Running Towards Fitness

Personal Awareness
The ancient Greeks used to believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body not only went together, but were both critical for happiness and a successful life. They were also intertwined, meaning that a weakness in either area would affect the other. When I started this transformation I was overweight and full of excuses. And by overweight I don't mean just a few pounds - I weighed over 70 pounds more than I do now. I finally took my life into my own hands and started exercising. At the time, I had no idea where it would lead - to a stronger body, a happier, more nimble mind, and a chest full of race medals. Healthy mind, healthy body, indeed! It hasn't been easy, or without issues, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Workout

Got to the gym a little late. It turns out that I can make it there by 6am if I set my alarm for 5:30 - as long as I don’t hit “snooze” first. As it was, I was there about 5 after. Alex had just finished his run, so I did a quick half mile warmup at 8:30 and joined him for our workout.

Abs: straight leg lifts 2 sets of 20
Abs: weighted crunches - 2 sets of 20 reps at 80 lbs
Back: nautilus lower back - 2 sets of 20 reps at 160 lbs
Abs: sit-ups - 2 sets of 20
Abs: crunches - 2 sets of 20 on left, center and right

The second set of straight leg lifts (aka captain’s chair lifts) were still difficult, and I felt a bit of a strain near the end of my second set of sit-ups, but otherwise those are getting easier.

Quads: seated extensions (single-leg) - 2 sets of 20 reps - 40 lbs left, 20 lbs right
Hamstrings: seated curls (single-leg) - 2 sets of 20 reps at 40 lbs
Chest: seated chest press - 2 sets of 20 reps at 100 lbs

Next on the agenda was the leg press. I did about 8 reps at 90 lbs weight, when I felt my right knee start to twinge a little. Immediately I stopped, and I noticed that walking around was feeling a little sore. That meant no more leg work for the day (and no running to finish out with either). I cut the rest pretty short so that I could head out and get some ice on my MCL.

Shoulders: arm raises (front, side, down, up) - 1 set of 10 reps at 12.5 lbs
Biceps: dumbell curls - 1 set of 15 reps at 25 lbs
Triceps: dumbell skull crushes - 1 set of 15 reps at 20 lbs

Did some stretching and headed home. Caution, while boring, has to be my watchword at this point.

Popularity: 2%

About

I'm Richard Stanford, a fit, happy runner. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Dip into the archives to follow my progress from couch potato to sub-four hour marathoner.

I also like to cook, write, code, and play with power tools...

Personal Records

DistanceRaceTimePace
Marathon2006 Freescale3:54:078:56
20 Miles2006 RunTex3:00:089:00
30K2005 RunTex2:42:448:45
Half M2006 3M1:42:577:51
20K2005 Decker1:40:428:06
10 Miles2005 Pervasive1:20:138:01
10K2005 Dublin Dr Pepper48:437:51
5 Miles2005 Turkey Trot37:017:24
5K2005 Margarita Run22:327:15
4K2006 Fila Relays17:247:15
1 Mile2006 Congress Ave6:236:23

Sponsors

  • Amazon - Books, gear, and more
  • Dreamhost - Cheap reliable hosting
  • iTRAIN - Downloadable MP3 workouts
  • Shoes.com - Good prices on athletic shoes, gear
        NEW! Use code GIVE10OFF for a 10% discount!

Activity

10 total comments, leave your comment.
  1. You’re really doing a great job of a comeback. Feels like you never left. Thanks for sharing your workout details with us.

  2. Sounds like a solid post-injury workout. Caution is a great word and will help insure a full recovery!

    Seriously, it’s so great to have you back!

  3. And its good to be back - running, reading and blogging. Thanks!

  4. deene
    Aug 23rd 2004
    3:47 PM

    Welcome back to sweat and blogging.

  5. Ah, the snooze button. It did me in today:) But you had a great workout!!

  6. does that mean you do 6 sets of 20 ab crunches? wahoo!

  7. Well… 4 of them are targetting the obliques. For some reason though, I really like crunches - last time (8/18) I did 4 sets of 50 normally, and then 2 sets of 50 on each side :-)

  8. I no likee crunches which is precisely why I need to better follow your example!

  9. I never used to, but I found out that it was because I always did them at the end of a workout, when I was tired and short on time. Moving them to the beginning of the workout made me enjoy them again. No, really, I do. Is that weird?

  10. Let me get this straight. You are asking ME if I think your doing crunches is weird. Hey Richard! It’s me a RUNNER who runs MARATHONS over here!! Most people think you and I are weird without any talk of crunches!

    Hahaha…just funnin’ witcha!


Leave a Reply


Search

Search the archives by entering keywords or topic strings.

Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Will Ferrell3:56:129:01
George W. Bush3:44:528:35
John Edwards3:30:188:01
Carrie Sapp3:29:067:59
Boston Qualifier3:10:597:17
Lance Armstrong2:59:366:51
Gilbert Tuhabonye2:23:075:28
Paula Radcliffe2:15:255:10
Paul Tegat2:04:554:46

People I Train With

Alex - Addicted to Exercise
Carrie - Tri to be Funny
Erine - Thousand Miles
Frank - Running Blog
Gilbert - Gilbert's Gazelles
Jay - Leotian Blog
Mike - BROTH