still going to be fat for a long time. I'm obese. Obese people don't run everyday. Obese people don't consistently eat an appropriate amount of calories. I realize that this obesity is the physical manifestation of a lifetime of bad decisions and for that reason it will take time to recover.

I'm ashamed of my body to a degree that I never have been before. The belly and the love handles really make me feel self conscious now. I'm enjoying wearing all of the layers because I can hide. I was so happy with the progress that I had made by last April when I did the 5K. I realized going back to look at a photo that I am embarrassed by how fat I looked. That made me realize that in another 40 pounds I will be embarrassed of how I look now which caused me to go ahead and be embarrassed now because why wait?

I want to hide from the world until I'm not fat anymore. I know things have and continue to improve, but I'm really unsatisfied with that at the moment. I am already doing everything that there is to do which is great, but now I have to find acceptance for the fact that I may be deeply dissatisfied with my physical self for a while. The alternative is to go backwards deeper into obesity, self-pity, and an early grave and that is not going to happen. That is little comfort for the limbo that my life is and will be for the foreseeable future. I know my attitude will improve as my physical body does the same. I also know that in some way it is progress to be completely repulsed by my fatness because it comes from a realization that not being fat is a fact for me. I will get to and keep a normal weight. That is good to know. It somehow goes beyond will or resolve. It is the only future for me. That just makes me anxious and dissatisfied with fat me today. I have to get past this as my brain yelling "STOP BEING FAT!" at itself isn't particularly productive. /end_:rant:

I'm happy that Mrs. Q will be here tonight and I've left enough calories to hit Thai food for dinner. I'll likely just run 1 mile today and hopefully feel like doing the bodyweight routine tonight.

I suppose the best thing I can do is stay busy. Gradually increase my efforts and do more to get where I want to be in my life.
 
I still occasionally feel that way about my old fat self. Then I remind myself that was then & this is now. You know you are doing really well & don't need me telling you that. I'm sorry that you are feeling this way right now Q, but I am glad that you share your life & feelings with us. I feel privileged.
 
I totally understand the frustration. I'm also very happy it's winter and I'm able to hide behind a lot of clothing for the most part. Though I can't fit into any of my jeans so I'm stuck wearing yoga type pants and they are mostly all capri length so I get a lot of looks walking around in -20 with bare lower legs!
But, as you said, giving up gets one even deeper into that hole. So we must keep going.
You can do it!
 
Thank you Cate and Mystic! Part of my problem is how tired I am. The wife is home and I'm headed to bed.

Day 49
1 mile
10:05

Good night WLF friends!
 
That's what I call quality whining! Seriously, I know the feeling, we all do. You're making progress, that's the key, there's no point in hating your past self, just learn from him - which you're clearly doing. It goes without saying, you've reached the right place to vent as needed!
 
I think your running streak is awesome!

Quercus said:
/:rant:/
I'm really tired of being fat. I'm frustrated lately in the realization that doing things correctly means that I am still going to be fat for a long time. I'm obese. Obese people don't run everyday. Obese people don't consistently eat an appropriate amount of calories. I realize that this obesity is the physical manifestation of a lifetime of bad decisions and for that reason it will take time to recover.
Click to expand...

I completely get how you're feeling here. I mean, I noticed I was fat before, but now that I'm making progress it's like I'm hyper aware of it and it almost makes you feel worse. And sometimes the progress is sooooo slooowwww. That's partially what was responsible for me going off the rails the last couple months. I was like, "I've been doing this for a year and a half and am only 40 lbs down. I'll never be at a healthy weight." And then I basically binged for two or three months. :banghead:
 
LJ you called me out so I had to step up my game.

I'm feeling better after a good night's sleep. I bought a shirt in December that should have been the right size (xl) but didn't fit. This didn't make me happy and I had originally intended to return it. It fit this morning which is a physical reminder that it is happening and fairly rapidly. It also helped me to come here and bitch. That prompted me to discuss my feelings with my wife and that went well.

Thanks Cory! Today is day 50 so that is a nice milestone.

It's ridiculous that dissatisfaction with our rate of success immediately prompts this destructive reaction. I mean it is completely counter-intuitive to cause yourself to stop having success because you're upset that you aren't having enough of it. That's what I have been feeling.

Poor sleep and excess calories for the last two days. I am nipping it in the bud though. I got good sleep and I will not eat over calories today no matter how hungry I feel. Day 50 of the run streak gives me a focus for the day. Wearing the new shirt gives me a physical reminder that I haven't ruined anything and that I am still making progress.

I weighed in at 273.8 this morning. I ate salty food right before bed so hopefully the rebound will be short lived. I did not get to do my bodyweight routine yesterday, but I did get in a lot of stretching and foam rolling after my run.
 
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