Week 10

Week 10 is a "pivot" week -- I resumed lifting after abandoning it two weeks ago in favor of jogging, now I am abandoning swimming and bringing back lifting.

Hopefully having 3 activities of which I actively pursue two will keep me interested.

My weight dropped in the last couple weeks and is apparently staying down.  I'm still not sure if that's lifting-related or eating-related or jogging-related or what.  I have a bit more I can lose still.

I am hopeful that I'll continue to improve cardio-wise with my jogging - perhaps even more aggressively than in swimming - we'll see.

So I continue to progress, but it's slow going and I'm finding motivation hard to come by.

Day 48

Jogged 2.5mi (over a 3 stints interspersed with walking).

First stint was 1.5mi, which was good, but after that I kind of petered out.  It might be that I was sore from yesterday's lift.  I hope I can get back to the longer shifts -- I think I'm physically up to it, i just need a way to distract myself from the drudgery.  I wish I liked music more.

I found starting running easier than starting swimming (no cold water to jump into), but continuing was just as hard.

I'm glad i lifted again yesterday - I feel it all over and hope I am getting stronger.

Day 47

Lifted - the normal routine.

It went okay.  Some things were easier than I'd remembered, some were just as hard or harder.  I'm not really sure what to make of this.  I'll stick with the same weights and reps a few sessions before tweaking.

I'm curious if resuming weight-training will change my appetite at all.  The last week or so i've been eating less, and perhaps the lifting will make my body demand more - i remember being consistently hungry before.

Day 46

Swam - only 27 laps, but faster than ever - 2 minutes flat per 100yds.

My will to swim has all but faded.  I dread it the day before and before jumping in, and then long to get out while i'm in.  I don't think I hate swimming entirely and forever, I just need a break.  Fortunately my swim-angst comes as my ability to jog is on the rise and I'm keen on lifting again.  So for at least the next few weeks I'll try:

• MWF - Jog.
• TR - Lift.

Essentially following the pattern i've mostly done, just replacing swimming with jogging.

My average weight has been trending slightly downward over the last 10 weeks:

I credit my scrupulous weekday diet, which has become even more abstemious in the last two weeks.  I stopped eating breakfast because i work out so early, and bring a variety of things to eat, but found that by eating those i didn't need as much lunch.  So now my total caloric intake is down, but my exercise is up.

I think my jogging is also more aggressive in burning calories than my swimming.  I'll be interested to see what happens over the next few weeks as I step up jogging (burning fat) but also add lifting (building muscle).

Day 45

Jogged 2.75 miles (in blocks of 2mi, .5mi, and .25mi with walking between).

I "skipped" yesterday in the sense that I didn't go to the gym, but I did an hour of a nintendo dancing game to atone for it.  It made me sweat -- not as much as running, but i think it was productive.

Over the weekend I got fancy running shoes chosen to best support my lousy feet.  I've got a rare combination of high arches and overpronation -- most people with high arches underpronate.  So I got some Asics GT-2000 shoes in bland gray with blazing orange.  All running shoes are designed with lunatic color schemes.

Week 9

Week 9 eclipsed the two month mark and saw a shift away from weight-training in favor of jogging.  The weights were feeling heavier but the jogging was easier than previously, and I saw that as an opportunity worth seizing.

So I primarily swam and jogged this week, and as a result got my best swimming time, my furthest ever jog, and my lowest weight since starting.

I'll keep this approach for another week or so and then reintroduce weights.

I've also started sitting on an exercise ball at work in an attempt to strengthen my core and forestall potential back problems (i tend to sit with terrible, shameful posture).  So I sat on this ball all day yesterday and didn't like it.  My back was sore - i don't know if it was just muscles that weren't used to being used, or if the weight going down through my spine is just a bad way to sit.  I'll do it again today and see how it goes.

Day 44

Swam 36 laps.

...in 3 groups of 12 rather than 4 groups of 9.  Instead of doing fast and slow laps I did mostly semifast, with a fast one at the end of each group of 12.  I thought my time would be my best, but it wasn't as good as Wednesday's.  It was still pretty good, though, and that means that this week was my best on average -- a 2.11 minute 100-yard (my average over the last 3 weeks is 2.42).

My weight is down - 179 this morning - but it might be dehydration.  I was pretty thirsty this morning, but i also feel a little slimmer lately.