Last week I finally convinced myself to go for a bulking phase in my fitness training. Deliberately gaining weight is mentally challenging for me. I started out in November 2001, right after Thansgiving, at approximately 235 pounds (I am 5'11"). I was completely disgusted with myself. 38-inch jeans were cutting off my circulation, and I knew I had to do something. Otherwise, I was heading off into the land of morbid obesity. By May 2002, I had dropped to around 180# after several months of dieting, weight training, and cardio. I held in the lower 180's for most of 2002. In early 2003, I bulked up to ~193# while doing some of Ian King's programs. Even that 10 pound weight gain was pretty freaky for me after losing 50+ pounds. So from June 2003 through Spring of this year, I did a slow cut. Kept up the weight training, but also increased my running to 20-25 miles per week. My lowest weight was in May 2004, ~170 pounds. That's where I was when I took the attached photos. This is the leanest I have ever been in my life. Even in my 20's, when I jogged a lot and was as much as 15 pounds lower in weight, I did not have this body fat level.

I have been wrestling for awhile with whether I should try a bulking phase again. From a health standpoint, and my primary reason for eating properly and exercising, I don't need to gain weight. My wife is pleased with my appearance, and my overall fitness level is my best ever.

But on the other hand, after spending nearly a year doing a slow cut, I haven't seen any strength improvement in weight training. It's hard to stay highly motivated in any physical activity when progress is not occurring. And, although I like my low bodyfat level, it would be challenging to see whether I can add some decent lean mass without undoing all of my progress in getting rid of the fat. So, finally I concluded - why not?? I can always burn off the weight again if I don't like the weight gain. Also, John Stone's pictures from his bulk last year were reassuring, since he was able to gain a lot of muscle mass without adding detrimental fat.

My weight in June was up a little bit since May, anyway -- averaging around 173. So, I'll probably use my May photos as my baseline, since that was my lightest point.

Last week, I weighed in at 173.5 on Wed., 174.5 on Thurs, and 177.5 on Friday. 176.0 this morning, Monday, July 12th. I'll probably allow myself to go back up to around 185.0 and see what I think about my progress and fitness level.

I am currently doing Men's Health magazine's Homegrown Muscle series. I am in Phase 8 of 10, which is 4 days per week of weight training. This phase is a strength builder, with an emphasis on low reps and high number of sets.

I am also trying to keep up my running, which is probably not typical for most people during a bulk. While doing Phase 8 of Homegrown for 2-1/2 more weeks, I will probably slack off on my running a little bit. Since there are 4 workouts per week in Phase 8, trying to also get in 4 runs per week can be a challenge. Also, Summer is a good time to back off on the running in Alabama!

Phase 9 of the Homegrown series is also a strength-building phase that is 4 weeks long. So, I have another 6-1/2 weeks total on these phases, and that should be enough time for me to reach 180+ and see what I think of my progress.

For diet purposes, I am trying to follow John Berardi's guidelines fairly well. Especially with regard to eating P+C meals and P+F meals and trying to make sure I eat snacks or mini-meals in between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don't find that eating 6 evenly proportioned mini-meals fits with my schedule too well, but I am trying to get as close to that as possible. I am very good with my diet most of the time, but I am hoping that being especially conscientious during this bulk will help minimize my fat gain.

I'll have to take some updated pics sometime this week so I can gauge where I am now that my average weight is approaching 5 lbs. heavier than where I bottomed out in May.

I have now been deliberately "bulking" for about one week now. I weighed in at 176.0 on Monday and 177.0 today, Wed. July 14th. Bulking is similar to cutting in that when your first start out, the scale seems to go haywire. LOL. Seems like I shot up a few pounds almost instantly. Probably just the extra food and/or water retention.

I am trying to be very rigorous with my diet. For the most part, this is working out okay. But opportunities keep arising, tempting my sweet tooth. Desserts are my downfall. I can eat healthy entrees and be satisfied, but I am weak with certain desserts.

Over the past weekend, we were at my parents' house in Georgia. They had baked a mixed berry pie and had Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream. Why don't you just pin me to the wall and throw daggers at me??? :p Had two generous helpings of that over the weekend. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

My parents have our girls this week, so my wife and I are making the most of our childless time. Last night we went to Ted's Montana Grill, which just opened here. Again, did pretty well for the main meal. I tried some Buffalo Chili, had a tomato and onion salad, a buffalo steak, greenbeans, and a sweet potato. The sweet potato of course arrived larded up with about 5 sticks of butter and a pound of brown sugar, but I was able to scoop off about 90% of it. Yes, I was doing well, but then the server mentioned "Strawberry Shortcake" and the rest was history.

Today I am backing off on the calories to compensate for the overindulgences in the sweets department. Also, I am working out twice today. I did my Homegrown Muscle Phase 8 "D" workout today - weighted pullups, push presses, and BB raises this morning. This evening, I will run when I get home -- planning for about 6.5 miles. Should be a challenge, because I live in a very hilly area, and the humidity is unbearable right now. Early morning runs are by far the best, with late evening runs coming in a distant second. Midday runs are brutal. I try to avoid them this time of the year due to the increased stress of dehydration.

I continue to question whether I really want to put on weight... So, who knows whether I will follow through with this plan or not. I really would like to build upper body strength, and this is the only way to get that response.

Weight Thursday, July 15 = 175.5. Today, Friday July 16 = 176.

So, actually I weighed more last Friday than I did this Friday, but the overall trend from last week to this week shows a gain of at least one pound. That's what I was targeting -- so far, so good.

Overall, I am up 5-6 pounds since I bottomed out in May. I think I can actually tell that I have gained a little muscle mass.

Yesterday I did the squat workout in Phase 8 of Homegrown Muscle. Yowch!! Really fatigues my legs.

This morning I ran 6.2 miles. My time was 46:12. That's a pace of 7:27 per mile, which is a good one for me during July! The weather was improved this morning, though -- upper 60's with lower humidity. My May personal best on this particular route, which includes some heavy duty hills, was 43:56. This morning I ran my final mile in 6:16. I have been clocking my final miles fairly regularly and ramping it up there at the end of the run to improve my overall time. And also because the last mile on most of my runs is more level compared with the terrain along most of my running routes. 6:16 was my best final mile time so far.

I just had to tell you, you have one of the best defined bodies on this forum. And you even run, too.

Keep up the good work. :claplow:

I just had to tell you, you have one of the best defined bodies on this forum. And you even run, too.

Keep up the good work. :claplow:

:o

Thanks for the compliment! That's encouraging. Of course, I'm pretty selective about what pictures get posted. :D :eek:

Yesterday was the last day of being "child-free" for my wife and me. Grandma and Grandpa are bringing our girls (ages 8 and 5) home today. We haven't seen them since Sunday, and this is the longest stretch that we have ever been away from them. Last night was our final night to "live it up." Of course, "living it up" at 37 is pretty benign. We ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Now there's a place to go when you are watching your diet! :p Again, did reasonably well through the entree, but had a Toblerone Cheesecake for dessert. At least I can safely say that the streak of opportunities for heavy duty desserts has now come to a close! One thing I thought was funny was that the server mentioned a "Low Carb" Cheesecake with only 6 net carbs. I said, "Yeah, but I bet it still has 500 grams of fat and 10,000 calories." She admitted that it had the same amt. of fat and similar calories! LOL. It didn't take long for the food industry to confuse and corrupt the low carb diet craze!

We also went to see I, Robot. Since we don't get to go to the movies very often, I like to see something on the big screen with good special effects. I, Robot delivered fairly well... the robots were pretty cool, as were the scenes of Chicago in 2035 with a fusion of the current skyline with additional buildings of the future. On the other hand, the storyline was hokey, ho-hum, etc. and most of the acting was horrible. I guess I would give it 2-1/2 stars. LOL.

Recent videos we have rented with outstanding acting: Monster and Mystic River. OTOH, I am still trying to stop picturing Charlize Theron in her "Monster" serial killer makeup.

I didn't even bother getting on the scale this morning. Today, I have to cut back and pay for yesterday's indulgences, although since I am bulking I still get to eat alot anyway. No eating out tonight - I am going to control the meal. I'm thinking lean pork tenderloin and various vegetables.

My plan for this morning is to do a shorter run, ~3.5 miles, with intervals of regular pace and more intense faster-paced segments. I believe this is called Fartlek runs. {Aren't you glad your last name isn't Fartlek?} In the past, I have done regularly-spaced and uniformly timed high intensity run segments combined with lower intensity jogs. I believe that is just your good ole basic HIIT, whereas Fartlek intervals are more random. I think that will work out better for me due to the terrain I live in, which is very hilly. I don't really need to be in the middle of a sprint on a steep uphill, but if I try to do HIIT runs around here, that always seems to happen.

After that, I will do Homegrown Muscle Phase 8, workout C - which is primarily chest work. Always good for me - since chest and shoulders are my weak areas. The chest and shoulder exercises are where I am really watching for some strength improvements during this bulking phase.

Hmmm. weighed in this morning at 175.5. That's lower than Friday. Maybe I should eat cheesecake every day! I think my overall trend is still upward, but if I don't see some hint of the scale inching up later this week, then I will probably increase my calorie intake slightly.

My interval run of 3.5 miles yesterday went okay. I ran it in 25:18. Pace was 7:14. I actually thought I would come out better than that, because my first mile was around 6:50. I must have slowed down more than I thought later in the run. LOL. I need to do more interval runs to help improve my pace, since I plan to try some races in the Fall. I would like to be able to do a 10K on reasonably level terrain with a pace as close to 7:00 as possible. That would probably put me in the Top 20 finishers (or reasonably close to it) in my age group for our local annual "big run" - the Vulcan 10K. I have never been in a race before and have never even been around one to observe how it all works. So I don't know what to expect as far as getting bogged down by the mobs of runners at the beginning and throughout the course.

Weight routine yesterday went well. I am really trying to push myself on the DB bench presses. Since doing this MH series, the poundages I am using for DB bench have gone up pretty well -- I don't know how this translates over to conventional BB bench, as the workout series does not include much in the way of traditional BB bench presses. I haven't tested my max bench press in eons. Bench press is not my strong point - My 1-rep max that I have tested is 200. I would consider it a huge achievement to be able to do reps at 200.

Today I am planning a run - probably a 7.2 mile route. The only catch is that I am going out at midday -so the sun will be brutal. A "cold front" came through, though, and our temps. are only in the 80's. So that helps!

Very impressive changes. Great definition in your legs.

:tu:

Monday 7/19/04 weight = 177.0.

My 7.2 mile run yesterday was mediocre. I took two brief walk breaks after about 5.5 miles. My total time was 59:47. I did this with the sun high overhead, but the temps. and humidity were down yesterday, so can't really place all the blame on the weather. Just an off day! I think my legs are just exhausted. I looked at my running log and realized that I had totalled 34.5 miles in the 8-day span that ended yesterday. That, combined with leg workouts in weight training, have probably toasted my legs. Today's weight training is mostly hamstring-focused. So I probably won't skip it.

Yesterday was a tough one for trying to get all of my calories in. I reached dinnertime with only ~1650 calories for the day. So I had to eat ~1850 more before bedtime. This is when mixed nuts come in very handy for ramping up the calorie total. I ate three meals before bedtime and made it to my calorie goal.

According to mybodycomp.com, my maintenance calories should total 3,250. If this is true, then I need to be eating ~3,750 to gain one pound per week, whereas I have been eating ~3,500 on average. So I may have to eat a little more. I have no trouble eating in the upper 2000's to ~3,000 per day, but for some reason it is difficult for me to get to the mid 3,000's, esp. when separating out meals into P+C and P+F.

Very impressive changes. Great definition in your legs.

:tu:

Thanks, ABguy!

Looking good man. Always nice to see a runner who also has an upper body. I'm interested in this "Home Grown" plan. Is it just in the printed magazine or is available online?

I also want more info on this cheesecake cutting plan. lol. :lol:

Keep up the good work!

Looking good man. Always nice to see a runner who also has an upper body. I'm interested in this "Home Grown" plan. Is it just in the printed magazine or is available online?

I also want more info on this cheesecake cutting plan. lol. :lol:

Keep up the good work!

AMR, thanks! Here is the URL for the Homegrown Muscle workouts:

http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article/0,2823,s1-1-0-0-199,00.html

I have enjoyed the series and think most of the phases work out well in combination with running. The first Phase is the most difficult - an 8-week cutting phase that is fast-paced circuits and very intense.

You'll have to watch for my first book, Cheesecake Your Way to a Six Pack, coming out soon! :cool:

You'll have to watch for my first book, Cheesecake Your Way to a Six Pack, coming out soon! :cool:

Now that is funny! LOL :lol:

Thanks for the link!

Tues 7/20/04 weigh in - 177.0

I'm planning to run this evening -- ~6.5 miles with two of the worst hills in the area!

Tomorrow, I am planning to double up and work out with weights early in the AM and then run in the evening. Probably another run with intervals.

I snapped some new photos this morning -- haven't had a chance to look at them yet. I think this weight where I am right now is a good one for me, so this will likely be my target range to cut back to following the end of this bulking phase.

Hmmm - I just graphed out my weight changes over the past 2 weeks. Aside from the big leap at the very beginning, which is probably similar to the sudden drop at the beginning of a weightloss, this looks more like a maintenance phase than a bulking phase! :rolleyes: Maybe 2 weeks isn't long enough to track the trend...

Canceled my run yesterday... I had a long day at work and my body was definitely dropping hints that it needed a rest day. I konked out on the sofa by 9PM, which kept me from eating my last batch of calories for the day. My total for the day was ~3100, which is 400-500 less than I am targeting per day.

This morning I did the "D" workout of Homegrown Phase 8. 8 sets of weighted pullups (low reps, target = 3), 8 sets of push presses (low reps, target = 3), and 2 sets of BB Front Rows with EZ Curl Bar (target = 10 reps). Workout was okay - No substantial gains over the last time I did this routine (last week). Push Presses are a new challenge. Similar to standing shoulder presses, except you get to squat down a little bit and get some added upward push from your legs.

This evening I plan to do the run I intended to do yesterday. The blast furnace is back on in Alabama, so I probably should have run this morning and done the weights this evening.

Hmmm - I just graphed out my weight changes over the past 2 weeks. Aside from the big leap at the very beginning, which is probably similar to the sudden drop at the beginning of a weightloss, this looks more like a maintenance phase than a bulking phase! :rolleyes: Maybe 2 weeks isn't long enough to track the trend...

That's not bad at all....

It probably feels like a slow ride.....but 5 lbs in 2 weeks is very good.

I'd say that's about as good as you're gonna do, without breaking into the jelly donuts and deep fry stuff.. :D :gl:

That's not bad at all....

It probably feels like a slow ride.....but 5 lbs in 2 weeks is very good.

I'd say that's about as good as you're gonna do, without breaking into the jelly donuts and deep fry stuff.. :D :gl:

Thanks, ABGuy - not really 5 lbs. over the past two weeks. The lowest weight I recorded when I started was 173.5. Highest was 177.5, and that was two days after I started the bulk! LOL. Since then, my weight has basically flatlined, according to the graph. If my next weigh-in is at least 177, then I will know that I have definitely trended upward by a couple of pounds since I first started bulking. I really don't want to gain more than 1-1.5 pounds per week.

I was around 170-171 when I bottomed out in May. By the first part of July, I was generally weighing in around 173 or 174, even though I wasn't doing a planned bulk.

Feeling like a bloated pig so far today! My jeans feel tighter. My shirt feels tighter - but that's a good thing! :nod:

As of 10:00AM, I have consumed ~1200 calories so far. I had steel cut oats for the first time this morning. Good stuff- very different. Takes a long time to cook, and pretty high in calories. I cooked 3/4 cup of the dry oats and had 99% of my daily recommended fiber! LOL.

Just had my second meal. I made some homemade almond/cashew butter last night with flax seeds added. I had some of that on a couple of Low Carb/Low Fat tortillas. More fiber! :eek:

I checked my average weight for the first full week of my bulk (175.4) versus the second full week, which ended yesterday (176.3). That's pretty cool! I was targeting 1 pound per week, and it averaged out right on the money.

I am still second-guessing myself on the bulking phase. I would like to add some mass and power to my upper body, but sometimes I think I may have reached my genetic potential and should not expect to be able to become much stronger or add much more mass in my upper body.

Survived my evening run, but it was very VERY humid. I think I sweat off about 20 lbs. LOL. ~7.0 miles total. I need to measure the route, because it was a new one for me - with three of the toughest hills in the area! I was really dehydrated. I ate a yogurt with regular sweeteners in it to help me recover - this seems to work pretty well. I'm still down on my calories for the day -- need to eat ~750 more, but I doubt that will happen!

Weight this morning, Friday July 23rd: 173.5 :eek: :d_eek: :rolleyes:

Yesterday-178. Today-173.5. How's that for some daily fluctuation?? Yesterday's run must have depleted every reserve of everything. :p I drank plenty of fluids after the run and did manage to eat a pretty hefty sandwich before bed, bringing my calorie total up to ~3300 (close to target). So, I was surprised to see that reading this morning.

Hey, how's THIS for a bulking phase graph!!! :p :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Definitely rethinking the bulking phase. I may actually lower my calorie intake a little and see whether I can just maintain or slightly gain through the rest of Homegrown Muscle Phases 8 and 9.

I want to run in the local 10K in early November. I have not raced before, so I may try a couple of smaller races before this big one, which is pretty crowded. Since it is only a little over 3 months away, I am considering really reshifting my focus so I can maximize my results in this race. My goal is to complete the race in 42 minutes, but with an outside goal of finishing in under 40 minutes. I am considering trying a pre-planned training program to try to reach these goals. Of course, I will still keep up my weight training, but I am really thinking of going completely wishy-washy here and not focusing on gaining weight -- which is certainly detrimental to running pace!


http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_2v.gif

Weight this morning: 175.5

I'm pretty surprised by how much I am eating with little change in weight.

This morning I did an approx. 5 mile run. I went out early, and it was already uncomfortably warm and humid. The skies are hazy also. I am far enough out of Birmingham to escape most of the air pollution, but when the dog days of Summer set in - it's hazy everywhere!

My legs were really fatigued from last night's squat workout. So I really had to push myself. Tonight I plan to do HGM Phase 8-Wkt B, which is mostly incline DB bench presses and DB rows. I am gauging my bulking and/or power progress quite a bit on whether I am seeing improvement in DB bench presses. Chest exercises are one area where I struggle to make gains.

Today we are off to take a family portrait. The last one we took was in 2001, and I was really overweight when that photo was taken. In fact, it was one of my inspirations to finally get in shape. So I am looking forward to seeing our family portrait with me as a massive fat blob replaced by one where I have a healthier appearance.

After that, it's off to a wedding reception. :d_eek:

Weight this morning = 175.5. My ave. weight the past four days is 175.6, which is actually down from my ave. weight during the second full week of this bulking cycle. LOL.

OTOH, my workout last night went well. The wkt included incline DB presses, target is 8 sets of 3 reps. Last night was the 4th and last time I did this wkt for this phase of Homegrown Muscle. Even though I have been bemoaning my weight change on this bulk, I added 7.5 pounds per DB to this exercise since the first week, going from 70 to 77.5. That's almost miraculous for me on a chest press exercise, where I struggle to make gains. My 1 rep max ever achieved on a BB bench press is 200 (over one year ago, when I was 15 pounds heavier). I could probably surpass that now if I can do incline DB presses at 77.5 for 3 reps. This is probably laughable for guys who achieve excellent gains on bench presses, but it is substantial for me. I have to give HG Muscle a good testimonial for helping me make progress in this area. One major reason is probably the frequent use of DB bench presses in the workouts - I definitely think I respond better using DBs than a BB.

I'm headed out for a Sunday morning run. It will be 9:30am when I get started. And in this weather pattern, even that is really too late to get started. LOL. Will definitely need to chug-a-lug some gatorade when I get back. Most of the year, I do my longest runs on Sunday morning, usually 8.5-10.0 miles, occasionally a little more. But I have not really been doing that during the Summer. I get too dehydrated, and I think it crosses the line into detrimental rather than being beneficial.

I nailed my lower calf yesterday worse than I thought. I am limping around today pretty badly. I definitely won't be able to run again until Wednesday, and I think even that is iffy.

Weight this morning = 177.5.

Calorie intake yesterday was ~3500-3600.

I nailed my lower calf yesterday worse than I thought. I am limping around today pretty badly. I definitely won't be able to run again until Wednesday, and I think even that is iffy.

Could be a touch of tendonitis. Put some ice on it and take some ibuprofin. You might want to back off on the running for a few days.

Could be a touch of tendonitis. Put some ice on it and take some ibuprofin. You might want to back off on the running for a few days.

Yeah, I think it may be in the tendon. I bought some new shoes during lunch. The difference was incredible with the new shoes -- much less irritation just walking around. Speaking of buying new shoes - I hate that chore. I have had really good overall experiences with Asics Gel-1080's, but I have a hard time finding them for some weird reason. Today I bought Gel-1090's, which I am assuming are close enough to 1080's that I'll be okay. Earlier in the year, I couldn't find Gel-1080's and bought Asics GT-2080's. I wound up calling these my "cruel shoes." One injury after another. Hip pain. Calves. Plantar fasciitis. Everything got better as soon as I just bit the financial bullet and bought another pair of 1080's.

Checked it out - the 1090 is same family as the 1080, as I expected and thought was logical... but you never know! :p I have the highest foot arches in the world, and this series of shoes seems to support and fit me the best.

New shoes make all the difference. I also wear Asics. But I am just the opposite. My foot is almost flat so I wear shoes with extra cushion. The Asics Gel Nimbus to be exact. These shoes are great.

Go easy on that leg. :tu:

New shoes make all the difference. I also wear Asics. But I am just the opposite. My foot is almost flat so I wear shoes with extra cushion. The Asics Gel Nimbus to be exact. These shoes are great.

Go easy on that leg. :tu:

Well, no choice but to go easy on the leg. It is still bothering me. No way could I run on it right now! :rolleyes:

Tues-7/27/04 weight: 177.0.

Good workout last night. Wkt C of Homegrown Muscle Phase 8. Straightleg Deads were the primary exercise. Also did an ab routine of Hanging Pikes, Full Contact Twists, and Planks. Hanging Pikes are basically hanging leg raises, except you pull your legs up all the way to the point where they are pointing straight up, without swinging/using momentum.

Tonight I will probably be "off" as I am meeting my family after work at the local amusement/water park. Tomorrow I will do Wkt D of HGM Phase 8, my last workout of this Phase.

My weight tracking graph still doesn't show a recognizable trend upward in weight. Nevertheless, I do feel like I am progressing upward in strength since I have been eating more.

Sounds like you need to take some time off. Bummer. Hang in there dude.

Hmmm- I added a data trendline to my weight tracking graph (yes, I am a geek). The trendline does reflect a slow increase in my weight over the past three weeks. But I mean *slow*. In fact, ~ 1 pound upward in three weeks. This means I may be falling short by about 350 calories daily, if I want to gain 1 LB. per week. I have been eating ~3500 calories per day, so I may need to target 3850 calories per day to gain 1 LB. per week. :eek: That also means my average daily calorie burn is ~3350.

I'll probably continue what I am doing for another week and see what happens with my weight. Especially since I expect to run less this week due to my injury.

177 yesterday and 178 this morning. I felt really bloated this morning when I woke up, so I don't know for sure whether the 178 could be skewed a little high.

Exercise: I have now finished Homegrown Muscle Phase 8. I feel like I responded well to this phase, especially in combination with my diet and increased calories. Onward ho into Phase 9, which looks like it will rock. This is definitely a power building phase, which meshes well with my plans. After I finish this 4 week Phase, I plan to do the last phase of Homegrown Muscle, which is designed for cutting, and then the first Phase of the "Book of Muscle" workout plan. Also a cutting phase. These should allow me to slowly cut back the fat that I have gained and should serve me well as I get ready for a local 10K race in early November.

Running: My calf/tendon pain is improving each day. This morning I was able to take the stairs again (I work on the 9th floor). I am tempted to give running a try this evening. Common sense tells me to rest it for another day or two, but the urge to run may win out!

175 this AM. Plugged that into my anal retentive Excel graph, and based on the trendline, I am gaining ~0.4 pounds per week. I feel like I am gaining more than this, but I can't really argue much with the scale, esp. when I am reading at the same time every AM and almost every day.

I completed a 5 mile run last night. I could feel some tightness in my calf/tendon, and it was warning me the entire time that one false move would set me back to where I was Sunday afternoon. So, I was mindful of my footing, making sure I didn't have my foot in any odd angles. I believe the new shoes made a tremendous difference. You don't realize how bad your old shoes were until you get a new pair. My time on the run was 40:40. In May, I could have finished this run in 36:00, so I definitely backed off on my pace.

Tonight I start Phase 9 of Homegrown Muscle. This phase is entitled, "Record Gain." I sure hope so. Unlike most of the phases, this one focuses on traditional lifts. Tonights workout includes several sets of Deadlifts, BB Bench Presses. Weighted Pullups, and BB Curls. This is the first time traditional deadlifts have been included in any phase of this workout series, so it has been a long time (almost one year) since I have done plain ole vanilla Deadlifts.

You'll have to watch for my first book, Cheesecake Your Way to a Six Pack, coming out soon! :cool:

Oh my, that cracked me up. I could write the sequel Get Great Glutes with Chocolate.

Bulking to me doesn't make much sense, but then, I'm a woman, and the thought of putting on any weight for a woman is terrifying. Why not graph your lifting weight gains instead of your body weight gains? After all, getting stronger is your goal, not getting bigger.

Are you tracking your body fat percentage while you track your weight gains? It would seem to me that if your body fat percentage is increasing, then your bulk is (at least partly) unsuccessful. Isn't it only possible to gain about 6 pounds of muscle in a year? It sounds weird to me that you're disappointed about gaining less than a pound a week.

Anyway, I think it's great that you're able to lift more. I think it might be time for me to consider increasing my calories so that I can gain strength.

:eek: DISCLAIMER: Please don't assume I know what I'm talking about. I know nothing about proper bulking technique. Just wanted to point out how the logic sounded to me.

Oh my, that cracked me up. I could write the sequel Get Great Glutes with Chocolate.

Bulking to me doesn't make much sense, but then, I'm a woman, and the thought of putting on any weight for a woman is terrifying. Why not graph your lifting weight gains instead of your body weight gains? After all, getting stronger is your goal, not getting bigger.

Are you tracking your body fat percentage while you track your weight gains? It would seem to me that if your body fat percentage is increasing, then your bulk is (at least partly) unsuccessful. Isn't it only possible to gain about 6 pounds of muscle in a year? It sounds weird to me that you're disappointed about gaining less than a pound a week.

Anyway, I think it's great that you're able to lift more. I think it might be time for me to consider increasing my calories so that I can gain strength.

:eek: DISCLAIMER: Please don't assume I know what I'm talking about. I know nothing about proper bulking technique. Just wanted to point out how the logic sounded to me.

Hi Guava! Well, unfortunately you eventually reach a point where you don't really continue to increase your strength or muscle mass significantly unless you are willing to eat a calorie excess to add weight and build that new muscle. Definitely not true about 6 LBS. of muscle growth as a max in one year... Plenty of people add way more than that during bulking cycles. And unfortunately, most people can't do a bulking cycle without adding some fat along with the new muscle. Of course, the goal is to add as little fat as possible, which is why there is so much diet theory circulated around about how best to do this (food timing, combinations, etc.)

Since I have been fat, it is definitely difficult for me to put myself into a weight gaining mindset. It's probably the biggest limiting factor in my weight training progress, actually. And I am not planning a longterm bulk - in fact, just a few more weeks.

The main reason that I am graphing my weight changes is because that is the best measure of whether I am getting enugh extra calories to add weight and presumably build muscle. I am not formally tracking my bodyfat, although I do plan to buy some calipers and do that. Right now I am relying on the eyeball method! :p :D I have never tried graphing my strength changes. I think it would be hard, since I am following a workout program from Men's Health where the exercises change every few weeks.

BTW - your personal transformation has been amazing! Congratulations!!

My weight this morning was 174.5!! Don't know what to think about that. I am simply amazed that I am not gaining weight faster than this at this calorie intake.

The first workout of Homegrown Muscle Phase 9 was a great one!! Uses a wave loading pattern for six sets per exercise. 4 reps-3 reps-2reps-4 reps- 3 reps - 2 reps. Felt really good to do some basic, hardcore movements again like Deadlifts.

My legs are pretty toasted from last night's deadlifts, but we are headed out of town this AM. And I am going to try to get a run in before we go. Heading down to New Orleans to visit my wife's family. New Orleans = 100% chance of falling off the dietary wagon!!! At least I am in a bulking cycle. :p My tendon feels completely back to normal when I am walking around, but I will definitely be using caution again while running this morning.

175 this morning - Mon, Aug. 2nd. Even a weekend in New Orleans didn't spike my weight. LOL! Of course, I did get a run in Sunday morning. Went out at 6:30AM, and it was a steambath even then.

Just plugged my last two weigh-in readings into my Excel graph, and the magic trendline now tells me that my weight trend is barely BARELY up over almost 4 weeks! Based on this, I am going to increase my daily calorie intake to ~3750 and see what happens.

I am home alone for a couple of nights, and so I may as well get some excess calories by stopping at the Indian Buffet on the way home from work. No one else in my family likes Indian food, but I love it!

Tonight I do a core workout (mostly Abs), and tomorrow I do the next major workout of Homegrown Phase 9. Starts with squats. Should be a good one! I may do a short run in the morning as well.

Those are some serious calories. I struggle to get 2,400 cals a day.
Good luck. Look forward to reading how this works for you.

Those are some serious calories. I struggle to get 2,400 cals a day.
Good luck. Look forward to reading how this works for you.

Well, I certainly had no trouble getting the calories last night. Indian Buffet *and* I ate a pint of Mayfield Moose Tracks ice cream. :p Whoever invented that flavor should be shot.

Back on the wagon, though, today...

177.5 on Aug 4 and 177.0 this morning, Aug. 5.

Decent run yesterday morning - 6.2 miles. No more calf/tendon problems. Annoying thing now is blisters from my new running shoes just beneath my ankles. It's always something!

Phase 9 of MH Magazine's Homegrown Muscle program is very enjoyable so far. I am happy to discover that I have retained most of my strength on big conventional lifts despite slowly cutting through most of this workout series. I am hoping over the next few weeks to see some new personal bests on deadlifts, squats, bench press, and shoulder press. Tonight I am planning to do the Core Workout associated with this phase - abs, calves, back extensions, etc. Actually, I am not too thrilled with the ab exercises in this phase and plan to substitute in some different ones.

We're in for a rare treat over the next few days - an August cold front. Almost unheard of. Supposed to blow the tropical jungle air out of here for a few days! Morning lows down in the upper 50's and low 60's with lower humidity. In other words, perfect running weather! I will definitely take advantage of that!

So how long did it take for your tendon to get better? After my run yesterday I was sore in my left achillies tendon. I iced it last night and have been taking Ibuprofin. It feels ok today. I might try to run on Sunday. What do you think?

So how long did it take for your tendon to get better? After my run yesterday I was sore in my left achillies tendon. I iced it last night and have been taking Ibuprofin. It feels ok today. I might try to run on Sunday. What do you think?

I injured it on a Sunday and ran again on Thursday. I just took it easy and made sure I didn't do anything crazy with my foot. Sunday might be enough time. I just made sure I was walking around well without pain before I tried running again.

179.0 this morning. :eek: I still haven't been eating my new calorie intake goal of 3750 per day. Yesterday I stopped at ~3350. Did my workout and just couldn't force down anything afterward. My MS Excel graph trendline now says I have gained 1.5 pounds in the past 30 days that I have been "bulking." Technically, I only have three weeks left in this bulking phase, unless I extend this phase of the Homegrown Muscle workout plan by a couple of weeks (which I may very well do if I am noting good strength and/or muscle increases(.

Weight this morning = 176.5.

Early this afternoon, I took advantage of the lower temps. and humidities for a midday Summer run of 5 miles. Running at 1pm during August is usually a killer, but today was much more tolerable with temps. in the mid-80's. My pace was improved also - 36:17 for the 5.05 mile run (if you want to be exact - LOL). My pace was 7:11, my best since sometime back in May. I think I have a really good shot at meeting my goal of completing the Vulcan Run (10K) in Birmingham in November in less than 42 minutes. My outside goal of 40 minutes is probably far-fetched. On the plus side, though, the course for the run is essentially flat, whereas I normally run in hilly terrain.

Tonight I am doing my Phase 9 Homegrown workout - deadlifts, bench press, pullups, and curls. All heavy weight, low reps. I didn't do it last night - took an easy night and just messed around a little bit doing some Swiss Ball crunches, forearm exercises, and some curling exercises.

Sunday weight was 175.5 and this morning was 175. Updated graph is pasted in below. I am now over one month into this alleged bulking phase, and there ain't been much weight change. But I have not been reaching my revised calorie intake goal of 3750 per day, so I shouldn't be too suprised. Yesterday, I made it to about 3300.

Saturday night's weight routine was good overall. My deadlift strength is as good as it has ever been (or close), and I improved over last week. Bench press: maybe some slight improvement, but not much. That is typical for me. Weighted pullups went pretty well - slight improvement over last week. I was pretty exhausted for the six sets of EZ-bar curls, but they went okay.

Sunday I did a 7.2 mile run. I completed the run in 55:15, so my pace was 7:40. I expected a slower pace after Saturday's double-up of running and weights. Actually, I was running closer to 8:00 pace for most of the run, but ramped things up on the last mile, which I did in 6:34.

This evening I am planning another run. Probably a 4.9 mile course. And maybe I will get those calories in!

Common sense is prevailing, and I am going to lay off the running this evening. I am having pain in the arch of my left foot, and I think a couple of days of rest will help. It didn't stop me from running over the weekend, but it also has not improved.

Ugh! It's always something. I remember running in my late teens and early 20's with no aches and pains. LOL. I don't even think I was careful about what shoes I bought.

Sunday I did a 7.2 mile run. I completed the run in 55:15, so my pace was 7:40. I expected a slower pace after Saturday's double-up of running and weights. Actually, I was running closer to 8:00 pace for most of the run, but ramped things up on the last mile, which I did in 6:34.

DAAAAAMN! Dude you're haulin ass! I haven't run that fast since I lived at sea level and that was 12 years ago.

I'm hoping to run a sub 20 minute 5k next year. My fastest 5k so far is 23 minutes. Keep it up.
:claphigh:

DAAAAAMN! Dude you're haulin ass! I haven't run that fast since I lived at sea level and that was 12 years ago.

I'm hoping to run a sub 20 minute 5k next year. My fastest 5k so far is 23 minutes. Keep it up.
:claphigh:

Hey, AMR - thanks. I can't run that pace in your elevation. I ran in West Yellowstone, MT and Gillette, WY while on vacation in May, and I could tell my pace was significantly slower - although I survived things better than I expected. My elevations while running range from ~700 to 1150 feet.

177.5 this morning. I took a rest day yesterday. Very busy day at work - missed lunch and was tired and very hungry by the time I got home. Then spent the evening at the Elem. School meeting my daughter's 3rd grade teacher. Good night for a rest!

Tonight I am planning to do the other heavy weights/low rep workout of Homegrown Phase 9 -- squats, rows, shoulder presses, and tricep extensions. Should be a killer! No running again until tomorrow, which will give me a full three days off to hopefully heal this annoying pain in the arch of my left foot.

177.5 again this morning. Great workout last night. I seem to be responding pretty well to the low rep/heavy weight routines in Homegrown Muscle Phase 9. I seem to be at my strongest ever in several exercises, such as squats, deadlifts, dumbell rows, shoulder presses. Also as strong as I have ever been on bench press, which ain't sayin' much. Nevertheless, since I was cutting very slowly through most of this workout series (since Sept 2003!), and made no conscious effort to gain muscle mass, I am pretty pleased that I have retained my strength and even gained some on many exercises. Also, even though the scale is not going up that much, I think eating more calories has helped me gain strength over the past month.

Tonight I am planning to run. Should be enjoyable, as yet another bizarre August cold front has passed the area. The high tomorrow is only supposed to be 80 degrees. That's October weather for us, not August!! My legs are pretty trashed from last night's heavy squats, so I don't know how that will impact my pace this evening.

Did a 6.2 mile run Thursday evening and a 4.9 mile run Friday evening. My weight readings dropped off again. LOL. 174 on Friday morning, and this morning it was 173.5. 173.5 is the same as the very first reading I took when I started supposedly bulking!

Today, I am doing the "A" workout for HG Phase 9... deadlifts, bench presses, pullups, and curls. Great workout, but I am pretty exhausted by the time those curls roll around.

Tomorrow I am hoping to squeeze in a decent morning run before I have to make a whirlwind roadtrip from hell to attend a wake. Gotta take advantage of this unbelievable weather we are having. Dry air, lows in the 50's and highs only around 80. This is just like our October weather, which is the best we get all year (usually), with drier air, sunny skies, and pleasantly warm temps.

Good workout yesterday overall. Deadlifts did not go so well. I actually had to back off quite a bit on weight used from my last workout. I think I got too cocky at the beginning and tried to start too heavy without acclimating myself. And once I basically blew the first set, that seemed to psyche me out completely for the other 5. Deadlifts, more than any other exercise, require a lot of mental focus for me. Other factors may have been some leg fatigue from running ~12 miles total the previous two days. Also, some slight lower back pain leftover from a workout earlier in the week -- that was playing into my mental state, because I have injured my lower back previously doing deadlifts.

OTOH - bench press improved decently over the past week. Also made some gains on the weighted pullups and curls. Improvement on bench press are really slow to nonexistent for me, so that made the whole workout!

Weight this AM = 175. The trendline on my weight gain graph now has me completely flatlined, so no net weight gain since July 7th.

Had a good run Sunday AM. 6.6 miles. Time = 48:15. Last mile = 6:02, which is my second best last mile since I have been timing them occasionally. I definitely attribute that to the perfect weather conditions yesterday morning. This week, Summer is back in Bama, so I expect my run times to falter.

This week I should try to bump up the calorie intake to 3700-3800. We'll see how well I do!

178.0 this morning. I actually believe I reached my target calorie range yesterday (est. 3700 total for the day), primarily because I went to our friends' restaurant for lunch and chowed down on spaghetti and meatballs, a big salad with walnuts and bleu cheese, and a cookie for dessert!

Did my core workout last night. I was planning on doing the longer squats/shoulder presses/DB Rows/Tricep presses workout tonight. But I did not get all that great of a night's sleep. I may go for a run instead and hope for a full night's sleep tonight to make sure I am fully rested before the big workout.

176.5 yesterday AM and 177.0 this morning.

Decent workout last night. Personal best on squats, easily. I am now actually surpassing my max deadlift poundages with squats, which is something new since doing the Homegrown Muscle series. I am tempted to shoot for squatting 2X my body weight as a goal for one rep (target would be ~355 pounds). OTOH, I'm not sure why I would need to do that! :p

Shoulder presses went okay. I have a slight weakness and some slight pain in my right shoulder. I need to watch that closely. So my progress was inhibited.

Did pretty well with the DB bent over rows. Certainly at personal best there as well.

Tonight I will probably do the core workout again. Tomorrow I am aiming for a very early AM run, which means getting up at 5AM, eating something, running and getting back home by 6:15 or 6:20 to start marshalling the girls around to get ready for school.

No more weight training since Wed. night. I ran Friday AM (5.05 miles) and then again this morning (7.15 miles). Tonight, I will probably do the core workout with emphasis on abs. I'm holding off another day before doing the next intense weight training workout, because I am still having some shoulder pain and popping. Nothing too major, but I know it's going to interfere with my bench presses. Sucks!!! The core workout I have been doing contains a rotator cuff exercise, and I am really wondering whether I have been going too heavy on those and actually wound up injuring my rot. cuff instead of strengthening it. At any rate, I am going to try to be smart and not overdo anything that will exacerbate the shoulder irritation, but it's frustrating!

Brief trip out of town for my grandmother's birthday yesterday. Of course that meant cake and ice cream!!! :eat: :p I also had a big sugary dessert last Saturday and have had excellent Sunday runs the past two weeks. Maybe I need to make this a Sat. night tradition!

I am still planning to do my heavy-duty workout tonight. My shoulder was much better this morning, although I am noticing more irritation this afternoon. :rolleyes:

I expect that this shoulder tweak won't affect my ability to do deadlifts. However, I am still pretty psyched down about them because of last week's problems with this exercise. Tonight I won't be so cocky and try to go too heavy right off the bat, when I have six sets to complete. I also may have to consider using straps. I haven't used them in a very long time, but that's probably because I haven't done really heavy deads in about one year. Nevertheless, I'll give it a shot without the straps and see whether my grip can hold.

I am less optimistic about bench press tonight due to the shoulder problem. This is very annoying, since I was making some gains in BP when this happened. I am going to try to concentrate very hard on using good form tonight and worry less about the amt. of weight on the bar.

I think weighted pullups should go okay, although last night I did hang from the bar just to check my shoulder, and I could feel some pain. So this exercise could be compromised also.

BB Curls is the last exercise in tonight's workout. Should be okay on that one, except this entire workout is heavy wt. and low reps, so it seems that virtually EVERYTHING hits the shoulder injury.

If this shoulder injury doesn't improve quickly, I may just end this strength gain phase (supposed to be finished with it this week, although I was planning to extend it by 2-4 weeks), and focus more on getting in shape for some running races this Fall.

Just be careful with that shoulder. I tweaked mine so much that I couldn't even do push ups let alone push any real weight on the bench press. I've been doing some rotator cuff exercises and it finally feels like it's coming around.

Last night's workout went really well, far better than I anticipated! Personal bests on deadlifts and bench presses, so no complaints from me. Now I am even more mystified by my collapse in deadlifts last week, but who knows. Sometimes we just have off days.

Last night's workout:

DEADLIFTS:

4 x 280
3 X 300
2 X 315 (**personal best for 2 reps)
4 X 290
3 X 305 (equals personal best for 3 reps)
Failed at 320 (also tried 310, but failed there also - exhausted!)


BENCH PRESS (I know a lot of guys can throw up over 200 fairly easily, but for me doing even low rep sets with 200+ is a miracle come true):

4 X 185
3 X 192.5
2 X 200 (**personal best for 2 reps)
4 X 187.5
2 X 197.5
1 X 205 (personal best for 1 rep)

WEIGHTED PULLUPS (not getting my chin over the bar on all of these reps - may back off next time and make sure form is where it should be):

3 X +40
3 X +50
2 X +55
4 X +40
2 X +50
2 X +55

EZ BAR CURLS

4 X 102
3 X 107
2 X 112
4 X 104.5
3 X 109.5
2 X 112

My shoulder held out well. I don't feel any more irritation than yesterday. I concentrated hard on my form yesterday with bench press, and I think that helped my shoulder. I kept my elbows tucked in more to my side, made sure my grip was medium, and made sure I wasn't lowering the bar too high up on my chest. I read that doing those things takes some stress off the shoulder.

My weigh-in this morning was 179.5. That's my highest value so far. Maybe upping my calories more into the 3750 range has started to add some weight. OTOH, I have a feeling water is involved - I feel bloated and my pants feel noticeably tighter versus just a few days ago. Since I am planning to run the next two days, I'm expecting a sudden drop in weight. LOL.

I'm very happy about my strength gains, so even though this is supposed to be my last week on this phase of Homegrown Muscle, I definitely am going to extend it by 2-4 weeks. It's too much fun doing these low rep/heavy poundage exercises. I seem to be responding, so I might as well keep it up for a few more weeks. After that, I'll start focusing more on bettering my run times and cut back a few pounds, while attempting to maintain my strength levels.

Congrats on both the personal bests and new weight threshold.

Regarding your workout log above, the format you used above is the easiest to read I've seen (too bad the forums don't support tables).

Congrats on both the personal bests and new weight threshold.

Regarding your workout log above, the format you used above is the easiest to read I've seen (too bad the forums don't support tables).

Thanks! Well, I just hand-typed the workout log. I doubt I will do that often. :D My real workout logs are handwritten.

177.5 this morning.

Yesterday evening, I went for a 3.55 mile run and did it as intervals of fast paced almost-sprints combined with slower pace jogging/running. I'm planning to start doing these once or twice per week as part of training for local 10K races. I haven't done intervals in a long time. They are actually fun, but very tiring (yeah, you definitely get way more bang for the buck doing HIIT than steady-state runs). My overall time for the run was 26:23, which is a pace of 7:26 per mile. Running fast-paced intervals didn't improve my overall time on the run at all - in fact, I have run that course in better times just in steady-state mode. Nevertheless, last year my running paces improved when I included interval training, so I am hoping to see that effect again this Fall.

The most frustrating thing for me is that I honestly cannot figure out whether my last mile was 6:35 or 5:35. If it was 5:35, then that was my personal best on this final mile that I often track and try to go full-tilt boogie on once or twice per week. My previous best time on that mile was 6:00. I have my doubts that I knocked 25 seconds off that time - it was probably 6:35. I'll definitely track this more carefully the next time I run this course with intervals.

Tonight I am planning a longer run, minus the intervals. Probably a 6.7 miler, unless I am feeling less motivated when I get home from work.

One thing I really like about running is that it makes any aches and pains disappear. I had no shoulder pain at all when I finished my run, and my somewhat stiff and achy lower back felt perfect as well. Today my shoulder has continued to improve, but I will definitely have to go easy on the shoulder presses at my next workout.

175.5 this morning.

Yesterday, I did a 6.6 mile run. 50:59 = 7:43 pace. That was also 10.6 kilometers. So, at that pace, I would run a 10K in 48:06. :p I'm planning to run a 10K in Huntsville, Alabama next weekend, Sept. 4th. I have never entered a race before, so I don't know what to expect other than mobs of people running! I also don't know what the terrain is like on this particular course. It's on Monte Sano, a mountain just East of the city, so I am expecting it to be hilly. The 10K here in Birmingham in November has as level of a course as possible for this area, so I am expecting to have a better pace for that run. If I can come in under 45 minutes for the Huntsville race, I will be happy.

This evening I will likely run again. The other option is to do my squats-shoulder presses-DB rows-tricep press workout (heavy weight/low reps). But I think I will wait until Friday evening. The recommended gap between the heavy weight workouts in this series is 4-5 days, and I can understand why! One more day should be good for my shoulder also.

WT=176.5. Last night I did my core workout instead of running or the squats, etc. workout. My ab work somehow managed to aggravate my lower back. Probably the hanging pike exercises. This is incredibly frustrating. I doubt that I will be in shape for heavy squats tonight, so I will either do a run or take a rest day and run in the morning when it's cooler (humidity is really high right now - yucky evening runs!).

The problems with my shoulder and now lower back are making me consider ending this workout phase and moving on to the next and final phase of the Homegrown Muscle series. I have been making really good strength gains, so that makes me want to continue. But I seem to be injuring myself and prioritizing trying to move more weight over being sensible. So it may be time to end this phase and move onward, which should help me recover from injuries. I may even take a week off from lifting - I haven't done that since late May, and it is probably time to give it a rest for a week. I also want to focus more on running for the next couple of months, but try to hang on to my strength gains. I will also likely cut back on my calorie intake back into the low 3000's. I didn't quite make it yesterday anyway, since I wound up skipping lunch due to a busy day at work.

Did a 7.15 mile run Sat. morning. Humidity was horrible. I'm ready for some Fall weather!

Today, I did the squats-shoulder press- DB row- Tricep french press workout. This is supposed to be my last workout for this phase of the workout program. Originally, I was planning on extending this phase for a few weeks, since I have been making some good strength gains, but I think my body has had enough of the low rep/heavy weight stuff. I am still experiencing some lower back pain off and on, and my shoulder continues to bother me at times. I think it's time to move on.

I did get my best three squat sets ever today - 4x305, 3x315, and 2x325. Also did well with the one arm DB rows -- including a one rep max of 135 with my left arm. A good way to end this workout phase!

My focus this week will be the race I am entering on Saturday morning!

I did get my best three squat sets ever today - 4x305, 3x315, and 2x325. Also did well with the one arm DB rows -- including a one rep max of 135 with my left arm. A good way to end this workout phase!

My focus this week will be the race I am entering on Saturday morning!

Hey man Congratulations on all the strength gains you've been making lately. You're doing great. Good job.

So what's up with the race? What's the distance? What are your expectations? Any goals? Does the race have a web site?

Hey man Congratulations on all the strength gains you've been making lately. You're doing great. Good job.

So what's up with the race? What's the distance? What are your expectations? Any goals? Does the race have a web site?

Thanks!

The race is a 10K. The website is here:Monte Sano Road Race (http://www.huntsvilletrackclub.org/HTC_Races/ms10k5k/ms10k5k.htm)

I'm not sure what to expect, since I have never entered a race in my entire life! :D The course is on a mountain, so I am assuming it will not be a flat one. I checked the results from last year, and about 350 people finished the race. Since I have not done this before, I don't know how my time will be affected while running with a mass of people. I have set a goal of finishing under 45 minutes, which I know I can do on my solo runs... but not sure what will happen in the race. My expectation is the start will be slow, but that competitive spirit will kick in and have me moving faster toward the end. Should be a good experience! I want to get my feet wet with a race before the big annual 10K in Birmingham in November (the Vulcan Run). Next February, there is a local marathon or half-marathon that I would like to enter also.

I'm not sure what to expect, since I have never entered a race in my entire life! :D

Not that I'm a great racer or anything but in my experience I've always gone out too fast. Because of pre race jitters or what ever you want to call them. I've had a ton of energy at the start of the race and in some races have died at the end.

Most likely they will have mile markers through out the race so you can get an idea of what your pace is. Just run your own race and I bet you'll do great.

I think you'll really enjoy racing. If you do it enough, eventually you start to recognize some of the people and it really is like a little community.

Have Fun!

Not that I'm a great racer or anything but in my experience I've always gone out too fast. Because of pre race jitters or what ever you want to call them. I've had a ton of energy at the start of the race and in some races have died at the end.

Most likely they will have mile markers through out the race so you can get an idea of what your pace is. Just run your own race and I bet you'll do great.

I think you'll really enjoy racing. If you do it enough, eventually you start to recognize some of the people and it really is like a little community.

Have Fun!

Yeah, I could definitely see myself trying to go too fast at the beginning. I'll have to try to pace myself and save my all-out effort for the last mile or two. :D

I'm looking forward to it. I hope the weather is decent. The only bad thing is, the race is ~60 miles from where I live, and registration starts at 6:30AM. :p OTOH, the early AM time of the race will make it the best time of the day to run. The mountainside location should also help with the temps.

I weighed this morning at 174.5. This was a surprise to me, since I have had several cheat desserts the past few days due to various birthdays and events. I expected to have gained a little weight. I think I have managed to transform myself into an ectomorph who struggles with weight gain. LOL. Seriously, though - my body composition is so different from what it ever has been previously, even as a teenager (I was a fat kid), that my metabolism seems to have changed dramatically as well. OTOH, I am sure if I started eating crap all the time, my body composition would change itself back in the blink of an eye... so no plans to loosen the reigns.

Even though my overall weight changed little the past two months, I did gain strength and I feel like I did gain some mass. Nothing dramatic. I am going to drop my calories back into the low 3000's and see what happens. I am assuming I may experience a slight drop in weight at first, but then my metab. will likely adjust into a maintenance mode on that daily calorie intake.

I plan to start Men's Health Magazine's Homegrown Muscle Phase 10 tomorrow. After I finish this phase, I am planning to start Ian King's and Lou Schuler's "Book of Muscle" workouts. I have done Ian King's programs previously, and they are brutal. But I responded well to them in the past. At some point after the racing season, I may try an intentional bulk again with the goal of actually gaining some mass this time. :p :rolleyes:

Where do you run through Birmingham? I got a friend right off of University Blvd (Highland Park. Small, expensive houses :rolleyes: )

Set yourself in the center of the start pack and pace yourelf. A lot of people will be running faster and a lot of people will be running slower. You will pass a lot of people in the first half mile and a lot of people will pass you. I suggest that for your first race at least that you do try to pace yourself and kick in the last mile or two. Passing during the last 1/4 of a race is much more encouraging than having to slow down and be passed.

I ran my first ever race when I was in high school, probably 16, maybe 17. I had never timed myself at any distance, most of my shape was from soccer. I didn't even know there was a race, I was at a festival early and saw that they had a 5 and 10k. It was a fairly small race. I didn't have a clue how far either one was so I just signed up for the 5k. I ran out at a comfortable pace and just kindof cruised the course. I came around a bend and saw the finish about a quarter mile ahead. Man did I under pace, I sprinted that last quarter mile and passed 8 people to finish in 7th. Pretty sure I would have won if I just followed the leader the whole way, he was less than a minute ahead, and I had a lot left. There was even an anouncer with a very loud speaker at the end and he had some fun with my kick. Man I wish I could run like that now.

Good luck, and I know that 45 minutes will be yours. Just be careful with the hills, I let them kill me at the Memphis marathon in 1995.

Where do you run through Birmingham? I got a friend right off of University Blvd (Highland Park. Small, expensive houses :rolleyes: )

I actually live about 25 miles North of Birmingham in Blount County and run near my home. I do occasionally run in the Highland Avenue area after work-- actually the Vulcan Run 10K course includes Highland Avenue. A nice run is up Cliff Rd. and down Altamont -- good city views, but you do have to tough out the uphill.

Set yourself in the center of the start pack and pace yourelf. A lot of people will be running faster and a lot of people will be running slower. You will pass a lot of people in the first half mile and a lot of people will pass you. I suggest that for your first race at least that you do try to pace yourself and kick in the last mile or two. Passing during the last 1/4 of a race is much more encouraging than having to slow down and be passed.

I ran my first ever race when I was in high school, probably 16, maybe 17. I had never timed myself at any distance, most of my shape was from soccer. I didn't even know there was a race, I was at a festival early and saw that they had a 5 and 10k. It was a fairly small race. I didn't have a clue how far either one was so I just signed up for the 5k. I ran out at a comfortable pace and just kindof cruised the course. I came around a bend and saw the finish about a quarter mile ahead. Man did I under pace, I sprinted that last quarter mile and passed 8 people to finish in 7th. Pretty sure I would have won if I just followed the leader the whole way, he was less than a minute ahead, and I had a lot left. There was even an anouncer with a very loud speaker at the end and he had some fun with my kick. Man I wish I could run like that now.

Good luck, and I know that 45 minutes will be yours. Just be careful with the hills, I let them kill me at the Memphis marathon in 1995.

Hey, thanks for the advice. I agree about waiting until the last mile or two to kick up the pace!

A hilly course would probably be to my advantage. I live on a ridge and my running courses are all very hilly. So I'm pretty well adapted to that type of terrain.

Last night I did the first workout in Homegrown Muscle Phase 10. A big switch from the last phase. This is a very rapid workout. 3 supersets of 2 exercises. You do 3 sets of a superset with no rest -- then rest 90 seconds and move on to the next superset. It was over fast, but very exhausting. I was sweating a lot more than in the last phase, which was heavy poundages and low reps.

This evening, I will likely do a run when I get home from work. Possibly a shorter run with fast intervals. This will be my last run before the 10K early Saturday morning.

Yesterday evening I did a 4.1 mile run with fast-paced short intervals. Overall time was 29:59, which wasn't bad considering I actually had to take a walk break at the end of a long uphill, because I had exhausted myself on some of those faster-paced portions! The best thing was that I ramped it up on my final one mile and did it in 5:59. I was trying to do it in under 6:00, and I did it just by the hair of my chinny chin chin.

My legs are really sore after Wed. night's workout, which included hack squats and 45-degree travelling lunges, and last night's run. So I probably will take a rest day today, esp. since I need to get up before dawn tomorrow for the 10K in Huntsville, Ala. I think I have a decent shot at completing the race in under 45 minutes, so I want to make sure I am well-rested.

Great run Dave, that pace puts you right at a 45 minute 10k. Way to finish with a strong kick. Good luck tomorrow!

Great run Dave, that pace puts you right at a 45 minute 10k. Way to finish with a strong kick. Good luck tomorrow!

Thanks! I'm looking forward to it. I'm anxious to see the terrain. One portion of the run passes and overlook. So there could be some steep hills. OTOH, the entire course could be along the top of the mountain (many of our mts. around here can be fairly flat on top). I guess I'll find out soon enough. :D

I am completely stoked! My 10K run went really well--- much better than I expected. My final time was 41:20, and I placed 18th overall (out of ~250 runners) and 6th in the 35-39 age group!!

The conditions for the run were ideal. Early AM. Cloudy. Some light mist. Probably right at 70-degrees. Early Sept. in Alabama can be far worse, even at 8AM! The course was actually not very hilly -- only rolling. A small part of it was on a trail, but most of it was on State Park roads. Evidently, the training I do here in my very hilly area helped me tremendously on the more level terrain of this run.

The whole run was a surprise for me. I was at 6:28 at the end of the first mile. I was ~19:50 at the 5K point, so that gives me great hope of meeting my next goal of doing a 10K under 40 minutes!

The winner ran it in 33:40. I can't even imagine.

This was great fun, and I am already looking for my next races. Definitely doing the 15K in Huntsville in October!

Awesome, great race Dave. Sub 40 is just around the corner. Just gotta hold that 6:28 for the whole run. You will definately make it by the Birmingham race.

I am completely stoked! My 10K run went really well--- much better than I expected. My final time was 41:20, and I placed 18th overall (out of ~250 runners) and 6th in the 35-39 age group!!

The conditions for the run were ideal. Early AM. Cloudy. Some light mist. Probably right at 70-degrees. Early Sept. in Alabama can be far worse, even at 8AM! The course was actually not very hilly -- only rolling. A small part of it was on a trail, but most of it was on State Park roads. Evidently, the training I do here in my very hilly area helped me tremendously on the more level terrain of this run.

The whole run was a surprise for me. I was at 6:28 at the end of the first mile. I was ~19:50 at the 5K point, so that gives me great hope of meeting my next goal of doing a 10K under 40 minutes!

The winner ran it in 33:40. I can't even imagine.

This was great fun, and I am already looking for my next races. Definitely doing the 15K in Huntsville in October!

DAMN! Dude that's awesome. Congratulations! I knew that you were going to run well. Top ten in your age group. That is my dream. Shoot, I'd like to make top 20!
Good job!

I'm secretly jealous of your running ability.
;)

DAMN! Dude that's awesome. Congratulations! I knew that you were going to run well. Top ten in your age group. That is my dream. Shoot, I'd like to make top 20!
Good job!

I'm secretly jealous of your running ability.
;)

Hey AMR, thanks! :D No way could I run that well out in your elevations! And I don't think I could make it up Pike's Peak!

I have been scanning results from past local races, and I can tell that I will definitely just have to set goals for myself and use the races to meet those personal challenges. It's hard to knock off even a couple of minutes from a 10K, and I have noted that even if I succeed in doing that, it won't change my race placements very much.

This week, I am trying to add some mileage to my running to help train for more races this Fall and Winter. I did an 8.4 mile run on Monday morning and am planning a 6 or 7-miler this evening after work. I also need to try to get a run in tomorrow morning as well as Friday evening... and also get my weight workout done Thursday evening. I really want to work out with weights three days per week, so trying to get in 5 runs per week will not be easy -- esp. with the days growing shorter.

I am very humbled by Homegrown Muscle Phase 10. The fast pace really hammers you hard, and it's very difficult to gauge how much weight you'll be able to use for the exercises. The good news is, the workout is over fast. I finished the first week last night. Three weeks to go. I may just do my own weight workouts rather than follow a formal plan for a few months -- and then maybe do the Intermediate/Advanced program in "Book of Muscle" later in the Winter.

My last three weight readings have been 179.0, 178.0, and 178.5. Those are actually the three highest successive weight readings I have measured since I started tracking for my bulking phase. Pretty ironic, considering that I have actually backed off somewhat on my calorie intake! OTOH - there have been lots of opportunities the past couple of weeks for higher calorie meals and desserts, so maybe some of that actually added up to a couple of pounds! :eek:

This morning the scale hit 180.0! First time I have seen that number in awhile. I have no explanation for why my weight readings have suddenly been consistently higher. I suspected that I had gained a couple of more pounds over what the scale trends were telling me. At any rate, I am trimming back on the calories and will try to cut a few pounds slowly - that should help me slightly with my running times as well.

Last night I did not have enough time to do a longer run, so I did one that was ~3.7 miles. Tonight I am doing weights, and Friday evening I am planning to do a longer run.

Weight training and running continue to go well (usually!!!). Last Sunday (9-12), I went for a longer run at a State Park where I was attending a work conference. That run was pretty much a disaster. I didn't sleep well the night before and had no energy at all. It was probably an 8-mile run, but I wound up taking walk breaks after about 5 miles. And the terrain was essentially level!!

Hurricane Ivan didn't put a damper on any exercise. We fortunately only lost power for about 30-45 minutes on Thursday. By Thursday night, I was able to do my weight routine.

Saturday (9-18), I went for a 7.15 mile run. And today I went for my longest run ever - a 15.5 miler. I tried to moderate my pace early on, so I could finish the whole thing -- and it seemed to work pretty well. I also have to credit the Powerstep inserts I bought for my shoes, with extra heel and arch support. These have reduced my arch and heel pain substantially. The 15.5 mile run was very hilly, with a few really brutal hills. And not to mention the numerous neighborhood Cujos who love to chase me. I completed the run in 2:07:11, including the last mile in 7:29. My overall pace was around 8:11 per mile, which I thought was okay considering the terrain and length.

I now know that I can finish a half-marathon. The big question is whether I should go ahead and train for the Mercedes Marathon in Feb. or just go for the half-marathon. Realizing at the end of my run today that I would still have to run almost 11 more miles to finish a marathon really hammers home the effort it takes. OTOH, the local marthon course would not be nearly as hilly as my running routes. Nevertheless, 26.2 miles is a looooooong run. I know I could do it, the question is whether I really want to commit to the training and the impact that running such long distances can have. :confused:

:bow: :bow: :bow:

You rock man. You crushed my 15 mile time. With a last mile of 7:29. Very Nice!

I know exactly what you mean with the time commitment of marathon training. It takes a lot out of you. It almost became like a job for me this summer until I backed off a bit eased up on the diet a bit and started having fun. I'm running the Boulder Backroads Marathon this coming weekend. I think if you keep going the way you are now a marathon in Feb would be great. Give it a shot! Oh, one last thing, you're doing great! Keep it up.

:bow: :bow: :bow:

You rock man. You crushed my 15 mile time. With a last mile of 7:29. Very Nice!

I know exactly what you mean with the time commitment of marathon training. It takes a lot out of you. It almost became like a job for me this summer until I backed off a bit eased up on the diet a bit and started having fun. I'm running the Boulder Backroads Marathon this coming weekend. I think if you keep going the way you are now a marathon in Feb would be great. Give it a shot! Oh, one last thing, you're doing great! Keep it up.

Thanks, AMR -- I'm not running at 9,000 feet, though! :eek: Looking forward to hearing about your marathon!

Last night I did a weight routine. My legs were still tired from Sunday's long run and were not impressed with last night's workout, which included hack squats and lunges. I noticed that my legs were still pretty tired this morning as I walked up the stairs to work, but better than yesterday morning.

This evening, I will probably do an ~5 mile run, if I can get home early enough. Should seem like a breeze after the Sunday long run. I need to try to up my pace on these shorter runs, but I doubt that will happen tonight, due to leg fatigfue. It won't be much longer before I have to switch to early AM runs due to the sun setting so early. We live on the Eastern edge of the Central time zone, so during the Winter it is actually dark here by 5pm. Really annoying! I hate Winter.

I'll probably try to do a slightly longer run tomorrow evening, followed by my next weight routine on Thurs. Thurs. starts the final week of the Homegrown Muscle workouts from Men's Heath Mag., which I have been doing for one year. I am still waffling over whether to do my own weights thing for awhile or go ahead and start the programs in "Book of Muscle," by Lou Schuler and Ian King. Ian King's routines are sadistic. :eek: But effective. :D

My diet has been very good. Even for my birthday last week, I only ate a tiny birthday cake that my daughters baked me in their EZ-Bake Oven. :eat: Oh alright, and a few cookies. I have been keeping my calorie intake in the low 3000's. Except Sunday,when I did the 15.5 mile run -- I ate about 4,000 that day, including ~1,500 on Sunday morning before I started the run. I have not been following the P+F and P+C meal principles the past 10 days or so and probably won't while essentially in a maintenance mode.

We live on the Eastern edge of the Central time zone, so during the Winter it is actually dark here by 5pm. Really annoying! I hate Winter.

I love winter running :p Cold weather gets me pumped for some reason.

I love winter running :p Cold weather gets me pumped for some reason.

Yeah, I don't mind the temps. so much. It's the shorter days that are an aggravation. Hard to get a run in during the AM or evenings because of the darkness. Running at night is not an option in my dark, rural, hilly area.

Yesterday evening I did a 6.2 mile (10K) run where I was attempting to keep my pace up at race levels. My time was 43:12. That is a personal best for me with that distance while running in the area around where I live. I'll have to use this as my benchmark for improvement. My actual 10K race time early this month was better than this time, but the terrain was more level -- so I don't expect to match my race times in my neighborhood without some additional training.

Weights are on tap for tonight followed by a run on Friday. If I get a decent run in on Friday evening, I will surpass 30 miles for the week. It has been a very long time since I put in 30 miles in one week. Sunday I am planning to do a long run and tackle the entire mountain where I live from base to "summit." <-- haha. That means I will have to run down from my home to the base and make the climb. Yes, it's called a mountain, but the elevation change from the valley area to the top is ~650 feet! :D Okay, so this isn't exactly Mt. Everest, but still plenty of steep inclines!

I can tell that my weight is declining already. I may need to increase my calories again once I drop a few pounds.

Cant say I am a huge fan of cold weather running... I'll the track if it is below 40 degrees. Great time for a 10k run too :tucool: 30 miles is a great week. Keep it up!

Hey Bama: Hoping to see some updated pics soon. Want to see how far behind I am from you :)

Hey Bama: Hoping to see some updated pics soon. Want to see how far behind I am from you :)

:eek:

I'll have to shoot some new ones. Not much change, in my opinion. If any improvement, I think I added some muscle in my back -- but nothing dramatic.

I decided to take a rest day on Friday. And made it a pig-out dinner day. I was starving all day Friday - no matter how much I ate. So we ordered a pizza, and I ate 4 slices of a very thick, stuffed pizza. Capped it off with some ice cream. :eat: Nice to indulge!

I am getting ready to go out for a Saturday morning run. I am thinking a 5-miler. Then I am planning a longer, conquer all of the hills run tomorrow. Should be in the 10-12 mile range, once I settle on a final route. No weights until Monday. I have two remaining weight workouts to finish the Homegrown program... then I may take a week off weights altogether. I haven't had a rest from weights since late May. That should allow me to get some extra runs in as well.

Oh yeah -- gotta do yard work. :rolleyes: Still some leftover cleanup from Hurricane Ivan. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Could have been so much worse, though - we are thankful and feeling fortunate. Hey, and chainsawing downed trees and tossing the logs is a good supplemental workout!

I did my conquer the "mountain" run this morning. 11.0 miles total. I ran it in 1:26:48, which was a pace of 7:53 per mile. My pace on the last mile was 6:41.

Actually, this run wasn't as tough as I expected. The first 3 miles was mostly downhill to the main highway in the valley. The next 2.2 miles were mostly uphill, but the grade wasn't all that bad. I just kept my pace sensible. Then the run plateaus for the most part - still rolling hills, but no extended inclines - for ~1.5 miles. That was followed by some steep inclines up to the highest elevation. After that, most of the rest of the run was a descent, with some occasional uphills sprinkled in. Overall, an enjoyable long run. Last weeks' 15.5 miler was far tougher. The temps. and humidity were higher today versus last week, but there was a decent breeze -- most likely thanks to Hurricane Jeanne down in Florida.

I am eating extra food today to cover the extensive calorie burn of the long run -- probably ~4,000 for the day. :eek:

Nice pace. I can't even relate....6:41 in the final lap !

I couldn't make those times in high school !

:tu:

Nice pace. I can't even relate....6:41 in the final lap !

I couldn't make those times in high school !

:tu:

Thanks, hurricane magnet! Well, I couldn't run those times in high school either... I don't believe. It's very interesting when you check out race results for 10K's, etc. Most of the faster runners are 35-50. Of course, that's also likely because not many 20-something's enter. They have better things to do at 8:00 AM on a Saturday morning! The guy who finished just ahead of me in the 10K I ran a few weeks ago was 60 years old. Man, I hope I can run like him when I'm 60!

Yesterday evening I did a 6-mile run. My time was 42:34. I didn't really intend to do it near race pace. But this particular route was mostly downhill for the first three miles. I noted that I was under 7:00 per mile at the end of the 3 miles, so that juiced me up to try to keep the pace up for the second 3 miles. The only problem is that most of the second 3 miles was uphill, since it was the reverse of the first three! LOL. Except for the final 0.8 miles, which I ramped up, helping to keep my final pace overall at ~7:05 per mile. A good run!

Tonight I am doing my very last workout of the Men's Health Homegrown Muscle year-long series. This is a really good workout series, especially if you are on a time crunch. Many of the phases are fast and efficient. I also improved strengthwise in almost every area, even though my net weight change was down ~10 pounds.

Speaking of weight -- it definitely appears to be dropping again. I weighed 175.5 the last two times I have checked. When I look at the trend in my weight between the first of Sept. and now, it shows a steady decline of ~ 3 pounds total. If this continues, I will have to add back some calories again. :p

I am planning to run on Thursday evening. Probably a 6-miler. No workout Friday. The kids will be at a sleep-over, so my wife and I actually will have a night out. :D Saturday, I will likely do a shorter run, maybe with some intervals. Sunday, I am planning a longer run again. After tonight, no weights for a week, and then I am probably going to go ahead and start the Intermediate program from Book of Muscle.

I finished the Homegrown Muscle series on Wed. night! Good program. I recommend it. Thursday evening, I did an ~5.5 mile run that went pretty well. Fri. and Sat. I took off as rest days. :eek: I didn't have a very restful night of sleep on Friday. The kids' sleepover party at our friends' house had a major meltdown due to a couple of problem children :lol: (not ours, thankfully!), and I had to go get them and bring them home at 2AM. Ugh! So I decided to blow off any running on Saturday, and I am off weight training for a week to rest -- well, I guess I'll mostly be resting my upper body. LOL.

This morning, I am heading out to do a long, slower paced run. Should be in the 12-13 mile range --- a little longer than last Sunday, but not as long as the 15.5 miles on the previous Sunday. My next race is a 20K, so I think these distances are fine for my long run. The marathon I am planning to enter is not until late Feb., and from what I have read, I shouldn't go overboard with very long runs this far out from my first marathon. So, I'll probably keep my longer runs in the low to mid teens until Dec-Jan -- then start doing some upper teens and 2-3 in the low 20's before the actual marathon.

Running weather is excellent right now. Warm, but not excessively hot. Humidity not nearly as bad. The air is often very clear, leading to some great views when I am up high. The long runs can be the best ones, if I keep my pace under control and don't totally exhaust myself!

My long, slower run today was 12.6 miles. My time was 1:39:59. Pace = 7:56/mile, and I ran the final one mile in 6:57. Much of the course was the same as my 15.5 miler that I did two weeks ago, and which I ran at 8:11 pace. So, I'm pretty pleased with the pace improvement, even though I wasn't consciously trying to maintain a pace level -- except for some ramp up during the last mile.

I should be pretty well prepared for the 20K later this month. I am hoping to finish it in 90 minutes or less. I should be able to meet that goal, unless I have a bad day, or unless the course is hillier than I am expecting.

I should probably try a pace run during the next couple of weeks to prep myself for running a longer distance at race pace. I don't think I will try to do a 20K+ distance in my terrain at a faster-pace, but I may try a 9-10 miler and see what happens.

I also should probably do some interval work between now and early November. My next 10K is coming up, and my goal for that one was to go under 40 minutes, and I don't have a good feel for how I am progressing toward that. I believe I have improved my 10K pace over the past month, but I don't know by how much.

The only bad thing about these long Sunday runs is that I am not very motivated to do any major work around the house! LOL. Also, I am RAVENOUS for the entire day -- not surprising, since I probably burned 1,500 calories during that run (if not more!). :eek:

My hubby does his long run on Saturdays and comes home and acts like the white tornado. He cleans, cleans and cleans. I'm loving it! :claplow: His long run is around 12 miles also -- he's training for the Kiawah Island Half Marathon in early December. He was going to do the Marathon but I think his hip has been telling him otherwise.

Great job on all the running! Nice journal also.

The weather has been much nicer lately -- I'm in the South also -- and it's nice the hurricanes have stopped visiting! :)

Keep up the good work!

My hubby does his long run on Saturdays and comes home and acts like the white tornado. He cleans, cleans and cleans. I'm loving it! :claplow: His long run is around 12 miles also -- he's training for the Kiawah Island Half Marathon in early December. He was going to do the Marathon but I think his hip has been telling him otherwise.

Great job on all the running! Nice journal also.

The weather has been much nicer lately -- I'm in the South also -- and it's nice the hurricanes have stopped visiting! :)

Keep up the good work!

Thanks, Hibiscus!!! Yeah, nice weather - but we could really use some rain over here. It has been very dry since Hurricane Ivan.

Well, I did do the dishes after my long run on Sunday :p , but not enough energy for any heavy duty yard work!

I took another rest day on Monday :p . That makes three out of the last four days. I think I needed it. I feel great today. I had a little knee pain yesterday following my Sunday long run, so I decided running yesterday evening would not be too beneficial. Tonight I am planning to run 6-7 miles. Tomorrow night I am resuming weight training, although I haven't decided whether to go ahead and do the first workout in Book of Muscle, or just do a general full body workout of my own choice.

Yesterday evening I ran a 6.2 mile route (10K). My time was 43:11, which beat my best 10K time by one second when running near my home. LOL. Actually, I was pretty happy, because the route I ran yesterday evening had some additional nasty uphills, so I view it as a little more of a pace improvement than just one second. My average pace was 6:58, with my final mile at 6:10. A great workout overall! This running route has an uphill stretch that's a tiny bit over one mile in length. It took me ~8:30 to run that hill. If I delete that stretch from my overall run and look at my average pace for the rest of the run, it was 6:44. This is still on hilly terrain, but without the really long one mile hill. The reason I am going through all of these calculations is because I am trying to determine whether my 10K pace has improved versus the race I did in early Sept. I ran that at 6:40 pace. I feel pretty confident that I have knocked some time off of that, esp. on a fairly level course such as the one for my next 10K in November. My goal is to finish that 10K in under 40 minutes, which would be 6:27 pace or less. I may be able to do it if everything comes together for me on that day!

Tonight I resume weight training. I am planning to go ahead and start the Book of Muscle intermediate workout series. Should be a killer! I haven't looked at the workout for the first phase in several days, but I recall that the last exercises are a superset of squats and deadlifts! YOWCH! :eek:

Good, strong run yesterday P.M. 6.0 miles. Time was 41:50, which was an improvement by ~45 seconds over the last time I ran that course. I didn't start out with the intention of doing another run near race pace, since I just did one 48 hours earlier, but I started out strong enough and went with it. I was pretty wiped out by the end of it, though! I'm trying to make sure as many of my runs are productive right now, since I am training for races and do not run 5-6 days per week like many who are in training.

Tonight I do my second Book of Muscle workout. The first one was pretty good. Lots of slow tempo stuff, which is a challenge. That's definitely Ian King's trademark. My upper body is sore from Wed. workout, which I take as a good sign.

I weighed 173.5 this morning, re-enforcing that I have dropped back by ~2 pounds since early Sept. I'll probably just let my weight fall slowly, if that's where it wants to go. Lower weight = faster run times. I can always regain some weight after the Feb. marathon!

I was out of town Sat-Mon. My only exercise was a Monday morning run down in the New Orleans area where my in-laws live. Whenever I run in an urban or suburban area, it makes me very thankful that I live in a fairly rural area. Running is much more pleasurable without constant breaks for traffic, constant inhalation of exhaust, etc. Even though it's nice and flat down there, I believe my run times are better at home since I don't have to dodge cars, stop for traffic, etc.

Of course, being in New Orleans meant slacking off on the diet somewhat. Not entirely. But I'm back home now and back on the wagon.

Last Friday's weight routine went fairly well. My biggest disappointment was deadlifts. I didn't get the reps out that I needed to. The deads were at the end of the workout after other leg stuff, so that impacted them more than I expected. The workout included 20-rep squats, which were killers. The instructions were to do 10, resting one second at the top of each rep, then rest 2 secs for reps 11-15 and 3 secs through the end of the set. That way you are supposed to be able to squat heavier for the 20 reps than normal. It's a killer! I also made a mistake during the secod set - my bar kept slipping down my back and at one point I jerked it up too forceably and it landed on my neck and bent it down. NOT SMART! My neck is still sore, 4 days later!

Tonight is weights again.

I had a very active past three days. I went on a run after work on Friday. ~7 miles. I need to measure. This was an in-town run after work. I really don't like urban running as much as running at home in my semi-rural area. Stopping for traffic, etc. is really annoying. Saturday, I went for a 3.5 mile run and did fast-paced intervals mixed with moderate jogs. Sat. evening, I did my workout - which focused on biceps, triceps, quads, and hamstrings. Definitely a killer, with slow tempo squats and deadlifts at the end. Youch! Sunday, I went on a long run -- 11.8 miles. I kept my pace down a little bit versus the last two long runs, since I am running a 20K race on Saturday. My time was 96:54, so average pace was 8:13. My goal time for the 20K race on Saturday is 90 minutes.

I will likely take a rest day today. Plan for the week is running on Tuesday, weights on Wed, running Thursday, weights Friday, 20K on Saturday, weights and maybe a short run on Sunday.

So far, so good this week. I had to switch my weight training to Tuesday with running Wednesday and today (Thursday). Both runs have been in-town, urban. Totally annoying! LOL. Old neighborhoods (scenic but with with bad sidewalks), dodging traffic, etc. At least the scenery is a change. I don't feel that I can get a good faster paced run while using these routes, but I probably don't need to go all out this week just ahead of the 20K. After this weekend, I have 2 weeks left until the 10K race I am doing - where I hope to finish under 40:00. I don't know whether that will happen, since I have not been getting the pace work done the past couple of weeks.

A couple of people have asked me about my diet. Here is what I ate yesterday (10/20):

BREAKFAST:

4 eggs (2 regular + 2 higher Omega 3 Christopher Eggs)
~3 TBSP. Nat. PB on two low-carb whole wheat tortillas

LUNCH:

Salad greens with tomatoes, zucchini, and tuna packed in olive oil
Dannon "Light-n-Fit" Yogurt
Pear
Plum

LATE AFTERNOON:

Almonds (~350 calories worth)
Apple

DINNER:

2 skinless chicken breasts (frozen Wal-Mart variety) stir-fried with one bag of Wal-Mart Asparagus Stir-Fry mixed vegetables

DESSERT:

Smoothie made with frozen strawberries, Fat-free yogurt, a little bit of 1% milk and Splenda.

TOTAL CALORIES: ~3400. I have no idea on the macros - I don't calculate those anymore.


TODAY SO FAR:

BREAKFAST:

Oatmeal (1 cup dry) prepared with 2 cups of 1% milk. Plus Splenda and ~300 calories worth of pecans.

LUNCH:

1 can of tuna (olive oil pack)
1 Zucchini
1 container Dannon Yogurt as above
Almonds (~300 calories worth)
Apple
Pear

Total so far: ~2000

Plan for the rest of the day:

LATE AFTERNOON SNACK before running:

More almonds
Apple

DINNER:

Probably salmon patties plus stir-fried vegetables; this could change between now and then!

Probably no late snack or something small.

My 20K went really well - I was able to run it faster than I expected (especially considering I couldn't sleep the night before - got maybe 4-1/2 hours total split into a 1-1/2 hour nap in front of the TV and then a 3 hour nap from 2AM to 5AM -- ugh!!). My finish time was 1:25:38. I think I finished in the Top 20, but I had to leave before results were posted. Hopefully they will be up on the web later today! My average pace was 6:54 per mile, which was not too far off from my 10K pace of 6:40 back in early September. I was consciously trying to hold my pace back so I wouldn't crash, but I still wound up averaging 6:45 per mile until mile 10. The last 2.4 miles my pace averaged 7:23 per mile, so that was a big drop from the first 10 miles. Definitely gives me something to work for. It's also good training for the local marathon in late February. Pacing is going to be tough for me -- I will really have to resist the temptation to go out too fast. I will need to concentrate on finishing and not keeping up with other runners. LOL.

I am definitely NOT doing a Sunday run today. I will do weight training instead, as I am off-schedule since I decided to rest on Friday and skipped the weights.

Pretty routine this week so far after Saturday's race. My Monday workout included legs, and then I ran on Tuesday. So my legs were pretty wiped out on Wednesday. Wed night was upper body work - I am still in the first stage of Book of Muscle, Intermediate.

Today I am running after work. This will be my last evening run during the week for awhile. With the time change this weekend, I will have to move my weekday runs to the crack of dawn. I hate this time of the year! LOL.

Due to changes of plans, I am not going to be able to run the biggest 10K of the year in my local area on November 6th. That's disappointing, but there are always other races -- but none coming up anytime soon. I may run a 5-mile race on Nov. 13th, but it may not work out. The marathon I am running is still 4 months away, so I will mostly focus on getting ready for that.

I am continuing to enjoy the Book of Muscle workouts. Since I am not bulking and am doing a lot of running, I expect any strength gains to be fairly modest. But the challenge of these routines is good - especially the slow tempo exercises. Doing squats and bench presses, etc. where you have to go 6 seconds on the lowering phase and 3 seconds on the upward phase is very VERY humbling!

Last night I realized that it had been awhile since I had treated myself to a very very bad dessert. LOL. So, I mountained some Cookies and Creme ice cream over a banana and covered the whole thing in chocolate syrup. :eek: :eek: It was worth it!

I haven't updated this in a long time. I am still following Ian King's "Book of Muscle" intermediate workout plan, now in Stage 2. I actually feel like I have made some gains muscle-wise, despite not intentionally bulking. Nothing dramatic, but I do feel like this workout series has improved my lat strength and also my chest. It's hard to gauge overall strength on this program, because the routines are fairly unconventional due to slow tempos and other variations. I will say that I am sore after every workout, which is a good sign!

Interestingly also, my weight has stabilized in the upper 170's, actually as high or higher than when I was intentionally bulking during the Summer. This has surprised me, because my calorie intake has been down slightly. Of course, this time of the year, there are plenty of opportunities for extra calories, so that could be the reason for the weight gain. I also think my hydration level does not fluctuate as much this time of the year, since I am not perspiring as much while running. Still perspiring plenty, but not bucketloads like during Summer runs.

I am also continuing my training for the late Feb. marathon in Birmingham. I have not been focusing as much on my pace, so my runs have been a little slower than earlier in the Fall when I did the 10K and 20K races. This is annoying to me, but I really need to work on endurance and not worry so much about pace right now. My longest run was Sun. 12/5 at 17.1 miles. That included several long uphill stretches, so I felt very good about the accomplishment. I am not sure how that translates to a more level course, but my assumption is that surviving that a run of 17.1 miles in the hilly terrain where I live means I am good at least to 20-22 miles on a more sane course. My goal is to complete at least 1 or 2 runs in my area at 20-22 miles before the actual marathon. I'll probably bump up to 18 or 19 for my next really long run.

A big challenge this time of the year is a reasonable workout schedule. Due to parties, etc., I find myself having to jam workout sessions together, without optimal intervening rest. For example, since last Thursday night, I did weights on Thurs. night (including squats), ran Friday morning at the crack of dawn, did weights Sat. morning (including deads), followed by a run, and then did my third weekly weight workout on Sunday. My legs are toast, and so is my upper body. Ordinarily, I would not do all three of my weight routines in less than a 72-hour period, although ironically, my best workout was the last one on Sunday evening!

Diet is going well, considering the season. My biggest indulgences are holiday desserts. That includes sampling the homemade fudge that we have been making for Christmas gifts. I told my wife that I felt like we were trying to kill all of our friends with heart disease and diabetes after making homemade fudge for the first time. The ingredient list is pretty scary - tons of sugar, butter, margarine, marshmallow creme, chocolate chips! Kill me now! Next year, I am not including the margarine, as I am well convinced that trans-fats are downright toxic. Butter is the lesser of the two evils, in my opinion! If I was really clever, I would figure out how to make sugar-free fudge and use Smart Balance margarine, but I am not into trying to force my lifestyle on others... and it is the holidays after all!

Tonight is a rest night, and then tomorrow AM it's a running at dawn morning with temperatures expected in the low 20s. Combined with the wind - it will be nasty cold. Yes, it actually does get that cold in Alabama. And it's a big shock after such a balmy Fall. We haven't even had a real freeze yet, and now this!! YUCK! I hate the darkness of Winter, and I hate these brief shots of cold air that we get. Bring on Spring!

Long time no update! :eek:

I ran my first marathon this past Sunday, February 13th!! It was a blast - I am very glad that I trained for it. My training had some bumps in the road during December, when I injured my hip. But I was able to pull things back together in January to early Feb. My time was 3h 17m 21s (ave pace = 7:32 per mile). I am still on cloud nine over the finish -- better than I expected! I placed 8th in my age group (out of 90) and 40th overall out of 674 marathon finishers. My hill training paid off. Now if I can just get more long workouts in before the next one and work on my speed some more, I hope to be able to knock some more time off. I'll say my outside goal is to sometime finish one in under 3 hours, but that may require changing my training almost exclusively over to running. I still really enjoy and benefit from the weights, so I don't know that I would ever want to do that.

The next race I am planning to do is in April and is a 15K. The course is hilly and challenging, so my training area should be perfect. This will be a great change in training plan from the marathon - with more emphasis on working on my pace and using the hills to this advantage. I am hoping to make top 3 in my age group in this race.

Weight training is going fairly well. Still doing the Book of Muscle workouts, now in the 5th week of Phase 3/intermediate. Marathon training does not exactly mesh well with strength gains in weight training. But this program has helped me hold my own strengthwise. In fact, I feel like I have made some reasonable gains in my back strength while on this program, even while doing so much running. Also, leg strength has remained or crept upward. Chest and shoulders are a different story - I feel like I may be losing a little strength in those areas.

I have wrestled with whether to back off on running after the marathon and focus on muscular bulking. But as of now I am too addicted to racing and enjoy the long distance running too much. So, for now, I am going to continue to use the weight training to maintain my strength and mass as much as possible while pursuing new goals in the races. I think this works out well, for me -- staying more lean and thinner is probably a good idea anyway given my predisposition toward high blood pressure. Interestingly, I didn't lose any weight during my marathon training, and I remain in the 175-179 range at most weight checks. My waist is a little bit smaller, but otherwise little change.

Diet is going well. The only real changes have been the carb ramp-ups near long training runs and the marathon. Those were enjoyable, although I am well-settled in my diet after three years of this. My daughters and I are planning a nice vegetable garden for this year, which will hopefully keep us well stocked in fresh veggies this Summer! Hopefully, we'll be able to get it together and keep it productive. Somehow these projects always start out well-intentioned but then snowball out of control and wind up getting neglected. :eek:

Long time no update! :eek:
:eek:

Welcome back !!

I figured you were on one of those Forrest Gump marathons cross-county, and you'd update your log when you got to the West Coast. :p

How's it going ? I see you're still a running fool. huh ?

I need to get some of that motivation ....my physical activity has been poor.

Well, great to see you're back. :tucool:

I'd run the mercedes marathon if my knees didn't hurt...and I wasn't so lazy :o

GJ :tucool:

Welcome back !!

I figured you were on one of those Forrest Gump marathons cross-county, and you'd update your log when you got to the West Coast. :p

How's it going ? I see you're still a running fool. huh ?

I need to get some of that motivation ....my physical activity has been poor.

Well, great to see you're back. :tucool:

Hey Brian, I just noticed you were back, too! Hope things are going well with the new business!!!

I haven't trained up to Forrest Gump standards. :p My legs finally feel 95% back to normal today! :D