Back on the Push Ups

Just a quick post so that I can continue to keep track of my continued efforts towards achieving 100 consecutive push ups. I have lost quite a bit of strength over the Holidays, partly due to the stomach virus and partly due to the copious amounts of food, junk or otherwise, that I've been ingesting.

I started back on the plan a couple of days ago, though I felt really uninspired and couldn't even be bothered to turn on the computer and verify what the Week 5 Day 1 workout was supposed to be. I did 35-45-40-30 for a total of 150 and couldn't even attempt a max out set.

Tonight I did the Week 5 Day 2 workout and managed 19-19-22-22-18-18-22 and then maxed out at 62 for a total of 202 push ups. It was really tough, and I think going back to Week 5 of the plan is the right move. Better late than never, right?

Also, yesterday we spent the entire day cross country skiing with the boys and then did awesome! We were planning on a short introduction, maybe an hour or two, just to ease them into it prior to their lessons starting this Saturday. They both loved it so much that we ended spending 6 hours on the trails! I will bring my Garmin next time and hopefully get to go out on my own once to get a real workout in. The foot still aches; what else is new...

A Quick Update

It's been a great Christmas in our house and everyone had a great time, especially the kids. They were, once again, spoiled beyond all sense and reason, but given that we and their extended family love them so much it is no longer a surprise. Things are going fairly well for us right now and we can afford to let them have a few things that maybe we won't be able to afford in more lean years.

I haven't done any push ups or chin ups this week and have written off the attempt at the century for the moment. Next week I will redo Week 6 again and then (hopefully) be ready to get 100 in a row the following week. The foot is still hurting a little, but I know that if I stay off of it for a while longer it will completely heal. It certainly isn't as bad as it was before, and I continue to wait for that elusive pain-free state before contemplating running again. Starting in January we'll be cross-country skiing every Saturday, with the boys taking lessons and us off on some much needed cross training. It should be a blast, and with it being low or no impact, the workout will pay off in the long run cardio wise.

Not sure when I'll get back on the computer (and the only reason I have it on right now is because I had to call the hot water tank people to get a new rental unit installed since the one we own is starting to leak), but I wish everyone a safe and happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

All the best to all who celebrate the Holidays this evening (us Europeans I suspect) and/or tomorrow! Also, same wishes to everyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas specifically, but enjoys the Holidays based on their own traditions and beliefs.

I considered attempting the 100 push ups last night, but was feeling too weak and tired to do so. I cranked out one set of 50 just as a test, but it wasn't all that easy. I think I will do some more sets over the next week and get back in shape and then attempt the century. The chin ups have fallen off as well on account of the stomach virus, but I'll have to get back into that as well.

I keep seeing people running through the snow and am appropriately jealous, but the foot is not yet 100%. It has been feeling better, but with all the walking I've been doing (shopping and all) and then the three snowstorms we've had to shovel the foot has flared up again. This morning I spent an hour shoveling super heavy snow, which fell over night and then turned to rain making for great snowballs, but crap crap crap for lifting and throwing. I guess that's cross training or something...

What a scattered post! The New Year should get this whole running and blogging endeavor back on track, but for now it's time to celebrate the Holidays with the family and reflect on a great 2008. All the best everyone!

The Lost Weekend

Man, it's been a hell of a last few days... After a Saturday spent shopping, putting up the Christmas tree, then more shopping I began to feel sick. Yup, the stomach virus was not going to pass me by and I felt more and more nauseous as the night progressed. By 1:30am I was praying for the inevitable resolution, but my stomach would not oblige. It wasn't until 5:30am Sunday, and after I had completely drained the hot water tank of it's contents while sitting in the shower, did my body cry "Uncle!" and let me puke my guts out.

Suffice it to say I've been less than active over the last couple of days, but am well enough today to get to work and (hopefully) get some last minute Christmas stuff done. My 100 push up attempt may go tonight, but I feel pretty weak and have lost about 7lbs as a result of not being able to eat much of anything for a while. We'll see what happens...

Getting Close to the Century

Toronto got hit with a lot of snow, and the place is absolutely covered! I love it. We'll be shovelling tomorrow morning for a while, but we'll definitely have a nice White Christmas. Last year we also had a snow storm a week or two before Christmas, but it all melted away by the 25th. I don't see the same thing happening this year since there is more snow in the forecast on Sunday and again on Tuesday.

Tonight was a bit surprising as far as the push ups were concerned. I did the Week 6 Day 3 routine, 26-26-33-33-26-26-22-22 and then maxed out at the surprising part: 95! The total added up to over 300 push ups (309) and becomes a new standard for me. It's amazing: the total for my first day of the challenge was 95, and now I can do THAT in a row! Perhaps the challenge should be to do 100 after doing a bunch of sets...

Still, I'd rather be running.

Status Quo - All Quiet Except the Weather Forecast

Not much going on, and I really should get cracking on Christmas preparations since we're hosting this year. Malcolm's daycare had their Christmas concert this evening and the kids did an amazing job and had a great time. Three of the older kids performed a great version of the song "The Polar Express" with what I can only assume were completely unintentional harmonies, but it worked so well!

Tomorrow will be a snowy snowy day in the T-Dot, and I will not be biking to work. This means that I will not be swimming, and I missed my lunchtime swim today because my manager took us all out for lunch, and that was awesome.

Tonight I did some more chin ups, this time doing 10-10-10 pull ups and 10-10-10 chin ups for a total of 60. I think I have to start getting past that 10 barrier if I am ever going to get to 20...

Aftershock

The stomach flu, it seems, has not finished running it's course. Malcolm was sick in the middle of the night and I spent the day with the poor little guy at home. On top of all that his cheek started to get really red and inflamed, hot to the touch, which meant only one thing to us: infection. Off we went to the doctor and sure enough that's what it was. Now he is on antibiotics for the first time in his life and I hope he doesn't have any adverse reaction to the medication. A long time ago when Owen was on antibiotics for an ear infection his whole personality changed while taking the drugs, and that was a bit weird to witness for us first time (at that time) parents.

Anyway, Malcolm seems to have rebounded quickly and he was good enough to go to his Junior Kindergarten Christmas concert. It was so cute, and I managed to take some video clips which I will post here at some point.

Before going to the concert I managed another Week 6 Day 2 routine of the hundred push ups challenge. I did 22-22-30-30-24-24-18-18 and then maxed out at 70 for a total of 258. The max set included Malcolm climbing onto my back at the 40 push up mark, which forced me to put my knee down and get him off, so 70 was a good surprise given all that.

Foot still hurts, and I think this tendinitis, plantar fasciitis thing is just going to take a while to heal. Damn!

Swimming, Potluck, and Chinups

Last night I changed the back wheel on my bike and now I feel a bit safer. The other wheel was pretty old and saw me through my bike courier days and beyond, almost a decade! The new wheel works great and I am back in business for the rest of the winter, but am seriously considering going to a fixed gear track bike in the Spring for simplicity's sake.

I did get to the pool at lunch today and managed 2000m non-stop, though at about the 400m mark I was having real doubts that I would manage to finish. My shoulders were aching like crazy, most likely from all the push ups I've been doing.

Tonight saw us at Owen's Beaver Potluck Christmas Dinner, which is a mouthful to say and to eat. It was fun, the kids ate lots and behaved well. What more can a parent ask?

We got them home and in bed a little late, and then I did some more chin ups. I managed 8-8-7-6-6 pull ups and 8-8-7-6-6 chin ups for a total of 70. That's the most I've managed in one round since I started, but I am still having real trouble believing that I'll be able to do 20 in a row anytime soon.

The Battle Continues

Well, my little family continues to battle the flu as now my wife has come down hard with the illness. At least the boys, on better the other yet to get hit (and hopefully not at all), were able to go to school today.

The other battle is the one concerned with keeping this blog going while waiting to run. Last week it seemed like the foot had taken a turn for the better, but after the weekend of walking, skating, shopping, and other activities involving moving boxes of books up and down stairs it seems to still be hanging around like an unwelcome foul odor. Three weeks and counting...

That is pretty much why I've taken to push ups and chin ups - my physiological and psychological sanity. I am redoing the same sets as last week once more and tonight I went through the Week 6 Day 1 routine (45-55-35-30) and then maxed out at 60 for a total of 225. Tonight was tough going, managing only 60 and all, but I still think the 100 is well in sight. (I think the flu going through the house has something to do with it...) The bigger challenge will be to keep up with the push ups afterwards, and perhaps that is the real reason why I am putting off the attempt at 100 in a row until next week. Anybody out there who completed the challenge find it easy or hard to continue doing push ups? Or did you just stop cold turkey?

A Good Weekend

The weekend, all told, was pretty good for us. Owen recovered well enough to go skating with me yesterday afternoon. We were out at the local outdoor rink for an hour and a half at least, so I guess we're both OK! Decent leg workout too, if not too much of a cardio one.

I also did some more chinups. 7-7-6-6-5 pull ups and 7-7-6-6-5 chin ups for a total of 62. I am not going to the max in any of these, but will start incorporating max sets this week if all goes well.

Other than that, we spent Sunday shopping for Christmas stuff, and I am beat. Hope everyone had a great weekend too!

Going through the house...

Yes, the flu seems to be taking a turn at our place this week. Over the last few days I've been feeling a bit under the weather. Not totally sick, but on the cusp so to speak. Perhaps the flu shot I got in November is helping to minimize the symptoms, but Owen was not so lucky. At about 3am he started vomiting.

Lovely, I know. Short story: I stayed home with him today and we had a great time together, as much as we could. One highlight was a rare afternoon nap for me!

I still decided that doing Week 6 Day 3 of the hundred push ups plan was a good idea, and so I did. 26-26-33-33-26-26-22-22 went the preliminaries, and then I maxed out at a surprising 75 for a total of 289. I think I will redo Week 6 again before attempting the 100.

And now, for sleep.

Swimming and Dripping

Yes, I've managed to catch another cold (that's the dripping part, BTW). Bummer, but I suppose things could be worse.

That didn't stop me from going swimming at lunch, though I was pretty tired and weak and had difficulty staying motivated to swim the entire planned 2000m. I managed in the end, but had to break up the second 1000m after completing the first 1K straight. I did some "easy on the brain" descending sets with about 20sec rest in between - 400m-300m-200m-100m - and then got out of there...

Tonight I still did some chin ups, once more keeping the exhaustion sets out of the equation since I am feeling run down and weak. The sets went 6-6-5-5-5 pull ups, and then 6-6-5-5-5 chin ups for a total of 54 "ups".

Doing pretty much nothing but push ups, chin ups, and swimming is great and all, but I really can't wait to get back into running, you know!!! All the great race reports I've been reading from the running bloggers have got me really itching to get back out there, but alas I am weak below the ass... The foot better start behaving and get better, though I do think that in the last two days it's been getting slightly, just slightly, almost imperceptibly, agonizingly, annoyingly, infuriatingly, confoundedubadebadibidily better...

Not Much... Other than more push ups

Nothing much going on here in my little world. The foot is still footy, though I am cautiously optimistic that in the last day or so it has taken a turn for the better. Stay tuned.

The car mods continue: tonight I wired up a secondary power socket in behind the dash only to find (afterwards) that the fuse was blown. I have no idea when that might have happened, and it could have been something that occurred a long time ago since I've never tested the socket before and wasn't smart enough to test it before I started wiring. Anyway, I have to go pick up a replacement fuse and see what happens. I really hope that there isn't a short somewhere, and I'm pretty certain I didn't introduce a short with my mod.

I am definitely sick now, though I think the worst is yet to come. I still did Week 6 Day 2 of the hundred push ups challenge thingy, though I felt pretty weak. The sets went 22-22-30-30-24-24-18-18 and then I maxed out at 60 for a total of 248 push ups.

Tomorrow I hope to get to the pool for a swim, if I make it to work that is...

Back at the Chinups, and Car Mods

I got back on the chin up plan today, though I decided to change things up a little and not go to exhaustion with every set. Also, I feel like I am coming down with something and feel a little weak as a result. It's funny how your body holds off on getting sick until after something important that you've been working on, and stressing over, has come and gone. Case in point, I handed in my final paper on Monday, and today I am feeling ill!

I did 5 sets of 5 pull ups and then 5 sets of 5 chin ups for a total of 50 "ups". They were pretty easy to do this way. I think that when I feel a bit better I might try something similar to the push up program and do a set to exhaustion at the end of a bunch of shorter and easier sets.

Also tonight I couldn't help myself and just had to go tear apart the inside of my car to install that auxiliary input for my IPod & Satellite Radio. I had all the bits and it had to happen. The install was not super easy, but it wasn't difficult either. I had to take off a panel down low in front of the gear shifter, unscrew a couple of bolts that held the climate control and radio unit, and then pull that thing out. That's the part that was hard, and even though I didn't need any tools to pry it out my fingers were in pain and little bloody at the end. Once everything was out I plugged the aux unit into the CD Changer port at the back of the radio, attached the grounding wire to a metal screw on a piece of metal chassis, and then used ties to hold it all in place and keep it from moving around. I also had to take out the little cover that sits in the hole where the fog light on/off switch would normally be if the car had any fog lights, and then drill a hole in that thing so I could fit the aux input through. This is all that is visible in the car and it's right beside the 12-volt power socket, nice and convenient. I then put it all back together, reattached the battery (I took off the negative lead on the battery to avoid a nasty shock), typed in the anti-theft radio code, and WOOT WOOT! The thing works like a charm!

Here's a picture of the way it looks that I found on the Internet - though it is not my car it looks exactly the same as mine. It's also where I got the idea for installing it like this. I added the arrow and words just so we're all clear on what the heck I'm talking about:


The next step is to install the Satellite Radio cradle somewhere convenient and run the wires for the power supply and antenna so that they are not visible and hanging all over the place. I also want to split the 12-volt socket in behind the dash so that I can plug the power adapter for the radio out of sight and still have the power socket on the dashboard for other things.

Sorry, I didn't take any pictures. I find that when I get going on these projects I just focus and doing anything but the task at hand seems like a waste of time. I didn't even realize that I didn't take any pictures until after it was all done!

Oh yeah, no lunch time swim today. The weather was nasty in the morning so I didn't bike to work and, therefore, had no reasonable way to get to the pool on time.

Just Git'R Done!

The paper, though technically due tomorrow, has been submitted! I am not very happy with the actual paper, but very pleased to have the bloody thing finished. I decided to submit it a day early because I knew I'd have no interest in working on it tonight. Why? Because I had some soldering to do!

Yes, the car needs an auxiliary input, and I will oblige. So, I purchased a special kit from this place on the interweb to convert the CD Changer input on the back of the stock radio to an auxiliary input (so that I can plug in my IPod or satellite radio and not have to replace the entire radio). Anyway, I bought a panel-mount 3.5mm input at the local surplus store for a buck, cut one of the many RCA cables I've managed to collect over the years, and soldered the two together with much success. This thing I ordered to plug the RCA ends of this contraption into arrived same day as shipped (amazingly!) and now I have all the pieces I need to start dismantling the dash and installing this. I didn't take pictures of the soldering process, for fear of burns as a result of distraction (ie. laziness), but might document the whole dismantling process. I'll do so not just to share with all the Honda owners out there who are pining for an aux input, but also so that I can have some evidence of how the dash was taken apart in case I have trouble putting it back together.

On the exercise and injury front, the push ups were hard and the foot still continues to hurt. It has been more than two weeks and still I am not pain free. I am getting worried that this may be a much longer layoff than anticipated.

The push ups were difficult partly because of the number and partly because I didn't get to them until after 10pm (and after eating a pretty hefty steak for dinner). As per the hundred push ups challenge program for Week 6 Day 1 I did 45-55-35-30 and then maxed out at 65 for a total of 230.

Good Ole Rabbit Ears!

I have nothing to report, given that I spent the entire day yesterday at the library working on my paper, and am continuing to work on it today. I did manage to finish a first draft, which was the goal, and I took the day off as far as chin ups go.

However, this is what I found to greet me when I came downstairs this morning: a Bunny playing on the computer!



That's one pace bunny I can still keep up with (for now)!

Morning Plunge

I took off early enough this morning to make it to the pool for another swim, my third of the week! Mon was kind enough to cope with getting the kids to school on her own to allow me to do this, and that is no small task as you can imagine. Anyway, I felt weak and tired this morning, most likely from the chin ups that I did last night. I think a break this weekend will be in order, especially since I have that final paper hanging over my head and due on Tuesday. I am so close to the end of my grad studies, and yet so far given that my paper is NOWHERE near completion, and the insubordinate bastard won't just up and write itself!

The swim was pretty lax and I only managed 1500m, but was happy with that. The lane was pretty crowded, with a few wide-stroking "swimmers", one of which hit me a couple of times as I passed by. Thanks for nothin', stone arms! I swam 300-200-100-200-300-200-100 and then 100 backstroke to finish off the 1500, taking 20-30 second breaks in between.

Tonight was Week 5 Day 3 of the hundred push ups challenge, and it was not easy. The sets went 20-20-24-24-20-20-22 and then the max, where I pushed out a surprising 70! I had to start taking short breathing breaks after about 35, where I "rest" while maintaining the plank position. A few times I had to readjust this a bit by bending up at the waist and moving my hands a little, partly because my shoulders were screaming for relief and partly because my hands started slipping from getting too sweaty on the hardwood floor. Either way, I take it as a good sign that I can make it to 70 any way I can. The total number of push ups was 220! In the span of a little under three weeks I doubled my max from 35 to 70, and my total more than doubled, going from 95 to 220. Now if only this foot would heal so that I could start making strides in my running.

Tomorrow I think I will head off to the library to get this damned paper done. Well, at least the first draft. That way I can take a couple of days to polish it up before submitting it on Tuesday, bringing to an end my academic career.

Bustin' a Flat

This morning was hurried and crazy, but it seems every morning is like that for our family and we still somehow get the kids to their schools on time. I know I'll look back upon these days years from now and wonder how in the world we did it? I'm also certain that all parents of little kids face the same morning challenges, with the possible exception of those in warmer climes who have no idea what it's like to have to deal with snowsuits, boots, hats, scarves, mittens, mufflers, long underwear, t-shirts, long sleeved t-shirts, turtle necks, sweaters, vests, lip balm, balaclavas, blah blah blahvas...

Anyway, as I was saying, this morning was hurried as usual. Mon got the older loin-fruit to the bus, and I managed to get the younger one to school on time. All was going according to plan until I was about half-way to work and BAM!, my back tire blew out. I pumped it up with my hand pump hoping it was a slow leak and could still get me to work where I could deal with it at lunch or something, but no - I made it about another 100 metres (11o yards for the American readers) before the thing was flat as a Chinese diver's chest. (Nothing against flat chests, mind you. It's just what came to mind...)

I stood there for a minute wondering whether to walk to work or head home. For some reason I didn't have a patch kit in my backpack! I decided to walk home, which took me a half-hour, and fixed my flat there. Naturally, I was pretty late for work, but at least now I have a spare inner tube and some patches in my backpack for the next time. It seems like there is more glass on the roads this year than ever before. I used to go for months at a time when I was a courier, biking 8 or 9 hours per day, and not get any flats. Now it seems to happen more frequently, and I only commute!

Anyway, I still managed a lunchtime swim, though I was really tired. my shoulders are so tired! I did 1000m straight, then 5X200m with 20 seconds rest for a total of 2000m in about 32 minutes.

Tonight I also managed some more chin ups. I think I have to back off a bit on these as I am feeling weaker and weaker, which is not a good thing. I managed 10-8-6-8 wide grip overhand, and only 8-8-8 narrow grip underhand, for a total of 56. I guess going to exhaustion with every set is not going to cut it and I have to do some shorter sets with maybe an exhaustion set at the end, or something...

Gross Shower Guy, and More Pushups

A couple of (potentially) sick people have requested further details on the gross shower guy that so rudely invaded my fortress of solitude while I was cleansing the chlorine off of myself after my Tuesday afternoon swim, so I feel compelled to give a few details against my better judgement. Since I am still shivering at the thought of what transpired I'll give as much as I can, but will not go into specifics since I averted my eyes as much as I could during the entire ordeal, but obviously without total success. Although the term "shock and awe" would have sufficed for me, here is what I can offer to you (apologizing in advance for those who do not wish to sleep tonight with this imagery carved into their brains):

• 6 (at least) bottles of lotions/soaps/gels/goopy crap only found in girly stores
• shaved area that (in my humble opinion) should not be in contact with any sharp object, EVER!
• loud grunting, moaning, breathing so as to draw attention to him(it)self
• much naked squatting (Seinfeld was right - there IS "good" naked and "bad" naked and this display was firmly and exclusively a sick, twisted example of the latter)
• much naked lathering (any other context, this might qualify as "good" naked, but I suppose anything can be sullied beyond redemption)
• much naked smiling (ditto)
• much swim suited vomiting (by yours truly, if I had had anything in my stomach that is)

Tonight I did some more push ups. I am now on Week 5 Day 2 of the hundred push ups challenge, and I am still making progress. Tonight I had to take a few breaks (holding the plank, but resting for a few breaths is what I mean) on my max set, but not because of the pecs giving out. Instead if was my shoulders and whatever muscle it is that lifts your leg up on the front of my left leg. I initially felt a twinge there when I sneezed rather mightily a few weeks back while sick in bed, and the pain has been up and down since then, but has never gone away entirely. Getting old sucks ass!

Oh yeah, the sets: 19-19-22-22-18-18-22 then the max was 60 for a total of 200 push ups. The double century!

Another Regular Day

Yup. Nothing much to report other than another regular lunchtime swim and a set of chin ups.

The swim was status quo: 2000m in 30 minutes. My left hand totally cramped up at the end, which was a bit weird. Why not the right? Gross guy in the showers also put me off a bit, and that's where I'll leave that little story, in your collective imaginations...

The chin ups were done while my wife (whose taste in most things I respect, but in this I simply cannot!) was watching The Biggest Loser. Guess how I felt given that I'll never have that time back? The chin up sets: 10-10-10 wide grip overhand, 10-9-8-8 narrow grip underhand, for a total of 65. I go to failure with each set, and it seems odd that I can go to pretty much the same failure point each time. Perhaps I need to rethink this and do it more like the push up challenge with some sets that are shorter and easier and then the last one to failure. I am making strides, though, so maybe I shouldn't mess with it at all. Mentally it would be easier to not have to go to failure with every set.

Foot still hurts, but the pain doesn't really set in until late in the day so I guess that's a good sign. Before it just hurt all day long. I guess I'd better go stretch and ice a bit now...

Car Stuff and More Pushups

I had the car rust-proofed over the weekend, which was a good idea since they use the nastiest salt on the roads here and it rots cars from the inside out it seems. Anyway, I don't know if that procedure had anything to do with it or anything, but the next day the "SRS" light came on on the dashboard (d'ya like that? the "do do" in a row, and I wasn't even talking about my 4 year-old!) and it was not going off. Naturally, what with this car being new to us, I started to wonder what the heck was going on. Turns out the SRS system has a multitude of sensors all over the place, like in the airbags, the seat belt buckles, under the front seats, and in the tensioners on the seat belts. These sensors are particularly sensitive to voltage fluctuations, and I wondered if the rust-proofing that was sprayed all over the engine affected the alternator or something.

Anyway (and I'm sorry for this boring recount, but if you own a Honda you may actually find this interesting) we talked to our mechanic this morning and he recommended I disconnect the battery for a few minutes, and if the SRS light stayed on afterwards to bring the car to him or get on the horn with the dealer who sold the car to us. He even said he'd talk to the dealer on our behalf! What a great guy.

However, disconnecting the battery would also make our radio inoperative since it's one of those "anti theft" kinds and the code that unlocks it was nowhere to be found. Therefore I went to plan B: erasing the memory of the computer that stores the SRS data. If we managed to do that and the light still came on I knew the problem was serious enough to involve a professional. If it stayed off, we'd be OK, at least for the time being. I should also mention that this is a problem that is common to all Hondas, and I was assured that the danger of the airbags deploying without warning was non-existent.

So, tonight we managed to reset the computer using a pair of tweezers from a Swiss Army knife. It involved turning the key to the "on" position, and then going through a series of steps where the tweezers were used to complete a circuit in this wire doohickey located in the fuse box. The instructions I found on the Internet said it's likely this would take more than one attempt since the sequence had to be followed precisely with proper timing, etc. We got it on the first pass and the SRS light is off! We'll monitor the situation and hope that this solves the problem.

Also of note, on my bike while heading home I noticed not one, but two Honda Civics of the same vintage pass me with their SRS lights clearly visible on the dashboards! You'd think Honda would deal with this somehow since it seems to be a prevalent issue.

Oh yeah, this isn't a car blog, and I am not a car guy... But hey, I can't run so I might as well write about what I'm up to, right?

Tonight I did do some more push ups. The sets for Week 5 Day 1 went 36-40-30-24 and then I maxed out at 58 for a total of 188. It was not easy.