Take It To The Limit

At the behest and urging of some friends, I finally downloaded the MyFitnessPal and Runtastic apps on my iPhone.  The idea being that both apps would make me much more accountable when it came to diet and exercise.  Well, those friends were certainly correct as both apps have made me think much more about what I eat and how hard I work out.  Unfortunately, I'm now starting to get so much up in my own head about calories burned and ingested that all I want to do is work out.  Accountability is great unless you are a borderline obsessive that just happens to be seasoned with a dash of self-loathing and a pinch of competitiveness....

My issues with working out and running are well documented on this blog and my Facebook page.  I run for a while, push myself too hard, and the next thing you know my knees are more swollen than the feds balance sheet.  Then I have to stop running so my creaky knees recover.  This time has been different for me though.  At 43 I think I've finally learned to listen to what my body is trying to tell me when it signals to me in short burst of blinding pain and overwhelming discomfort.  Just last year I would have tried to push through some of the aches and pains after workouts, but lately I've been doing more stretching, applying ice, and even resting.

The resting bit is a difficult one for me as I want to drop weight and increase endurance in the shortest amount of time possible.  This, of course, leads to not only injury, but emotional breakdowns when I discover I didn't lose 15lbs overnight.  That crushing disappoint sends me into a tailspin that I eventually take out on a blueberry scone or a manhole cover sized plate of phad thai at Tropics.  Not good.  Now that I am monitoring my caloric intake I don't have to go on hardcore no carb diets and what have you.  Which is good. MyFitnessPal sets a calorie ceiling for the day, I stay below it.  Easy peasy!  

Resting also plays against my desire to hit a new goal immediately after achieving a goal I had set previously.  At the beginning of May I set a goal to run a treadmill 5k in under 30 minutes.  I met that goal today, running 3.1 miles in just over 29 1/2 minutes.  Not too shabby for an old man with bad knees!  Whatever sense of accomplishment I felt dissipated in a hurry as I wanted to set and start working towards my next goal - 3 miles in 27 minutes, but outdoors...not on a treadmill.

I think if I don't over do it and continue stretching, eating better, and getting proper rest (ice water baths after a hard run has helped recovery a lot!), I can avoid injury and will hit my goal by mid-June.  As far as weight goes, I have a number in mind for the end of June that I'm currently ahead of.  I have to lay off the lifting though, which is also tough for me to do...but it is necessary if I want to continue losing mass.

With MyFitnessPal to keep me calorie honest and that limey B*TCH in my ear 'motivating' me via Runtastic, I should be able to hit my June goals...