TimWoolery.net Documenting the Journey and the Learning Curve

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Some fit log news. Continuing in my quest for a fitness program that meets what I want - started 'pack training' this weekend, which is to say I filled my Vietnam War-era ALICE pack with 26 lbs of gear, threw it on and ran up the first leg of the Triple.  If you haven't walked, run or driven Morrison Canyon Road in Fremont there is no describing it to you.  Single-track road that winds steeply up the side of the hill and the only good part about it is finishing it, knowing that it did not beat you and that it's the longest possible time before you feel compelled to run it again.

Loads of fun - I want to do this for a variety of reasons.  1.  I'm planning on going backpacking this year and I want to be ready for that. 2. Guy factor - this is one of those things you watch soldiers or firefighters do and wonder if you could handle it yourself.  I'm not at their level yet but I am on my way...that feels good [even if my quads do not].

But let me be the first to say it: I hate running.  I hate cardio and if there were an easier way to do this, I'd have found it by now.  I don't do this because it's so much fun.  I do this because I want to know that I can. That's the 'Guy factor' in working out - the satisfaction that comes from proving to yourself that you can accomplish a difficult task.  You do it, but you don't enjoy it.

View The Triple - Morrison Canyon and Vargas Road in a larger map

I decided to forgo my no-booze rule and had some Guinness to celebrate my achievement.  That, along with The Lady's delicious chicken fried steak meant that I was completely out of bounds on my nutrition plan.  Yes, I cheated and it tasted great.

Back on the Wagon

3 weeks after I completed a 90-day fast from alcohol, I'm ready to do it again.  Let me put it this way: I'm not enjoying drinking anymore.   It isn't as interesting or exciting as I used to think it was.

When I wasn't consciously avoiding booze, I kept finding reasons to accept a beer or a drink at a friends house.  Drinking less means that I can handle less - I'd feel it more quickly and I don't enjoy how I feel a few hours after the fact.  Let me put it this way: I'll wake up a few hours after having a nightcap sweating and with my heart pounding - I assume this is a reaction from the alcohol becoming sugar and then giving me a sugar high but whatever.

All it really means is that I'm better off without booze than with but I also don't want to embrace a lifestyle synonymous with 12-steppers.  Alcohol is fine - I just don't like drinking it that much anymore.  I'll maintain the 90-day fasts and take a few days off in between because I still really like the taste of beer and bourbon.

Additionally - I decided that if I was going to go the route of doing without tipple, I was also going to set up and maintain a diet plan.  I like what's going on over at Sparkpeople.com - it's the most sane diet plan website I know of and they're pretty comprehensive in that they give you a diet plan including recipes AND they'll even give you a shopping list for the next two weeks.   I'm still trying to find ways to motivate myself so if it comes to it, maybe what I need to do is post pictures of my progress - as mentally scarring as it may be for you, it's quite a motivator for me.  It's also worked well for this guy:

We'll see where it goes from there...I don't know why the simplest changes are always the hardest.

Fit Log Stats

5: Days w/o Alcohol

Did It – 90 Days With No Alcohol

A special thanks to you - even if you weren't listening...even if you don't exist.  Because I publicly stated "I will go 90 days without a drink" on this website, I did.  Thank you for being there to cheer me along and yes, I am just fine.  I don't have any interesting insights about the process, partly because I've been gone all day on a day trip to Yosemite.  I'm exhausted now and all I want to do is go to sleep - I do want to properly address this momentous occasion at a future date that makes sense for all.

Cheers.

18 Days to Go

72: Days w/o Alcohol

Notes - My personal laundry has taken most of my energy - ergo I haven't been at the gym near as much as I wanted to but I've kept the running up.  Tried shooting hoops yesterday in the heat but it was miserable - had to knock off after 30 minutes.  I'm afraid to take my body fat % after this weekend and so I won't.

Explain Venn Diagrams to Me

I got to the end of my post yesterday and realized that I didn't explain the thing that made me title the post - sorry.  I was referring to the Venn Diagram of diet, exercise and mood [meaning that I feel I'm pursuing a worthwhile goal that I can reasonably achieve].  I usually have two out of the three under control but can't maintain control on all three for very long.  As an adult, you're really spinning plates here ... some of these plates need more than a quick toss to stay in the air.   For me - being fit has always been a goal that I wanted to get past and also get past quickly.

So let me wrap this up because I have other things going on that you'll hear about shortly.  Trying to dial in your life with multiple goals and dependencies and exert control over every aspect of it, is impossible.  I should know, I tried...tried and failed.  So I don't do that anymore.  I'd still like the quality of life that comes from having the different aspects of it managed and so - that's what I'm trying to figure out...how to get there without being a jerk.  So far - the path to success has not been presented to me.

Nice!

Getting into better shape is something that I've always wanted but usually I would get bored or frustrated and end up giving up.  I've been keeping my changes comfortable and reasonable because I wanted to make sure I could maintain whatever it was that I did.  Well, I just did my body-fat percentage test and was very happy with the results.  Here are the new numbers:

44: Days w/o alcohol

17.8%: Body Fat Percentage

10 days ago - I was happy to have reached 19% for the first time in a while having dropped almost an entire percent.  Now I've gone and dropped another one - this is great!  Additionally - been running at lunch instead of the cardio machines since they're remodeling the gym at the office.  To be quite honest, I'm shocked that my numbers are looking this good - I haven't been tight on my diet.  Prior to the alcohol fast, I would kill myself to maintain 1600 calories a day while having a shot because it was 'only 75 calories'.   Now I skip the alcohol and have the ice cream - my body is processing the sugar just fine.