No resolutions – just solid plans

It’s these days at the end of the year where most of the people come up with a resume of the current, fading year and a lot of them come up with new year’s resolutions. I’m not a big fan of the new year’s resolutions because most of them get abandoned on the January 1st.

To make a long story short, in 2013 I switched companies and I was able to work in my hometown again. The commuting was a thing of the past and I once again had the time to focus back on sports, because I was a fat whale and wanted to get back into shape. Well, to be honest, I never was in a fit shape, but this should change during the next couple of month.

I started to go back to the gym again and once per week I had a swimming session. Gym was kind of hard during the first weeks, because the massive overweight was something that did not make things a lot easier. I made one mistake, that I returned to the treadmill too quick and I suffered multiple minor injuries and experienced a lot of pain in my knees and hips. But with a few kilograms less, these issues slowly disappeared.

One of the main things I tried to focus on, was to do sports because I wanted to not to simply lose weight. I wanted a large variety to chose from, for instance cycling, swimming, running, strength training and so on.

Running was on of these disciplines where two of my co-workers had a great influence on me. I agreed to join the company relay run in my hometown and took part in the running sessions my co-workers were offering. I have to add, that I never really ran in an outside environment, except a couple of runs during a vacation the year before, and that this was a totally new experience.

It started with a pretty basic distance of 2,5 km and then switched to longer runs. After two or three sessions a 8K was set on schedule and I was very nervous about it. For my co-workers it was some sort of a regenerative run, for me it was like going for marathon. In the week after we did a 10K. I was able to run both of these distances with minor walking interruptions.

I continued my sports programs over the next following weeks and I slowly started to improve myself. I rode my bike faster. I could run longer distances. I could swim much faster. And I finally got stronger and muscles started to grow again.

The summer this year was devastating. The heat was murderous but this is no excuse for anything. I pushed through my training plan and gained some decent results. By the end of August I ran the 7 km distance and an additional 5 km with faster pace three times per week and the issues with my feet and knees started to disappear, because I finally reached a weight that wasn’t that much of an issue.

Mid September was the time of the relay run and I made it to starting positions. I have to mention, that, in the beginning,I was only a runner in case a substitution is needed. I started in the mixed team, got the slowest time but I’ve finished my first public run. I was so excited about it, that I instantly registered for the 13K run at the next marathon event in my hometown.

In the meantime I’ve found a buddy to join me and a friend of mine for swimming. Our plan was and still is to teach ourselves crawling. Till this very day we were only swimming breast stroke and thought it was time for something different. I’m now able to swim crawling but it still consumes a lot of energy and my technique is far from optimal, but I’m still learning and improving.

For the 13K a friend of mine joined me, but she decided to go for half marathon distance. Until this time I usually ran around 10 to 12 km average per running session and I thought 21 km would be too much. The event was yet another very exciting one. It was very impressive to start in a crowd of 4,000 runners. I finished in an acceptable time and was looking for new challenges.

Half marathon and full marathon distance came up on the plan.

During the next weeks a increased the distance per week up to an average of 45 km. And I also started running half marathon distance. The first two runs were very hard and I had to do some walking breaks during the runs, but I finished my first 21Ks.

I did another public run by the beginning of December. I’ve decided to go for the 20K and on the morning were everyone was registering for the, I wondered why no one else, or only a handful of runners, took this distance. Well, I should know very soon. The run was more a cross run than a usual run on roads and gravel paths. Anyhow, I’ve managed to finish this run as well and it was the first 20K where no walking breaks were taken. I was so proud.

So, what’s up next? Well, five running events are already on my schedule. Three half marathons – one in Berlin, another one in the beautiful city of Prague and one in my hometown. But most importantly, I want to conquer the 42.195 kilometers, so I registered myself for the Berlin Marathon. This and the half marathon in Prague are the two events I’m the most excited about. Prague, because I simply want to run through this beautiful (I love Prague) and Berlin, because it’s one of the biggest Marathon events in the world and I want to be part of it.

As you can see, no giant new year’s resolutions, just plans for 2014. I think, the marathon training will be very intense – but the final experience will be worth all the effort and pain I’ll go through. I’m certain about it.

Can you hear me?

The last week was a little counter productive and I was forced to stop with sports, especially with swimming. The reason was an inflammation of the middle ear – and this on both sides. The right side was the painful one with almost no ability to hear anything and the left side just slightly def and felt a little thick. There were almost three days where I had to turn my TV set to volume setting “Screaming out loud like bloody hell” to hear at least the important parts of the dialogues spoken.

My doctor was off for vacation so I had to go to a doctor who did the substitution. I found it quite odd that I wasn’t given a sickness certificate – my right ear was obviously more than just shut by pus and I it was just painful – like an aching old tooth that rots in your mouth.

swimming

Right after that an odyssey began to find a doctor specialized in ENT. I visited five (!) different doctors until I finally found one who wasn’t off for vacation or was denying my visitation. I spent almost two hours with traveling around in my city just to stand in front of closed doors and almost another two hours of waiting in the waiting room to finally be able to consult the ENT doctor.

The whole consultation lasted no longer than five minutes, with the advise to get ear drops for my ear. No antibiotics were given. And I had to ask for a sickness certificate. Bloody hell – I was in sodding pain!

Anyhow and almost like I expected, the ear drops didn’t make any difference because my ear was stuffed with so much pus and grind that the drops couldn’t even reach its goal. I needed antibiotics and a shit load of painkillers because the last nights were almost without sleep. So after another day without any cure in sight I went off to the emergency house in our town and consulted another doctor and this was quite a good decision of mine.

First of all, the doctor took a look at both of my ears and found out that both of them are affected. Secondly, I finally got a prescription for antibiotics (hell yeah!). And last but not least I got my ear slightly and professionally cleaned and stuffed with a curing salve. This was all I actually needed. Within another day it felt like things were going worse but it was also this kind of pain that gets you to know, there’s something that’s going to change and things will get better.

Like I said, I wasn’t able to do any sports during these days and I honestly were not in the mood for any kind of sports. But I also found that just sitting around at home wasn’t a good choice as well, so I grabbed my new bicycle and went out for a ride. The first ride was around 29 km and the second one I made the day after was around 48 km long. There I’ve found that the bicycle training in gym was worth it. It was quite warm and hot these days and I sucked out both of my water bottles till the last drop of water, but it was fun and in the evening hours I got a few nice views on the landscape around my town.

This week I will continue with my sports schedule as usual, except swimming. I’ll pause for another week and will then continue with swimming as well. And I hope that my ears will not cause any new pain in the near future.

Sports variety

Summer boils up Europe and I long every cool down I could possibly get. The heat these days is absolutely terrible, but nonetheless the sports still continues.

I’ve reached a point where sports fits perfectly into my every day life and I do not feel too distracted or disturbed. Back in the days I found it pretty tiring when I had to get to the gym four or five times a week doing almost the same every time I’ve been there. Currently, that I’ve changed my sports schedule to multiple and different activities I find it way more exciting.

I don’t feel like I’ve to follow a specific routine and there’s enough change to stick with it for a very long time. There’s at least one time a week where I got out for a run. Another day is for swimming. Another is for a cardio program that drives me to my limits (and let’s me sweat like hell). Another day is strength training only. And so on and so forth.

There’s always something to be excited about and I still see improvements in all these different disciplines. Which is far more encouraging than just waiting for the next big bang in a progress chain that only includes one or two completely different activities. One week I gain a better technique or speed while swimming, the other week I find that running is getting a little easier.

I’m very happy with this schedule and all these different types of sports activities and I’m very sure that this could last for a long time. On the other hand, I finally started losing weight and my body no longer seems to be confused of what is happening to him and to spare and save energy for bad times. It’s a weight drop of almost 7-8 kg and tendencies is still going downwards.

Still – I’m focused on the relay run and not to just loose weight. Even after the relay run I’ll try to find milestones in different sports disciplines rather than focusing on my weight. It’s the overall body feel that counts much, much more than some stupid digits on the scale.

SE 3.0 – Interim Report – #11

Let there be sports. Or something like that. Actually, I just didn’t find a cool sentence to begin with. The project is still going on and most importantly it does not feel like a project. That’s a serious fact I have to admit. In case this project would feel like something turning into a dogma or at least something that is not fun anymore I would drop it.

I have had some minor injuries during the last couple of days but at the end of the day it wasn’t anything serious. Well, I couldn’t normally walk without having this terrible pain in my right leg but it’s almost completely cured. The reason for that was a little exaggeration on the treadmill at the gym. You know, when it starts to hurts really badly one should stop. I was unreasonable and continued and this led to my whole misery.

This swimming continues as well and it’s slightly getting better. On our very first session we (that is me and a friend of mine) swam around 1,500m in about an hour. Yesterday we made the 2,000m in about an hour. I also tried to improve my technique to simply get a away from my current casual style of swimming, which is terribly slow.

Every time we go swimming I try to convince my friend that he should also try another sport like running, cycling or even go to a gym. I personally think, it’s only a matter of time till he starts with another sport beside swimming.

Still, I’m glad that the project is still going on. The only disappointing issue is my current weight problem that has returned. After all these weeks at home with my back injury and too much sweets and little movement I gained a lot of weight back that I already lost. But I’m an optimist and everything will get much better soon. Even with Christmas in the meantime.

SE 3.0 – Interim Report – #7

Summer strikes the land. People were complaining during the last weeks that summer isn’t coming this year, but now is the time where we get all the heat. And this very heat is currently my main problem to actually continue my sports program.

It doesn’t really make sense to be on the treadmill running for like 40 minutes and sweat like halibut. I’ve got this serious heat problem when in motion. It’s also because my blood pressure is still very high and when doing cardio activities I literally start to glow. Another side effect is, that my cooling system is working very well and I do look as though I’ve been swimming fully clothed but rather running on a treadmill or the elliptical.

I guess, it’s quite obvious that I want to avoid such things as much as I can and on the other hand, and due to my high blood pressure, I don’t want to risk a breakdown.

my favourite July

But fortune smiled on me. My plan was to start swimming after a while of being in gym. It’s now almost four month of training and it’s time to reach for something new to prevent from boredom. Swimming has always been a joy for me and I wasn’t swimming since being in school. And by that do I mean a more tournament oriented kind of swimming. Just without an actual tournament.

I’ve been swimming on a lake here and then, but I feel like I should take this a little bit more seriously and go to the natatorium one or two times a week. The new cooling effect while doing sports and being in cool water is another thing that seems quite intriguing to me.

Honestly, it costs a lot of willpower these days to actually go to the gym. My sessions are at no more than three per week and mountain biking is currently cut off the schedule. The plan get below the 100 kg by the end of August draws more and more into a further distance, but it’s way more important to get through this period of heat without giving up the whole sports thing.

No pain – no gain. And it literally is a pain at the gym with 36°C and a humidity that’s almost tropical. I’ve ordered all things necessary for the natatorium and I hope they’ll be in my mailbox by the end of this week, that I can start swimming.

For the those of you who are in love with numbers, my weight is currently at 102 – 104 kg. Depending on what I ate and my whole condition. It’s fluctuating pretty much, but as long as the scale does not deflect I’m fine.