Running Naked: A Transparent Approach to Change

Nude Numbers are my weekly progress reports on my fitness goals. See About Running Naked for the philosophies involved.

Summary

Week 14 of the winter plan. The story of last week: Flu. I got hit hard on Sunday and didn’t even venture outside again until Wednesday. Based on that, I took the entire week off to make sure I could recover. Note to those who haven’t gotten the flu this season; don’t get it. The flu sucks much more than a cold.

Subjective Data

Not much to say here beyond I got the flu, but was good and took the entire week off to recover.

Objective Data

Blue lines == actuals; Gray areas == my target range for that week.

Assessment

Well, not much I can say on the training, but have to face facts; it looks like I’ll miss my swimming goal by at least 3-4 weeks. I’m still not calling it, but it’s hard to imagine I can somehow gain enough swimming endurance to go 1,000 yards without stopping (given that 125 yards without stopping is my current record).

My weight gain period is now over, and the plan is to go to a maintenance (but not cutting) diet. This means no more ice cream and cookies. Boo hoo.

Plan

I’m going to try getting back to the gym and see how things go. The weight training plan is 50% of max, 15 reps, 5 sets and 45 seconds rest. I imagine that’ll suck.

Reminders

I’m still undecided between running a marathon in New York (November) or in Dublin Ireland. If you’re interested in running either with me, let me know. I’m not going to decide until around April. Also, if anyone is interested in doing the Philly Triathlon (June) with me, you’re welcome to join the team!

Presentation Notes

These notes are always presented in SOAP Note format. Click here for all the Nude Numbers posts.

Thanks for reading.

- Art

Nude Numbers are my weekly progress reports on my fitness goals. See About Running Naked for the philosophies involved.

Summary

Week 12 of the winter plan. I hit most numbers, but was too tired for Yoga again this week. I’m out of town for a lot of this upcoming week with a last-minute business trip, so my numbers next week will be below original plan.

Subjective Data

The plan was to lift lower-weight/higher-reps this week, so I did that while concentrating more on cardio/swimming. By the end of the week, I was again really tired, and had to cut out Yoga again (just too sore to go). Still, swimming progress did get better, and I’m now able to go 150-200 yards at a stretch between rests. Hitting a goal of 1,000 yards without resting by 3/31 seems at risk though.

I continued eating more, and my weight gain increased. This is to plan though, even if I don’t like the look of creeping over the gray.

I also did one long run on Thursday that (due to my not remembering how long the central-park drive is) was longer than plan by a lot. The good news is no lingering soreness from that.

Objective Data

Blue lines == actuals; Gray areas == my target range for that week.

Assessment

I’m getting concerned about the ability to hit my swimming target, but I’m also doing all I can to meet it at the moment. Not sure what else to do but keep practicing.

Also, I know the weight gain is to plan, but I still worry about it; it took a lot of hard work to cut out the excess weight I had before.

Plan

Despite my assessment, I’m not making any major changes to the plan. I’ll continue with the gain-weight diet through at least 3/1.

I’m going to miss most numbers this week due to a business trip I’m on. I’ll try to get a run in on Tuesday, but I have no access to a pool or a weight room during the trip.

And for the record, the upcoming lift plan is 50% of max weight, 12-rep sets, 5 sets, and 45 seconds between sets.

Reminders

I’m still undecided between running a marathon in New York (November 2) or in Dublin Ireland (October 27). If you’re interested in running either with me, let me know. I’m not going to decide until around April. Also, if anyone is interested in doing the Philly Triathlon (June 21) with me, you’re welcome to join the team!

Presentation Notes

These notes are always presented in SOAP Note format. Click here for all the Nude Numbers posts.

Thanks for reading.

- Art

Nude Numbers are my weekly progress reports on my fitness goals. See About Running Naked for the philosophies involved.

Summary

Week 11 of the winter plan. The plan was to do a week of heavy lifting, and it was harder than expected; I had to cut out almost everything else to finish the week. Still, it looks like I’ll easily hit at least one of my three winter goals (my strength gain goal).

Subjective Data

I was better about eating this week, and I’m back to gaining weight again. Of course, some of it is going to the abdomen area, but I have some room to spare still for my target.

The plan was for a very heavy lifting week – 90% of max. This turned out to be more exhausting than I expected and I found myself cutting back on all other activities as a result. I ended the week very tired, with an especially exhausted back, but I had a lot of fun max-ing out in the weight room.

Objective Data

Blue lines == actuals; Gray areas == my target range for that week.

Assessment

I concentrated on lifting this week as I planned, but it was even harder than expected. As a result, I didn’t get the swimming, spinning, running or yoga done to plan. But that said, I listened to my body and it was clear I shouldn’t push harder.

It became apparent by the end of the week that, even though I’m in week 10 of a 30 week lifting plan, I’ve made a lot of strength gains already. Hitting my 5% increase goal for March looks too easy.

Lastly, I did get one longish (500 yards) swim in on Thursday, and that goal (1,000 yards without stopping by 3/31) looks hard.

Plan

This week is a 40% of max lifting week, so I plan to concentrate much more on the cardio and swimming. I’m going to try doing a short swim on lifting days to increase my comfort in the water. Other than that, I’m going to keep with the heavy diet (so I’ll go even more out of target weight range) for a few more weeks and will try to be “all in the gray” next week..

Reminders

I’m still undecided between running a marathon in New York (November 2) or in Dublin Ireland (October 27). If you’re interested in running either with me, let me know. I’m not going to decide until around April. Also, if anyone is interested in doing the Philly Triathlon (June 21) with me, you’re welcome to join the team!

Presentation Notes

These notes are always presented in SOAP Note format. Click here for all the Nude Numbers posts.

Thanks for reading.

- Art

Nude Numbers are my weekly progress reports on my fitness goals. See About Running Naked for the philosophies involved.

Summary

Week 8 of the winter plan. Given some knee pain, and a general feeling of aches all over my body, I decided to take a week off working out. Read on for why.

Subjective Data

By last Sunday evening, my normal rest day, the pain in my knee was still there, and I felt aches all over. I was also feeling rather cranky and having some trouble sleeping for the days before then. Based on that, I made the call to take a week off training, since they’re all classic over-training symptoms.

My eating stayed ok for the week, but because I wasn’t working out as much (but didn’t change the amount I ate) my weight as expected crept up a little.

Objective Data

Blue lines == actuals; Gray areas == my target range for that week.

Assessment

My plan from last week had been to take it easier so really I just modified it slightly.

But I really think I made the right call to cut out a week. Did I mention I’m trying to listen to my body more? (OK, admittedly it’s a little depressing to see all my blue lines above go to zero.)

At this stage, there is no pain in my knee, and most of the aches are gone. My right adductors and glutes are still a little sore though.

Plan

Now, I’m going to ramp back up slowly this week. That means light spinning (no climbs), 45-50% of resting-max lifting, and swimming drills. Basically what I said I’d do last week before I took the week off

My swimming plan is currently: Tuesday – long swim; Thursday – swim lesson; Saturday – Kicking drills.

The eating plan will continue for at least one more weeks, and then I’ll revisit to see if I should eat more to gain faster.

Reminders

I’m still undecided between running a marathon in New York (November) or in Dublin Ireland. If you’re interested in running either with me, let me know. I’m not going to decide until around April. Also, if anyone is interested in doing the Philly Triathlon (June) with me, you’re welcome to join the team!

Presentation Notes

These notes are always presented in SOAP Note format. Click here for all the Nude Numbers posts.

Thanks for reading.

- Art

Nude Numbers are my weekly progress reports on my fitness goals. See About Running Naked for the philosophies involved.

Summary

Week 7 of the winter plan. I’m broadly on track, but nagging pains are telling me to cut back for a week or two. And so that’s the plan. Read on for more if you care.

Subjective Data

It was a heavy (85% RM) lifting week, and I’m exhausted writing this. I took an extra rest day at the start of the week (Monday) but then kept working hard through the rest of the week. On Friday, I cut out of work a little early (5:30pm) and went nuts (see the data if you’re really curious). Still, it was a fun week.

I have a weird pain in my left knee (after Yoga yesterday) which hopefully will go away soon, and a tightness/soreness in my right hamstring/adductor area that is annoying me a little (nothing too serious though). My one run this week was in Central Park (the weather in New York was unseasonably pleasant) and I was reminded that hard-street running is harder on my foot than the thread-mill.

My swimming kick isn’t as strong as I thought it was, and my long-swim on Tuesday really exhausted my upper body (which is pulling most of the weight). So Saturday I restricted my swim to just the kickboard, and I’ll keep trying that for a few more Saturdays to get the feel.

My eating stayed good all week – that eating 6-times-a-day thing is really working for me right now.

Objective Data

Blue lines == actuals; Gray areas == my target range for that week.

Assessment

The appearance of some pain is not very surprising (I’m not that young anymore), and does mean I should cut back a little. On the bright side, the plan calls for that anyway, so it’s good timing. I have to be careful to not let good weather make me run outside for now, so shame on me for doing that this week.

Eating is going well, and the data is starting to show that. I need to make sure I don’t lose weight – just stabilize.

But all in, I’m actually quite happy with progress. Swimming is slowly getting better, and I am gaining more muscle than fat.

Plan

I’m going to adjust the plan to be lighter on my legs for the next two weeks, to see if I can get the nagging soreness to abate a little. Specifically it means reduced weights for glutes, hamstrings and adductors, and holding back on climbs in spinning classes. I’ll do no more than 45-50% max-RM during my lifting. I’m going to keep spinning though as it’s the only real cardio work I’ve got going at the moment.

My swimming plan is currently: Tuesday – long swim; Thursday – swim lesson; Saturday – Kicking drills.

The eating plan will continue for at least two more weeks, and then I’ll revisit to see if I should eat more to gain faster.

Reminders

I’m still undecided between running a marathon in New York (November) or in Dublin Ireland. If you’re interested in running either with me, let me know. I’m not going to decide until around April. Also, if anyone is interested in doing the Philly Triathlon (June) with me, you’re welcome to join the team!

Presentation Notes

These notes are always presented in SOAP Note format. Click here for all the Nude Numbers posts.

Thanks for reading.

- Art

Summary

Week 6 of the winter plan. In this update I return to the gym, go back on a controlled-diet, change my running plan because I’m worried my old injury is resurfacing, and see my numbers reflect the fact that I ate like a pig over the holidays. But despite all that, I think I’m still mostly on-track for the winter goals. Fun fun… read on for more.

I’ve also changed my blog to make it easy to see all Nude Numbers updates in one page. Click here to see all 28 updates so far.

Subjective Data

I definitely feel the return of the problem in my foot; not pain yet but the beginning of irritation. Also I’m finishing each week more tired than the week before – even with a rest week.

I missed my spinning and swimming goals this week because my pool was closed on New Year’s Day, and on Saturday my back, shoulders and glutes were still sore so I skipped my morning workout.

This was also my first week back on a calorie-controlled (maintenance) diet plan, which was easier than I expected.

Objective Data

Blue lines == actuals; Gray areas == my target range for that week.

Assessment

The pain in my foot is a little concerning, but thankfully I don’t have to be running a lot right now to meet my later goals in the year. I’m going to adjust my running plan to back off for now, and do more stretching to try to get flexibility in my ankle (which my physical therapist thinks is the root cause of the issue).

I was extremely tired come Saturday this week, even with a rest week. It could also be because this was a high-rep (12) with a highish-weight week (65% of 1-rep-max), so my lifting was really exhausting. Since I need to gain weight, I’m going to keep with the plan for now though.

I’m not worried about the blip in swimming numbers this week – it really was schedule related as my long swim day tends to be on Tuesday and I missed it this week.

You can definitely see the results of the 4-week holiday eating binge in my data (and the mirror). Take a look at the Abdomen measurements to see the jump. Starting New Year’s Day I went back on a calorie-controlled diet, and the weight results reflect that. The first week of a diet switch always brings a big change in scale numbers because of the water loss, so I know I need to keep this up for 3-4 weeks to eliminate real fat and get back in range. Hopefully I’ll start to see my abdomen shrink a little between now and February, but this week was a good start as weight gain leveled off.

Plan

I made a major change to plan this week – my running plans has been pushed back at least 4 weeks (here’s the old version if you care), and I’m going to stick to 1-3 miles a week between now and then, treadmill only, with lots of ankle-stretches. I’m also going to change from 3-sport-brick workouts (swim-spin-run) to 3-day alternating 2-sport workouts (swim-spin, run-swim, spin-run) on the advice of my coach.

My lifting plan for next week is 85% of 1-rep-max, 4-rep, 4-set, 60 second rest, which is harder than it sounds

And I’m continuing on my measured calorie plan: 2,250 to 2,750 calories a week.

Reminders

My aunt will not be able to run the Dublin marathon in October, so I’m still undecided between New York (November) and Dublin Ireland. If you’re interested in running either with me, let me know. I’m not going to decide until around April. Also, if anyone is interested in doing the Philly Triathlon (June) with me, you’re welcome to join the team!

Presentation Notes

These notes are always presented in SOAP Note format. Click here for all the Nude Numbers posts.

Thanks for reading.

- Art