Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005
Sunday workout, posted at 3:50 p.m.
Epiphany in Baltimore has moved to epiphanyinbaltimore.blogspot.com This morning, I woke up at around 8:30 (too late), rummaged around a bit and ate breakfast, but went back to bed because I was too cold. I turned up the heat to 70 and figured by the time I got up, it would be palatable. I was right, and Holden made an excellent electric blanket while I waited.The roads were amazingly well-cleared, which is good news for me, as I do NOT want a snow day tomorrow. Usually I'd be all about it, but tomorrow is a grading day, without students, and I'm pretty behind in my work and would like a day to just sit in my classroom and do work to finish out the semester. There's plenty of it, that's for sure.
I went to Bally's White Marsh. The weather outside was not nearly as bad as the gusts would indicate; the sun is making the snow melt, and if you bundle up enough, it's fine (yup, no shorts today).
Bally's was busy, which pissed me off because it wasn't busy yesterday and I was assuming that same today. I couldn't get into my workout at first, so decided to do cardio first. While on the treadmill, I caught a glimpse of myself from the side. Woah. The curve of my back, the slope of my shoulder, the gut, the jowly look to my cheeks and chin - I've got to get in shape, badly. It's embarrassing how much weight I've gained in the last two years, since I was a svelte 190. I'm certainly not nearing 310 again, but the numbers on the scale is much higher than I'd like it. I'm more muscular than I was at 190, but much less lean, and I've got to fix that. Badly. I've been thinking lately of really getting into a running program. The roommate, before the snows, mentioned something about marathon training, and I might take her up on that. But, really, I think I'd just like to start with something simple, something that should never have left my repoirtoire - running 3-4 miles every other day. If I stay frequent, regular, and consistent, that shouldn't be a problem. I just have to figure out ways not to get bored; that's the challenge. Today I was able to occupy my mind with a) planning how I'm going to get back in shape; b) watching a dubbed version of Parenthood with Steve Martin, and catching the "It's an electric ear cleaner" joke that made me giggle while running because the kid said, "Wow, it's really big" and the old lady said, "Yes, it sure was" (do you know what I'm talking about?); and c) watching the breaking news that Johnny Carson had died. That's sad, of course, but it's also interesting and mind-occupying, as I could remember all the times I watched him and watching his final episode with my parents during my freshmen or sophomore year of high school.
So, today I ran that prescribed 3-4 miles. It felt good; I think I felt a runner's high even though it's been a few weeks since I ran (and that was rough). I think my initial key will be to go slow enough so I can keep a pace for a long time without stopping. Today, I did 3.5 miles in 40 minutes. I walked for the first five minutes so I wasn't running cold, but that's still pretty dang slow. The 3.5 miles at that 5.5mph pace was pretty easy, but I still felt like I got a good cardio workout. The monitor told me I had burned 675 calories, and that's pretty good even though I remember when my cardio calorie goal was always 1000.
After running, I lifted, and that went well. I was pretty sore from yesterday, when I worked out my chest, back, biceps, and calves, and I didn't pummel my body too hard with my tricep, quad, hamstring, and shoulder workout that I do on opposing days. Next cycle, I'll go harder on these latter four muscle groups than on the first four; hopefully that will work.
I put on the Baltimore Craig's List a request for a workout partner. It has to be Bally's, White Marsh or Towson, in the early AM, so I'm not optimistic, but I thought I'd try. I've never had a workout partner and I feel like that might be what I need to kick me in the ass a bit. As for running, I think my key there will be doing the running before I lift, so I'm not too tired. Today worked really well and I still am feeling the rush of endorphins.
In other words about that, I really want to buy a treadmill and have contacted a few people from craig's list that are selling theirs. That's probably the best thing to do, to buy it used rather than paying an arm and a leg for it.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do the rest of the day. I had thoughts of going to the movies, but will probably be too lazy to do that. I have tons of grading to do, but, again, probably too lazy. I could start cleaning out the basement, which is what I'm leaning towards doing, if I don't get too lazy. The Polish Girl tells me she is going to call me tonight to have me take her out to Thirsty Dog, and it's been a couple weeks since I saw her, so I might do that. I also have an invite to watch the playoff game tonight with some co-workers, and that might be fun and might prime me for the Super Bowl, when I like to fake that I have an interest in the NFL and not just that it's a sign that spring training is just two weeks away.