Rob's Diary

[bensanon]

Hey Rob, glad you felt a bit better today, even on not much sleep. I haven't forgotten about the info on rest. Most of the info applies to either resistance training recovery or training for something like a race. Do you have a goal when you set out to exercise? Time, distance, steps? Rest and recovery doesn't always mean no exercise, it could mean going for a walk, a shorter, less intense run, or even focusing on flexibility. I think the main thing for you is to figure out a few different types of workouts (i.e. long slow distance runs, higher-paced but shorter runs, intervals, walks, etc) that you can do without feeling totally done afterwards. Try to balance out your week by varying the length and type of runs and/or walks that you do.

For example:
Sunday: med-distance, med-intensity run & extra stretching
Monday: long slow distance run
Tuesday: walk & stretch
Wednesday: "short" interval run
Thursday: long distance run (but shorter than the first one this week!)
Friday: walk & stretch

This is just an example! There could be many, many variations on this! I am also not a runner, so runners out there - feel free to correct me!

Here is a link to some information about training phases: Training Phases | Runner's World

This is an article on a trail running site, but it has good info: Rest Days and Recovery Runs: What You Need to Know | Trail Runner Magazine

The main goal is to reduce the risk of injury so that you can keep exercising long term. Don't burn yourself out!

PLB, This is great! Thank you so much. Articles are great.

After reading I’m a little relieved. I think the way I’ve been going about exercise isn’t too bad actually. I alternate longer and shorter runs and walks. I could vary my speed a bit and include intervals. I’ve mostly been going at a slow pace so haven’t included sprints. The low pace however is more like a recovery pace. My goal is basically to feel good or get the most out of the run I can. Benefits extend to all areas of my life. I push myself a bit until I know I’ll have a feel good recovery and it’s usually not the same amount day to day. I could use a little more structure for sure and planning as you’ve outlined. I’ve been mostly playing it by ear.

I hadn’t heard of periodization but it seems it would benefit me too and it looks like I can repeat indefinitely. I don’t run road races or marathons right now. Have never run a marathon and the paces they mention are relative to marathon pace.

This has given me some good ideas to start making changes or at least be more mindful so I can think about modifying my workouts. First step, I’d like to log more info first.

Again, I really appreciate you putting this information together and your time even since you don’t run yourself! I hope you’ll follow along!

 

[PLB]

This has given me some good ideas to start making changes or at least be more mindful so I can think about modifying my workouts. First step, I’d like to log more info first.

I think paying attention to your running/walking volume is the main takeaway. You don't have to be training for a race and you definitely don't have to incorporate sprints (as these may increase injury risk, anyway). But keeping track of your weekly distances and intensities and giving yourself recovery weeks or days, and using the periodization model can help you to be able to keep running long term without burning out or acquiring injuries. There's no problem with pushing yourself, just don't do it every single run.

I definitely don't mind looking up info, I've been out of the game for a while, so it sometimes takes me a bit to get to it and find the appropriate information again!

 

[bensanon]

I think paying attention to your running/walking volume is the main takeaway. You don't have to be training for a race and you definitely don't have to incorporate sprints (as these may increase injury risk, anyway). But keeping track of your weekly distances and intensities and giving yourself recovery weeks or days, and using the periodization model can help you to be able to keep running long term without burning out or acquiring injuries. There's no problem with pushing yourself, just don't do it every single run.

I definitely don't mind looking up info, I've been out of the game for a while, so it sometimes takes me a bit to get to it and find the appropriate information again!

What do you mean about paying attention to volume? I think it’s a good point but just wanted to clarify bc I have several ideas of what you might mean. Right now, distance is an indicator of my effort but it’s not the full story.

I thought the idea with speed work is to work different muscles/muscle fibers to help prevent injury. Also a different way of burning energy (more anaerobic). I will work up to faster speeds but do you think the risk for injury is that much greater than slower paces? I know there’s more force involved but if I build up, I can learn to manage similar to how I manage long distance runs. Prob more risk on those simply because I’m running longer so more chance for injury.

Burnout would be more of a mental thing and I’m slightly concerned bc I run on the treadmill mostly right now. I’ve been thinking about running outdoors but my weight is still high and I want to protect my knees until I get my weight down further.

Just starting to think through things like this. Very helpful!

 

[bensanon]

Did not log yesterday. Here it is.

5-22-19 sleep: 6hr 41min

5-23-19 weight: 238.8 pounds

5-23-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- 0.6 cup yogurt with 0.9 cup blueberries and 1.5 cup strawberries
- 3 cups decaf coffee
Total calories: 385

5-23-19 lunch:
- none
Total kcalories: 0

5-23-19 snacks:
- 2 Medjool dates
- 2 servings pistachios
- 2 chicken breasts
Total kcalories: 720

5-23-19 dinner:
- mediterranean salad trio bowl with chicken (Zoe's kitchen; chicken, pesto farro, quinoa, cauliflower rice, Greek tzatziki, Italian salsa verde, feta, cucumbers, dill)
- marinated slaw side (Zoe's kitchen; cabbage, feta, green onions)
Total kcalories: 860

Total kcal consumed for 5-23-19: 1,964

5-23-19 exercise:
- 12 mile walk (MapMyWalk says 1,732 kcalories burned)
Total steps: 26,001

5-23-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 4380
5-23-19 MFP kcal burned: 3702
5-23-19 MFP kcal deficit: 1738

 

[bensanon]

Here is my week 3 summary and weekly summaries so far.

 

[bensanon]

5-23-19 sleep: 5hr 29min

5-24-19 weight: 237.2 pounds

5-24-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup yogurt with 1 cup kefir and 4 oz blackberries
- vitamin
- 3 cups decaf coffee
Total calories: 513

 

[bensanon]

Weekly summaries:

 

[Llama]

Assuming the first week´s drop had a lot to do with water loss, what does that tell you about the accuracy of your exercise calorie estimates?

 

[bensanon]

Assuming the first week´s drop had a lot to do with water loss, what does that tell you about the accuracy of your exercise calorie estimates?

I'm not sure yet. I'll run the numbers a little later but from eyeballing it, it's looks like they are overestimated by maybe 20-40% I'm guessing.

 

[Llama]

That's a start, at least. You can always refine later.

 

[bensanon]

5-24-19 lunch:
- bison burger on sprouted bread with Swiss, red onion, and mustard
- 2 grilled seasoned chicken breasts
Total kcalories: 0

5-24-19 snacks:
- none
Total kcalories: 0

5-24-19 dinner:
- southwest spicy salad (Coolgreens; spring mix, baby arugula, black beans, roasted poblano peppers, avocado, corn, corn tortilla chips, artisan blend cheese, southwest vinaigrette)
- caprese salad (Coolgreens; spring mix, baby arugula, grape tomatoes, mozzarella, red onion, croutons, balsamic vinaigrette)
Total kcalories: 1336

Total kcal consumed for 5-24-19: 2,574

5-24-19 exercise:
- 7 mile run (treadmill says 1,632 kcalories burned)
- 1.5 miles incline walking
Total steps: 23,053

5-24-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 4391
5-24-19 MFP kcal burned: 3807
5-24-19 MFP kcal deficit: 1233

Over did it a bit with dinner. Both salads I ordered each seemed to have an extra 1/2 salad. Instead of stooping when I was full, I ate them both. Almost felt like a binge. Was thinking I wanted my stomach full and I kind of deserved and needed it bc of the long run I did today. I estimated the extra calories. Not sure it’ll hurt me but I’m watching mindfulness eating videos on YouTube and this wasn’t mindful in the moment. I feel better and better on my runs probably because of the decreasing weight. I feel like I can vary the speed a bit more. I’m not just hanging on to a low speed throughout. Little by little things are improving as I drop the weight. Amazing how your outlook and perspective changes. Still have a long way to go but still feeling good about this plan.

 

[Llama]

I'd say it's fine to have a couple hundred extra calories sometimes, especially if you're generally in a pretty large deficit. But I can see it may not feel that way, especially when it's unplanned and feels out of control.

 

[bensanon]

5-24-19 sleep: 7hr 8min

5-25-19 weight: 238.0 pounds

5-25-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- 0.6 cup yogurt with 4 oz blackberries, 1 cup strawberries, and a banana
- vitamin
- 1 cup decaf coffee
Total calories: 392

 

[bensanon]

5-25-19 lunch:
- turkey burger on sprouted bread with Swiss, red onion, and mustard
- 2 seasoned grilled chicken breasts
- 2 servings steamed broccoli
Total kcalories: 766

5-25-19 dinner:
- mediterranean salad trio bowl with chicken (Zoe's kitchen; chicken, pesto farro, quinoa, cauliflower rice, Greek tzatziki, Italian salsa verde, feta, cucumbers, dill)
- side quinoa (Zoe's kitchen; quinoa, carrots, cabbage, green onion, red peppers, tomatoes, celery, feta, lemon vinaigrette)
Total kcalories: 860

Total kcal consumed for 5-25-19: 2018

5-25-19 exercise:
- 12 mile walk, MapMyWalk says 1830 kcalories burned, 14:38 min/mile pace

5-25-19 Fitbit steps: 27,444

5-25-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 4627
5-25-19 MFP kcal burned: 3860
5-25-19 MFP kcal deficit: 1842

 

[bensanon]

5-25-19 sleep: 4hr 59min

5-26-19 weight: 238.2 pounds

5-26-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- 0.8 cup muesli with 0.8 cup kefir
- 3 cups decaf coffee
- vitamin
Total calories: 420

5-26-19 lunch:
- 2 seasoned grilled chicken breasts
- turkey burger on sprouted bread with red onion, Swiss, and mustard
Total kcalories: 716

5-26-19 dinner:
- southwest spicy salad (Coolgreens; spring mix, baby arugula, black beans, roasted poblano peppers, avocado, corn, corn tortilla chips, artisan blend cheese, southwest vinaigrette)
- caprese salad (Coolgreens; spring mix, baby arugula, grape tomatoes, mozzarella, red onion, croutons, balsamic vinaigrette)
Total kcalories: 1069

Total kcal consumed for 5-25-19: 2204

5-26-19 exercise:
- none
- light housework
Total steps: 11135 steps

5-26-19 Fitbit total kcal burned: 3505
5-26-19 MFP kcal burned: 2879
5-26-19 MFP kcal deficit: 675

 

[Llama]

Sounds like a relaxed day; I hope you enjoyed it.

 

[bensanon]

Thanks, LaMaria. I had a pretty good day yesterday. Hope things are going well for you too!

5-26-19 sleep: 6hr 5min

5-27-19 weight: 236.8 pounds

5-27-19 breakfast:
- 2 eggs
- 0.6 cup muesli with 0.6 cup kefir
- 3 cup decaf coffee
- vitamin
Total calories: 440

 

[PLB]

What do you mean about paying attention to volume? I think it’s a good point but just wanted to clarify bc I have several ideas of what you might mean. Right now, distance is an indicator of my effort but it’s not the full story.

I thought the idea with speed work is to work different muscles/muscle fibers to help prevent injury. Also a different way of burning energy (more anaerobic). I will work up to faster speeds but do you think the risk for injury is that much greater than slower paces? I know there’s more force involved but if I build up, I can learn to manage similar to how I manage long distance runs. Prob more risk on those simply because I’m running longer so more chance for injury.

Burnout would be more of a mental thing and I’m slightly concerned bc I run on the treadmill mostly right now. I’ve been thinking about running outdoors but my weight is still high and I want to protect my knees until I get my weight down further.

Just starting to think through things like this. Very helpful!

Hey Rob,

So it's a bit easier to explain training volume when talking about resistance training rather than running, but some of the same ideas apply. So in the gym if you do, for example, 4 sets of 10 repetitions of 20 kg weight for say, barbell biceps curls, your volume for that exercise would be 4 x 10 x 20 kgs = 800 kgs. You could add this up to see your weekly totals and manage your progressions over time using these numbers.

For running, distance is the easiest overall measure. It's relatively easy to look at your weekly distances. The main reason for keeping track of this would be to avoid injury or to try to gradually increase your speed or distance that you're able to run (if this is one of your goals). If you're normally running 40 kms per week and then suddenly jump to 60 the next week, you may or may not run into issues, but it's definitely something you'd want to know. You might also want to know the speed and/or intensity that you're running at because 40 kms run at 10 kms per hour versus 15 kms per hour might be very different for your body.

Running on the treadmill is great! You will likely find that this is the easiest on the body, compared with running outdoors. If you do start running outside, different surfaces can either be harder, softer, flatter, uneven, or even slanted for drainage. So there are lots of things to consider. Ideally, you'd want to find a surface that's flat and level - like a running track or asphalt sidewalk - and not super hard, like concrete. Or just start off slowly - you don't want to just suddenly do the same distances outdoors that you can do on a treadmill.

I hope that helps a bit, let me know if anything doesn't make sense or if you have more questions!

 

[Llama]

I personally find running on the treadmill dreadfully boring, but it definitely makes it easy to concentrate on form and keep an even pace.

 

[Cate]

Hi, Rob. I have been away since you started your diary & just caught up with a couple of pages. A very, very belated welcome from me