# Pylon's Journal V5 - The Race to 40



## Pylon (Aug 24, 2012)

Hey kids...

Been a while.  More than a while, I guess.  But here we are again.

Quick review:  Maxed out a few years ago at 350.  (The one pic in my gallery is from then.)

Got down to 240.

Got back up to 280 or so.  

Have been back and forth.  Slacking, yo.

I turn 40 in December, though, and I'll be damned if I'm going to limp across that line.

This place was a big help for me when I was serious.  So I'm back to pick it up.  

Nice to see you.


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## Pylon (Aug 24, 2012)

Made my return to the gym today.  Nothing too tough to get started.  Planning to go back to a HIT program with cardio.

WU - 10 min elliptical

Leg ext SS Squats

60x10 SS 45 x 10
60 x10 SS 90 x 10
90 x 10 SS 135 x 10

Calf Raises

90 x 10
90 x 10
180 x 10

Doing a two day fast to get going, planning on a paleo-like diet to follow.


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## yellowmoomba (Aug 24, 2012)

Welcome back   HIT is a great program.  Good luck.


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## Pylon (Aug 26, 2012)

I forgot how stiff I would be after lifting, especially after a long layoff.  Didn't go heavy, but still battling a little.  Think I might hit the hot tub to loosen up a bit.


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## Pylon (Aug 26, 2012)

Track work today. 20 min of intervals. 1 min run, 1.5 min walk. Not a great run, but it was after leg day, so I deserve extra points, right?


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## flynike (Aug 26, 2012)

Welcome back!


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## Pylon (Aug 26, 2012)

flynike said:


> Welcome back!



Gracias.  I missed this place!


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## Pylon (Aug 27, 2012)

Breakfast: Egg white omelet with grilled turkey, avocado and salsa.  

Legs are still stiff and sore.  Had planned on hitting the hot tub at the pool yesterday, but it was closed.  Of course.

Supposed to lift tomorrow, but have a 7:30am flight to Dallas, so I may lift today instead.  Either way, will be at the gym and WILL get in a soak!


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## ashoprep1 (Aug 27, 2012)

Welcome back and keep it coming.


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## Pylon (Aug 27, 2012)

Alinshop said:


> Welcome back and keep it coming.



Will do.


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## Pylon (Aug 27, 2012)

Lifting day..

WU - 10 min elliptical

Flat DB flyes SS Smith incline

10s x 10 SS 50 x 6
15s x 10 SS 50 x 10
20s x 10 SS 90 x 3

DB pullover SS CG pulldowns

20 x 10 SS 45 x 15
40 x 10 SS 75 x 10
50 x 8 SS 105 x 10

Deadlifts

95 x 10
115 x 10
165 x 10

Not bad for first time lifting in months. Legs are still stiff, so tried not to go too much on uppers.  Felt great.  I forgot how much I like deadlifts.


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## Pylon (Aug 27, 2012)

Good day start to finish.  Grilled up a bunch of chicken breasts last night, so lunch and dinner were both chicken with veg. I've decided I like avocado a lot, by the way.

Back on the road tomorrow, which is always a challenge.  Got my lifting in today, tho, so just cardio until I get home for Friday lifting.


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## Pylon (Aug 28, 2012)

treadmill work today. 20 min of intervals. 1 min run, 1.5 min walk.

I should probably mention the running program is stolen from one of the many couch to 5k routines.  I've got my first 5k coming up in october.  I ran one on the track a couple of months ago, so I'm confident I can make it, but hoping to earn a decent time.

Breakfast and lunch stayed clean.  Now to find dinner...


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## SVT03DAL (Aug 29, 2012)

Best of luck with your training goals!  Will be following along...


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## Pylon (Aug 30, 2012)

SVT03DAL said:


> Best of luck with your training goals!  Will be following along...



You must have a lot of time to kill.


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## Pylon (Aug 30, 2012)

A couple of days of rest while on the road.  Have done ok on diet.  Took yesterday off for rest, today just got away from me.  But it's probably for the best.  No need to overdo it the first week back, right?


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## Pylon (Aug 31, 2012)

Lifting day.  Starting to feel better about adding weight to the stack...

WU - elliptical, 10 min

Leg Ext SS Leg Press

60x10 SS 105x10
90x10 SS 150x10
120x10 SS 210x10

Calf press

210x20
240x20
300x12

Decided to get my running in as well.  Was about halfway through when the tornado sirens went off and we were moved to the basement of the gym for 15 min  Totally ruined my flow, so I'll just count it as some extra work and run in the morning.


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## Pylon (Aug 31, 2012)

Breakfast was a small chicken breast, lunch was a protein shake, dinner stir fried shrimp over veg.  Not so bad.


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## Pylon (Sep 1, 2012)

Track work today. 20 min of intervals. 1 min run, 1.5 min walk.

I like the track at my gym.  It's 10 laps to a mile instead of 9 like a lot of others.  Makes more sense, not to mention being easier to do calculations.

When I'm on the treadmill, I tend to run 5.5mph.  On the track, I was doing just over 6.  Not sure if its a track thing or if I'm just able to go a little faster because of regular running.


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## Pylon (Sep 2, 2012)

Despite a decent load on leg day, very little soreness, just a bit in my calves.  Not sure why, but i assume it's from the running after.  I'll take it either way.


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## Pylon (Sep 3, 2012)

Happy Monday, kids.

Through week one in good shape.  Settling into the Paleo food plan.  Built a dehydrator this weekend, have about 6 pounds of beef in there.  Should be done tonight.  Will be nice to have around, and is seasoned with just salt, pepper and garlic powder.  

Down about 5 pounds.  Some of that is first week drop, but feel great to be sure.  A little track work coming later today.


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## Pylon (Sep 3, 2012)

Track work today. 5 min WU, 6 intervals. 1.5 min run, 2 min walk.

Opted to run in the park instead of on the gym track.  Outside running is a whole different world.  I think I'll try to stick to that whenever possible.


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## Pylon (Sep 4, 2012)

Lifting day...

WU Elliptical, 10 min

DB lateral raises (Trying not to tax my cranky shoulder too hard with these, but not letting it off the hook completely)
10s x 10
15s x 10
20s x 10

BO DB Rows
20s x 10
25s x 10
30s x 10

Standing BB Curls
30 x 10
45 x 10
60 x 6

Triceps pushdowns SS bench dips (logging knee bend angle)
50 x 10 SS 45 deg x 3
60 x 6 SS 30 deg x 3
80 x 7 SS 0 deg x 3

Dips are a challenge with the shoulder as well,so going east to start.

Not a bad day all around.  That gets me through the HIT cycle once.  Now I can start adding weight and tracking strength progress.


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## JerseyDevil (Sep 5, 2012)

Welcome back Pylon.  You are off to a good start!


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## Pylon (Sep 5, 2012)

Track work today. 5 min WU, 6 intervals. 1.5 min run, 2 min walk.
Outside running.  Like it.


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## Pylon (Sep 6, 2012)

Off day.  Needed some rest to be sure.  Lifting tomorrow!


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## yellowmoomba (Sep 7, 2012)

It's nice weather for running........keep it up!!!


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## Pylon (Sep 7, 2012)

Lifting day.  And it's also the second time around the HIT workout, which means I can start looking at increased reps and load.  Always a good time!

WU - 10 min elliptical

Leg ext SS Squats

75x10 SS 135 x 10
90 x10 SS 180 x 6
105 x 10 SS 180 x 10

Up 15lb on ext, up 50 on squats.  The funny part is my brain seized up on gym math.  I started squats at 135, meant to be 90.  Somehow I calculated 2 45lb plates = 45 lbs total.  Went to 180 on the second set, same bad math, thinking I was at 135 and wondering why it felt heavy, hence the short set.  Duh.

Hack Machine Calf Raises

90 x 10
180 x 10
270 x 10 - up 90 lbs


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## Pylon (Sep 8, 2012)

And to wrap up the week, running work today. 5 min WU, 6 intervals. 1.5 min run, 2 min walk.


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## Pylon (Sep 9, 2012)

Ah, Sunday.  Day of rest.

After 2 weeks of clean food and consistent workouts, feel great.  No shock, right?

Realized this morning I started late on getting ready for my first 5k.  The plan is 9 weeks, I'm 2 weeks in.  The run is in 3 weeks.  No worries.  I've done the distance before, so I was working to try to get a decent time.  Will be good to see how I do.  I'm going to finish the whole 9 weeks, though, with the intent of going through it again until I have decent times for the full distance.  The nice thing about the program is it is about perspectives on effort, so it's slow/steady/fast instead of specific mph targets.  Makes it easy to reuse.


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## Pylon (Sep 10, 2012)

Good morning!

Headed into week 3.  My right knee is a little stiff, but nothing too serious.  Felt that way Saturday, and was fine for running.

Hit the 10 lb mark today as well.  Off to a great start!


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## Pylon (Sep 10, 2012)

75 degrees and sunny.  Park running!

5 min WU

1.5 min jog, 1.5 min walk
3 min job, 3 min walk
1.5 min jog, 1.5 min walk
3 min job, 3 min walk


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## Pylon (Sep 11, 2012)

WU - 1 mile job - 12:11 - Not a blazing speed, but was in a nice groove.

Flat DB flyes SS Smith incline

15s x 10 SS 50 x 10
15s x 10 SS 70 x 4
25s x 10 SS 110 x1.5, 90x1.5 - Went up 5s on flyes, cost me on inclines. Got too agressive with it, stalled out.  Will stay at 90 for the next round.

DB pullover SS CG pulldowns

30 x 10 SS 75 x 10
40 x 10 SS 90 x 10
50 x 10 SS 120 x 7 - up 10 on pullovers, up 15 lbs/down 3 reps on pulldowns

Deadlifts

115 x 10
135 x 10
205 x 6 - up 40 lbs/down 4 reps.  I'll take it.  

Best workout so far since I've been back.  I have a 5 hour drive first thing in the morning.  Can only imagine how stiff I will be when I arrive.  Oy.


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## Pylon (Sep 12, 2012)

On the road today, so running on a treadmill in the hotel gym.

5 min WU

1.5 min jog, 1.5 min walk
3 min jog, 3 min walk
1.5 min jog, 1.5 min walk
3 min job, 3 min walk

jogging at 5mph, walking at 3mph


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## katt (Sep 13, 2012)

I'm here to encourage Py!  What's the goal for the big 4-0?    Gawd, I wish I could go back to that number...LOL


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## Pylon (Sep 14, 2012)

katt said:


> I'm here to encourage Py!  What's the goal for the big 4-0?    Gawd, I wish I could go back to that number...LOL



You only get better with age, right?

While I haven't set a specific goal, I think getting back under 250 is a good one.  240 as a stretch goal.  Good to state it out loud, I suppose.


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## Pylon (Sep 14, 2012)

Back to lifting...

WU - jog 1 mile: 11:23.  Running at a natural pace on the track.  Shaved 48 seconds off my run from Monday with no real increase in effort.  

Leg Ext SS Leg Press

90x10 SS 150x10 
120x10 SS 180x10
150x10 SS 240x10 - Up 30 lbs on each with same reps

Calf press

210x20
240x20
300x20 - Up 8 reps


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## Pylon (Sep 15, 2012)

Outdoor running.  70 deg and overcast, but still OK.

5 min walk to warm up, .75 mi jog, .5 walk, .75 jog

I skipped about a week of the training program.  I'm past where it was, and only have 3 weeks until the 5k.  No need to screw around.


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## JerseyDevil (Sep 16, 2012)

Keep going Py, you are doing great!


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## Pylon (Sep 18, 2012)

JerseyDevil said:


> Keep going Py, you are doing great!



Thanks JD!


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## Pylon (Sep 18, 2012)

Out of town for a conference, but so far so good.  Got in an outdoor 2 mile run yesterday with the new running shoes.  Felt great!

Also, as a speaker they've taken really good care of me.   They put me in a suite with a full kitchen, so hit the grocer last night for eggs, avocado, salsa and bison.  Breakfast is covered, yo.

Went out with the conference team last night.  They wanted pizza.  I managed to get out with baked wings.


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## Burner02 (Sep 18, 2012)

hiya Py!


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## katt (Sep 18, 2012)

pylon said:


> out of town for a conference, but so far so good.  Got in an outdoor 2 mile run yesterday with the new running shoes.  Felt great!
> 
> Also, as a speaker they've taken really good care of me.   They put me in a suite with a full kitchen, so hit the grocer last night for *eggs, avocado, salsa and bison.*  breakfast is covered, yo.
> 
> Went out with the conference team last night.  They wanted pizza.  I managed to get out with baked wings.



yum!


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## Pylon (Sep 19, 2012)

Burner02 said:


> hiya Py!



Burnsie!  What's up?


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## Burner02 (Sep 19, 2012)

souds like we be in the same boat....you're just a little ahead of me. How's things?


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## Pylon (Sep 22, 2012)

Burner02 said:


> souds like we be in the same boat....you're just a little ahead of me. How's things?




Work is good, plenty of travel but interesting.


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## Pylon (Sep 22, 2012)

My knee has been a little cranky the last few days, so I decided to ease up and take a couple of days off.  It's the outside ligament (LCL), which I sprained doing squats years ago, so I know that pain.

Anyway, it's not a lot better, but I know that running isn't generally a problem, so laced them up and id a 5k on my own in the park.  Got in at 44:11 (was hoping to be under 45, so there you go).  Two weeks until the "official" race, so at least I know I can handle the distance without too much trouble.


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## yellowmoomba (Sep 22, 2012)

Way to stick with it


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## Pylon (Sep 26, 2012)

Back from the road.  Went to the gym to run since it's a wet day outside.  Did 5k at 38:48, which is about 5 1/2 minutes faster than my Saturday run.  Some of that was the indoor element, I'm sure, but I'll take it!


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## Pylon (Sep 27, 2012)

My first time doing 5k on consecutive days.  Ran outside this time.  Clocked in at 41:16.  While this is a couple of minutes off yesterday's pace, it is a second day of running.  More importantly, though, this was outside, and is almost 3 minutes faster than my last outdoor run, which makes this a PR.  w00t!


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## Pylon (Oct 1, 2012)

Took the weekend off, partially for rest, partially for other reasons.  Back today on track with diet, 45 min on the bike.  Plan to run tomorrow, then run the Saturday race.  Not planning to run between, but we'll see how the knee feels.


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## Pylon (Oct 3, 2012)

Ran about a mile yesterday to loosen up, followed by bike work.  

Out in the park today for my final tune up before my "official" 5k.  Came in at 42:53.  Off the pace from my last run, but still under the 45 min mark, which was my target at the start.  Now for a couple of days of rest.  Will probably still work the bike, but taking it easy on the knee until race time.


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## yellowmoomba (Oct 7, 2012)

Good luck with the race Pylon.  When is it?


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