So my whole purpose in creating this blog is to keep a journal of my training for the 5K. I've never run a race before and I am currently in the worst shape of my life. Last week I made the big gesture. I seriously cut back on my eating out, including my consumption of Diet Coke. This move was largely motivated by the desire to save money, but it has turned out to be a big help physically, too. Previously, my diet consisted of: A whole wheat bagel with butter and a 32 oz Diet Coke from Einstein's every week day morning; usually a homestyle or grilled chicken sandwhich combo with a 32 oz Diet Coke from Wendy's for lunch; and sometimes a big, fast food dinner. Some of my favorite dinner choices include Cafe Rio, Crown Burger, Arby's, Subway, Little Caeser's Pizza, Carl's Jr., or whatever was around at the time. I rarely ate at home.
Last week, starting on Monday, I eat a bowl of Life cereal for breakfast, a homemade deli turkey sandwhich with cheese, chips, a 12 oz can of diet coke & sometimes a Jello pudding snack for lunch, and dinner at home. I cheated on dinner four times from Monday - Saturday, but I could feel a huge difference from the lack of Diet Coke consumption in the mornings. I had a pretty good headache for a couple of days, but 10 days later I am falling asleep faster & waking up easier. I figured I also saved about $35 last week.
My diet this week has been about the same. I am averaging one "fast-food" meal a day. Monday I had Cafe Rio for dinner, Tuesday I had Carl's Jr. for dinner, and today I had Wendy's for lunch. But I haven't been to Einsteins at all, even though I was seriously tempted this morning. I also managed to go to the gym today for the first time this week. At the gym, I discovered that I lost 1 lb. this week. I'll take what I can get. Obviously I can do better, but I have been doing great compared to before.
My workout was great. I am following a training program on halhigdon.com that my cousin recommended called the 30/30 Plan. I exercise 30 min. a day for 30 days, but I'm going to take Sundays off, so it will really be 34 days or so. According to the plan, I walk for the first 10 min. Then I jog for 30 seconds, walk until I'm recovered, jog 30 seconds again, etc. for 15 min. The last 5 min. I walk. I could feel I got a good workout, not too much, but not too little. Hopefully I'm not sore tomorrow. I started the middle section taking 30 sec to recover from my 30 sec jog(that is the goal). After about 5 min. it was taking me 45 min. to recover. After 10 min. it was taking me 1 min. to recover. My average walk speed was 3.5 mph, while my average jog speed was 4.5 mph. I also weighed myself and I weigh 232 lbs. I figure I can lose at least 50 lbs. I weighed 165 lbs when I graduated from high school & I would love to be 170 lbs., but right now I would just love to be below 200 lbs. and finish the race with a decent time (of coarse!).
In a nutshell, my training plan consists of three elements: diet, exercise, and accountability. So far, my diet goal is to not eat out & watch my portions. My exercise goal is to follow the 30/30 plan, aiming for a 30 sec jog, 30 sec walk pattern consistently for 30 min. And my accountability goal is to post my progress every day on my blog. I understand this topic is not the most entertaining, but I hope it will help me focus & stay honest with myself. I also hope my family and friends will check up on me & support me through the whole process.