Monday, August 31, 2009

Day 44 Back on Track Week 4 training schedule.

Week 4

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Walk for 30 minutes. You eliminate the running portion for this workout because you have made a lot of increases in the last two weeks. This will give your body a little more rest this week. You will be making increases a bit faster after this workout.

Wednesday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 5 minutes. You are now jogging as much as you are walking. Remember to keep the pace fairly comfortable.

Thursday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 4 minutes. You back off a bit today to recover from yesterday’s harder workout.

Friday - Rest or cross train.

Saturday - Today you will start to decrease the distance of your walking intervals. Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 4 minutes and jog for 5 minutes.

Sunday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 4 minutes and jog for 5 minutes.

Day 44 31/365 on the road to Roadside America

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Day 42 29/365 Hooters Grill Cheese the best!

Day 42 5th Saturday Weigh-in

Last week's weight: 269
This week's weight: 267

-2lbs dropped Total to Date: 21lbs

Well definitely better than I expected with my inconsistent eating
schedule being on vacation. I was able to do the 5/4 walk/run combo
with ease this morning. Tomorrow I finish up the 5/4 combo and move
onto 5/5 starting on Tuesday. On Monday I will post the week 4 schedule.

Now as we move into September it is time to think of what to do for
the first self portrait. Also starting to think of having a routine
made at the gym to start incorporating some weight training into the
routine.


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Friday, August 28, 2009

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Day 40 27/365 The Streets of Philadelphia

Sorry to scare the "management" but I did not succumb to any urges and
have a super size coke. I will to say eating wise it was a tough day
because I was on the road heading to Philly. But I did stay healthy.

Anyhow we headed into Philly today to do the tourist thing. While the
wife and kids took a carriage ride, I roamed the old city to talk with
locals. I met up with a street artist named Ikiru and we sat and
talked a bit. I was able to take his portrait (I will post when I get
home) and then we moved onto our next destination Pat's king of steaks
and Geno's cheesesteaks.

These 2 rivals are right across the street from each other in South
Philly. So the family got 2 cheesesteaks to share from each
establishment.

1 whiz wit and 1 whiz witout. That's how you order them here. The
family unanimously agreed that Geno's was the better of the two.

The minute we got back to the house, the oldest son and I did his
football drill exercises. Man that is a tough workout. Kudos to him
for doing it. After which I did the run/walk combo and it wad super
easy after doing the football drills. Geez I may have to incorporate
them into the daily routine.

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Day 38 oh the places you will go....

Well back on track. I was unable to complete week 3 of the run walk
because of the calf being sore still on Sunday. So I am repeating week
3 and it went well. First day of no real achiness. I will be all over
and hope to get some good pics over the next 7 days... Talk to you
tomorrow.

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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Prank Monkey

video

Day 35 24/365 Prank Monkey

Day 35 4th Saturday Weigh in.

Last week's weight: 273
This week's weight: 269

-4 lbs dropped. Total of 19 lbs.

Nice I am in the 60's... Now let's hope I do not go up. I strained my calf this morning while exercising on the beach this morning. So tomorrow I will be on the eliptical machine instead so as not to strain it anymore. I think I was a little dehydrated this morning because it was hot. so i got 2/3 of the way through the work out before I had to start walking and not complete the final 4 minute run. On a positive though 4 minute run was not a problem. Next week I will be doing a self portrait. Now I just need to figure out what I want to do.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Day 34 23/365 The Times They Are A-Changin'

So sings Bob Dylan. As the times change so shouldn't this blog. In the past month since I begun this site and journey, my head has definitely become more clearer. I will still be keeping my food log but will not necessarily post it everyday. I will just tack it on with the weekly weigh in for those who are interested.

In just one month I do feel a 100 percent better than I usually did. I am slowly getting back to my old self again.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Day 32

Lately it has been hard trying to update but I am taking pictures
along the way.

Today was the 2nd day of week 3 and I am continuing to do well.
Eating wise my portions are small and I am trying to eat each day at
around the same time which is pretty good.

Running wise I am having no problems at all knock on wood. I was
stressed a bit at the start of this weeks walk/run combo because of
the quick increase of the running times. However the prospect of
running for 4 minutes during each set is not as worrisome after
tonights run.

Tomorrow I will be spending the catching up on some things I need to
do around the house.

Andy

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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Day 31 22/365 B*Good to yourself.

It's all good. Today is 1 month without Soda. Stopped by B*Good on Newbury street to hang out during my lunchtime walk. This places makes the best burgers. All fresh ingredients in their burgers and they air bake their fries so no oil and they cut their own potatoes for the fries. I did not get a burger but hung out as my buddy Mags got her lunch.

When I got home I did the run/walk combo. I was stressing a little about this one but did really well. No heavy breathing at all and my legs felt great. I am definitely getting stronger when I run.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Day 30 Its a Scorcher....

It has been a rough couple days. It is a scorcher out there. Thank god
today was a rest day. I would overheated if I ran out there today.
Tomorrow is another hot one and also the beginning of week 3 of the
training. The run walk combo is 5 minutes walk 3 minutes run. Did not
get to take picture today because of very busy. Will get my camera out
there tomorrow.

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Sunday, August 16, 2009

Day 29 21/365 This Week's Training Schedule


Week 3

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 3 minutes. Keep the pace nice and easy. If you feel you cannot run for 3 minutes then take some short ( 10 – 15 seconds ) walking breaks in your 3-minute jogging interval.

Wednesday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 2 minutes.

Thursday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 3 minutes.

Friday - Rest. If you feel like cross training, go ahead. If you do cross train, keep the intensity level very easy. You want to let your body recover on these rest days.

Saturday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 4 minutes. Another increase today.

Sunday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 4 minutes.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Day 28 20/365 ugh! Ponyo

Day 28 3rd Saturday Weigh in.

Last week's weight: 278
This week's weight: 273

-5 lbs dropped. Total of 15 lbs.

Can I get to the 60's next week? Place your bets.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Day 27 19/365 Sweetcupcakes.com

Heading to bed but will update in morning. Busy day tomorrow.

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Day 26 18/365 The Tortoise and the Hare

B: 6oz plain yogurt w/fresh blueberries, kashi cereal in empty yogurt cup, lg decaf iced black coffee n/s L: turkey w/sliced tomato & lettuce sandwich, banana lg decaf iced black coffee: 1 slice of Pepperoni Pizza S: Popcorn no butter or salt.

I apologize, the past few days, the pictures have been horrible quality. Total lack of composition & horrible exposure. I am carrying around a couple of point and click cameras to learn how to use them. It seems that the cameras I am using are only good for automatic settings. Anytime I change the settings the quality goes down. But a great photographer should be able to use any type of camera and produce great images. Because rule number one, the type of camera does not make the quality of the picture. It is the photographer that creates the image.

Today for lunch I headed to Trinity church to sit and do some people watch or should I say tourist watch. I was sitting on the bench next to the Tortoise and the Hare and I thought to myself how it relates to my Trot training. Each day I am getting stronger and stronger. I have been doing the same course each day and I am marking off the point I reach at the 18 minute point of the daily training session. Like the Tortoise I am slow and steady but each day I get closer to the Hare in regards to stamina and distance.

Tomorrow is a rest day with an option to cross train but need to keep it light. Because Saturday & Sunday the walk/run combo goes to 5/2 minutes each set for 30 minutes

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Day 25 17/365 Are You Ready For Some Football.


B: 6oz plain yogurt w/fresh blueberries, kashi cereal in empty yogurt cup, lg decaf iced black coffee n/s L: turkey w/sliced tomato & lettuce sandwich, banana S: grapefruit D: McDonalds cheeseburger plain no condiments. O.J.

Feeling good today as we close into 4 weeks without soda. Because of that I am starting to become more active. So today in regards to exercise I walked from South Station to Back Bay round trip for work. At lunch went for a short walk and finally did the walk/run combo when I got home. Which I did really well. I am starting to get stronger running. Legs feel great and not wobbly when I finish.

Football was a big topic on my mind today. Finalizing rosters for my sons league. Getting his gear ready and getting new cleats for the season. Karma must of known that I was thinking of the sport all day. Because when I arrived at South Station who greeted me at the door but Pat the Patriot. That was a trip.

Apologies to the last 2 posts. Just have not been able to post the pics for these entries. They will be up tomorrow though.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Day 24 16/365 Saved By Mags....

Image forthcoming. Gotta ask Mags if I can post.

B: 6oz plain yogurt w/fresh blueberries, Kashi cereal. lg decaf iced
black coffee n/s L: Turkey on wheat with mustard & Lettuce/Tomato,
Banana Water D: 2 oz of steak with broccoli and cranberry couscous.

So last night I went to Whole Foods to get food for lunches the rest
of the week. So this morning I woke to be a good doobie and made
myself a sandwich to bring into the office instead of going out to
eat for lunch. But what happens when I get in. I get reminded that we
have a vendor coming in to talk about servers and they will be
serving lunch. Ugh! The hardest thing is when watching what you eat
is the lunch meeting. You never know what you may get. Sometimes
pizza, most time sandwiches w/chips and sodas. So as I was sitting in
the meeting Mags brought the delivery guy to the room and also grab
my lunchbox on the way up for me. NICE!. Thanks for the save Mags!

Monday, August 10, 2009

Day 23 15/365 Last Stop Braintree....

B: lg decaf black coffee n/s fruit/cheese plate S: Banana L: 1 fish cake, broccoli, 1/2 ear of corn. D: garden salad dry.

The one thing I will say is that I am starting to sleep a little better now into week 3 of no soda. I am definitely not as restless during the evening and not feeling zonked when I wake up in the morning in a panic thinking I am going to be late. Since I am sleeping better I am able to get up in time to take the subway instead of driving by car each day. This is a huge money saver since parking in the city is pretty pricey. So I guess I can call this another benefit of not drinking soda. :>)

Today was a rest day so back in the saddle for training for the trot.


Sunday, August 9, 2009

Day 22 14/365 Come Sail Away


B: lg decaf iced coffee black L: Fruit Salad, Orange Juice D: 2 Fish Cakes. 1/2 ear of corn, some tater tots, Milk

Today was a long day. I awoke at 4am after going to bed at midnight. Just could not sleep. I had to meet Cyndi for today's run/walk in Wompatuck. Needless to say at 7am I was ready to call her to reschedule in the day. But after like 15 yawns in a row, I told myself to suck it up and got there by 8. Today's run walk consisted of the Wompatuck section of the Turkey Trot and I wanted to go over the course in today's 30 minutes.

This part of the trot is very hilly and is pretty difficult for newbies in my opinion. But I can happily say we were able to complete the 30 minutes of 5/1 minute intervals fairly easily including 2 additional 5/1 sets. By the end of the workout my quads were feeling wobbly.

It was worth it though. I was able to push myself and that was pretty important in preparation for this 5k with all the hills.

The rest of the day the family spent on Hingham Harbor sailing with one of the boys classmates family. This was what the doctor ordered. It was a great time. We sailed past the Hull gut and around George's Island. The ocean was pretty smooth sailing until we hit a big gust of wind on the way back to the mooring. I got a little nervous that we were going to tip over but our sailor was pretty masterful and we returned safe and sound.

Looking forward to the rest day tomorrow to rest my aching quads and get back on task to my eating regimen. This weekend was pretty inconsistant with all we had to do.

Day 22 Week 2 First Half of the Road to the Trot

Having just completed Week 1 of the running program this morning, it is now time to look towards this week's program. Below is the training for the upcoming week.

Week 2

Monday - Rest. Every Monday is a rest day in this program.

Tuesday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 1 minute. Keep the pace fairly comfortable.

Wednesday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. This will be an easy day. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 30 seconds.

Thursday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 1 minute.

Friday - Rest or cross train. Either totally rest or engage in another activity such as biking or swimming.

Saturday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Another increase here. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 2 minutes.

Sunday - Walk/Jog for 30 minutes. Walk for 5 minutes and jog for 2 minutes.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Day 21 13/365 Armenians, Poems, & some guy named Rich who turned 40.

B: clif bar(don't ask) lg decaf black iced coffe n/s L: fruit salad D: healthy apps.(no worries did not do the over indulge graze)

After my run/walk with Cindy at Weymouth High and then my weigh in, I was really dreading the rest of the day. I had to go to a 40th birthday party one of my wife's colleagues.

As usual I was cranky at the prospect but dragged my feet for the event. The drive to the event was tense but as usual as always with the wife it always turns out okay.

These parties always end up with good food, good conversations, and new faces.

The party kicked off with the guest of honor totally surprised. Followed by the Armenian host give a great toast to a great friend and colleague. Food was outstanding. People were merry. I learned about how old Boston did banking. Which was with a handshake and your word. Tunes were awesome. The night ended with a video of Rich's past 40 years being broadcast outside.

I guess I am pretty lucky to be were I am.

Day 21 2nd Saturday Weigh in.

Last week's weight: 281
This week's weight: 278

-3 lbs dropped. Nice! Hello seventies, goodbye eighties. :)

Friday, August 7, 2009

Day 20 12/365 Stinky Soup Day

B: Fruit/Cheese plate. banana, lg decaf black n/s L: Small Pho "Stinky Soup" Chicken D: small tuna sub w/pickles&tomatoes (I probably should have not eaten the whole sub but the soup at lunch was making feel really empty today)

Nothing like a little bit of small bowl of Pho "Stinky Soup" Chicken to make your day. Today one of my co-workers needed to be a sit in for one of the regulars in the Pho Pasteur soup group. Because of this even though she wanted a small chicken, she had to order a small beef with extra tendon in his honor. She even struck a pose to look sassy with her soup.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Day 19 11/365 Life's a Beach

Image forthcoming processing alot of images today

B: Bagel w/cream cheese Banana, water. L: 1 Lobster w/butter on side.
cole slaw and a piece of cornbread. Water (yes I know. But come on I
was at a corporate outing for the day and that was all they had) D: 1
yogurt and water

Today was the day of the first run/walk combo and I did great. No
problems. No out of breath moment and legs feel great. I was stressed
a little that I was not going to be able to get it in due to my
corporate outing today. But I was able to get home in time before
sunset and hit the road. It was a good sense of accomplishment
knowing that I was able to keep this commitment I made myself.
Tomorrow is a rest day and then Sat and Sun. Some more walk/run combos.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Day 18 10/365 Where everyone knows your name


B: lg decaf iced black coffee no sugar, banana, fruit/cheese plate. L: Leftover steak tips and broccoli D: 1 slice cheese pizza

Well did the 30 minutes walk today. Tomorrow starts the walk/run combinations. Look forward to feeling how my legs feel after. It was hot one out there while I did the walk. At the end I looked like someone had sprayed me with a house with the amount of sweat pouring
from my head. I am really starting to enjoy the ice water w/lemon as my drink of choice. It really helps the cravings for an ice cold Mountain Dew or as I like to say the "Elixir of the Gods".

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Day 17 9/365 Time to hit the road.


B: Banana, fruit/cheese plate. lg decaf black iced coffee L: 4 oz. grilled Mahi Mahi , stir-fry veggies D: 2 sirlion tips and broccoli and for snack during the day 1 grapefruit and 3 "tasty" spicy peanuts I tried. (Chris is making sure I claimed the 3 "tasty" peanuts) I swear they were wafer thin.

Today I started the road to the Trot. Per the program I did the 30 minutes walking briskly. Not a problem. Felt fine afterward. Of course I sweated like a pig because the humidity was out of control. Sorry cannibals no marinade on this pig. :)! Tomorrow is 30 minutes again walking and then some light jogging on Thursday. A big shout out goes to Cindy and Stacy who are doing the same and planning on doing the trot with me. Maybe I should set a secondary goal of trying to get a 500 folks to run it with me. Now that would be fun.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Day 16 8/365 Sometimes you just need to step off the carousel


B:Fruit&Cheese, Banana, Lg Decaf Black Coffee n/s L: Veggie burger w/lettuce tomato and mustard & water D: Leftover Strawberry poppyseed Salad (from Panera) with water. Snack: Chocolate Chip Clif Bar

After dinner tonight I headed to Nantasket for twilight to practice some nighttime shots. The carousel was still open so I saw how long I could handhold the camera still before I starting to move. I got to about 1/20th of sec without moving. Next time I will bring the tripod.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Day 15 7/365 Look up in the Sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Shazam/Superman?!?

B: lg Decaf iced coffee black n/s L: Strawberry poppyseed salad and water D: 1 celeste cheese pizza.


No I do not think I am the man of steel after the 2nd week, but my kids are tired of posing for portraits and I was thinking of what to shoot while sitting in my bedroom. When I looked out the window and spied one of my kids action figures based on my cousins art. So I said Supes today is your lucky day! The wife is always saying why can't I take pictures of well chiseled males. So honey this one is for you. I will say Superman/Shazam was a good model. Never complained. Was very patient as I set my exposure. I am totally digging his total boss pose. Tomorrow starts week 1 of the road to the trot. Monday is a designated rest day but Tuesday it kicks in.


I can't believe the first week of project 365 has passed. 1 down 51 to go.


Saturday, August 1, 2009

Day 14 6/365 "The first rule of Fight Club you do not talk about fight club"



B: lrg decaf black ice coffee n/s, bowl of special K no milk. L: 1 spicy tuna sushi roll w/water D: 1 slice of cheese pizza w/a lemonade and then a water.

I had the opportunity to shoot ringside of a mixed martial arts tournament at Campanelli stadium in Brockton tonight held by CageFx.com . This fighter Steve Dunn was amazing. They call him the "Sandman" because he will put you to sleep when you enter the cage with him in it. He won his bout, and yes he did tire his opponent out.

Day 14 1st Saturday Weigh in.

Last week's weight: 288
This week's weight: 281

-7 lbs. dropped. just not drinking soda and changing my eating
habits. Next week the road to the Trot.